Chapter 154 Stealing Skills
Sunday, November 20th.
"Sister, weekend tickets to Fantasyland are so hard to get! I made a reservation half a month in advance and finally managed to get one. You must be happy today!"
Early in the morning, Meng Linlin took her cousin to the Fantasy Park.
Her cousin, Qian Panpan, was from the provincial capital of Yangcheng. She only visited Meng Linlin's home in Jin'an during the Lunar New Year holiday, but the cousins had always been close, video-calling each other weekly. Recently, Qian Panpan had been having problems and had been feeling down, leaving her uncle and aunt worried. So, Meng Linlin suggested inviting her cousin to the Fantasy Park.
"I'm not exaggerating. It's even been reported on the news. The Fantasy Park has been certified by the state. Once you enter the park, you'll know how fun it is here!" Qian Panpan nodded with a smile after Meng Linlin's enthusiastic recommendation.
But Meng Linlin understood her and could see that there was a hint of sadness beneath her smile.
The park is much busier on weekends than on weekdays. At just after 8am, there are already many tourists queuing up at the entrance, and there are also elderly people carrying things to sell.
"A small bamboo basket and a small shoulder pole, the kind used by dwarf elves. Would you like to take one home as a souvenir?"
"A nest for the Soul Sense Doll. Is there anyone who wants to build a nest for the Soul Sense Doll?"
"Fantasy Sweet Corn, stocked from the Elf Factory, exactly like the ones in the Visitor Center, you can try some first!"
…
Qian Panpan asked doubtfully, "Can they sell whatever is in the visitor center here?"
Meng Linlin nodded. "It's not just here. They also sell it in the Mudan District. Sister, let me tell you, this snack is delicious. Some locals who can't buy tickets buy these snacks outside. I heard that the park's online store will also have these snacks in the future. Sister, let's go to the visitor center later. There's a supermarket tasting area inside. You can try them all then. If you like them, we can buy some and send them back so that my aunt and uncle can try them too."
As the two were talking, they suddenly heard a heated argument coming from the front and couldn't help but look over.
A man who looked to be in his twenties was arguing with a staff member. Meng Linlin listened carefully for a while and gossiped, "Haha, this guy has been blacklisted."
Seeing Qian Panpan's confusion, Meng Linlin explained, "Fantasy Park's technology is very advanced. They have a blacklist system. Once they find a visitor misbehaving, they will be divided into different levels of blacklists based on the severity of the behavior. The first level is petty theft and littering. Once discovered, they will be blacklisted for one month. The second level is harming others, spreading rumors and causing trouble, which will be blacklisted for six months. The third and most serious level is harassment and indecent behavior, which will be blacklisted forever. I don't know which level this person is in."
Videos of Fantasy Park are now available almost everywhere on the Internet, but not many people know about the details like the blacklist, so Meng Linlin explained it very carefully. Seeing the boy's face turn red after being confronted by the staff, she felt a little bit of gloating in her heart.
The one arguing with the staff at this time was Xiao Lin. He had long forgotten that he had locked Raymond in the small dark room before. Who would have thought that he would be stopped outside the park for this reason today!
Xiao Lin was very unconvinced, "That person is an NPC, I was just joking with him."
Staff: "NPCs are also our staff. Our park's rules do not allow visitors to bully NPCs without reason."
Xiao Lin shouted, "I already told him I was just joking with him, are you deaf?"
The staff member said expressionlessly, "Sir, I'm just a junior employee. I can't overturn the blacklist system's decision. Please come back in six months. If you continue to make trouble here, we'll have to contact security or call the police."
Xiao Lin was furious. "Which law says a theme park can blacklist customers? Your business will be ruined sooner or later if you run it this way! There are so many theme parks out there. Do you think I care about yours?"
When the onlookers heard this, the noise of discussion suddenly became louder.
"He's been blocked for half a year!"
"That's fine. It just means I can't come here for half a year. I can go to another theme park. There are plenty of them anyway."
"Hehehe, then there's one less person competing with me for weekend tickets in the next six months? Yeah!"
Some people also felt familiar with Xiao Lin's appearance. After pulling out their phones to compare, the gossip became even louder than before. "Ah, isn't he one of the gay men that Cai Peng follows?"
"Really? They're exactly the same!"
Amid the boos of the crowd, Xiao Lin left in disgrace.
In the crowd, Qian Panpan asked, "Who is Cai Peng?"
Meng Linlin looked disgusted when she heard this, "He's just a gay who cheated on marriage and sued the paradise before..." She told Qian Panpan about this and even used her mobile phone to find the live broadcast replay that the netizen had specially captured to show her. After watching the whole story, Qian Panpan was first relieved for the girl who saw through Cai Peng, and then she frowned and looked disgusted.
Meng Linlin breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that her attention had been diverted. She rolled her eyes and decided to take Qian Panpan to explore all the attractions in the park over the next few days, filling her mind with a dense array of attractions so that she could forget all the unpleasant things.
At the beginning, Meng Linlin's plan went smoothly. She took Qian Panpan to the abandoned park to fight monsters, to the fantasy haunted house, to the city of pranks, to the purple lake... She also picked up Qian Panpan and ran laps with her at the fantasy ranch for several times, telling her how magical the fantasy park was. If she fought monsters and exercised her body frequently here, she would become stronger and healthier.
Qian Panpan laughed happily at first, and her eyes turned red as she laughed. She murmured, "Linlin, if only I had come to the park earlier. If only I had as much strength and speed as you."
Meng Linlin was stunned for a moment, then hugged Qian Panpan in her arms, "Sister, it's not your fault."
At night, the two stayed in the hot spring hotel in the park.
The hot spring center is open from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Although there are staff on duty during other periods and you can enter the hot spring area to take a bath at will, there will be no dwarf elf cubs to provide services.
Qian Panpan chose to enter the hot spring area at 11 o'clock in the evening. Unlike most people, she has no interest in furry things and is even a little afraid of the furry paws of small animals. She just has a special liking for furry dolls or blankets.
However, Qian Panpan did not expect that there were still tourists lingering in the hot spring pool so late.
Because the hot spring pool was filled with steam and she was not wearing glasses, she could only see the general outline. When she saw the white shower cap wrapped around her head, revealing a few strands of dark green hair, she judged that the girl was not very old.
It is rare to see people dyeing their hair this color nowadays. Thinking of this, Qian Panpan slowly sat down in the hot spring pool.
The water was warm and comfortable, and it seemed to have other benefits. After soaking in it, every pore seemed to breathe. Qian Panpan sighed with pleasure. This paradise, she thought, was wonderful! Just like its name, it was strange and dreamy. Every place was wonderful. It was a pity that I would never see that little life again...
"Sister, you smell so good!"
Suddenly a childish voice startled Qian Panpan. She looked up and found that the voice came from a guest in the hot spring pool. It turned out that the girl was even younger than she had expected!
Qian Panpan smelled herself and said, "It should be the smell of my shower gel. If you like it, I can recommend the brand and link to you."
"No." The girl opposite continued, "I'm talking about the fragrance emanating from your soul."
Qian Panpan couldn't help laughing and coaxed her in a child's tone, "Wow, you can even smell souls, you are amazing!"
The girl spoke in a serious tone that struck Qian Panpan as childish. "Of course, I have a special treasure-hunting skill. I can smell the scent of treasures. Your soul exudes fragrance, so it's also a treasure. But your treasure doesn't seem happy. Can you tell me?"
Qian Panpan was stunned.
Human beings are strange animals. When facing familiar relatives and friends, they always keep silent, but when they meet strangers they know nothing about, they can easily reveal their true thoughts and secrets.
Maybe it’s because strangers don’t care about her joys and sorrows, nor do they worry about her and cause her unnecessary trouble.
Qian Panpan whispered her secret.
She works as a preschool teacher in Guangzhou and enjoys spending time with children. Two weeks ago, on her way to work, she saw a couple of little boys running a red light and immediately rushed over to pull them apart.
"But I couldn't hold on to the last child." A car whizzed past and knocked him out. From then on, the glaring blood not only dyed the asphalt road red, but also wet her heart.
"I have this dream every night. I dream that I rushed over and grabbed the child. I dream that I told them to look for red lights next time, but when I turned around, the child was lying on the ground covered in blood. They all said it wasn't my fault, that I had done the best I could, that those children weren't my students, and that I didn't need to blame myself or feel sad about it. But..."
Qian Panpan gradually choked up. "But I know I didn't try my best. I saw a car coming out of the corner of my eye, and I knew the child would be hit, but I hesitated. The car was going too fast, and I was afraid that if I rushed forward, I would be killed."
She hesitated for just a moment, and the child died.
She hasn't had a good night's sleep since then. She blames herself for not saving the child, and even more so for hesitating when life was at stake. She's always loved children, and even seeing a child die at a young age in the news breaks her heart. When she became a kindergarten teacher, she vowed to be their best teacher, dedicating her life to protecting these little flowers.
But when her life was at stake, she failed to do it.
She felt that she was hypocritical, despicable, and afraid of death... It was because she realized that she could never achieve the lofty ideal that she was in so much pain.
"I took a long vacation, and I found myself afraid to face those children."
Qian Panpan's tears fell silently into the pool water and quickly disappeared.
She found that after she said these things, she did not feel relieved as she had imagined, but felt even more depressed.
She originally thought she would hear the girl opposite her comforting words, after all, her family had always done this, but a moment later, the girl opposite her said, "That's great."
Qian Panpan was stunned.
The girl said, "You should be happy. You've realized your true nature. Isn't survival a biological instinct? You're suffering now because you hold yourself to too high a moral standard. Do you want to be a saint?"
Qian Panpan shook her head, "No, I just want to be the best kindergarten teacher."
"But the highest requirement of a profession isn't sacrificing your life! You should be happy now that you realize you're in shackles." The girl said, "My name is Duoduo. I've enjoyed chatting with you today."
Qian Panpan was just wondering when her mind suddenly went haywire. When she came to her senses, she felt relaxed, as if she had just had a very pleasant conversation.
Her self-blame and pain seemed to be taken away by some mysterious power, and she felt comfortable and relaxed both physically and mentally.
Qian Panpan smiled unconsciously. She swam towards the girl in a somewhat intimate manner, but was shocked when she got closer. It turned out that the thing on Duoduo's head was not a white shower cap, but a white fluffy thing!
***
At the same time, Chi Yizheng received a message reminder.
[Your character Ka Duoduo stole the tourists' money and Panpan's memories.]
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