Chapter 42: Dream Amusement Park (24) (Part 2)
Su Yue keenly realized that things were getting closer to the truth. So he dutifully played the role of a curious player and continued to ask, "What kind of question is it?"
"The first problem was with the 'Love at First Sight' train, a small train that runs around the entire park. One night, while I was on patrol, I noticed the train making a clanging sound, as if it were running, even though the entire park had been without power."
"At first it was the sound of the trains, then it became the sound of the tracks. It was a very strange sound, as if there were really trains running on the tracks, so many of them that they could crush the tracks. But in fact there were no trains at all, just empty tracks."
"So we scrapped 'Love at First Sight' because we couldn't find the real cause of its problems. But unexpectedly, after Love at First Sight was scrapped, more and more amusement facilities started to have problems, from large roller coasters to small carousels, all kinds of accidents would occur during debugging."
"There's no other way. I can only start the safety test. I hope that some facilities can pass the safety test so that when the park opens, at least tourists will have a few equipment to ride," said the park director.
"Have you asked anyone why this accident happened?" Su Yue asked, "There should be many companies specializing in this kind of investigation."
Even in the real world, there are some mysterious organizations, such as Feng Shui companies, which specialize in judging the auspiciousness or inauspiciousness of large public places based on the terrain, building orientation, etc. before they open. In a game world where supernatural phenomena really exist, there must be such companies.
As Su Yue expected, the director nodded and said, "I've asked someone to look at it, but everyone says that the location of this amusement park is great and there's nothing wrong with the land."
"So what's the problem?" Su Yue asked.
"There's a vengeful spirit," the director replied. "The spirit has a deep obsession with this amusement park and doesn't want it to operate normally. That's why so many strange problems are happening in the park."
"What is the origin of this vengeful spirit?" Su Yue asked.
This question silenced the director. He lowered his eyes to look at his pointed brown patent leather shoes. After a long moment, he whispered, "They say it's my wife's vengeful spirit."
"What?" Su Yue was stunned.
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"You don't understand, and I can't understand it either." The headmaster forced himself to smile, but that smile looked even more heartbreaking than crying. "My wife was such a gentle and lovely person. Even if she died, she should have gone to heaven. Why did she become a vengeful spirit?"
"We clearly loved each other so much, but I still miss her and often dream about her." After the head teacher finished speaking, he was silent for a while, looking a little confused, and finally he sighed.
"To be honest, I can't believe that my wife is the one who's interfering with everything in the amusement park, but those people are so sure of it. I don't understand it and don't know how to refute it."
"Did they tell me why they were sure she was your wife?" Su Yue asked.
The headmaster rested his elbows on the table, his hand on his forehead. He was silent for a long moment before speaking. "They say that when vengeful spirits remain in the world, it's because they have an unresolved obsession, having forgotten everything else. My wife died in an accident, and all she has left of this world is resentment. As for me, she certainly doesn't remember me."
"Have you ever thought that it might be other vengeful spirits?" Su Yue asked.
"I've thought about it, of course I've thought about it, but I've consulted several Feng Shui masters from different companies, and they all gave me the same answer." The headmaster suddenly looked up at Su Yue, his eyes shining brightly, it was hard to tell whether they were tears or hope. "Don't you also think she's not my wife? Do you have any ideas?"
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Just as the headmaster said this, time paused in some strange way, as if something plucked a string in the thin air, and a "clang" sound was heard.
The headmaster hadn't finished speaking yet. The petals trembling in the wind, and even the calendar that was slightly moving on the wall were all frozen at this moment, as if some external force had pressed the pause button on the entire world.
Su Yue was already accustomed to such scenes. He looked out the window and saw a black bird flapping its wings in the blue sky with thin clouds. Not only Su Yue, but any player in this game could see this black bird and hear what it said.
"Trigger the hidden mission: Help the headmaster fulfill his dream. After completing the hidden mission, the game will be cleared immediately, without being restricted by the remaining days."
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Hidden missions are missions built into survival games, which can be understood as the true ending of the game.
In the previous mountain village mission, Su Yue ensured that as many players as possible survived by unlocking hidden tasks and not continuing with the original main line of "sacrificing one person every day".
However, this hidden mission seems to be more troublesome than the main line. The amusement park will open in five days, and three days have passed now. With Su Yue's strength, it is very easy for him to survive the next two days. On the contrary, "helping the director fulfill his dream" seems to be much more complicated.
After the black bird released the hidden task, it flapped its wings and flew away. The moment it disappeared into the clouds and out of everyone's sight, the game continued to run.
The headmaster looked at Su Yue and asked anxiously, "Do you have any ideas?"
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In fact, when Su Yue asked about "other vengeful spirits", he did have an idea, but he was not sure whether it was appropriate to say it out loud or not.
Although the director seems to be fine, he is an NPC after all, and his true background and position are uncertain, so Su Yue cannot let his guard down.
However, since the hidden mission has been released, there is no need to hide it anymore, because the other party is the main NPC.
So Su Yue said, "Can you tell me what's going on with that warehouse in the amusement park?"
He remembered that there were resentful ghosts in the warehouse, and that the warehouse was out of tune with the other facilities in the amusement park. More importantly, the track of the "Love at First Sight" train, which was the first to have problems as mentioned by the director, went around the back edge of the warehouse. It was also the only amusement facility in the entire amusement park that was close to the warehouse.
The park director sighed and said, "The warehouse was an old building that existed when the amusement park was purchased. The seller at the time specifically stated that it must not be demolished under any circumstances, so we did as we were told. We stored some of the construction waste there, thinking it would be a good souvenir to visit sometime in the future."
"The feng shui masters at the time also looked closely at the warehouse, but they said that apart from being too old and having a bit of negative energy, there was nothing wrong with it."
"What about the ghost in the warehouse?" Su Yue asked, "What's its origin?"
"Is there a ghost in the warehouse?" The director looked even more shocked than Su Yue. He then smiled apologetically and said, "I'm sorry, I didn't know. The staff doesn't want me to go near the warehouse right now."
"The employees don't want you to go near the warehouse?" Su Yue frowned. "What do you mean? You're the director?"
Upon hearing this, the director sighed again: "Although I am the director, I am just an empty shell. Since the arrival of this group of employees, those amusement facilities have become more and more unfamiliar to me, but there is nothing I can do."
"Those employees all applied for the job on their own. I could sense they were a bit strange, and communicating with them was very difficult, but I had no choice but to hire them."
"Because after they came, there have been fewer strange things happening in the amusement park. If the amusement park can continue to operate as usual, I can accept it even if they lock me up here and don't let me go out."
Su Yue asked, "Aren't you afraid of death? There's something very wrong with those employees."
"I'm scared." The headmaster smiled bitterly, stood up, and opened the cabinet door behind him. "I've been on guard against them."
Su Yue saw that glutinous rice, silver crosses, garlic, paper scraps... and so on were arranged in a very complicated formation inside. These were all kinds of things used to ward off evil spirits that he knew of from ancient times to the present, both at home and abroad.
He frowned.
The director noticed Su Yue's expression and said sincerely, "I know you think I'm courting death, but honestly, I've invested all my life savings and hard work in this amusement park, and my memories of my wife remain here. If I had to give up this amusement park, I might as well die. But as long as there's any chance, I will stay with the amusement park, because this is the dream of my wife and me."
Su Yue nodded and asked, "What about the Castle Hotel? Is it the same story?"
"The Castle Hotel." The director sighed again. "The Castle Hotel has never been officially built. Ever since the amusement park became haunted, no one can get close to that place. Anyone who enters the yard will be burned by the strange heat wave."
"I understand." Su Yue said.
He had been concerned about the Princess Castle Hotel since the first day. According to the logic of the game, the hotel must be a key place at the moment, but they had not yet met the conditions to open this scene.
"Anyway, thank you for passing this test successfully. As long as one ride can function properly, the amusement park can open on schedule."
The headmaster bowed politely to Su Yue and smiled, "Thank you again. If you're willing to help me further, I'll leave it to you."
Su Yue responded with an angelic smile: "You're welcome. I also hope to solve the problem of the amusement park. However, I may need your permission."
——
When I left the principal's office and returned to the staff dormitory, it was just dinner time. It seemed that the employees' spare time was also very boring. Apart from eating and chatting in the dormitory, there was nothing else to do.
The hidden mission was released to all players, so Cangzhi and the others also learned about it. They knew without a doubt that it must have been triggered by Suyue. They asked Suyue about what happened in the principal's office, and Suyue told them everything.
In fact, this feeling is quite new to Su Yue. In the past gaming world, he was used to thinking and solving all problems by himself.
Because players rarely trust each other, or feel that they can't help at all, they just lie down and let Su Yue lead them. Players like Zhao Shuo who actively want to help Su Yue are very rare, including Cang Zhi who seems to have a little more sense of participation.
But it may be that just the way he speaks has changed. Ever since Su Yue asked him in surprise that day, "Did you secretly learn a lot of things outside during this break?", Cang Zhi has returned to his original state, acting like a piece of wood most of the time.
"'Help the director realize his dream'? Does that mean we need to keep the amusement park running smoothly?" Zhao Shuo asked.
"That's what it seems like at the moment," Su Yue said, "but it could also be a play on words."
The hidden mission of the last mountain village copy clearly stated that it was to break the "Nightmare Spell" formation of Qiyun Village, but this time it only vaguely mentioned "dream".
Although a major difference between a thousand-point dungeon and a hundred-point entry-level dungeon is that the dungeon doesn't explain things clearly and requires players to guess, Su Yue has a hunch that there's something fishy going on here.
"Then what are you going to do, boss? First figure out what this dream is?" Zhao Shuo asked.
"Just follow the literal meaning of the task first," Su Yue said.
Zhao Shuo was stunned. "Help the director solve the haunted amusement park problem? Why?"
"Because we can only do it literally now." Su Yue replied.
"This amusement park looks like it has a lot to explore, but in reality, the degree of freedom is very limited. We can only explore the locations where he gives clues. Only by exploring a little can we discover more."
Zhao Shuo nodded, seemingly understanding: "Then, Boss, what are you going to do now—"
——
Fifteen minutes later.
The castle-shaped spire of the warehouse was shrouded in dark clouds, and ivy vines covered the walls. The deputy manager was doing his daily inspection with an expressionless face. He had long been accustomed to this kind of life day after day.
There were footsteps outside, and the deputy manager raised his eyes. His gaze was always wandering, as if he was avoiding everything. However, when he saw clearly the two people standing outside the yard, the deputy manager's gaze suddenly stopped, as if someone had stepped on his neck.
"What are you doing here?" The deputy manager looked at the two testers with a very unwelcome expression. They met every day but never did their job properly. "It seems that you didn't get punished today? Go back to the staff dormitory!"
Su Yue held a broom in his hand, which he draped diagonally over his shoulder. Cang Zhi beside him was holding a dustpan. They looked like a duo of models that appeared in a housekeeping advertisement.
Su Yue smiled and pointed to the medal on his chest: "It's true that we didn't get punished today, but we passed the safety test today, and the director rewarded us. The prize is-"
Su Yue calmly waved the broom in his hand and said, "I'm cleaning up the warehouse. Please lead the way."
Deputy Manager: “…”
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