After two rounds of voting, Li Zhi had figured out the rules.
The system had set up corresponding misleading options alongside the correct answers. For instance, the misleading option for the ‘Mourning Spirit’ was the ‘Joyous Spirit,’ for the ‘Birth Ghost’ it was the ‘Bloody Ghost,’ and for the ‘Soul-Capturing Ghost,’ it was the ‘Black and White Impermanence.’
If a player only gathered two clues, it was easy for them to be misled by these false options and choose the wrong answer. This forced the players to complete all three rounds of challenges, increasing their chances of death.
There were a total of eighteen players, and based on the [Ghost] system’s preset, half of them would have to die to satisfy its intent.
Twenty seconds left on the countdown.
Li Zhi’s eyes swept over the entire Hundred Ghost Wall. The ghost portraits on the wall were grotesque and eerie, as if someone had taken ID photos of these ghosts. Every one of them had a strange, stiff grin aimed directly at the camera.
Her gaze shifted downward, and she noticed an empty space at the very bottom of the wall. The entire wall was arranged in a neat and aesthetic order, with a touch of meticulous symmetry, fitting perfectly with the system’s obsessive tendencies.
However, this blank space at the bottom disrupted the overall neatness of the wall, like a painting missing a piece.
In Li Zhi’s aesthetic view, either the gaps between each row of ghost introductions should be wider to fill the blank space, or there should be one more row of ghost introductions to complete the symmetry.
Her gaze lingered on the blank spot for a moment longer as the clock on the wall began its five-second countdown. Li Zhi raised her hand and pressed the voting button for the ‘Birth Ghost,’ then turned and left the voting room.
Before they came in, everyone had agreed to vote for the ‘Birth Ghost.’ After Li Zhi left, Chi Yi immediately went in next.
The players had split into three small teams as soon as they entered the instance. Pei Hongyu’s team stood far away, making it clear they didn’t want to interact with the others.
Du Jia from ‘Perfect Couple’ entered this instance with the mindset of competing with the ‘Butterfly’. If he hadn’t used a designated item to team up with Chi Yi and himself, Li Zhi and Chi Yi might never have entered this amusement park instance. Therefore, he was even less likely to voluntarily approach Li Zhi and her team.
However, when Han Wenlin saw Li Zhi emerge from the room, he walked over.
With some curiosity, he asked, “Did you get the third clue for the carousel?”
The others instinctively held their breath, but Li Zhi smiled calmly, her expression unchanged. “No, we experienced the Ferris wheel last round.”
Disappointment flickered in Han Wenlin’s eyes.
Perfect Couple had already experienced the Ferris wheel in the first round, and since Han Wenlin was grouped with them, he definitely knew the correct answer. Now, the three answers Li Zhi had were useless to them, so there was no need for them to exchange clues.
Li Zhi didn’t ask what they experienced in the second round either. Han Wenlin nodded and returned to his group. Cheng Jiayue, who had followed him over, hesitated for a moment before gently reminding, “We experienced the pirate ship last round. It took almost all the items we had to clear it, so be careful.”
Li Zhi smiled. “Thank you, we’ll be careful.” She looked at Cheng Jiayue warmly and asked, “Would you like to team up with us for the next round?”
Cheng Jiayue was stunned, seemingly not understanding why the expert would suddenly invite her. “Me?”
Li Zhi smiled and asked, “Some projects require six people to experience, and we’re one person short. Do you want to join us?”
Cheng Jiayue hesitated.
She had chosen to join Perfect Couple from the beginning, and switching teams halfway through felt a bit like betraying her original group. She wasn’t sure how it would affect her popularity.
In the end, Cheng Jiayue declined Li Zhi’s offer. “Sorry, I’d still prefer to stay with my original teammates.”
Li Zhi didn’t press her and simply nodded with a smile.
Once Li Zhi’s team had finished voting, Perfect Match went in next. Whatever happened from this point on had nothing to do with them anymore. Li Zhi said, “Let’s go.”
The five people left the amusement square, while on the other side, Pei Hongyu’s group of four stood under the signpost, waiting to vote.
Tang Nanshan watched Li Zhi’s back as she walked away and finally spoke to Pei Hongyu, “That haunted house requires at least six people to experience. We’re still two people short, so we could actually cooperate with Li Zhi.”
The required number of participants for a project likely indicated its level of danger. The more people required, the greater the danger. So far, the haunted house had the highest participant requirement of all the attractions they had encountered. Even the roller coaster only required four people.
In Tang Nanshan’s view, teaming up with Li Zhi for the most dangerous attraction would be safer and increase their chances of clearing the challenge. After all, they were short of people, and sooner or later, they would have to collaborate with other teammates. Rather than joining Perfect Couple, it would be better to choose Li Zhi.
But Pei Hongyu responded indifferently, “When the time comes to experience the haunted house, someone will naturally join us.”
He didn’t need to seek cooperation with anyone; there were always people eager to join his team.
He Yuan chimed in from the side, “Yeah, Sister Shan, we don’t need to team up with her. If it weren’t for the required number of people, Brother Yu could clear it on his own. We’ll just pick up two people when we need them.”
Tang Nanshan shot him a glance, and He Yuan immediately shut his mouth, embarrassed.
The audience watching this scene exploded in the comment section:
[Damn, people who act pretentious are the worst!]
[This isn’t pretentiousness; it’s extreme confidence in his abilities, alright? Some people’s fans need to calm down.]
[Comparing the two, Li Zhi’s performance hasn’t been worse than Pei Hongyu’s, right? Pei just has a more distinct personal style, making him more exciting to watch, while Li Zhi takes a more cautious approach and gives her teammates more chances to shine.]
[Pei Hongyu is treating this instance like his stage, putting on the most spectacular show. Li Zhi is more focused on the big picture.]
[Stop defending your fave. Li Zhi’s performance just isn’t as exciting as Pei Hongyu’s. Don’t use caution as an excuse, it’s laughable.]
[Yeah, yeah, your idol is so amazing. He hogs all the spotlight and completely ignores whether his teammates live or die. How cool is that?!]
[The haunted house requires six people, right? Pei and Li can each form their own teams and have a showdown. Let’s see who clears it without getting hurt!]
[I support the showdown! Pros should compete!]
[Instead of barking here, Li Zhi’s fans should go and help her with the votes. If you don’t, she’s going to fall far behind in the popularity rankings.]
[Hilarious. It’s only a million-plus difference. You talk as if it’s impossible to catch up, like the gap is tens of millions.]
[Don’t speak too soon. Let’s see who’s laughing at the end.]
…
As the debate raged in the comments, Pei Hongyu’s team had finished voting and emerged. His goal this round was clear: “Head to the Drop Tower.”
The lights in the voting room dimmed, and the park’s colorful lights returned. In the amusement square, the missing mascots and juggling NPCs reappeared. A koala holding a bunch of balloons stood in place, glancing around before lowering its fuzzy head in a deflated manner.
Each area of the park had its own unique horror theme.
Li Zhi led her teammates into an unexplored area, passing through a zone bathed in eerie red light. A red wooden pavilion stood in the clearing, bathed in a crimson glow and draped in red silk. On the second floor’s wooden balcony stood a woman in a bridal gown with a red veil over her head.
She cradled a red silk ball in her arms. Noticing people passing below, she raised her pale, delicate hand and beckoned slowly, as if inviting them to catch the silk ball.
You Jingmeng muttered, “If she hits us with that ball, we won’t really have to marry her, will we?”
Owen Dong shivered and immediately shouted, “I’m already married! Please, don’t bother me!”
The bride’s veiled head slowly turned in their direction as they walked. She lifted both hands and tossed the red silk ball, which was adorned with red flowers, toward them.
The group screamed and quickly dodged out of the way.
The silk ball hit the ground, bounced twice, and rolled into the shadows. The bride on the pavilion began to weep softly, her red veil and bridal gown fluttering in the wind, as if she might teleport in front of them at any moment.
Their scalps tingled with fear, and they almost ran out of the eerie, Chinese-style horror area.
From a distance, they heard the hum of an engine vibrating through the cold night air. Following the sound, they detected the acrid scent of rubber friction in the air, and soon they arrived at a large circular racetrack. The spacious entrance and exit were decorated with hanging tires.
Qi Yongyi hurried a few steps ahead, excited. “It’s go-kart racing! I love this!” He turned back eagerly to Li Zhi and said, “Let me go first this round!”
Li Zhi smiled. “Sure.”
Owen Dong quickly raised his hand. “I want to go, too!”
He hadn’t participated in the last round, and since go-karting wasn’t a high-altitude project, he felt more confident in his ability to handle it.
Li Zhi headed toward the staff at the entrance. “Let’s check how many people are required first.”
They reached the entrance, where this time the staff member, dressed in a blue jumpsuit and wearing a racing helmet, fittingly matched the theme of the activity. A cheerful voice came from under the helmet.
“Welcome to the Go-Kart Speed Race. The minimum number of players decreases each round: three players for the first round, two for the second, and only one for the third. Players in later rounds must have participated in the previous one. Please show your tickets and line up to enter.”
“The rules are different this time,” Chi Yi commented after hearing the explanation. “Only one person can participate in the third round. If they fail, the remaining two will have to step in to finish the challenge. The margin for error gets smaller with each round, and everyone only gets one shot.”
Unlike the roller coaster, where all four players participated in every round and as long as one person survived, the challenge was considered complete, the go-kart race reduced the number of participants each round, demanding more from the players.
However, with Li Zhi around, it might even be easier for her to handle the final round alone. The first round, on the other hand, was practically a freebie—it was the safest and offered a chance to win some popularity points.
“I want to go too!” You Jingmeng glanced at Owen Dong, trying to secure his spot. “Let’s do rock-paper-scissors.”
No matter how much they cooperated now, in the end, they were still competing against each other. They couldn’t challenge the expert, but there was no way they would give up ground to their fellow teammates.
Owen Dong realized this as well. Although he felt a bit uncomfortable, he had no choice but to agree to You Jingmeng’s proposal. “Alright, rock-paper-scissors. The winner goes.”
Chi Yi, uninterested in the competition, decided to play referee. “I’ll count down. Three, two, one!”
Before they began, You Jingmeng quickly said, “I’m going to play scissors!”
Owen Dong: “………”
Who would believe you!
Three! Two! One! Owen Dong confidently threw out paper.
Across from him, You Jingmeng innocently held up two scissoring fingers with a triumphant smile. “I told you, I was playing scissors.”
Owen Dong: Ahhhhhhhh!