As they disembarked from the boat, they all noticed that the yellow lantern had reappeared in the staff member’s hand.
Owen Dong suddenly realized, “So, when she was holding this lantern in the first round, it was a clue for us. The place where the lantern lights up is the real exit!”
This lantern had only appeared once during the first round of entry. If one didn’t pay special attention, it would be difficult to connect it to the real exit after going through two treacherous river-crossing challenges and seeing it again for the third time on the river.
Owen Dong once again felt a deep admiration for the meticulous observation skills and sharp instincts of the experts.
The staff member, holding the lantern, smiled as she handed them the final round’s clue.
Li Zhi opened the box, and the clue for this round was once again an image.
“This is… a bug?” Chi Yi stared at the card for a long time. “A bug flying in the air?”
“It’s a Rakshasa!” Qi Yongyi’s eyes lit up. “There’s a legend that the Rakshasa can extend its neck and even separate its head from its body. At midnight, its head flies out and it loves to eat bugs in the air.”
“Loves eating flying bugs?” You Jingmeng commented, “Then this must be a good ghost! It’s a beneficial ghost that controls pests and mosquitoes!”
With three clues in hand, they could basically confirm that the answer was indeed the Rakshasa. As the three cards turned to ash, they realized that the time for this round was nearly up, so the five of them headed to the verification point.
This was the fourth round of voting, but Li Zhi’s team already had three answers. If they continued to pass each challenge smoothly, they could finish all the amusement facilities two rounds ahead of schedule.
Getting the hidden clue mentioned by the system early was definitely an advantage for the players.
The eerie atmosphere in the park persisted, with NPCs dressed as ghosts lurking everywhere, jumping out to scare them occasionally. After seeing the players scream in fright, the NPCs would retreat, satisfied, to their hiding places.
The return route was different from the one they took when they arrived. As they walked through an area draped with red cloth, they thought they had returned to the spot where the red and white collided earlier. But they soon realized this was not the case, as they saw the entrance to another amusement facility ahead.
Two large red wooden doors were tightly closed, with the Chinese character for “double happiness” pasted on them. Two red lanterns hung on either side of the door frame, casting a celebratory glow. The dim red light fell on a staff member dressed in red work clothes standing at the entrance, creating a chilling atmosphere.
“Welcome to the ghost house of the amusement park,” he said with a smile. “The rule for this project is a single-round experience. The minimum number of participants required is six. Please scan your tickets for entry if you’d like to experience it.”
“It’s a haunted house!” Chi Yi felt suffocated just by looking at the setting. “Could the theme of this haunted house be a ghost wedding?”
Owen Dong shuddered. “And it requires six people to start the challenge? This round is definitely going to be tough.”
No matter how difficult or terrifying it was, they couldn’t avoid this round—it had to be experienced sooner or later.
Li Zhi said, “After we vote this round, let’s see if anyone is willing to join us. If we gather six people, we’ll challenge the haunted house.”
The group was already trembling, starting to panic.
The park began to glow with red lights. Under the red-hued ambiance, the ghost house in front of them looked even more eerie.
They hurriedly left and returned to the verification point.
When they arrived at the amusement square, the NPCs had disappeared, and Li Zhi’s team was the first to return. After waiting for a few minutes, Pei Hongyu’s team returned.
Chi Yi whispered, “Someone’s missing!”
The random teammate who had been with them earlier had vanished. Only Pei Hongyu, Tang Nanshan, and He Yuan came back. Pei Hongyu still had his cold, indifferent expression, and when Tang Nanshan saw Li Zhi looking over, she nodded at her from afar, her expression heavy with helplessness.
Even teaming up with the experts wasn’t entirely safe; there was always a risk of death in every round.
Meanwhile, the Perfect Couple team also returned, but this time, the “Perfect” part didn’t make it back.
Chen Tianran’s face was grim, supported by the other two teammates. Their expressions were dark. When they got closer, Chi Yi couldn’t help but ask, “What happened to Du Jia?”
Chen Tianran closed her eyes, and a painful whimper escaped her throat.
Wei Xiao whispered, “In the last round with the go-karts… during the third lap, Du Jia went off the track…”
The crash was fatal, and there wasn’t even a body left.
Du Jia was a star player, and although Perfect Couple only teamed up for popularity and weren’t a real couple, having survived countless life-and-death situations together, it would be a lie to say they had no feelings for each other.
Chen Tianran covered her face, deeply regretting that she hadn’t tried harder to stop him earlier. They shouldn’t have fought over this with Chi Yi and the others; they shouldn’t have entered this instance.
If it weren’t for the specific player assignments to enter the instance, they might never have been dragged into it, and Du Jia might still be alive.
But now, it was all too late. Back then, Chen Tianran had hoped that entering this instance would teach Du Jia a lesson, making him more cautious in the future, but she never imagined that this lesson would cost him his life.
Their team had lost two more members in this round, and everyone felt a deep, shared sorrow. But that’s how the instance worked. As players, they didn’t have the luxury of dwelling in fear or grief for long.
The verification room opened once again, and Li Zhi entered. In this round, she submitted the answer they got from the drop tower challenge—Shanxiao—and also confirmed the details they found on the Rakshasa from the Hundred Ghosts Wall. All three clues matched.
Now, only three challenges and three answers remained.
After casting her vote, Li Zhi approached Chen Tianran and her team, saying, “We’re planning to challenge the haunted house in the next round. We need six people, and we’re one short. Would any of you like to join us?”
Before they could respond, Tang Nanshan also walked over. “We’re also planning to challenge the haunted house next round. Right now, there are exactly twelve people left in the instance, and we’re short three teammates.”
Twelve people could be split into two groups—one led by Li Zhi, and one led by Pei Hongyu.
Han Wenlin couldn’t help but ask, “Why split into two groups? The haunted house is so dangerous, and you two experts are both forming teams…”
Before he could finish, Wei Xiao pulled him back, stopping him from saying more.
Anyone could see that these two experts were competing in the instance. They weren’t going to collaborate unless absolutely necessary. Besides, if only one team of six people went in, the ones who went would undoubtedly gain a huge lead in popularity points. The remaining six would likely face the risk of elimination.
No one wanted to be a mere background character. They’d rather risk their lives and fight for popularity than be eliminated and devoured by the ghosts.
After several rounds, Han Wenlin had developed a favorable impression of Li Zhi and immediately volunteered, “I’ll join your team.”
Li Zhi smiled and nodded. “Alright.”
Tang Nanshan then turned to the remaining three. “Would you like to team up with us for the haunted house? Don’t worry, with me and Ah Yu, we’ll do everything we can to protect you.”
Though her demeanor was kind, she was inwardly worried. Ah Yu had been too arrogant earlier, completely overlooking the fact that others might refuse to enter the haunted house with them.
If Li Zhi emerged safely from the haunted house, she would share the clues and answers with the remaining players, so they wouldn’t need to enter again.
Round after round, Li Zhi had protected her teammates well. Her team had only lost one member and still had five players. She only needed to find one more person to start the haunted house challenge.
On the other hand, Pei Hongyu’s team only had three players left. If Chen Tianran and her two teammates refused to enter the haunted house and waited for Li Zhi instead, even Pei Hongyu, no matter how skilled, wouldn’t be able to complete the challenge.
At that point, he would have no choice but to rely on Li Zhi for the answer to the haunted house challenge. Not only would he miss out on the hidden clue, but Li Zhi would also surpass him in popularity points.
Tang Nanshan’s eyes held a flicker of worry as she began thinking about what tangible benefits she could offer if Chen Tianran and the others refused to join.
Fortunately, Chen Tianran wasn’t an average player content with mere survival. She was a high-profile player on the Horror Variety Show forums, and with Du Jia gone, she needed to rely on herself even more to maintain her popularity.
Chen Tianran was the first to step forward. “I’ll team up with you.” She then turned to Wei Xiao and Cheng Jiayue. “Will you join us?”
The two hesitated for a moment but eventually nodded in agreement.
Tang Nanshan breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Li Zhi. “See you in a bit.”
Li Zhi smiled lightly and said, “See you in a bit.”
As the verification room closed, the two newly formed teams, one after the other, headed toward the haunted house.
Li Zhi’s group of six was the first to arrive at the entrance. The staff member dressed in red work attire was still standing there, giving them the standard business smile.
Beyond the passageway, the two tightly closed red doors stood tall and narrow, with a long, thin gap in between. The surroundings were draped in red cloth, making the entrance of the haunted house feel claustrophobic and oppressive.
“The theme of this haunted house is probably related to a ghost wedding,” Li Zhi gathered her teammates closer and quietly briefed them.
“We’re not sure what the mechanics of the haunted house are yet, but the usual gameplay for haunted houses in amusement parks is to pass through scary areas and reach the exit while various ‘ghosts’ jump out to frighten people.”
“If that’s the case here, then among these ‘ghosts,’ there will likely be real monsters mixed in. The conditions for death will likely be tied to them, so be cautious not to get caught or killed by them.”
“But if it’s not the usual gameplay, and we’re not separated once we enter, we can still figure out the situation based on what we encounter inside.”
“The most dangerous scenario would be if we are split up and have to do solo missions. If that happens, you’ll be on your own and will need to carefully observe your surroundings and look for clues. Don’t panic. If you panic, you’ll fall into the traps set by the system. Since it requires six people to enter, it’s unlikely that all of the tasks will be solo missions. We’ll definitely regroup at some point, so just hold out until then.”
Li Zhi explained all the potential situations they might face inside the haunted house to her teammates. Both the teammates and the audience could feel how valuable and essential maintaining calm and steady emotions in the instance really was.
It’s no wonder she’s considered a top-tier player.
Her teammates listened attentively, alternating between nervousness and excitement, but the initial panic over the unknown haunted house seemed to have subsided significantly.
After giving all the instructions she could, Li Zhi handed her ticket to the staff member. After receiving the stamp, she scanned the ticket and entered. She flipped the ticket over to check the back and saw that the haunted house section was marked with the image of a red bridal headdress.
Once all six had entered, the staff member walked to the large red wooden doors, smiled, and said, “Welcome to the immersive haunted house experience, ‘The Red Wedding Dress.‘ Please adhere to the haunted house rules: do not hit the NPCs, and do not damage the haunted house facilities. Any violations will result in severe punishment. We wish you an enjoyable experience and safe passage.”