Chapter 187

Chapter 187 -3

"I... I took several rounds just now," Teammate One stammered, "I was sitting on this little train, and only after several rounds did I fall asleep. How did it suddenly catch fire?"

Yuan frowned at the burning miniature train. The wooden front part distorted and deformed in the intense flames, looking as if it wouldn't extinguish any time soon.

"Let's move on to the next attraction," Yuan glanced at the brochure in his hand, "Tiny Aviators."

Tiny Aviators is like a carousel but with little airplanes instead of horses. It's a common feature in children's playgrounds, intended for kids. For Yuan and Teammate One, both adults, riding it might seem odd. But the staff at the entrance, wearing a duck headgear, didn't comment and just wished them a good time.

"Didn't that duck mascot seem a bit off to you?" Teammate One asked Yuan. He seemed eager to share something earlier, but upon seeing Yuan's indifferent reaction, he hesitated. Once they approached the airplanes, he whispered into Yuan's ear.

"Odd, you say?" Yuan countered.

"Yes, when I walked past him, I caught a whiff of this foul smell – like that of a long-deceased corpse," Teammate One whispered, glancing cautiously at the duck-headed staff member nearby.

The duck costume looked quite old and worn, with brown stains on the exterior. The stuffing at the wing had come out, revealing grayish-black cotton inside.

"That's expected, then," Yuan responded briefly, already climbing into one of the tiny airplanes. His long limbs made it a tight fit, but he seemed unfazed, gesturing for Teammate One to hop in, "Let's fly!"

Reluctantly, Teammate One joined him. As the nursery rhyme began playing, he looked utterly uncomfortable, as if reevaluating his life choices.

With Teammate One's perplexed and uneasy expression, the little planes rose and fell, round and round...

This time, nothing went awry. The planes neither caught fire nor crashed midway. Once they disembarked, Teammate One couldn't help but ask, "What on earth are we here for?"

The duck mascot staff member turned to look at them.

Yuan replied, "Aren't we here for fun?"

But as he spoke, his gaze remained fixed on the duck mascot.

Noticing the tense atmosphere, Teammate One chimed in, trying to ease the situation, "Right, we're here for... fun. This ride was... so much fun. What's next on our list?"

The duck mascot then turned away, focusing back on the control panel of the planes.

Only when they were at a safe distance did Teammate One exhale in relief, whispering to Yuan, "That was scary. I felt like that fake duck's eyes were on me the whole time. Are they really not ghosts?"

"They might be, or they might not," Yuan replied, "Our goal is to find the ghosts in this world."

"This... world?" It suddenly dawned on Teammate One what they were truly after.

Xiao Yuan said, "Indeed, this isn't the real world. We need to find the ghost in this world to escape."

Teammate No.1 looked back at the "Tiny Aviator" ride and asked, "Does this ghost have any distinguishing features? What do we do once we find it?"

"Not sure about its features, but judging from this amusement park, I suspect it's one of the staff. After all, the only people here are staff and visitors like us. As for what to do once we find it…" Xiao Yuan caressed the dagger in his hand, "Naturally, we'll kill it."

Teammate No.1 nodded, still looking confused, but agreed to go along with Xiao Yuan.

Following the recommended route on the map they received at the park's entrance, they arrived at the third attraction: the bumper cars.

Here, they came across another person, whom they dubbed Teammate No.2.

When they reached the entrance to the bumper cars, Teammate No.2 was standing outside the fence, mouth agape in shock, staring blankly at the arena.

No wonder he was stunned. The entire bumper car arena was ablaze, emitting a pungent scent of burning rubber mixed with the aroma of charred protein.

Teammate No.1 patted No.2 several times to snap him out of it. Teammate No.2 flailed his arms around, pointing first at himself, then at the flaming arena, and finally at Xiao Yuan and No.1.

Xiao Yuan, ever calm, asked Teammate No.2, "What did you do, what did you say before this started?"

With a bewildered gesture, Teammate No.2 made a steering motion and said, "I was just playing with the bumper cars, alone in the middle of the arena. It was just me! Not even the usual attendant was there! Oh, except for one staff member in a duck costume…"

At that, he pointed to the entrance where a burnt duck costume lay. Evidently, the staff member hadn't escaped the flames.

Teammate No.1 asked, "Was there actually someone inside that costume? It doesn’t look like a person burnt inside, just a charred duck toy. And it didn't move even after catching fire."

Realizing something, he exclaimed, "Xiao Yuan, is this the ghost you were talking about?!"

"Ghosts don't get burnt in their own homes," Xiao Yuan replied. Without sparing Teammate No.1 a glance, he urged Teammate No.2, "Continue."

Teammate No.2 nodded, looked fearfully at the duck costume, and said, "I was so happy at first, bumper cars! All by myself! It was so fun! It took me a while to realize that bumper cars are more fun with more people. Why was I having so much fun alone?"

Xiao Yuan, noticing No.2 getting more agitated, calmed him, "Take it slow."

Teammate No.1 offered a bottle of water, "Want some? I bought it from a stall outside the park. It's safe."

Teammate No.2 recoiled, shaking his head vigorously, and continued, "I looked around and only saw the duck. I asked it why I was the only one there. It just stared at me, making my skin crawl. I stopped the car and stood up to leave. Then I remembered that I was on a mission. Why was I in an amusement park?"

Pointing at the burning cars, he said, "The moment I voiced that thought, the car I was in caught fire. Luckily, I always come first in our sprint training. I ran out as fast as I could. When I looked back, this had happened."

He gestured at the inferno, his expression somewhat innocent.

Xiao Yuan fell silent.

Teammate One eagerly began analyzing, "I was initially napping on the little train, then I abruptly woke up and remembered our mission. Suddenly, the train caught fire! It happened so fast. Thankfully, Yuan quickly kicked me off and saved me. Anyway, by comparing our experiences, it seems waking up is the trigger that sets these rides on fire."

Teammate Two pondered, "Why does the place catch fire when we wake up? And how does this relate to the ghost you're talking about?"

Teammate One was stumped and finally admitted, "I don't know."

"Let's think about this differently," Teammate Two suggested. "Why would the amusement rides catch fire when we wake up? What does the ghost aim to achieve by doing this?"

Teammate One was even more befuddled, muttering, "Why indeed?"

"How would I know when you woke up before I did?" retorted Teammate Two.

Teammate One responded, "Then you think about it."

Xiao Yuan interrupted them, "Next ride."

The next stop was the Ferris wheel.

Standing beneath it, Teammate Two proposed, "If we go by your theory that the ghost might be the park's manager, then if we set the park ablaze, wouldn't he be forced out? Meaning, if we act out a scene saying 'Why am I here? Wasn’t I here to hunt ghosts?' at each ride, we might lure the ghost out?"

Gazing at the Ferris wheel, Xiao Yuan dismissed the idea, "That won't work."