Roller coaster…
A dozen heads soared through the air… Xie ng ng’s mind was filled with a ghastly flashbacks. She glanced at Yu Xiao with a desperate plea, hoping she would put an end to this madness.
“Co on then.” Yu Xiao stuffed the talismans in her pocket, and leaned on the car. “This little car is quite nifty, I’ll take you there.”
Xie ng ng: “…”
She couldn’t recall how she had gotten into the car, and before she knew it, they were nearly at the roller coaster. Yu Xiao was engaged in conversation with the others, casually describing the horrifying sight they had witnessed on the ride where a bunch of headless corpses had neatly returned to the starting point.
“Wow.” Zhou Xiao Zhen gasped in awe, “That’s so thrilling.”
Hearing this remark, Xie ng ng rubbed her forehead, wondering if she had misheard. Was this situation thrilling? Wasn’t it horrifying?
The one who seed a bit more sensible, Zhao Lan, said, “Smiley, do you have any clue what caused it?”
“It has to be ghosts.” Yu Xiao said, “When the roller coaster stopped halfway, I saw the people on top staring in one direction with terror, they must have spotted sothing.”
“It’s fine if it’s ghosts.” Zhou Xiao Zhen said, “I’m afraid it’s like sothing from Conan*, where there’s a fishing line wrapped around the track, and it slices off people’s heads.”
(*He is the protagonist of the popular detective manga and ani series Detective Conan (also known as Case Closed), where he solves various mysteries and cris.)
It’s fine if it’s ghosts…
Xie ng ng drew deep breaths, feeling her heart strain under the weight of this conversation. She couldn’t bear to listen to their insane chatter any longer.
“Um…” She had to cut them off, “I didn’t see anything in the haunted house, did you see any clues?”
Zhou Xiao Zhen gave her a puzzled look, “You didn’t see it?” She pointed upwards, “Right above our heads, there was a massive number 4, how could you miss such a huge character?”
“…” Xie ng ng bit her lip, feeling wronged. She wanted to explain, it was pitch-black, she was terrified, and she had to muster so energy to play mahjong, who had the ti to look up? But when she faced the three people in front of her, she couldn’t utter these words, because they all saw it.
“The clues are all numbers.” Zhao Lan mused, and turned to Yu Xiao, “Smiley, what do you think this ans?”
Yu Xiao shrugged, “I’m not sure yet, but as long as we can get all the clues, the answer should be obvious.”
That was their only hope for now.
At that mont, Zhou Xiao Zhen suddenly pointed ahead and said, “Look!”
The three of them gazed as the roller coaster zood by, flinging another dozen severed heads into the air.
Zhou Xiao Zhen muttered, “Every bloody day, how many heads are going to drop off?”
“Ah.” Zhao Lan exhaled, she loathed seeing this kind of spectacle, but tragically she had grown accustod to it, “We ought to figure out how to get through the roller coaster safely.”
The car pulled up next to the ice cream shop, Zhou Xiao Zhen treated everyone to an ice cream, and the four of them lounged under the umbrella licking their frozen treats.
Xie ng ng gazed up at the roller coaster with a gloomy expression, when Yu Xiao suddenly addressed her, “Missy.”
“Hmm?” Xie ng ng turned her head and t Yu Xiao’s face, which was feigning cuteness but betraying excitent, and she felt a sinking feeling, “Uh…”
“Missy, your friend hasn’t played any of the attractions yet, right?” Yu Xiao blinked, “Does she need to buy talismans?”
Xie ng ng: “…”
“Yeah, yeah.” Zhou Xiao Zhen also recalled their main objective of coming to the treatnt instance, which was to earn as many points as possible, “If she also wants us to help her play through an attraction, we only charge 10 points.”
Xie ng ng: “…”
“10 points is just the price for one person.” Zhao Lan chid in, “If her teammate, that bloke who talks a lot, also wants to go, we have to charge him 10 points too.”
Xie ng ng: “…”
Yu Xiao gazed at her with anticipation, “Why don’t you give her a ring?” She suggested, “Ask her to co and join us, yeah?”
A wave of nausea swept over Xie ng ng, and she felt dizzy and bewildered as she dialled Qian Xin’s number.
…
After the call ended, she clutched her phone and groaned to the sky, what the hell am I doing? Why do I follow their every whim?
*
*
Qian Xin and Liu Fei were gawking at the bungee jump, when her phone buzzed. They had witnessed several groups of people plumt to their deaths on the attraction, but the queue was still endless.
The bungee jump was not their first choice, they had wanted to try the giant pendulum, but that was even more horrifying. Qian Xin watched in a daze as the staff hauled away the bloody and mangled corpses from the bungee jump, while the other visitors seed oblivious, and eagerly took their places.
“Hey!” Liu Fei nudged Qian Xin’s shoulder gently, “Your phone is buzzing.”
“Huh? Oh!” Qian Xin snapped out of her trance, and answered the phone hastily, “Hello, ng ng, I… go find you? Where are you? Roller coaster… OK.”
“What’s up?” Liu Fei asked.
“ng ng wants us to join her at the roller coaster.” Qian Xin’s brow furrowed as she relayed the ssage. “Sothing’s wrong with her, I can tell. I have to go and see for myself.”
Liu Fei shrugged and followed her. He had no interest in any of the attractions, they all made his stomach churn and his palms sweat. He preferred to watch from a safe distance, or better yet, not watch at all.
They had to cross the park to reach the roller coaster, passing by the bungee jump that lood over them like a giant spider web. Liu Fei shuddered at the sight of people hurling themselves into the air, screaming and laughing to their deaths. How could anyone enjoy that?
By the ti they arrived at the roller coaster, Yu Xiao and her friends had polished off their ice cream cones and were lounging on a bench. Qian Xin spotted ng ng among them and dashed towards her, calling out her na.
Liu Fei’s eyes fell on Yu Xiao, who was languidly leaning against Zhao Lan’s shoulder with a smug smile. She had removed her magic glasses, but Liu Fei still detested her.
Qian Xin plopped down next to ng ng, her face etched with concern. “What’s going on, ng ng? You sound terrible. You haven’t tried any of the attractions yet, have you? I haven’t either, they’re too bloody terrifying…”
She was cut off by ng ng’s grimace, as if she had swallowed sothing bitter. Her voice was laced with irony. “We’ve already done two attractions, actually.”
Qian Xin’s mouth dropped open. She stared at ng ng in disbelief. “…I didn’t have the guts to…what?!” She shook her head, thinking she had misheard. “You said what?”
Xie ng ng gave her a helpless look. “Our two teams, we’ve already done two attractions. The pirate ship and the haunted house.”
“…”
The silence stretched on, until Liu Fei broke it with a disbelieving question. “No way? You’re kidding , right? You’ve already found the clues?”
“Mm-hmm.” Xie ng ng bobbed her head, “We have. The pirate ship and the haunted house both had clues for us.”
“This…” Liu Fei goggled at them, “How on earth did you manage that?”
“Well…” Xie ng ng pondered for a bit and said, “It’s no use explaining, you wouldn’t be able to do it anyway. They wanted
to bring you over.”
She didn’t bother to elaborate, just told him the plain truth.
Qian Xin followed her gaze and saw Yu Xiao and her friends, their faces radiant with smiles, their eyes warm and inviting.
“You?” Qian Xin said, “What are you after from us?”
Zhou Xiao Zhen leaned forward, her eyes gleaming with excitent. “How about the roller coaster? For a re 10 points, we’ll take you up there and ensure you co down in one piece, unscathed and exhilarated.”
“What are you babbling about?” Liu Fei felt like he was facing three nutters, “How can you promise that?”
Zhou Xiao Zhen jabbed her finger at Xie ng ng, who was slumped on the chair, pale and trembling. “If you don’t trust us, ask her. “
Liu Fei and Qian Xin turned their heads in unison.
Xie ng ng lifted her eyelids with effort and gave a few heavy nods. “They can guarantee it,” she croaked. “I had to pay 10 points to escape from the haunted house. It was hell in there.”
Qian Xin gasped.
She and Xie ng ng had been friends since childhood. Xie ng ng would never lie to her, especially not about sothing like this. So how could it be possible? How could these three strangers, who looked so ordinary and harmless, have such power and influence over the ga? How could they ensure not only their own survival, but also anyone else’s, in the most horrific and dangerous attractions? What the hell were they…
“Do you want to try?” Yu Xiao interrupted her thoughts, fixing her with a piercing gaze. She smiled, but it was not a friendly smile. It was a predatory smile, full of challenge and temptation. “Only 10 points, oh. A bargain, really. You won’t regret it.”
Qian Xin felt a lump in her throat. She needed so ti to think.
Yu Xiao shifted her attention to Liu Fei, who was standing next to Qian Xin, his face a mask of indecision. “Do you want to try?” she repeated, her voice low and seductive. “Don’t you want to feel the thrill, the adrenaline, the freedom?”
Liu Fei glanced at the huge roller coaster track that lood over them, a twisted tal snake that promised only death and terror. He swallowed hard. “How can you guarantee I’ll be fine?” he asked, his voice cracking slightly.
“I’ll go with you,” Yu Xiao said, as if that was enough to reassure him. “I won’t joke about my own safety. I value my life too much. Can you trust us now?”
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a dozen talismans, paper charms with intricate symbols and patterns. She waved them in front of Liu Fei’s face, making them flutter like butterflies. “Oh, by the way,” she added casually. “Want to buy so talismans? Cheap, yeah.”
…
Liu Fei clutched the ten talismans in his hand, feeling a wave of confusion wash over him. He had co here with a clear goal: to complete the mission and earn points. How had he been persuaded to part with 30 points in exchange for these paper charms?
He glared at the long-haired woman who had sold them to him. He had despised her from the mont he saw her, with her smug smile and her piercing eyes. Why had he fallen for her tricks?
Yu Xiao, anwhile, was ecstatic as she checked her own points. She felt a surge of hope and excitent. She was almost there. She could leave this hellish place soon.
“Thank you, guys.” She said with genuine gratitude. “You’ve been very generous. Co again next ti.”
Next ti…
Xie ng ng rubbed her face, trying to erase the traces of fear and exhaustion. She looked at Yu Xiao with a mix of curiosity and suspicion. “Can you tell us now, how are we supposed to get past the roller coaster?”
Yu Xiao held up a finger and said, “The first thod, you’ve seen it for yourselves, right? The roller coaster stops halfway through, and then starts again. That’s when the tourists’ heads drop like ripe fruits. I think there’s a ghost on the track, ssing with the ride. So we can kill the ghost when the car stops, and then we can co back safely.”
“But that’s not a sure thing.” Liu Fei objected. “You don’t know if there’s really a ghost up there, or if you can kill it.”
“That’s true.” Yu Xiao admitted. “So I have a second thod. After we get on the car, we’ll probably see the clue. It’s hidden sowhere on the ride. Then we don’t ride the car back, but jump off when it stops. That way we can avoid losing our heads.”
Liu Fei felt a surge of panic and anger as he heard her words. “Are you taking a piss?” He shouted. “The track is bloody high, we’d be dead if we jumped off!”
Yu Xiao rolled her eyes and waved her hand dismissively. “That’s why you need to plan ahead, duh. I spotted so parachutes on sale in the amusent park.” She said. “And I’ve got loads of ergency healing talismans here, so you won’t have to fret about getting injured.”
Xie ng ng dabbed the sweat from her forehead and said, “Can’t we do sothing less dangerous?”
Yu Xiao shrugged and sighed. “We could, but it’s a pain in the arse.”
Xie ng ng, Qian Xin, and Liu Fei leaned in eagerly. “Tell us!”
Yu Xiao: “Let’s destroy the roller coaster~”
“…”
The three of them gaped at her, speechless, as if they had seen a Martian.
Zhao Lan shook her head. “That’s too much hassle.”
Zhou Xiao Zhen, on the other hand, was thrilled. “Wow, I love that idea.” She clapped her hands. “Let’s go with the third thod!”
Zhao Lan frowned with worry. “Wouldn’t the attending doctor kick up a fuss about that?”
Yu Xiao snorted and shook her head. “Doubt it.” She said, rembering the two attending doctors she knew. “Don’t they not give a shit about anything?”
The others: “…”
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