What lay before them was indeed the sa core they had just left behind. A circular space with countless passageways that led to various parts of the labyrinth, a stretch of night sky full of stars and—
"No, sothing is not right," Shen Nianzu analyzed as he inspected his surroundings. "The pendulum clock is not here, and the tear in the sky due to the Nightmare’s appearance has vanished as well. Moreover, there are no traces of battle around..." Pursing his lips, he ca to a solid conclusion, "This is not the core, but a space that looks similar."
"Thank goodness...!" Gu Luoxin almost collapsed in relief upon hearing that. He clutched his chest, fear still lingering in his heart. "As long as we’re not sent back to the core, everything is fine!"
Knowing they had really left the core was a comfort. However, one question remained in everyone’s mind – if this was not the labyrinth’s core, then what was this place?
The five of them cautiously approached the center to gain a clearer view. "Have we really entered the ’Reflection of Emotions’?" Qiuqiu gingerly asked. "If so, should we find the exit?"
"That’s indeed how things usually go, but..." Shen Nianzu’s expression grew somber as he cast a sweeping glance over the nurous paths that surrounded them. How were they supposed to choose the route that would lead them to the exit?
"Hey," Noir prodded the baby tour guide’s back with his knee. "Do you know the way out?"
"Grrrr!" Toki bared his sharp baby teeth at Noir before turning away with a loud harrumph, faithfully continuing his role as Gu Luoxin’s leg pendant.
"This little brat..." Noir’s face abruptly darkened as he cracked his knuckles. Before the two of them could descend into a fight right there and then, Gu Luoxin swooped in to save the day as he ruffled the fluffy hair of his leg pendant, chuckling awkwardly. "Hehe, Toki. I know we might be asking too much of you, but... do you know the direction to the exit?"
Toki’s large tail wagged behind his butt as he enjoyed the gentle strokes. Butting his head against Gu Luoxin’s palm, he gave a crisp, "Chirp!"
"Um..." Gu Luoxin tilted his head in confusion. "So, do you know or..."
"Chirp!" Toki shook his head firmly.
Gu Luoxin’s expression imdiately turned crestfallen. "I guess that’s a no, then."
"That is reasonable," Ying remarked with a thoughtful look. "Even in amusent parks, the guide can only lead us to places. After that, it’s our part to go through each attraction until we reach the exit."
"So, just like the previous attraction, do we also need to navigate through this one to reach the exit?" Qiuqiu made a guess, earning her a nod of agreent from Ying. She then continued to ask, "But what kind of attraction are we supposed to experience here?"
In the ’Echo of the Past’, tourists were given a glimpse of the peaceful world before the apocalypse. In the ’Dinsional Carousel’, they were led through different civilizations on horseback. In the ’Unfinished Universe’, they needed to nd the broken flow of ti in order to reach the exit. In the ’Endless Staircase’, they ought to climb their way up the stairs with no end in sight.
In retrospect, the nas of those attractions had given them a hint of the challenges they were about to face.
Then, what about the ’Reflection of Emotions’?
Shen Nianzu lowered his gaze in thought. What kind of emotions should they reflect on, and what did it have to do with the ti and space? And most importantly, why did the future Shen Nianzu warn them to avoid this attraction? Alas, he had not co to an answer yet when a loud rumble shook the foundation of the ground they were standing on.
"Ah—!" Gu Luoxin and Qiuqiu cried out in surprise as they attempted to regain their balance.
Ying asked somberly, "Is it starting?"
Indeed, it appeared that the attraction would start soon, but the circumstances seed far from favorable. Noir imdiately took a wary stance as he faced the dark passage, "Sothing is coming."
The five of them instinctively ford a circle with their backs to each other, each facing a different direction because... they noticed that the sound had not co from one direction alone! This situation was awfully similar to the one they had just been through before – they were surrounded!
"W–What is it?!" Gu Luoxin began to feel flustered. "It can’t be those damn Chrono beasts again, can it?!"
Alas, it seed like he had spoken too soon because the next mont, the familiar steel army burst forth from the passage, so infuriatingly formidable with their intricate clockwork components and luminous watch eyes.
"Fuck!" Shen Nianzu, Noir and Ying cursed in unison, their expressions twisted in annoyance.
Until when did they have to deal with these ti-manipulating creatures?! However, things did not end there, as another type of creature erged from a different passage.
"Zombies?!"
A massive horde of zombies appeared on their line of sight— their clothes tattered and splashed with blood, their complexion unnaturally pale with black veins snaking beneath their skins. Their eyes were turbid white, thick yellow saliva dripping out of their bloodied mouth, growls emanating from their throat. Brandishing their sharp claws, they closed in on the players with stiff and jerky movents.
The appearance of these two creatures were akin to a fuse that triggered the ergence of many others.
Qiuqiu scread out in horror as she beheld the grotesque creatures that crawled out of the passageway in front of her. Those beings looked mostly human, aside from the lower half of their faces where bloody tentacles squird out. Instead of suction cups, what lay on the end of each tentacle was a child’s hand.
"Hehe... ehehe..."
A chorus of children’s eerie laughter resonated from the creatures’ chests, and upon closer inspection, Qiuqiu could see nurous pairs of eyes blinking at her. "W–What are these abominable creatures?!" she shrieked, terror reflected in her eyes.
"Impossible..." Shen Nianzu stared at the creatures in disbelief. "They ca from the ’Echo of the Past’, an attraction I’ve been through before! Why would they be here?!"
"The man-eating plants from the ’Unfinished Universe’ are here as well," Ying pointed out as she drew her arrow and made the first shot.
"D–D–Dinosaurs!!" Gu Luoxin scread in fright. "The dinosaurs from the Dinsional Carousel are here too ahh!!"
"The faceless people from the hospital," Noir hissed under his breath. In his hand, a long black spear materialized out of thin air and he thrust it forward, taking out a bunch of creatures in the matter of seconds.
Lastly, a pack of creatures with small bodies similar to monkeys showed up. They had a furry body, crimson eyes, sharp teeth, and emitted a sound akin to the cuckoo’s calling. If the future Shen Nianzu, Gu Luoxin or Grandpa were here, they would be able to testify that these creatures had co from the ’Opposite Morality World’, and had given them quite a lot of trouble.
Seven kinds of creatures from various attractions had shown up here. They were completely besieged!
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