Chapter 139: Continuing Exploration of the Amusement Park

If it weren't for Xi Yan clutching desperately onto the shoulder-mounted safety restraint, he probably would have been flung right out of the roller coaster.

Even so, as he clung to the metal bracket of the harness, the roller coaster continued its violent journey, hurtling through sharp turns and sheer vertical drops.

With no other choice, Xi Yan held onto the support with all his might, fighting to keep from falling.

The roller coaster was terrifyingly high; a fall from this altitude meant certain death.

Fortunately, his physical attributes had been enhanced, or else his grip would have failed him long ago, sending him plummeting to his doom.

Qing Yan's situation was identical, save for the presence of Little Gold. The moment she realized she was about to fall, she summoned Little Gold, who instantly transformed into a majestic unicorn and caught her on its back.

Without missing a beat, Qing Yan rode over to Xi Yan, extended her hand, and urged frantically, "Quick, grab my hand and jump onto Little Gold's back!"

Struggling fiercely, Xi Yan managed to offer his hand to Qing Yan. She grasped it tightly and, with a powerful yank, hauled him up onto the unicorn's back.

The next instant, Little Gold carried the two of them down to solid ground and vanished.

The roller coaster raced on, completely unaffected by their escape.

They were not the only passengers aboard; the ride was filled with other survivors as well as denizens of the instance—the puppet-like homunculi.

As the roller coaster reached its highest peak, a number of survivors were flung from their seats, crashing down onto the ground below in a gruesome display of death.

The puppets, however, remained seated in the roller coaster, completely unharmed.

"Players Number 250 and 251 have violated the rules. This attraction will bar both individuals from further participation!"

"Repeating the broadcast!"

"Players Number 250 and 251 have violated the rules. This attraction will bar both individuals from further participation!"

This time, the system's voice echoed across the entire amusement park, instantly plunging the grounds into an eerie silence.

Xi Yan could vividly feel the gazes of the surrounding survivors shifting toward him and Qing Yan.

Naturally aware of the staring crowd, Qing Yan brushed the dust off her clothes, glared unpleasantly at the onlookers, and snapped, "Is there something fascinating to look at? Do you need me to pluck your eyes out for you?"

Confronted with such a fierce and overbearing threat, the surrounding people quickly averted their eyes and resumed their respective activities.

Following the amusement park-wide system announcement, the puppet that had previously distributed their queue numbers approached the pair once more.

"You two have violated the rules. Please leave this facility immediately."

Xi Yan curled his lip, took Qing Yan by the hand, and led her away from the roller coaster zone.

While Xi Yan was mentally grumbling about the amusement facility, Qing Yan kept her eyes fixed on the hand Xi Yan was holding, a flush returning to her cheeks.

"Qing Yan, don't you agree?"

"Huh?"

Qing Yan hadn't heard a single word of what Xi Yan had just said. Mistaking her absent-mindedness for deep strategizing on how to clear the instance, Xi Yan continued, "I'm saying this instance is truly bizarre. Ever since we arrived in the Eighth Land of Survival, every single trial—whether an instance or something else—has felt designed to mercilessly slaughter the survivors. But this instance is different."

Prompted by Xi Yan's analysis, Qing Yan began to realize it made a lot of sense.

The instances and hazardous zones they had encountered in the Land of Survival previously all shared a striking commonality.

Their ultimate purpose was the complete eradication of survivors—including the instance Xilin had visited before, which actually contained numerous lethal perils, though its low difficulty level had kept them from posing a real threat.

Yet this instance was entirely different; it revealed no overt malice aimed at taking their lives.

Even the clearance guides were openly traded among people.

Why on earth was this instance so "benevolent"?

"Does this instance strike you as... naturally generated?" Xi Yan suddenly blurted out.

Qing Yan froze, failing to grasp his meaning. Weren't all instances naturally generated?

"What do you mean?"

Having been chased out of the roller coaster zone by the puppet, the two of them had stopped just outside its perimeter.

"What I mean is, could the instances we encountered before have been artificially manufactured for specific purposes? But this instance is different; it's a natural product of the Land of Survival. That's why it lacks all those malicious death traps," Xi Yan analyzed.

Xi Yan's hypothesis planted the seed of doubt regarding the Main City in Qing Yan's mind for the very first time.

Seeds of doubt do not sprout in a single day. Ever since Xi Yan had questioned her about the Main City earlier, that lingering doubt had taken root in her heart.

For some reason, today's events bridged back to that very question he had posed before.

How was the Land of Survival created? Did it have a connection to the Main City? And how did instances come into being in the first place?

"Do you think this is what a true instance looks like?" Qing Yan asked.

Xi Yan nodded and continued, "Of course, these are just my speculations. I don't have any concrete evidence."

"Well... should we try other amusement facilities next?" Qing Yan asked.

By now, doubt toward the Main City had taken hold of her, and she resolved to demand answers from the City Lord regarding these questions the moment they returned.

"We definitely have to try them. After all, this instance will take at least thirty days. Since we're bored anyway, who knows? We might stumble upon other new discoveries," Xi Yan said with a grin.

Without a word, Qing Yan simply nodded and obediently followed closely behind Xi Yan.

With that, Xi Yan led Qing Yan toward another entertainment facility.

They had only been expelled and banned from the roller coaster zone; the other attractions remained fully accessible to them.

This time, Xi Yan and Qing Yan arrived at the haunted house.

This haunted house was arguably the most crowded attraction in the entire amusement park.

Drawing from their previous lesson, Xi Yan specifically inspected the ground for any white lines resembling the one in the roller coaster area.

After a careful scan, however, he found no such markings on the ground.

Just then, much like in the roller coaster zone, a puppet walked straight toward them, stopped right in front of them, and announced, "You have stepped into the haunted house zone. Here is your queue number."

Xi Yan instantly knitted his brows, staring in bewilderment at the puppet. How on earth had they stepped into the haunted house zone already?

Qing Yan was equally puzzled, but as she tilted her head in curiosity, she suddenly noticed a row of scholar trees standing beside the haunted house.

Beyond a three-meter radius in front of the haunted house, those trees vanished entirely.

Clearly, those trees served as the boundary line for the zone.