Chapter 91: Roller Coaster

Ahead of Xi Yan, there was only a thicket of shrubs; nothing could be seen at all.

Just as Xi Yan was about to ask again in confusion, the woman stepped in front of him and parted the shrubs.

"Hiss..."

At the sight beyond them, Xi Yan drew in a sharp breath. Behind the thicket lay rotting corpses.

He turned to the woman and asked, "Could it be that all these people were... trying to sneak in?"

The woman nodded. "You're exactly right. Don't let that wire fence fool you; it may not look like much, but the moment you try to climb it or fly over it, you'll die on the spot. I warned them before, but they didn't believe me. I couldn't do anything about it."

As she spoke, she even spread her hands as if to show how innocent she was.

But Xi Yan would never believe this woman's nonsense. Innocent? Impossible. If she had taken those who tried to sneak in to see this place the way she had taken him today, they would never have dared to test their luck in secret.

Thinking of this, Xi Yan had another question. "Senior, why did you bring me here to see this? I suppose others don't get this kind of treatment."

Hearing him, the woman broke into a delighted smile. "You're really quite clever. It's simple, really, because you're polite, and you're rather good-looking. I can't quite bear to let you become flower fertilizer."

Xi Yan was left speechless. Her words reminded him of someone he had met in a previous instance—someone who had also spared him because he was handsome.

It made Xi Yan begin to doubt himself. In the end of the world, did people still care about looks?

"All right, let's go back and see whether your companions have snuck in."

The woman's tone carried a trace of anticipation, as though she very much wanted to see Qing Yan and Lin Shuang die after sneaking inside.

They really were all a bunch of freaks...

Xi Yan silently complained to himself.

When the two returned, they saw that Qing Yan and Lin Shuang, bored out of their minds, were already sitting on a stone nearby, lost in thought.

Seeing that nothing had happened to them, a flash of regret appeared in the woman's eyes, completely unhidden, and Xi Yan could only twitch his mouth helplessly.

The woman came before Qing Yan and Lin Shuang and said, "Made up your mind yet, beauties? Buy your tickets."

Qing Yan ignored her and looked toward Xi Yan. Xi Yan nodded, signaling for them to buy the tickets.

Qing Yan pouted in displeasure and asked the woman, "How much are the tickets?"

"Five thousand points each, but that's only for admission, darling. If you want to play anything inside, you'll have to pay points separately." The woman made no attempt to hide the park's scam.

She had thought such a price would drive the three of them away, but she had not expected Qing Yan to be a hidden tycoon of points.

Qing Yan gave the woman a disdainful glance, then looked at Xi Yan, and finally said to her, "I'll pay for mine and this man's. The woman's can be paid by herself."

Xi Yan had never imagined Qing Yan would actually pay for him. He had originally thought he would need to beg her.

Lin Shuang looked at Qing Yan with neither laughter nor tears in her eyes, thinking that even if she had to pay the points herself, there was no need to make such a blatant distinction.

Seeing how readily Qing Yan agreed, the smile on the woman's face gradually disappeared, replaced by a cold expression. "Fine, here you are."

After the transaction was completed, the woman handed the tickets to the three of them, and they entered the tourist park.

On the way, Lin Shuang asked Xi Yan what the woman at the ticket booth had brought him away to do. Xi Yan told them everything from beginning to end, without hiding a thing.

After hearing the whole story, Qing Yan voiced her own doubt. "You believed her? You believed such a crude lie?"

Xi Yan did not understand why she would say that. "A lie?"

"Yes, a lie. What she said was probably half true and half false. The wire fence being a problem is real, but dying instantly is false. Her purpose was to swindle points."

"You mean... we could get in without paying five thousand points at all?" Xi Yan pressed.

Qing Yan nodded and explained patiently, "Yes. I think five hundred points would probably have been enough. She told you that just so you'd buy tickets and come in. She was deliberately cheating you out of points."

Xi Yan suddenly felt as though someone had taken him for a fool. Hearing Qing Yan say it that way, it did seem to make sense, but he still wanted to argue on his own behalf.

"Maybe she wasn't lying... um... how did you figure that out?"

"Because I've encountered it before. Not just me—Lin Shuang has too, right?"

Qing Yan said it indifferently.

Xi Yan looked at Lin Shuang. Lin Shuang nodded and smiled awkwardly. "I did run into something like that. Later I learned my lesson. But Qing Yan is only guessing; maybe this place really does require five thousand points. Don't think too much about it."

"Why are you comforting him? This kind of scam is looked down on by survivors in the main city. Too crude." Qing Yan continued her mockery.

"Then... why didn't you say so earlier..." Xi Yan felt somewhat hurt. He had never expected that one day he would also be treated like a fat sheep to be slaughtered.

"Because there was no need. Five thousand points isn't much, and it's easy enough to get. I couldn't be bothered to argue with that woman." Qing Yan said this with a haughty air.

Xi Yan said nothing more. After all, he was poor, and Qing Yan had paid for his ticket. If she wanted to say whatever she liked, so be it.

At that moment, Xi Yan suddenly sighed inwardly: having money was truly wonderful.

The three of them found a map near the entrance to the park. According to it, getting through the park required passing through three large sections, and all three were entertainment areas.

There were roller coasters, skiing, swings...

Swings? Xi Yan was skeptical at the sight of that. Swings actually cost money?

These three amusements did not require too many points, but they were not cheap either. A roller coaster cost one thousand points per ride, skiing cost the same, and a swing cost three thousand points each time.

"Why are swings so expensive? Aren't they supposed to be common?" Xi Yan asked.

Lin Shuang stroked her chin, thought for a moment, and replied, "Are swings common? We... as children, only ever saw them from far away. As for actually getting to play on one, that was harder than reaching the heavens."

"Hmph, I have naturally played on one, though not to the point of being common. That was only because I had money." At this moment, Qing Yan did not forget to preserve her proud air.

Xi Yan blinked in confusion. Swings were so uncommon in their world? That shouldn't be...

"All right, I've memorized the park's layout and the various attractions. Let's go." Qing Yan urged them on.

Xi Yan and Lin Shuang naturally had no objections, and the two followed behind Qing Yan.

The three wanted to cross this enormous park directly, so all the various entertainment facilities along the way did not distract them.

But sometimes, lacking desire is a fine thing; yet there are certain things that force you to act. For instance, the roller coaster standing before them now.