Chapter Ninety-Two: The Person on the Cave Ceiling

The roller coaster was hemmed in by a wooden fence, and to leave this place, one had to pass through it. There was no road near the coaster; the only way in was through the attraction itself.

But merely entering required paying points. Only then did Xi Yan understand why the woman selling tickets at the entrance had deliberately mentioned that the amusement rides cost extra points.

It was a trap laid out in plain sight, the kind with warning signs posted in advance.

“Looks like we can’t get out of here without spending points. I suppose the next two areas we have to pass through will be the same,” Lin Shuang complained wearily.

“Pay it. I don’t want to stay here any longer. Something about this place feels wrong,” Qing Yan said, rubbing her arms, a chill seeming to creep up her back.

The three of them came to the sign outside the coaster, where a notice was posted:

Park Attraction — Roller Coaster:

Introduction: This attraction is designed to let you experience a different kind of thrill, so a fee of points is required. One person, one thousand points. No time limit. As long as the player has the stamina, they may keep riding indefinitely.

If a player clears all the roller coasters in this area within half an hour, they may receive two thousand points upon leaving the area, with no upper limit.

This area is truly a fine place to earn points. Come and give it a try.

“Why does this announcement look so odd?” Xi Yan frowned slightly, reading it over and over, yet still unable to pinpoint the problem at first glance.

“It seems like you can actually earn points here,” Lin Shuang said.

Qing Yan, who had always been rather prickly and proud, suddenly fell silent. She stared at the rules without saying a word, her expression unusually grave.

“Qing Yan, did you think of something?” Xi Yan asked.

Qing Yan shook her head, withdrew her gaze, summoned Xiao Jin, and climbed onto Xiao Jin’s shoulder. Then, turning slightly toward Xi Yan and Lin Shuang, she said, “Let’s pay the points and go in. Maybe it’s fun inside.”

With that, she rode Xiao Jin into the roller coaster area.

The points were paid by voice input.

The moment Qing Yan passed through the gate, a voice suddenly sounded.

“Please confirm your identity and the required points payment.”

Qing Yan thought for a moment, then replied, “Qing Yan and Xi Yan, two people, two thousand points.”

“Two people, two thousand points. Confirm?”

“Confirm.”

“Verification passed. Please enjoy yourselves…”

Xi Yan, following behind Qing Yan, suddenly felt as though he looked like some pampered lover being kept by a wealthy woman, a strange and bitter sweetness washing over him.

Lin Shuang then paid in the same way, all the while unable to help sighing inwardly at the unfairness of having no one pay her points for her.

...

The three of them passed through the gate and fully entered the roller coaster zone.

There were all kinds of roller coasters here: launch coasters, ones that locked over the shoulders, ones that restrained the whole body, and even oddities like ones that only secured the hands or the legs...

Xi Yan thought the first few were still somewhat normal, but the ones that only bound the legs or the hands were simply not the kind of thing any living person should ride.

The sight of them made him immediately lose his nerve. After riding those abnormal contraptions, one might not die, but one would surely lose a soul.

Water lay below every coaster. Though it seemed as if a fall probably would not kill anyone, Xi Yan still did not want to take the risk. Even if points could be earned, his life mattered more.

But Qing Yan seemed very interested in the roller coasters. She walked around the entire area, read every coaster’s rules, then turned around and looked at Xi Yan with eager anticipation.

“Let’s try this one. How about it?”

Xi Yan looked up and saw that the one Qing Yan wanted to try was a launch coaster.

He had once ridden one like this with his classmates. It was decent enough, though it was easy to wrench your neck. Xi Yan remembered that the last time he rode it, he had strained his neck so badly it took a full week to recover.

“Qing Yan, why do you want to ride this one?”

Qing Yan pressed a finger lightly against her lower lip and thought very seriously for a moment before answering, “Because it’s thrilling, I guess. I don’t know why either. I just suddenly really want to ride it.”

After hearing this, Xi Yan frowned slightly and examined Qing Yan from head to toe. He could not shake the feeling that Qing Yan was a little strange today.

At that moment, Lin Shuang on the side also seemed to develop an intense interest all at once. Her eyes lit up as she stared at the coaster in front of her, and without turning her head, she said to Xi Yan, “Xi Yan, let’s give it a try. I think it looks thrilling too...”

“Mm... all right...” Xi Yan did not refuse the two of them. Since the points had already been spent, they might as well enjoy themselves.

Hearing Xi Yan agree, Qing Yan and Lin Shuang immediately rushed toward the boarding entrance of the coaster.

There were not many people in this coaster area. At a glance, it seemed as though only the three of them were there, but Xi Yan felt that there were people farther away as well. They were not in the amusement park zone, but in the area beyond it—the ski area.

“Xi Yan! Come on, hurry up!”

Before Xi Yan could continue looking into the distance, Qing Yan and Lin Shuang were already urging him anxiously to get on the coaster.

Xi Yan pressed his lips together and walked over.

There were no attendants at the entrance, only a sign listing the rules for use.

The sign merely explained how to fasten the safety restraints properly, and nothing more.

With great reluctance, Xi Yan was forced to take his seat. Since this was a coaster that locked the entire body in place and looked very safe, he felt a little more at ease.

After the three of them buckled themselves in, a female system voice suddenly rang out from the coaster.

“The launch coaster is about to begin. Please ensure your personal belongings are secured. Please ensure your safety restraints are fastened. Countdown to launch.”

“Three...”

“Two...”

“One...”

When the countdown ended, a creaking sound began, and the coaster slowly started moving, though very slowly at first.

Once it reached the launch point, with a sudden whoosh, the coaster shot forward at high speed along the track.

At first, Xi Yan did not think anything was strange. But when he passed through one of the tunnels along the way and emerged from it, his face immediately turned pale.

Inside that tunnel, he had just seen many people hanging from the ceiling. They were indeed human, though whether they were alive was uncertain, since all of them had their eyes closed.

Moreover, there seemed to be many tubes connected to their bodies. Because they were moving too fast, Xi Yan could not see where the tubes were attached.

The coaster passed through another tunnel. Both tunnels were very short, but Xi Yan saw the same thing again in this one.

This time he saw more clearly. Among those hanging from the ceiling, some looked as though they were still alive, while others seemed to have already been dead for a very long time.

Just then, Xi Yan suddenly noticed something that had little to do with the situation at hand.