At the sight of the Puppet Girl before him, Sun Jingyu immediately put the Demon Eye in his inventory, turned, and ran out of the restaurant.
He really didn't want to deal with the Puppet Girl, not even for a second.
In the blink of an eye, he dashed out of the restaurant, leaving the Puppet Girl far behind.
The amusement park map was etched deep in his mind, and he ran toward the exit without stopping.
The exit was only four or five hundred meters away, and he wouldn't come across any rides or attractions along the way.
That meant he would clear the instance as soon as he reached the exit.
He was only a hair's breadth from success. Nothing could go wrong.
A few minutes later, he reached the amusement park exit.
The exit consisted of two enormous iron gates. They were shut tight and secured with a lock.
How could this be?
Sun Jingyu looked at the gates in surprise. This was clearly the exit, but the gates were shut tight.
This really shouldn't have been the case.
He wanted to climb over them, but quickly dismissed the idea. There was a sign on the gates that read:
No climbing!
That meant he absolutely couldn't climb over, because it would violate the amusement park's rules.
But locking the exit gates and forbidding people from climbing over was going too far.
He couldn't destroy the gates or climb over them, so he couldn't get out at all!
Wasn't this a vicious cycle? There was no way he could get out of here.
He could only leave safely if he used a key to open the lock on the gates.
But where was he supposed to find a key in an amusement park this big?
Sweat beaded on Sun Jingyu's forehead as he grew anxious.
He had been so close to clearing the instance, and now this had suddenly happened!
He had never heard that clearing this instance required unlocking the gates himself.
Now he was almost certain to die.
"Could it be because I completed the hidden mission?" Sun Jingyu wondered.
He had completed the hidden mission and killed the one-eyed chef, so the park director's power would increase greatly.
That was why he couldn't leave.
Footsteps sounded behind him, and Sun Jingyu hurriedly turned to look.
The little doll girl was skipping leisurely toward him.
Now he knew why the Puppet Girl hadn't chased him: it knew he couldn't get away.
Sun Jingyu suddenly felt a little helpless as he watched the Puppet Girl approach.
The situation wasn't exciting in the least, nor did it look dangerous, but he really was on the edge between life and death.
As the Puppet Girl slowly approached, he could only lean against the gates and watch her warily.
At that moment, the Puppet Girl took out a key. She pinched it between her fingers, held out her arm, and gave it a shake.
Sun Jingyu spotted the key at once. Seeing that its shape seemed to match the keyhole, he immediately understood that it was the key to the gates.
It turned out he still had a chance to clear the instance, as long as he could get the key from the girl.
But he knew the Puppet Girl would never hand it over easily.
Absolutely not.
The Puppet Girl stopped and smiled at Sun Jingyu. Her smile was utterly innocent, as though she really had only come to deliver the key.
Sun Jingyu hesitated, but finally approached her with caution.
He had no choice. He had to get that key; it was his only hope of leaving.
If he gave up, he would never have another chance.
When he reached the Puppet Girl, he held out his hand to take the key, but she suddenly pulled her hand back and clenched it in her palm.
What does that mean? You won't give it to me?
Sun Jingyu wasn't all that surprised. He had never expected the Puppet Girl to hand over the key easily.
But he couldn't snatch it by force either, because he might accidentally hurt the doll, which would shatter at a touch.
He had cleared so many instances and seen every kind of ghost and monster, but he had no way to deal with the Puppet Girl.
In any other instance, he could have killed as many dolls like her as came at him, but in this instance, he really had no way to deal with her at all.
"What will it take for you to give me the key?" Sun Jingyu asked.
The Puppet Girl said nothing. Instead, she pointed at her eyes.
Eyes?
Sun Jingyu understood, but he pretended not to.
He really didn't want to give the girl the Demon Eye he had worked so hard to obtain.
He pointed at his own eyes and said, "Do you want my eyes in exchange?"
The Puppet Girl shook her head, still smiling.
Sun Jingyu couldn't play dumb anymore, but he really wasn't willing to give the Demon Eye to the Puppet Girl.
Absolutely not!
"You want that one-eyed chef's eye, right? But I have to take it back with me. Can I give you something else?"
The smile vanished from the Puppet Girl's face. She looked a little angry, but she was just as cute when she was angry.
But Sun Jingyu wouldn't be fooled by the Puppet Girl's cute appearance, because he knew she was nowhere near as harmless as she looked.
Sun Jingyu continued, "That thing is really important to me. I really can't give it to you.
"I can give you everything I have, but not that!"
The girl glared at him, completely unmoved.
Sun Jingyu felt utterly helpless. He absolutely didn't want to hand over the Demon Eye, but...
He had no other option if he didn't.
He felt he had reached another dead end.
Was there really no other way?
While he was hesitating, an enormous chainsaw suddenly appeared in the girl's hand. It was much bigger than her body.
The chainsaw buzzed.
Sun Jingyu sensed trouble. The Puppet Girl had tried courtesy before force; it was determined to get the Demon Eye, and now it was going to make its move.
Sun Jingyu hurriedly took a step back. The girl advanced without haste.
By the look of it, either he handed over the Demon Eye, or the Puppet Girl would saw him in half.
"Wait!" Sun Jingyu shouted.
But the Puppet Girl showed no sign of stopping and continued to advance.
Sun Jingyu hurriedly backed away. He really had no way to deal with her.
If he fought back, the Puppet Girl's body would probably shatter into dozens of pieces. He would be wiped out by the rules of Paradise, with no chance of survival.
But he couldn't just stand there and let the Puppet Girl saw him in half, could he?
"Stop! I agree, I agree!" Sun Jingyu hurriedly said.
"I'll give you the Demon Eye, and you give me the key!"
The Puppet Girl immediately stopped, put away the chainsaw in her hand, and looked at Sun Jingyu with a smile.
Her smile was as innocent as ever.
Sun Jingyu felt helpless. He knew there was no other way; he could only hand over the Demon Eye.
He took the Demon Eye out of his inventory and held it in his hand.
"I'll give it to you, but where's the key? We exchange them at the same time!"
The Puppet Girl held out her hand without hesitation. The key lay in its palm.
Sun Jingyu took a few more steps back and said, "You take a few steps back too. We'll keep some distance between us, then each put our item on the ground."
The Puppet Girl agreed and slowly backed away.
The two were now a little over forty meters apart. Sun Jingyu put the Demon Eye on the ground, and the Puppet Girl put down the key.
Sun Jingyu said, "All right, you come toward me, and I'll go toward you. We'll each pick up our own item."
The Puppet Girl nodded happily and walked toward Sun Jingyu, while he walked toward her.
They passed each other and each headed for the item they wanted.
Just as the girl was about to reach the Demon Eye, Sun Jingyu suddenly stopped.
He was in the middle now.
He was a control-type Ability User. Both the key and the Demon Eye were within range of his ability!
Just as the girl was about to pick up the Demon Eye, it suddenly flew up and returned to Sun Jingyu's hand. The key on the other side likewise flew into his hand.
His plan had worked, and Sun Jingyu couldn't help laughing.
Though the Puppet Girl could play tricks, she ultimately wasn't smart enough.
With the key in hand, Sun Jingyu rushed to the gates without hesitation. Now he only had to open the lock, and he could leave the instance.