[The Secret of Eternal Night City: Amusement Park], Unraveling the Threads

"There were no Tourist at first, and the Tourist gradually increased over time...?"

Unconsciously, Bai Zhi tapped the table with his hand and narrowed his eyes slightly.

"That's right. Even at night, these Tourist are still Tourist at heart."

VerdantRipple nodded.

"Some Tourist will go to rest; there are designated rest areas in the amusement park. Tourist will continue to enjoy themselves, ignoring all the changes that occur at night."

"I see..."

For some unknown reason, Bai Zhi's expression suddenly became somewhat strange.

"Speaking of which, you should have already found a way to leave this amusement park, right? What's your current progress in the [Eternal Night City Amusement Park] Instance Completion Rate? How many points did you get for each Staff you killed?"

"Well, it seems like I can't hide anything from you."

March-shi glanced thoughtfully at VerdantRipple and then smiled.

"Leaving is certainly possible. As long as you have enough Gray Coin, you can resist the fog and leave this amusement park. Currently, the Clearance Rate of this Dungeon is still very low, only about 2.4%. The number of points you get for each Staff you kill varies, depending on the Staff's strength and your own contribution... So, is there any other problem?"

"As time goes by and the number of Tourist to the amusement park increases, the Staff's skills also improve, right?"

Bai Zhi tapped the table with his hand.

"The amusement park has a limited capacity for Tourist, and eventually the Staff's strength will be fixed at a certain level. However, since new Player arrive every night and are killed to become new Staff, this Dungeon is actually quite difficult to Walkthrough... Aren't you planning to stop wasting time here?"

"That was the original plan, but the fog is gradually encroaching on the Real World. Even if we wanted to leave, we wouldn't be able to, would we?"

West Pavilion Gardener smiled.

"I don't want to return to the Real World only to find it has become a Hell on Earth."

"Hmm... do you have any ideas on how to solve this problem?"

After thinking for a moment, Bai Zhi decided to listen to the other party's opinion first.

"Not yet, but tonight we'll try killing all the Staff first; maybe that will have some Special Effect."

West Pavilion Gardener nodded very frankly.

"If necessary, perhaps we could try killing some Tourist to reduce the number of..."

"Let me ask you a question: where do you think those Tourist might have come from?"

Slightly speechless, Bai Zhi waved his hand, interrupting the other person.

"Or rather, what do you think is the true nature of those Tourist?"

"What? Isn't this Anomaly?"

With hands outstretched, the March-shi smiled and spoke.

"You probably saw it before, how those skeletons who got off the bus gradually transformed into those harmless Tourist, and these Tourist have a lot of Gray Coin on them. I think it might be easier to get Gray Coin from these Tourist... As you can see, this is just an amusement park built for Anomaly."

"What, do you all think so too?"

Raising an eyebrow, Bai Zhi looked at the others.

"You also believe that those Tourist are essentially Anomaly?"

What are your thoughts?

His gaze flickered slightly as West Pavilion Gardener looked at the young man before him.

"I can tell you with absolute certainty that all Tourist to this amusement park initially appear in that form: hordes of skeletons disembarking from a bus, and then, as they travel towards the amusement park, flesh and blood sprout from their White Bones... Is there anything wrong with that?"

"Problems? Of course there are problems."

With a helpless sigh, Bai Zhi began to speak.

"You think these Tourist are essentially Anomaly, but I think they're actually just common Tourist the Real World. The interaction between the Inner World and the Real World has already begun. Who says common won't be affected? Using the White Mist spreading in the Real World as a medium, they're continuously transporting common from the Real World to this amusement park as Tourist... These common should be in a state of slumber in the Real World."

What is the basis for this inference?

Upon hearing Bai Zhi's words, West Pavilion Gardener's brows twitched slightly.

"Is this just speculation? Or do you have any conclusive evidence? How do you explain those Gray Coin that only Tourist took out?"

"These Dungeon existing in the Inner World are essentially an erosion of the Real World. Since the [Erosion Mist] has already eroded the Real World, what makes you think that the mist in the Real World is merely a decoration?"

Bai Zhi spread his hands, looking completely innocent.

"If the fog that has already seeped into the Real World serves to select suitable Tourist for the amusement park, thereby accelerating its encroachment on the Real World, then I think that's pretty far-fetched."

"..."

West Pavilion Gardener frowned.

"And you've mentioned the entry times for these Tourist before. In the beginning, before the [Erosion Mist] could invade the Real World, there were naturally no Tourist in this amusement park. But as time went on, the frequency of each group of Tourist entering the park increased, didn't it? Because the fog began to spread in the Real World, the frequency of Tourist being selected to enter this amusement park naturally increased as well."

Bai Zhi shrugged, his expression noncommittal.

"As for the Gray Coin that Tourist use to buy things, although we don't know their true nature, they must be quite important... Perhaps they're designed to encourage Tourist to spend money in the amusement park, thereby accelerating the park's encroachment on the Real World? This could also explain why we Player encounter hostility and are chased by the Staff when we try to steal their business..."

After thinking for a moment, Bai Zhi nodded.

"Hmm, considering this, the essence of Gray Coin might be something like Soul or lifespans, which could be used to increase the strength of the Staff... Anyway, didn't you say that the Staff's strength is increasing as the number of Tourist increases? It seems like Tourist are a kind of consumable..."

Thinking of this, Bai Zhi frowned slightly.

"Tsk, maybe when Tourist runs out of Gray Coin, he'll officially die in the Real World. If we consider it from that perspective, this amusement park can never be full, because Tourist who have run out of money will keep dying, and new Tourist will keep joining. If this amusement park is allowed to grow and expand, it will evolve into a very terrifying Anomaly... a growth-type Anomaly? If the other Dungeon are like this... Hmm? Why are you all silent? Why are you all staring at me like that?"

"..."

At this moment, all is quiet in this Gazebo.