429. Can't Fall Behind Others

Like a radio that had run out of power, cheerful songs drifted from the Amusement Park.

"Riding my beloved little horse carriage, clop clop, la la la."

Such sounds could be faintly heard. In this desolate wilderness, by the quietly flowing Ling River, such a situation was hardly normal.

Lu Ban glanced at the surveying team member beside him; he had already fainted, so they could be carried back directly.

When Lu Ban turned his gaze to the Amusement Park, he found that the Amusement Park had turned completely dark again, as if the previous bustling scene was just an illusion.

There's a problem.

Lu Ban thought that this Amusement Park might be made of some kind of strange thing, like the movie theater back then, but now there are too many people, and Lu Ban couldn't guarantee that Li Zijian and the others wouldn't encounter other troubles while exploring the Amusement Park.

"Let's go back first."

After picking up the surveying team members and equipment, Lu Ban turned to leave.

Just as he looked in the direction he came from, Lu Ban noticed a small child standing in front of him.

The child's hair was still sparse, and his scalp appeared ulcerated, as if he had some kind of skin disease.

She was a little girl, quite different from the one we had seen before. She was wearing a tattered red coat, and around her neck hung a rusty, decaying lock.

The little girl's eyes were completely black, and her face was Pale and dirty, as if she had just crawled out of the mud.

Lu Ban blinked, and the little girl's figure disappeared.

Only the rustling sound of the wind blowing through the woods echoed in my ears.

Lu Ban glanced at the small town.

They noticed that the town seemed to have lights on.

The breakfast shop near the entrance seemed to be open for business; in the dim light, figures could be seen, causing the lights to flicker.

And from the mountain came a murmur-like song.

"This is truly a blessed place."

Lu Ban roughly understood why the people in this town were moving away.

He carried the surveying team members back to where everyone was waiting. Fortunately, they were all safe and sound.

Lu Ban didn't mention what he had seen or heard, only saying that the surveying team member might have fainted due to low blood sugar.

Perhaps because of what had happened, everyone was quiet on the way back.

It wasn't until we entered the main road from the highway and the surrounding lights became brighter that someone spoke up.

"Speaking of which, I seem to have heard a rumor before, about Jiangcheng Mountain."

"What rumor?"

"In the past, there were often battles in Jiangcheng. In ancient times, a general led his troops to Jiangcheng Mountain and stayed overnight in a mountain god temple. There was only a blind old temple keeper in the temple. He asked the general to pay respects to the mountain god, but the general did not obey. He even smashed the mountain god temple and killed the temple keeper. Later, he angered the mountain god, and the entire army was trapped in Jiangcheng Mountain and has not been able to get out to this day."

"Isn't this a ghost story? You're trying to put a child to sleep here."

"I've heard similar stories, but it happened a few years ago. It seems that Jiangcheng Mountain broke some taboo, and several people die in the villages at the foot of the mountain every year, so the people in those towns moved away."

The people on the bus chatted amongst themselves, sharing the rumors about Jiangcheng Mountain they had heard. Some of them were even versions that Lu Ban had heard from different locations. He didn't know if such a legend was real or just a supernatural tale used to fit the occasion.

As Lu Ban listened, he noticed that several people were looking at him.

The gist of it is that this place sounds unlucky, so why develop real estate here?

"It's not a big problem. It's precisely because there are many supernatural legends that players can feel immersed in the place and have a truly immersive experience."

Lu Ban patted his chest reassuring everyone that there was nothing to worry about.

Back in the city, everyone got off the bus. Li Zijian counted the number of people and suddenly realized something was wrong.

"Strange, why is there an extra person?"

He compared the list and found that there was one extra surveyor.

"What's wrong?"

"That's what the surveyor asked."

"Uh, it's nothing."

Li Zijian thought he had misread the list and asked the surveyors to leave. He checked the list again and found that there was indeed one extra person.

But Li Zijian couldn't find out who was the extra person. He checked each name one by one, writing one down and crossing one out, but found that the extra person was nowhere to be found.

"How?"

Lu Ban was tidying up, saw Li Zijian looking confused and came over to ask him.

"It seems like there's one more person?"

Li Zijian showed the list to Lu Ban.

"There's one more person?"

Lu Ban wasn't unfamiliar with this situation.

A group of people went to the mountains for fun, and as they walked, another person appeared, but they didn't know who it was when they returned.

This situation usually occurs in deep mountains. Some people die in the mountains because of accidents, and their bodies are eaten by wild animals and cannot be buried. So they want to follow others out and take over their bodies.

This is a folk superstition.

According to Lu Ban's scientific understanding, this should be some kind of strange rule. If people who have strayed into the mountains cannot distinguish who is the extra one, then the extra creature can establish its own identity and obtain its true identity.

If it is discovered, it can only flee back into the mountains and wait for the next opportunity.

In fact, having one more person is not a big problem for Lu Ban. These extra people are originally human beings or similar creatures, but they are trapped by strange rules. Now that they are returning to society, it's just one more mouth to feed. Who knows, they might even become internet celebrities by doing live-streaming e-commerce.

The biggest problem is that there's more than one extra person.

For example, ten people go in, and eleven people come out, but two of them are strange creatures.

That would inevitably mean that one person remained in the mountains, gradually transforming into those strange creatures, waiting for the arrival of the next person.

Lu Ban took the roster from Li Zijian and glanced at it briefly using [True Sight].

Fortunately, there was just one more person.

It's likely that something slipped in under the cover of darkness when we left the town.

Lu Ban also recognized who had appeared out of nowhere.

Then, the name was erased as if burned, without leaving a trace.

Once recognized, the strange creature will return to the deep mountains and will find it difficult to escape.

"Director Lu, is the development of this live-action game still proceeding normally?"

Li Zijian didn't understand Lu Ban's thinking either. After taking back the list, he couldn't help but glance at it and count it. Surprisingly, the number of people matched.

"Of course, it will proceed as planned, Brother Li. We will use this town as the center to arrange the corresponding landscape."

Lu Ban nodded.

"Believe me, this place can definitely be transformed into a brand new amusement park. When that happens, people from all over the world will come to Jiangcheng. Brother Li, can you find me some top-notch legal professionals in advance?"

"Why?"

Li Zijian didn't quite understand.

"Because the Ministry of Justice cannot fall behind others."

Lu Ban answered as a matter of course.