The rule about keeping your eyes closed didn't work?
After the amusement park became an S-rank instance, the rules of its attractions had changed?
Everyone stared at River God's corpse and the head in Fire Demon's arms, their expressions grim.
As the roller coaster came to a stop, all six Spirit Realm Walkers heard a notification at the same time:
[Next round begins in: 00:04:40]
"The next round starts in five minutes." Great Sage Equal to Heaven sat in the last row, looking at River God's headless corpse up ahead, his expression tense.
"If the rule about keeping our eyes closed doesn't work, then someone else among us will die when the next round starts. We need to figure out the rules quickly. Have any of you noticed anything?"
Fire Demon still looked shaken. He tossed the head out of the car, then turned around and shouted irritably:
"How could anyone figure out the rules with their eyes closed the whole time?"
Ashamed to be a Father frowned deeply.
"If the rule about closing our eyes has changed, then we need to figure out the rules again. Otherwise, people will keep dying in the next two rounds."
Xi Shi bit her red lips. "Ever since we decided to ride the roller coaster, I've been paying attention along the way, but I haven't found any useful clues or information."
Without clues or information, they couldn't make a targeted plan. Their only option was the clumsiest one—trial and error.
But the cost of trial and error—
Great Sage Equal to Heaven looked grim.
"How could an S-rank instance give us clear, explicit instructions for clearing it? If it were that easy, would it still be S-rank?"
Xie Lingxi thought for a moment, then offered her own opinion.
"I'm sorry, it's my fault. We were misled by the old guide and missed our chance to look for the rules."
Her eyes brimmed with tears, and she looked so pitiful and remorseful.
Great Sage Equal to Heaven hurriedly said:
"It's okay, it's okay. There's no point dwelling on that now. Having no information doesn't mean there's nothing we can do. We still have time, so let's discuss it."
After a pause, he continued:
"If the rule about keeping our eyes closed has changed, there are only two possibilities. First, the roller coaster's rule has become one death per round, and River God's death proves it. Second, by keeping our eyes closed, we missed our chance to observe what was happening."
Xi Shi's eyes lit up, as if she had gained a new appreciation for him. "So we can't close our eyes next time."
Zhang Yuanqing listened to his companions' discussion, his thoughts drifting away.
"First, I can rule out supernatural forces. My active skills are sealed, but as a Night Wanderer, I can still sense spirits. If a spirit in the amusement park were behind this, I would have sensed it."
"So far, the roller coaster still has three rounds. Since that hasn't changed, why did the rule about closing our eyes change? Maybe the rules aren't what's killing people."
Zhang Yuanqing's heart jolted as a possibility occurred to him.
Could one of the evil people hidden in the group be responsible? Had the culprit started killing people? But how had they done it?
Just then, Ashamed to be a Father looked at Fire Demon and suddenly asked:
"When River God died, why didn't you warn us? Why did you wait until the ride stopped?"
Fire Demon raised his eyebrows. "What are you getting at?"
The middle-aged man still looked plain and honest. He said calmly, "I'm just curious."
Fire Demon glared at him and shouted, "Of course I felt it! His head landed right in my arms. But could I say anything? Could I open my eyes? What if I'd warned you and then I was the next one to die?"
Ashamed to be a Father said nothing more.
Zhang Yuanqing asked, "When did he die? Or rather, when did his head fall into your arms?"
Fire Demon answered without hesitation. "When we went over the second hill."
Zhang Yuanqing immediately turned to Xi Shi. "You were right next to him. Did you notice anything strange?"
Xi Shi shook her head. "I... I'm afraid of heights. I was terrified and didn't pay attention to what was happening beside me."
Zhang Yuanqing furrowed his brow.
Judging by the seating arrangement, Xi Shi, Fire Demon, and Ashamed to be a Father were the most likely culprits.
Great Sage Equal to Heaven, seated one spot away, could mostly be ruled out. With a body at the Transcendent Stage, it was unlikely he could unbuckle his seat belt, get past Fire Demon and Ashamed to be a Father in front of him, and kill River God in the second row.
Not to mention that the two men would likely have noticed him. The roller coaster's momentum alone could have flung him off.
With that in mind, Zhang Yuanqing turned toward the petite girl. Given her height and arm length, she would have had to unbuckle her seat belt to turn around and kill someone.
So she was unlikely, too.
Next, he needed to determine whether Fire Demon was lying and confirm that River God had really died at the time he claimed. Before the second round began, Zhang Yuanqing closed his eyes and pictured his father's outline in his mind.
If River God hadn't died while the roller coaster was racing at full speed, then the culprit must have struck during the slow climb at the beginning, when the ride had little momentum.
Since Zhang Yuanqing could pick up sounds, he could identify the culprit directly.
As his father's facial features gradually came into focus, Zhang Yuanqing's heart gave a thump. His mind surged, replaying everything from the moment he entered the Spirit Realm, frame by frame.
He sifted through the images as he waited patiently.
At last, they boarded the ride. As the two-person roller coaster slowly started moving, Zhang Yuanqing could no longer see anything, because his eyes were closed.
But sound didn't disappear. He picked up the heartbeats and breathing of seven people.
Then Xi Shi gave a brief scream. The roller coaster plunged down a straight track, rumbling toward the second hill. At that moment, a heartbeat in the back row disappeared.
"Ah! What happened to you?"
Xie Lingxi cried out in alarm, staring in shock at the blood trickling from her companion's nostrils.
The others stopped arguing and turned to look.
"I'm fine, I'm fine!" Zhang Yuanqing waved a hand and wiped away the nosebleed. Enduring the throbbing pain in his head, he smiled and said, "I've been prone to nosebleeds since I was a kid, especially when I see pretty girls."
Xie Lingxi blushed at his words.
Xi Shi and Fire Demon looked at him suspiciously. Ashamed to be a Father merely glanced at him, while Great Sage Equal to Heaven took the opportunity to sneak a few looks at Xie Lingxi's face and Xi Shi's chest.
Zhang Yuanqing kept his expression calm, but he was already cursing inwardly.
River God's death proved that the evil person had a special way of killing!
"To take someone's head without a sound or any movement—that's terrifying. I have to find a way to stop him. If he kills one person per round, after three rounds there'll be only four people left in the group, and we still have at least one more attraction to ride. How are we supposed to get through that?"
If things really came to that, they would almost certainly die.
And if the roller coaster's rules were responsible for the deaths instead of the evil person, the outcome would be the same.
The more Zhang Yuanqing thought about it, the more anxious he became. Sweat was almost beading on his forehead.
Everyone was a suspect, including Xie Lingxi beside me and Great Sage Equal to Heaven in the last row. Zhang Yuanqing's gaze passed over them all.
Xie Lingxi, frowning in thought; Xi Shi, looking uneasy; the silent middle-aged man; Great Sage Equal to Heaven, with panic concealed in his eyes; and Fire Demon, cursing under his breath.
For a moment, he felt as if every one of them was putting on an act, as if they were all hiding something.
The danger in this instance wasn't just the amusement rides. It was the Spirit Realm Walkers themselves. Yuanshi Tianzun cursed inwardly.
At the same time, another question crossed his mind: why had River God died?
Was the evil person killing at random, or was there another reason?
If I were a Werewolf and had one chance to kill someone at random, who would I kill? As Zhang Yuanqing considered it, he found his answer.
The smartest person in the group!
"In that case, I'll be the next one to die." Zhang Yuanqing's scalp went numb.
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