The Captain's Authority (Second Update)

River God and he were both very proactive, setting the pace, analyzing the situation, and seizing the initiative; they were effectively the leaders of the team.

Now that River God was dead, he was undoubtedly the next target.

On the other side, Xi Shi said with a hint of urgency, "There's only one minute left, hurry and make a decision. What do we do next? Should we keep our eyes closed, or open them?"

Xie Lingxi raised her hand slightly and suggested tentatively, "How about we take a vote?"

Fire Demon shouted, "I choose to open my eyes. I don't want to have someone's head roll into my lap again, or have our own teammates' heads plucked off for no reason. If we open our eyes, we still have a glimmer of hope; we might be able to deduce the rules."

Xi Shi looked at Zhang Yuanqing with anticipation. Seeing that he remained silent, she had no choice but to say, "I also think opening our eyes is better. The feeling of keeping them closed is just too terrible."

Ashamed to be a Father remained silent for a few seconds. "I agree."

Xie Lingxi: "I agree as well."

Seeing this, Great Sage Equal to Heaven knew that his vote was now meaningless. "It seems I have no choice."

Open my eyes? If the roller coaster's killing rules have changed, then fine, but if it's like I suspect—that an evildoer is doing the killing—have you all considered the consequences of opening your eyes? Zhang Yuanqing felt a chill in his heart.

He almost wanted to confess the truth about there being a mole in the team, but the Spirit Realm had given a prompt requiring him to hide his identity.

This was a protection for the evildoer as well as the leader; after all, this wasn't some game in reality where everyone knew from the start that there were wolves and needed to find them.

Since this was a team formed on the fly, why would they believe anything he said?

Hiding one's identity was clearly a balancing mechanism for the dungeon. If he revealed it rashly, what would happen if he triggered a penalty?

But he couldn't let them continue like this, because they couldn't afford to lose.

I've thought of a way, but the risk is high. Zhang Yuanqing stopped hesitating and said in a deep voice, "Is there a possibility—and I mean if—that if the rule for closing eyes hasn't changed, have you considered the consequences? Only River God died in the last round. There are two rounds left, so at worst, two more people will die. Between total annihilation and losing two people, I don't think I need to say which one to choose."

Everyone fell silent, and the situation reached a stalemate.

Seeing that no one was arguing, Zhang Yuanqing breathed a slight sigh of relief and immediately said, "I have another way."

Xi Shi looked hopeful. "What way?"

"We pick one person to stay on the platform to observe, while the others keep their eyes closed and ride the roller coaster. This way, we have eyes on the situation, and the people on the ride don't have to take risks, avoiding the danger of a total wipeout."

Everyone was stunned. Fire Demon frowned and said irritably, "The dungeon information didn't explicitly say we must experience the facility together, but it didn't say we could split up either. You should know what that implies in terms of risk."

The Spirit Realm wouldn't tell you all the rules clearly and let you follow them step-by-step; there was no such thing as a free lunch.

For example, the information provided mentioned forming a team, but it wouldn't tell you what would happen if you didn't. Maybe it would be fine, or maybe leaving the team meant death.

"I know," Zhang Yuanqing said slowly. "So, I will bear this risk. I will stay behind."

After saying this, he stared fixedly at his teammates. At this moment, whoever objected was the killer.

"I have no objections."

"I don't either."

"Little brother, I'm counting on you."

"Wang Tai, be careful."

No one objected.

The killer is smarter than I imagined. Seeing this, Zhang Yuanqing sighed helplessly to himself, then unbuckled his seatbelt and stepped out of the roller coaster.

If staying behind carried a risk, then the killer could effectively kill two people in this round. Since most people agreed, choosing to go with the flow was a smart move, which meant the killer was very clever.

But for Zhang Yuanqing, while staying behind was risky, sitting on that ride was a guaranteed death sentence.

At that moment, the countdown ended, and the base of the roller coaster let out a "thud" and slowly began to move.

Zhang Yuanqing's entire body was tense. While remaining vigilant against potential dangers in the surroundings, he kept his sharp gaze fixed on the slowly climbing roller coaster.

The audio couldn't provide feedback, but the visuals certainly could. As long as the killer dared to strike, he would immediately trigger his old ailment and drag the culprit out.

He didn't believe the killer could kill through sheer will, as that wouldn't fit the balancing mechanism.

After the roller coaster reached the peak, it suddenly plunged downward in a free fall. Xi Shi let out another short, sharp scream from the ride.

"Rumble—"

Under Zhang Yuanqing's watchful eyes, the roller coaster roared along the undulating steel tracks like a dragon. Two minutes later, it slowed down and returned to the platform.

As soon as the roller coaster stopped, the teammates on board immediately opened their eyes, looking around in front and behind them with tense expressions.

"No one died! No one died this time!"

Xi Shi exclaimed in pleasant surprise.

The others were beaming, their tense expressions finally relaxing.

Xie Lingxi blinked her beautiful eyes and asked with a smile, "Did you observe any phenomena?"

The team members immediately looked at Zhang Yuanqing, their gazes filled with anticipation.

Just as I expected, it wasn't the rules that killed, but the murderer, Zhang Yuanqing thought. He said, "I didn't see anything."

He was subtly hinting to his teammates.

Since the rule about keeping your eyes closed hasn't changed, then how did the River God die? Use your brains.

Hearing this, the team members fell into a sudden, thoughtful silence.

Over the next five minutes, the group remained exceptionally quiet, with no communication or discussion, and under Zhang Yuanqing's watchful gaze, they completed the third round.

"Phew, it's over."

Xi Shi couldn't wait to unbuckle her seatbelt, then hopped off the roller coaster with her long legs as if fleeing.

Zhang Yuanqing watched her, and once the rest of the team had left the ride, he smiled with a sense of relief. "It's my turn now. Everyone, wait here for a moment."

The roller coaster slowed down and came to a stop on the rooftop platform.

Zhang Yuanqing unbuckled his seatbelt and reunited with the teammates waiting to the side.

As his feet touched the concrete, he suddenly felt a sense of exhaustion, as if he had just survived a great catastrophe.

Finally finished one attraction. Only one teammate died, which is still within a controllable range. Sigh, we almost got wiped out. It's too hard; S-rank missions are just too difficult, Zhang Yuanqing thought, feeling mentally drained.

When he saw that everyone else also looked exhausted, he immediately felt balanced.

At this moment, a dungeon notification sounded in Zhang Yuanqing's mind:

[You have completed the starting task (Roller Coaster). You have successfully activated the "Heart-Stopping" task series. The entertainment facilities in this series are: Roller Coaster -- Underground Parking Lot -- Haunted House (Ghost Marriage) -- Detective Deduction Hall. Please proceed to the second location within half an hour.]

A... a haunted house? Hearing the notification in his mind, Zhang Yuanqing's expression instantly stiffened.

The smiles on the faces of Xie Lingxi, Xi Shi, the middle-aged man, Fire Demon, and Great Sage Equal to Heaven also slowly faded.

The roller coaster is part of the Heart-Stopping series, and there's a haunted house in this series!! Zhang Yuanqing looked sharply at the young girl with long, straight black hair.

At the same time, another notification sounded in his mind:

[Ding, you have successfully led your team to complete a task. You have one opportunity to exercise your authority as team leader. Please identify the evil-doer hidden among your teammates; the designated person will be erased!]

[If no choice is made within thirty seconds, it will be considered a forfeiture of this opportunity.]