You Call That a Goldfish?

Chen Feng and his companion walked over.

The Pastor said sarcastically, "Look! Our great lover boy is awake!"

Lin He scoffed. "I don't understand how a useless hanger-on who spends all day trailing Miss Meng got onto the team."

Captain Wu snapped at them. "Damn it! However he got here, he's one of us now. Both of you, shut it!"

Horror Amusement Park opened at seven in the evening.

That left them an hour to rest before the mission began.

Captain Wu passed the time on his phone.

No signal was normal in anomalous zones, so he had downloaded plenty of novels and videos in advance.

On the screen, a man in a yellow training outfit was speaking with conviction. "No one can escape the hospital. No one. Ever."

The Pastor struck up a conversation. "Captain, you're watching that video too?"

Captain Wu sighed. "It's all over our circles. Damn it, escaping the Mental Hospital takes some serious skill."

Lin He cut in. "Captain, is that Mental Hospital really so terrifying?"

Captain Wu explained, "Lin, you've only just come down from the mountain, so you wouldn't know. The Director, the Nurse, the Professor, the Drill Instructor—those monsters from the Mental Hospital are notorious in Cihang City."

Meng Chengcheng snorted. "One day, I'll wipe them all out."

Captain Wu warned her, "Chengcheng, confidence is good, but don't get carried away. A while back, the higher-ups sent a team of Class B Agents to assassinate the Director. Both sides took heavy losses, and not one of our people came back."

A team of Class B Agents had killed over five hundred monsters between them, yet not a single one had returned.

Lin He hurriedly asked, "Then what happened to the Director?"

Captain Wu sighed. "Gravely wounded, but still alive."

Listening from the side, Chen Feng suddenly understood. No wonder they hadn't encountered the Director during their escape. So that was the unknown reason the Mental Hospital had been downgraded from a five-star check-in spot!

The Pastor sighed. "Escaping somewhere that dangerous? Those five were lucky."

Captain Wu corrected him. "It wasn't luck. According to the organization's intel, they killed the Nurse and fought their way out."

"What?"

Everyone but Chen Feng sucked in a sharp breath.

Lin He thought he had misheard. "Captain, you're saying those five took down a target even Class B Agents couldn't handle?"

Captain Wu marveled, "That's right. Those five were damn formidable."

The Pastor's voice turned sarcastic. "If only we had someone that capable on our team."

Everyone instinctively looked at Chen Feng. They all knew he was a useless freeloader who had no business taking part in this mission.

Chen Feng laughed to himself.

If these idiots knew the monster who killed the Nurse in that video was standing right in front of them, I wonder what faces they'd make.

Time flew.

Soon, eerie music rang through the park:

"Boys and girls, come play at Horror Amusement Park."

"When the music starts, you know the party has begun."

"Goldfish, goldfish, let's catch some goldfish."

"Whatever you do, don't fall into the pool."

"Air rifles, air rifles, let's shoot the air rifles."

"The safest things may be the most dangerous."

Music-box notes and wind chimes carried the melody, with clapping as the beat and children's giggles woven between them.

The theme song signaled that Horror Amusement Park was officially open.

The map on the back of the Visitor Guide showed where the park's ten attractions were. According to the rules, they had to complete at least half of them before they could leave.

Captain Wu asked, "Think it over, everyone. Which five should we pick?"

Meng Chengcheng shrugged. "Any of them. If an ordinary person cleared every attraction and came out alive, we can do it too."

The Pastor suggested, "Why don't we roll a die and let God decide? What do you think, Captain?"

Captain Wu said, "Nonsense! We've all had firearms training, so Air Rifle is an obvious pick. Lin He, you look like you have something to say?"

Lin He said, "I brought a Compass, so we can choose the Maze. The Haunted House should be fine too."

Everyone had their specialty, and a Taoist priest certainly had no reason to fear ghosts.

They all chimed in, but no one asked Liu Xiaohu what he thought. It was as if he were already dead.

Granted, Liu Xiaohu really was dead, but that was no reason to treat him this way.

With that thought, Chen Feng cut in. "Captain, can I say something?"

The air suddenly went quiet.

Surprise flickered in Captain Wu's eyes. Whenever the team had discussed anything before, Liu Xiaohu had either stood off to the side, meek and silent, or stared at Meng Chengcheng like a lovesick fool.

Why was he speaking up now? Was he trying to impress Meng Chengcheng?

Captain Wu nodded. "Go ahead."

"Here's what I think. We should prioritize Ring Toss, Goldfish Catching, and Air Rifle, and avoid the Maze, Haunted House, and Roller Coaster if possible."

Lin He had only just suggested the Haunted House and Maze, and Chen Feng had immediately shot them down. Naturally, he wasn't pleased. "What, are you scared?"

Lin He hadn't bothered being polite, so Chen Feng didn't either. "Are you stupid? With Ring Toss, Goldfish Catching, and Air Rifle, we decide whether to throw a ring, catch a fish, or fire a shot. Even if we spot danger or a trap, we can choose not to play."

"But we have no idea how big the Maze is or how many ghosts are in the Haunted House. The Roller Coaster is even worse. We'd be moving at high speed, high above the ground, the whole time. If something went wrong, we'd have almost no control."

Meng Chengcheng blinked, as if she were seeing him for the first time.

Since when did he have opinions of his own? Did passing out from fright knock some sense into him?

Captain Wu made the call. "Damn it, you're actually a genius. Let's start with Goldfish Catching."

The group set off at once. Only Lin He, whose suggestion had been dismissed, hung back. A barely perceptible shadow crossed his eyes.

According to the map, Goldfish Catching was on the east side of the park.

A small circular man-made river ran through the area. It was no more than a meter deep and clear enough that, under the tall lamps, they could see dense schools of goldfish darting about—and the human bones scattered across the riverbed.

The owner running Goldfish Catching had the head of a goldfish.

He held a wooden board that read:

[1. Collect a fishing net and fish tank from the stall]

[2. Catch one goldfish from the river to receive one Game Coin from the owner]

[3. Do not damage the fishing net under any circumstances!!!]

[4. Each person may catch only one goldfish]

[5. Anyone who has not caught a goldfish after one hour fails]

Behind the fish-headed owner stood his stall, lined with nets and large glass tanks for temporarily holding fish.

The "fishing nets" weren't the cast nets Chen Feng had imagined people throwing over a river. They looked more like the landing nets anglers used to scoop up fish.

Each consisted of a metal handle, a circular frame about the size of a basketball hoop, and a green mesh bag woven from nylon cord.

Chen Feng picked one up and weighed it in his hand. It was heavy.

It could easily scoop up a grass carp or silver carp weighing several kilos.

Catching a goldfish thirty centimeters long and about the size of a water bottle should have been a breeze.

But was it really that simple?

Captain Wu told the team not to act rashly. They would watch first.

Before long, visitors taking part in Goldfish Catching crowded around the river.

They fell roughly into two groups.

The tense, anxious ones had clearly been in Paradise for more than a day. They were veterans who had realized something was wrong.

The ones chatting and laughing were probably newcomers who had only just entered Paradise and still had no idea what was going on. They likely thought the bones on the riverbed were decorations and the owner's fish head was a costume.

Ignorance left them fearless.

Beside the river, a curly-haired young woman picked up a landing net and began trying to catch a fish.

Holding her breath, she quietly lowered the net into the water.

The ripples startled a few wary goldfish into fleeing, but most stayed where they were, oblivious.

With a slight flick of her wrist, the woman caught a goldfish in the net. Just as success seemed certain, something went wrong!

The goldfish suddenly opened its mouth, revealing two rows of sharp teeth.

"Ah!"

The woman jumped, nearly flinging the handle away. At the same time, the goldfish began frantically biting through the mesh. It quickly tore a hole and escaped.

Oh no! The net was damaged!

Chen Feng knew the monsters in these tales killed according to rules. Once someone broke a rule, they would strike!

Sure enough, the instant the net tore, the woman's expression went blank. As though she had lost her soul, she plunged headfirst into the river.

It was like dropping a bone into a kennel full of dogs.

Countless goldfish swarmed her, forming a ball around her body. Then, amid the splash of water, a cloud of Blood Mist burst across the river's surface!

Everyone stared, dumbfounded.

You call those goldfish?