"Is this a magic show?"
"You know, it's pretty scary."
At first, the newbies thought the curly-haired woman was a magician hired by Paradise. After all, this place was called the Horror Amusement Park, so a few scary performances were perfectly normal.
But soon, Splash! Splash!
As the second and third victims jumped into the river, all the visitors realized something was wrong.
By then, though, it was too late.
From the moment they entered Paradise, they already had one foot in Hell.
They could only leave after clearing five attractions.
"Damn it, they can even bite through nylon rope. Whatever's in this river is way nastier than piranhas." Captain Wu cursed, then asked, "Haman, any ideas?"
The pastor rested his chin in his hand. "Could we use strength and speed to scoop one up in an instant, then throw it onto the bank before it can react?"
"Wouldn't that be too risky?"
"Let's take a gamble."
Captain Wu asked again, "Chengcheng, what about you?"
Meng Chengcheng flicked her ponytail and smiled confidently. "Too easy. I already know the answer. Look carefully, everyone. The rules only tell us to catch fish. They don't say whether the fish have to be alive or dead."
Captain Wu didn't understand. "What difference does that make?"
"Of course it makes a difference," Meng Chengcheng explained. "Would scooping a fish up with a net kill it? Of course not. So this is hinting that we should catch them some other way. After all, the rules only tell us to collect a net, not that we have to use it to catch fish."
Captain Wu's face lit up. "Hey! You mean...?"
"As long as we don't use the nets to catch them, we won't damage the nets," Meng Chengcheng said.
Chen Feng nodded thoughtfully.
That made sense.
As expected of a gifted young woman who had become a medium at just twenty.
She certainly had some brains.
Just as Chen Feng's thoughts wandered, Captain Wu suddenly turned to him. "Xiao Hu, what do you think?"
The other teammates froze. Their captain had never asked Liu Xiaohu for his opinion before.
The sun must have risen in the west today.
Chen Feng had intended to offer a few thoughts, but then he realized that performing too well might arouse everyone's suspicions. So he imitated Liu Xiaohu's tone and chuckled sheepishly. "Me? I think Chengcheng's explanation was already perfect. There's nothing left to add."
Damn it, the moment he opens his mouth, he sounds like a pathetic simp again.
Sure enough, all that sensible analysis earlier was just him showing off in front of his dream girl.
Captain Wu wanted to slap himself. What the hell was wrong with me? Why did I have to ask this lovesick idiot?
Beside him, Lin He also chuckled to himself.
What an embarrassment. I'd better put on a good show so Chengcheng can see the difference between us.
With that thought, Lin He formed a hand seal and muttered an incantation. He drew the Coin Sword woven from copper coins and red thread from his back and tossed it into the air. "Go!"
Infused with magic power, the Coin Sword hovered in midair, its tip pointing down. It aimed at a goldfish on the riverbed, then sent a golden streak of sword light shooting into the water with a sharp whistle.
Before long, a goldfish floated to the surface, its white belly upturned.
At the sight of this miracle, quite a few visitors crowded around Lin He, clinging to him as their last hope:
"Taoist master, save us!"
"Please, take me out of here! I'll pay you anything!"
While Lin He was surrounded so tightly that he couldn't get away, Captain Wu made his move.
He suddenly lifted his shirt and drew a handgun engraved with a cross from his waist.
Traditional exorcists relied on crosses and holy water to exorcise demons at close range, a dangerous and outdated approach.
Modern exorcists, however, kept up with the times, incorporating firearms into those traditional methods. That was how the exorcist firearm Holy Judgment had come into being. Modified by P.E.A.C.D's equipment department, it held fifteen rounds, all enchanted with holy water for extra effectiveness against demons.
A gunshot rang out.
Captain Wu swiftly scooped up the dead fish and exchanged it with the fish vendor for a Game Coin.
With two of them having completed the task, Meng Chengcheng and the pastor couldn't help growing anxious.
But Captain Wu hadn't forgotten his teammates. Although the rules said each person could only catch one fish, they didn't forbid helping others, so he tossed Holy Judgment over.
"Thanks!"
"Damn it, we're on the same team. What's there to thank me for?"
Although Chengcheng and the pastor had received firearms training, their marksmanship naturally fell far short of a professional exorcist's. The fish were underwater, where the resistance already made them difficult to hit. Add darkness, light refraction, and other factors, and landing a shot became even harder.
Meng Chengcheng did reasonably well, finishing the job in three shots.
The pastor's shooting was positively merciful. He fired six shots in a row before finally getting his Game Coin.
Enchanted bullets were expensive to produce. Normally, Captain Wu was allowed to carry no more than ten rounds on a mission. This mission was important enough that he had brought a hundred, but now a tenth of them had been wasted in one go. It hurt so much he wanted to jump into the river himself. "Damn it, are you a pig?"
Watching Captain Wu unleash a torrent of abuse, Chen Feng inwardly grumbled, Captain Wu changes his mood at the drop of a hat. A moment ago, we were all on the same team. Now he's cursing everyone out again.
The pastor smiled apologetically. "My luck's not great today."
Then he handed the handgun to Chen Feng. "Xiao Hu, your turn."
Huh?
My turn already?
Chen Feng was instantly dumbfounded.
As a gaming streamer, he had played plenty of shooters, but he had never touched a real gun.
As a trainee agent, Liu Xiaohu might have received firearms training, but Chen Feng had only inherited his memories, not his skills. If even trained agents struggled to hit the fish, wouldn't someone without training do even worse?
I'll just have to grit my teeth and try.
To avoid giving himself away, Chen Feng could only imitate what he had seen in games and movies and try pulling the trigger.
But the handgun didn't respond at all.
Just as Chen Feng wondered whether the gun was broken, Captain Wu roared, "Damn it, what the hell are you pulling the trigger for without taking the safety off?"
"Oh, right."
"Rack the slide! Rack it!"
"How do I do that?"
"Damn it, did you forget everything you learned in firearms class?"
As Captain Wu's expression grew uglier, Chen Feng hurriedly handed the handgun back. "Forget it. I won't use it."
Captain Wu froze, thinking he was sulking.
He might curse at them, but he didn't want his teammates dying here. So he changed his tone. "Xiao Hu, I might've been a bit too damn harsh. Don't feel pressured. Take your time."
The captain was a decent, responsible man after all.
Chen Feng hurriedly explained, "Captain, don't get me wrong. I thought of another way to catch fish."
Just then, Lin He came over after finally shaking off the visitors. Having seen Chen Feng fumbling with the gun, he sneered. "Another way? Don't tell me you're planning to go into the river and catch them?"
Going into the river to catch fish would be suicide.
Chen Feng looked at the river. If he weren't afraid of exposing himself, he could simply summon the water ghost and get as many fish as he wanted.
For now, though, he had to outsmart the challenge.
Meng Chengcheng had done well to realize they didn't have to use the nets.
But that wasn't enough.
The survivor who had escaped to the base with a souvenir was just an ordinary person. He certainly hadn't had a gun or a Coin Sword, so how had he overcome these vicious goldfish?
Chen Feng had two theories.
First, just as the water ghost was actually afraid of fire, the survivor had discovered the goldfish's weakness.
Second, there was a safer, more efficient tool for catching fish here.
Chen Feng had no idea how to find their weakness, but he did have a thought about a more efficient fishing tool.
The rules mentioned only two things: fishing nets and fishbowls.
Many people were trapped in a fixed mindset, believing that only nets could catch fish.
But looking at it the other way around, if the glass fishbowls could hold these fish, they must be sturdy enough that the fish couldn't break them.
With that thought, Chen Feng picked up a fishbowl and walked to the riverbank.
The other four immediately understood what he intended to do.
Captain Wu smacked his forehead. "Damn it, why didn't I think of that?"
Meng Chengcheng was startled too. Is this really the Xiao Hu I know?
Only Lin He looked displeased. It's fine, it's fine! The water's a meter deep, and the fish are all down at the bottom. Let's see how he catches a fish from the riverbed with that little glass bowl!
Just then, Chen Feng made a decision none of them had anticipated.
He reached his arm into the river.
Before you continue