Chapter 119: Festooned Vehicle Parade
Even though they had already left the pirate ship, the group of people didn’t stop. Instead, they continued running forward in one breath until they had left the pitch-black and tilting large ship far behind them, completely disappearing into the thickets. Only then did they finally come to a halt.
Exhausted, they collapsed into the grass, panting heavily and struggling to catch their breath.
The sound of their heavy panting was trapped within their hoods, and the stifling sweat was confined within the narrow space. It made their faces flush with heat, yet they didn’t dare to take off their hoods.
They were still within the east area, so they couldn’t take off their costumes.
Wen Jianyan gradually slowed down his pace.
The experience on the pirate ship had been overwhelmingly oppressive. They couldn’t speak, couldn’t break formation, and couldn’t make mistakes. It was narrow, dark, and cramped, and the air was filled with a nauseating sweet and fishy smell.
He leaned against a tree trunk and retched twice before stumbling over.
Next, Wen Jianyan shared the clues he had found within the pirate ship.
“Wait… are you saying that the syrup is made from frog eggs and frog corpses?”
Yun Bilan’s face beneath the hood turned pale. “Including those ice creams?”
“…”
Wen Jianyan nodded.
Although the note said “Frogs are food,” the thought of them consuming syrup made from sticky frog eggs and frog corpses challenged their physical limits.
However… at least now, it wasn’t just him feeling nauseated.
“Make sure none of you vomit.” Watching his companions, who were particularly agonized, Wen Jianyan kindly reminded, “It won’t be good if you vomit inside your hood; you can’t take it off.”
The rest of the group: “…”
Damn, it’s even more disgusting.
“By the way, there’s this,” Wen Jianyan took out the crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to the people in front of him.
After a brief reading, everyone was struck by the eerie feeling permeating the lines, and the air fell into a moment of silence.
“Remember? We didn’t find Lilith along the way.”
Wen Jianyan broke the silence.
They had first arrived at the employee rest area, but Lilith was nowhere to be found. According to the contents of the employee handbook, she should have been summoned by the brass bell.
After the bronze bell rang, they followed this group of employees to the pirate ship and searched both the cabins and the deck, but still couldn’t find her.
So, only one possibility remained.
“Employees with a low degree of pollution will start festooned vehicle parade, while those with a high degree of pollution will come to the pirate ship.”
Wen Jianyan muttered a sentence from the note thoughtfully.
“So, you mean Lilith isn’t on the pirate ship because her pollution level is lower, so she was assigned to the parade group?”
Wen Ya hesitated, confirming.
“Yes.”
Wen Jianyan lowered his gaze, pondering for a moment. It seemed he suddenly realized something and turned to Wen Ya. “Oh, by the way, the map I messaged you about earlier, did you guys find it?”
Wen Ya paused: “We did find it, but…”
Her tone grew heavy.
While Wen Ya had indeed seen Blond take the map, she hadn’t even had a chance to relax before he immediately betrayed their trust, delivering a loud slap to her face.
After going through so much afterward, the possibility of him not betraying them… well, it wasn’t very likely.
Blond weakly raised his hand, “It’s… it’s with me.”
“?!”
Wen Ya was shocked, turning to look at Blond.
Could it be that this guy actually didn’t betray them?
Blond awkwardly approached.
Even though he was timid, he could differentiate between important and unimportant matters. When he stumbled earlier, he took the opportunity to conceal the map in his thick furry suit.
He fumbled out the crumpled map from his clothes and handed it to Wen Jianyan.
“Thank you.”
The handsome clown accepted the map.
His deep and focused gaze paused on Blond for a moment, then the next second, a casual smile curved his lips. “See, I told you that you’re indispensable.”
“…!”
Blond’s face, hidden within his hood, turned utterly red. He struggled to utter a stifled “uh” after a while, then hastily retreated back to his original spot.
In the “Integrity First” live broadcast room:
[It’s over, another victim.]
[It’s over, another victim.]
[I’m dying of laughter!! Blond, do you remember how you looked when you saw him before? You were as scared as a mouse seeing a cat. Now, why are you so pathetic?]
[Wuwuwu, my wife’s charm is too irresistible, what do I do? Why do my rivals keep increasing every day? I’m so sad…]
[Aaaaaah, I don’t care! He admitted that I’m his husband himself!!]
[Don’t dream, friend. What kind of dish are you? The wife is hanging out with a bunch of people outside; go take a number and wait in line.]
Wen Jianyan unfolded the map, smoothing out its wrinkles.
From the printing, this map was no different from the ones held by the tourists, except for one distinction—there were numerous markings made with a pen on it.
The handwriting on it matched the initial scribbles on the note.
On the east side of the food area, there was a small arrow drawn, with the word “Employees” written next to it in a hasty manner.
And on the east side of the Thriller zone, a simple drawing of a ship symbol was sketched and heavily circled, with the words “Danger!!” written beside it.
This likely referred to the pirate ship.
On the large map, a winding line was drawn, spanning the entire park from the Employee Rest Area to the Kid’s zone, marked with the words “Festooned Vehicle Parade.”
Below it were jumbled words—
“Starts at 3:30 p.m. and ends at 5:00 p.m.”
Wen Jianyan’s fingertip traced the line that connected the entire area. “This should be the route for the Festooned Vehicle Parade.”
His fingertip paused at the end of the route.
Kid’s Zone.
Here, a simple smiley face was drawn, and a few words were written beside it: “Directo’s Office.”
The words “Director’s Office” were encircled with a heavy line, and although the word “Danger” wasn’t written, several exclamation marks were drawn vigorously next to it.
Wen Jianyan squinted slightly.
His intuition told him that this Director’s Office was likely the core of the entire instance, and that Wu Zhu’s soul fragment might also be here.
“From 3:30 to 5:00 p.m.?”
Yun Bilan stared with a furrowed brow, puzzled. “Does this instance have fixed time periods?”
She had always believed that this instance didn’t have specific time points. After all, since they entered this instance, they hadn’t seen any objects for calculating time within the park.
“I used to think so too, but now it seems like there is,” Wen Jianyan responded.
Wen Ya nodded thoughtfully, “After all, we found it clearly mentioned in the Employee Handbook that the park closes at 6:00 p.m.”
Wen Jianyan looked up to observe the sky and nodded, “Right, the position of the sun has indeed changed.”
He raised his hand and used his finger to estimate the sun’s position, his expression slightly serious. “It’s probably a little after 4:00 p.m. now.”
“The Festooned Vehicle Parade is about to end!” Wen Ya exclaimed.
Yun Bilan furrowed her brows tightly, turning to Wen Jianyan. “Didn’t they say the park closes after the Parade? Does that mean our time for action is ending soon?”
Wen Jianyan contemplated for a few seconds and then gave his judgment.
“I don’t think so.”
Firstly, the mainline task in this instance used the term “one day.” Given the rigor of the Nightmare, “one day” meant exactly that.
More importantly, according to the contents of the Cleaner’s handbook, they were supposed to work until midnight.
In other words, between 6:00 p.m. and 12:00 a.m., the attractions could still be played, but the difficulty was likely to skyrocket, making death more probable.
Hearing Wen Jianyan’s speculation, a chill ran down everyone’s spine involuntarily.
In this current situation, the difficulty was going to increase again?!
Could the anchors still survive and leave this place?
Wen Jianyan folded the map and put it in his pocket, then stood up. “Let’s go. We should head to the Kid’s Zone.”
Given the current time, if Lilith was truly part of the Festooned Vehicle Parade, she should be reaching the Kid’s Zone soon. Instead of tracking her through the winding route on the map, it would be better to wait at the endpoint.
And that Director’s Office…
They needed to explore it.
The group got up from the ground, but before they took a step, Wen Jianyan spoke, “However… before that, I’m afraid we need to return to the food area.”
“Why?”
“To be honest,” Wen Jianyan squinted his eyes, “Based on the information we have now, the true purpose of the syrup is still unclear.”
Given the current situation, there were two ways to interpret it.
What was confirmed was that it was made from frog eggs and frogs.
The note said that frogs wouldn’t harm them, that frogs were food, and indeed, it could alleviate the anchor’s mental pollution.
However, based on the process of transforming employees into cleaners, it seemed to be the source of pollution.
“Either way, Lilith is not considered an employee but an anchor. To free her from the suit, we need the syrup.”
Wen Jianyan shrugged, “Look on the bright side; popcorn is much more portable than ice cream.”
“And…,” Wen Jianyan’s expression shifted, slightly contorting, he clenched his teeth and difficultly said, “I’m also prepared to consume it again.”
“???”
“Not only that, but I’m afraid the coupons will have to be redistributed.”
***
North Square, Gift Shop.
Whether it was due to price increases or the anchors realizing the pitfalls of the shop’s gifts, the place appeared especially desolate compared to the previous bustling crowd.
However, this seemed inconsequential to the cat employee standing behind the counter.
It patiently waited for guests to come in, its body swaying slightly to the music.
“Ding ding ding.”
As the doorbell rang, the glass door of the gift shop swung open.
A group of anchors hurriedly entered, their hurried footsteps easily breaking the silence in the room.
A furry head poked out from behind the counter, a pair of amber eyes large and round, clear and bright. The soft white face resembled a snowball, with a bit of baby fat that was easy to pinch, giving an innocent and naive appearance.
He gazed at the staff behind the counter and spoke in a young voice, “Hello, I’m twelve years old this year. Can I have a Mr. Ribbit doll?”
The author has something to say:
Big sale, big sale!
We have large Wen, medium Wen, and small Wen, all on a big sale!
Which model would you like to order?
Chapter 119: Festooned Vehicle Parade
Even though they had already left the pirate ship, the group of people didn’t stop. Instead, they continued running forward in one breath until they had left the pitch-black and tilting large ship far behind them, completely disappearing into the thickets. Only then did they finally come to a halt.
Exhausted, they collapsed into the grass, panting heavily and struggling to catch their breath.
The sound of their heavy panting was trapped within their hoods, and the stifling sweat was confined within the narrow space. It made their faces flush with heat, yet they didn’t dare to take off their hoods.
They were still within the east area, so they couldn’t take off their costumes.
Wen Jianyan gradually slowed down his pace.
The experience on the pirate ship had been overwhelmingly oppressive. They couldn’t speak, couldn’t break formation, and couldn’t make mistakes. It was narrow, dark, and cramped, and the air was filled with a nauseating sweet and fishy smell.
He leaned against a tree trunk and retched twice before stumbling over.
Next, Wen Jianyan shared the clues he had found within the pirate ship.
“Wait… are you saying that the syrup is made from frog eggs and frog corpses?”
Yun Bilan’s face beneath the hood turned pale. “Including those ice creams?”
“…”
Wen Jianyan nodded.
Although the note said “Frogs are food,” the thought of them consuming syrup made from sticky frog eggs and frog corpses challenged their physical limits.
However… at least now, it wasn’t just him feeling nauseated.
“Make sure none of you vomit.” Watching his companions, who were particularly agonized, Wen Jianyan kindly reminded, “It won’t be good if you vomit inside your hood; you can’t take it off.”
The rest of the group: “…”
Damn, it’s even more disgusting.
“By the way, there’s this,” Wen Jianyan took out the crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to the people in front of him.
After a brief reading, everyone was struck by the eerie feeling permeating the lines, and the air fell into a moment of silence.
“Remember? We didn’t find Lilith along the way.”
Wen Jianyan broke the silence.
They had first arrived at the employee rest area, but Lilith was nowhere to be found. According to the contents of the employee handbook, she should have been summoned by the brass bell.
After the bronze bell rang, they followed this group of employees to the pirate ship and searched both the cabins and the deck, but still couldn’t find her.
So, only one possibility remained.
“Employees with a low degree of pollution will start festooned vehicle parade, while those with a high degree of pollution will come to the pirate ship.”
Wen Jianyan muttered a sentence from the note thoughtfully.
“So, you mean Lilith isn’t on the pirate ship because her pollution level is lower, so she was assigned to the parade group?”
Wen Ya hesitated, confirming.
“Yes.”
Wen Jianyan lowered his gaze, pondering for a moment. It seemed he suddenly realized something and turned to Wen Ya. “Oh, by the way, the map I messaged you about earlier, did you guys find it?”
Wen Ya paused: “We did find it, but…”
Her tone grew heavy.
While Wen Ya had indeed seen Blond take the map, she hadn’t even had a chance to relax before he immediately betrayed their trust, delivering a loud slap to her face.
After going through so much afterward, the possibility of him not betraying them… well, it wasn’t very likely.
Blond weakly raised his hand, “It’s… it’s with me.”
“?!”
Wen Ya was shocked, turning to look at Blond.
Could it be that this guy actually didn’t betray them?
Blond awkwardly approached.
Even though he was timid, he could differentiate between important and unimportant matters. When he stumbled earlier, he took the opportunity to conceal the map in his thick furry suit.
He fumbled out the crumpled map from his clothes and handed it to Wen Jianyan.
“Thank you.”
The handsome clown accepted the map.
His deep and focused gaze paused on Blond for a moment, then the next second, a casual smile curved his lips. “See, I told you that you’re indispensable.”
“…!”
Blond’s face, hidden within his hood, turned utterly red. He struggled to utter a stifled “uh” after a while, then hastily retreated back to his original spot.
In the “Integrity First” live broadcast room:
[It’s over, another victim.]
[It’s over, another victim.]
[I’m dying of laughter!! Blond, do you remember how you looked when you saw him before? You were as scared as a mouse seeing a cat. Now, why are you so pathetic?]
[Wuwuwu, my wife’s charm is too irresistible, what do I do? Why do my rivals keep increasing every day? I’m so sad…]
[Aaaaaah, I don’t care! He admitted that I’m his husband himself!!]
[Don’t dream, friend. What kind of dish are you? The wife is hanging out with a bunch of people outside; go take a number and wait in line.]
Wen Jianyan unfolded the map, smoothing out its wrinkles.
From the printing, this map was no different from the ones held by the tourists, except for one distinction—there were numerous markings made with a pen on it.
The handwriting on it matched the initial scribbles on the note.
On the east side of the food area, there was a small arrow drawn, with the word “Employees” written next to it in a hasty manner.
And on the east side of the Thriller zone, a simple drawing of a ship symbol was sketched and heavily circled, with the words “Danger!!” written beside it.
This likely referred to the pirate ship.
On the large map, a winding line was drawn, spanning the entire park from the Employee Rest Area to the Kid’s zone, marked with the words “Festooned Vehicle Parade.”
Below it were jumbled words—
“Starts at 3:30 p.m. and ends at 5:00 p.m.”
Wen Jianyan’s fingertip traced the line that connected the entire area. “This should be the route for the Festooned Vehicle Parade.”
His fingertip paused at the end of the route.
Kid’s Zone.
Here, a simple smiley face was drawn, and a few words were written beside it: “Directo’s Office.”
The words “Director’s Office” were encircled with a heavy line, and although the word “Danger” wasn’t written, several exclamation marks were drawn vigorously next to it.
Wen Jianyan squinted slightly.
His intuition told him that this Director’s Office was likely the core of the entire instance, and that Wu Zhu’s soul fragment might also be here.
“From 3:30 to 5:00 p.m.?”
Yun Bilan stared with a furrowed brow, puzzled. “Does this instance have fixed time periods?”
She had always believed that this instance didn’t have specific time points. After all, since they entered this instance, they hadn’t seen any objects for calculating time within the park.
“I used to think so too, but now it seems like there is,” Wen Jianyan responded.
Wen Ya nodded thoughtfully, “After all, we found it clearly mentioned in the Employee Handbook that the park closes at 6:00 p.m.”
Wen Jianyan looked up to observe the sky and nodded, “Right, the position of the sun has indeed changed.”
He raised his hand and used his finger to estimate the sun’s position, his expression slightly serious. “It’s probably a little after 4:00 p.m. now.”
“The Festooned Vehicle Parade is about to end!” Wen Ya exclaimed.
Yun Bilan furrowed her brows tightly, turning to Wen Jianyan. “Didn’t they say the park closes after the Parade? Does that mean our time for action is ending soon?”
Wen Jianyan contemplated for a few seconds and then gave his judgment.
“I don’t think so.”
Firstly, the mainline task in this instance used the term “one day.” Given the rigor of the Nightmare, “one day” meant exactly that.
More importantly, according to the contents of the Cleaner’s handbook, they were supposed to work until midnight.
In other words, between 6:00 p.m. and 12:00 a.m., the attractions could still be played, but the difficulty was likely to skyrocket, making death more probable.
Hearing Wen Jianyan’s speculation, a chill ran down everyone’s spine involuntarily.
In this current situation, the difficulty was going to increase again?!
Could the anchors still survive and leave this place?
Wen Jianyan folded the map and put it in his pocket, then stood up. “Let’s go. We should head to the Kid’s Zone.”
Given the current time, if Lilith was truly part of the Festooned Vehicle Parade, she should be reaching the Kid’s Zone soon. Instead of tracking her through the winding route on the map, it would be better to wait at the endpoint.
And that Director’s Office…
They needed to explore it.
The group got up from the ground, but before they took a step, Wen Jianyan spoke, “However… before that, I’m afraid we need to return to the food area.”
“Why?”
“To be honest,” Wen Jianyan squinted his eyes, “Based on the information we have now, the true purpose of the syrup is still unclear.”
Given the current situation, there were two ways to interpret it.
What was confirmed was that it was made from frog eggs and frogs.
The note said that frogs wouldn’t harm them, that frogs were food, and indeed, it could alleviate the anchor’s mental pollution.
However, based on the process of transforming employees into cleaners, it seemed to be the source of pollution.
“Either way, Lilith is not considered an employee but an anchor. To free her from the suit, we need the syrup.”
Wen Jianyan shrugged, “Look on the bright side; popcorn is much more portable than ice cream.”
“And…,” Wen Jianyan’s expression shifted, slightly contorting, he clenched his teeth and difficultly said, “I’m also prepared to consume it again.”
“???”
“Not only that, but I’m afraid the coupons will have to be redistributed.”
***
North Square, Gift Shop.
Whether it was due to price increases or the anchors realizing the pitfalls of the shop’s gifts, the place appeared especially desolate compared to the previous bustling crowd.
However, this seemed inconsequential to the cat employee standing behind the counter.
It patiently waited for guests to come in, its body swaying slightly to the music.
“Ding ding ding.”
As the doorbell rang, the glass door of the gift shop swung open.
A group of anchors hurriedly entered, their hurried footsteps easily breaking the silence in the room.
A furry head poked out from behind the counter, a pair of amber eyes large and round, clear and bright. The soft white face resembled a snowball, with a bit of baby fat that was easy to pinch, giving an innocent and naive appearance.
He gazed at the staff behind the counter and spoke in a young voice, “Hello, I’m twelve years old this year. Can I have a Mr. Ribbit doll?”
The author has something to say:
Big sale, big sale!
We have large Wen, medium Wen, and small Wen, all on a big sale!
Which model would you like to order?
