WTNL Chapter 95

Fantasy Amusement Park
Chapter 95: Do I look pretty?

Unlike the previous attractions, there was no rule sign hanging at the entrance of the Crazy Little Train attraction, making it impossible to guess the game mechanics from it.

The cat staff member in the tortoiseshell costume shook its head and said: “Welcome to Fantasy Amusement Park! This is the newest featured attraction in our park, the Crazy Little Train. Would you like to try it out?”

It pointed to the sign next to it:

“Tickets are ten prize tickets each!”

Wen Jianyan nodded: “Five tickets.”

He counted out 50 prize tickets from the 120 he had just robbed and handed them over.

As a wealthy person who had just successfully robbed someone, it would be very unauthentic to ask his teammates to pay at this time, so Wen Jianyan very generously covered the tickets this time.

“Alright! Have a good time!”

The tortoiseshell cat took the prize tickets and handed five admission tickets to the five people in front of it.

Clang, clang—

The barrier gate of the Crazy Little Train lowered behind them. Wen Jianyan looked down at the ticket in his hand.

On the flashy paper ticket was a cartoon train with steam blowing out of its face, and the name of the attraction was marked above it in large, colorful font:

Crazy Little Train: Giving you a crazy and joyful thrilling experience!

The word “Crazy” was a glaring red, making one’s scalp tingle just looking at it.

Wen Jianyan flipped the ticket to the back.

Unexpectedly, there was absolutely nothing written on the back of the ticket.

The other four turned their gazes to him. Wen Jianyan shook his head slightly, indicating that he hadn’t found any clues yet.

He said: “Let’s go; we’ll go in and take a look first.”

Walking through the gate decorated as a ticket checkpoint, they found that seven or eight players were already waiting inside.

Seeing newcomers enter, the others turned their heads to look, casting gazes with unclear meanings in this direction.

Wen Jianyan inconspicuously raised his eyes and took a look.

He saw an old-fashioned clock hanging overhead, displaying a countdown that was slowly decreasing.

The cat in charge of checking tickets at the door raised its voice and said: “The next round of the Crazy Little Train will start in five minutes. Please wait patiently, everyone!”

This attraction was indeed different from the ones they had experienced before. It had no limit on the number of people, but instead decided when to start based on time.

Moreover, during the waiting period, the rules would not be released.

Wen Jianyan looked around but couldn’t find anything with rules written on it in this room.

Since that was the case, they could only wait patiently.

Time ticked by. Players from different teams gathered together, whispering in low voices, seemingly discussing their next action plan.

Right before the countdown was about to reach zero, the door behind them opened once again.

A streamer squad composed of four people appeared at the door.

Huang Mao timidly hid at the very back of the team, his eyes dodging. He secretly raised his head from behind Hui Cheng, carefully looking towards their target.

The moment he looked over, he met the teenager’s eyes, which happened to glance over nonchalantly.

“…!”

Huang Mao’s heart jumped. He hurriedly lowered his head to hide his overly nervous expression and rapid heartbeat.

“Ring ring ring—”

The electric bell signaling the train’s departure rang out.

The electronic screen on the side, which had been dark all along, flickered and slowly lit up:

The park’s newly launched thrilling adventure shooting game: [Crazy Little Train]!

Wen Jianyan was stunned.

Shooting game?

An introductory video began playing on the screen.

A whistling train traveled under the night sky, and many rotting zombies howling bizarrely clung to the outer walls of the train.

A rich, deep male voice rang out in the background:

“You and your friends take a train to a fairy tale town to start a holiday trip, but on the train, you unexpectedly encounter a zombie virus outbreak! So, in order to survive this dangerous journey, you take up your guns and fight for your survival!”

On the screen, several people with bloodstained faces stood back-to-back in the carriage with nervous expressions. They held guns in their hands, the muzzles spitting bright red flames in the darkness, blowing the head off a zombie that lunged fiercely at them.

“Your mission is to survive until dawn!”

A cat wearing a train uniform walked over: “Welcome to the Crazy Little Train! I am your conductor for this trip. Welcome aboard!”

It pulled out a board with its furry hands, on which several lines were written in chalk:

[Crazy Little Train Game Rules]

This attraction will strictly guarantee the safety of players’ lives. To ensure you have an excellent gaming experience under absolute safety, please read the following rules carefully:

1. This attraction will pass through three tunnels. Each time it passes through a tunnel, darkness will fall, and zombies will attack at this time. Please aim for the head and shoot.

2. After leaving the tunnel, everyone can search the carriages for ammunition and supplies.

3. If you are accidentally infected by the virus, please find the serum before the next tunnel to shake off the infected status.

4. If you encounter an unexpected situation, please go to the conductor’s room to ask the staff for help.

5. Please do not lose your gun.

6. If the number of zombies killed reaches 50 or more, you can claim an exquisite gift after the attraction ends.

It looked like… indeed that kind of very common shooting game.

The cat calling itself the conductor walked over and began distributing guns to everyone—they were red and black toy guns, loaded with five rounds of ammunition, looking completely incapable of hurting anyone.

“Alright, once everyone is ready, get your tickets checked and board the train!”

The conductor cat clapped its hands, turned around, and walked into the ticket gate.

The streamers looked at each other. After exchanging glances, they also began walking towards the ticket gate in order. The flight attendant cat at the door very professionally checked the ticket of each streamer. After the last streamer entered the ticket gate, it stood up, slowly pulled across a long iron chain, and sealed the entrance.

Wen Jianyan withdrew his gaze and followed the others, continuing forward in the darkness.

Soon, not long after, their vision lit up again.

He realized that he was currently standing in a carriage that looked extremely realistic. Inside the old-fashioned train, the red train seats looked quite aged, even somewhat faded. The stained curtains were hooked up by clasps, and the narrow aisle extended straight into the distance.

The lighting in the carriage was very bright, making every detail visible. Backpacks and clothes were placed on the seats.

There were still unextinguished cigarette butts on the tables, as well as various uncleaned trash. Not far away, an attendant’s pushcart for selling goods was stopped in the middle of the aisle, filled with a dazzling array of merchandise.

It was as if all the passengers had disappeared in an instant, leaving only an empty train carriage where time seemed to have frozen.

“Ding ding ding!”

The bell for the train’s departure rang out.

Wen Jianyan felt the carriage under his feet jolt. The next second, the engine started operating. The feeling of mechanical vibration transmitted from the soles of his feet, and the scenery outside the window also began to move and shift slowly.

The train had departed.

“Let’s look for ammo first,” Wen Jianyan said, turning his head and whispering to his teammates.

Yun Bilan, Wen Ya, and the others nodded one after another.

Although this attraction looked like an ordinary shooting game, who knew if it had hidden traps for streamers? No matter what, before the first tunnel arrived, it was best to play the game according to the rules.

Obviously, the other streamer squads thought the same.

Although everyone was wary of each other, there was no reason to have a conflict right now. All the streamers dispersed and tacitly searched the carriages, looking for the “ammunition resupply” mentioned in the rules.

The four-person mercenary squad kept a moderate distance from Wen Jianyan.

“This shooting attraction is a good opportunity for us to make a move.”

Hui Cheng, his expression unchanged, lowered his voice and said: “Don’t act rashly during the first tunnel. We need to figure out the rules of this attraction first, and we’ll make our move when we enter the second tunnel.”

He looked at the timid Huang Mao beside him and said: “You are responsible for keeping a close eye on the target. Whether it’s before or after darkness falls, you must always confirm his location, understand?”

Huang Mao nodded and mumbled: “Understand, understood.”

“Good. We’ll also disperse to look for ammo now, but don’t stray too far. It’s best to ensure we stay in the same carriage as the target.”

Hui Cheng looked at the other teammates: “Understood?”

The teammates nodded one after another and dispersed.

“Drip, drop.”

The faint sound of water mixed with the mechanical sound of the train running attracted Wen Jianyan’s attention.

He narrowed his eyes slightly, searching for the source of the sound.

Soon, Wen Jianyan’s gaze fell on a pushcart parked horizontally in the middle of the aisle not far away.

The iron door beneath the pushcart was tightly closed. Transparent liquid seeped from the gap, dripping onto the ground drop by drop. A small puddle of liquid had already accumulated on the floor.

Wen Jianyan stepped forward and carefully opened the cabinet door.

A damp, fishy smell hit him in the face.

The rusty iron door opened bit by bit, revealing a narrow cabinet stuffed completely full.

Wen Jianyan’s breath hitched.

Stuffed inside the cabinet was a corpse.

Its entire body was soaked full of water. Its clothes were soaking wet, and its skin was swollen and white, like steamed bread soaked soft in water; a single press would leave a dent. Its dull eyes stared wide, and its facial features were squeezed by the swollen skin to the point that their outlines could no longer be seen. Its limbs seemed to be broken. Even though it was the size of an adult, it had been easily stuffed into the small cabinet.

“This is—”

Wen Ya, behind him, was also stunned.

Wen Jianyan redeemed gloves from the System Shop and handed her a pair: “Help me for a second.”

The two of them worked together to drag the corpse out of the cabinet.

The swollen corpse lay limply in the middle of the floor, that fishy, damp smell spreading in the carriage.

“Should be a player from the previous round.”

Wen Jianyan used his gloved hand to lift the corpse’s clothes, carefully observed it, and concluded.

“In that case…”

He narrowed his eyes slightly, reaching into the other party’s soaking wet pockets to grope around, and quickly dug out a handful of ammunition, a total of four rounds.

Just as expected.

Wen Jianyan narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. He stood up, turned his head, and said to his teammates: “Let’s look in all places where a corpse could be hidden first.”

Soon, the others also found the pattern.

Under the seats, on the luggage racks, in the bathroom…

And so on.

“Found some.”

“There’s some here!”

“Here too!”

Huang Mao bent down, struggling to search under the seats.

Suddenly, he felt his shoulder being poked: “Hey.”

A youthful, slightly hoarse voice rang out from above.

Huang Mao froze, subconsciously raising his head and looking towards the source of the voice.

The teenager with amber eyes stood in front of him. His eyelashes were lowered, and the shifting light and shadows from outside the train window swept across that excessively beautiful face.

He looked over with a smile: “Uncle, can you do me a favor?”

“!!!”

At that moment, Huang Mao felt the hairs on his back stand up, and a layer of cold sweat suddenly broke out on his spine.

He bounced up from the floor, subconsciously casting his gaze towards his teammates located not far away.

Hui Cheng and the others were still searching for ammunition, seemingly completely unaware of this side. Even if they had noticed, in order not to alert the snake by beating the grass, they probably wouldn’t come near.

“…”

No matter what, he had to face this target all by himself.

Huang Mao swallowed hard and asked tremblingly: “Wh-what favor?”

Wen Jianyan pointed to an open luggage rack not far overhead. A dark green bag was hidden deep inside, and water was slowly seeping out from the zipper:

“Could you help me pull it down?”

He gestured at his own height and blinked:

“You see, my height isn’t quite enough.”

“If there’s ammo inside, we’ll split it half and half, how about it?” The teenager’s lips curled up faintly, his eyes filled with shattered light.

“C-can do.”

Huang Mao forced himself to calm down, making sure his face didn’t leak any excess emotions. He reached out his arm and pulled down the duffel bag specified by the target.

With a heavy “thump”, the bag smashed heavily onto the floor, more water seeping out from it.

Wen Jianyan bent down and briskly unzipped it.

A swollen corpse, bloated beyond recognition, appeared before them.

Like the other corpses, as soon as it saw the light, it rapidly shriveled and withered, eventually leaving only a soaking wet layer of skin. Wen Jianyan groped deep inside the bag and quickly pulled out a handful of ammunition.

A total of seven rounds.

“Seven rounds.” Wen Jianyan counted the bullets in his hand and blew a cheerful whistle: “Not bad.”

The teenager raised his head and leaned in slightly. That clear, handsome, beautifully contoured face slightly magnified before Huang Mao’s eyes, a faint smile sparkling in the depths of those amber eyes.

Huang Mao’s breath hitched.

He didn’t know why, but when being stared at by those eyes, he constantly had a terrifying feeling as if his entire person was completely seen through.

While he was stunned, something hard was stuffed into his hand.

Huang Mao lowered his head and stared blankly at his palm.

It was four bullets.

“Thank you.”

The other party blinked slyly: “Pleasure doing business with you.”

After saying that, the teenager turned around without any reluctance, leisurely walked towards the next carriage, and returned to the middle of his own squad.

Taking advantage of the moment the other party turned around, Hui Cheng and the others quickly surrounded him.

“What did the target say to you? Why did he look for you? Did he discover us?”

A series of rapid-fire questions left Huang Mao frozen in place. He held the four bullets, shaking his head somewhat dazedly: “No, I… I don’t know…”

Hui Cheng told the others to shut up:

“You guys be quiet.”

He looked at Huang Mao: “So, what exactly happened just now?”

Huang Mao steadied his nerves and recounted exactly what had just happened.

Hui Cheng narrowed his eyes slightly, confirming: “There were seven rounds inside in total?”

Huang Mao nodded.

“So… just because you helped pull the duffel bag down, he gave you four bullets?”

Hui Cheng asked.

“…?!”

Hearing the other party’s words, Huang Mao immediately shuddered.

He seemed to abruptly realize the danger and hastily explained: “Indeed, it is indeed like that, but I don’t know why either. I promise I didn’t say anything—”

Huang Mao widened his eyes slightly, a chill slowly climbing up his spine:

“He… he definitely discovered us!”

Yes, this was the only possibility.

Recalling the feeling of being noticed in return when he was spying on the other party at the very beginning, Huang Mao suddenly felt his whole body turn cold, making his skin crawl: “That’s why he tested me! The reason he gave me the bullets is also because of this. He wants you guys to distrust me! It must be like this!”

“How many times have I said it…”

Hui Cheng frowned somewhat impatiently:

“At that distance, it’s impossible for you to be discovered!”

A full hundred meters away, separated by dense jungle, and the other party was also fighting with others. None of them had taken any action. To the target, they were at most just another streamer squad standing a hundred meters away.

Even if they gave themselves away, it was because of something else.

Hui Cheng pondered for a few seconds, turned to look at the anxious Huang Mao, and asked: “Did he say anything in your ear just now?”

“He… he just said, thank you.”

Huang Mao mumbled.

Whether it was an illusion or not, he kept feeling that the gazes of his teammates beside him made him entirely uneasy, causing him to shrink back subconsciously: “Really, really just this…”

Hui Cheng: “Alright, don’t be nervous. We don’t suspect you.”

“…”

Huang Mao, with a pale face, opened his mouth but ultimately fell silent.

“Anyway, although we don’t know the reason, the other party might have suspected us.” Hui Cheng mused for two seconds and made a prompt decision: “Since that’s the case, we can only make our move in the first tunnel!”

“What?”

The others were all taken aback: “Why?”

Since the other party was suspicious, shouldn’t they pause their actions first and wait until the other side’s vigilance lowered before acting?

“If he really has discovered us, it means this guy’s vigilance and sensitivity are absurdly high. The longer we drag this out, the more disadvantageous it is for us. If we don’t find an opportunity to strike in this attraction, we can forget about it after leaving.”

Hui Cheng narrowed his eyes:

“Then we can only take him by surprise and fight a quick battle!”

He turned to Huang Mao: “You can confirm his position later, right?”

Huang Mao nodded.

“Good. We’ll make our move after entering the tunnel.” Hui Cheng turned to look at the other teammates: “Everything is just as I said, do you understand?”

“The first tunnel is coming!”

Right at this moment, a streamer standing near the window raised his voice and shouted.

Wen Jianyan turned his head and looked out the window.

Under the shifting scenery, a dark, heavy shadow gradually pressed towards the entire carriage. A massive tunnel lay ahead of the train, like a giant open mouth waiting for the train to drive in.

The dark shadow covered them bit by bit—

The next second, darkness abruptly fell.

All the streamers were prepared.

The second after darkness covered the entire carriage, flashbangs, flares, and various lights suddenly exploded before their eyes, illuminating the narrow carriage.

The moment they entered the darkness, the sound of nails scratching against iron rang out, and the roars of zombies drilled into the streamers’ ears from all directions.

Under the constantly flickering lights, deathly pale bodies could be seen squeezing in through the open windows. They were completely different from traditional zombies, and shared no resemblance with the ones in the promotional video.

Their bodies were completely swollen with water, from their faces to their limbs, all appearing exceptionally bloated and enlarged. Bizarre “hehe” sounds spilled from the depths of their throats.

“Thirsty… so thirsty…”

Blurred voices rose and fell, muffled by the sudden explosion of gunfire.

Drip, drop.

The sound of flowing water was exceptionally clear in the darkness.

Rumble, rumble—

Along with the train’s roar, the train quickly exited the tunnel, and bright light once again enveloped them.

Those sounds of scratching nails and blurred shouts all vanished at once.

Hui Cheng: “How was it?”

Another teammate nodded: “No problem.”

Their squad had cooperated for a long time. The method they used now was the simplest, fastest, and most fault-tolerant assassination method.

Huang Mao would point out the location, and then the teammate with the sniping talent would use an item to kill from a distance. Although this couldn’t fulfill the employer’s requirement of “letting him know exactly who he offended before he dies”, at least it counted as completing the task.

Hui Cheng breathed a sigh of relief.

He turned slightly and looked towards the target’s direction. The next second, his pupils shrank—

How is it possible?

He saw that, surrounded by his teammates, that teenager was still standing perfectly fine in place. He seemed to be saying something to the teammates beside him. The lines of his fair profile were smooth and clean-cut, and a faint smile seemed to play on his lips.

“Impossible, I one hundred percent shot towards the direction Blondie pointed!”

The teammate inhaled sharply, speaking urgently in a low voice.

He could clearly feel that he had absolutely accurately hit the target. But for some reason, the other party was still appearing alive and well in the brightly lit train.

This… what’s going on here?

The teammate was eager to clear himself.

He looked at Huang Mao: “How did you position him?”

The next second, the gazes of all the teammates fell on Huang Mao.

“I… I…”

Huang Mao panicked, stuttering: “I positioned him! He, he was really at that spot just now; I’m not lying!”

“Alright.”

Hui Cheng said slowly: “The other side might have used some item, don’t jump to conclusions casually.”

“We still have the last two chances.” Hui Cheng looked at the teammate who had just attacked: “The target obviously has a way to counter you, so you shouldn’t make a move next. Let me and Old Three do it.”

The teammate gritted his teeth and nodded somewhat unwillingly.

Huang Mao stood in place, his fingers twisted together in knots.

His forehead was sweaty, his face pale, but his gaze uncontrollably looked towards Wen Jianyan’s direction again.

The target stood near the window, currently lowering his head, carefully examining the remains of a “zombie” paralyzed on the table, carefully turning it over with his gloved fingers.

While turning it, he whispered something to his teammates.

Suddenly, without warning, the other party’s eyelashes lifted slightly.

Across the long train and the almost still time and space, those light-colored eyes, appearing exceptionally cold amidst the shifting light and shadows, looked over accurately and clearly. The emotionless gaze crashed heavily into Huang Mao’s.

“!”

Huang Mao’s pupils shrank.

Like an insect caught by a spider, his entire person froze in place, almost unable to look away.

The next second, the teenager curled his lips, a captivating faint smile rippling in the depths of his eyes, nonchalant yet totally at ease.

His pale lips parted.

Huang Mao’s vision clearly caught the other party’s mouth movements. Translating the other party’s lip reading in his mind, upon realizing what the other party was saying, he couldn’t help but tremble slightly. He felt an intense chill climb his body; that feeling of being completely seen through with nowhere to escape firmly strangled his throat.

Replaying that scene just now over and over in his mind chilled him from head to toe.

Because, the other party asked with a half-smile—

Do I look pretty?

__

Author’s Note:

A scammer who is clearly an adult, yet pretends to be young and calls others “uncle,” is scum!