Author: 颜凉雨 / Yan Liang Yu
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 43: Amusement Park
By the river, north of the city, Sunshine Cinema, 4DX Hall.
In the dimly lit theater, a zombie film was playing, with blurred images of flesh and blood illuminating the faces of four audience members in the middle row.
In the vast 4DX hall, only these four were present, wearing 3D glasses and sitting in seats that shook and trembled with the plot. Occasionally wind would blow, or they would get sprayed with water, or were forced to endure the pungent smell of blood—this was a full 360° immersive viewing experience.
Another zombie’s head got drilled.
In the movie, plasma flowed freely; in the seats, so did the fishy-smelling water.
Yue Shuai wiped his face for the 101st time just as the film cut to a very bright shot, clearly reflecting his lifeless, numb eyes.
“Captain.” Tao Anana, who was sitting next to him, asked amidst the shaking of the seats, “Why did we come to this theater…”
Before he finished, the door of the hall was suddenly barged open by a zombie in work clothes!
The four instantly slid under their seats, ducked their heads, curled up their legs, and held their breath. These series of actions were both quick and skilled, clearly something they had done countless times before.
The zombie in work clothes solemnly surveyed the room, saw nothing unusual, and left.
The four, nearly at their limit, finally exhaled a big breath and sat back in their seats to “continue watching the movie”.
Why did they enter this cinema?
Actually, all four knew the answer.
North of the city was not like the south; it was rare to see a living person, let alone borrow (steal) a car. The last time at this checkpoint, they almost failed because they were “looking for a car in the north”. So, this time they were smarter, directly finding a truck in the south and speeding all the way to the docks.
They originally planned to board the ship with the truck and continue driving after crossing the river, but then they encountered Xu Wang and others, and the truck became a bicycle. Once off the ship, they were back in the same situation as the last checkpoint.
However, there are no two identical leaves in the world.
Last time, they gritted their teeth and made it to the hospital.
This time, they had barely taken a few steps, not even leaving the riverbank, when they encountered a large group of square-dancing zombie aunties. The aunties’ combat power was like nuclear weapons. After several rounds of fighting and seeing an imminent wipeout, the four had no choice but to flee, finding a small path and blindly rushing into this riverside theater.
The theater was quite considerate, directly isolating the aunties outside.
But as soon as the door shut, their [Cheat Sheet] dinged. [Welcome to Sunshine Cinema. Please proceed to the 4DX hall and enjoy the movie. After viewing, fill out the answer sheet. A full score is 100 points; passing is 60 points. P.S. Please hide well, as there will be staff inspections. Since you haven’t bought a ticket, if found, bear the consequences.]
For a long time, the four companions stared at the [Cheat Sheet] still unable to calm the turmoil in their hearts.
Then, a collective tearful accusation almost overturned the theater’s roof.
“Why is there a game within a game?! Ahhhh——”
All this was fifty minutes ago.
Now, the four companions finally waited for the big “The End” on the screen.
Just as the seats steadied, the lights in the hall suddenly turned on, instantly brightening the room.
An exam paper floated down from the ceiling into Yue Shuai’s hand, along with an answer sheet and a 2B pencil.
Captain Yue remembered the fear of being dominated by senior year in high school.
“What’s the surname of the male protagonist’s sister’s spare guy? Who can remember such a long name—”
“Who was the first zombie the female lead killed, and whose songs did she like to listen to before death? Is this a question humans can answer?!”
“Captain, don’t be agitated. It’s all in the movie, just not easy to notice. Let me do it… In the bar the mother of the male lead likes to go to, there’s a cowboy who always sits at the bar. How many times did he blink while whistling… Who the fuck made these questions! I’m going to beat them—”
The Yue Team finally stumbled through the entire exam.
As the last question was marked, the exam paper, answer sheet, and pencil disappeared together.
The [Cheat Sheet] indicated that grading was underway and for them to please wait patiently.
Finally relaxing, the Yue Team suddenly worried about their recent opponents.
Tao Anan: “I wonder how they are doing.”
Wei Tianhang: “Probably went home early.”
Tao Anan: “We should have reminded them.”
Wei Tianhang: “It was so intense when boarding the ship. Who would have thought to say that.”
Yue Shuai: “It might not be so coincidental to meet them. Maybe before they crossed the bridge, the amusement park people had already gotten a car from another team.”
Su Mingzhan: “Today all the teams entering this checkpoint are veterans, mostly starting in the north. Teams needing to cross the bridge from the south might just be us two.”
Wei Tianhang: “Then it’s over—meeting those crazies, they’re doomed for sure.”
Yue Shuai: “Not necessarily. Didn’t we escape?”
Wei Tianhang: “They’re a team of rookies. Can they compare to us?”
Yue Shuai: “I think they’re quite capable.”
Su Mingzhan: “Captain, you now have a tendency to be a fanboy. It’s dangerous.”
Yue Shuai: “……”
Wei Tianhang: “Haa, I thought that psycho Chi Yingxue would never meet a compatible team. Now it seems anyone can find a place.”
Su Mingzhan: “It’s easy to fall in love, but difficult to get along with each other. Whether it can last, we’ll have to wait and see.”
Yue Shuai: “You can ponder all you want, but why are you looking at me…”
Ding—
[Cheat Sheet]: Grading complete. 59 points.
……
Beijing time. The pink Beetle successfully got onto the “Bridge of Happiness” and encountered an amusement park.
Specifically, the island in the middle of the river was where this “Happiness Amusement Park” was located, splitting the bridge into two sections, making what should have been a simple river crossing into a complicated three-part journey: “South Bridge—Amusement Park—North Bridge”.
More importantly—
“There’s no mention of this place on the map.” Wu Sheng unfolded the map, and all his friends could clearly see that the river was only marked with a bridge, with no mention of an amusement park, let alone an island in the middle of the river.
“A hidden location?” Qian Ai, now fully aware of the deceptive nature of their journey, wasn’t surprised at all.
“Are you sure this is an amusement park?” Kuang Jinxin swallowed. “It looks more like a haunted house to me.”
No lights were on, and the vast amusement park was unlit from the inside out.
Nearby, high walls stretched out on both sides, almost endless to the eye. The walls were covered with colorful abstract paintings, each looking like a dark Picasso. The gloomy night made the only potentially bright colors lose their vibrancy, leaving only twisted human and animal figures and other bizarre shapes in the darkness.
Farther away, the rides in the park cast long, lifeless shadows on the high walls. Their shapes were indistinct, and only their deep contours were visible. The park’s greenery was the same, with flowers, grasses, and trees mixing together, swaying in the night breeze like shadowy figures.
The only recognizable structure was the Ferris wheel.
A towering Ferris wheel, as if reaching for the moon, stood in the center of the park. Each cabin was shaped like a small bathtub with wings hanging from the arms like a raised shower head, creating the illusion of cute bathtubs flying in the sky.
This was the only installation that broke the deadly stillness of the park, yet it too stood quietly, bathed in moonlight.
“Are the doors and windows all locked?” Xu Wang asked his companions, who confirmed they were. He then seriously added, “In any case, we need to be cautious at all times.” With that, he turned to Wu Sheng. “Drive.”
Wu Sheng nodded slightly.
The pink Beetle, with its headlights on, cautiously started moving again, slowly entering the amusement park gate.
They knew that having the headlights on could expose them, but without the lights, who knows what dangers lurked in the darkness ahead? A collision would be even more dangerous.
Inside the park, it was eerily silent.
Outside, at least there were insects chirping and distant zombie howls, but once inside, all sounds ceased. The deeper they drove, the quieter it got, almost until it reached dead silence.
No one knew the layout of this uncharted amusement park; Wu Sheng could only follow the general visitor’s path, heading north.
The road was smooth, but it was clear that teams had fought zombies here before. Large patches of blackened blood stained the road beyond recognition, and zombie corpses were everywhere. Some were even piled up obstructing the way. Wu Sheng had to avoid them, continuing north through the side roads.
He turned on the high beams, hoping to maximize visibility. The light helped his companions see the carousel and pirate ship they passed.
“Clack—”
Suddenly, with everyone on high alert, the vehicle jolted as if it had run over something.
Wu Sheng hit the brakes, and the Beetle, not going fast to begin with, immediately stopped.
“What was that?” Xu Wang quickly turned to him, asking in a tense, hushed voice.
Wu Sheng didn’t respond, his expression growing grim.
Xu Wang gripped his weapon tighter.
Wu Sheng didn’t shake his head, indicating he had an idea of what it might be but still needed to confirm it. And Xu Wang was sure whatever it was, it wasn’t going to be pleasant.
Putting the car in reverse, Wu Sheng gently pressed the gas, backing up without warning.
The front wheel rolled over “that thing” again, and as it retreated under the headlights, it revealed its true form.
A leg.
A rotten, amputated zombie leg.
The leg was initially on the left side of the road in the bushes, perhaps with just half a foot protruding onto the road, unnoticed by Wu Sheng until it was run over. Now, after being repeatedly rolled over, it had popped out of the bushes and fully entered the range of the headlights.
“All the avoiding, and we still couldn’t escape it.” Qian Ai looked away, having seen many limbs before, but still feeling nauseous after staring too long.
“Something’s not right…” Wu Sheng narrowed his eyes.
After a moment’s thought, he suddenly turned the steering wheel while reversing, angling the car’s headlights 45° to the left.
The high beams shifted from the road ahead to the left-side bushes.
“Fuck…” Qian Ai’s words trailed off as he was thoroughly disgusted, afraid he’d vomit if he opened his mouth again.
Corpses littered the area.
Various types of dead zombies lay in the bushes, like cans thrown into a scrapyard.
They had been focused on the road and hadn’t checked the bushes on either side.
While Qian Ai and Kuang Jinxin were still shocked, Wu Sheng suddenly turned around and drove back much faster than before!
“What’s going on?” Qian Ai felt a sudden surge of unease, aware that something was amiss but clueless as to what.
Xu Wang, however, understood.
Despite the signs of battle everywhere, they had avoided all obstacles, creating a “smooth path” inadvertently. Had it not been for that accidental “amputated leg,” they would have continued on the unobstructed path.
“Someone deliberately cleared a path, leading us to a specific location in the park!” Xu Wang said quickly, scanning between the windshield and the passenger window, vigilant of their surroundings.
He didn’t know what awaited them at that specific location, but it was sure to be nothing good.
On one of the glances towards the window, Xu Wang heard Wu Sheng curse. “What the hell…”
Xu Wang reflexively looked back towards the front, his eyes widening to their limits at the sight.
In front of them, on the road they had just traveled, appeared a massive quicksand pit!
What the hell kind of side plot is this?!
“Brake, brake, brake—” Classmate Qian from the backseat shouted in panic, knowing they couldn’t jump the width of the pit even if they tried.
He didn’t hear the suffocating screech of the tires already scraping against the ground.
But Wu Sheng knew the moment he pressed the brake that the distance wasn’t enough to stop. “Jump out of the car—”
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