This instance was quite interesting; there were already two traps before even stepping through the door.
The ground at the threshold was cracked, and the sprouting weeds had faded to a grayish-white. Their stems twisted and tangled around the iron gate like countless thin, bony hands pulling at the door.
After confirming there were no other clues at the entrance, Qi Xu took a large stride inside.
For a moment... the wind stopped, the singing stopped, and the completely black-and-white amusement park suddenly regained its true colors. It looked full of vitality, as if one had accidentally stumbled into a fairy tale world.
The black-and-white dead silence from just a moment ago felt like an illusion. Now, the colors were splashed about haphazardly, yet they were so vivid that it left one in a daze.
Children running happily, the sweet and blissful smiles of families, couples holding hands and leaning against each other, newlyweds in wedding dresses taking photos against the backdrop of a castle...
Continuous laughter and cheerful voices filled the air, lightening the entire atmosphere. It was completely impossible to tell that these were all puppets.
Of course, there were also players who had just arrived at this venue, just like him.
He hadn't run into any players at the entrance, but after walking in, he did. With at least 100,000 participants from each major region, totaling 500,000 people, and each instance accommodating 10,000 people, the probability of bumping into an acquaintance was simply too low.
There was no need to waste time looking for companions. Qi Xu constantly observed his surroundings...
Everyone was dropped into different locations, so the players were currently quite scattered.
[Welcome, Player Invincible Black Whirlwind. The amusement park is surely the most beautiful and dreamy memory in everyone's heart. I have 20 game coins for you here. Forget your unhappiness, throw away your worries, and go have fun happily.
Requirement: Successfully challenge at least three amusement rides daily (failure carries no penalty but does not count towards the total). The amusement park rejects any coward who just comes to stroll around. If you fail to complete this, you will turn into a mindless puppet.]
Twenty glittering game coins materialized directly in Qi Xu's hand. If only survival coins could be used in this instance, he might have been able to book the entire amusement park...
Even before the game announcement finished, Qi Xu had already taken action.
He went directly to the nearest "Spinning Coffee Cups." For no other reason than it had the shortest line.
Looking around, he noticed that the lines for popular attractions like the carousel, roller coaster, and log flume had already coiled like a game of Snake. Besides the players, the NPC tourists were also lining up to play; the place was booming with popularity.
[10 game coins per ride. Completing special designated tasks will reward you with extra coins and special clues.]
Qi Xu decisively paid the money to try it out first. With a minimum of three rides to complete a day, and this one with the shortest line requiring 10 game coins, he believed the others would cost just as much, if not more.
To successfully complete the daily task, he would have to figure out a way to earn more game coins.
After waiting for about two minutes, it was his turn. Qi Xu randomly chose a teacup and sat inside.
The staff members looked human, wearing incredibly fake smiles on their faces as they reminded everyone over and over, "Please, all big friends and little friends, make sure to fasten your seatbelts!"
Right now, all players were just weaklings whose 3D data stats had been reduced to the bare minimum upon arrival, so personal safety indeed needed to be taken seriously.
Qi Xu fastened his seatbelt securely, checking it inside and out several times. He pulled hard on it to ensure it was tight before letting out a slight breath of relief.
The staff checked them one by one. Just a moment ago, one was scolded by a child's father, complaining that the staff had buckled his child's seatbelt too tightly, digging into the kid's thighs.
The staff member apologized with a very good attitude, saying sorry repeatedly...
Soon, the check reached Qi Xu. "Hello dear, let me help you check your seatbelt."
"Thank you," Qi Xu responded with an equally fake smile, wishing he could stretch the corners of his mouth all the way to his ears.
The staff member paused for a moment but didn't say anything. They just pulled a rag from their pocket, wiped down the back of Qi Xu's seat again, quickly finished the inspection, gave a slight nod, and left.
Qi Xu hurriedly turned his head to look at where the staff member had just wiped. He suddenly discovered a row of warning signs on the backrest. Qi Xu was absolutely certain that this sentence wasn't there a moment ago.
It wasn't something like "sit tight and hold on" or "fasten your seatbelt," but a very rhyming nursery rhyme?
"Do not force your mouth to bend,
Not a care, let your brows extend.
Show no fear when the breeze blows free,
Smiles are given by your own decree~"
Qi Xu read it over several times and finally understood.
The staff's exaggerated smiles just now, forcing a smile even when being scolded, combined with this nursery rhyme's "your own decree," was absolute bullshit!
If it were truly up to their own decree, that staff member would have slapped that guy earlier. It was simply looking for trouble out of nothing!
So, connecting the first words of the four lines of the nursery rhyme revealed the secret to successfully clearing the "Spinning Coffee Cups": Do Not Show Smiles.
Qi Xu firmly gripped the handrails with a serious expression, spreading his feet to plant them steadily on the left and right sides of the coffee cup.
He had thought it would be a high-speed spin testing the limits of the human body, but unexpectedly, after the "ring ring" of the starting bell, soft and cheerful music played, and the coffee cups began to spin slowly.
There were tourists sitting in every coffee cup. Everyone looked relaxed, laughing and playing, and some even had their hands raised high, taking photos.
There were staff members in all four corners holding cameras to take pictures, and there were also many surveillance cameras above.
Whenever a coffee cup spun to the outermost corners, the staff would greet them with overflowing enthusiasm, "Hi, dear, smile! Photos can be picked up for free at the exit."
Qi Xu kept a straight face the entire time. Whether it was his brows, eyes, or the corners of his lips, he was absolutely certain they hadn't changed at all.
Gradually, the attitude of the staff members changed. They stopped smiling. "Smile for me! If we can't take a satisfactory photo, no one is allowed to finish!"
And at this very moment, the speed of the spinning cups also began to increase.
Qi Xu was already mentally prepared. This was more like it; the slow spinning earlier was just to amuse children.
Let alone smiling, Qi Xu didn't even dare to blink an eye.
The spinning coffee cups rotated faster and faster, and everything around him seemed to turn into a blur. As his physical stats dropped across the board, Qi Xu felt an indescribable sense of dizziness, nausea, and the urge to vomit.
His body was flying in front while his soul was chasing from behind; every minute and every second was agonizing.
Gripping the handrails tightly with both hands and bracing his feet firmly in their original positions, he didn't know how long he endured before the speed of the spinning coffee cups finally slowed down.
However, the dizziness was even worse than before. Yet, he didn't dare relax his vigilance in the slightest until he heard the announcement say: "Unfasten your seatbelts, take your belongings, and please proceed to the exit in an orderly manner."
Only then did Qi Xu continuously swallow his saliva, slowly grabbing the handrails to move toward the exit, trying hard not to throw up right then and there.
..........
