At the entrance was a small booth functioning as a photo selection room. Inside sat a woodpecker wearing glasses. It took one look at Qi Xu and began tapping away on its keyboard.
Qi Xu stepped inside with her legs spread wide and craned her neck to peek at its computer screen.
The screen was filled with various photos from the game just now. After carefully reviewing them and failing to find a single photo of Qi Xu smiling, the woodpecker took out 10 game coins and a small slip of paper from a drawer.
"Congratulations, challenge successful!"
Qi Xu didn't even say "thank you," afraid she would throw up right in its face.
She quickly ran to a nearby trash can, not caring whether it was clean or not, and vomited violently. She threw up for nearly three minutes. Aside from her morning sandwich, she hurled up yesterday's dinner and all the stomach acid she had.
Only then did her head feel slightly better.
What the hell was that? It was absolutely disgusting!
"Are you a player? Are you alright? I have some tissues here."
Qi Xu felt like she was dying. After throwing up, she felt completely drained of energy. Just then, she suddenly heard a very magnetic and gentle male voice.
Although she couldn't see what the person looked like, she saw the tissue handed right to her mouth.
Qi Xu took it, wiped her mouth, and finally looked up to thank him, taking the opportunity to observe the man.
He was wearing a black thermostatic combat suit and stood about 1.8 meters tall. His eyes were clear and bright, and he had a clean, refreshing aura. His features were gentle, making him look completely unaggressive.
He wore a pair of half-rimmed silver glasses. After handing over the tissue with perfect propriety, he took a step back.
In a survival game, discussing whether someone was handsome or beautiful was quite unnecessary, but she had to admit that his looks and attractiveness were top-tier. It was the most impossible-to-ignore trait about him.
Qi Xu acutely noticed that after he touched the glasses on the bridge of his nose, a flash of surprise clearly appeared in his eyes. It was fleeting, but even though Qi Xu had just vomited her guts out, she still caught it.
"Did you just ride the spinning coffee cups? Was the spinning speed really fast? Here, have some water. I just bought it from the convenience store. You looked like you were suffering."
Qi Xu nodded, quickly averting her gaze the moment they made eye contact. Her cheeks flushed with a hint of shyness. She paused for a second before unnaturally tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, lowering her head as she said, "Yes, it spun too fast. I wanted to throw up before I even got off, but luckily I held it in..."
When a player was taking on a challenge, the specific situation couldn't be seen from the outside. A hazy, transparent light shield would appear, displaying only the image of an ordinary amusement ride, making it impossible to observe any details.
The corners of the man's mouth curled up slightly, revealing a faint smile.
"I see. I was actually planning to challenge it myself, but it seems it isn't easy. Did you succeed in your challenge?"
Qi Xu hesitated, as if unsure whether she should say it out loud.
"It's fine. I won't bother you anymore. Stay safe, and I hope we both get good results."
"Wait a moment..."
Qi Xu called out to stop him.
"How many game coins was this bottle of water? I've already drank from it, so I won't give it back. I'll just pay you the game coins."
The man shook his head. "It's fine, no need. It's fate that we ran into each other."
After saying that, his lips curved into another faint smile, and he turned around cleanly to leave.
Qi Xu stared intently at his back. She chased after him for two steps but then stopped.
She didn't turn to leave until he disappeared around the corner.
She headed straight for the amusement park shop next to the spinning coffee cups. She didn't want to search the entire park for other things to play; she needed to make money first.
"Welcome!"
Standing on either side of the entrance were two beautiful little rabbit waitresses. They wore tiered princess cake dresses paired with candy-colored stockings and had floral wreaths on their heads. It was a very dreamy outfit.
Qi Xu's eyes lit up as she stared at their clothes. "Wow, that's so beautiful! Darlings, do they sell those outfits here?"
The two little rabbits tilted their heads adorably. "Yes, guest."
Qi Xu didn't hear any notification about affection points increasing. She realized that in this instance, there was no way to charm the monsters. Another escape route was cut off, and the difficulty rating just went up by another star!
The spinning coffee cup ride cost 10 game coins. Because she successfully completed the challenge, the 10 coins were refunded, and she also received a small slip of paper.
There was only one word on the slip of paper: "Small."
There were too few clues at the moment to determine anything specific.
However, she already had a general direction for her guesses. Right now, the most important thing was making money.
Qi Xu spent all 20 of her game coins directly in the shop. She bought a pink wig, a tiered princess cake dress, and knee-high boots with bows. She also managed to get the shop to throw in a fairy wand and 10 balloons for free.
After getting dressed, she practiced her expressions in the mirror and painted her face. Unless someone was extremely familiar with her, they wouldn't recognize her at all. She then stored her own clothes in the shop before walking out.
She arrived under the large tree next to the spinning coffee cups. She spun and danced gracefully, as if someone were recording a video of her. She smiled wildly at an empty spot, waving and interacting with thin air...
Then, she froze in shock, crouched down, hugged her knees, and lowered her head to cry.
After crying precisely for 10 seconds, she repeated that entire sequence of actions all over again.
Very soon, she attracted the attention of several players.
Someone quickly came over to ask, "Hello, do you need any help?"
Qi Xu stopped in her tracks and mimicked the little rabbits from earlier, slightly tilting her head. "Excuse me, are you a brave human player?"
"Yes, yes, I am super brave!"
"Then could you help me?" Qi Xu tried her best to use her most delicate and vulnerable voice.
"Of course, just tell me!"
"I got separated from my best friend. She said she was going to take photos for me, but she never came out after going into the haunted house. I heard the haunted house is terrifying, so she must have been captured by evil spirits. I want to go save her.
But I don't have human players' game coins, so I can't get in. Could you give me 5 game coins? As a reward, I can give you the secret to clearing any amusement ride, allowing you to pass it successfully on your first try!"
Qi Xu put effort into her speech, making her tone rise and fall rhythmically while occasionally adding specific gestures. It couldn't have looked more realistic...
The player clearly hesitated. He only had 20 game coins in total. After walking around, he had found that the cheapest ride cost 10 coins. If he gave her 5, his options for rides would be greatly reduced.
But getting a guaranteed tip to successfully clear a ride wasn't a bad deal. If he challenged it himself, who knew how many times he might fail.
"Alright! Here!"
..........
Don't ask me if he is the male lead. There is no main couple, and no romance.
