Chapter 77

Brother Wei said, "Wait a minute."
He felt Xiao Cheng was being a bit self-absorbed.
Whatever she thought, that’s what it was.
But he still knew nothing.
He didn’t even know there were ghosts.
Moreover, he felt Xiao Cheng’s thinking was a bit too extreme.
This was evident from her earlier statement that the ghosts’ wishes weren’t to kill the villagers.
Her understanding of "wishes" was quite strange.
Whose wish would be to kill people? Couldn’t it be something better?
Given that Xiao Cheng had just been exposed and immediately showed murderous intent, Brother Wei had no choice but to follow her lead and ask, "Are you saying that if we stay in the village, we’ll be haunted by ghosts?"
Xiao Cheng gave him a look that said, "Are you asking the obvious?" and condescendingly nodded.
Her attitude was still open to communication.
So Brother Wei spoke plainly.
"There must be some condition for ghosts to haunt people, right? We haven’t even seen a trace of ghosts today, we were just in the village for a while."
Xiao Cheng glanced at him disdainfully.
She said, "Just wait. They’ll come for you tonight."
Brother Wei: "..."
So confident?
Brother Wei didn’t press further.
Because Xiao Cheng had a time-related item, she might have her reasons for saying this, he just didn’t know them.
The two of them made some preparations and set off on their journey to find Gu Yi'an.
In the amusement park.
Gu Yi'an, Lu Zize, and the Hanged Ghost, two humans and one ghost, left the roller coaster area.
Gu Yi'an looked calm, operating her phone with one hand.
She tried hard to focus on her phone rather than on the hand that was being held.
At this time of day, the sun was blazing. Even though Gu Yi'an and the others were walking in the shadows of the buildings, the heat still swept over them with the stirring breeze.
Gu Yi'an felt her body growing a bit warm.
But Lu Zize’s body was cold, and a chill emanated from where their skin touched, making her unconsciously lean closer to him.
Gu Yi'an restrained herself.
Beside them, the Hanged Ghost glanced at the hand-holding pair. Lu Zize seemed to be in a rather good mood, while Gu Yi'an’s expression was unreadable as she played with her phone.
It could tell that Gu Yi'an was trying to hide her discomfort.
Now was the time for it, as a good subordinate, to step in.
The Hanged Ghost suggested, "Ahem. How about we go on that drop tower?"
Amid the bustling crowd, it wasn’t appropriate for the Hanged Ghost to address her as "Your Highness" or refer to Lu Zize as "Lord Lu."
Although Gu Yi'an appeared to be playing on her phone, she was actually paying close attention to her surroundings.
Just as the Hanged Ghost made the suggestion, Gu Yi'an happened to be replying to her brother, Gu Tianjing, who had asked if he could give her phone number to the plump Taoist priest who had saved him and Old Zheng.
She vaguely remembered having replied to a similar message before.
However, she had already learned from Lu Zize that this world had reset, so it must have been due to that.
Wait, did that mean their date wasn’t the first time either?
Gu Yi'an froze for a moment.
Lu Zize noticed her distraction and asked gently, "Don’t you like this ride?"
Whenever he spoke, his gaze was fixed on her.
His eyes held only her reflection.
Gu Yi'an saw it.
She averted her eyes.
Suddenly, Gu Yi'an couldn’t recall what the Hanged Ghost had just said.
She tried to remain calm and said, "It’s not that I don’t like it. It’s fine."
What ride had the Hanged Ghost mentioned again?
Never mind. As long as it was a ride for humans, there was nothing she couldn’t handle.
With that thought, Gu Yi'an followed the other two to the drop tower.
She looked up at the towering structure.
The birds flying in the distance didn’t even reach one-third of its height.
Screams from riders echoed from time to time, some voices growing hoarse by the end.
This seemed just as thrilling as the roller coaster.
Gu Yi'an: "..."
Although she had gotten used to the roller coaster, she wasn’t eager to experience something like that again.
She glanced at Lu Zize.
Hearing the screams, a faint, genuine smile appeared on his face, clearly showing some interest in the drop tower.
Lu Zize noticed her gaze and looked over, his eyes filled with concern.
"Scared? We can switch to something else."
He was accommodating her.
After a moment’s thought, Gu Yi’an shook her head.
With Lu Zize by her side, she wasn’t that afraid after all.
If they skipped every ride just because she didn’t like it, there would be nothing left to enjoy at the amusement park.
Meanwhile, the Hanged Ghost, standing nearby, had no idea it had almost missed out on the drop tower.
It gazed up at the top of the ride, listening to the human screams with a gleeful chuckle.
Its smile remained until it was seated on the drop tower.
A staff member, noticing the sunglasses-wearing visitor, kindly reminded, "Please remove your sunglasses."
Reluctantly, the Hanged Ghost rolled its eyes back to normal.
Of course, once they were up in the air, it reverted to its signature white-eyed stare.
The Hanged Ghost loved the sensation.
It cheered with delight.
In stark contrast to its excitement, Gu Yi’an remained silent.
Listening to the Hanged Ghost’s cheers, she stared quietly at the ground growing farther and farther below.
She knew all too well that the ride would ascend to a certain height before plummeting down, and she was acutely aware that she would soon face a rapid free fall.
The agonizing wait felt unbearably long.
Instinctively, Gu Yi’an tightened her grip on Lu Zize’s hand.
She must have been gripping him quite hard, but Lu Zize showed no reaction.
He instead pondered thoughtfully, "It seems we could build an amusement park like this in the future and come play every day."
Their seats were close, and despite the Hanged Ghost’s shrieks and howls on the other side, Gu Yi’an easily overheard Lu Zize’s words.
Every day?
If she understood correctly, Lu Zize’s idea was for them to visit the amusement park daily and ride these heart-pounding attractions.
Gu Yi’an replied, "...Don’t call me when that happens."
Once was fine, but doing it every day? No way, she knew her limits.
Suddenly, the ascending drop tower came to a halt.
They had reached the highest point.
Gu Yi’an’s heart tightened.
Then, the sensation of weightlessness struck without warning!
"Ahhh!"
The screams of other visitors erupted simultaneously.
The rush of wind and the hum of machinery flooded their ears.
The ground below seemed to zoom in abruptly.
They were plummeting downward at high speed.
Gu Yi’an was acutely aware of this.
"Don’t be afraid."
Even in that moment, Lu Zize’s gentle voice reached Gu Yi’an’s ears.
They were safe.
Gu Yi’an realized this.
She calmed down.
The screams around them continued unabated.
Amid the chaos, Gu Yi’an could make out the Hanged Ghost’s shouts.
It yelled, "Louder! I can’t hear you! Scream!"
Gu Yi’an thought that once they got off, the Hanged Ghost might get beaten up.
The tall, deep-green treetops swept past the crowd.
Then, the grayish-brown tree trunks came into view.
They had returned to the ground.
Staff members lifted the safety bars one by one.
Gu Yi’an tried to pull her hand back.
Then she caught Lu Zize’s meaningful gaze.
That look always reminded her of his earlier remark about being "used and discarded."
She felt a little guilty.
Gu Yi’an let Lu Zize lead her away from their seats.
Lu Zize asked, "Which restaurant should we go to?"
Gu Yi’an glanced at the sky and their surroundings before replying, "Let’s just pick one at random."
Pedestrians bustled around them, many casting glances at the strikingly good-looking pair.
Gu Yi’an noticed their stares and felt that passersby must have misunderstood their relationship, but she couldn’t very well walk over and explain the nature of their connection to strangers.
Forget it, let them misunderstand.
Gu Yi'an thought to herself. After suppressing these thoughts, she vaguely felt as if she had forgotten something.
She glanced at Lu Zize.
Lu Zize looked back at her, a trace of confusion in his eyes.
He asked, "Do you want to eat this?"
Gu Yi'an followed Lu Zize's gaze and saw a mobile stall selling cotton candy.
The vendor poured white sugar into the machine and placed a thin wooden stick at the opening. Immediately, strands of white, cotton-like sugar wrapped around the stick.
No wonder Lu Zize was confused, she didn’t seem like the type to enjoy this kind of candy.
Gu Yi'an shook her head.
Even Lu Zize didn’t remember anything, so it probably wasn’t important.
Gu Yi'an didn’t dwell on it any further.
Behind them, the hanging ghost wearing sunglasses stood under the shade of a tree, looking utterly incredulous.
"Seriously? They’ve forgotten me just like that?"
"Finally, we’re here."
Brother Wei couldn’t help but sigh as he listened to the voice from the navigation system.
He had been driving for four or five hours.
The car, documents, and money he had now were all stolen from others.
This weighed heavily on Brother Wei’s conscience.
But there was no other way, he had already crossed the line, and there was no turning back.
Brother Wei gripped the steering wheel, watching the road ahead, and said, "Xiao Cheng, we’ve arrived in the city. Let’s stop to eat first, then drive to Gu Yi’an’s university to find her. How does that sound?"
Xiao Cheng didn’t respond.
"Xiao Cheng?"
Brother Wei called out again and glanced at the passenger seat.
A sharp screech of brakes suddenly pierced the air.
The car came to an abrupt halt.
Brother Wei gasped for breath and exclaimed, "Are you trying to scare me to death?"
The moment he turned his head, he saw a face, ghostly pale with bloodshot eyes.
It was even more terrifying than a ghost’s face, startling him into slamming on the brakes.
"What’s wrong with you?"
Brother Wei studied Xiao Cheng closely.
Something was clearly off about her.
Not only was her face deathly pale and her eyes bloodshot, but her entire mental state seemed strange.
Seeing her like this, Brother Wei could only try to comfort her. "What happened? We’re teammates now, you can tell me. If you don’t want me to remember, you can always turn back time to before you told me. Didn’t you say that item of yours had no cost?"
"There is a cost," Xiao Cheng suddenly spoke.
Brother Wei froze.
He didn’t dare to press further.
Why would he want to know the cost of her item?
What if she killed him right after telling him and then turned back time to before his death?
Wouldn’t that mean he died for nothing?
Brother Wei didn’t want that to happen. He cautiously glanced at Xiao Cheng and said, "There’s always a cost. Just use it less, and it’ll be fine."
"There’s no way back. That description lied to me."
Xiao Cheng’s bloodshot eyes scanned the streets around them. "I’ve been to this place many times in the last round of the game. This is where I obtained the item."
"Huh?"
Brother Wei instinctively let out a questioning sound.
What did she mean?
She had been here many times in the last round, and this was where she obtained the item.
Was she saying she acquired the time-related item in this game world?
Brother Wei suddenly pieced some things together but didn’t dare to voice them.
Xiao Cheng’s gaze fixed on the shops lining the street outside the car window.
Her voice grew hoarse. "So it turns out I never truly escaped the world of despair."
"Once you use that item, you can never leave it behind."