The Only Player in 'Child of Stardust'

"It's not a matter of trust," Gu Honggao said in a deep voice, "My intuition tells me that he can lead us out of here."

Everyone exchanged glances but said nothing more.

Because Gu Honggao's intuition had always been very accurate. It was his extraordinary ability.

Dong!

Suddenly, a dull bell rang from deep within the park, and a few colorful fireworks exploded in the sky.

Everyone immediately became highly alert.

It was midnight.

·

"Once you get on, clear your mind and focus on thinking about your childhood, your childhood fantasies, your childhood happiness, your childhood wishes..."

In front of the carousel, Zhou Yuan was explaining his guess to Chen Guangxi, "This carousel probably measures the purity of one's inner world, so only children who haven't been corrupted by society's harshness can ride it.

Although you still look like a child, your inner world isn't as pure as a child's. Maybe recalling your childhood constantly can meet this requirement."

"Alright, I'll give it a try."

Chen Guangxi nonchalantly picked a horse on the carousel, gave a thumbs up, and signaled her teammates to start the ride.

The investigator at the control panel pressed the button, colorful lights suddenly lit up, and with melodious and cheerful music, the carousel slowly began to turn.

One minute later.

Thwack!

A bloody gash exploded on Chen Guangxi's arm, as if slashed by an invisible blade.

"No good?" Zhou Yuan's face slightly changed.

Thirty seconds later, another bloody wound burst open on Chen Guangxi's other arm.

"The speed is slow, there's hope!"

Bai Xiao's eyes lit up as he explained,

"The attack frequency of the carousel will gradually speed up. Usually, within thirty seconds, the rider would be covered in wounds. But it's almost two minutes now, and Chen Guangxi has only been hurt twice. At this rate, she has a chance to pass."

Zhou Yuan's expression remained solemn. The method still wasn't right. If it were correct, she shouldn't be attacked at all.

But if she could pass like this, it would be acceptable.

As long as...

Three minutes after the carousel started, two bloody explosions suddenly erupted on Chen Guangxi's shoulders. Next, one after another, bloody wounds burst open all over her body, as if she were being cut into pieces.

"Damn it, what's happening?" Bai Xiao and the others wanted to rush up to save her.

"Wait!"

Zhou Yuan stopped them, seemingly having figured something out, and shouted at Chen Guangxi, "Hold on a bit longer. Stop thinking about those things now. You need to start enjoying, enjoying the happiness of riding the carousel!"

"Enjoy, my ass!"

Chen Guangxi cursed inwardly. She was being cut into pieces; how could she enjoy anything!

Thwack!

As her mind wavered, more bloody wounds erupted on her body, and she twisted in pain.

Damn it, give it all you got!

Chen Guangxi took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down despite the circumstances, pushing the physical pain to the back of her mind. She relaxed her spirit and started to feel the atmosphere of the carousel.

The carousel gradually sped up, and colorful lights cast mottled shadows on each horse, as if covering them all with a layer of dreamy gauze.

In this dazzling interplay of light and shadow, Chen Guangxi felt as if she were in an interwoven illusion of time and space and gradually became dazed.

She recalled her first time riding a horse. Although the speed of the horse was far slower than her flying speed, the freedom and exhilaration of galloping across a vast meadow were unforgettable.

She was just over a hundred and twenty years old then, ridiculously young, often causing trouble everywhere, and even the horse seemed to have been stolen from a hero, maybe even his wife? It was strange, indeed.

Ah...

I was so carefree and happy back then...

In a daze, reality and memory seemed to intertwine, and a genuine smile appeared on Chen Guangxi's face.

Then, she heard children's laughter and screams echoing around.

She saw a child on each horse, their faces beaming with pure joy, their eyes sparkling with innocence and happiness, their hair and clothes fluttering in the wind as if they were about to fly along with the horses.

The horses also seemed to come alive, rising and falling, galloping and jumping.

Before she knew it, five minutes of playtime had passed and the carousel slowly came to a stop.

The lights dimmed, and the music abruptly ceased.

The children's phantoms on the horses gradually faded.

Zhou Yuan and the others stood with their mouths agape, stunned.

Because those children were real spiritual apparitions.

They all saw them!

"What the hell..." Zhou Yuan rubbed his eyes hard, seeing a little boy make a face at him; it wasn't a dream!

[They were spirits but good spirits. Most of the people who died in the amusement park were filled with resentment, turning into vicious and bloodthirsty Fierce Ghosts after death. But some retained their kindness even after dying.

Dache had earned their recognition, and they would help you from now on.]

The children's apparitions gradually vanished, but they would reappear whenever needed.

"Holy crap?" Chen Guangxi finally came to her senses, patting herself all over. "I'm still alive?"

She felt something hard in her pocket. Taking it out, she saw it was a piece of a key.

"I passed!" Chen Guangxi was astonished.

"Damn, that's awesome!" Bai Xiao patted Zhou Yuan's shoulder, his face brimming with excitement, "You were right, how did you figure it out?"

Zhou Yuan wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and let out a long breath, "Although this amusement park had become abnormal, it was still generating happiness, even if it was for the Fierce Ghosts. Its essence remained unchanged: [providing happiness].

The essence of the amusement park was to provide happiness, regardless of gender or age. The rides were likely the same way, but this carousel only liked children with pure hearts. So I thought, why doesn't it like adults?

Then I realized, because adults can't be happy.

Endless mortgages and car loans, the severe challenges of career, emotional ups and downs, family expectations, and society's invisible shackles... all of these weigh heavily on adults. Even in a place like an amusement park, adults find it hard to be happy.

Rather than wander around, they prefer to find a place to lie down.

Moreover, rides like the carousel might seem childish to adults, so naturally, they can't enjoy it.

And since the carousel couldn't make adults happy, it developed a sense of frustration over time and came to dislike them."

"So, the condition to pass is simple—just be happy."

Zhou Yuan paused, "As for those wounds, I guess they represent the various pressures that adults have to endure."

"Impressive, you're the most well-rounded of this batch of newcomers."

Chen Guangxi clapped a few times, accidentally pulling a wound, wincing in pain, quickly taking a bottle of light pink potion from her Storage Ring and drinking it.

"An alchemy potion to heal wounds," she explained in passing.

Zhou Yuan nodded, "Let's head to the roller coaster."

He felt a bit heavy-hearted because the roller coaster disguised as a ghost was highly likely to kill anyone who tried to figure it out.

At that moment, there was a sound of footsteps approaching. Someone was coming.

Zhou Yuan turned his head and was stunned, then quickly drew out a steel rose and was ready to fire.

"Wait, don't!" Chen Guangxi quickly stopped him, "It's not a ghost."

"Not a ghost?"

Zhou Yuan still shaken, stared at the newcomer in disbelief.

—It was none other than Jiang Wuming, who had turned into a balloon head!

"You're not dead?"

Zhou Yuan's mind was a mess. He clearly saw Jiang Wuming's balloon head.

"I died, but I won the revival match and came back from Hell!" Jiang Wuming said with a smile.

[This was the unique trait of this unfortunate guy. He kept dying due to bad luck but revived every time. He was an immortal, an endlessly dying person.]

"You see, Jiang revives after death, and he has a special ability—wherever he is, as long as he's alive, no one else will die. If there's a situation where someone must die, he will die first, and only after his death will others die." Chen Guangxi explained.

Zhou Yuan was stunned for a long time, then suddenly slapped his thigh, showing a delighted expression.

Now they had a candidate to figure things out!

Having just won the revival match, Jiang Wuming felt a sudden chill down his back, sensing that the ominous star above his head had started shining again.