After the pale male ghost finished frog-jumping, Mu Anqi's handgun was aimed at his head. Human and ghost, in this bizarre posture, both showed an "immensely regretful" expression, holding their ground until the Ferris wheel ride ended.
When the cabin door opened, the ghost disappeared. Mu Anqi walked down from the Ferris wheel holding her gun, feeling somewhat "surviving a great disaster."
Zhao Guogu and Si Suying had both finished their games before her. Mu Anqi, slightly weary, walked down and saw Zhao Guogu looking troubled. She couldn't help asking, "What? Are you hurt?"
"No, I have a passive skill. When the ghost tried to sneak attack, it slipped on its own. I don't even know how, but it smashed through the window and fell off the Ferris wheel." Zhao Guogu shrugged. "I have no idea how it managed that."
Mu Anqi: "…Then why do you have that expression?"
"Ah, at the top of the Ferris wheel, I saw the bad-boy school idol I liked the most in middle school." Zhao Guogu sighed sorrowfully. "Back then, he was the school bully, and he was so handsome. Sadly, he grew ugly later. Just now, seeing his youthful look that made my heart flutter again, I couldn't help but lament how unpredictable life is!"
Mu Anqi: "…Sorry to interrupt."
She looked at Si Suying. "You didn't get hurt either?"
"…Born single and face-blind, so I directly saw the ghost." Then fought with the ghost.
Mu Anqi fell silent and began to reflect on herself: why did she see General Ji? And it was that dashing look—battle robe draped over armor, clearly about to leap onto a horse and lead troops into battle!? Yes, that look really did suit her taste, it was indeed stunning, indeed impossible to look away from, but—
Mu Anqi began to doubt her life: that Ji Huaichu was a female ghost!
She wasn't Ning Caichen! And besides, Ning Caichen was a male scholar!
No… it wasn't really about that. Mu Anqi recalled her twenty years of life before death—although she had been single since birth, still… still, right? She should, probably, maybe… not be into women.
Why would she see General Ji at the top of the Ferris wheel? She clearly had not the slightest improper thought toward her. Mu Anqi felt that from now on she wouldn't be able to look straight at that beautiful face again.
…No, she could still look, but she might feel a bit guilty when their eyes met.
No no no—on second thought, she was simply a face-con! The person one saw at the highest point of the Ferris wheel shouldn't necessarily have anything to do with liking them! Zhao Guogu saw her middle-school male idol, and wasn't it just because of his face? As a face-con herself, seeing General Ji in full military attire—wasn't that perfectly normal? This was just normal appreciation of beauty, yes, exactly.
Mu Anqi quickly adjusted her mindset. After playing three attractions, she was a bit thirsty. She glanced around at the surrounding buildings and waved her hand. "Let's go! We'll find a place to eat something, replenish our strength, and then continue with the other instances!"
"Yay! I just saw someone selling grilled sausages over there!" Zhao Guogu responded cheerfully. Si Suying seemed about to say something, but seeing that Mu Anqi and Zhao Guogu had already made up their minds, she quietly followed.
Happily heading toward the dining area, Mu Anqi had no idea what kind of confusion she had brought to General Ji far away in the study of the Grand Lunar General's mansion.
Ji Huaichu looked at the screen showing the live broadcast of the game, her slender index finger lightly tapping the excited face of Mu Anqi on the screen. The general had never seen such a frivolous female player.
Things were becoming interesting.
Her eyes deepened as she looked at the little money tree on the screen. It seemed there was now one more reason why the money tree would never betray her—this person was greedy for beauty.
Ji Huaichu pressed her lips together. Had her methods of killing ghosts in the last instance been too gentle? The money tree actually hadn't developed any feelings of "fear"? Well, that was fine.
…
Of course, Mu Anqi didn't know that a "ghost" was patiently watching the "little money tree" grow strong. She rushed over to the food stall excitedly, only to discover that none of the items were free.
Before them, quite a few players had already inquired, but the shop owner ignored them completely, only trading with ghosts who queued up and paid in guansi. Clearly, this food shop in the amusement park was intended for ghosts.
After realizing this, Mu Anqi queued up together with the ghost tourists. The grilled sausage line moved very quickly, so Mu Anqi didn't wait long—about five minutes later, it was her turn.
"Grilled sausages aren't free," the shop owner said without even looking up. "Two guansi each."
Tsk, only two guansi—looking down on her, huh! With a thought, Mu Anqi took out twelve guansi. "Six grilled sausages, to go!"
The shop owner froze for a moment, then immediately broke into a warm, friendly smile. "Alright, alright, please wait a moment, dear customer!~" He moved quickly, and in no time, six steaming-hot sausages, crispy on the outside and tender inside, were packed in individual paper bags, then placed together in a large plastic bag and handed to Mu Anqi.
Two sausages per person, distributed fairly. Perhaps because the shop owner had devoted himself to perfecting sausage-making after becoming a ghost, the casing was incredibly crisp, the inside springy and juicy, the meat sweet and savory. One bite was unforgettable, leaving you wanting another.
"However, if this amusement park doesn't provide food or water, it's basically forcing players to quickly get nine tokens to clear the stage—or even encouraging them to get tokens through 'eliminating' others," Mu Anqi said as she bit into her second sausage, analyzing aloud.
Without food or water, players would inevitably run out of stamina. If they wanted to clear the stage before nightfall by honestly completing all nine grueling attractions… it would be extremely difficult. Eliminating ghosts or eliminating players would be much faster.
Right now, they could already eliminate the carnivore group. Clearing two more attractions would allow them to eliminate the herbivore group. The required tokens to clear the stage were nine, and the number of tokens would affect the final score…
With guansi, bullets, and a belly full of blessing words, Mu Anqi pondered for a moment, then suddenly broke into an excited smile.
This time, she might just have a chance to get an S rank!
"Let's go! Buy three bottles of water, and we'll head to the next attraction!" The grilled sausages were savory and salty—after eating two, she was feeling thirsty. They also needed to replenish their fluids. "Once we get five tokens, we'll go play Go-Karts again!"
Mu Anqi felt she had discovered the secret to making a fortune.
Even if those ghosts didn't play Go-Karts… bumper cars would do just fine! Any attraction with a chance to eliminate ghosts—Mu Anqi was confident she could play it a hundred times. As for repeated plays not awarding facility tokens? Who cared—who needed that one mark anyway?
She only regretted not converting all her points into bullets.
With that sudden flash of inspiration, Mu Anqi became extremely enthusiastic about the amusement park attractions. She quickly spent six guansi to buy three bottles of water, gave one to each person, then dragged Zhao Guogu and Si Suying toward the Rock Climbing Challenge.
The Rock Climbing Challenge was a special attraction in this amusement park that also awarded tokens. The rules were simple—just reach the top.
And so, they stood before the 90° vertical, 30-meter-high rock climbing wall.
Mu Anqi: "…Well, um, maybe… the haunted house attraction isn't a bad idea either?"
Zhao Guogu craned her neck to look at the 30-meter-high endpoint, then glanced at the climbing holds and indentations on the wall. "These kinds of challenges usually have safety ropes. It's a bit taller than normal, but should be fine, right? By the way, why aren't there any ghosts trying this?"
"Sweetie, this is the official rock climbing challenge. There's no such thing as a safety rope here~" the ghost in charge said with a big smile.
"Goodbye!" Zhao Guogu retreated quickly.
"Why don't you two go to the haunted house first?" Si Suying suggested, looking at the thirty-meter height. "I'll come find you after I'm done."
Only then did Mu Anqi remember that with Si Suying's ability to turn into a cat, this challenge wouldn't be hard for her.
Mu Anqi fell silent for a moment, then took out fifty guansi, put them into a red envelope, and went up to the person in charge. "I think… you might want to consider adding safety ropes."
The ghost in charge held the red envelope. "Just for you alone? Well… not impossible."
Mu Anqi took out another hundred guansi and stuffed them into the envelope. "Three people—make it easy for us. It's such a hot day, standing here all the time can't be easy for you. Take this, buy yourself something good to eat and drink, and take a little break."
The ghost in charge fell silent, staring at the red envelope in front of him. After hesitating for a moment, he nodded solemnly. "You're right! Adding them—what's three safety ropes anyway! Adding them!"
"Mhm. Since the safety ropes are a special service I paid for, other ghosts aren't allowed to damage them. That's reasonable, right?" Mu Anqi slipped the envelope into the ghost's hand and continued negotiating.
The ghost in charge thought for a second, then replied happily, "That's perfectly reasonable!"
Receiving the prompt that her skill had activated successfully, Mu Anqi showed a satisfied smile.
Before long, the safety ropes were ready, hanging down from the high endpoint of the challenge. Mu Anqi and the others tied the ropes around their waists, and once ready, they began the rock climbing challenge.
With a cold, emotionless, perfunctory "meow~," a pair of sharp white cat ears sprouted from the top of Si Suying's head, and a long white cat tail appeared behind her.
Mu Anqi and Zhao Guogu, for once in rare agreement, stared straight at Si Suying, and when she turned to look back at them, they tacitly lifted their heads to look at the scenery.
When Si Suying looked back again, Zhao Guogu glanced at Mu Anqi: Ah, cute kitty!
Mu Anqi returned the look: Quite the extreme contrast kind of ability.
In her cat-girl form, Si Suying was agile and nimble. Tied to the safety rope, she skillfully and swiftly grabbed a protruding rock, then stepped onto an indentation, climbing up rapidly.
Mu Anqi and Zhao Guogu—one with money, the other a damn lucky draw winner—had no physical enhancements. They could only climb up steadily, bit by bit. Before starting, Mu Anqi had loaded her pistol with special anti-ghost bullets, secured the gun at her waist on the rope, and only then began climbing.
Zhao Guogu made no special preparations—well, unless you counted the few warm-up stretches she did to loosen her muscles before starting. Then she began climbing like an ordinary person.
While Mu Anqi and Zhao Guogu were still struggling at the three-meter mark, Si Suying had already reached seven meters. Just as she reached out to grab a protruding hold, her hand suddenly closed on empty air. Her right hand instantly transformed into a cat's paw, leaving a series of claw marks on the wall below. She quickly shifted direction and climbed toward another high point, finally steadying herself.
"Careful, some of the climbing holds are fake."