I Became the Most Popular Character by Acting as a Villain in the Manga

Chapter 18

The Mermaid Princess subconsciously chewed on the Talisman paper in her mouth, paused, then spat out the Talisman paper with a "tui" sound, letting out an angry roar.

She spread her fingers, which had thin webs growing between them, and her sharp nails hooked into claws, swiftly grabbing at Zhou Chenhao's head, as if she wanted to pull his head off.

Zhou Chenhao quickly and decisively plunged his head into the water. The Mermaid Princess's long, sharp black nails grazed the top of his head, only snatching off his official's hat.

He lifted his head from the water, pushing his drenched bangs, which were plastered to his face, back from his forehead, revealing his wet forehead. Immediately after, he tilted his head to dodge another hand that the Mermaid Princess lunged at him with.

"I thought I could get away with it," he said, his deep brown eyes slightly curved, "She doesn't seem very happy, does she?"

Bai Xuechao: "..."

There were too many things to mock; I didn't know where to start.

It truly was him, the male lead.

"It's already like this, and you're still joking? Go feed the fish!" Although Xia Xiaoxi said that, she swung several vines, half of them forcefully whipping the Mermaid Princess's dorsal fin to attract its attention; the other half wrapped around Zhou Chenhao's arm, wanting to pull him back—Bai Xuechao's water current would be constantly invalidated, making it slow to bring Zhou Chenhao back, whereas solid vines were easier to control.

"Thanks!" Zhou Chenhao grabbed the vine through the fabric of his sleeve, then kicked the Mermaid Princess's scaly abdomen, giving himself a boost, and slid a good distance through the water.

The Mermaid Princess had clearly turned her head when she was whipped, but then she was kicked again. She let out an angry roar, plunged into the water, and continued to chase Zhou Chenhao.

Ling Feng rubbed his forehead, a little headache.

Was he really not doing it on purpose?

Water continued to pour into the exhibition hall, and when it hit the surrounding glass walls, it would swirl back, forming flowing, shallow eddies.

Zhou Chenhao, with his hands alternately grabbing the vine through his sleeves, swam back, as the water current, driven by the vortex, pulled him to one side.

"Mer..." Bai Xuechao originally wanted to call out "Mermaid Princess," but seeing her grotesque and ugly appearance, he felt it would be an insult to the cute and beautiful Mermaid Princess in fairy tales, so he swallowed the last few words and simply shouted, "I have a ticket here!"

The Mermaid Princess indeed reacted to the two words "ticket." After hearing it, she stopped chasing Zhou Chenhao and swam towards Bai Xuechao.

Bai Xuechao supported himself with a water column, sitting about two meters above the water surface. About a meter beside him were Xia Xiaoxi and Ling Feng, whom he also supported with water columns.

Seeing the Mermaid Princess swim over, Bai Xuechao tossed the ticket in his hand to her.

The Mermaid Princess leaped out of the water with a flick of her tail, bit the ticket, chewed a few times, and swallowed it. After eating the ticket, she stood upright in the water, looking at Bai Xuechao, her gill slits on both sides of her face opened, and her fan-like ear fins twitched, letting out what was probably a happy cry.

The sound alone was fine, but with the visual, it was a bit unbearable to look at directly.

Next, the Mermaid Princess's gaze fell on Xia Xiaoxi and Ling Feng beside Bai Xuechao, and she swam towards them.

Xia Xiaoxi and Ling Feng also threw their tickets over.

The Mermaid Princess ate the tickets they threw, and again let out happy cries. Then, a sudden surge of thick water current rushed into her face, pushing her backward.

Xia Xiaoxi was startled, her emerald eyes wide, looking at Bai Xuechao, not understanding why he did that; the Mermaid Princess would attack him!

However, the Mermaid Princess had no reaction whatsoever.

She no longer looked at the three of them, and plunged back into the water, continuing to swim towards Zhou Chenhao.

Bai Xuechao confirmed: "She won't attack anyone who has fed her a ticket."

Over there, Zhou Chenhao was being carried by the water current still surging into the exhibition hall, drifting almost a full circle. He was originally to the right-diagonal of the group, but now he had drifted to the left.

Fortunately, the water in the exhibition hall was accumulating more and more, and the vortex's current was becoming gentler, so his swimming speed increased significantly.

However, the water wasn't clear. Small fish, sand, stones, and fragments of marine plants from the aquarium were all surging into the exhibition hall with the water. He couldn't see clearly with his eyes open underwater, and small grit kept almost getting into his eyes, so he closed them and frantically swam through the water, using the vines to navigate.

At that moment, he seemed to hear someone shouting something on the water surface. His ears were blocked by water, and his hearing was a bit muffled, so he poked his head out of the water.

The moment he opened his eyes, he saw the Mermaid Princess leaping out of the water and flying towards him!

At the same time, he clearly heard what Xia Xiaoxi said: "Damn it, why did you stop! Didn't I tell you to hurry and swim after the Mermaid Princess passed?!"

As she spoke, several vines sprang from the bottom of the water, wrapped around the Mermaid Princess's waist, and forcefully pulled her back into the water, splashing water half a meter high.

Even so, the Mermaid Princess did not turn to attack Xia Xiaoxi; she was just struggling against the vines.

"She won't attack anyone who's fed her a ticket!" Ling Feng shouted to Zhou Chenhao, "Try to see if you can find your ticket in the water!"

Although he knew it was a bit much to ask, there was no other way.

"Okay!" Zhou Chenhao replied.

The Mermaid Princess cut the vines with her sharp claws. Xia Xiaoxi quickly replaced them with new vines, this time wrapping around her arms and waist completely, preventing her from chasing Zhou Chenhao.

Zhou Chenhao searched for anything that might be a ticket in the water, but the water was filled with small pieces of seaweed, red and purple algae, swirling sand, and occasionally small fish darting out... it was truly difficult; finding a ticket was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Within these few minutes, Xia Xiaoxi tried hard to pull the Mermaid Princess with vines. Each time her vines were cut by the claws, she regenerated new ones using her special ability.

Her special ability was being rapidly consumed, and a thin layer of sweat appeared on her forehead.

Bai Xuechao also helped by using water currents to trap the Mermaid Princess, but he pretended to be a Level 4 special ability user, so his attacks would dissipate after one hit.

Ling Feng's special ability was not very convenient to use in the water, so he could only watch.

Bai Xuechao spoke again: "This won't do. My special ability can't last much longer, and it might not be enough for him to find his ticket."

Special ability users needed to consume special ability when using their special abilities.

The higher the level of the special ability user, the higher the upper limit of their special ability value, and the more special ability they could use.

Xia Xiaoxi was Level 3, and Bai Xuechao was pretending to be Level 4. Special ability users of these levels didn't have high special ability values, and the number—or rather, the amount—of special ability they could use was still limited, unable to withstand such frequent use.

Bai Xuechao continued: "Even if he finds it, the ticket is probably already ruined since it's made of paper. I don't know if feeding it to her would still work then."

Xia Xiaoxi kept controlling the vines to grow, and her special ability was indeed being consumed heavily; she couldn't hold on much longer.

She quickly asked: "Then what should we do?"

"I need to go," Bai Xuechao looked towards the exhibition hall's main door, which was closing due to the rushing water. His clear voice, like a mountain spring, calmly stated, "I've watched the mermaid performance, which counts as finishing this ride, so I can already leave the aquarium."

"Oh right!" Xia Xiaoxi agreed, "Then I'll open the door and let's get out of here!"

Ling Feng nodded: "Okay."

Bai Xuechao controlled the water column to move in the water, sending them to the exhibition hall's European-style main doors.

At this moment, the water in the exhibition hall was accumulating more and more, already several meters deep, exceeding three-quarters of the exhibition hall's height. It was believed that it wouldn't be long before it reached the ceiling. Therefore, the magnificent European-style main doors were entirely submerged in water, naturally including the two vertical door handles.

The doors opened inwards.

Bai Xuechao controlled the water by the door to push backward, drawing other water with it.

But there was too much water in the exhibition hall, and it was still continuously increasing.

He could only expose two-thirds of the door, because Zhou Chenhao was still looking for his ticket in the water, and he needed to leave space for Zhou Chenhao to breathe above his head.

Zhou Chenhao was pushed aside by the water.

Because Zhou Chenhao's skin wasn't directly touching the water controlled by Bai Xuechao's special ability, and his special ability couldn't spread in the water, isolating special abilities with water, Bai Xuechao's control wasn't invalidated, which was essentially a bug in his special ability.

When he broke the surface, his head hit the ceiling, and he was bewildered: "Eh?"

Why was there suddenly so much water?

Bai Xuechao and Ling Feng grabbed one of the door handles, but there was still a lot of water accumulated below, pressing against the door. Water was still flowing out from the bottom crack, creating a pushing force against the main door, causing the two of them to fail at pulling it open, even with force.

Ling Feng said: "I'll use my special ability."

Wind began to rotate around the door handle as its center. Ling Feng pulled the door forcefully, and the wind speed also increased, forming a small tornado.

The water beneath their three feet also gradually began to churn, flying higher and higher, eventually circling over their heads, constantly rotating, like a passage made of water.

However, the wind in this "passage" was very strong, blowing everyone's hair wildly.

Bai Xuechao felt that he was caught in a strong wind, and Zhou Chenhao behind him was a bit too comfortable. With a mischievous thought, he loosened his control over the water behind them a little, allowing the wind to affect the back as well.

The wind also didn't directly touch Zhou Chenhao's skin, but rather moved the water, so it wasn't invalidated.

Zhou Chenhao in the water felt the direction of the water flow slowly change. Originally, the water from the aquarium was flowing into the exhibition hall, horizontally swirling. Now, it had become vertical. The water flow speed increased rapidly, and before long, a vortex appeared, swirling him wildly like a tumble washing machine.

Zhou Chenhao was dizzy and disoriented: "???"

Xia Xiaoxi realized that the water around Zhou Chenhao was also affected, preventing Zhou Chenhao from catching his breath. They needed to open the door quickly.

She simply stopped using vines to bind the Mermaid Princess, and several vines wrapped around the door handles, pulling inwards together.

The Mermaid Princess finally didn't have to repeatedly cut the vines around her. Freed, she struggled to swim in the vortex, chasing Zhou Chenhao.

Xiao 6 shouted: "Help! The male lead is going to be dizzy from all the swirling!"

Who would believe that an invalidation special ability user could be affected by the effects of other people's special abilities!

"I'll also lend a hand," Bai Xuechao said, then further loosened his control over the water behind them.

After all, he was a Level 4 special ability user now, so the amount of water he could control in one go was limited.

Bai Xuechao: manual doge emoji

He only left space for the door and their three positions. The rest of the water, along with Ling Feng's special ability, churned wildly, almost moving all the water in the entire exhibition hall, creating a huge suction force.

One person and one mermaid spun wildly and completely out of control in the "tumble washing machine."

Zhou Chenhao: "Gurgle gurgle gurgle—"

Mermaid Princess: "Awoo awoo awoo gurgle gurgle awoo—"

The door was pulled open a crack, and water poured in, almost closing the door again.

Bai Xuechao then changed the direction of the water flow, continuously flushing the door.

Ling Feng might have coordinated with him after their struggle with the door earlier, and also changed the direction of the wind with him.

The water flow became horizontal, and space reappeared above.

Zhou Chenhao finally floated to the surface to catch his breath. The Mermaid Princess recovered and immediately went after him.

"Hot-pot, you go first!" Xia Xiaoxi shouted.

Zhou Chenhao swam with the current. When he reached the main door, he squeezed into the half-meter wide crack, and along with the surging water, he rushed into the aquarium tunnel's viewing corridor. The force of the water was too great, and the ground, wet, was slippery. He couldn't stop himself and was constantly pushed outwards by the current.

The Mermaid Princess seemed unwilling to give up without eating a ticket and rushed in after Zhou Chenhao.

Her speed swimming with the current was even faster than Zhou Chenhao's. Xia Xiaoxi, fearing she would catch up to Zhou Chenhao, tied her waist with vines, but they were instantly snapped.

Xia Xiaoxi instinctively grabbed the broken vines, but was pulled along with them. She could only pull hard on the vines, constantly shortening their length, closing the distance to the Mermaid Princess. Finally, she rode on the Mermaid Princess's back, covering the Mermaid Princess's eyes with her own hands, preventing her from seeing Zhou Chenhao's exact location.

Xiao 6: Woke up too fast, saw a girl riding a mermaid.

The main door, battered by both wind and water special abilities, finally couldn't bear it and completely broke, getting swept into the water.

With the door gone, it was like a huge hole, and more water surged in.

Bai Xuechao controlled the water to carry himself and Ling Feng, chasing after Xia Xiaoxi and Zhou Chenhao.

So, Zhou Chenhao was propelled by the water current at the very front, Xia Xiaoxi rode the Mermaid Princess, following him, and Bai Xuechao controlled the water current, bringing Ling Feng, in pursuit at the very back.

The scene was too wild.

Perhaps thinking Zhou Chenhao was escaping, the Mermaid Princess let out a piercing shriek.

Xia Xiaoxi couldn't help but raise her hands to cover her ears, but she still remembered to bind herself to the Mermaid Princess with vines.

The glass of the aquarium tunnel developed cracks with crisp sounds. The Mermaid Princess kept screaming as she swam forward, and the glass of the entire tunnel was shattered by the vibrations. Water immediately squeezed into the tunnel, and various aquatic creatures also entered the tunnel with the current: manta rays, sea turtles, sharks...

Outside the aquarium tunnel was the mini-game arcade, where all the tourists were gathered, afraid to play any games.

They hadn't played games for too long, and ghosts were already lurking outside the door, seemingly waiting for the opportune moment to rush in and capture tourists with glowing wristbands. And they were unaware of the ghosts' dangerous nature.

At this moment, someone looked confusedly towards the aquarium tunnel: "Is there some movement?"

Seeing water flowing across the ground, someone said: "A leak?!"

The water grew more abundant.

The tourists began to panic.

Just then, Zhou Chenhao burst out of the aquarium tunnel and into the mini-game arcade.

The mini-game arcade was large, and the water rushing from the tunnel spread out instantly, significantly weakening the current.

Zhou Chenhao finally managed to stand up, spat out water, and ran towards the aquarium's main door.

Someone warned: "Hey! The door won't open!"

Another person asked: "Where's the water coming from? Is the aquarium leaking?"

Zhou Chenhao had barely opened the door with his front foot when Xia Xiaoxi, riding the Mermaid Princess, appeared behind him. She swung off the vines from the Mermaid Princess's back, jumped down, and caught up with Zhou Chenhao.

The water on the ground here was only a thin layer, so the Mermaid Princess couldn't swim and crawled quickly across the floor.

The tourists were greatly alarmed to see the Mermaid Princess: "Holy crap, what is that thing?!"

"Is that a mermaid??"

Immediately after, a group of aquatic creatures rushed into the hall, flapping their tails on the ground, struggling and thrashing, while sea turtles crawled forward.

That wasn't all. Two more youths rushed out of the tunnel with the water, pushing the aquatic creatures even further.

The tourists looked at the two youths.

One of them was wearing a black zhiju shenyi (a type of traditional Chinese garment) with a tall hat that read "Peace on Earth," dressed as Black Wuchang; the other had fashionably dyed white hair, wearing a red round-collar robe and a wusha hat, standing with Black Wuchang... Uh, a judge of the underworld?

What was puzzling was that these two also ran towards the main door.

The tourists watched their retreating backs, then realized: the first boy who ran out hadn't come back yet, did that mean the door was already open?

Water continued to pour into the mini-game arcade. The tourists no longer cared about saving the stranded fish on the ground and all ran towards the main door, wanting to leave.

Zhou Chenhao was the first to rush out of the aquarium's main door.

The moment he stepped out, the yellow light on his wristband went out.

Xia Xiaoxi was the second to rush out of the main door, and her wristband also went out.

The Mermaid Princess crawled behind them, but couldn't get out, as if an invisible air wall trapped her in the aquarium. This was quite normal; she was an special ability product from the aquarium itself and naturally couldn't leave.

Bai Xuechao and Ling Feng passed by her, stepped out of the main door, and the yellow lights on their wristbands went out.

Zhou Chenhao let out a long breath and suddenly burst into laughter: "I think I was just playing whitewater rafting!"

"Why didn't the Mermaid Princess catch up to you? She should've bitten you to death," Xia Xiaoxi taunted him, wringing water from her two low pigtails on her chest. She looked back at Bai Xuechao and Ling Feng, who had run out, revealing a shocked expression: "How are your hats still on?"

She thought Zhou Chenhao's hat had been washed away by the water a long time ago.

Bai Xuechao made a flicking motion with his hand, and all the water on his body was flung off onto the ground, like a small rain shower.

Ling Feng also used his special ability to air-dry himself nearby, the wind quickly evaporating the moisture from his black Hanfu.

Xia Xiaoxi gasped: "Darn it, I get it now."

The special abilities of these two, one water and one wind, made it incredibly simple to protect their hats in the previous situation.

At that moment, Xia Xiaoxi felt the water on her body seeping off and being flung to the ground. At the same time, wind was helping to dry her, meaning both Bai Xuechao and Ling Feng were helping her.

Xia Xiaoxi: So touched!

Only Zhou Chenhao was left, completely soaked, and shivering in the night wind.

...It seemed his invalidation special ability wasn't worthy.

The tourists inside the aquarium followed them out of the door. Before they could rejoice, the ghosts lurking outside the door swarmed them, grabbing the tourists whose wristbands were still glowing yellow.

"I'm not playing anymore!" A tourist swung his arm, trying to break free, his face filled with anger. "I want to leave! What kind of garbage event is this broken Marine amusement park running, the aquarium's..."

Before the tourist could finish his sentence, the ghost twisted his constantly moving arm.

Amidst the tourist's piercing screams, his arm bent at an angle that would normally be impossible.

It was broken!

A tourist was shocked: "Holy crap, is this for real?"

"Is it fake?" Another person couldn't believe it. "Is it a specially designed magic trick?"

Meanwhile, Zhou Chenhao's eyes widened.

The ghosts weren't just targeting them anymore; they weren't even sparing the tourists!

He stepped forward and punched the ghost in the face.

Unlike the previous situation, this time the ghost completely ignored him and didn't fight back, letting him punch it before continuing to pull the tourist.

The tourist, after breaking his arm, gasped in pain, looking at Zhou Chenhao, who was the only one who had acted, with pleading eyes: "Save me... I'm not acting..."

Seeing this, Bai Xuechao said: "Ghosts will only capture tourists whose wristbands are glowing."

They had just finished a ride and gained an unknown amount of "Lights-out time." Now their wristbands weren't glowing, so the ghosts wouldn't touch them.

"Isn't that perfect?" Zhou Chenhao cursed under his breath, then rushed forward and kicked the ghost that was dragging the tourist, and punched it again.

Such an opportunity to unilaterally beat up ghosts couldn't be missed!

Xia Xiaoxi and Ling Feng also followed, joining in to beat the ghosts.

Xia Xiaoxi even used her special ability, making vines strangle the ghost's neck and drag it backward.

Given that the ghosts were now attacking tourists, the fact that the Marine amusement park had a problem could no longer be concealed. Saving people was the priority; the matter of exposing special abilities could be handled by the SAIDB's logistics department later.

Xiao 6 excitedly waved flags and shouted: "That's team spirit! As long as one person moves, the other two will definitely follow. They're so shippable!"

After sneezing, Bai Xuechao also joined in, creating a stream of water with his special ability to flush away a ghost.

Xiao 6 asked concernedly: "Host, did you catch a cold?"

"Maybe a little," Bai Xuechao said.

He took advantage of the protagonist group's focused fight against the ghosts, with no one paying attention to him, and stood in a blind spot of everyone's vision. A small ball of flame quickly rolled across his back and then disappeared.

The fire warmed his clothes, and his back felt much more comfortable. Bai Xuechao felt much better.

Xiao 6 was utterly shocked: "Host, how many special abilities do you actually have?!"

What a cheat!

Bai Xuechao lazily said: "It's a secret."

The protagonist trio pushed back the ghosts, but the ghosts seemed to feel no pain. Even if they were knocked down, they would get back up and continue their assault.

"They need to play a ride," Bai Xuechao explained. "Otherwise, the ghosts will keep chasing them."

Ling Feng immediately said: "Let's take them to the carousel. That should be safe, and they won't be attacked while queuing."

"I think that's a good idea," Xia Xiaoxi agreed.

Zhou Chenhao picked up the tourist who had originally broken his arm: "Then let's go, to the carousel!"

He kicked the approaching ghost again, then shouted to the still-frightened tourists: "Everyone, keep up! If you encounter danger, call us!"

After the fight with the ghosts, the tourists knew that these people had the ability to save them, so they quickly followed.

As Xia Xiaoxi left, she used vines to bind the ghost that tried to follow, tying it to a lamppost, with several vines wrapped around it many times. Although the ghost could break free with force, so many vines should be enough to delay it for a little while.

Zhou Chenhao ran ahead, leading the tourists, and temporarily hid behind a roadside snack shop before the ghost broke free from the vines and chased them.

He asked: "Which way is the carousel?"

Bai Xuechao took out his phone, which was tucked in the gap between his leather belt and waist, and used his special ability to shake the water out of it. The phone was of good quality, waterproof, and didn't turn off even after getting wet.

He opened the Marine amusement park app, found the carousel's location, and showed the map to Zhou Chenhao: "Turn left at the next road."

Seeing Bai Xuechao clear the water from his phone, Xia Xiaoxi lifted her yellow Taoist robe and pulled out her, Zhou Chenhao's, and Ling Feng's phones from the small cloth satchel she was carrying—she was the only one of the three who had a small bag, so the other two's phones were with her.

Thank goodness, she had been so active while riding the Mermaid Princess, yet her phones hadn't been lost.

While Zhou Chenhao was looking at the map, Xia Xiaoxi walked to Bai Xuechao's side with the three phones and asked: "Can you help clear the water from these?"

Bai Xuechao "hmm"-ed, and water dripped from the speaker holes and charging ports of the three phones.

"Thank you!" Xia Xiaoxi said, putting the phones back into her small satchel.

Zhou Chenhao continued to lead the tourists, while Ling Feng used his special ability to push them from behind, helping them run faster.

When they encountered ghosts, the group would work together to push them back, then Xia Xiaoxi would use vines to bind the ghosts to lampposts or other objects, allowing the tourists to run ahead. If a ghost broke free, she would immediately bind it again.

Bai Xuechao would also stay behind to cover their retreat, accompanying Xia Xiaoxi. After Zhou Chenhao and Ling Feng had led the tourists far away, the two of them would then catch up.

Xiao 6 held up a red heart and whispered: "Host, I feel like you're pretty good to Xia Xiaoxi."

"Are you shipping again?" Bai Xuechao had just finished running and was breathing heavily, his heart pounding uncomfortably. As he walked with Zhou Chenhao and the others, slowly calming his breathing and heartbeat, he spoke to Xiao 6 in his head.

Xiao 6 displayed a meme of a cat chewing corn, showing its teeth, and made a strange sound: "Hehehehe jijijie..."

"You're not wrong," Bai Xuechao surprisingly didn't deny it.

Xiao 6 raised the red heart high: "Wow!"

Bai Xuechao softly said: "Because she's Su Zhao's younger sister."

Because Xia Xiaoxi was Su Zhao's younger sister, he would try his best to take care of her.

He first tested whether the Mermaid Princess would still attack after being fed a ticket, because Xia Xiaoxi would use vines to attack the Mermaid Princess; he was afraid that Xia Xiaoxi would consume too much special ability in a short period and suffer side effects, so he suggested leaving. Otherwise, with his special ability, he could have let Zhou Chenhao fish for the ticket for a while longer; he actively helped Xia Xiaoxi shake the water off her body at the aquarium door; and when Xia Xiaoxi was left alone to cover their retreat, he stayed with her.

If Xia Xiaoxi encountered danger in the future, he would also save her. Even if he died, he wouldn't let Xia Xiaoxi die.

Xia Xiaoxi was Su Zhao's most beloved younger sister.

Xiao 6 hugged the red heart and whined: "It's so shippable! Shipping everything just keeps me nutritionally balanced!"

"...You're going to be over-nourished," Bai Xuechao said.

He was now completely calm and used to Xiao 6's shipping antics. Xiao 6 shipped fictional characters, shipped couples, shipped everything, and also shipped nothing. It was indeed "universally loving" as it claimed, so it often "changed its mind," meaning it just shipped casually. He wouldn't take it seriously, and Xiao 6 wouldn't truly feel deeply either.

However, he was becoming more and more interested in the high-dimensional world. He, personally, feared boredom the most and always needed to find something interesting to do.

The high-dimensional world seemed to have a very high level of technology, capable of creating System AIs like Xiao 6. He was a bit curious about what other differences there were between the humans and artificial intelligence in that world, because Xiao 6 possessed seemingly human-like thoughts and intelligence... Uh, its intelligence might need a discount, and wait, its ability might also...

Bai Xuechao: "..."

Thinking about it that way, could Xiao 6 be the mentally challenged one of the System world?

Lost in thought.jpg

At the same time, the protagonist group, with the tourists, approached the carousel. Seeing the scene before their eyes, they all showed expressions of shock.

Even Bai Xuechao was a little surprised. He had expected many people here, but not this many.

Xiao 6 exclaimed: "Wow, so many people!"

They saw that the tourists at the carousel had formed an extremely long queue, as if half the Marine amusement park's population was queuing there. It was almost impossible to see the end with one glance; it was all people.

But the tourists didn't seem to realize that there was a limit to the number of people queuing for a ride. Just like they couldn't exploit a bug and not play games after entering the aquarium, it was an invisible rule.

Because Bai Xuechao noticed that from about five hundred people onwards in the queue, ghosts began to lurk on the side, as if waiting for the moment to pounce. However, the tourists seemed to think that the ghosts staying on the side and not attacking meant that they couldn't harm tourists waiting in line for a ride. Everyone looked relieved, their bodies somewhat relaxed, and not a single person looked scared.

Bai Xuechao said: "Too many people in the queue also violates the rules."

Hearing this, Ling Feng was first stunned, then looked at the ghosts lingering around the queue without leaving, revealing an expression as if he had realized something. Because the behavior of these ghosts was exactly the same as the ghosts outside the aquarium when they were exploiting the bug; they were all lingering and not leaving.

"I need to find a way to make the tourists behind the first ghost leave," Ling Feng pointed to the position of about five hundred people in the queue, which was where the ghosts began to appear. "Otherwise, when the time comes, they will all be in danger."

Almost as soon as he finished speaking, the ghosts pounced on the queue!

The protagonist group immediately went to stop them, protecting the attacked tourists. At first, they were able to control it, but after a short while, their wristbands also lit up!

They could deal with the ghosts when they didn't fight back, but once the ghosts started attacking them, they couldn't hold on.

Eventually, the protagonist group, Bai Xuechao, and three bewildered tourists were all forced into a ride near the carousel. Of course, Bai Xuechao wasn't chased in by ghosts; he intentionally followed the protagonist group inside.

In front of them was a large black pointed wooden house. A sign next to it read—

Magic Horror House.

"I've played this one," Xia Xiaoxi said, feeling her phone vibrate in her satchel, pulling it out as she spoke, "Inside, people dress up as witches, vampires, zombies, mummies, and other scary characters. You can use props from the haunted house to resist them, and there are 3D projected magical creatures. Overall... it's not that scary."

She took out her phone and found that the vibrating phone was Zhou Chenhao's. The special ability user sent by the SAIDB had called through internal software.

Xia Xiaoxi handed the phone to Zhou Chenhao and continued: "I still remember some of how to get through it. I'll tell you what to do when we go in. It should be fine."

Zhou Chenhao took the phone, saw the caller ID, and went to one side to answer the call.

"Are the NPCs inside still human?" The little girl in a black Lolita dress, one of the three tourists, asked trembling with fear, "They won't be like those ghosts... killing people, will they?"

Xia Xiaoxi: "Uh..."

She couldn't lie about that; once they went in, they would know if she was telling the truth.

Seeing her reaction, the little girl understood. She had initially wanted to leave, but then looked back to see ghosts lingering outside the horror house's fence, so she turned her head back, looking worse than crying: "I've also played this haunted house, and I remember some ways to get through it. Please, if we encounter anything, don't leave me behind."

"Don't worry," Xia Xiaoxi said with sincere eyes, doing her best to give the little girl a sense of security, "I won't leave anyone behind."

Zhou Chenhao came back after his call, standing not far away and waving at Xia Xiaoxi and Ling Feng. He thought for a moment, then also waved at Bai Xuechao, gesturing for him to come over to talk.

The three walked over and heard Zhou Chenhao quietly say: "The person sent by the bureau to support us is a Level 6 special ability user, but they can't get in yet because there's an air wall blocking the outside. He hopes we can hold on for a while longer. He has already reported the situation, and reinforcements will be coming. He will also break through the wall as soon as possible."

So that's what he was talking about. No wonder he called Bai Xuechao over to listen.

Because he had let them know that the bureau would send someone when they were in the aquarium, and he was also involved, he didn't hide it from him.

Ling Feng nodded: "Okay."

Xia Xiaoxi said: "No big deal."

Bai Xuechao "hmm"-ed, felt his phone vibrate, and put the back of the hand holding the phone behind him.

When the protagonist group led the three tourists into the Magic Horror House, Bai Xuechao lagged at the very end of the line and looked at the message he received.

[Stars: I'm looking.]