The Only Player in 'Child of Stardust'

In the quiet of the morning, the amusement park felt like a graveyard. The rides were all motionless, as if dead, a stark contrast to last night's bustling noise.

Everything was silent, not even a whisper of the wind could be heard.

A chilling aura permeated the entire amusement park, almost tangible like death and silence itself.

"It feels like we're the dead ones," Zhou Yuan exhaled a breath, which appeared as white mist in the air.

Night was a stage for ghosts, the amusement park was lively and hospitable;

Day was the realm of humans, yet the amusement park appeared lifeless, cold like a corpse.

Life and death, yin and yang, humans and ghosts... the whole world seemed bizarrely inverted.

Is this abnormality...

Zhou Yuan's gaze shifted to a shop by the roadside. Inside, it was a mess; shelves were toppled, stuffed animals scattered all over the floor, stomped beyond recognition. The food section was completely empty.

But last night, he clearly remembered it being warm and tidy, the products neatly arranged, and the food section brimming with goods.

It seemed there were indeed many differences between the park during the day and at night.

Soon, the group arrived at the carousel, and a prompt popped up before Zhou Yuan:

[A seemingly ordinary amusement ride. Nothing unusual can be seen—just kidding.

This carousel is unique, it only welcomes those who are innocent and childlike at heart because it loves children's pure and untainted spirits.

Adults' spirits have long been corrupted by this filthy world, no longer pure. If they try to ride, it will become enraged.]

Only children with pure hearts can ride?

Zhou Yuan instinctively looked around at the group, among them the closest to being a child...

Seemed to be only him?!

Zhou Yuan's expression became peculiar. It wasn't that he was deliberately acting childish, he just happened to be the youngest.

Even Bai Xiao, who looked like a high school student, was actually over twenty-five years old.

But he was only considered a "child" among them and certainly didn't meet the carousel's requirements.

Do they really need to catch a kid?

"Did you see anything with your nifty tool?" Chen Guangxi asked.

"This carousel seems to really dislike adults. It should... need a child to ride it."

Zhou Yuan pretended to frown, thinking for a while before saying, "We don't have any kids here. How about catching a little ghost and tying him up tonight to try?"

Chen Guangxi clicked her tongue: "Are you serious? Those little ghosts have parents. If a child goes missing, the parents will seek help from the park staff, and those staff are the enforcers of the park's rules, extremely powerful."

Hearing this, Zhou Yuan knew they had tried this method before, but it didn't seem to end well.

"Besides, I'm just a kid, yet I still triggered the killing rule when I rode it," Chen Guangxi added.

Zhou Yuan was instantly startled, like he had seen a ghost.

You?

A child?

"Damn, don't look at me like that. I'm just three hundred years old, still young," Chen Guangxi rolled her eyes.

Three hundred years... Zhou Yuan's eye twitched. Longevity Species sure had a different concept of age.

"Let's go check out the roller coaster and Ferris wheel."

The roller coaster wasn't far from the carousel. They reached the destination after walking for two or three minutes.

Zhou Yuan looked at the roller coaster parked at the starting point.

[Don't be deceived by appearances. This roller coaster looks like a roller coaster, but in reality, it's a Fierce Ghost disguised as one.

I must remind you, destroying amusement park facilities will attract the park's security, so killing it isn't feasible.

Another tip: You should check your backpack.]

A Fierce Ghost disguised as a roller coaster... Zhou Yuan realized why investigators had a hard time finding the roller coaster's killing pattern. It wasn't a mechanical ride but a Fierce Ghost, killing at random with no pattern.

As for checking the backpack... it meant there was an item inside that could help clear this challenge.

The grilled sausages?

Zhou Yuan began to consider, the sausages were food for ghosts, maybe they could be used to distract the roller coaster ghost, making it temporarily stop killing.

"So, what did you find out this time?" Chen Guangxi asked again.

Zhou Yuan shook his head: "Hard to say, let's test it out tonight."

Then, the group headed to the Ferris wheel.

[Again, don't be deceived by appearances. This looks like a Ferris wheel, but it's actually the source of the amusement park's abnormality.

To clear this challenge, you must undergo a deadly mental test.]

The source of the park's abnormality?

Zhou Yuan was instantly intrigued, studying the Ferris wheel closely, but no matter how he looked at it, it seemed like an ordinary Ferris wheel.

Maybe they had to wait until night?

No, the Ferris wheel had looked the same last night too.

Zhou Yuan pondered over the prompt from his Eyes of Identification again and suddenly had a realization.

"——Only by entering the director's office can you see the Ferris wheel's true nature?"

If collecting key fragments and entering the director's office was the first-stage task, then triggering it after entering might be the second-stage task, revealing the amusement park's abnormality.

And now the Eyes of Identification gave a hint: The Ferris wheel was the source of the abnormality.

So, this assumption was reasonable.

Zhou Yuan immediately looked at a building in the distance:

"I want to take another look at the director's office entrance."

A few minutes later.

Zhou Yuan and his group arrived at the entrance to the amusement park director's office.

"If you're thinking of using your ability to phase through, forget it. We've tried everything. The door, walls, windows, ceiling, and floor are all protected by a mysterious force," Chen Guangxi reminded him.

[This room hides the secrets you seek, but you need a key to unlock it. And, Dache was right.]

"Nothing more to see here, let's move on."

The Eyes of Identification provided no useful tips, so there was no point in staying.

Back at their base, Gu Honggao approached Zhou Yuan, asking: "What's your plan for tonight?"

Zhou Yuan pondered briefly:

"First, let's try the carousel."

He looked at Chen Guangxi, who was staring blankly ahead, "Let her go."

"Huh?"

Chen Guangxi looked as puzzled as if she had been asked to eliminate the Tang Monk and his disciples, pointing at herself: "Me?"

"Aren't you a child? Then you're the only one who can go," Zhou Yuan shrugged.

"But I tried before and still triggered the killing rule."

"That's because I wasn't there. This time, follow my cues."

"Wow, that's bold. How confident are you?"

"Top secrets cannot be revealed."

Zhou Yuan pretended to be mysterious, but in reality, he wasn't very sure either.

They could only wait until night to find out.