Rain tapped softly against the windows of Lucas's office.
The park was quiet; early mornings in late spring always were.
Only the distant hum of maintenance carts filled the air.
On his desk lay a thick envelope stamped ETF Ride Systems – Contract Proposal.
He had read it three times already, yet it still felt heavier than paper should.
Emma stepped inside with a cup of coffee.
"They confirmed the production slot," she said. "If we sign this week, delivery starts in March."
Lucas nodded. "Nine vehicles, three routes, full control package. Forty-three million total. Everything's here."
Walter entered next, carrying a folder of building permits.
"And the payment phases?"
"Four in total," Emma replied. "Design deposit, production milestone, delivery, and commissioning. Final ten percent at opening."
"Structured properly," Walter said with approval.
Lucas opened the binder and studied the final page.
Then he picked up his pen and signed—slow, deliberate strokes, his signature settling the deal that would define the park's next era.
Emma and Walter signed as witnesses for operations and technical oversight.
When he set the pen down, silence filled the room for a moment.
"Congratulations," Emma said softly. "You just approved the biggest investment this park has ever made."
Lucas smiled faintly. "Feels like we've come a long way from repainting fences."
Walter laughed. "And now we're commissioning trackless rides."
They shared a brief grin before Emma opened her laptop.
"ETF wants the first building drawings by next week. They'll send vehicle envelopes and motion data for layout adjustments. We need to freeze the foundation plan before December."
Lucas turned to the large whiteboard on the wall. He drew the ride building outline, marking guest flow, queue access, and backstage.
"Alright. We'll start technical design immediately."
While they discussed logistics, a faint shimmer crossed his vision — a quiet pulse of light that only he could see.
> [System update detected]
[Project approved – Legends of the Lost Realm]
[Funds allocated: +€18,000,000 to Design Phase]
Lucas blinked once, masking the reaction behind a calm nod.
Outwardly, he simply wrote a note in the margin: budget secured.
Inside, he felt the familiar quiet surge of energy, the system quietly matching his signature with real capital.
Neither Emma nor Walter noticed a thing.
"Budget's clear," he said evenly, closing the folder. "Let's get moving."
Rain softened outside, and the faint echo of Serpent's Run rolled through the morning air.
Lucas looked at the freshly signed pages on his desk and smiled to himself.
The dream was no longer on paper — it had funding, partners, and a deadline.
"Time to build something unforgettable," he murmured.
It began at sunrise.
Two white trucks rolled quietly through the park's service gate, their sides marked with "Elysion Construction Group." The drivers checked in with security, signed paperwork, and moved toward Explorer's Landing.
By the time most staff arrived, the first pieces of equipment were already in place — fencing, survey tripods, and a portable site office. The crew moved with calm precision, checking blueprints, unloading tools, and setting up safety zones.
Emma joined Lucas near the terrace of Globe & Griddle, watching as the plaza slowly transformed. "So this is the contractor you picked?"
Lucas nodded, keeping his voice casual. "Good reputation. Fast, organized, and used to working in operational parks."
Walter walked up beside them. "I've got to admit, they're sharp. I barely blinked and half the benches were gone."
"Efficiency," Lucas said. "That's why I hired them."
He didn't add that he hadn't hired them in the usual way. The system had simply made it happen: permits approved, names registered, paperwork perfect. Even the construction company's digital presence looked real.
To everyone else, these workers were ordinary people.
To Lucas, they were the embodiment of quiet perfection.
The team installed tall green fences around the entire site, each panel bolted into place with crisp precision. Within hours, the whole area was enclosed.
Warning signs appeared along the edges:
CONSTRUCTION AREA – KEEP OUT.
A temporary gate and security booth followed.
From the outside, it looked like any other large-scale expansion — noisy, organized, convincing.
Guests began gathering at the edges, pointing through the small viewing gaps.
"Something big," one man said.
"Another coaster?" guessed a teenager with a park map.
A woman shook her head. "Too close to the entrance. Maybe a new indoor ride?"
Emma smiled slightly. "The rumors are starting already."
"That's fine," Lucas said. "Let them wonder."
By afternoon, the plaza had changed completely. The benches and flowerbeds were gone, the open space replaced with machinery, tool storage, and neatly stacked rebar.
Inside the fenced area, the first excavation lines appeared. A small excavator hummed as operators marked the footprint of the future showbuilding.
Walter walked the perimeter once more. "They've even marked the backstage access road. Whoever these guys are, they've done this a hundred times."
Lucas smiled faintly, keeping his eyes on the precision of their work. "That's why I trust them."
He stayed until late evening, long after the park had closed.
Floodlights bathed the site in pale white.
The crew worked silently, steady and tireless, lowering steel into pre-dug trenches.
Lucas leaned against the fence, hands in his pockets, and watched.
The rhythmic clang of metal echoed across the plaza. Every sound meant progress. Every movement brought the dream closer.
He didn't need to tell them what to do.
They already knew.
It didn't take long.
Barely two months after the record-breaking launch of Serpent's Run, Elysion Park was back in the headlines.
The first photos appeared on Twitter one morning — shots taken from the terrace of Globe & Griddle, showing the tall green fences that now surrounded a massive section of Explorer's Landing.
> "Something's going up at Elysion Park again," one post read.
"Just two months after Serpent's Run — are they insane or geniuses?"
Within hours, the hashtags started trending among European coaster fans.
#ElysionExpansion
#MysteryProject
#NextBigThing
Fan forums lit up with speculation. Some claimed to see foundation rebar through the gaps. Others posted blurry photos of construction vehicles labeled Elysion Construction Group.
One user circled a corner of a steel beam and wrote, "Indoor coaster supports??"
By noon, even ThrillSeeker Ben had uploaded a short video titled "Elysion Park… Again?"
In his signature fast-talking style, he pointed at grainy footage filmed from the public parking lot.
"You can actually see the new fencing from the main road. It's right next to Globe & Griddle — practically the first thing guests see when they enter. Which means whatever this is, they want it front and center."
He zoomed in on the faint shape of steel being lowered behind the walls.
"No announcement, no sign, no teaser. Just walls. Classic Elysion move."
Lucas watched the video late that night from his office.
The system interface quietly hovered in his vision, tracking online mentions.
> [Public interest level: +32%]
[Projected attendance growth: +6.4%]
[Media exposure positive: 92%]
He leaned back in his chair and smiled faintly.
Every post, every rumor — all free marketing.
A few minutes later, Emma walked past his open door.
"Have you seen what's happening online? Everyone's going crazy over the construction."
"I've seen it," Lucas said.
"Are we putting out a statement?"
"Not yet," he replied. "The mystery's doing better work than we could."
She grinned. "You really enjoy this, don't you?"
Lucas turned the monitor toward her — the trending list filled with Elysion Park's name.
"It's not often you get to build a secret in plain sight," he said.
Outside, the night crew's lights glowed behind the green walls.
The sound of drilling and clanging steel echoed faintly through the park — a quiet reminder that while the world was guessing, the real work had already begun.
---
✅ Canonbevestiging:
Twee maanden na opening van Serpent's Run (september 2017).
Bouwproject wordt publiek zichtbaar, maar zonder officiële aankondiging.
Online fans beginnen massaal te speculeren.
ThrillSeeker Ben maakt zijn eerste updatevideo over het project.
Lucas besluit bewust te zwijgen — laat de hype groeien vanzelf.