Had the Closed-Eye Rule become ineffective?
Had the rules of the amusement park attractions changed after it was upgraded to S-Rank?
The group stared at Riverlord's headless corpse and the head Fire Fiend clutched in his arms, their faces grim.
As the roller coaster came to a stop, all six Spirit Realm Walkers received a notification:
[ Next round begins in 00:04:40 ]
"The next round starts in five minutes," Great Sage, Heaven's Equal, sitting in the back row, said, his expression tense as he gazed at Riverlord's headless body ahead. "If the Closed-Eye Rule is no longer valid, someone else will die when the next round begins. We need to figure out the new rule quickly. Has anyone noticed anything?"
Fire Fiend, still shaken, tossed the head out of the car and snapped irritably, "How could anyone figure out the rule with their eyes closed the whole time?"
Ashamed Father frowned deeply. "If the Closed-Eye Rule has changed, we need to find the new rule immediately. Otherwise, more people will die in the next two rounds."
Xishi bit her fiery red lip. "Ever since we decided to ride the roller coaster, I've been paying close attention to our surroundings, but I haven't found any valuable clues or information."
Without clues or information, they couldn't devise a targeted plan. Their only option was the most primitive approach: trial and error.
The Cost of Trial and Error
Great Sage, Heaven's Equal's expression darkened. "How could an S-rank spirit realm provide clear and explicit instructions for clearing it? If it were that simple, it wouldn't be S-rank."
Xie Lingxi pondered for a moment before adding her own perspective. "I'm sorry, it's my fault. We were misled by outdated guides and missed an opportunity to discover the true rules." Her eyes welled with tears, making her appear utterly pitiful and consumed by guilt.
Great Sage quickly reassured her, "It's alright, it's alright. Dwelling on the past won't help now. Just because we lack information doesn't mean there's no way forward. Let's use the time we have left to brainstorm."
He paused before continuing, "If the Closed-Eye Rule has changed, there are only two possibilities. First, the roller coaster's rule has become 'one death per ride,' as evidenced by the Riverlord's fate. Second, we've been closing our eyes at the wrong moments and missing crucial observations."
Xishi's eyes lit up slightly, as if seeing him in a new light. "So, we can't close our eyes anymore."
Zhang Yuanqing listened to his companions' discussion, his thoughts drifting elsewhere.
"First, let's rule out supernatural elements. Although my active skills are sealed, as a Nightwalker, my perception of Spectral Entities remains intact. If the amusement park's spirits were responsible, I would have sensed them immediately."
"As far as we can tell, the roller coaster still has three wheels. If that hasn't changed, why would the Closed-Eye Rule change? Perhaps the rule isn't the killer."
Zhang Yuanqing's heart jolted as a possibility struck him.
Could it be the work of an evil individual hiding among the group? Had the villain begun striking? But how could they have done it?
At that moment, "Ashamed Father" looked at the Fire Fiend and suddenly asked:
"When Riverlord died, why didn't you warn us immediately? Why wait until the coaster stopped?"
The Fire Fiend's eyebrows shot up. "What are you implying?!"
The middle-aged man maintained his simple, honest demeanor, replying calmly, "I'm just curious."
The Fire Fiend glared at him, shouting, "Of course I felt it! His head landed right in my lap! But did you think I'd dare speak up? Or open my eyes? If I'd warned anyone, I'd be the next one dead!"
Ashamed Father fell silent.
Zhang Yuanqing asked, "When did he die? Or rather, when did his head fall into your lap?"
The Fire Fiend answered without hesitation, "During the second climb."
Zhang Yuanqing immediately turned to Xishi. "You were right next to him. Did you notice anything unusual?"
Xishi shook her head. "I... I have a fear of heights. I was too terrified to pay attention to anything around me."
Zhang Yuanqing frowned deeply.
Based on the seating arrangement, the most likely suspects were Xishi, Fire Fiend, and Ashamed Father.
The Great Sage, Heaven's Equal, seated one space away, could be largely ruled out. Given his physical capabilities at the Transcendent Phase, it would have been nearly impossible for him to unbuckle his seatbelt, reach over Fire Fiend and Ashamed Father in the front row, and kill Riverlord in the second row.
Even if he could have avoided being detected by the two men, the roller coaster's momentum alone would have flung him out of his seat.
With this in mind, Zhang Yuanqing turned his gaze to the petite girl. Considering her height and arm length, she would have needed to unbuckle her seatbelt to reach back and commit the murder, making her an unlikely suspect as well.
Next, he needed to verify whether Fire Fiend was lying and confirm the exact time of Riverlord's death. Before the second ride began, Zhang Yuanqing closed his eyes and mentally visualized his father's features.
If Riverlord hadn't died during the roller coaster's high-speed descent, the murder must have occurred during the initial slow ascent, when the coaster's momentum was minimal.
In that case, Zhang Yuanqing, with his ability to record sounds, could directly pinpoint the killer.
As his father's facial features gradually sharpened in his mind, Zhang Yuanqing's heart leaped. His mental faculties surged, and the scene began to replay frame by frame, starting from his initial entry into the Spirit Realm.
As he mentally replayed these scenes, Zhang Yuanqing waited patiently.
Finally, they boarded the roller coaster. As the two-seater car slowly began to move, Zhang Yuanqing closed his eyes, cutting off the visual input.
But the sounds remained. He focused on the heartbeats and breathing patterns of the seven occupants.
Then came Xishi's sharp cry of surprise as the roller coaster plunged down a steep drop, hurtling toward the second peak amidst the thunderous roar. At that moment, a heartbeat in the back row vanished.
"Ah! What's wrong?" Xie Lingxi exclaimed, staring in shock at her companion whose nose was bleeding profusely.
The others stopped arguing and turned to look.
"It's nothing, nothing!" Zhang Yuanqing waved dismissively, wiping the blood from his nose. Gritting through the throbbing pain in his head, he forced a smile. "I've always had nosebleeds since I was a kid, especially when I see pretty girls."
Xie Lingxi blushed slightly at the remark.
Xishi and Fire Fiend exchanged suspicious glances. Ashamed Father, true to his name, merely glanced at him. Great Sage, Heaven's Equal, seated in the back row, seized the opportunity to steal a few glances at Xie Lingxi's face and Xishi's chest.
Zhang Yuanqing maintained a calm facade, inwardly cursing a blue streak.
Riverlord's death proved that the villains possessed special methods of killing!
"To take a person's head silently, without making a sound—that's terrifying. We have to stop him. One kill per round... after three rounds, only four of us are left. And we still have at least one more 'entertainment' activity. How are we supposed to play that?!"
At this point, it was practically a guaranteed death sentence.
Even if the killer wasn't a malicious actor but merely the roller coaster's rules, the outcome would be the same.
Zhang Yuanqing's anxiety grew with each thought, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
Everyone was a suspect, including Xie Lingxi beside him and the Great Sage, Heaven's Equal at the back. Zhang Yuanqing's gaze swept across the group.
Xie Lingxi, frowning in thought; Xishi, her face pale with unease; the silent middle-aged man; the Great Sage, Heaven's Equal, his eyes betraying hidden panic; and the Fire Fiend, muttering curses.
In that moment, he felt like they were all acting, each harboring their own sinister motives.
The danger in this Instance isn't just the entertainment facilities, but the Spirit Realm Walkers themselves, Primordial Heavenly Venerable cursed inwardly.
Simultaneously, a question resurfaced in his mind: Why was it the Riverlord who died?
Was the killer choosing victims randomly, or was there another reason?
If I were the Werewolf and had one chance to kill at random, who would I target? The answer came to him:
The smartest person in the group!
If that's the case, I'm next, Zhang Yuanqing thought, his scalp prickling with dread.