Infinite: Dawn Game

Chapter 989 The Shadow on the Track

The roller coaster suddenly plunged down!

The wind howled in my ears, a feeling of weightlessness swept over my body, and everything around me became a blurry shadow.

Yu Shijiu gripped the handrail tightly, his eyes wide open, staring intently ahead.

He did not close his eyes.

But at the edge of his vision, in that distorted light and shadow, he vaguely saw—

A little girl in a white dress was squatting beside the tracks, hugging her knees, looking at him.

The little girl slowly raised her head, revealing her pale face, half-hidden by her long hair.

Those big, round eyes had no whites, only endless darkness.

At first glance, that face looked somewhat familiar...

Yu Shijiu wanted to take a closer look, but the roller coaster was going too fast, and the little girl's figure was instantly left behind.

First lap.

Second lap.

Third lap —

The roller coaster completed three loops amidst frantic plunges and spins, finally coming to a slow stop at the starting platform.

Click—click—click—

The sound of the chain pulling gradually slowed down and eventually stopped completely.

Yu Shijiu remained seated, not immediately unbuckling his seatbelt.

He stared at the empty tracks ahead, the soft, gentle voice, as if carrying a misty vapor, still lingering in his ears—

"I'll take you... away..."

"Shi Jiu?"

Anjie's voice came from the seat next to me, tinged with worry, "Are you alright?"

Upon hearing this, Yu Shijiu turned his head and looked at An Jie.

He blinked, and the dazed look on his face was quickly replaced by a well-behaved smile.

"It's alright, Sister An."

He bent down to unbuckle his seatbelt, flexed his left hand, and truthfully said:

"I'm just a little... dizzy."

Anjie stared at him for a few seconds, nodded, and didn't ask any more questions.

But her gaze lingered on Yu Shijiu's left arm for a moment.

During the roller coaster ride, she vaguely sensed an extremely subtle... pollution fluctuation coming from Yu Shijiu's direction.

It was very faint, so faint that it was almost negligible...

But Anjie's intuition also told her that it was not a normal reaction.

As the two stepped off the roller coaster, the incredibly enthusiastic clown staff member jumped up to greet them.

"Congratulations to both of you for completing our amusement park's most thrilling roller coaster ride! Here are your prizes!"

As he spoke, he looked down and took out two badges from his pocket, handing them to Yu Shijiu and An Jie.

The previous badges were similar, but this one is shaped like a roller coaster, with colorful little lights embedded in the miniature roller coaster, glowing softly.

Yu Shijiu and An Jie got off the roller coaster and reached out to take the badge.

Congratulations to player Yu Shijiu for obtaining the item: "Speed ​​Badge"

Congratulations to player Ange for obtaining the item: "Speed ​​Badge"

[Item Description: A small prize from the roller coaster area, symbolizing a thrilling experience.]

[Item Effect: When worn, this item slightly increases the player's agility, but the side effect is that it slowly accumulates "dizziness value." When the "dizziness value" reaches the player's critical point, the player will lose control of their balance. — (Note: This item is only effective in the dungeon "Shh, Please Be Quiet.")]

Yu Shijiu glanced at the badge in his hand and casually put it into his pocket.

Ange also put away her badge, her gaze sweeping over the clown next to her with an exaggerated smile.

"Do these badges... have any special meaning?"

She suddenly asked.

The clown paused for a moment, then laughed even more exaggeratedly.

"Of course! Each badge represents a lot of 'happiness'! When our visitors collect enough badges, they can win our park's mystery grand prize!"

"What big prize?"

"Hehehe~ This is a secret~ I can't reveal it yet~"

As he spoke, the clown raised a finger painted with black nail polish and pressed it against his lips, which were covered in lipstick, making a "shh" gesture.

"But I can tell you—the more badges tourists collect, the more 'happiness' they'll have! In the end, you'll be just like us, forever and ever 'happy'!"

After he finished speaking, he turned around and skipped away before the two of them could respond, and then turned around to greet other tourists.

"Don't miss it! My roller coaster is the most thrilling ride in the entire amusement park..."

On stage, Anjie's brows furrowed slightly.

To be "happy" forever?

What does "happiness" really mean in an amusement park?

This statement doesn't sound like a compliment at all.

"Sister An! Shi Jiu!"

Xu Han's voice came from not far away.

He, Chen Yi, and He Lingling have already come over.

Xu Han jogged over to the two of them, looked them up and down several times, and only breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that they were alright.

"I was so scared! My heart was pounding the whole time when the roller coaster started moving..."

As he was speaking, he suddenly thought of something and looked at Yu Shijiu.

"Shi Jiu, how are you feeling right now? Did you enjoy the roller coaster?"

"Fun."

Yu Shijiu nodded, but there wasn't much excitement in his voice.

He paused, then added, "Just now... I saw something up there."

"what?"

He Lingling immediately pressed for more information.

Yu Shijiu was silent for a few seconds, seemingly organizing his thoughts, before finally speaking truthfully:

"A little girl."

He said, "She was wearing a white dress, squatting next to the tracks, and looking at me."

"..."

The four of them fell silent.

Xu Han's face turned noticeably paler. He swallowed hard and whispered:

"A little girl? Next to the track? But isn't the roller coaster track suspended in the air? There's no way anyone could stand down there..."

"So she's not a living person."

He Lingling took over the conversation and stared at Yu Shijiu, asking questions.

"Shi Jiu, did you see her face clearly?"

Yu Shijiu thought about it carefully for a while.

"I couldn't see clearly; her hair covered most of her face, but..."

He paused, his brows furrowing slightly.

"But it looks kind of familiar."

look familiar?

He Lingling and An Jie exchanged a glance.

"Could it be xylitol?"

Xu Han interjected softly, "She's in this instance too, and she's a little girl too..."

"It doesn't seem like her."

Yu Shijiu thought for a few seconds and then shook her head, "That little girl gives me the feeling that she's younger, and..."

Moreover, the way that little girl looked at him was completely different from how Mutangtang looked at him.

There's always a deliberate, performative "innocence" in Mutangtang's eyes that's easy to see through.

But in the little girl's eyes, hidden by her hair, there was only endless emptiness and... questioning.

But Yu Shijiu didn't say the second half of the sentence.

Because he himself wasn't sure if it was just his imagination.

He Lingling stared at Yu Shijiu for a few seconds before finally looking away and sighing.

"It would be better if it wasn't xylitol."

She said, "Mustard Tang might not be mentally sound."

"Let's get out of here first."

After hearing this, Anjie made a decisive decision.

"We now have five badges, but we need ten more to complete the basic requirements for clearing the dungeon."

She paused for a few seconds as she spoke, her gaze sweeping over the other areas of the amusement park.

In the distance, a giant Ferris wheel slowly turned, the colorful lights inside the cabins flickering, and some figures could be vaguely seen moving around inside.

The upside-down pendulum swings back and forth, pausing for a few seconds each time it reaches its highest point, causing the upside-down tourists to scream in terror.

Not far away, high up in the river, as boats above suddenly slid down, screams from tourists echoed through the water.

And the direction of the haunted house castle—

Ange's gaze lingered on the Ghost Castle for a moment.

It has quieted down over there.

There were no loud noises, no screams, only the Gothic castle standing silently under the dark red sky, with eerie green light shining from its countless windows.

"Is the haunted house... over?"

Chen Yi asked in a low voice.

"...It doesn't seem like it."

He Lingling's pupils contracted slightly.

In her field of vision, the thick, dark resentment from the direction of the haunted house had dissipated by more than half.

But what replaced it was an even more eerie atmosphere—

Hollow, cold, as if devoid of a core... a chilling silence.

"Xylitol... something might have happened to him."

He Lingling said softly.

"problem occurs?"

Xu Han was stunned. "She's dead? That's not right. If she were dead, the system would have given a notification..."

"It's not the kind of 'accident' that happened."

He Lingling shook her head and sighed, "It's another kind... I can't describe it."

Ange remained silent for a few seconds.

"Whatever happens to her, it's none of our business for now."

She pursed her lips and said, "Before we start fighting them, our mission is to collect badges."

Xu Han opened his mouth as if to say something, but ultimately closed it and remained silent.

But Yu Shijiu stared in the direction of the haunted house, his brows furrowed slightly.

Could that little girl in the white dress and Xylitol really be related?

If there really is a connection, does that mean that this guild tournament dungeon is actually a memory of Mutangtang?

He always felt something flash through his mind, but he could never quite grasp it.

"Let's go."

Ange turned around and walked in the opposite direction from Ghost Castle.

"Go to the next area to collect the badge."

The four of them looked away and followed Anjie.

"Sister An, where to next?"

Yu Shijiu asked.

"Where do you want to go?"

Anjie turned to look at him and raised an eyebrow.

"..." Yu Shijiu hesitated for a few seconds, his gaze falling on the surrounding amusement facilities one by one.

Finally, his gaze slowly fell on the huge Ferris wheel, its lights flashing continuously.

"Let's go with the Ferris wheel."

Yu Shijiu lowered her eyelids slightly and said in a low voice, "It looks like it's the tallest in this amusement park."

"..."

Xu Han shivered and quickly said:

"What do you mean, Shi Jiu? What do you mean by 'highest' or 'highest'?"

Yu Shijiu smiled and blinked, "It's nothing, Brother Han, I was just saying it casually."

Xu Han: "...Really?"

Yu Shijiu: "Of course."

He Lingling and Chen Yi, who were standing nearby, were speechless.

He Lingling licked her lips, suppressing a laugh, but said nothing.

It seems Xu Han is not only afraid of ghosts, but also of heights?

He has quite a few fears.

The five of them chatted and laughed as they arrived at the area where the Ferris wheel was located.

The giant Ferris wheel turned slowly, the lights in the cabins flickering, creating an eerie beauty against the dark red sky.

But unlike other areas of the amusement park, there are very few visitors here.

There was almost no one in line.

Even inside the cabins, there were only a few tourists dressed in various colors, sitting alone as the Ferris wheel slowly rose and fell.

They all wore a standard, stiff smile.

But everyone's eyes were unfocused, as if they were looking at some non-existent place.

"It's so quiet here."

Xu Han lowered his voice and said.

Xu Han was right. Unlike the hustle and bustle of other areas, the area where the Ferris wheel was located was almost completely silent.

Anjie frowned as she looked at the few tourists scattered ahead heading up the steps.

There was no music to attract tourists, no staff shouting enthusiastically, and not even any conversations among tourists within the Ferris wheel area.

Only the faint creaking sound of the Ferris wheel turning seemed particularly jarring in the eerie silence.

Yu Shijiu raised her head and looked at the Ferris wheel slowly turning in front of her.

He looked at the stiff-looking tourists in the cabin, watching them stare down at the tourists through the cabin windows, and narrowed his eyes slightly.

How come these tourists' expressions are exactly the same?

Just as Yu Shijiu was about to look away, he suddenly glanced at one of the cockpits out of the corner of his eye.

Inside that cockpit sat a little girl wearing a white dress...

Yu Shijiu's pupils suddenly contracted.

That little girl—

It's the one I saw next to the roller coaster track earlier.

Yu Shijiu's breathing paused slightly for a few seconds, and she blinked slowly.

A little girl in a white dress sat in a completely transparent cabin with dark, colorful lights, hugging her knees and burying her face in them, so her expression was not visible.

But Yu Shijiu could sense that she was watching him.

"Shi Jiu?"

He Lingling noticed his unusual behavior. "What's wrong?"

"That cockpit."

Yu Shijiu raised his hand and pointed to the cabin where the little girl was sitting.

“That little girl—the one I saw by the roller coaster track just now.”

"what?!"

All four of them looked in the direction he was pointing.

Yu Shijiu looked into the cockpit and saw the little girl in the white dress, hugging her knees and burying her face in them.

but--

"Shi Jiu, are you sure?"

He Lingling's voice was somewhat solemn, "That cockpit... is empty."

Yu Shijiu was taken aback.

He turned to look at He Lingling, then at An Jie, Chen Yi, and Xu Han.

The four men all had solemn expressions, but their gazes were clearly not fixed on the cockpit.

"You...can't see that cockpit?"

Yu Shijiu also sensed something was wrong and asked.

"I can't see it."

Anjie shook her head. "There's nothing in that cockpit."

After hearing the answer, Yu Shijiu remained silent for several seconds before looking up at the cockpit again.