Chapter 14 Joyful Castle

For the next half day, Zhou Yuan spent his time at home testing his physical functions.

Strength, resilience, endurance, vision, hearing, concentration, learning ability, reaction speed, limb coordination...

He tested every item he could think of, and the results were as expected—his physical functions had vastly surpassed those of a world-class athlete. If he were to participate in the Olympics, he could easily break a bunch of world records.

The feeling of newfound power both excited and thrilled Zhou Yuan, but amidst the joy, his worries deepened.

The Child of Stardust Player System was undoubtedly a treasure trove, possessing the power to change the entire world.

If Nangong Yi truly was the designer of the Player System, then he, knowing full well how heaven-defying the Divine Artifact was, would certainly not rest until he found its whereabouts.

Then there were the extraordinary individuals clad in red who dared to target the Stars Network that very night; they must know something and would not easily give up their pursuit of the Player System.

Beyond them, as the news spread, more greedy eyes would inevitably turn towards Xinhu, each hoping to get a piece of the action.

In such a situation, if someone discovered the Player System was with him, his fate would undoubtedly be too gruesome to contemplate.

By then, he would probably have no choice but to seek refuge with a reliable official organization of Supernatural Power.

But even so, he could not guarantee his safety; those who lusted after the Player System would not let him off easily.

"If the Player System is so precious, why did that crow give it to me?"

A series of thoughts led Zhou Yuan to recall the mysterious red-eyed crow. It was the one that handed the Player System to him, saving his life, but also plunging him into this deadly vortex.

All the Transcendent beings present at the Stars Network that night were undoubtedly after the Player System, and the red-eyed crow was no exception.

But if it had obtained the Player System, why didn't it take it away but instead passed it to him?

There's no such thing as a free lunch in this world, nor is someone kind to you without reason.

Zhou Yuan instinctively felt there were unspeakable motives behind it.

Perhaps...

Perhaps the crow couldn't take away the Player System that night and temporarily stored it within him, hoping to deceive everyone until the time was right to come back for it.

And when that time came, what might be taken along with it could very well be his own life.

"The more I think about it, the greater the pressure becomes."

Zhou Yuan let out a heavy sigh, feeling despondent.

He felt like he was participating in a death race of Werewolf Hunt, where all around him were wolves driving modified armored vehicles, while he was the only civilian, starting off without even a bicycle.

And yet, he had to build an armored car or even a tank within a limited time to stand a chance of survival when his identity was exposed.

It was practically Hell difficulty.

The only piece of good news was that although he didn't have a bicycle, he had a cheat.

Zhou Yuan comforted himself with this thought, when suddenly, the system's notification sound rang in his ears.

[Mission has arrived]

[Mission Name: "Joy Castle"]

[Mission Objective: Survive 3 days within "Joy Castle" amusement park]

[Mission Reward 1: Experience Points * 1000]

[Mission Reward 2: Star Coins * 4000]

[Mission Reward 3: Fine Quality Item Pack * 1]

[Accept/Decline]

"Going straight for intensity, huh."

Zhou Yuan raised his eyebrows; this time, the mission rewards were unprecedentedly generous, indicating a high level of difficulty.

The mission was assigned by the system based on the player's overall personal quality, and the increased difficulty was obviously related to his injection of serum to enhance his body.

"Accept."

[Mission countdown begins——9:59]

Zhou Yuan quickly went to the fridge and stuffed all the stored food into his player backpack.

He had anticipated that he might face long-term instance missions, so he had stockpiled a good amount of survival supplies. Even the fast food he ordered while completing "Yellow Flash" and "Blue Flash" were all food resources like compressed biscuits and mineral water.

After a rough count, these food resources were more than enough to last him half a month on his own, and with some rationing, they could even last a month.

"Hmm... there's one more thing."

Suddenly, Zhou Yuan thought that since the fire survivors had been targeted, would those chasing the Player System and their powers sneak into everyone's home to install surveillance and monitor everyone's every move?

There were no issues at home for now, but if someone sneaked in to install surveillance during these three days he was on the mission, that would be troublesome.

If the scene of his return was caught on surveillance, someone would come knocking on his door to claim his life that very night.

With this thought, Zhou Yuan immediately went downstairs.

Several tenants in this building had rented out their places, leaving the basement idle. He could use it for teleporting.

Upon reaching the basement level, Zhou Yuan made sure no one was around, then activated the skill effect of the Ghost Walker to pass through walls and enter a dusty basement full of clutter.

Then, with the remaining 100 Star Coins, he purchased a [One-Time Holographic Card] and clicked to use it.

Everything was ready.

"Teleport."

·

·

When Zhou Yuan opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was a classic European castle in the distance.

The castle was predominantly pink in color, matched with a dreamy blue dome, brimming with European Romanticism. It looked like a magic castle from a fairy tale.

It immediately elevated the grandeur of the theme park.

Zhou Yuan retracted his gaze and looked around, his expression gradually turning grim.

The night was deep, the park's lights were dazzling, and the brilliant neons interwoven with light and shadow created a dreamlike palette of colors.

Holographic projections of pegasuses and doves soared among the blooming fireworks and rainbows in the night sky, scattering down specks of light like gold leaf, decorating the entire amusement park into a beautiful fairy-tale world, radiating an atmosphere of joy everywhere.

However, what was eerie was that this seemingly bustling amusement park was completely deserted.

The places that should have been full of laughter and cheer were now left with only mechanical music and lights performing on their own.

This stark contrast between liveliness and solitude cast an indescribable, unsettling atmosphere over the entire amusement park.

Zhou Yuan looked back; behind him was the entrance to the amusement park, but outside was shrouded in a thick fog, cutting off everything.

[This amusement park, due to working every day, is full of resentment, has developed depression, and has shut itself down. To resolve this abnormal phenomenon, you can try your luck at the amusement park director's office.

But to enter the office, you'll have to play through the entire amusement park.]

"Depression???"

Zhou Yuan suddenly felt a headache. Since when could an amusement park get depressed? And couldn't the tip be a bit more straightforward?

While grumbling to himself, he surveyed the surroundings; the priority was to figure out what had happened here, so he decided to walk further inside.