FPE Chapter 12

Rising Popularity

The screams in the Magic Beast Viewing Corridor rose and fell in waves, like grass swept back and forth by the wind, and the visitors in the adjacent Abandoned Park weren’t faring any better.

The weekend foot traffic on Taoyuan Street was already heavier than usual, and passersby who heard the screams and commotion drifting over from Fantasy Amusement Park inevitably stopped in their tracks, curious about what was happening inside. Some called out to people who had just exited the park, asking what all the screaming was about.

The visitor’s face was flushed with excitement. “This park is something else — the attractions are incredibly thrilling. You absolutely won’t regret going!”

The passersby couldn’t help but feel skeptical — it sounded like a paid promotion — yet the person’s expression was so genuinely excited that it didn’t quite fit that theory. Could this park, which nobody had ever heard of, really be that fun?

A couple passing by had also caught the exchange, and the boyfriend asked, “Want to check it out?”

The girlfriend glanced at the sign hanging above the park entrance — white characters on a red background, large and bold: Opening Week Special — All Attractions 10 Yuan!

With prices being so high these days — a movie ticket running forty or fifty yuan, a cup of bubble tea costing twenty — that 10-yuan sign drew eyes from more than just the couple. Even an auntie passing by thought it was an absolute steal. Add in the enthusiastic recommendation from the earlier visitor, and people figured that ten yuan was hardly anything to lose. They bought tickets and stepped inside — and once they were in, they couldn’t bring themselves to leave.

****

Time slipped by in a blink, and by half past ten, Chi Yizhen arrived at the park entrance as arranged the day before. He spotted a coach bus parked not far away, and people were filing off one by one — young men and women in their twenties and thirties, every single one of them radiating the unmistakable energy of overworked office drones. A single glance was enough for him to confirm that this was the company that had mentioned coming for a team-building event yesterday.

Before he could go over to greet them, a familiar face stepped off the bus. Chi Yizhen recognized him as a visitor from the very first day — which told him this was a returning guest who had brought along new customers.

“Boss, business is looking great today!” Wei Hua said with a grin.

“That’s all thanks to returning guests like you spreading the word,” Chi Yizhen replied. “Your tickets are already set aside. Just so you know, the Abandoned Park can only admit twenty people at a time, so I’d suggest the others head over to our newly opened Magic Beast Viewing Corridor first.”

It was only then that Wei Hua learned Fantasy Amusement Park had given its created creatures the title of magic beasts — though he had to admit the term was fitting. Those things had given him quite a scare two nights ago, and now it was finally his employees’ turn to face them. He could barely contain his glee. He leaned in toward Chi Yizhen and said, “Boss, you’ve got surveillance footage in the park, right? Any chance you could record what my employees get up to in there? I want to take it back for some, ah… educational purposes.” He stifled a laugh.

Wei Hua’s suggestion actually sparked something in Chi Yizhen. It hit him in a flash — of course! He could edit clips of visitors’ funniest moments into a promotional video!

The park’s original surveillance system had been broken and abandoned for years, and Chi Yizhen certainly hadn’t had the money to buy new equipment. But after the park had gone through three upgrades, the old surveillance system had apparently been upgraded along with everything else — to 4K high definition, no less. Cutting a few clips together into a video would be no trouble at all. He’d just have to check with the visitors first; if they were okay with having their faces blurred, the footage could absolutely be used for promotion.

Having already made up his mind, Chi Yizhen put on a reluctant expression. “I’m afraid that’s not possible — we can’t just let people view our surveillance footage, and my colleagues in the monitoring room wouldn’t agree to it either.” In reality, Chi Yizhen was the only living person in the entire park. There were no colleagues to speak of.

Wei Hua wasn’t surprised by the answer, and not for a moment did he doubt it. Thanks to all the groundwork laid before him, he had already convinced himself that Fantasy Amusement Park was backed by an entire team, with Chi Yizhen simply being the one responsible for front-of-house reception. He let out a sigh. “Ah, fair enough.” That was what he said — but in his mind, he had already decided he’d just hold his phone up and record his employees himself. Heh, just thinking about it made him happy.

With that settled in his heart, Wei Hua led everyone into the park. He strode out ahead, putting on the airs of a visionary leader. “I’ve personally experienced this park myself, and I guarantee that anyone who tries it won’t regret it.”

That insufferably smug expression — the look of someone demanding you take their recommendation or else — left his surrounding employees at a loss for words. They smiled and nodded on the surface, but had already cursed the insufferable boss who was eating into their day off. The two young women bringing up the rear grumbled to Meng Le in hushed voices.

“What could possibly be fun about a ten-yuan attraction? Our boss just loves to hype things up.”

“Right? You can’t even get an hour at an internet café for that price.”

“Honestly, I’d rather be at an internet café — at least I could put my head down on the desk and sleep for a bit.” Someone yawned.

Meng Le still held a certain fondness for Childhood Amusement Park, especially after discovering that the current boss was the grandson of the park’s original director grandmother. That sentimental attachment had only deepened since. Hearing everyone complain about the park now, she couldn’t manage a smile, and only said, “The park just opened — they’re doing discounts to bring in customers. Maybe it really is a lot of fun inside!”

She said the words, but had no real confidence behind them. Instead, her heart tightened with nerves. From the moment they walked in, she kept her eyes moving, scanning the park anxiously — and when she saw that there were actually quite a few visitors inside, she exhaled with quiet relief. Good, good. It wasn’t like other amusement parks with wall-to-wall crowds, but it wasn’t a dismal trickle of people either. For a small park that had just opened with no reputation to speak of, the current footfall was actually decent.

They continued walking, and as they passed beneath a decorative archway, a synthesized female voice rang out from above with an announcement.

— Welcome to Fantasy Amusement Park. Currently available attractions include… Please queue in an orderly manner and enter with your ticket…

Though it was a computer-generated voice, the tone was soft and clear, loud enough to carry without being grating or shrill — clearly a quality sound system had been used. Meng Le exhaled again with quiet relief. Good, good — at least the director grandmother’s grandson hadn’t cut corners there. That much hadn’t been half-hearted.

The small park wasn’t large, and there weren’t many attractions — you could take it all in at a glance. Meng Le anxiously eyed the visitors gathered around the rolling display screen at the entrance to the Abandoned Park, then peeked at the entrance to the Magic Beast Viewing Corridor on the left. Most of the visitors she could see wore expressions of eager anticipation, and with that, the last of the tension she’d been holding finally eased.

Good, good — small as it was, from what she could see, the boss had put genuine effort into running this place.

With that weight fully lifted, Meng Le suddenly realized just how silly her anxious hovering had been, and she let out a small laugh. She followed the group toward the entrance of the Abandoned Park.

By that point she was quite satisfied with the outing — but then she put on the plastic glasses and stepped inside the Abandoned Park, and when she saw the creature draped across the merry-go-round, fixing them all with a predatory stare, Meng Le froze on the spot, eyes going wide with shock.

It’s… it’s actually holographic? Wait — aren’t these just 3D glasses? Aren’t we just here to see some 3D effects? This tiny little park… is playing at this level?!

****

As noon approached, the flow of visitors gradually thinned — which was only natural, as many people who had been strolling the street were worn out by now, and visitors inside the park were due to head out for lunch. Chi Yizhen walked toward the Abandoned Park, and through the din of screams and uproar coming from within, he couldn’t resist doubling back to the security room to pull up the park model on the control panel and flip through the surveillance feeds. When he saw the visitors leaping about and howling like their lives depended on it, he accidentally sprayed his mouthful of tea everywhere, then collapsed back in his chair in helpless laughter.

“This is priceless — I absolutely have to edit this into a video.”

He didn’t even stop to eat lunch, immediately pulling up his editing software to start cutting the footage and adding music — unaware that at that very moment, on the short-video platform, the heat surrounding Fantasy Amusement Park was climbing at a terrifying pace.