FPE Chapter 17

Tourist Upgrade

At eight o’clock on Sunday morning, Xiao Zhou and his friend had already taken three buses to arrive at 88 Taoyuan Street, Xinghu District, camera equipment strapped to their backs. He was the netizen who had commented under that “Xiao Chi You Yi Zhen” video the day before, saying he would visit the park on behalf of his followers.

Starting from yesterday afternoon, many people in the local friend circle had been frantically sharing videos of Fantasy Amusement Park. Xiao Zhou alone had come across two or three of them on his feed, and he had even chatted about it with colleagues in the group chat — this little amusement park that had barely been open for two days had already made quite a name for itself locally. He never expected that by evening, an up-loader he followed would go and post a video about it.

The video showed a dilapidated, abandoned park where the faint silhouette of the old Childhood Amusement Park could still be made out. Tourists shrieking and fleeing in all directions had been impossible not to laugh at — humans really did have that base instinct; seeing others of their kind make fools of themselves brought an irresistible kind of joy. But the magic beast chasing after the tourists had been nothing short of astonishing.

Xiao Zhou still remembered the feeling of seeing that video for the first time. When that magic beast — its tail twice the length of its own body — lunged straight at the camera, the sense of overwhelming dread it carried was unlike anything he had ever experienced. Not even the most cutting-edge special effects films in the world had ever made him feel that way. By the time the video ended, he had been drenched in a cold sweat, gripped by a fear that the creature might tear itself out of the screen and swallow him whole. Since reaching adulthood, Xiao Zhou had never once been so thoroughly frightened by something as simple as a video.

Fortunately, as savage as that magic beast had been, the tourists ultimately defeated it. At the time, Xiao Zhou had let out a long breath, feeling as though he had come back to life.

It was precisely because of that experience that, while everyone else in his friend circle marveled at how impressive the special effects were, Xiao Zhou was quietly, naggingly convinced that this was real full-holographic technology. But could full-holographic technology really reach that level — could it transmit terror through a screen? Xiao Zhou didn’t consider himself particularly timid, and yet he had genuinely been frightened.

The bus reached its stop. Xiao Zhou and his friend got off and immediately spotted the long queue stretching out ahead. As he joined the line, he and his friend switched on the live-stream camera. To give viewers a more immersive perspective of the Fantasy Amusement Park experience, Xiao Zhou appeared on camera in full this time, with his friend filming from beside him.

Xiao Zhou himself was a moderately popular content creator. After posting the announcement the previous evening that he would be live-streaming Fantasy Amusement Park, quite a few people had already been waiting. Even at this early hour, once the stream went live, a decent crowd had tuned in.

Through Xiao Zhou’s lens, viewers were now getting their first look at the place.

Bullet comments:

“There’s quite a queue already!” 

“This is Fantasy Amusement Park? The entrance looks so small.” 

“‘Welcome to Fantasy Amusement Park, for the most authentic magic beast hunting experience…’ — that slogan is… hmm. I’ll observe a bit more before saying anything.” 

“I just noticed there isn’t a single child among the people queuing. Is this really an adults-only park?” 

“Looks like it. Didn’t Xiao Chi You Yi Zhen say in the video that because the magic beasts they created are rather terrifying, it isn’t suitable for children?” 

“Speaking of which, if their technology really is that impressive, why not just make something for everyone? Handsome men and beautiful women, divine creatures, fairy-tale castles — the kind of thing families can enjoy together, grandparents and kids included. They’d make way more money.” 

“Why else — because full-holographic is just a gimmick. They’re building up hype now so they can fleece people and disappear.”

The bullet comments were a mix of anticipation, curiosity, and cold mockery from people waiting to watch everything fall apart.

Xiao Zhou paid it no mind, because it was his turn to buy a ticket.

Behind the ticket booth window was a young man in his twenties. Xiao Zhou recognized his voice and said excitedly, “You’re Xiao Chi You Yi Zhen, aren’t you? I’m a fan of yours.”

Chi Yizhen glanced at their phone and equipment and smiled. “You’re here to do a live stream, aren’t you! Welcome! Though your live-stream camera will need a layer of our holographic lens film over it before it can capture any footage.”

This was something Xiao Zhou hadn’t known about. After asking for the details, he spent an extra one yuan and bought a lens film to stick over his live-stream camera.

Bullet comments: 

“Ha, so much for ‘not fleecing people.’ They’re even charging for the phone camera.” 

“To whoever said that — a single children’s inflatable play area at the mall costs dozens of yuan in entry fees these days. Fantasy Amusement Park is only ten yuan. You call that fleecing people?” 

“Getting defensive, getting defensive — the shills are getting defensive…”

Amid the noise of the bullet comments, Xiao Zhou and his friend walked into Fantasy Amusement Park.

What he hadn’t expected was just how small the park really was. The only areas currently open for visitors were the Abandoned Park and the Magic Beast Viewing Corridor.

His friend said, “No wonder the entry fee is so cheap. The park really is tiny.”

They had arrived early and managed to secure spots in the first group to enter the Abandoned Park. After inserting their tickets into the automated gate at the entrance, there was a ding, and the machine — much like a vending machine — dispensed a single rod.

Xiao Zhou took the rod and stepped inside. The moment he entered, all the noise from outside vanished completely, as though he had stepped into a space of total silence. Then a soft, childlike voice rang out from above:

“Warriors, the magic beasts have begun to disturb our park once again. Please help us defeat them!”

Among the twenty people in this first group, a few who seemed to be veterans immediately tightened their grip on their rods, their expressions sharpening with alertness. But the vast majority, Xiao Zhou included, were holding their rods loosely and looking around in bewilderment. On-site, the feeling wasn’t all that intense yet — but the camera magnified everything, and viewers watching through the lens quickly picked up on the details.

Bullet comments: 

“Why do I feel like something’s off?” 

“Right — it’s way too quiet. This Abandoned Park feels completely cut off from the outside, like not a single sound is getting through from out there.” 

“Has anyone noticed that a few people look different? Their posture and expression — they’re totally on guard, like they’re bracing for a fight at any second.” 

“I noticed them too. They stand out completely from the rest of the tourists. They give off a hunter’s vibe. And they’re clearly in the best condition of anyone in this group.” 

“I suddenly have this feeling that there’s no park, no holographic technology — there really are magic beasts, and the tourists are all unknowing lab rats being thrown into some kind of monster game.” 

“The person above — did you think you were reading an Infinite Loop novel or something?”

“Holy crap, OP, behind you, BEHIND YOU!” 

“WHAT THE HELL IS THAT THING BEHIND HIM?!”

As the viewers erupted in stunned cries, a bizarre creature — two goat heads, three ring-shaped serpent tails, and a faint black mist curling around its entire body — crept silently toward one of the unsuspecting tourists at Xiao Zhou’s side. Without any warning, the tourist was knocked off their feet. Still not understanding what had happened, they assumed another visitor had bumped into them and were already opening their mouth to complain — but in the next instant, they froze.

The magic beast’s drool dripped down in a steady stream, the reeking black saliva spattering across them in drops, staining a white shirt entirely dark.

Bullet comments: “WHAT THE—”

On-site: “WHAT THE—”

Human language reached a remarkable moment of unity. The live-stream footage lurched and shook. As the crowd on-site panicked, those few veterans who had clearly come prepared raised their rods and charged forward. Their speed was extraordinary, one after another, and the rods came down on the magic beast with dull, solid thuds — the unmistakable sound of something hitting real flesh.

But what was unsettling was that this wasn’t the only magic beast. While the group closed in and began beating on the two creatures, a massive winged python glided soundlessly from behind and pressed toward Xiao Zhou.

[Warriors, watch out — the Black-Feathered Serpent is coming!]

Some instinct Xiao Zhou couldn’t account for made him spin around a split second before the Black-Feathered Serpent reached him. The moment he laid eyes on it, his pupils constricted, and a terror shot upward from the soles of his feet straight to the crown of his skull. In that instant, all thought fled from him — no memory of the park, no memory of the stream, no memory of his viewers, no memory of himself. Only one thing remained: he had to kill this Black-Feathered Serpent. He had to kill it. Or something terrible would happen.

Driven by this frantic, screaming instinct, Xiao Zhou erupted. From somewhere he couldn’t name came a force that brought his rod crashing down hard on the Black-Feathered Serpent’s head. The serpent recoiled with a shriek, head snapping to the side — it was furious. Its tail swept out and coiled around Xiao Zhou, intent on doing what serpents did by nature: squeezing until he suffocated, squeezing until every organ in his body ruptured. Under normal circumstances, this would have worked. But under the park’s rules, visitors’ bodies were protected from harm by magic beasts — so the great serpent coiled around nothing but air, while a Xiao Zhou gripped by absolute terror beat it like a madman with his rod.

No matter how formidable a magic beast might be, no creature could endure long under rules that allowed it only to take hits and nothing else. Xiao Zhou’s arms had gone sore and heavy, though he hadn’t noticed, when the Black-Feathered Serpent before him suddenly twisted and dissolved. A beam of light fell from above, and the park’s announcement rang out at the same moment:

[Congratulations, warrior, on defeating the Level 2 magic beast Black-Feathered Serpent. Merit Value: 20. Hidden item obtained from Abandoned Park: Mountain-Cleaving Axe.]

In full view of everyone present, a black axe descended with the beam of light and hovered in front of Xiao Zhou. He reached out and took it in a daze. The weight in his hand was solid and very real — at least ten jin, at minimum.

The park’s announcement continued: [Warrior, please note — the Mountain-Cleaving Axe, as an item, may currently only be used within the Abandoned Park. When the warrior exits the park, the Mountain-Cleaving Axe will dissolve into data and disappear, until the warrior summons it once more.]

Xiao Zhou stared blankly for a long moment, then said tentatively, “Disappear.”

The Mountain-Cleaving Axe vanished.

Xiao Zhou said, “Come out.”

The Mountain-Cleaving Axe reappeared out of thin air and dropped into his palm.

The other tourists watching nearby: ……

Viewers in the live stream: ……

Several minutes passed before anyone in the stream managed to respond, and then a single bullet comment appeared: “Look at the person next to OP — that’s exactly what I look like right now.”

The tourist standing beside Xiao Zhou was one of the veterans who had seemed experienced from the very start. He was now staring at Xiao Zhou with an expression of pure, undisguised envy and resentment.

Everyone else watching: ……

That’s me, no question about it.

****

[Ding. Player, please be advised — the preset item Mountain-Cleaving Axe has been claimed.]

Chi Yizhen was momentarily taken aback.

The last time he had cleaned up the Abandoned Park, he had cleared out a heap of rubbish. The game had told him it could turn waste into treasure and convert it into items — the Mountain-Cleaving Axe had been one of them.

It was a game, after all. Without some glittering reward to chase, it really was hard to keep people playing.

So he had placed those items in the Abandoned Park’s reward pool. He hadn’t expected anyone to claim one so quickly. He had originally assumed it would be some veteran who had cleared the Abandoned Park many times over — when he pulled up the visitor information and found it was someone’s very first visit, he was genuinely startled.

“It seems there really are people in this world who are born with extraordinary aptitude. It just had no outlet before. Now that they’ve encountered a magic beast, that potential has burst to the surface.”

In the visitor information column, the tourist listed under the name Xiao Zhou showed a Level 1 — the mark of someone who had become an extraordinary being.

He had no time to dwell on it further, however, because at that moment he was in the middle of being interviewed by a television crew.