Chapter 612: Chapter 511:
Sky No. 84 had browsed the notice before he slowly turned around and explained, "We two had just decided to team up when we encountered a crazy woman who asked everyone she met if they had seen her child. Her child went missing, and upon asking around, we found out that someone had disappeared from the playground. Thinking that the notice board would have information about the missing individuals, we came to check it out."
"A relative of the missing person then..." Yang Xiao pressed on, "Where is this person?"
"It’s useless, the person has gone completely mad, you can’t find out anything, she doesn’t even remember her own child’s name," sighed Sky No. 84.
"Squeak—"
Suddenly, an abrasive static noise came from above, sounding like a loudspeaker that hadn’t been used in a long while.
"Good evening, dear visitors, this is the Kongling Mountain Playground broadcasting station. To ensure a pleasant experience for all visitors, please pay attention to the nearby electronic tourist counting boards, which are available in every play area, and we wish everyone an unforgettable night here..."
"An electronic tourist counting board?" Prisoner No. 199 repeated softly.
Yang Xiao pulled out a wrinkled park map for a look, and given the detailed layout including the nearby attractions, he quickly determined their current location as Section B of the playground.
Five minutes later, under Yang Xiao’s lead, the three of them arrived at a bustling small square, where a huge screen in the center was lit up with three lines:
"Current number of visitors in the park: 4417"
"Current number of staff on duty: 991"
"Total number in the park now: 5419"
"Those numbers don’t add up," Sky No. 84 said, looking up at the big screen, "4417 plus 991 is 5408, but the total in the park is 5419, so where are these 11 people?"
"The last line refers to the total number in the park, not the total number of people," said Yang Xiao coldly. "These missing could very well not be people."
"Then... what do we count as?" asked Sky No. 84, "Visitors? Or... an uncounted presence?"
After thinking for a few seconds, Yang Xiao said, "Normally, those who buy tickets are counted as visitors; I think we belong to the uncounted category."
There were eleven unclassified entities within the park, and there were ten people in Yang Xiao’s group, which meant that besides them, there was one more unclassified presence.
It could be confirmed, this was the Ghost.
The next second, as the three of them were contemplating silently, the loudspeaker of the amusement park blared again, the voice grating: "Attention all visitors, an emergency message follows: an individual with an unidentified identity disappeared in Section C after sneaking in without a ticket. We are now seeking information from all visitors. The person is wearing a mask with the design of Sky No. 41. I repeat, the missing individual is wearing a mask with the design of Sky No. 41. If anyone has information, please contact our staff promptly..."
As soon as the announcement ended, the numbers on the electronic screen changed, with the total number in the park dropping from 5419 to 5418.
Looking at the unchanged numbers of visitors and staff, Yang Xiao realized, "It seems I wasn’t wrong, now besides that Ghost, there are only 9 of us who are unidentified."
The Ghost had already started to kill.
According to the announcement, Sky No. 41 disappeared in Section C, and Yang Xiao, pulling out the park map, plotted a route and led towards Section C along the crowded main paths.
Section B and C were right next to each other, and after roughly fifteen minutes of walking, they arrived at Section C. The iconic ride of Section C was the Big Swing Hammer. From a distance, Yang Xiao and his two companions could see a towering hammer swinging back and forth, sometimes even vertical at 90 degrees, with the screams of the visitors audible nonstop.
The three of them wandered around Section C, stopping here and there, trying to find some clues. Yang Xiao tried asking the park staff again, but they knew nothing. When pressed for information, they started to talk about calling security. Given that Yang Xiao had sneaked into the park, he felt he didn’t have a strong position and was worried about being discovered and kicked out, so he had no choice but to drop the matter.
However, during the argument, Yang Xiao also noticed something strange. It was clear that the staff had heard the broadcast which said that the only distinctive feature of the missing person was the mask on their face. All three of them were wearing masks too, which is a very obvious characteristic, yet the employees did not even ask about it, as if they hadn’t seen it, or were completely disinterested.
While Yang Xiao was pondering, Prisoner No. 199, who was walking on the far right, suddenly stopped in his tracks. Yang Xiao and the other companion followed his gaze across the street where two people were staring at them.
The two individuals were also wearing masks, Dao Zi 131 and Long Zi 29.
From their build, it was apparent that one was a man and the other a woman. The Dao Zi man, thin and tall, stood out like a pole, while the Long Zi woman seemed to be on guard, her right hand hidden behind her back, clearly holding a weapon. Yang Xiao slowly slid his hand into his clothing where the Human Bone Staff was concealed.
The two groups faced each other across the crowd, both ready for a confrontation, and a fight was about to break out when the tall and thin man opposite moved first, slowly pulling out the woman’s right hand that was hidden behind her back.
In the woman’s grasp was a round object, but because it was far away, Yang Xiao couldn’t see clearly what it was. After the two glanced over at Yang Xiao’s group, they turned and walked away in another direction.
From the moment the two groups noticed each other until they left, not a greeting was exchanged.
After the three had completely disappeared, Prisoner No. 199 cursed softly, complaining, "We shouldn’t have let them go, we should have taken them out just now!"
"Then why didn’t you make a move?" Yang Xiao glanced at him, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
"Enough, both of you, cut it out," Sky No. 84 once again played the peacemaker, urging both sides, "Gentlemen, give me face and let’s not make more trouble than necessary. Now is not the time for infighting; in my opinion, that Dao Zi 131 doesn’t look easy to handle."
