Chapter 134: Mr. San's Origins

[Favorability +4]

Watching Mantou fall fast asleep, Yan Jing stood up and gazed out the window at the moonlight.

He had never expected Mr. San's bird to actually be inside Mantou's body. Nor had he expected that she had known about her condition all along without breathing a word of it to anyone.

For a girl who smiled so foolishly every day, each passing day was a countdown to the end.

Yet she remained cheerful day in and day out, never showing a hint of sorrow.

No wonder she had suddenly burst into tears that day after hearing the Old Man's story about Yunduo. She must have thought of herself.

But the only promise he could make right now was to keep her in his heart.

The Favorability floating above Mantou's head had reached 99/100. He was on the verge of a perfect graduation from this Domain.

He hoped tomorrow's trip to the Amusement Park would bring him the ultimate answers about this city.

Meanwhile.

Inside Dandelion Manor.

Two Second Tiers hurried up the white spiral staircase, stopping before a vermilion door on the top floor.

One of them stepped forward and knocked gently.

There was no response.

He called out softly, "Mother, it's me. Something happened regarding Yu Xiran."

"Speak."

A woman's lazy voice finally drifted from the room.

The two of them proceeded to recount the night's events in full detail.

After they finished, silence lingered in the room for a long time.

A long while later, the woman spoke again: "You said Yu Ling died. Which Yu Ling?"

"It's... the real Yu Ling..." one of the Second Tiers replied.

The moment the words left his mouth, the door burst open. Several incredibly long, fleshy tentacles shot out from the room and, accompanied by a foul wind, snatched both of them inside!

At the same time.

Sleepland.

Meng Shuangsheng didn't even have time to put on his shoes before frantically dashing out of his house, sprinting toward the largest building in all of Sleepland.

He had just seen his older brother—the chief of Sleepland—in a dream.

Starting three years ago, his brother had completely stopped appearing in public. Whenever there was urgent business, he communicated it by entering a dream.

And this time, judging by his brother's expression, something massive must have happened.

Sure enough, the moment he reached the door, he heard a voice from the other side. It sounded like sleep-talking:

"Go... go to the Death Club... Have them see... who... killed Subject Number Zero..."

"Understood, understood!"

Meng Shuangsheng nodded incessantly. He had just turned to leave when the voice drifted out again:

"And... make a trip... to Terror Station... Go... ask them... if they've seen... a man from the Fear Pathway..."

"No matter what they ask for... agree to it..."

"If... you get an answer... tell me... I will strike personally..."

"Yes, yes!!!"

Meng Shuangsheng nodded again.

Only when the sleep-talking ceased and the sound of snoring resumed did he wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.

His nightcap was already drenched.

On a normal day, it was a massive deal for his brother to mutter even a single line of sleep-talk.

But today, he had spoken four lines in a row!

Still, none of this compared to the events of a few years ago.

He remembered how his brother, Meng Dansheng, had left Sleepland for two consecutive years.

Without closing his eyes once!

With these thoughts in mind, he set off toward the bus stop outside the township.

The next day.

Early morning.

Yan Jing and Tiger boarded the Terror Bus together, arriving at the Mad Amusement Park.

The moment they reached the entrance, they spotted Zebra on duty beside the ticket booth.

"Mr. Yi Ji!"

Zebra immediately extended a hand toward Yan Jing and bowed slightly. "I didn't expect to see you today."

"Thank you for taking care of Tiger recently."

Yan Jing shook his hand. "Don't mention it. We're all on the same side."

Zebra paused in surprise, then smiled. "Yes, yes, we're all on the same side."

"May I ask what brings you here today...?"

"I heard from Mr. Tiger that you're one of the oldest employees at the Amusement Park, so I wanted to ask you a few questions," Yan Jing said with a smile.

"Ask whatever you like," Zebra said politely.

"It's about Mr. San," Yan Jing said, looking calmly into his eyes.

The instant he heard the name, Zebra's expression changed dramatically.

He immediately pulled Yan Jing aside and whispered, "Mr. Yi Ji, I'm afraid I can't answer that. You should head back..."

"You have to give me a reason at least," Yan Jing chuckled.

"..."

Zebra looked at him and, after a long while, let out a sigh. "If you insist on asking, it's not impossible, but... we can't afford the consequences."

"Tell me," Yan Jing said.

"You're the one making me say this."

"I am."

Seeing Yan Jing's steadfast demeanor, Zebra lowered his voice. "Mr. San left orders before he departed. He put certain measures in place here in the Amusement Park. If any outsider comes asking about him, they'll be punished. If anyone tries to attack the Amusement Park, they'll be punished too. Mr. Yi Ji, I believe you don't harbor ulterior motives, which is why I'm telling you this, but don't spread it to anyone else."

"So you really shouldn't ask."

"You know, a little over two years ago, an old man came to the Amusement Park and stubbornly badgered us about Mr. San. I was backed into a corner and had no choice. But the moment I opened my mouth, a beam of Weird Energy as thick as a wagon wheel shot out from Mr. San's former residence and blasted straight into the man's chest."

"That old man was no simple figure. He actually survived taking that blast of Weird Energy head-on! We looked into it later. Guess who he was?"

"The chief of Sleepland, Meng Dansheng?" Yan Jing guessed.

"Exactly—wait, no, how did you know?" Zebra stared in shock.

"I guessed," Yan Jing said with a smile. "It's fine, go ahead and tell me. Even if something happens, I'll be the one punished. You don't need to worry on my behalf."

"Then I'm going to say it!"

Zebra stared intently at Yan Jing. "I'm really saying it!"

"Say it."

"Mr. San only arrived in Old Sin City a little over twenty years ago!" Zebra blurted out the secret at rapid-fire speed.

The moment he finished, he threw himself several steps backward, staring up at the roof of the towering haunted house in the Amusement Park.

However...

Nothing happened.

How strange! Zebra widened his eyes.

He looked at the smiling Yan Jing and coughed awkwardly. "Mr. Yi Ji, I truly wasn't lying to you. As you know, we're old friends—"

Yan Jing raised a hand to interrupt him. "Please, continue."

"Then I'll continue."

Seeing that no punishment was coming, Zebra finally relaxed and asked, "What do you want to hear about first?"

"Let's pick up from what you just mentioned—about Mr. San arriving over twenty years ago," Yan Jing said.

Zebra nodded.

"I've only been working at the park for ten years in total. Some of this is just what I've heard from the older staff, so part of it might not be entirely accurate. Please bear with me."

"Mr. San arrived twenty years ago. Back then, the Amusement Park wasn't an amusement park yet; they say it was just a wasteland. There wasn't even an Inner World Pathway on it."

"As you know, in our Domains, the Pathway usually appears first, and then the people come. Since this land had sat here for so many years without a Pathway, everyone thought there was little hope of one ever showing up."

"To everyone's surprise, the moment Mr. San arrived, a Pathway manifested out of thin air."

"Some say Mr. San was so powerful that the Pathway naturally followed him. Others say he brought the Pathway with him."

"The latter is far more likely, though. Old Sin City already had a Domain tied to the Fear Pathway. Logically speaking, it would be extremely difficult for a second one to form."

"When Mr. San came, he wasn't alone. He brought a child with him—probably his son."

"But later on, that child disappeared."

Zebra paused.

"According to the old staff, they only saw that child for a few months. The Amusement Park hadn't even been built yet, and Mr. San had just begun recruiting employees."

"Nobody knows where the child went. All they know is that whenever Mr. San had free time, he would rush outside the park. He would climb up that wall over there and gaze downward."

Zebra pointed at the very same wall Yan Jing had noticed from the Ferris wheel.

"That one right there!"

"Everyone said Mr. San was acting as an overseer up there."

"But even after the Amusement Park was finished, he still liked going up there."

"He would stand there for an entire day."

"There were times when visitors almost mistook him for the Amusement Park's mascot."

"After that... I don't think much else happened."

"Oh, right. The fear plague."

"You know about the fear plague, right?"

Yan Jing nodded.

"Right. About three years ago, cases of the fear plague began popping up in the park."

"To be honest, the park studied the disease. The staff at the medical center combed through a lot of records and concluded that the infection was likely caused by a powerful source of fear completely losing control."

"Because of that, word around the park was that Mr. San was on the verge of losing control."

"It wasn't just baseless gossip. I'd already been in the park for many years by then. You've probably never met Mr. San, but he was gentle, elegant, calm in a crisis, and decisive. Even though his punishments were ruthless, no one had ever seen him lose his temper."

"But during that specific period, Mr. San became exceptionally irritable. Never mind the staff—he would even snap at a stray dog walking past him."

"Then, a little while after that, the fear plague broke out."

"And not long after that, Mr. San vanished without a trace. Isn't that strange?"

Yan Jing nodded. "Strange. Extremely strange."

"Of course, despite all of that, Mr. Yi Ji, I'm not just blowing smoke—I firmly believe there isn't a single employee in this park who doesn't respect Mr. San," Zebra added.

"You might not have met him, so you don't know the sheer charisma he possessed, but if you had, you would definitely agree with me."

"In my entire life, I've rarely seen anyone as outstanding as him, and that includes the leaders of the other Domains."

"Do you believe what I'm saying?"

Yan Jing nodded once more.

He believed it. Completely.

After all, that was his "brother."