Chapter 43: Fear Plague

Swish—

Yan Jing's expression remained calm as the dark spear in his hands churned up a dark wave in the air. Piercing, agonized shrieks erupted from the ripples.

The Fear Spirit that had fallen onto the terrace struggled backward, raising both hands to block the strike.

But it was useless.

Against the dark wave, those hands were like flimsy paper, sliced cleanly in two.

In an instant, its previous playful teasing vanished. The Fear Spirit's wails and the shrill screams of the swinging spear merged into a single symphony.

Immediately after, Yan Jing pushed off the ground, raised the spear, and delivered another heavy, powerful thrust.

With nowhere to dodge in the cramped space, the Fear Spirit could only watch helplessly as the Thorn Spear, covered in vicious spikes, plunged into its chest with the force of a thunderbolt.

"Ahhh—"

Its scarlet eyes went wide with absolute agony.

Streams of dark liquid gushed from the wound.

Leaving it no room to resist, Yan Jing twisted his hand ruthlessly. The Fear Spirit's body instantly dissolved into specks of black light. Only an oval, pitch-black stone remained, rolling across the glass terrace before Yan Jing picked it up.

This display of slaughtering it as easily as chopping vegetables terrified the Fear Spirits positioned above the holes. Their crescent-moon smiles gradually curved downward.

When Yan Jing looked up, they retreated in unison, distinct fear in their eyes.

Yet they didn't stop swinging their iron hammers; in fact, their pace quickened.

Faced with the Fear Spirits' increasingly frantic hammering, Yan Jing's expression remained unchanged. He silently absorbed the Fear Power, manifested a new seed, and thrust his spear.

Soon, one, two, three...

Fear Spirits died one after another.

Eventually, obvious panic broke out among them.

Even with the groundhogs under the terrace trying to force them forward, they shrieked and shoved at each other, each wanting their companions to die before this god of death first.

The swinging hammers finally ceased.

But right at that moment.

Suddenly, their eyes widened.

An object resembling a Video Camera unexpectedly poked its head out of the hole.

"Cheese."

Yan Jing smiled.

A rapid series of shutter clicks rang out.

The Fear Spirits froze in place, as if mired in thick mud.

Their simple minds couldn't comprehend what Yan Jing was doing.

But very soon.

They understood.

A massive shadow fell over the holes like a descending mountain, carrying an unstoppable pressure as it crashed down amid the Fear Spirits' terror.

"Boom—"

Yan Jing sat impassively on the terrace, listening to a series of pops from above that sounded like bursting watermelons.

In utter despair, the Fear Spirits dissolved into clusters of light, leaving behind only black stones.

Once the dropping hammer overhead lifted, he casually leaned out and collected the Fear Spirit Hearts one by one.

Not far away, the half-beaten-to-death Tiger witnessed this scene and was dumbfounded.

He hadn't expected Yan Jing's methods to be so direct and brutal.

Because Yan Jing hadn't retaliated against him after the Bumper Go-Karts finished, Tiger had assumed he possessed a fairly good temper.

Now, he looked at the pile of Fear Spirit Hearts in Yan Jing's hands.

Then he thought back to the fate of the humans who had opposed Yan Jing in the previous stage.

Tiger swallowed hard, a shudder rippling through his chest.

This man was absolutely not someone to provoke.

Crossing him would likely end very poorly.

Just as he was trying to figure out how to beg for help, his eyes lit up as he saw Yan Jing walking toward him.

Soon, the Fear Spirits surrounding Tiger were also reduced to a pile of black stones.

"Mr. Yi Ji, thank you so much, I really don't know how to repay you..."

Tiger kept thanking him, only to suddenly hear Yan Jing's smiling voice:

"Then help me attract a few more waves of Fear Spirits."

Eh?

Tiger stared blankly up and saw a devilish smile on Yan Jing's face.

...

...

After baiting two more waves of Fear Spirits, an exhausted Tiger lay panting on the terrace.

He wanted to take back every assumption he'd made about Yan Jing.

This Cameraman was definitely no Mr. Nice Guy, and... he held one hell of a grudge.

He couldn't help but wonder about Yan Jing's true identity.

Arriving at the Amusement Park on the day it reopened, being targeted by Lion, possessing overwhelming strength, and knowing so many of the park's deep secrets...

All signs forced him to suspect that Yan Jing was a new leading staff member hired by the Amusement Park.

But that was highly unlikely.

Park staff couldn't pick up the Fear Spirit Hearts generated within the grounds, and he had never heard of any employee managing to leave the Amusement Park.

After all, this Amusement Park belonged to Mr. San.

Mr. San never fired employees, nor did he allow them to resign.

"Damn it, Mr. Yi Ji, I have to go settle the score with those two wretched groundhogs. They definitely didn't get their physical checkups before work this week!!!"

Tiger sat up on the terrace and spat viciously.

Those two groundhogs had made him suffer so miserably; right now, he had the urge to kill them.

"How do you catch the Fear Plague? Is it contagious?"

Yan Jing crouched beside him and asked.

"Of course not. Wait, you actually don't know about the Fear Plague, Mr. Yi Ji?"

Tiger sat up.

"Not entirely."

"Well, I guess that's normal, since you aren't one of our Amusement Park's staff."

Tiger scratched his head and explained, "I don't really get how people catch it. As long as you're an employee of the Amusement Park, you risk contracting the Fear Plague."

"But the sickness actually isn't very lethal. It only acts up when your emotions are particularly agitated. The symptoms are intense emotional spikes, an extreme urge to create fear, and even losing your sense of self."

"Those damn groundhogs definitely triggered an episode because they were laughing at me too hard earlier."

Hearing about losing one's sense of self, Yan Jing thought of Mantou's loss of control.

Judging from the symptoms, it seemed very similar to the Fear Plague.

Come to think of it, those groundhogs acting up right at this exact moment was a bit too coincidental...

At that moment, he noticed the transparent glass terrace beneath him.

He remembered that the two groundhogs were previously standing in a spot visible from this area, but now they had vanished for some reason.

A bad premonition suddenly rose within him.

"Mr. Yi Ji, I'm all recovered. I can lure in another wave."

Tiger decided to show off properly in front of Yan Jing.

But as soon as he poked his head out, he let out a confused noise, because the drop hammer overhead rose, yet no Fear Spirits appeared. It seemed this wave of Fear Spirits had already ended.

"Those two groundhogs seem to have recovered, Mr. Yi Ji. Let's go find them. If they don't hand over the stamp, we'll beat them until they do."

With Yan Jing by his side, Tiger fully intended to throw his borrowed weight around.

But no one answered. He looked down, only to realize that Yan Jing was long gone.

...

After dropping down from the glass terrace, Yan Jing jogged all the way to the waiting area.

The waiting area below was completely empty. As Yan Jing ran toward Mantou's location, his bad feeling only grew stronger.

A brutal aura saturated the air, mixed with the faint scent of blood.

Yet when he arrived at Mantou's location, the sight before him left him stunned.

Mantou stood right where she was, showing no signs of having lost control.

She had her eyes closed, tightly hugging the Surprise Little Gift Box to her chest.

He could faintly hear her whispering to herself:

"Don't move around... don't run around..."

"Don't move around... don't run around..."

Yan Jing blinked in confusion.

If Mantou hadn't lost control, then who knocked out the two groundhogs lying nearby?

Moreover, a heavy, brutal aura clearly lingered in the air.

"Yi... Ji!!"

Seeming to hear his footsteps, Mantou opened her eyes and looked at Yan Jing in delight:

"You... you... came back...!"

"Yeah."

Yan Jing smiled and nodded, then pointed to the two groundhogs, who were covered head to toe in bruises:

"Mantou, do you know who knocked them out?"

"N-n-not... sure..."

Looking at the two unconscious groundhogs, Mantou's eyes also reflected deep confusion. She looked utterly lost:

"Mantou... didn't... didn't move around..."

She seemed terrified that Yan Jing wouldn't believe her, nervously rubbing the hem of her shirt with her right hand:

"Yi... Ji... I... I stood still... I didn't run around... I listened to you..."

"I know it wasn't you, Mantou."

Yan Jing patted her head, comforting her with a smile. "You must be tired from coming out today. Once we find the Heavy Pollution Herb, we'll go home."

They couldn't stay in this Amusement Park for long.

Mantou's condition seemed to be worsening significantly here.

Based on his deduction, Mantou had likely lost consciousness just now, forgetting her own actions.

Besides, the timing of these two groundhogs acting up was incredibly strange.

"O-okay!"

Seeing that Yan Jing wasn't blaming her, Mantou bloomed into a smile again.

Once Mantou stood steady, Yan Jing walked over to the two unconscious groundhogs and began searching them.

"That fast?!"

Tiger, who had just rushed over, widened his eyes.

He stepped closer, inspected the groundhogs' injuries, and was shocked again:

"You really didn't hold back, Mr. Yi Ji."

Then, he gave a thumbs-up:

"Good job!"

"Damn it, these two idiots almost got me killed earlier!!!"

He viciously kicked one of the groundhogs, then turned to Yan Jing:

"Don't worry, Mr. Yi Ji, these two fools broke the rules first. I promise you this incident won't cause you any trouble at all."

"Our Amusement Park absolutely maintains a friendly attitude toward tourists!!!"

"Especially high-quality tourists like you, Mr. Yi Ji!"

Tiger wore an expression of utmost righteousness, shouting slogans like a promotional ambassador for the Amusement Park.

"Beep beep beep!"

"Beep beep beep!"

"Beep beep beep!"

Suddenly, an urgent sound reached their ears.

Tiger immediately bent down to search, pulling a Walkie-talkie from one groundhog's waist.

The Walkie-talkie was currently blinking green. He pressed the button, and Zebra's elderly voice came through:

"I forgot to tell you earlier, Lion wants you two to take out a man and a woman."

"The guy has a camera for a head, and the girl's wearing an Electric Vehicle Helmet."

"Also forgot to tell you, don't listen to Lion. Don't mess with those two, let them go."

"Tiger's already down."

"What else was there... Oh, right... a few weeks ago, did you two secretly meet up with Lion? Let me tell you... Lion is bad news... Hello? Why aren't you answering?"

"..."

"..."

Tiger and Yan Jing listened to the Walkie-talkie, then exchanged a glance. For a moment, the atmosphere was a bit awkward.

"Wow, Mr. Yi Ji, I think we need to have a serious discussion about our next steps."

Tiger tossed the Walkie-talkie aside and, pretending nothing had happened, patted Yan Jing's shoulder:

"Where to next?"

"Our couple's journey is taking a temporary hiatus, Mr. Tiger."

Yan Jing pulled out the stamp he had just looted off the groundhog and pressed it onto the Stamp Card, leaving a gopher pattern.

"It's over..." Tiger almost failed to react, but soon he said in pleasant surprise:

"It's over?!! You're planning to leave?"

"Not over. Paused."

Now he had met all the requirements to head to the old park sector.

Compared to a so-called mystery grand prize that required surviving three even harder stages, Yan Jing was much more concerned with securing the Heavy Pollution Herb.

He kept his primary objective in mind: find a way into the Sun-Swallowing Tower, then survive the next Dungeon.

"Do you need me to see you off?"

Tiger plastered a smile on his face, feigning politeness.

To him, a pause was exactly the same as an end. As soon as Yan Jing left the new park sector and the Couple Wristband deactivated, he would immediately run far, far away and hide where Yan Jing could never find him.

But Yan Jing declined Tiger's 'good intentions' and smilingly patted his shoulder in return:

"There's still plenty of time, Mr. Tiger. We'll meet again."