Chapter 47: The Reason to Kill You

At the ticket booth.

The Lion hummed a happy, unknown tune, dancing jazz inside his iron cage.

Outside the bars, the twintailed woman watched him with indifferent eyes.

"Zebra and Hippo are a bit tricky. It'll be hard to handle them both at once."

The Lion acted as if he hadn't heard her, continuing his happy dance.

"It's fine. Drive one of them toward me and we'll take him out first. Didn't I give you my lion hair?"

"Let's go with Zebra. The old guy is getting on in years; it's about time he died."

After the Lion spoke, the twintailed woman suddenly laughed.

She approached the window, shaking her head.

"I'm not the person I was three years ago. I won't just do whatever you tell me to anymore."

Her smile held a hint of disdain, made all the more mocking by her heavy smoky makeup.

What was the difference between a caged lion and a dog?

The Lion's dance steps paused. He looked at the woman, a wide smile spreading across his face.

"You've grown up, Li Ya. You look much more womanly than you did three years ago."

"Remember when you clung to the bars three years ago, begging me to save you? Your tone wasn't like this back then."

The Lion's words struck a nerve; undeniable anger flared in Li Ya's eyes.

But the anger quickly faded, turning into a gloomy shadow as the Lion continued.

"I know you, my dear Li Ya. Just like I did the very first time I saw you three years ago."

"You aren't considered talented among humans, nor are you smart. You just have a ruthless streak. But ruthlessness alone is useless—anyone can be ruthless. You lack talent."

"So you came back here, didn't you? You want to go further, to climb higher, and so you returned."

"I can give you what you want, just like when I gave you that item to help you reach the First Tier back then. This time, I am the only one who knows where The Vessel you all speak of is."

The Lion leaned back against the iron bars, laughter bubbling uncontrollably from his throat.

"Who says a lion locked in a cage is no longer dangerous?"

"It is precisely because I am locked in this cage that Mr. San felt safe telling me the location of that thing."

"You think the thing you're looking for is some so-called mysterious grand prize? Don't be stupid, Li Ya. Don't be stupid. That's just a gimmick Hippo and the others came up with to attract tourists."

"I left a secret code on the flyer for your organization. I am the only one who knows about the thing mentioned on it."

Hearing the Lion's words, Li Ya's expression turned so dark it could practically drip water.

She hadn't expected that even after three years, she would still be so thoroughly manipulated by this lion.

Yes, she had come here this time precisely for The Vessel.

The Evil Ghosts headquarters and the Amusement Park had always maintained a special method of communication.

In the Surface World, the most important factor for an organization's growth was whether it could establish connections with factions in the Inner World.

Once a connection was made, they could obtain information about the Inner World.

Even the most trivial piece of information could sometimes cause the profits from entering a Dungeon to skyrocket.

In a place like Ling'an City where she was based, the Eight Great Families had all established shallow connections with Inner World factions, which was how they managed to occupy the very top of Ling'an.

However, compared to the Evil Ghosts headquarters in the Central Municipality, the Eight Great Families were nothing to look at.

It was said that the Evil Ghosts headquarters had even established moderate connections with two Inner World factions.

And they had shallow connections with at least a dozen more.

This was also why she wanted to be transferred to the Central Municipality at the end of the year.

Ling'an was simply too small. After she broke into the First Tier, she finally realized how narrow her vision had been and how many geniuses existed in the world.

For the past three years, she had kept her true strength hidden to avoid drawing the attention of potential rivals, intending to amaze everyone when the time came.

So this time, when headquarters announced that someone had received a message from this Amusement Park—which had cut contact three years ago—she actively volunteered, citing her previous experience in this Dungeon.

Because she knew the Lion's message was meant for her.

Therefore, she had come.

"I will drive Zebra over here."

Her face cold, she grabbed the iron bars with hands painted in black nail polish.

"But you had better not be lying to me."

"Of course not, my dear Li Ya. Don't forget who helped you reach where you are today."

The Lion reached out and tapped Li Ya's fingernail, his smile incredibly exaggerated.

"Go on, good girl. After you slaughter those fools, what happens here will be a secret known only to you and me."

"Whenever you enter the Inner World in the future, you will always have my help. Together, there is nothing we cannot accomplish."

Li Ya didn't speak, but her expression made it clear she was tempted.

No one could refuse having a powerful Inner World partner.

It practically laid the foundation for eventually reaching the Summit.

The Lion saw this too. Even though Li Ya had merely twitched her eyebrows, the smile on his face grew even more fervent.

After Li Ya left, he resumed his solo dance.

In a blind spot hidden from outside the ticket booth, beneath his desk, lay a row of temporary Walkie-talkies right next to the one he used to communicate with Zebra.

The green one was for the Groundhog, the red one for Rabbit, the brown one for the Brown Bear...

He had prepared for this plan for three years.

He had calculated everything and firmly believed there would be no mistakes.

...

...

Tiger led Yan Jing and Mantou to hide beside a large tree. He pointed at the Tower ahead—a skyscraper hundreds of stories tall, emblazoned with a Coffin shrouded in red gauze.

"That woman suddenly turned on them during the haunted house attraction. She went into the attraction with two other human leaders, and by the time they came out, the man was already dead."

Looking at the corpse of the man surnamed Sun laid out neatly at the entrance of the Tower, Yan Jing didn't need Tiger to elaborate to guess what had happened.

He remembered that before entering the Amusement Park, the man surnamed Sun had still been dreaming of promotions and transfers. The man probably never imagined he would meet such a tragic end right here in this Amusement Park.

Judging from the corpse, the man had suffered severe corrosion from some sort of liquid right before his death. From head to toe, he was covered in varying degrees of festering wounds.

Such injuries perfectly matched the description of the Water Gun from the intelligence Shen Youran had provided.

Just as the group was about to continue searching for the woman's trail, intense sounds of combat suddenly erupted from the eastern side of the Tower, accompanied by Weird Energy rocketing into the sky.

The group exchanged glances and immediately began making their way carefully in that direction.

But when they reached the source of the commotion, they found a wide, open clearing with no cover nearby.

The twintailed Li Ya was leaning against a sofa chair, flanked by the woman in Japanese makeup and a crowd of human players.

The woman in Japanese makeup balanced a parrot-like creature on her head; the so-called sounds of combat were actually coming from its beak, broadcasting outward.

On the other side, Zebra and Hippo had arrived simultaneously, leading a group of animal staff.

Li Ya looked up at the new arrivals. The corners of her mouth curled into a smile, making her look every bit like a mastermind who had been waiting in the wings.

She had originally only intended to lure Hippo and Zebra.

She hadn't expected Yan Jing to show up as an unexpected bonus.

She stood up, pulled her hands out of the pockets of her black jacket, and stretched languidly.

Her short-sleeved t-shirt, emblazoned with a massive skull, rode up with the stretch, revealing the perfect lines of her midriff.

"Pick one to deal with."

She glanced at the woman in Japanese makeup beside her.

The woman with the parrot wore a shifting expression. After a long moment of hesitation, she pointed at Hippo.

"I choose him."

"Alright."

A baseball bat covered in spray-painted ghost faces materialized in Li Ya's hands. She pointed it lightly at Yan Jing and Zebra, laughing as she spoke, "Then I'll take the two of you together."

"Aren't you being a little too arrogant?"

Zebra's face was dark as he slowly stepped out from the ranks of the staff.

His left arm was wrapped in bandages—an injury sustained during his previous clash with the twintailed woman.

At this moment, his fury had reached its absolute peak.

They were all at the First Tier. Even if there was a gap in individual strength, his side had the undeniable advantage of numbers.

It was time to teach this little brat a lesson.

Right at that moment, his expression shifted drastically, and he threw himself into a desperate roll to the side.

A meat cleaver swirling with Weird Energy grazed past him, slicing off a large tuft of black-and-white fur.

Zebra stared in disbelief at his deputy, the Brown Bear. He never could have imagined that his most trusted confidant would betray him right now.

And judging by the looks on some of the other staff members' faces, they had known about this all along.

"Mr. San has been gone for far too long."

The Brown Bear chuckled, a sinister look in his eyes.

"You aren't the only ones who were tempted, Boss Zebra."

"We all know Mr. San. He doesn't care which of you three is in charge, and he naturally won't care if the three of you are replaced by someone else."

"Lion promised to let me take your place."

Zebra rolled up from the ground, grinding his teeth as he nodded.

"Fine, fine, fine. But that depends on whether you have the capability to take it."

A burst of black light erupted from his entire body.

Concentric rings of black and white stripes materialized behind him. With every rotation of the rings, his body seemed to grow larger, until he finally transformed into a giant several meters tall.

"Boss Zebra, who doesn't know a few illusions?"

The Brown Bear let out a roaring laugh and similarly transformed into a giant.

In an instant, the two clashed.

The fight between Zebra and the Brown Bear served as a signal. In a flash, an all-out melee erupted.

Numerous staff members turned on their allies on the spot, plunging the scene into complete chaos.

Watching the spectacle, Li Ya let out a scoff.

Hefting her baseball bat, she then began walking toward Yan Jing, step by step.

She stopped when they were just a few dozen meters apart, her eyes ice-cold, the corners of her mouth curling into a thick sneer.

She raised the thumb of her free hand and slowly dragged it across her throat.

It was the exact same gesture she had directed at Yan Jing when the bumper cars ended.

"I had planned to save you for last," she said softly.

"Should I be thanking you, then?"

Yan Jing also started to laugh.

"Actually, if you think about it, you have no real reason to kill me, do you? Just because of those two deputies?"

"Everyone here is going to die. Besides, I don't need a reason to kill you."

Berserk Weird Energy surged outward like a tidal wave.

The phantom image of a battered Gachapon Machine materialized behind Li Ya. It was packed with all sorts of grotesque, terrifying toys, radiating a yellow-green light that instantly filled the sky!

She gave Yan Jing a cold smirk, completely disregarding him as a threat.

"I don't like the look of you. That's reason enough."

"We complement each other pretty well, then."

The smile on Yan Jing's face grew even deeper.

He swallowed a Fear Fruit whole. Raging black flames ignited around him, making him look like an apocalyptic monster stepping straight out of hell, his scarlet eyes radiating raw killing intent.

Mournful shrieks echoed through the air as the Thorn Spear, blooming with withered flowers, materialized in his grasp. It cut a dark streak across the twilight sky, pointing straight at Li Ya.

He spoke softly.

"I have many reasons to kill you. More than one."