"Alright, the mission has begun. We need to figure out how to escape this amusement park."
Wan Lei scanned his surroundings. The cultivators were all bewildered, their attire and expressions completely out of place in this amusement park.
Unbeknownst to them, a dozen or so cultivators began to drift towards Wan Lei's group. Perhaps it was because Wan Lei and the others appeared calm and composed, prompting them to instinctively seek warmth in numbers.
"Hee hee, hahahaha, chase me!"
A small child, pursued by another, ran joyfully. As they passed Wan Lei, the first child suddenly tripped.
Wan Lei's reaction was swift; he reached out and caught the child.
It wasn't *that* swift, however. Even with a moment's delay, the process from tripping to falling took about a second, a duration long enough for him to do much more.
"Be careful."
After steadying the child, Wan Lei even offered a gentle reminder with a smile.
At this moment, the other child caught up. Both children looked at Wan Lei with beaming smiles.
Their smiles were incredibly innocent.
"Thank you, uncle. You're a good person."
Both children thanked him in unison.
"You're welcome. Go on and play."
In Wan Lei's view, everything here was real. It was like everything in the previous five secret realms, which were also real. Items could be brought out, and people could be brought out too. Wan Lei had long since abandoned any notion that secret realms were mere illusions.
"Uncle, to thank you, I'll give you a hint."
The little boy who had been helped up said with a smile.
Wan Lei's smile vanished instantly. He looked at the boy suspiciously.
"What do you want to say?"
"I'm kindly giving you a hint. Only good people receive good hints.
The hint is, don't believe what the balloon boy says."
After saying this, the two children ran off cheerfully again.
Wan Lei was utterly bewildered. He glanced at Fang Xiaoyu, who clearly had no idea what was going on either.
Suddenly, a crisp child's voice echoed not far from Wan Lei.
"Uncle, would you like to buy a balloon? If I sell a balloon, you can get a hint."
The voice sent a shiver down Wan Lei's spine. He immediately turned his head to see a small boy, clutching the strings of a bunch of balloons, looking up with wide, watery eyes at a young cultivator.
"How much are your balloons?"
The young cultivator seemed mesmerized. He bent down and asked the little boy kindly.
"Hey, don't believe what he says."
Wan Lei frowned and shouted sternly, but the cultivator paid him no heed.
This scene caused the others to recoil, for they had all heard what the two children had said earlier.
"My balloons are very cheap. I don't charge money, only lives."
The little boy's smile remained innocent and carefree.
"Alright, I'll buy one."
The cultivator continued to smile.
The little boy nodded happily and handed a balloon to the young cultivator.
The young cultivator took the balloon and wore a look of deep satisfaction.
Immediately afterward, the cultivator closed his eyes and fell to the ground, dead.
This spectacle stunned everyone. Wan Lei noticed that the face of the young cultivator had appeared on the balloon.
With the young cultivator dead, the balloon bearing his likeness slowly ascended, flying towards the bright moon in the sky.
The little boy then looked at the crowd, who were all backing away in fear.
The bizarre method of killing was terrifying.
He was mesmerized by a simple question, and died after touching a balloon. What kind of place was this?!
"Alright, I've sold one balloon, so I can give you a hint.
In this amusement park, don't believe anything the staff says."
The little boy chuckled and began to run away.
"Come back."
Fang Xiaoyu yelled angrily.
"What is it, Auntie? Do you want to buy a balloon too? One life for one balloon, one balloon for one hint. Fair trade."
The little boy looked at them again.
"Why should we believe you? You've already started killing people. You're killing our people while expecting us to trust you?"
"Of course, you can choose not to believe me. But if you don't believe the hint, you won't be able to leave this amusement park.
I think you should still believe me. After all, hints bought with lives are the most precious, aren't they?
You get what you pay for. Remember that truth."
The little boy chuckled and ran off.
Without doing anything, just standing there, someone had died for no reason. If something physical had appeared and killed the person in a direct confrontation, they wouldn't have been this terrified.
Having seen death often, they would have simply fought.
But this scene was too bizarre.
This harmless-looking child had, in an instant, taken a person's life.
"The earlier little boy said not to believe his words, and then he said not to believe the staff. So, who should we believe?"
Wan Lei stroked his chin, pondering the mystery with everyone.
If the words of the boy who fell were true, then the balloon boy's words were false, because he couldn't be trusted.
In that case, the staff could be trusted.
If the words of the boy who fell were false, then the information bought with a life from the balloon boy was true...
Everyone's thoughts became entangled in this paradox.
"I still lean towards the words of the boy who fell being true. That balloon seller is too strange, I don't trust him."
Fang Xiaoyu said.
"I think neither of them can be believed. Everything here cannot be judged by common sense."
Wan Lei pointed to a security guard patrolling ahead.
"Let's go ask him. See if he has any hints."
With that, he walked towards the security guard. Not far from the guard, a girl in an exaggerated mascot costume was distributing flyers.
"Hello, can I help you with something?"
The security guard asked with a smile as Wan Lei approached.
"Uh, we're lost. Do you know where the exit of the amusement park is?"
Wan Lei acted a little shyly. Upon hearing his words, the security guard's expression changed drastically, and he immediately became serious.
"Didn't you buy tickets and enter through the main gate?"
"Buy tickets? What tickets?"
Wan Lei was taken aback.
*Does the great Master Wan need to buy tickets?*
However, as soon as the words left his mouth, the security guard grabbed the baton from his waist and swung it at Wan Lei.
"You dared to sneak in without buying a ticket? Get down and put your hands on your head!"
Wan Lei was momentarily stunned, then let out a chuckle.
*This fellow really thinks he's a policeman. A mere mortal dares to attack me?*
Wan Lei suppressed a laugh and flicked his wrist, sending a bolt of lightning flying. However, the moment the lightning left his hand, it vanished without a trace.
Seeing the security guard's baton about to strike, Wan Lei prepared to dodge. Who knew what strange properties these things possessed? It was best not to confront them head-on.
However, he immediately found himself unable to move.
At this critical juncture, the mascot girl distributing flyers not far away suddenly rushed towards the security guard...