Chapter 16: Skeleton Robot?

Gu Wang, leading a bewildered Zhou Tong, along with Tong Qianqian and Liu Peng, arrived in front of the maze. He smiled, “This is our newly constructed maze. You are our first guests. Would you like to try it out?”

In reality, after the Bone Child discovered this was a guest scenario, she had very high standards and spent several days “decorating” it.

It is said that the little one even discussed with Sun Fei for a long time, adding some interesting designs to the maze that even Gu Wang didn’t know about.

Standing at the maze’s entrance, the massive tombstone exuded a powerful presence, instantly creating a supernatural atmosphere.

Whether it was an illusion or not, Zhou Tong glimpsed a white shadow swiftly passing out of the corner of her eye, sending a chill down her spine.

Tong Qianqian asked strangely, “Tongtong, what’s wrong? Are you cold?”

Zhou Tong’s crying face was uglier than her smiling face. “No, no, no… not cold at all?”

Tong Qianqian was speechless and took off her jacket to put it on her.

Zhou Tong then pitifully asked her, “Sis, are you going in? Maybe don’t go…” Who knows what’s in there?!

Tong Qianqian was very excited, rubbing her hands together. “It’s rare to come here. I definitely have to experience it! This amusement park is too interesting!”

Gu Wang smiled, then turned to Liu Peng. “Sir, would you like to play? Cameras aren’t allowed inside.”

Liu Peng hesitated, then gave a simple, honest smile. “Then, I’ll trouble Director Gu to look after it for me.”

The two stood before the tombstone at the maze’s entrance.

The patterns on the tombstone flickered, revealing four bleeding characters: “Living Souls Stop Here.”

Tong Qianqian immediately exclaimed, “Wow!”

The atmosphere was fully established!

Liu Peng’s expression remained honest, but a hint of disdain flashed in his eyes—child’s play.

The two pulled out their ticket cards and swiped them on the tombstone.

According to the setting, the ticket card was proof of a tourist’s “Yin soul” in Fengdu.

The tombstone rumbled and sank into the ground, revealing a dark, cavernous entrance.

Besides the dim light, there seemed to be black mist inside.

Tong Qianqian enthusiastically walked in, with Liu Peng closely following. Although they entered one after the other, they were immediately separated inside.

Tong Qianqian wasn’t timid, but surrounded by pitch blackness and absolute silence, she couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous.

At that moment, a clatter of sounds came from the darkness, as if someone wearing strange, hard shoes ran past.

Tong Qianqian felt her hair stand on end instantly, and a cold sweat broke out on her back. She spun around, but there was no one behind her.

On the ground, however, lay a small yellow flower. The same kind of small yellow flower grew on the amusement park’s walls, tender yellow, full of vitality, and emitting a faint fragrance up close.

Tong Qianqian picked up the small flower. It wasn’t dirty; someone had carefully placed it there.

The girl paused, then suddenly cupped her face. “Darn it! The NPCs here are so cute! They make me not even scared anymore!”

She couldn’t see it, but the black mist cautiously moved away from her when she moved.

In the darkness, the Bone Child watched her retreating figure, covering her tiny skeletal hand over her mouth, secretly giggling.

Just then, the manifestation talisman on her flickered; the director was calling her.

The little Bone Child seemed to receive a message, turned her foot bones, and ran to the other side.

As soon as Liu Peng entered the maze, he realized he had lost sight of Tong Qianqian. He called out, “Qianqian?”

There was no response, and he grew a little annoyed, pulling out his phone. His phone had been off the entire time. Hesitantly, he pressed the power button, and immediately, a flood of text messages and missed calls came in, including dozens of debt collection notices.

Liu Peng irritably silenced his phone, and just as he was about to turn on the flashlight, it rang again. He impatiently answered.

An old woman’s voice said, “Ah Peng, where have you been these past few days? Many people have come to collect money from the house, trying to take our belongings. Your father is gone, and I’m all alone…”

Liu Peng rudely interrupted her. “Let them take whatever they want, there’s nothing valuable at home anyway. Don’t bother me these days. I’m working these days; it’ll be fine once I earn some money.”

He then resolutely hung up the phone. The “Ah Peng” from the other end was cut off mid-sentence.

Liu Peng tried to turn on the flashlight again, but it was still pitch black, and nothing was visible.

Behind him, the Bone Child, who had just come to check the situation, opened and closed her jaw a few times, silently: Bad person!

A rhythmic knocking echoed from somewhere, as if something was gradually hitting the wooden walls of the maze.

Liu Peng suddenly spun around. “Who! Who’s there?!”

Tendrils of black mist seeped into his nostrils in a spot he couldn’t see, beginning to influence his mind. The knocking resonated, and for a moment, the sound appeared to come from all directions, seemingly mixed with muffled cries.

He turned on his phone’s light and shined it around, but found no one.

However, a vine quietly extended, wrapping around his ankle like a snake. He screamed in fright, falling heavily to the ground with a thud. His phone flew far away, its light shaking for a while before stopping.

The white beam landed perfectly on a shriveled rat corpse in the corner of the wall. The corpse’s shadow was elongated and magnified, appearing exceptionally grotesque.

Liu Peng kept feeling like the shadow was moving. He knew it was fake, but his adrenaline still surged, and his bladder felt the urge to urinate. He didn’t dare to pick up his phone, only pretending to be calm as he raised his voice, “Which NPC is there? Stop hiding, I can see you!”

A gust of wind blew, and the rat’s corpse toppled over, causing its shadow to sway.

This startled him so much that he screamed before he even finished speaking, almost gasping for air. He wondered if it was his imagination, but he seemed to hear a clear, childish laugh.

He instantly got goosebumps.

How… how could there be a little girl here?! No… it must be fake, a recording… right?

Seeing him too scared to move, the Bone Child shook her head.

Although she didn’t want to play with the bad person, the director said this bad person seemed to know some things…

The Bone Child tapped her head, and a strong black mist emerged from her mouth hole, surging towards Liu Peng.

In a daze, Liu Peng heard his phone ring again. He answered the call.

The Bone Child skipped, hopped into the darkness, and went to the other side.

Tong Qianqian fumbled in the darkness for a while, arriving at the maze’s first fork. An extensive line of text was written above it: “Do you prefer fried chicken or hamburgers?”

The left path said “Fried Chicken,” and the right path said “Hamburger.”

“Fried chicken!” Tong Qianqian turned left without hesitation. “I’ll still like fried chicken when I’m eighty, hmph hmph—”

The left path led to a dead end, but it wasn’t without reward.

At the end of the dead end was a small rabbit doll, with a note on it in childish handwriting: “Little rabbit is your good friend, and can offer a hint—”

Tong Qianqian took the note, put it away, picked up the little rabbit, and squeezed it, then rubbed it on her face. “Wow! So soft!”

She continued to the next path, thinking: This maze is only scary in terms of atmosphere; otherwise, it’s just child’s play! (Liu Peng: Are you sure?)

After walking for a while past several forks, Tong Qianqian was already holding multiple small animal dolls.

For some reason, she would receive a small doll no matter which answer she chose.

Collecting dolls was also very fun.

Tong Qianqian picked up a new doll, took a few steps, and then suddenly heard another clattering sound.

She instinctively turned around and saw a white, plump head peeking behind the alleyway. Before she could react, the head, as if shy, shrank back.

“Huh?” Tong Qianqian quickly ran over and froze. “Bone… bones?”

The little Bone Child stood shyly in place, her foot bones shuffling, looking uneasily at her.

Sister Sun Fei said she could scare guests, but she really likes this sister! She doesn’t want to scare her!

In her apprehension, she suddenly heard Tong Qianqian cheer and rush over. “Such a cute little skeleton! Can it move? Can it talk?”

The little Bone Child was startled and took two steps back, then nodded, extending her arm to beckon, and then spoke, “Hello, sister—”

“Wow! Her child’s voice is so clear! So cute! And she moves so flexibly! Is it a robot?” Tong Qianqian examined her from all angles.

The little Bone Child dressed nicely before starting her work. Her head was decorated with a painted flower wreath, her body was painted with colorful pigments, and a soft yellow child’s scarf was tied around her bones of the neck.

Tong Qianqian came from a good family and instantly recognized the scarf as being from a light luxury brand. She gave a thumbs-up and praised, “You’re dressed so nicely!”

The little Bone Child excitedly jumped twice. This was the scarf her mother bought her!

The two glanced at each other for a while.

The Bone Child reached out, asked for a doll, then pulled Tong Qianqian in a certain direction, making a shushing gesture. “Quietly.”

Tong Qianqian held the other’s small, fragile hand and kept smiling. “So this is how I get a clue! I’m clearly winning! Are you the BOSS of this scene?”

The Bone Child didn’t know what “BOSS” meant, only softly said, “This is where I host guests!”

Tong Qianqian’s maternal instincts exploded when she heard her say “host,” and she immediately patted her chest. “Sister will come back to play with you next time, and I’ll bring you toys!”

The Bone Child giggled.

After walking for a few minutes, Tong Qianqian heard a man’s voice.

The voice was somewhat familiar. It took her a moment to realize it was Liu Peng’s voice, and then she remembered that she hadn’t entered alone.

The Bone Child once again made a shushing gesture to her, pulling her around a corner, where they could see Liu Peng talking on the phone.

Liu Peng’s usually honest face was completely fawning as he humbly bowed and scraped to the person on the phone. “Boss Zhao, I know, I’ll transfer the money in a few days. Three days, I’ll definitely transfer it within three days! I’m in Yaoguang City, how dare I owe you money, right?”

For some reason, the voice on the other end of the phone was also very clear.

Boss Zhao said, “It’s good that you understand. You can’t be high-spirited at the gambling table and pretend to be a grandson when you leave. Besides, I don’t have that many grandsons for you to pretend to be!”

Tong Qianqian’s expression changed.

Liu Peng had gambled and was in debt?

In truth, she and Liu Peng weren’t particularly close. She was interning at the TV station, and when she started this project, the station assigned her a cameraman.

At most, they were just colleagues. If she had known Liu Peng had a history of gambling, she would never have agreed to work with him. Because of some family matters, she hates gambling the most.

It was not uncommon for people who gamble and owe debts to do anything.

Having appeased Boss Zhao, Liu Peng hung up the phone and walked onto another path.

Tong Qianqian thought momentarily, then took a doll and handed it to the Bone Child. “Baby, do Sister a favor. Sister wants to follow him a bit longer.”

The Bone Child took the doll and hopped along, leading her forward.

After circling the maze for a while, they saw Liu Peng again. He had picked up another call and appeared to be very busy with his “business.”

Tong Qianqian quickly started recording on her phone.

However, in the next second, her expression changed. She heard Liu Peng speaking in an even more fawning, cautious, and fearful tone than before: “Yes, you can rest assured. She and I are in the amusement park right now. Yes, the drug is already on her. I put it on her right when we entered the park. She’s a stupid girl, not at all cautious. That’s right, on the way back, I’ll hand her over to you.”

Tong Qianqian’s hand holding the phone began to tremble. She suddenly remembered that when she first entered the park, her neck had felt a sharp pain, like a needle prick.

Liu Peng had even patted her and said there was a bug. He had already flicked it off for her, and she had thanked him.

Now… She reached out and felt a patch smaller than a fingernail being torn off.

There was a trace of blood on the patch.

The thought of this unknown drug having already entered her bloodstream through the wound, and even worse, if it was some pathogen…

Delicate beads of sweat appeared on Tong Qianqian’s forehead, and her heart was filled with terror.