Chapter 172: The Songstress Tong Yin

Pothos wasn’t as agile as ivy or vine, so naturally it had no interest in balloons at all. The ivy, on the other hand, often tried to compete with the ghost ivy over them — though since it couldn’t actually move on its own, the whole thing was really just a bit of playful rivalry.

Ghost Vine hurried in with the two balloons and handed them over to Lin Yun.

Lin Yun had only glanced at them briefly before, without paying much attention, assuming they were nothing more than ordinary party balloons. But now, looking more closely, she realized each one actually carried detailed information embedded within it.

[Hidden Balloon: Allows a creature to remain hidden for 24 hours. Simply use it on the creature. (The effect can be paused at any time.)]

[Protective Balloon: Can withstand two fatal attacks.]

Lin Yun let out a soft hiss of surprise. "This balloon..."

So the clown NPC had recognized who they really were — and because they were all fellow travelers from the same place, he had quietly given them these balloons, each with its own hidden purpose.

She let out a quiet sigh, wondering just how many other survivors might be trapped somewhere in this amusement park, unable to find their way out.

Night was falling slowly, and tonight marked the first parade since the park had reopened, so the streets outside were alive with noise and movement.

Lin Yun dragged a chair over to the window and sat down, watching the commotion unfold below.

Perhaps because the park had been closed for a while, quite a few visitors had gathered in the parent-child interaction area, still laughing and carrying on.

"I heard tonight’s parade is going to be amazing — even better than the last one. I definitely have to go see it!"

"What time is it now?"

"It’s 8:30. That still leaves a good ten minutes or so, no need to rush."

"But what if we don’t head over soon? What if all the good spots are already taken by the time we get there?"

"Hmm... that’s actually a fair point. Let’s go ahead and leave now rather than wait. Besides, the staff mentioned that the songstress Tong Yin is going to be part of tonight’s parade — she’ll be singing from one of the floats."

"Really?! Oh, that’s wonderful! It’s been ages since Tong Yin last made an appearance, hasn’t it? We finally get the chance to see her in person."

"Come on, let’s hurry over there, or every good viewing spot will be gone before we know it."

The two visitors each grabbed hold of their children and got up to leave, paying no mind to the kids’ protests about wanting to stay and keep playing a little longer.

Lin Yun looked away, her thoughts lingering on what she’d just heard. The songstress Tong Yin?

She tapped her chin thoughtfully, wondering whether Tong Yin’s singing might have some kind of effect on the tourists gathered below.

After mulling it over for a moment, Lin Yun decided to head outside again. She had no intention of pushing through the crowd along with everyone else, though — she only meant to observe from a distance.

Noticing that Lin Yun was preparing to go out once more, Sang Biao quickly scrambled after her. "Where are you headed? Are you taking the cat too? The cat wants to come along!"

She looked down at Sang Biao, who had planted himself squarely in her path. The two little ones hadn’t been outside in quite some time, but unfortunately there was only a single cloaking balloon to go around.

Sensing that Lin Yun seemed a bit torn about what to do, Tuan Tuan spoke up thoughtfully. "Youyou, let the eldest go out this time. Hu can stay home and play with Xiaoteng and the others instead."

Sang Biao glanced over at Tuan Tuan — ah, right, he’d nearly forgotten about his little brother entirely. So what was he supposed to do now?

"It’s all right. Our time here is almost up anyway. Once we make it back to the transit station, I’ll make sure to take the two of you out somewhere fun."

Lin Yun crouched down again and gently patted each of their heads in turn.

"Okay, deal!"

After using the invisibility balloon on Sang Biao, he settled himself onto Lin Yun’s shoulder, and together they slipped out the door.

Before leaving, Lin Yun sent a quick message to both Song Xizheng and Song Zhenzhen to let them know where she was headed.

Once Lin Yun had made her way out of the parent-child interaction area, she noticed that a stretch of the road had been cordoned off at some point without her noticing.

This section, it seemed, had been set aside for the floats to pass through during the parade.

A sizeable crowd of tourists had already gathered nearby, craning their necks eagerly as they waited for the first float to come into view.

8:30.

Suddenly, a series of whistling sounds cut through the air, followed by a burst of golden sparks blooming across the sky above the amusement park.

Lin Yun tilted her head back to look — fireworks.

"Wow! I didn’t expect there’d be fireworks tonight, they’re absolutely beautiful."

"Fireworks aren’t usually part of the parade. Maybe they wanted to surprise everyone this time, since the park’s been closed for so long?"

Two nearby tourists chattered on, completely absorbed in their own conversation and oblivious to everything else around them.

"Hey, hey, the float’s coming! The float’s here!"

The words rippled through the crowd like a stone dropped into still water, spreading excitement in every direction.

"Wow, did they redo the float? It looks so much better than before!"

"It’s definitely different. I saw the last parade, and the lead float back then didn’t look anything like this."

"It’s so beautiful — I wonder which float Yinyin is riding on."

"When is she going to start singing? It’s been forever since I last heard her voice."

Lin Yun stood well behind the crowd, eventually finding a spot where she could rise onto her toes and catch a clear view of everything happening ahead.

Leading the procession, a number of NPCs performed synchronized movements in time with the music. Once the song ended, they turned eagerly to interact with the tourists pressing in around them.

It reminded her somewhat of the traditional street processions held in certain parts of China.

The clown NPC trailed along behind the lead car, his face done up in vivid clown makeup, striking one exaggerated pose after another.

Unlike the other NPCs, though, he seemed to act with a surprising degree of independence, occasionally handing out the balloons he carried to tourists along the route.

Lin Yun studied the balloons in his hands for a long moment, but they appeared to be perfectly ordinary — nothing special about them at all.

For a moment she found herself puzzled: how exactly had the clown NPC managed to tell which of them were survivors in the first place?

Was it merely a coincidence?

Just then, she watched him reach into his left pocket and pull out an uninflated balloon, blow it up himself, and hand it off casually to a passerby.

But Lin Yun caught something the others hadn’t — the balloon he’d just given away wasn’t ordinary at all. She could see the hidden details layered within it: it was a protective balloon.

Was his choice random, or entirely deliberate?

Sensing that he was being watched closely, the clown NPC paused mid-step and turned to look her way.

Recognizing her as someone familiar, he flashed a wide grin in her direction.

So the clown NPC knew exactly who she was.

She had been watching him so intently — surely he must have noticed something was off. But he didn’t dwell on it for long, quickly turning his attention elsewhere.

He still had work to do, after all, and no time to spare pondering such things.

Simply staying alive was enough for now.

Lin Yun pressed her lips together but made no further move.

Ding.

Taking advantage of the fact that the local residents couldn’t see personal interface panels, Lin Yun opened hers directly and found a new message waiting from Song Xizheng.

Song Xizheng: "Sister Lin, I can see you. I’m on the fourth float."

Song Xizheng: "Don’t linger there too long. Take a look around for a bit longer, then head back quickly. I’m not entirely sure what they’re planning."

Lin Yun typed back, "Okay, understood. Which float is Tong Yin on?"

Song Xizheng: "The seventh float. She should start singing around the forty-minute mark."

Lin Yun closed the panel again and turned her attention back to the passing floats.

"What a coincidence."

Startled, Lin Yun turned to look, and found that the person who had just approached was none other than Linglan.

Here’s another Chapter. I hope you enjoy reading it⁦(⁠◠⁠‿⁠・⁠)⁠—⁠☆⁩