Chapter 175: Curiosity Killed the Cat

"A chance, you call it? That’s a rather generous way of putting it."

"Were you even there when they cut off my leg? Weren’t my screams beautiful enough for you?"

"You’re already exactly the same as them by now, so what right do you have to claim we’re still the same kind of people? Lily of the Valley, I don’t need your pity. I never asked for it."

By now, Tong Yin only ever addressed her as "Lily of the Valley" — never "Lan Ruoling," not anymore.

Lily of the Valley’s lips parted slightly, but no words came out, and she fell silent instead.

Tong Yin ignored her entirely, closed her eyes, and leaned back heavily against the headboard.

Her leg hadn’t been treated with any real medicine at all — the wound had simply been wrapped in bandages, with not even a proper hemostatic applied before she’d been sent back to her room.

She lay there now, too afraid to move even slightly, since any movement at all sent fresh waves of pain shooting through her. She couldn’t even lie down properly — sitting upright was the best she could manage.

Before she quite realized it, exhaustion finally won out, and Tong Yin drifted off to sleep.

She was utterly worn down; it had been far too long since she’d last gotten any real rest.

*As for Lily of the Valley? Let her be, whatever she wants. She’s already a worthless person in every sense now. If she wants to sit there, fine — let her.*

Linglan sat quietly watching the sleeping Tong Yin, then pulled a stick of incense from her pocket and waved it gently beneath her nose.

Tong Yin’s breathing only deepened further, sinking into an even heavier sleep.

Once she was certain Tong Yin wouldn’t wake, Linglan slipped back to her own room, gathered up a collection of medicines, and returned to Tong Yin’s side.

She knew perfectly well those people would never bother properly treating Tong Yin’s wounds themselves.

Carefully, she changed Tong Yin’s soiled dress, wiped down her body, replaced the blood-stained sheets and blankets, and finally applied the medicine herself, working with quiet, practiced care.

Linglan sat there beside the bed afterward, watching Tong Yin’s still-sleeping form, and let out a heavy, weary sigh.

"Knew I’d find you here."

Rose pushed the door open from outside and stepped in.

Linglan didn’t turn to acknowledge her, keeping her gaze fixed silently on Tong Yin instead.

*Was any of this even worth it, in the end?*

Rose pulled up a chair beside Lily of the Valley and settled in, glancing over at Tong Yin lying on the bed.

"The key’s already been sent out, then?"

Lily of the Valley hummed a soft, quiet confirmation in response.

"You do realize, don’t you, what happens to people with official standing who die a horrible death like this?"

"Do you regret it?" Linglan asked instead, sidestepping the comment entirely.

"I don’t regret anything. What would there even be to regret? I’m just worried you’re the one who’s going to end up regretting this."

"For one brief moment there, you selfishly wanted Tong Yin to just stay behind with you — but I was afraid you’d come to regret that too, purely out of fear of dying yourself."

Rose had always been blunt like this, speaking her mind freely without a shred of concern for how it might land on anyone else.

Lily of the Valley’s expression darkened at once. *This woman, honestly.*

"I’m genuinely curious, though — how exactly did you manage to get those things delivered that day?"

Linglan froze slightly, caught off guard. *It hadn’t actually been her who’d given anything away, had it?*

*That child had come to them entirely on his own, of his own free will — he was different from everyone else here, wasn’t he?*

"Don’t ask. Curiosity killed the cat, you know."

Rose pouted, clearly annoyed at being cut off mid-thought. "You know, I really do hate you sometimes, more than anyone else."

"How’s the packing coming along, anyway? Anything still missing?"

"Almost finished up. But have you actually told them yet? Do you honestly think this plan will even work? And besides — look at the state Tong Yin’s in now. She’s lost an entire leg. Are you really sure she can manage any kind of decent life like this?"

*Tong Yin’s leg was gone entirely now. How was she supposed to survive out there, in that condition?*

Lily of the Valley opened her mouth to respond, but truthfully, she didn’t have an answer either — and yet, there was no way to stop what had already been set in motion.

If she showed even a hint of compassion now, it would only draw suspicion straight onto herself.

Thinking it through, all she could manage was another heavy sigh.

That was really the extent of what she could still do for her friend. Everything beyond this point was entirely up to Tong Yin to figure out on her own now.

The two of them rose quickly and slipped out of Tong Yin’s room together.

The whole reason the tourists had suddenly rioted and turned on each other in the first place traced directly back to Tong Yin.

Her singing had the power to guide and control the tourists — but the method had been discovered far too quickly for comfort.

As a result, the man in the black robe had ordered Tong Yin dragged away and her leg severed as punishment.

...

All Song Xizheng ever really learned afterward was that Tong Yin had been hauled off by the people Linglan had brought along with her.

Once the whole farce had finally settled down, Lin Yun pulled out the strange plaque Linglan had given her earlier and turned it over in her hands, examining it closely.

**[Special Item: ???]**

"System, why is this thing showing three question marks again? Is my level just too low for this?"

**[Hosts lacking sufficient resources need to reach level 5 first before this unlocks!]**

**[That said... since Linglan was willing to hand this over to you directly, you could always just go ask her yourself. She’ll almost certainly know what it is.]**

Lin Yun hesitated at the suggestion. *She’d have to be out of her mind to actually go ask Linglan about this directly.*

*What if Linglan suddenly changed her mind and wanted the item back?*

Besides, the amusement park was loud and crowded enough as it was, and there was clearly far more going on behind Linglan’s situation than she could fully see or understand right now — asking her anything felt like far too much of a risk.

"Fine. I’ll just hold onto it for now. They’ll figure it out eventually on their own, I’m sure."

Lin Yun let the matter drop entirely. Only a handful of days remained now, and once she’d completed her mission here, she could finally head back to the transit station. The last thing she needed was to stir up even more trouble along the way.

She pulled up her personal panel and checked in on the task center to see how many tasks she’d managed to knock out that day.

**[Daily Task: Watch the play "Good Friends" (Completed)]**

**Reward: 20 points**

**Daily Task: Complete the Pirate Ship ride (Completed)**

**Reward: 20 points**

**Daily Quest: Obtain the special token from Linglan (Completed)**

**Reward: 30 points**

All three tasks had been cleared, bringing in a solid 90 points total.

Lin Yun ran the numbers once more in her head. She currently sat at 185 out of 300 mission points, leaving her still 115 points short of the full total.

She wanted to see what other tasks were still available to knock out and squeeze in as many points as she could manage. After all, since she was already stuck here anyway, she certainly wasn’t about to leave empty-handed if she could help it.

In this particular world, most individual tasks only paid out twenty or thirty points a pop. Where else could she possibly find a deal that good?

*Better make sure the task list’s fully refreshed, then.*

**[Daily Task: Watch 3 puppet shows at the puppet theater (2/3)]**

**Reward: 35 points**

**Daily Task: Complete one roller coaster ride**

**Reward: 20 points**

**Daily Task: Complete 3 carousel rides (2/3)]**

**Reward: 30 points**

*All right, I’ll take all three. I’ll knock these out starting tomorrow.*

The carousel would be simple enough to handle.

Watching another puppet show wouldn’t be much trouble either.

The roller coaster, though, gave her some pause — she wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from that one, so she figured it was worth taking a quick look through the rules first, just to be safe.

Lin Yun scrolled carefully through them one by one until she finally located the section covering the roller coaster specifically.

1. The roller coaster’s route may shift or change at any moment without warning. Please don’t panic if this happens. As long as you remain seated on the ride itself, you’ll remain safe.

2. Do not unlock your own safety restraint under any circumstances — and stay alert for anyone or anything else attempting to unlock it on your behalf.

3. Random events may occur unexpectedly during the ride itself. If at all possible, come prepared with various contingency items (protective shields, raincoats, a knife, and so on).

4. If someone calls out to you during the ride, do not turn around to look. Keep your focus fixed straight ahead at all times. Avoid closing your eyes for too long, or you risk easily losing your way entirely.

5. A considerable amount of time has passed since this was last updated, so these rules may have since changed or expanded further. This is simply everything currently known. Oh, and one more thing — a full ride on the roller coaster typically takes around two hours from start to finish.

Lin Yun rubbed her chin thoughtfully. *Tomorrow, then — carousel first, puppet theater next, and finally the roller coaster to wrap things up.*

She’d gotten remarkably skilled by now at dodging mealtime altogether simply by ducking into another puppet theater show instead.

Once her plans for the next day were settled, Lin Yun finally allowed herself to drift off to sleep.

When the black creature came knocking at her door again that night, Lin Yun heard absolutely nothing at all. She’d prepared well in advance this time, stuffing cotton firmly into both ears so that no sound could reach her.

Still, in doing so, she inevitably ended up missing several other developments unfolding elsewhere that night.