Chapter 177: Vivian

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Indeed, if one hadn’t been paying close attention, Song Xizheng would never have noticed the pheasant perched quietly on Lin Yun’s shoulder.

Sang Biao glanced over at Song Xizheng with a haughty air, then lowered his head and went back to eating the popcorn Lin Yun had given him.

It was delicious, he loved it, and he wanted more of it.

He could easily finish off the entire bucket by himself.

"Let me touch him just once, and I’ll give you my whole bucket of popcorn in exchange. Deal?" Song Xizheng whispered, clearly trying to negotiate.

Lin Yun said nothing at all.

The silence that followed was almost deafening.

Sang Biao’s little head tilted as he pondered the offer, weighing whether the deal was actually worth it.0

It seemed like a pretty fair trade, all things considered.

So Sang Biao hopped onto Lin Yun’s lap, then stepped over toward Song Xizheng, allowing him the chance.

Fine, he’d let him have a touch.

Song Xizheng was overjoyed. He’d finally gotten to touch the big cat he’d been coveting ever since the last world.

After being petted twice, Sang Biao immediately pulled back, and Song Xizheng’s hand, reaching for a third touch, missed its mark entirely.

Sang Biao then patted at Lin Yun, signaling her to hurry up and put the popcorn away, since he wanted to bring it back and share it with Tuan Tuan and the others.0

Lin Yun still had nothing to say.

Song Xizheng, standing off to the side, let out a small sigh. Oh well — at least he’d gotten to touch the cat.

8:45.

Seeing that the time was nearly up, the baby-faced attendant stepped out from behind the counter. "Come on, I’ll take you both to the theater."

The theater for "The Castle" was located in a different direction from the earlier "Red Sleeves Tower" theater, though it sat along the very same corridor.

"Here we are. You can go in on your own from here. A few tourists still haven’t arrived yet, so you’ll need to wait a little while once you’re inside."

"Okay, thank you."

"You’re welcome. Feel free to call for me anytime if you have any questions!"

The baby-faced attendant skipped off cheerfully, needing to return to her post at the counter.

The two of them pushed open the door and stepped into the theater, this time taking seats directly in the very last row.

Sang Biao climbed down from Lin Yun’s shoulder and found himself a comfortable spot to settle on her lap.

Lin Yun glanced around the room. The front rows were nearly full already, with only a scattering of empty seats left toward the back.

Song Xizheng was also carefully scanning their surroundings. He was searching for the little girl from before, hoping not to run into her again — after all, something about that girl had struck him as more than a little strange.

He was careful not to be too obvious about it, wary that the tourists nearby might notice what he was doing.

After glancing around a few more times, he gave up and leaned in closer to Lin Yun. "Sister Lin, did you happen to spot that little girl from last time?"

"No, I didn’t see her either."

"Let’s keep checking once more people arrive," Lin Yun murmured back in a low voice.

Sang Biao looked up at the two of them curiously. A little girl? The cat seemed to remember something about that.

Before long, it was nine o’clock, and every tourist in the theater had finally taken their seat.

The red curtain across the stage slowly drew back.

A massive castle rose into view before everyone’s eyes.

"Vivian, slow down — don’t run so fast." A gentle-looking woman hurried after a small girl.

The little girl giggled and only ran faster in response.

"I won’t listen, I won’t listen — Mom’s just going on and on again."

The woman shook her head, helpless. This Vivian really was precocious for her age. Still, what could she do? The girl was her daughter, after all.

Vivian, still running ahead, hadn’t even had the chance to turn back and tell her mother to hurry up and catch her, when disaster struck without warning.

The woman’s appearance suddenly changed — she transformed into a black, monstrous shape.

When Vivian spun around, she was horrified to find some terrifying creature standing exactly where her mother had just been.

She had no idea what was happening. Her first instinct was that the black monster must have eaten her mother whole — that had to be why her mother had vanished.

Despite her fear, Vivian had only her mother left in the world, so she bravely charged forward, determined to make the black monster give her mother back.

The black monster offered no resistance whatsoever. She simply stood there and let Vivian strike at her with a wooden stick she’d picked up off the ground.

She still retained some memories from her life as a human being, and she knew perfectly well this child was her own daughter. She couldn’t bring herself to hurt her.

So she remained still and allowed her daughter to keep attacking her.

Once Vivian realized she couldn’t defeat the black monster, she turned and ran toward the castle instead. She meant to find someone — to find Uncle Butler — and get him to help her fight the creature together.

The black monster followed slowly behind her.

After her transformation, she had gained certain memories back. She now understood that the world itself had changed.

Just in front of their castle stood an amusement park, one she herself had built especially for Vivian, out of fear that her daughter might otherwise grow lonely and bored.

They were trapped here now, castle and all, with no way to leave the park.

Anyone who tried to leave would only meet death.

When Vivian made it back to the castle, she was stunned to discover a black monster waiting inside her own home — just like the one that had devoured her mother only moments before.

Terrified, she tried desperately to hide, but black monsters seemed to be everywhere around her.

The black monster couldn’t speak at all; it could only communicate through gestures and body language.

Once Vivian finally managed to calm herself down, she began to notice something was deeply wrong. These black monsters, she realized, actually resembled her mother and the butler.

Vivian couldn’t begin to understand why they had all ended up this way.

She didn’t understand, either, why her mother still looked human despite everything.

The black monster gently led Vivian away from the castle, intending to bring her out into the amusement park so she could finally understand what was truly happening.

Everyone within the castle had turned into a black monster by now, and all she could do was hope that some humans still remained out there in the park.

And indeed, there were still humans within the amusement park.

The park’s staff members were still present too, though they had since been divided into red vests and green vests.

They too were trapped within the park, having become a part of it, unable to ever leave — or else face punishment for trying.

Any tourists who weren’t actually part of the amusement park itself ended up devoured by the mysterious "humans" who kept appearing.

When the black monster finally brought Vivian into the amusement park, what greeted her was the sight of "humans" tearing into one another.

The small red and green vested workers screamed and scattered, fleeing in every direction.

Some tourists managed to run, while others simply couldn’t.

Every single one who ran out of the park ended up dead regardless, and those who stayed behind died just the same.

The slaughter dragged on for several days, until eventually only Vivian, the black monster, the red and green vests, and the mysterious "humans" remained within the amusement park.

Just like ordinary tourists once had, these "humans" entered the park fresh each new day and casually enjoyed its rides as though nothing had happened.

Over those same few days, the red and green vests slowly pieced together certain rules they now had to follow, bound as they were to their duties as staff.

They had to work hard and serve Vivian faithfully.

At the same time, they came to understand that these strange "humans" never attacked staff wearing the red or green vests — only actual humans were ever targeted.

They came to believe these red and green vests were their appointed caretakers, there simply to enjoy the park, and, every so often, to sample whatever snacks the amusement park happened to offer them.

By now, Vivian finally understood what had truly happened.

The world had changed entirely. They were all trapped within the amusement park now, and everyone had become bound to its rules in one way or another.

And somehow, it seemed, she herself had become the master of this very amusement park.