Chapter 180: The Roller Coaster

The previous group of tourists climbed down quickly enough, and soon it was Lin Yun and her group’s turn to board.

After a moment’s thought, Lin Yun pretended to set something down, slipped off her backpack, shifted it to her front, and let Sang Biao climb inside.

After all, what if her precious cat ended up flying right out if the roller coaster went too fast?

The roller coaster had two seats side by side, but by the time it was their turn, one seat was number fourteen and the other fifteen, so the two ended up seated one in front of the other.

Song Xizheng wanted to switch seats so he could sit beside Lin Yun again, so that neither of them would have to keep an eye on unfamiliar tourists sitting right next to them.

There wasn’t even time to ask, though — the green-vested staff gave them no opportunity at all, hurrying everyone along instead.

Lin Yun shot Song Xizheng a quick wink, and he understood immediately, taking the seat directly in front of her without further complaint.

"Alright, alright, our roller coaster is still quite popular today, everyone hurry up and take your seats, we’re about to depart!"

"Once you’re seated, be sure to check your safety locks right away to make sure they’re properly engaged!"

"A locked status shows green, so please remember that clearly."

The green-vested attendant repeated the reminder once more and even went around checking each lock individually, one by one.

When she reached Lin Yun, she noticed the backpack worn on her front. "Excuse me, would you like to store that bag somewhere safer?"

"No need — this safety lock just holds the bag steady in place, it won’t get in the way at all," Lin Yun replied with a smile, politely declining the offer once again.

Her most precious treasure was tucked inside that bag, after all, so there was no way she could set it down elsewhere.

Seeing this, the girl in the green vest said nothing further. It was only a bag, after all — she didn’t imagine these tourists could really protect much of anything with it.

The safety lock worked something like the safety bar on a typical roller coaster back in China, except that when this one snapped shut, it moved remarkably fast, and if you weren’t careful, it could suddenly spring right back open.

There was no way to relock the safety mechanism once the roller coaster was already in motion.

Leaving anything dangling loose in midair was extremely dangerous, since it could easily send someone plunging straight out of their seat.

Once the inspection was finished, the man in the green vest walked off to the side and pressed the switch to start the ride.

The roller coaster began moving forward smoothly.

"Sister, have you ever ridden a roller coaster before? I’ve been on one once myself — it was so much fun and so exciting, hehe."

Lin Yun found herself seated beside a short-haired girl who chatted away cheerfully, seeming like a lively, talkative sort.

"What a coincidence," Lin Yun replied. "I’ve ridden a few times myself, actually. It really is quite fun."

The short-haired girl blinked in surprise for a moment, then quickly recovered. "Really? Really? I honestly thought you’d never done this before."

"By the way, have you ever tried unlocking someone else’s safety lock? Doing that is such fun, it’s like a whole little battle of wits!"

As she said this, the short-haired girl leaned in close to Lin Yun’s ear, dropping her voice to a near whisper.

Lin Yun’s brow furrowed slightly. She wasn’t fond of strangers leaning in so close and whispering directly into her ear like that.

"Ugh, honestly, I was so busy defending myself against you two that I never even got to try it myself," Song Xizheng chimed in from the seat ahead, having easily overheard the exchange between Lin Yun and the short-haired girl. He spoke up before his own seatmate had the chance to say anything at all.

His whole strategy, essentially, boiled down to talking nonsense with confidence.

That’s right — he was simply imitating Lin Yun’s own approach.

Their seatmates were both taken in fairly easily by the pair’s little act.

"Hehe, don’t worry, we can definitely take those two down! What do you say about the pair sitting up front?"

The short-haired girl was clearly growing eager to give it a try.

Without warning, Lin Yun suddenly reached out and grabbed the short-haired girl’s left hand. "We’ve barely even started, and you’re already trying to unlock my safety lock? Didn’t we just agree we’d team up to unlock other people’s locks together instead?"

The short-haired girl’s expression froze for a moment. She clearly hadn’t expected Lin Yun to see through her so quickly. "Hehe, I was only testing how sharp you are."

"You passed! Your reflexes are quick — you’ll definitely land one eventually!"

At the same time, she pulled her hand back obediently and rested it back on the safety lever.

Lin Yun certainly wasn’t foolish enough to fall for the short-haired girl’s excuse a second time either.

Besides, there were still those two tourists sitting behind them, and they surely wouldn’t let their own safety locks go unguarded for even a moment.

Lin Yun tapped the green bracelet around her wrist, slipped it off, and tucked it away into her pocket instead.

That particular pocket sat right beside the safety lock, allowing Ghost Vine to keep constant watch over the area.

The moment anyone reached toward it, Ghost Vine would sense it instantly and lash out with its vines in response.

"What a lovely green bracelet! Sister, would you let me take a closer look at it?"

The short-haired girl had noticed Lin Yun’s movements and wanted a chance to examine the bracelet herself.

Lin Yun turned to face her once more. "Not now — the roller coaster’s already picking up speed. What if I accidentally dropped it? How would you even make that up to me?"

"Ah, okay, okay, what a shame I can’t even get a peek at it." The short-haired girl looked genuinely disappointed and didn’t bring up the bracelet again after that.

Meanwhile, Song Xizheng in front similarly didn’t trust the boy sitting beside him who’d suggested unlocking safety locks together, keeping one hand firmly clamped over his own lock the entire time.

Seeing how tightly he guarded it, the boy had little choice but to give up on the idea for the moment.

Still, they’d surely be looking for another opportunity soon enough.

Just then, a hand suddenly reached toward Lin Yun and the others’ seats. Before she could even react, a knife flashed suddenly in the short-haired girl’s grip and stabbed straight at that reaching hand.

Whoever the hand belonged to reacted just as quickly, yanking it back sharply, causing the short-haired girl’s blade to miss its mark entirely.

Lin Yun’s expression darkened at once. Goodness — the girl was even carrying a knife on her?

Well, if that was the game, she could play it too.

Quietly, she opened her backpack, drew out her crossbow, and slowly, carefully set it in place.

When the short-haired girl caught sight of the crossbow, she was momentarily stunned. She’d assumed the other passenger would be intimidated by her knife, but instead it turned out this stranger was armed too — and with something considerably faster than a blade.

The short-haired girl swallowed hard, suddenly far more hesitant about touching Lin Yun’s safety lock.

As the roller coaster picked up even more speed, chaos broke out all around them, with many riders resorting to all sorts of methods to unlock each other’s safety locks and send one another tumbling off.

Song Xizheng wasn’t especially worried about what was happening behind him. With Lin Yun back there, he trusted she wouldn’t let the short-haired girl anywhere near his own safety lock.

All he really needed to focus on was keeping watch over the person seated right beside him.

As for Lin Yun, with Ghost Vine tucked safely in her pocket, she wasn’t overly concerned about the row behind her either — though if anyone truly tried anything, she wouldn’t hesitate to put an arrow through them.

Then, abruptly, the roller coaster slowed down again. She glanced ahead and saw it: a steep, nearly vertical drop looming just in front of them.

"Waaaaahh—"

The roller coaster gave its passengers no time whatsoever to brace themselves before plunging straight down the drop.

Lin Yun was startled by the sudden drop, but she still kept a careful eye on both the seat behind her and the girl beside her. This kind of moment was exactly when an ambush was most likely to happen.

And so, once again, she reached out and grabbed the short-haired girl’s hand firmly.

"You’re being a bit naughty, aren’t you," Lin Yun said, her expression giving nothing away.

The short-haired girl pulled her hand back with a small laugh. "Oh, come on, we’re really no different from each other. You undo mine, I undo yours — that’s only fair, isn’t it?"