Xiao Hui’s massive body charged down the expanded cobblestone "path" like an invincible war chariot. Фэн Юань, along with two others, sat on Xiao Hui’s back while Xiao Hei ran alongside. Фэн Юань glanced at the Xiao Ji in his arms and said,
"There’s no other way; your running speed isn’t fast enough, so this is how it’ll have to be."
Curled in Фэн Юань’s embrace, Xiao Ji chirped softly. It knew Фэн Юань was right; the prohibition on flying here meant it couldn’t follow the group by air. Otherwise, with its flight speed, it was hard to say who would be faster.
"They’re here!"
Yang Hongzhi shouted as he looked ahead. It was no surprise that enemies would appear here, but those card soldiers were not strong. Xiao Hei’s fire blasts were more than enough to wipe them out without requiring Xiao Hui to act.
However, this was just the beginning. Card soldiers continued to appear and interfere, with self-exploding clowns occasionally cropping up. Fortunately, they were progressing on Xiao Hui’s back; otherwise, the need to slow down for these threats might have left them behind.
Najia and Veronia alternately took action. Sitting upfront, Yang Hongzhi borrowed strength from Xiao Hei to alleviate some pressure off him.
Due to the temporary speed reduction when spitting flames, Xiao Hei found itself caught in a relentless cycle of attacking, falling behind, and frantically catching up to attack again. But with Yang Hongzhi and the others joining the fray, Xiao Hei’s burden significantly decreased.
Even though Xiao Hui did not need to act, the pressure was still considerable, unlike Xiao Hei. Though Xiao Hui’s running speed was not especially fast, its primary advantage lay in its robust defenses; even if one or two card soldiers managed to break through, it would have no impact on Xiao Hui.
Of course, there were downsides: Xiao Hui needed to maintain high speed constantly. Any movement slowed it down, and regaining speed took more time than Xiao Hei. This was why Xiao Hei was responsible for clearing out the card soldiers.
"Strange, card soldiers first appeared at Tarot Island in Season Two, so why are they here?"
Veronia asked, mildly confused but not overly concerned. After all, this wasn’t an official game, and no one knew what oddities might suddenly appear in this place.
The only relief was that other than card soldiers, nothing else appeared to obstruct Фэн Юань and his group. Although it was a bit of a hassle, they managed to reach the Ferris wheel platform with everyone’s combined efforts.
"It might be a bit cramped, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to split up."
Veronia said as she looked at the slowly rotating Ferris wheel. Although cramming three people into one carriage wasn’t an issue—being designed for four passengers—there were still Xiao Ji and Xiao Hei to consider. Their sizes were not insignificant. Xiao Ji could just about fit alone, but that would leave Yang Hongzhi in an awkward spot.
Unlike Фэн Юань, without a beast, Yang Hongzhi couldn’t unleash his defensive techniques. Although there were two Божественный зверьs nearby, this wasn’t necessarily safe for Yang Hongzhi.
"Xiao Ji, turn back into the Eggshell Chicken form so I can hold you."
Фэн Юань said helplessly, lightly tapping Xiao Ji. Glancing at Xiao Hei beside Yang Hongzhi and then at the open carriage, Xiao Ji seemed to grasp something. It chirped, transforming into the Eggshell Chicken form and leaped into Фэн Юань’s arms. Picking Xiao Ji up, Фэн Юань looked at Yang Hongzhi and said,
"Let’s go. Who knows what changes might occur."
Scratching his head, Yang Hongzhi looked a bit embarrassed. He understood why Фэн Юань asked Xiao Ji to transform. Sitting on Yang Hongzhi’s shoulder, Najia shook his head and said,
"Stay safe later. This place might be dangerous."
The gigantic Ferris wheel even extended partly into the clouds. Seeing it up close, one might wonder if they had stumbled into some fantastical fairy-tale realm. Could such a large Ferris wheel truly exist in the real world?
Clouds obscured their view, making it impossible to see what lay above, but they all knew this amusement ride wouldn’t be a smooth journey. Nobody could say what unusual occurrences might transpire—be it a monster attack, the wheel stalling, or other possibilities. Though there were guesses, nobody knew which might come true.
As they dashed to board the slowly rotating carriage, the door abruptly shut by an unseen force after Xiao Hei jumped inside, nearly catching its tail. Xiao Hei yelped and lunged at Yang Hongzhi, who held Xiao Hei’s head to restrain it, then glanced out the window and said,
"The Ferris wheel doesn’t seem to be moving very fast."
"Isn’t that normal? No matter how surreal, it shouldn’t spin like a top, right? But at this slow pace, we’re going to be here a while."
Yawning, Фэн Юань inexplicably felt a little sleepy. With the Ferris wheel’s enormous size, they might not complete one full rotation in hours at this speed. But what lay above the clouds? Фэн Юань suspected the real battle would commence above the cloud line.
As the Ferris wheel gradually ascended, revealing more of the peculiar amusement park’s outline, a peculiar laugh echoed. The surroundings distorted as though under a heat wave, and, in an instant, the amusement park vanished as if they had traversed through space.
Night fell, with moonlit fields of grain swaying rhythmically. The moonlight striking the ground appeared unusually enchanting. In the shadows, one could vaguely see the silhouette of a village. Abruptly, the Ferris wheel halted, its cabin doors swung open, and the white cabin lights swiftly shifted to red.
"Tsk, it seems we’re supposed to handle this unknown mechanism."
Фэн Юань complained, curling his mouth. Despite the lack of any textual hints, he could discern what needed to be done. If the mechanism wasn’t disarmed, the Ferris wheel probably wouldn’t budge. Only, this environment looks...
"This seems like the scene of a horror movie, but isn’t that kind of setup supposed to be in a haunted house?"
Veronia remarked with confusion. The eerie scene seemed mismatched with the Ferris wheel. Glancing at Xiao Ji, reverted to its original form, Фэн Юань gripped The Black Scythe and said,
"Whatever it is, as long as we’re strong enough, what’s there to fear?"
Encircled by nine small shields, Xiao Ji took to the air without needing Фэн Юань’s prompt. It flapped its wings, releasing a Death Storm in all directions. If this truly was a horror movie scenario, they’d see what monsters emerged. If it’s a Призрак Series enemy, Xiao Ji would have them thoroughly cornered.
"What is... this?"
Yang Hongzhi was stunned as he gazed at the pale blue figures revealed by the Death Storm. Najia seemed to realize something and said,
"I see now; are these Specters or Soul Bodies ambushed around us? For Укротители зверей, this is no issue."
To ordinary people, Soul Bodies’ immunity to physical attacks posed significant problems, but for Укротители зверей, any without energy attack capabilities? These Soul Bodies weren’t strong, and their immunity had major drawbacks; they were even more vulnerable to energy attacks.
Not to mention, Xiao Ji, a Божественный зверьs of the Death Series, naturally countered other attributes. The Призрак Series happened to be weak against the Death Series, amplifying the devastating impact of Xiao Ji’s attacks.
The shattered Soul Bodies dispersed into pale blue points of light, soaring across the field like enchanting Fireflies.
"Strange, something’s off about their reaction."
Rubbing his chin, Фэн Юань wasn’t fooled by the appearance. He was acutely aware of the effects of truly breaking them; if these were constructs of the Область данных’s rules, their defeat should exhibit shattered data fragments, not these glowing glimmers.
"Something’s wrong!"
Though uncertain about the situation, Фэн Юань waved his hand, summoning a Wind Barrier to keep the glowing dots outside. As the Firefly-like lights slowly descended, Yang Hongzhi and the rest fell silent. Something was clearly amiss; maybe these Soul Bodies were deliberately drawing them into attack.
Still, what exactly is the final move?

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