Was the rule about closing your eyes useless? Had the rules governing the rides changed after the amusement park's difficulty rating was upgraded to S-rank?

Everyone stared at River Lord's corpse and the severed head cradled in Fire Demon's arms, their faces draining of color.

As the roller coaster ground to a halt, six Spirit Realm Walkers received a simultaneous notification:

【Next round begins in: 00:04:40】

Great Sage Equal to Heaven sat in the back row, eyes fixed on River Lord's headless body, his expression taut. "There are five minutes until the next round. If the closed eyes rule doesn't work anymore, someone else is going to die when the next round starts. We need to figure out the new rule, fast. Did anyone notice anything?"

Sheer terror had yet to fade from Fire Demon's face. He hurled the severed head out of the car, then whipped around with an irritable snarl. "We had our eyes shut the entire time! How was anyone supposed to figure out the rules?"

Ashamed Father's brow furrowed deeply. "If the rule about closing one's eyes has changed, then we need to identify the new one. Otherwise, more people will die in the remaining two rounds."

Xi Shi bit her flame-red lips. "From the moment we decided to ride the roller coaster, I was looking out for clues along the way. I didn't find a single piece of useful information."

No clues. No information. That meant there was no way to formulate a targeted plan. The only option left was the crudest method of all: trial and error.

But the cost of trial and error...

Great Sage's expression darkened. "This is an S-rank Spirit Realm. You really think it's going to hand us clear instructions on how to clear it? If it were that easy, it wouldn't be S-rank."

Xie Lingxi thought for a moment before offering her own perspective. "I'm sorry. This is my fault. The outdated guide misled us, and we lost our chance to find the real rules."

Her eyes glistened with unshed tears, the picture of guilt and fragility.

Great Sage hurried to reassure her. "It's fine, it's fine. There's no point dwelling on it now. No information doesn't mean no options. While we still have time, let's talk this through."

He paused briefly, then continued, "If the rule about closing one's eyes has changed, there are really only two things to conclude. One, the roller coaster's rule has become one death per round, and River Lord is the proof. Two, keeping our eyes closed made us miss our chance to observe."

Xi Shi's eyes brightened faintly, as though she were seeing him in a new light. "So we can't close our eyes next time."

Zhang Yuanqing listened to his companions' discussion, but his thoughts had already drifted elsewhere.

First, rule out supernatural elements. My active skills are sealed, but as a Nocturnal Specter, my sensitivity to spirits is still intact. If something in the amusement park were haunting us, there's no way I'd feel nothing.

Next, the roller coaster still runs for three rounds. That much hasn't changed. So why would the rule regarding closing one's eyes change? Maybe the thing doing the killing isn't the rule at all.

His heart jolted as that possibility struck him.

Could it be the work of the evildoer hiding among them? Had the killer started picking people off? But how had they done it?

At that moment, Ashamed Father fixed his gaze on Fire Demon and asked abruptly, "Why didn't you warn us when River Lord died? Why wait until the car stopped?"

Fire Demon's eyebrows shot up. "What are you trying to say?!"

The middle aged man maintained his plain, honest demeanor and replied calmly, "I'm just curious."

Fire Demon glared at him and shouted, "Of course I felt it! His head landed right in my lap! But did I dare speak? Did I dare open my eyes? What if the moment I opened my mouth, I'd be next?"

Ashamed Father said nothing more.

Zhang Yuanqing spoke up. "When exactly did he die? Or rather, when did the head fall into your lap?"

Fire Demon didn't hesitate. "When we hit the second hill."

Zhang Yuanqing immediately turned to Xi Shi. "You were right beside him. Did you notice anything unusual?"

She shook her head. "I... I'm afraid of heights. I was terrified. I wasn't paying attention to anything around me."

Zhang Yuanqing frowned deeply.

Based on the seating arrangement, the most likely culprits were Xi Shi, Fire Demon, and Ashamed Father.

Great Sage Equal to Heaven, seated an extra spot away, could be largely ruled out. The physical abilities of a Transcendent-tier Walker were impressive, but it was still unlikely he could have unbuckled his safety harness, climbed over Fire Demon and Ashamed Father in the row ahead of him, and killed River Lord in the second row. Setting aside the fact that those two would almost certainly have noticed, the sheer momentum of the roller coaster alone would have flung him out of the car.

Yuanqing turned his gaze toward the petite girl beside him. If he followed the previous reasoning, then given her height and arm length, she would have needed to unbuckle her harness to reach behind and kill someone. The chances of her being the killer were slim as well.

The next step was to verify whether Fire Demon had been lying, to confirm whether River Lord had truly died during that window of time before the second round began.

Zhang Yuanqing closed his eyes and visualized his father's silhouette in his mind.

If River Lord hadn't died while the roller coaster was hurtling at full speed, then the killer had to have struck during the initial slow climb, when the coaster's momentum was still minimal.

And he, with his ability to capture and process all sound, could pinpoint the killer directly.

His father's facial contours gradually sharpened in his mind, and Yuanqing's heart gave a heavy thump. His mental energy surged and boiled as his memories replayed frame by frame, starting from the moment they first entered the Spirit Realm.

He patiently sifted through each image with care.

Finally, his memories reached the point at which they climbed into the car. Once the roller coaster began its slow ascent, the visuals went dark, because he had closed his eyes.

However, the sounds never disappeared. He picked up the heartbeats and breathing of all seven people.

Then came Xi Shi's sharp, startled scream. The roller coaster plunged straight down, roaring as it charged toward the second hill. And right at that moment, one of the heartbeats in the back row vanished.

***

Xie Lingxi let out a gasp, staring in shock at the blood streaming from her companion's nose. "Ah, what's wrong with you?"

The others stopped arguing and turned to look.

Zhang Yuanqing waved his hand dismissively and grinned, wiping the blood away while fighting through the throbbing pain in his skull. "It's nothing, it's nothing! I've had nosebleeds since I was a kid, especially when I see a pretty girl."

Xie Lingxi blushed at his words.

Xi Shi and Fire Demon shot him suspicious glances. Ashamed Father merely swept his eyes over him once. Great Sage Equal to Heaven, meanwhile, seized the opportunity to steal a few glances at Xie Lingxi's face and Xi Shi's chest.

Yuanqing kept his expression perfectly composed, though he was cursing up a storm internally.

The manner of River Lord's death confirmed it. The evildoer had a special method of killing!

Severing someone's head in absolute silence, without making a single sound. That was genuinely terrifying. He had to find a way to stop them. If one person was killed per round, and there were three rounds total, the team would be down to four, and they still had to take at least one more ride after that. How was anyone supposed to survive that?!

If things truly panned out this way, it was almost certainly a death sentence.

And even if it wasn't the evildoer doing the killing, but the deaths were occurring due to the roller coaster's own rules, the outcome would be the same.

The more Zhang Yuanqing thought about it, the more anxious he became. Cold sweat was practically seeping from his forehead.

Everyone is a suspect. Including Xie Lingxi beside me and Great Sage in the back row.

His gaze swept across the group. Xie Lingxi, brow creased in thought. Xi Shi, her face uneasy. The middle-aged man, silent and unreadable. Great Sage Equal to Heaven, panic flickering in his eyes. And Fire Demon, muttering curses under his breath.

For a moment, every single one of them looked like they were putting on an act, every last one of them harboring ulterior motives.

The danger in this dungeon wasn't just the rides. It was the Spirit Realm Walkers themselves. Yuanshi Tianzun cursed inwardly.

At the same time, another question surfaced in his mind. Why River Lord?

Had the evildoer killed at random, or was there a reason behind the choice?

If I were the werewolf with one chance to kill someone each round, who would I choose?

The answer came to him instantly.

The smartest person in the group.

Zhang Yuanqing felt his scalp go numb.

In that case, the next one to die... is me.