Infinite: Dawn Game

Chapter 983 Clown Statue

He Lingling sighed at this point and chose to tell the truth:

“Sister An, I may need more time to observe, and we also need Shi Jiu herself... to be willing to tell us.”

Yes, everything still depends on Yu Shijiu's own willingness—or rather, his awareness.

He Lingling saw it clearly: Yu Shijiu didn't actually think there was anything wrong with him; he thought everything was fine.

Anjie's brows furrowed.

She glanced back at Yu Shijiu, who was already sitting on the bench.

The boy was looking down, fiddling with his perfectly intact left arm, his slender fingers opening and closing repeatedly, as if confirming something.

That face, which always seemed so obedient, was now almost expressionless, only showing a hollow calm.

Most of the time, Yu Shijiu had this expression, without even realizing it himself.

"Let's talk about it after we leave the instance."

Anjie made her decision in a low voice.

"The most important thing now is to complete the main quest. We already have one 'Disguised Smile Badge' and one 'Spinning Happiness Badge,' but we still need... thirteen more badges."

After she finished speaking, she paused and looked at the bumper car area not far away.

Do you think there will be badges there?

He Lingling also looked at the rusty bumper car area behind the iron fence.

Abandoned bumper cars, peeling paint on the cars and tracks, and a clown statue lying askew in the center of the arena, grinning broadly...

It doesn't look like a "fun" place at all.

But He Lingling's "ghost eyes" captured something.

In this abandoned bumper car track, faint, colorful lights can be seen flickering slowly.

From a distance, it looks a bit like... the glow of a badge.

There is definitely something there.

He Lingling squinted as she spoke.

Anjie nodded, "We'll go check on Xu Han once he's recovered a bit."

--------

Meanwhile, on the other side of the amusement park.

The five members of the "Fukagawa" guild, along with Mutangtang and Grandma Mu, are currently standing in front of a huge haunted house.

The haunted house's exterior resembles a massive Gothic castle.

The black spire atop the castle seemed to pierce the surrounding dark red sky. An eerie green light emanated from every window in the castle, and from time to time, shrill screams, indistinct in gender, could be heard coming from within.

At the entrance, a male staff member dressed in a tattered tailcoat and wearing a top hat is enthusiastically greeting every tourist passing by.

Don't miss it!

"Welcome to our Spooky Castle! This is the most thrilling, terrifying, and fun attraction in the entire amusement park! We only have one rule: if you can leave the Spooky Castle alive, you'll receive our unique 'Badge of Courage'!"

His loud calls to attract tourists trailed off with each syllable, each word seemingly carrying a strange tremor.

On that pale face, there was also exaggerated clown makeup, with blood-red lips stretched to the ears, revealing two rows of sharp teeth as he smiled at the tourists who were gathering around him.

"Walk out alive?"

The curly-haired woman named Lin Pian from the "Fukagawa" guild frowned. "What does this mean?"

"It means exactly what it says."

The clown in the top hat grinned and pointed his pale finger, also painted with black nail polish, toward the exit of the haunted house.

"Our spooky castle is incredibly exciting! So far, less than half of the visitors who have gone in have the courage to come out alive!"

He paused, seemingly realizing that what he had said was somewhat terrifying, and quickly added:

"But please rest assured, those tourists who didn't make it out are now 'regular actors' in our spooky castle! They have a lot of fun with our new tourists every day!"

As the top-hatted clown spoke, several more shrill screams echoed from the castle behind him, interspersed with some eerie laughter.

Lin Pian and the others all turned pale.

The clown in the top hat stared at Lin Pian with great enthusiasm:

"Beautiful curly-haired lady, do you have the courage to visit our spooky castle? We warmly welcome women like you to push their limits and challenge themselves!"

"..."

Lin Pian did not respond to his deliberate provocation, but subconsciously looked at Jiang Chuan in front of her.

Jiang Chuan's gaze swept over the ancient castle and the clown in the top hat in front of him, then he looked down at Mu Tangtang standing beside him.

"Tangtang, what do you think?"

Mugwort was taking a sip of hot water from her thermos, her big, round eyes curiously observing the entrance to the spooky castle and the clown in the top hat.

Hearing Jiang Chuan's question, she tilted her head and gave a naive smile.

"It looks and sounds so fun! Grandma, shall we go in and play together?"

Grandma Mu patted her head affectionately.

"If Tangtang wants to go, Grandma will go with you."

"Go straight in?"

Jiang Chuan inquired.

“Yes, Brother Jiangchuan,” Mutangtang winked at him, “Should we wait a little longer?”

"..."

Jiang Chuan remained silent for a few seconds before finally nodding.

"Let's go in together then, be careful."

Lin Pian was a little unhappy. She quickly glanced at Mu Tangtang and reached out to tug at Jiang Chuan's clothes.

"Jiang Chuan," Lin Pian frowned, "Are you sure you want to go in?"

Behind him, three players—one woman and two men—also looked at Jiang Chuan, silently awaiting his response.

“Okay,” Jiang Chuan nodded, “Go ahead.”

Lin Pian gritted her teeth, "...Then let's go in."

The remaining three didn't say much and just nodded.

After reaching a consensus, the five players from "Fukagawa" plus the Mutangtang family, a total of seven people, stepped into the castle gates under the enthusiastic guidance of the top-hatted clown.

The heavy door slammed shut behind us, cutting off all light and sound from the outside world.

In the deep darkness, the seven people at the door raised their heads and looked ahead at the faint, eerie green light that shone through.

And those around...

The faint, mournful cries of children, men, women, and children of all ages could be heard.

----------

Abandoned bumper car rest area.

After resting for a while, Xu Han's complexion improved somewhat, and he was at least able to stand up on his own.

He stood up, moved his stiff body from side to side, and let out a long breath.

"I feel much better."

Xu Han grinned and made a face, then smirked and said:

"Brother Chen, Sister An, Shi Jiu, let's go."

Anjie nodded, her gaze falling on the bumper car area behind the iron fence.

"Let's go take a look over there first."

He Lingling really did see something just now; it looked a bit like the glow on the edge of a badge.

The five of them quickly crossed the rest area and stepped into the rusty bumper car area.

The ground beneath our feet was hardened cement, covered with cracks of varying sizes, and withered weeds even growing in some of the cracks.

The bumper cars, leaning precariously on their tracks, sat quietly in various parts of the venue, their paint peeling off to reveal dark red rust underneath.

On some of the banging car bodies, you can still vaguely see dried, dark red... stains.

It looks... a bit like dried blood.

"here……"

Xu Han had just opened his mouth when He Lingling raised her hand to stop him.

He Lingling's eyes were fixed on the clown statue that had fallen to the ground in the center of the arena.

The small statue grinned, its colorful paint on its face appearing particularly glaring in the dim light.

But what He Lingling saw was more than just a clown statue.

Around the clown statue, countless translucent humanoid phantoms gathered in dense clusters.

These translucent humanoid phantoms include men and women, young and old, dressed in various clothes, and all wearing the same eerie smile.

They stood silently around the statue, as if waiting for something.

"Those figures are..."

He Lingling's voice was a little hoarse.

"You must be a tourist here."

Yu Shijiu, who was walking at the back, suddenly spoke up.

He stared at the phantoms, his gaze filled with a strange focus.

"They're looking at that statue, waiting..."

Before the words were finished—

The clown statue that had been leaning to one side on the tracks suddenly came to life.

Its colorful, grinning head slowly turned at an angle.

Those empty, stiff, dark blue eyes were fixed on the five people at the edge of the arena.

Then, under the watchful eyes of the group, the clown statue's mouth slowly opened.

It's not the kind of open mouth you make when you're grinning, but a real, open mouth where the upper and lower jaws are separated.

A piercing, mechanical laugh emanated from that dark, gaping mouth.

"Hehehehehehe—hahahaha—welcome—to—the—bumper car—amusement park—"

As a stiff laugh rang out from the clown statue's open mouth, the abandoned bumper cars in the arena simultaneously lit up with a dense array of headlights.

The moment the car lights came on, a rapid, excited, and tinkling sound of children's music immediately followed.

The dim yellow headlights and the childlike music sounded particularly eerie against the dark red sky.

The translucent phantoms that had been surrounding the statue also turned their heads and looked at Yu Shijiu and his group of five.

Then, they started moving to the sound of music and car lights.

But instead of walking towards the five people, he walked towards the bumper cars with their lights on.

One after another, illusory figures floated to the side of the car and quickly got into the bumper cars. Their semi-transparent hands gripped the steering wheel, and their faces still wore that eerie, almost identical smile.

Come on—come play!

"Bumper cars are the most fun!"

"Let's play together—let's play together forever—"

"Bumper cars—bumper cars are so—so much fun—"

Countless fragmented, overlapping male and female voices emanated from the mouths of those phantoms, converging into a chilling and eerie sound wave.

"This is……"

Chen Yi's expression also turned serious.

"It should be the 'rules of the game' in this area."

He Lingling gritted her teeth and said, "To get the badges here, you have to... ride the bumper cars with them."

"Then just play with them."

Yu Shijiu blinked, her tone carrying a hint of natural excitement.

"It's just bumper cars; I've never ridden one in the real world."

"Shi Jiu!"

Xu Han grabbed his arm and whispered:

"Didn't you see those...those things? They're not living people at all."

"I saw it."

Yu Shijiu turned to him and smiled.

"But Brother Han, how can we get the badge if none of us go?"

Xu Han choked.

Ange was silent for a few seconds before speaking:

"I go."

"Sister An, you—"

Upon hearing this, Chen Yi became extremely anxious and tried to stop her, but An Jie raised her hand to stop him.

"Although I can't use my special skills casually, they're still enough to handle this level of danger."

As she spoke, she stepped into the bumper car area.

The moment Anjie stepped onto the field—

The phantom figures sitting in the bumper cars simultaneously let out excited screams.

"New tourists—new tourists have arrived—"

"Great! Great! Great! Someone's coming to play with us! Hehehe! Let's play together!!"

"Let's play together—let's play together—"

Come on—let's all come together—let's all come together—let's play together—

"..."

Anjie ignored their cheers and walked straight to a relatively intact bumper car at the edge of the field.

The bumper cars are bright red, and the front bumper is painted with a grinning clown face.

Anjie calmly got into the bumper car and gripped the steering wheel.

The steering wheel felt icy cold to the touch, like holding a block of ice.

The moment Anjie got into the car, the bumper cars driven by the surrounding phantoms started up at the same time, cheering and rushing towards her.

Anjie's eyes turned cold, and she abruptly turned the steering wheel and stepped on the gas.

boom!

Several bumper cars collided, creating a loud bang.

But at the moment of impact, Anjie felt a cold, eerie thought transmitted through the collision.

That was the "emotion" of the human-shaped phantom sitting in the car opposite.

A mad, twisted desire to drag her into the eternal game of "pleasure."

Anjie frowned, gritted her teeth, and turned the steering wheel again to avoid another bumper car rushing towards her.

One, two, three...

More and more bumper cars rushed towards her, and each collision brought a wave of mental shock.

The smiles on the faces of those humanoid phantoms began to become increasingly distorted, and their laughter grew sharper and louder.

"Stay—stay forever—"

"Let's play together—let's play together forever—"

"New tourists—new fellow riders—great—great—"

As the bumper cars around her collided more and more frequently, Anjie's forehead began to bead with cold sweat.

But she still steadily steered the cold steering wheel in her hands, weaving, dodging, and colliding among the densely packed bumper cars.

But from beginning to end, Ange's gaze remained fixed on the faded, stone-colored clown statue in the center of the arena.

The clown statue's mouth remained wide open, but as bumper cars continued to crash into the one Ange was in, a badge began to slowly float out of its open, dark mouth.