NOVEL NEXT Ch. 13
Chapter 13
This page of the manga was really too blurry.
Even though Xiao 6 knew the white-haired person was its Host, it was hard to recognize from the blurry image after the Gaussian blur, especially since the Host had long hair back then!
Xiao 6 exclaimed in surprise, “Host, it’s really impossible to recognize that this is you at all!”
The Host was right earlier; it couldn’t be matched with his current appearance.
I didn't respond to Xiao 6, my red eyes still gazing at this page of the manga, seemingly lost in thought.
Xiao 6 noticed that I had been looking at this page for quite a while, so it looked again, found no issues, and asked with some confusion, “Host, what’s wrong?”
I then snapped back to reality and said, “Nothing.”
Xiao 6 then said, “I didn’t expect you to appear with Su Zhao, are you two very close?”
Su Zhao was the main female lead Xia Xiaoxi’s biological older brother.
When they were young, after their parents divorced, their older brother Su Zhao took their father’s surname, and his younger sister Xia Xiaoxi was taken by their mother and took her mother’s surname. However, the relationship between the siblings did not become estranged due to their parents’ divorce; they remained very close.
“…We were friends,” I said softly.
As I spoke, Su Zhao’s cheerful voice seemed to echo in my ears again: 『When you’re alive, being happy is the most important thing!』
“Wow—” Xiao 6 exclaimed.
I had no intention of continuing the topic and said, “Let’s continue reading the manga.”
We had lingered on this manga page for too long, and the readers’ bullet comments had already filled the page.
【Even blurred like this, I can still tell his legs are so long, Big Brother! Arctic Hare!】
【Hahahahaha Arctic Hare, I can’t unsee it!!】
【Who’s the white-haired person to the right of Big Brother? Sister-in-law?】
【Judging by height, must be a mature woman.】
【It could also be a guy, who says long hair must be female!】
【Darn it, only half a body and only the lower half of the face shown, you old thief Bai, I command you to release the full picture quickly!】
【Daughter remembered it by looking at the back of my Xue-wife, I have a bold idea…】
【Could it be Axue’s older sister? That way, the characters would also be connected.】
I turned the page to continue reading, which showed the protagonist group’s analysis of whether I was a special ability user.
【New setting again, X8, a medicine that temporarily stops special ability users from secreting lure-pheromone, lasting about 12 hours. (Class rep tapping blackboard)】
【Axue must be a special ability user, with that B-king vibe he debuted with, it wouldn’t make sense not to give him an awesome special ability.】
【Those who have read the appendix, come back and tell you, it says “Unknown” next to special ability, definitely has special ability!】
After that, the three bought clothes and left the Four-pit store, followed by a plain white panel indicating the passage of time. The next panel jumped directly to a scene of the Marine amusement park, without showing me meeting Duan Xingzhi. Perhaps the author Bai Guzi also wanted to keep my identity a mystery.
Bai Guzi used four panels to show the scenery of the Marine amusement park’s Halloween Month event. Tourists were dressed in all sorts of strange costumes, followed by the protagonist trio entering the park, already dressed as Jiangshi, Taoist priests, and Black Wuchang.
The staff at the main gate asked them if they wanted to participate in the “Great Escape” game that evening.
Of course, the trio wanted to participate, so each of them was given a wristband.
The rules for the “Great Escape” were posted next to the staff.
Similar to previous years’ game rules, this year’s “Great Escape” began every evening at 6:30 PM. At that time, the “Ghost Gate Opening” would occur, tourists’ wristbands would emit yellow light, and ghosts would capture tourists whose wristbands were glowing.
Tourists could participate in the park’s amusement rides to gain varying amounts of “lights-out time,” causing their wristbands to temporarily stop glowing, thus evading capture by ghosts.
Additionally, ghosts would not capture players when they were queuing for amusement rides.
Captured players would be confined by ghosts in a “Ghost Cage” until 10:30 PM when the “Great Escape” ended.
After reading the rules, the three put on their wristbands and walked into the park.
Zhou Chenhao and Xia Xiaoxi’s eyes sparkled as they excitedly shouted that they wanted to go on the “Park Loop Roller Coaster” first. Seeing that Ling Feng hadn’t heard of it, they took turns introducing it to him.
The Park Loop Roller Coaster was one of the most famous amusement rides in the entire Marine amusement park. It was the first ride visible upon entering the park and circled both the land area and the shallow sea part of the marine area. From its height, one could see most of the park, making it very popular, though the queue time was long.
The three queued for over an hour before it was their turn.
The roller coaster completed a circuit and returned to the starting point. After the tourists on the ride disembarked, it was the turn of the protagonist group and their batch of tourists.
They listened to the staff, temporarily left their hats and personal belongings nearby, orderly boarded the ride, buckled their seatbelts, and lowered the metal safety bars.
The manga gave Zhou Chenhao two close-up shots.
The first was a close-up of his hand as he reached out to grasp the safety bar and lower it.
The second showed him sitting on the outermost side of the three, holding onto the already fastened safety bar in front of his shoulders with both hands, turning his head to smile and speak with Xia Xiaoxi and Ling Feng.
After they were ready, the manga showed a panel of the three sitting together, with the text: Waiting…
At this moment, the safety bar suddenly rose automatically.
The tourists were all startled, but then sighed in relief when they realized the roller coaster hadn’t started moving.
Next, a staff member, holding a megaphone, bowed and apologized, saying that the roller coaster’s electrical system had an issue and required temporary repairs, with an uncertain reopening time.
Although the tourists were somewhat dissatisfied, they couldn’t do anything about it. At least the roller coaster had issues before starting, so it didn’t trap them midway. After hearing the staff’s apology, they could only get off the ride, retrieve their temporarily stored items, and go to other attractions.
Zhou Chenhao and Xia Xiaoxi were extremely disappointed, like two dogs caught in the rain.
Especially Xia Xiaoxi, with her slightly drooping puppy-dog eyes, looked even more pitiful.
【Wahh, hug the daughter, so disappointed not to ride the roller coaster.】
【Kiss the daughter! Hug the daughter! Even when disappointed, she's so cute! (Faints)】
【Dying of laughter, you guys completely ignored Brother Haozi.】
【He’s an adult now, he should learn to cope with disappointment. (Dog head)】
【Hahaha, the male lead’s life is also a life!】
Because they had spent too much time queuing for the Park Loop Roller Coaster, it was already close to lunchtime. The three went to ride the Spinning Seashells, which was closest to them and had fewer people queuing, and then found a restaurant in the park for lunch.
After eating, Xia Xiaoxi checked the map on the Kunpeng Marine Floating Island Park’s exclusive app. Each amusement ride displayed its estimated queue time.
The three chose the Giant Pendulum.
As it turned out, they seemed particularly “lucky” today. After queuing for a long time, they had just sat down and fastened their seatbelts when a staff member appeared again, holding a megaphone, bowing and apologizing. Even the reason hadn't changed; it was again an electrical system issue requiring temporary repairs.
Protagonist Group: “…”
A repeat, a second time?
The three could only switch to the next amusement ride, another roller coaster, but this time it was individual small cars, designed to look like opened clam shells.
The manga gave Zhou Chenhao a solo shot.
He sat into the clam shell, pulled down the leg-restraint bar, and soon after, saw a staff member appear with a megaphone.
Next were three close-up panels of the protagonist group’s expressions.
Zhou Chenhao looked utterly bewildered, Xia Xiaoxi covered her cheeks in a silent scream, and Ling Feng had a face full of black lines.
The three's inner thoughts: “No way…”
It was the same familiar routine: the staff member bowed and apologized, saying the electrical system had an issue.
A repeat, a third time.
【???】
【Is this something that can be said? Those three are like plague gods; wherever they go, the electrical systems will have problems, hahaha!】
【Who said that! Didn’t they also ride the Spinning Seashells that even kids love! (Dog head)】
【Honestly, repeatedly like this, there must be a problem.】
【I also think there’s a problem.】
The manga turned to the next page.
First, a dialogue appeared in a blank panel.
“Young Master, the Dragon Palace Fun Tour also has an issue.”
“Tsk, same as before, switch the Dragon Palace Fun Tour to electricity supply first, then cancel after 19 hours!”
“Understood.”
“Damn it, who is it?!”
The next panel showed a black-haired, black-eyed boy, wearing a black wizard’s robe with the top button of his white shirt unbuttoned, revealing a vertical row of unknown blue text tattooed on the side of his neck.
He furrowed his brow and gritted his teeth, saying, “I must find that person!”
【I knew there was a problem!】
【Class rep, let’s highlight a key point: switch to electricity supply!】
【Does this mean it wasn’t electricity supply before?】
The new chapter of the manga ended here.
I revealed a knowing expression; no wonder Qiao Jing seemed so irritable just now, it turned out his special ability had been nullified by Zhou Chenhao.
Then I had to “help” Qiao Jing out by finding Zhou Chenhao.
However, it was worth noting that Zhou Chenhao didn’t completely paralyze all the Marine amusement park’s rides at once. It seemed Qiao Jing’s special ability was still a “parallel circuit.”
I remembered Xia Xiaoxi’s phone app in the manga, so I opened the app store, searched for “Kunpeng Marine Floating Island Park,” and indeed, there was an app.
I clicked install, and while waiting for the software to download and install, I also opened the manga forum.
There were already several threads discussing this update on the forum.
【Speculations about Kunpeng Marine Floating Island Park, want to be a prophet for once】
【Food Chain, everyone, let’s discuss Bai Xuechao [HOT]】
【Bai Xuechao and the female lead should have some connection, right? After all, the female lead only started her memories after seeing his back? #Special Ability × Food Chain#】
I first opened the first thread.
As for the latter two threads, they were both discussing me. I planned to only look at the one marked [HOT] later, just to get a general idea of what readers were speculating about me, and then I would leave.
【Subject: Speculations about Kunpeng Marine Floating Island Park, want to be a prophet for once】
OP: After reading the update, I have a small speculation about this Marine amusement park. If I guess correctly, please call me a prophet =w=
Writing and posting as I go, everyone in the front row can munch on some sunflower seeds~
First, as everyone knows, the male lead’s special ability was passive, capable of nullifying special abilities upon skin contact. This ability was on duty 24 hours a day and could not be voluntarily controlled or turned off.
1L: Came too early, munching on sunflower seeds in the front row, waiting for the analysis.
2L: Leaving a watermelon here, family, help yourselves if you need one.
…
16L[OP]: The manga repeatedly gave the male lead close-ups of his hands and solo shots. After his hand gripped the safety bar or rested on an amusement ride, the staff would come out and apologize, saying the electrical system had an issue. [manga screenshot ×n.jpg]
Coupled with the dialogue and new character appearing on the last page, it was easy to guess that the male lead had nullified the special ability without realizing it.
Therefore, the park must be a special ability, at least in part.