Chapter 65: Lucy's Wish |
Bai Mu stared at the screen. Since this was a solo Script, he did not spawn into an empty, transitional space during the introductory briefing.
The location displayed on the monitor was the reception desk of the children's amusement park. However, unlike the gloomy and terrifying version etched in his memory, the park currently looked completely normal. Two smiling receptionists stood behind the counter, warmly greeting the guests.
Bright lights illuminated the lively hall, and the joyous laughter of children echoed from the corridor behind them.
Soft, soothing music drifted from the speakers. Outside the amusement park, the shopping mall's corridors were bathed in warm sunlight. The large clock in the mall's plaza was ticking away normally, showing the time as nine in the morning.
'Judging by this scene, this must be before the virus outbreak,' Bai Mu thought. 'Order hasn't collapsed yet. No wonder it's an E-grade Script.'
There was no voiceover for this Script introduction. The system simply played the scenes out before him like a movie.
A mother and daughter walked through the entrance. Bai Mu recognized them immediately. He had seen their photograph beforehand in that house; it was indeed Lucy and her mother.
Nothing bad had happened yet. At this moment, Lucy was just a nine-year-old girl missing a few baby teeth. She wore a beautiful white princess dress and a cartoon hairclip. Her white lace-trimmed socks and little black leather shoes were exquisite. She looked like she was dressed up for a festival or a party that evening—perhaps they had originally planned to visit a high-end restaurant to celebrate her mother's birthday.
The brown-haired woman wore a sleek, black business suit. Clutching her bag shaped like a Relaxed Rabbit Plushie, Lucy kept her head down and followed closely behind her mother to the reception desk.
Throughout the entire process, Lucy kept her head lowered. Her emotions were written all over her face; it was obvious at a glance that she had gotten into a fight with her mother.
Seeing her daughter's pitiful appearance, the woman's heart seemed to soften. She crouched down, affectionately rubbed Lucy's head, and pulled her into a warm embrace.
Afterward, she stood up and strode away. The receptionist waved goodbye to their client, and then led Lucy into the play area of the children's amusement park.
It was bustling inside. Quite a few children had already put on safety gear and were scaling the climbing wall. In the play area filled with foam pits, many kids were scrambling up and down, almost all of them accompanied by adults.
Lucy glanced around the room, eventually finding an empty spot in the corner of the rest area to sit down by herself.
She did not go play on any of the equipment, nor did she strike up a conversation with anyone. She merely stared at the rabbit plushie in her hands, fiddling with its little arms and legs, playing all by her lonesome.
Starting from this scene, the flow of time accelerated. The sunlight streaming through the windows shifted across the floor at a visible pace, and the movements of everyone in the room sped up in a blur.
People in the amusement park came and went. The hands on the wall clock spun in rapid circles. When those children finally left, they all held onto their parents' hands, their faces glowing with happy smiles.
Lucy remained sitting in the corner, not uttering a single word.
Bai Mu observed her with rapt attention. Since the Script was titled "Lucy's Wish," the Main Quest was undoubtedly tied directly to her.
Occasionally, she would steal a quiet glance at the children who had their parents by their sides, but she always withdrew her gaze after a split second. She unzipped the back of her plushie, took out some crayons and white paper, and buried her head in her drawing.
She drew the climbing wall. She drew her own plushie. She drew whatever caught her eye.
Time sped from morning to noon. The receptionist walked through the rest area pushing a small cart loaded with cakes and drinks. The facility provided meals, and staff members were constantly stationed around the various play structures, explaining the rules and maintaining order.
But gradually, the crowd began to thin out. Noisy clamors erupted from outside. Lucy lifted her head, looking toward the corridor outside with a hint of confusion.
People began to vomit inside the amusement park—both adults and children alike. They exhibited severe convulsions and erratic movements. Rushed footsteps echoed as a receptionist ran over to care for those showing symptoms. They collapsed to the floor like severely dehydrated patients, their cheeks flushing red as their bodies burned with sudden fever.
'Is this the early stage of the virus outbreak?' Bai Mu pondered as he studied the people displaying these anomalies.
They did not immediately become aggressive; they merely passed out. A significant portion of the crowd still appeared completely normal.
Lucy seemed perfectly fine. She remained quietly in her corner, watching everything unfold, but she sensibly packed up her crayons and paper, stuffing them back into her plushie backpack.
For now, it seemed everything was still under control.
Then, with a loud clack, the lights inside the amusement park abruptly died.
It was still afternoon, and the sunlight outside was bright, but this enclosed space was instantly plunged into dim shadows.
The flow of time returned to normal. People shouted in panic, while the staff loudly tried to maintain order. After futile attempts to flip the circuit breakers, they lugged out a portable generator and a jerrycan of gasoline.
Lucy carefully climbed off the sofa. Hugging her plushie tightly, she hid underneath a sturdy table, silently watching the chaos unfold.
She curled into a tight ball, shrinking her little head down into her collar until only her eyes peered out, looking incredibly anxious.
The stomping of feet and panicked shouting were incessant, yet no one noticed the little girl hiding in the corner.
[Main Quest: Protect Lucy and fulfill Lucy's Wish.]
[Note: If Lucy dies, the Script will end immediately. Script rewards will be calculated based on the duration you protected Lucy and the completion status of the Main Quest.]
[Time you have protected Lucy: 00:00.]
As Paradise's notification chime faded, Bai Mu regained control of his body. He materialized at the entrance of the children's amusement park, finding himself staring wide-eyed at three large rabbit mascots in different colors.
Due to the sudden power outage, the mall corridor was quite chaotic. People were sprinting in every direction, and piercing screams tore through the air from nearby areas. It seemed the virus had fully mutated in some hosts, transforming them into hyper-aggressive Infected.
Bai Mu heard the distinct shatter of breaking glass. Even without seeing it with his own eyes, he could easily guess that the situation on the lower floors had devolved into an absolute nightmare.
Wasting no time, Bai Mu retrieved the baseball bat he had just acquired from his inventory and stepped into the children's amusement park.
His top priority was finding Lucy.
If Lucy died right at the start, it went without saying that he wouldn't receive a single reward. He would have just squandered a precious Adventure Script admission ticket for nothing.
He had to keep in mind that this admission ticket was a single-use consumable. Once used, it was gone forever. There were no second chances here.
Amidst the sheer pandemonium, no one paid any attention to a stranger in a black trench coat charging into the amusement park with a baseball bat in hand.
Bai Mu scanned the sprawling room and quickly pinpointed the table where Lucy had hidden herself.
A few of the Infected who had previously collapsed on the floor were already getting back up. They launched vicious attacks on the people around them, tackling bystanders to the ground, tearing at them with their teeth like rabid dogs, and digging their nails deep into their victims' flesh.
One of the Infected sprinted straight toward Lucy's location. Bai Mu broke into a run, gripped his baseball bat with both hands, and swung it in a flawless homerun stance, slamming it directly into the creature's head.
Thanks to the baseball bat's special effect, this strike triggered a guaranteed critical hit. With a sickening crunch of shattering bone, the creature's neck snapped backward, and it crumpled lifelessly to the floor.
Bai Mu planted himself firmly in front of the table, lowering his head to meet the gaze of the cowering Lucy.
The timer began to tick. The quest log displayed that he had now protected Lucy for ten seconds.
Bai Mu crouched down, extended a hand toward the little girl, and coaxed her to come out using slightly awkward English.
But the little one remained completely unresponsive. Seemingly viewing him as just another strange, frightening man, she merely stared warily into his eyes and shrank further back into the shadows.