Chapter 50: The Captain's Authority
River Lord and Zhang Yuanqing had both been proactive throughout, setting the pace, analyzing clues, and vying for control. They were the natural leaders of the group.
Now River Lord was dead, and the next target was almost certainly him.
Beside him, Xi Shi remarked with rising urgency, "There's only one minute left. Let's decide quickly. What do we do next? Keep our eyes closed, or open them?"
Xie Lingxi raised her hand timidly and offered a nervous suggestion. "How about… we vote?"
Fire Demon's voice boomed. "I vote to open our eyes. I don't want another severed head rolling into my lap, or my own head getting ripped off for no reason. With our eyes open, we at least have a fighting chance. Maybe we can figure out the rules."
Xi Shi cast an expectant glance at Zhang Yuanqing. When he said nothing, she had no choice but to speak up. "I also think opening our eyes is better. Keeping them shut felt absolutely awful."
Ashamed Father was silent for a few seconds. "I agree."
Xie Lingxi nodded. "Me too."
Great Sage Equal to Heaven read the room and knew his vote no longer mattered. "Doesn't look like I have a choice."
Open their eyes? If the rules around the roller coaster had changed, fine. But if his suspicion was correct, if it was the evildoer doing the killing, then had any of them considered the consequences of opening their eyes? Zhang Yuanqing felt a chill run through him.
He nearly blurted out the truth that there was a traitor among them, but the Spirit Realm had issued a prompt requiring him to keep the roles hidden. That rule protected the evildoer, yes, but it also protected the squad captain. After all, this wasn't some party game back in the real world where everyone knew from the start that there was a wolf to find.
This was a hastily assembled squad. Why would anyone simply take his word for it?
The hidden identity mechanic was clearly the dungeon's balancing system. If he revealed it recklessly and triggered some punishment mechanism, the consequences could be catastrophic.
Yet he couldn't let them barrel ahead either, because they couldn't afford to lose.
He thought of one possible approach, though the risk was enormous. Zhang Yuanqing steeled himself and spoke in a low, steady voice.
"Consider this possibility. If, and I mean if, the rule that one has to keep their eyes closed hasn't changed, then what? Previously, only River Lord died. There are still two rounds left, so at worst, two more people die. It's a total party wipe versus losing two members. I don't need to spell out which is the better option."
The group fell silent. The standoff hung heavy in the air.
Seeing that no one pushed back, Zhang Yuanqing let out a quiet breath of relief and pressed on immediately. "I have another idea."
Xi Shi's face lit up. "What idea?"
"We pick one person to stay behind on the platform and observe while the rest keep their eyes closed on the roller coaster. That way, we have a set of eyes watching from outside, the riders don't take any extra risks, and we avoid the danger of a total wipe."
Everyone blinked in surprise.
Fire Demon's brow furrowed deeply, and he said in an agitated tone, "The dungeon briefing didn't say we all have to ride together, but it didn't say we could split up either. You know what that means. Risk."
The Spirit Realm would never lay out every rule plainly and let participants follow them step by step. Nothing came that easy. For example, the briefing said to form a squad, but it never explained what happened if you didn't. Maybe nothing. Or maybe leaving the group meant death.
Zhang Yuanqing's voice was calm and deliberate. "I know. That's why I'll bear the risk myself. I'll be the one who stays behind."
The moment he finished, he locked his gaze on every teammate. Whoever objected now would be revealing themselves as the killer.
"No objections here."
"None from me either."
"We're counting on you, handsome."
"Wang Tai, be careful."
Not a single objection.
The killer is smarter than I expected, Zhang Yuanqing thought with a silent sigh of resignation as he unbuckled his seatbelt and stepped out of the roller coaster.
If staying behind was risky, then the killer could potentially claim two victims this round. But the majority was already on board with the plan, so going with the flow was the intelligent move. That demonstrated the killer's intelligence.
For Zhang Yuanqing, though, while staying behind might be risky, remaining in the car meant certain death.
At that moment, the countdown hit zero. A heavy thud resonated from beneath the roller coaster, and it began to move, slowly creeping forward.
Every muscle in his body went taut. He kept one eye on his surroundings, alert for any lurking danger, as he stared keenly at the roller coaster while it crawled up the incline. He couldn't hear anything from this distance, but he would surely be able to see anything amiss. The instant the killer dared to strike, he would trigger his old ailment and drag them into the open.
He refused to believe the killer could murder by thought alone. That would violate the balance mechanism entirely.
The roller coaster reached its peak, then plunged downward in a screaming free fall. From within the carriage, Xi Shi let out another short, piercing shriek.
Rumble, rumble, rumble…
Under Zhang Yuanqing's watchful eyes, the roller coaster roared along the steel tracks that rose and fell like the spines on a dragon's back. Two minutes later, it decelerated and returned to the platform.
The instant the coaster stopped, every rider snapped their eyes open, faces tense as they scanned the seats in front and behind them.
"Nobody died. Nobody died this time!" Xi Shi cried out in delighted surprise.
The others broke into relieved grins, the tension draining from their expressions.
Xie Lingxi blinked her beautiful eyes and asked with a faint smile, "Did you observe anything?"
The teammates turned to Zhang Yuanqing at once, eyes brimming with anticipation.
Just as I suspected. It's not the rules doing the killing. It's the killer.
He kept his expression neutral. "I didn't see a thing."
It was a subtle hint to his teammates. If the rules for safely riding the roller coaster were still the same, then how did River Lord die? It was something for them to think about.
The words landed, and the group went abruptly quiet, each of them lost in thought.
For the next five minutes, the squad was remarkably silent. No conversation, no discussion. Under Zhang Yuanqing's watchful gaze, they completed the third round.
"Phew, it's over," sighed Xi Shi.
She couldn't unbuckle her seatbelt fast enough. She swung her long legs over the side and practically leapt off the roller coaster as if fleeing for her life.
Zhang Yuanqing watched her go, then waited for the rest of his teammates to climb out before flashing a cheerful grin. "My turn. Everyone wait here for a moment."
***
The roller coaster decelerated and docked at the rooftop platform.
Zhang Yuanqing unbuckled his seatbelt and rejoined his teammates who were waiting nearby. The moment his feet touched the concrete, a wave of exhaustion and relief washed over him—the bone deep feeling of having survived a catastrophe.
They had finally cleared one attraction with the loss of only a single teammate. It was still within the acceptable range. But God, they had nearly been wiped out entirely. This was too hard. S-rank dungeons were just too damn hard. He felt mentally drained just thinking about it.
He looked around, noticing the equally exhausted expressions on everyone else's faces. Somehow, that made him feel a little better.
At that moment, a dungeon notification chimed in Zhang Yuanqing's mind.
【You have completed the starting mission (Roller Coaster). You have successfully activated the "Heart Pounding" mission series. The attractions in this series are: Roller Coaster, Underground Parking Garage, Haunted House (Ghost Marriage), Detective Mystery Hall. Please proceed to the second location within thirty minutes.】
Zhang Yuanqing's expression froze solid as the notification played out in his mind. A h-haunted house?!
The smiles on his teammate's faces slowly faded as well.
The roller coaster was part of the Heart Pounding series, and that series included a haunted house!! Zhang Yuanqing's head snapped toward the girl with the long, straight black hair.
At the same time, another notification chimed in his mind.
【You have successfully led your teammates through one mission. You now have one opportunity to exercise your captain's authority. Please identify the evildoer hidden among your teammates. The designated person will be eliminated!】
【If no selection is made within thirty seconds, this opportunity will be forfeited.】
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