Survive in Azure Files

With the remote support of the Ministry of Truth headed by Himari, even if AL-1S managed to escape from this dragnet temporarily, they could continue the pursuit through the surveillance near Lost Paradise.

In this way, it can be said to be completely foolproof.

Although there are still risks, in my opinion, it is worth taking a gamble.

As long as Alice passes this final test, I will do my best to believe that she is not Kai, not AL-1S, not some other existence...

Just my Alice.

I firmly held this belief in my heart for the last time.

As the sky grew darker, we took the game development department and Saori to a simple dinner at a family restaurant recommended by the accountant at the seminar, and then we set off for Lost Paradise.

And when the starry night covered the entire sky, the theme park that once hosted countless laughs finally appeared in our sight.

Desolate, barren and dilapidated, this is my first impression of the ruins now known as the Land of Lost Paradise.

Due to years of disrepair and lack of cleaning, the outside of Lost Paradise was overgrown with weeds and the castle-style entrance was covered in dust.

However, just as Momoka gave the information.

Above the entrance, the "UTOPIA" sign is emitting a faint white light that is extremely conspicuous in the dark.

"It actually lights up." Green looked up and asked in confusion, "Could it be that there is an internal power source?"

“That’s not the case.”

Himari's projection appeared nearby, and she said in a mysterious tone, "According to relevant sources, all the facilities in this park are powered by external power supplies. Now that it has been abandoned, the lighting system should be completely shut down. This is indeed the case from the design drawings I have investigated."

After taking a breath, Himari spoke in a higher tone than before: "In other words, this is a true urban legend!"

I suddenly became curious about where Riju asked the relevant people and where she got the design drawings.

And why she looks so excited now.

"Alice knows this!" Alice thought of something and happily made a guess, "It's a common scene in RPG games where evil organizations turn ancient ruins into secret bases. Someone must have secretly provided electricity to the facilities in Lost Paradise."

I think this idea is more reasonable.

However, after hearing this, Himari's smile instantly faded, and she sternly corrected him, "Alice, if you come across a real urban legend and have such unromantic thoughts, you will become a boring person who only knows how to pursue rationality."

First of all, I don't think it has to come to this. Secondly, does Himari really feel uncomfortable if she doesn't find a chance to say bad things about Liion?

"That's right!"

Tao Jing agreed: "There must be some mysterious power other than electricity that supports the operation of Utopia. Huhu~ I feel my creative soul burning!"

Himari looked at Momoi in surprise, with a gentle smile and a hint of recognition in her eyes.

However, neither of these two speculations can affect a person's mood.

"I'm so nervous..." Yuzu shivered.

I reached out and patted her head to comfort her, then said to everyone:

"Well, without further ado, let's start exploring."

Then we entered the Land of Lost Paradise.

Chapter 125: Night of Naraku

Lost Paradise Square.

"Wow! Take this!"

Tao Jing shouted loudly and aggressively, his finger firmly on the trigger, and the muzzle of the gun steadily followed the target's movement until the entire magazine was emptied.

Then, she pursed her lips and uttered a mournful cry: "Woo~ I'm not willing to accept this!"

The reason for Tao Jing's reaction was that she had already done this, but the "enemy" in front of her was not only unharmed from the outside, but even the frequency and amplitude of its movements did not change at all. It grinned like a living thing, as if it was mocking Tao Jing.

The reason why the results were so limited was not because of how low Momoi's hit rate was, but because of the type of "enemy", which seemed to be somewhat special.

It was a black cartoon doll with animal ears that was installed in a scare box and connected to the bottom of the box with a spring. It kept jumping left and right under the elastic force and emitted a strange white light from the inside.

At the same time, this is also the first one we encountered after entering the Land of Lost Paradise and began to explore. Perhaps it can be regarded as an "enemy".

As the Federal Student Union provided, there are indeed many amusement facilities in the Lost Paradise that are dilapidated and in disrepair, but still functioning.

Although Riju is certain that this is definitely some supernatural phenomenon, I personally tend to believe that someone has modified these facilities and increased the internal energy supply to achieve some kind of spooky effect.

However, this is the magical Kivotos after all. Even if some supernatural event really happens one day, it doesn’t seem unacceptable...

But it’s better not to happen.

All in all, we did not encounter any danger during our early exploration.

Except that there were no staff and other tourists, it was just like entering an ordinary amusement park.

Tao Jing, who has a big heart, had just entered the Land of Lost Paradise not long ago when she found a working carousel. She suddenly became interested and, under the pretext of collecting intelligence, she pulled me on to ride a few laps.

As a result, nothing happened.

It's no different from an ordinary carousel.

The rumor that "self-operated amusement facilities will eat people who get close to them" is probably just a rumor after our personal experiment.

In order to prove the accuracy of this judgment, I and the five girls who participated in the operation also tried many other amusement projects. It was just like being in an ordinary amusement park, and we gradually relaxed from the tense atmosphere of the mission.

Yuzu, in particular, said that she had difficulty breathing and her hands and feet became weak when she was in a crowded place, and she hadn't been to a real amusement park for a long time. A place like Lost Paradise, where there were no staff, was just right for her.

Even Saori, who seemed the most indifferent, smiled after I invited her to try out a few projects, even though she still said she was not interested at all.

I began to suspect that she might be a tsundere.

Only Hinami, who was in charge of long-range support, looked a little disappointed and uninterested.

I think that because of various reasons she couldn't participate and could only watch me, whom she had a crush on, having fun with other girls, which led to her envy and even jealousy.

After all, it’s my fault that I’m too charming…

Next time I have time, I will invite Himari out on a date alone as compensation to her.

Apart from the apparent “mission”, the real goal of my trip has also made quite encouraging progress.

To be precise, no progress is the best progress.

Alice, who was visiting the amusement park for the first time, showed a strong interest in everything around her, just as I had hoped. At first, she was obedient and suppressed her desire to experience the various rides, until Tao Jing demonstrated it to her and I did not object, she finally released the urge.

Every time we arrived at a new facility, Alice would always be the first to rush up, then turn around and ask me in a coquettish tone to tell her how to play.

Then it was usually Momoi or Midori who answered Alice's questions before me.

It was obvious that someone was jealous and would not hesitate to use such despicable means on a childish companion.

As to whether it's just Midori or Momoi is included as well, I really can't say.

Logically speaking, Tao Jing might just be satisfying her own desire to teach...

But Tao Jing's magical thought process is really too difficult to understand, so it is understandable that he occasionally has astonishing wisdom.

No matter what, after all, I am too handsome on the outside and too perfect on the inside, which makes it too easy for me to attract the kindness of young girls who are in love, and then they become jealous of me.

I felt really guilty about this situation, but there was nothing I could do. I could only bear the blame silently and try to control my expression as much as possible.

At least don't smile too obviously, or people will mistakenly think I'm enjoying it.

The pleasant and relaxing atmosphere, like a spring outing, lasted until we arrived at the first square of Lost Paradise.

Alice, who had extraordinary perception, spotted from afar a gift box with a black background and white patterns placed neatly in the center of the square, which contrasted sharply with the messy scene around it.

Because of her previous ease, Taoi shouted "I'll do it" and ran forward first, wanting to open the gift box to see what good things were hidden inside.

However, as soon as she approached, as if something was triggered, the hand crank next to the gift box turned a few times out of thin air, and then the lid opened automatically. Nearly ten black and white, fluorescent balloons broke free from their restraints and flew into the sky, and the strange doll popped out right after them.

The sudden change still gave everyone a shock even though they had taken basic precautions.

And given the simple folk customs of Kivotos, the first reaction of students when they are threatened or frightened is...

Just pull the trigger and unleash the firepower.

Saori, who possessed high tactical skills, reacted the fastest and stopped the others from wasting ammunition.

After we calmed down, we found that even though the strange doll had been attacked by us, it showed no intention of fighting back, and...

"Haha~ It's finally getting interesting." Himari, who was drowsy just now, immediately perked up, "Xiao Tao, shoot it again and confirm its defensive performance!"

Then, Tao Jing fired the gun with great force, shocking the box and the doll so that they didn't move at all.

Momoi was in tears after the defeat, but Hinami smiled happily after getting the answer:

"Sure enough, this is a supernatural phenomenon! What's next..."

"Let's take a detour."

I said calmly.

Chapter 126: Himari's Taunting

"what?"

Himari looked confused, "Aren't you going to continue investigating?"

I shook my head and explained, "The key to this commission is not 'will the amusement facility move around', but 'will the amusement facility hurt people'. Although I am somewhat concerned about the principle of this scare box, since it has not shown any intention of attacking, there is no need to investigate it in depth for the time being."

Himari was still a little hesitant: "But..."

"Rather than investigating this exhaustively now, why not search the area completely first, and then come back if nothing else is discovered."

I added: "Anyway, this box shouldn't be able to escape."

After all this persuasion, Himari finally smiled and nodded:

"Haha... well, for the sake of consideration, you've already said this much, so let's leave this unknown for later study."

Seeing Himari's smug look, which looked like "there's really nothing I can do to you", and a half-smile on his face, I stopped talking.

Why, even though I successfully convinced her, I still felt like a loser?

After thinking about it, it turned out to be because she was too humble.

However, Himari's good mood didn't last long.

After going around the scare box and walking forward for a while, she suddenly frowned, as if she had thought of something, and her expression changed slightly.

Even though it was just a projection, one could still clearly see the solemn look on her beautiful face.

"Come to think of it." Hikari spoke for no apparent reason, her tone still gentle and demure, but inexplicably gave me a somewhat cold feeling compared to before, "I was wondering, in a ruin like this that has been in disrepair for so long, would the air be filled with the stench of sewage?"

Tao Jing sniffed and said, "I don't smell anything at all."

Himari was noncommittal: "Haha, that's right. Teacher, what do you think?"

I didn't answer, I just sighed in my heart. Himari, you finally noticed it.

Although the reasons I have given are quite sufficient, with Himari's intelligence, combined with the other information she has now, it is enough to draw another conclusion that is closer to the truth -

My attitude towards this commission is not as conservative as I have described. Judging from various manifestations, it is quite the opposite.

Whether it was playing unknown amusement projects with everyone, or not stopping everyone from attacking rashly after being frightened, tacitly allowing her to let Tao Jing test the mysterious scare box, or decisively choosing to leave after discovering that the scare box did not seem to fight back...

All of this proves the fact that I am deliberately seeking crises.

In addition, she was invited to assist and other help was arranged outside.

And the reason why I did this is obvious.

Now, I am deliberately testing Alice under the pretext of a commission.

In other words, I didn’t trust Alice as much as I let on in front of her.

In fact, Himari should have thought of it earlier.

It may be that my performance when I was confronting Liyin was too realistic, and many of my previous performances were too perfect. In addition, Himari herself has a good impression of me, so I have never thought about it in this direction.

It was not until now, with so much evidence before his eyes, that Rimari was forced to go back and re-examine those doubts.

Then, she discovered.

Everything I said to Liyin was just hypocritical nice words.