Chapter 336: Let Him Go, Choice
Chapter 336: Chapter 336: Let Him Go, Choice
Kian Quill would occasionally stick his little hand out of the car and snatch at the hair, clothes, or anything else he could grab from players who drew near.
Those he caught were usually unable to break free from his grasp. They could only watch helplessly as he held them in place while another bumper car smashed their head to pieces.
In that instant, terror consumed their every thought. It was as if they could see their own shattered skull, their eyeballs being crushed and bursting...
Faye Yardley was completely focused on avoiding the other bumper cars, so she had no attention to spare for Kian Quill’s little antics.
Just as the game was about to end, Kian Quill tried his old trick again, grabbing a man by the head. Faye Yardley shot a glance over and snapped, "Kian Quill, let him go!"
"Oh, Miss Yardley, you know him?" Kian Quill said, obediently letting go. Just then, another car slammed into the man’s bumper car with a loud BANG, sending a screeching sound through the air.
[Bumper Car Game: Time’s Up!]
Faye Yardley let go of the steering wheel and leaped out of her car. She scooped up Kian Quill with one hand and, with the other, snatched the man by the collar, then sprinted for the exit.
"COUGH, COUGH, COUGH... Th-thank..."
"Let’s go." Faye Yardley paid Wade Warren no further mind and left, pulling Kian Quill along with her.
After leaving the bumper cars, Kian Quill looked up and said, "Sorry, Miss Yardley. I didn’t know he was someone you knew."
"And I didn’t know you enjoyed watching people’s heads get smashed in."
"It’s not that I enjoy it! Miss Yardley, don’t you know? The more people die, the better the rewards are for the winner."
Faye Yardley stopped, turned, and looked down at Kian Quill. "Everyone wants to win. There’s nothing wrong with that. But this amusement park is supposed to be for fun; you shouldn’t be making it harder for people on purpose. I don’t know what others think, but deliberately targeting someone who might clear the whole thing after this one ride... I think that’s wrong. What if you just needed to finish the bumper cars to be done, but one second before the end, someone held your head down while it got smashed? Would you be happy about that?"
"But that’s how everyone plays," Kian Quill said, a little confused. ’Dying here just gives you a headache for a few days. It’s not that serious.’
Faye Yardley could actually understand Kian Quill’s perspective. After all, from his point of view, his life wasn’t in danger. Dying once was no big deal. At worst, it was an invitation: ’If you’ve got the guts, try and kill me in the next game.’
But for Faye Yardley, Wade Warren, and the others, dying here was permanent. They were quite literally playing for their lives.
"Fine. I don’t know how others will be, but as long as you’re here, if you still want to be on my team, you can’t attack ordinary humans."
Kian Quill stared at her cat ears in silence for a long moment before nodding. "Alright. I promise I won’t be the one to attack ordinary humans in the coming attractions."
"Good. So, what ride do you want to go on next?"
"The pirate ship!"
Faye Yardley made a noncommittal sound. "If they don’t let you on because you’re a kid, we’re going to the kiddy zone, you know."
"Fine, fine."
By the time they left, Wade Warren had also emerged. He looked around but couldn’t see Faye Yardley. Still shaken from his near-death experience, he decided to simply clear the instance and leave.
Back on his raft, he remained silent for a long time. The reward was excellent—both his Spirit and Constitution attributes had increased by one point. But was this feeling, this constant hovering on the edge of life and death, really what he wanted?
"Will, you’re back! Come over here. Your mother and I got lucky today; we fished up an Iron Treasure Box."
Wade Warren looked at his parents’ somewhat aged and weary faces and forced a smile. "Dad, Mom, what do you think about us going to live on the island?"
Mr. Warren looked at his son. "You don’t have to worry about the two of us. If you want to get stronger here, then you should focus on that."
Mrs. Warren nodded in agreement. "Floating on the ocean every day isn’t so bad. I used to dream of going out to sea all the time, and now here we are."
Looking at his parents, Wade Warren suddenly felt he had been far too selfish. If he hadn’t come so close to dying this time, he feared...
He made up his mind. "Dad, Mom, I truly want to go live on the island. Let’s pack our things. When the group leader gets back, I’ll talk to her."
Having made his decision, Wade Warren decided to announce it in their small group chat.
Wade Warren: Hey everyone. When the group leader gets back, I’m going to take my family to live on the island. Maybe we can even be neighbors with Mr. Sloan.
Kyle Lewis: Oh, Mr. Warren, you decided that quickly?
Gavin Donovan: You could always consider joining our leader’s guild. You’re a friend of the boss, so she’d definitely approve your application.
Wade Warren: Thanks, Donovan, but I just want to live a quiet life with my parents. It turns out that not everyone is cut out for getting stronger day after day in this kind of environment.
This experience had made Wade Warren see himself clearly. The daily death toll had always seemed like just a number ticking down, but every single digit represented a human life.
When it was his turn to face it, it was no longer just a number.
’If I was gone, what would my parents do?’
Bonnie Callahan felt much the same way. But unlike Wade Warren, who could make the decision on his own, she had to exhaust herself trying to convince her parents.
Perhaps it was because the system had rejuvenated their bodies upon entering this world, freeing them from the aches and pains of old age, but the old couple was now experiencing a belated case of teenage delusions.
Mrs. Callahan’s fantasy was merely that getting stronger would make her more beautiful, but Mr. Callahan was already imagining himself as a god destined to save humanity.
It was hard to say if being unreliable was just in The Callahan Family’s genes.
They had already been nearly wiped out by parasitic Otherkin once, yet the experience only fueled their anger and hatred. They weren’t intimidated in the slightest.
Ironically, it was the youngest of them, Bonnie Callahan, who most wanted a peaceful life.
"Dad, Mr. Warren and his family are going to live on the island now. We should apply, too."
Mr. Callahan glanced at his precious daughter. "You go ahead and apply. No need to apply for your mother and me. Better yet, take your cousins with you. If the rest of you youngsters are on the island, we’ll have less to worry about."
Bonnie Callahan: ...
’Forget it,’ she thought. ’I’ll go talk to my other relatives first. Maybe one of them will have better luck convincing my parents than I do.’
After getting seats in the very middle of the pirate ship, Faye Yardley found Kian Quill’s safety belt and buckled him in. Then, she pried her own belt from the hands of the man in the next seat and fastened it securely.
The man in the next seat was naturally not the agreeable type, but Faye Yardley’s fists were harder than his words.
One second before the pirate ship was set to start, an elderly bear-man stepped aboard.