Chapter 29

Chapter 29

The Bumper Car ride only lasted ten minutes. Although the intensity of the scares was dense, most people could handle it.

When Tang Liangcai returned to the surface from the exit tunnel, he felt completely drained. He looked at the notebook in his hand, which was only half-filled with notes, and tossed it into a trash can.

He had been wrong. This amusement park had zero value as a reference. This owner wasn’t trying to make money-he was trying to take the tourists’ lives!

Zhang Bei was completely unaware of the Qianda Dispatched Agent, nor did he realize he had just avoided a clash with corporate competition.

At that moment, Zhang Bei was looking at the young girl in front of him, feeling a sudden headache coming on.

“If you want to play, go play. Why are you pestering me?”

“I already told you, I’m not here to play!”

“Then what exactly do you want?”

“The design competition! The National Design Competition!”

Zhang Bei sighed silently and sat down in his chair.

“As you can see, my amusement park is very busy right now. I simply don’t have the time to participate in some Designer Competition.”

The girl was from Zhang Bei’s alma mater, and she had come to invite him to join this year’s National Designer Competition.

However, Zhang Bei’s mind was entirely focused on the amusement park. With the number of tourists increasing every day, he really didn’t have the energy to prepare for a Designer Competition.

This was a nationwide event, with over twenty thousand participants every year. The entire competition lasted a month, during which the judges would select a building for the contestants to renovate.

Typically, a competing team needed an architectural designer, an interior designer, and a spatial planner. Given the limited budget, many teams would also find an actuary to help them save money.

Zhang Bei was the architectural designer the girl had sought out.

“Senior, please, good brother, just spare two days, okay?”

“No time!”

Zhang Bei’s heartless refusal made the girl scratch her head in frustration. It wasn’t that they couldn’t find an architectural designer, but among everyone they knew, Zhang Bei’s skill level was definitely at the top.

Looking at Zhang Bei, the girl suddenly remembered a rumor.

“I heard the prize money for this competition is a hundred thousand yuan. That’s a hundred thousand for each person on the team.”

Zhang Bei’s dismissive hand-wave froze mid-air, his expression stiffening.

“How much?”

“A hundred thousand.”

“When is the competition?”

“In three days.”

“I can only give you three days at most.”

“That’s enough!”

Watching the girl skip away happily, Zhang Bei slapped his own face.

He had been impulsive. Truly impulsive.

The Designer Competition gathered countless top-tier designers from across the country every year. Winning that prize money wouldn’t be easy; it didn’t just require brilliant design. More importantly, every single person in the team had to be strong.

It was like the law of the minimum-the amount of water a wooden bucket can hold isn’t determined by the tallest plank, but by the shortest one.

He sighed softly, rubbed Digua’s head, and went back to watching the monitors.

Suddenly, two figures in tracksuits caught Zhang Bei’s attention on the screen. Their goal was clear; they were heading straight for the Underground Maze. Unlike other tourists who were there for the sights and sounds, these two looked like they were here to pick a fight.

Zhang Bei’s guess was correct. These two were indeed not typical tourists. They belonged to the group of people amusement parks disliked the most.

Self-media creators. To put it nicely, they were influencers; in reality, they earned traffic by ‘de-mystifying’ amusement park attractions. Usually, a single livestream would bring them a lot of popularity, but once they ‘solved’ a Maze or a Haunted House, the attraction lost all its original fun.

“Bro, this amusement park only has a Maze and no Haunted House!”
“Fine, the Maze is enough. Disney blacklisted us anyway, so we haven’t been able to post any new videos for a long time.”

“Want to race for the fastest clear time?”

“Sure, the loser buys hot pot.”

Their conversation drew the attention of those around them.

“You guys are planning to clear this Maze?” asked a man in his thirties.

“Yeah. All mazes have patterns you can follow. Once you find the logic, it’s easy to clear them.”

The older brother’s tone was confident. After all, the two of them had cracked countless mazes across the country.

The man’s lip twitched. “Well then… good luck?”

The Boss’s Maze was different from other amusement parks.

If it were really that simple, there wouldn’t be so many people fainting in there.

“What’s that supposed to mean? You looking down on us?”

“No, not at all. I truly hope you can clear it!”

The queue moved quickly, and it was soon their turn. After signing the Safety Commitment Form, they hurried inside.

The entrance to the Maze split into numerous paths, allowing each person to explore a different route.

The two brothers pulled out their streaming equipment and shared a look.

Tianyu spoke first. “I’ll take the left. Stay in touch.”

“Got it!”

With that, the two of them raised their cameras and ducked into their respective tunnels.

As the Live Stream started, a flood of viewers poured in.

Tan Biefeng: [Brother Yu, where are you today?]

Qingyun: [Long time no see, Brother Yu!]

A Cup of Immortal Elixir: [Is this a maze?]

Seeing the surge in viewers, Tianyu took a deep breath.

“Hello everyone, I’m your host Tianyu. Today, we’re going to explore this Underground Maze.”

As he spoke, he strapped his phone to his chest and began walking forward.

Rounding a corner, he came across an unlit torch mounted on the wall.

Tianyu immediately started mocking the design.

“How could they design such an obvious mechanism? I bet if I pull this torch, a secret passage will open up.”

Xiaolongbao: [Hahaha, that is way too obvious.]

Tingtingting: [Does the designer think the tourists are idiots?]

Tan Biefeng: [Pull it quick! Maybe there’s a surprise!]

Tianyu didn’t dawdle. He reached out and pulled the torch with one hand.

With a faint *click*, a whisper echoed from behind him.

“Hehehe… so, you’ve come?”

Hearing the voice, Tianyu spun around instantly, but there was no one there-only the dim, empty tunnel.

Frowning, Tianyu let out a cold snort.

“This trick is too low-level. They must have speakers hidden somewhere.”

He picked up his pace and continued forward.

Perhaps even he hadn’t noticed that the background music had shifted at some point into a series of piano melodies.

And woven into those piano notes were countless mournful wails.

After walking just a few steps, Tianyu suddenly froze.

A dark shadow had flickered past the corner of his eye.

“Who’s there?”

Tianyu frowned, staring at the spot where the shadow had vanished.

How could a figure appear in a place he had just passed through?

Was there a staff member here?

He stood in thought for a moment before turning back to continue his path.

He couldn’t forget he was in a race with his brother. Time was precious; he could ignore a few minor details.

Time flew by. In the blink of an eye, Tianyu rounded another corner and found himself facing three separate tunnels.

It was a one-in-three choice. Picking the wrong one would undoubtedly waste time.

However, with his years of experience in mazes, Tianyu quickly decided on the middle path.

It was a matter of probability. Relying on his instincts, Tianyu ventured inside.