Chapter 185
Chapter 185
“Wait!” Jiang Li quickly held down the door lock and pushed her way inside.
Inside the room, the Mascot dressed like a Little Princess looked as if she had expected this all along.
She sat in her own little chair, spun it around, and turned to look at Jiang Li.
“What’s wrong, big sister?” the Little Princess asked in a soft, sweet voice.
She gave Jiang Li a wide grin, shallow dimples appearing on her cheeks.
“Do you… do you have any Colorful Ice Cream?” Jiang Li glanced at Liang Chen, then looked back at the Mascot. “I want one for my friend.”
Jiang Li had brought Liang Chen here for precisely this reason.
Since Liang Chen’s method of death was already set-tortured to death by someone-then the only way to lessen it now was to try and see whether the Colorful Ice Cream could change Liang Chen’s painful ending.
At the same time, Jiang Li also wanted to test something even more important.
Could a future that had already been measured still be changed?
Changing it with the Colorful Ice Cream would still count as a change.
While Jiang Li and the Mascot were facing off,
Zhao Qingqing and the other two also caught up.
They hurriedly barged in.
“What’s wrong, Jiang Li?”
“Did something happen?”
Zhao Qingqing and Xu Haoran looked at Jiang Li nervously, asking one question after another.
Jiang Li did not answer directly.
Instead, after glancing back at the four people by the door, she paused for a beat, then changed her wording to the Mascot. “Four.”
Inside the room, the Mascot smiled sweetly.
She got up from her chair, went to the Pumpkin Carriage, and took out an ice cream.
Then she walked over to Jiang Li and handed her the Colorful Ice Cream.
“I only have this very last one left, big sister. I want to give it to you!
And as long as big sister eats it, your four friends won’t die~”
There was a faint, bewitching lilt to the Mascot’s voice.
And those words allowed Zhao Qingqing and the other two to understand most of what was going on.
She said “Jiang Li’s four friends will die.”
Those four friends… weren’t they exactly them?
Seeing the scene before her, Liang Chen felt as if her heart were being torn apart.
She covered her mouth on the spot and ran out of the room in tears.
Neither of the two choices Jiang Li might make was something Liang Chen wanted to see.
In the first scenario, Jiang Li would refuse the ice cream, and Liang Chen and the other three would enter the game and accept the ending of being tortured to death.
Perhaps Jiang Li could struggle through and clear the amusement park Instance, and after clearing it, Liang Chen and the other three would all be revived.
But it was also possible that Liang Chen and the others would die forever in the fairy-tale world, never to meet a good end.
In the second scenario, Liang Chen would personally watch her friend Jiang Li eat the Colorful Ice Cream and die right in front of her.
And Jiang Li, once dead, would never have any chance of revival.
From then on, Huaguo would no longer have Jiang Li.
Zhao Qingqing quickly chased after Liang Chen.
In her heart, she had also roughly pieced together the cause and effect of the situation.
Zhao Qingqing patted Liang Chen on the shoulder and back, comforting her gently.
“It’s okay, it’s okay. It’s just death, right? Everyone dies. No matter what happens, we’ll be with you!”
Liang Chen choked back a sob and lifted her eyes to look at Zhao Qingqing.
Tears clogged Liang Chen’s throat, and she couldn’t make a sound.
So she could only wave her hand, signaling Zhao Qingqing not to worry.
Maybe if Zhao Qingqing had personally seen the way she was going to die, she would not speak of it so lightly.
Just like Liang Chen.
Now, whenever she thought of the bloody corpse in the dance hall-the one without limbs, without eyes-her stomach churned with intense nausea.
Xu Haoran and Zhang Jiang also came to the two girls’ side.
“Jiang Li closed the door to the room. I don’t know what they’re discussing inside,” Zhang Jiang explained.
The four of them talked among themselves for a few more moments.
One minute later, Jiang Li unlocked the door and came out of the room.
In Jiang Li’s hand was an ice cream with one bite taken out of it.
And on Jiang Li’s face, a bit of melted ice cream had accidentally smeared there.
When Zhao Qingqing and Liang Chen saw that Jiang Li had eaten the Colorful Ice Cream for their sake, they couldn’t control their emotions and broke down crying on the spot.
“Jie! Wuwuwu…” Liang Chen threw herself forward and hugged Jiang Li, crying until her face was soaked with tears. “Jie, how could you do something so stupid?”
Jiang Li had not died because of Huaguo’s bullet comments, only to sacrifice herself instead for the sake of the four of them.
At the thought of this, Zhao Qingqing’s heart stirred as well, and tears fell from her eyes.
Zhao Qingqing stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Liang Chen and Jiang Li, her eyes brimming with tears.
Xu Haoran and Zhang Jiang were heavy-hearted as well.
Grieving, they came forward and placed their hands on the girls’ shoulders, making their final farewells as though they were about to be parted by life and death.
Before long, the four people in front of Jiang Li were all sobbing together.
Jiang Li stared blankly at the four of them, who had suddenly plunged into sorrow. For a moment, she even forgot that Red Infant was still sitting there with his mouth wide open, waiting to be fed.
“You… you don’t have to cry. I’ve already thought of a way to save you,” Jiang Li tried to comfort them.
Liang Chen nodded through her tears and hugged Jiang Li even tighter.
“Wuuu, I know. Sis, you’re going to sacrifice yourself. We all know…”
Zhao Qingqing’s face was streaked with tears. “Jiang Li, you’re really too kind.”
Xu Haoran echoed with tears in his eyes, “Don’t worry, Jiang Li. After you die, we’ll sweep your grave for you!”
Zhang Jiang choked out, “Rest in peace.”
Jiang Li stared at the four of them, at a loss as to whether she should tell them the truth.
If… she didn’t die, would she be letting these four teammates down?
Red Infant finished the ice cream in Jiang Li’s hand in a few bites. Then, remembering that Mommy had specifically asked the Mascot for this last one for his sake, he felt a surge of emotion.
For the second time, the little guy couldn’t hold himself back. He leaned forward and planted another loud kiss on Jiang Li.
Now there was another smear of melted ice cream on Jiang Li’s cheek.
“I think you may have misunderstood.” Jiang Li wiped the ice cream off her face and explained to the four of them.
“I didn’t eat the ice cream. Red Infant did. Also, none of you have to die, so everyone can relax.”
Liang Chen lifted her head in shock.
“Sis, isn’t the future impossible to change?”
Jiang Li’s prop, the Crystal Ball, had been displayed on the big screen, and everyone had been able to see its rules.
That was why the four of them didn’t quite believe Jiang Li when she said she could save them.
Meeting their confused gazes, Jiang Li looked at them solemnly and nodded. “That’s right. It can’t be changed.”
“Since we can’t change it, then… we make it happen ourselves.” Jiang Li’s tone turned mysterious.
She led Liang Chen and the other three to the Crystal Ball, and they checked the prophetic scenes one by one.
Then five heads huddled together as they whispered and discussed something.
“What a strange method. Will this really work?” Liang Chen raised her head, amazed by Jiang Li’s idea.
Jiang Li smiled and nodded. “As long as none of you make a mistake, this method will work. Have you memorized all the details of the future?”
The four of them looked at Jiang Li and shook their heads at the same time.
So, following Jiang Li’s lead, they took turns reviewing the predicted scenes again.
Liang Chen and the others worked hard to go over every detail and setting in the images.
They intended to act everything out exactly as Jiang Li had said.
“What do we do if there are a lot of things we can’t act out?” Zhao Qingqing asked.
Jiang Li reminded them, “You still have the cards the Mascot gave you, right? Or look around and see if any of the children’s props here can come in handy. You can try getting on that child’s good side.”
The Mascot had given each of the five of them a small card.
As long as every item was used to its fullest, it was indeed possible to survive in the fairy-tale world without “changing the future.”
And after they finished acting it out, they would need to destroy some “important and unique props” at the scene.
That way, the scene could no longer be reversed, and they would change the ending where they were “brutally murdered” just like the prophecy had shown.
After the performance, what they had to do next was guard themselves even more carefully against the killer and strive to leave this game alive.
Their discussion ended.
In the waiting hall, the unified broadcast sounded right on time:
“Children, the game will begin in ten minutes~
Please bring your props, eat your chocolate candy, line up, and gather in the entry hall.”
While the broadcast repeated, Jiang Li and the others picked up their props.
On the way, Zhao Qingqing and the other three made up their minds and even abducted a child.
“Zihan, come with big sister!”
Zhao Qingqing picked Meng Zihan up and carried her to the entry hall.
The other three followed behind Meng Zihan as well, showering her with concern.
What Meng Zihan held in her hands was the Evil Queen’s human skin mask.
The role she wanted to play was Snow White’s beauty-obsessed stepmother.