Chapter 102: The Deadly Collision at the Amusement Park

Shen Yan leaned against the decaying wooden wall of the haunted house, his right arm still bleeding. The toxicity of the Erosion Source Powder circulated through his meridians like an infinite loop in code, repeatedly logging errors. His left hand trembled as he gestured in the air, barely managing to summon the Terminal Interface. Characters flickered intermittently on the cracked screen, seemingly ready to Blue Screen at any moment.

“Loading… basic protection protocol,” he gritted his teeth and input the command, his voice extremely low. “Block external scans.”

The Program had only Run for three seconds before a Warning popped up: 【Energy residue too high, invisibility failure risk 87%】

“Damn, can’t even hide for a moment?” He smirked, intending to rewrite the Logic, but suddenly felt his wrist tighten.

Luo Li had torn off a piece of her skirt, dipped her fingertip in some demon blood, and swiftly bandaged him. Her ears twitched, and she abruptly looked up: “There’s movement—not Demonic Energy, but talisman power!”

Before she finished speaking, the crooked wooden door of the haunted house was slammed open.

A girl with twin ponytails, still holding half a Candied Hawthorn in her mouth, rushed in. She waved a yellow Talisman Paper, her voice crisp: “Shen Yan! The Mystic Gate has offered 300,000 Spirit Stones for your head, so I won’t be polite!”

Shen Yan’s eyelids twitched, almost causing his System to Restart immediately.

Who is this?!

He instinctively raised his hand to write a counter Script, but Luo Li pressed him down: “Don’t move! Her talisman carries living spirit; reckless action will cause an explosion!”

But it was already too late.

The ground outside exploded violently, and five bloody shadows burst from the earth. Shadow Erosion Assassins appeared through a mirror Illusion Formation, forming a semicircle around them. The leader hadn’t even unsheathed his Scythe, merely staring coldly at Shen Yan, his eyes glowing with Data Stream-like red light.

Yu Xiaotang was startled, her hand slipped, and the Talisman Paper slapped directly onto the chest of the nearest assassin.

“Pop!”

As the talisman attached, Shen Yan’s Terminal suddenly buzzed in his mind, and a line of green text flashed rapidly: 【Detected non-standard Rune input, automatically matching compatibility protocol·Version v0.3.7】

The next moment—

“Bang!!”

A pink heart-shaped light mist exploded, like fairy sparklers during New Year celebrations, crackling with tiny stars.

The five assassins froze simultaneously, limbs twitching, joints creaking, and began mechanically twisting, stepping left foot, right foot, marching in place, even turning!

Square dance mode, Initiated!

“Huh?” Yu Xiaotang widened her eyes, forgetting to chew her Candied Hawthorn. “My talisman… can be used like this?”

Shen Yan watched the Logs scrolling wildly on the Terminal, his lips twitching: “This isn’t a immobilization talisman; you’ve installed a dance cheat for the enemies, right?”

Luo Li kept a stern face, but her tail couldn’t help trembling: “Now isn’t the time to laugh.”

Indeed, it wasn’t.

Although the five assassins danced energetically, their steps didn’t stop, still advancing step by step. The red light in their eyes remained unextinguished, clearly indicating they were remotely controlled Data Puppets.

Even worse, the broken mirrors in the haunted house began cracking, with dense Code patterns spreading from the fissures like a Virus spreading.

“They’re testing a new Version,” Shen Yan stared at the Terminal analysis. “These aren’t real people; they’re Projection Entities, the Signal source is moving.”

He quickly typed out an Interference Command: 【Frequency band coverage·forced interruption】, but it was bounced back immediately upon running: 【Encryption frequency hopping technology, unable to lock main channel】

“Tsk, a VIP member edition puppet?” he cursed. “Are they really this competitive?”

“Stop trying.” Luo Li’s ears twitched, three of her nine tails instantly unfurling while the rest remained faintly visible due to insufficient Demon Power. “They’re already on their way.”

With a flick of her tail, she hooked onto the iron grate of the ventilation duct overhead, pushed off with her toes, and kicked it open with a loud clang.

“Up!”

Shen Yan reacted swiftly, grabbing Yu Xiaotang’s wrist. “Go!”

Before the young girl could process what was happening, she was hauled up. The three of them leaped into the narrow duct one after another. Just as the last person entered, the ground below collapsed with a roar. Dozens of Data Puppets burst from the earth, lifting their heads in unison, their red eyes locking onto the duct entrance as they slowly closed in.

Inside the duct, it was pitch-black and cramped. The three crawled forward, rust flakes rustling down around them.

“I mean…” Yu Xiaotang whispered as she crawled. “Are you two wanted? Did I help the wrong people with that talisman earlier?”

“Only realizing it now?” Shen Yan panted, his right hand still oozing blood, his Mental Power feeling half-drained. “Three hundred thousand Spirit Stones for my head, and they didn’t even bother to find out what I do.”

“So what exactly do you do?” Yu Xiaotang asked curiously, turning her head.

“Programmer,” he said seriously. “Specializing in dealing with all kinds of stubbornness, especially bosses who demand changes in the middle of the night.”

Yu Xiaotang: “…Are you serious?”

Luo Li, leading the way ahead, twitched the tip of her tail slightly at his words.

Crawling out of the duct, they found themselves in the abandoned amusement area of the amusement park. A merry-go-round lay toppled on the ground, and only half the skeleton of a Ferris wheel remained, creaking in the night breeze. In the distance, a few broken neon signs flickered on and off, illuminating the rusted tracks of the “Roller Coaster: Extreme Flying Dragon.”

“Over there.” Luo Li pointed toward the starting point of the tracks. “High vantage point, good for observing the pursuers’ movements.”

Shen Yan nodded and was about to stand up when he suddenly sensed something wrong.

He glanced down at his phone. Though the screen was cracked, the Terminal was still running. In the corner, a hidden Process icon had appeared at some point, glowing faintly with heat.

【Dream Backup·Running】

His pupils contracted.

When did this thing… Initiate?

Before he could think further, the sound of dense footsteps came from behind.

The Data Puppets had already broken through the haunted house and were crawling along the ground like a swarm of red-eyed mechanical spiders, scaling the Walls and supports, closing in layer by layer toward the roller coaster.

“No time to detour,” Luo Li whispered. “We’ll have to board and charge through.”

“The problem is…” Yu Xiaotang pointed at the rust-covered tracks. “Can this thing even move?”

Shen Yan wiped his face and grinned. “If it can’t move, I’ll make it move.”

He sat cross-legged, rapidly tapping in the air with his left hand. The Terminal Interface popped up again. Despite severe Lag, he forcibly loaded a new Program: 【Vehicle Control Protocol·Roller Coaster Adaptation Version】

Lines of Code generated one after another. Veins bulged on his forehead, and his breathing grew increasingly ragged.

“What are you doing?” Yu Xiaotang leaned in to look.

“Installing an autopilot System for this roller coaster that hasn’t been repaired in twenty years,” he gritted his teeth. “As long as the power isn’t cut, I can make it Run.”

“What if it derails halfway?”

“Then it means there’s a Bug in the Code,” he sneered. “And I’m best at fixing things while on the move.”

The Program finally finished Compiling. He slammed the Enter key.

In the distance, a low hum emanated from beneath the roller coaster, and a faint red light flickered on the launch platform at the end of the track, like a dying old ox kicked into one last gasp.

“It worked!” Yu Xiaotang excitedly waved the Talisman Paper.

But just then, Shen Yan suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood, swaying unsteadily.

“Shen Yan!” Luo Li swiftly supported him.

He waved his hand, pale-faced: “It’s fine… just a bit of severe Mental Power depletion.”

Yu Xiaotang looked at his trembling hand, then glanced at her Talisman Paper that had accidentally saved them, and softly said: “Sorry… I didn’t know you were injured when I came to capture you.”

Shen Yan looked up and smiled: “That Talisman saved our lives. I should be thanking you.”

He paused, then added: “Next bounty mission, ask first if the target has health insurance.”

Yu Xiaotang chuckled.

Luo Li watched the two, her tail inadvertently wrapping around Shen Yan’s wrist, gently tightening.

“The ride is starting,” she said. “Hold on.”

The three climbed into the roller coaster carriage, the rusted safety bar automatically clicking down under Shen Yan’s Code control. The engine roared louder, the track’s current activated, and the carriage slowly began moving forward.

Below, countless pairs of glowing red eyes were climbing up the supports, gathering in greater numbers.

The wind grew stronger, tousling Yu Xiaotang’s ponytail and lifting Luo Li’s long hair.

Shen Yan leaned back in his seat, his right hand still bleeding, but his left hand steadily hovered in the air, the Terminal Interface flickering incessantly.

He knew this roller coaster ride was not the end.

Rather—

the first collision between Code and fate.

(End of Chapter)