Infinite: Dawn Game

Chapter 980 Payment

Yu Shijiu felt the strange temperature in his hand and glanced at the enthusiastic clown beside him.

"The rules of shooting games are very simple~"

The clown pointed happily to the moving targets in the distance.

The targets were made in the shapes of various cartoon animals—rabbits, ducks, bears, elephants… but each animal had a very painful expression on its face, and its eyes were two empty black holes.

"Visitors will receive a small prize if they hit three targets! Five targets will earn them a medium prize! But if they hit ten targets in a row... hehehe~"

The clown's voice suddenly lowered, and he chuckled, his voice carrying a seductive quality.

"Then you can take home our grand prize~ Ta-da! Yes! It's that super cute~ super cute teddy bear~"

"is it?"

Yu Shijiu smiled, raised the toy gun, squinted one eye, and aimed at the targets in the distance.

"Of course it's true!"

The clown laughed, his scarlet lips stretching wildly across his cheeks. He said with a laugh:

"If you can hit the target continuously, you can win our cutest teddy bear! The clown guarantees honesty and fairness!"

Yu Shijiu smiled and pulled the trigger.

The first target—a crying rabbit—is slowly swaying from side to side.

boom!

The bullet hit the rabbit precisely in the forehead.

"Whoaaaaaahh ...

A piercing scream came from the rabbit target, followed by a violent tremor in the rabbit's plastic body. It then plummeted from its stand, twitched several times on the ground, and remained motionless.

He Lingling and the others' eyelids twitched.

Xu Han, pale-faced, grabbed Chen Yi's arm. "Brother Chen, those tourists also hit the targets, but the targets didn't fall down, did they?"

Why did Yu Shijiu fall down as soon as he hit the targets?

He Lingling narrowed her eyes and said, "Because we are players, and they are not."

Xu Han: "..."

Xu Han became even more frightened upon hearing this, "So those targets that Shi Jiu was shooting at, could they really be... animals?"

"..."

No one could answer his question at the moment, including He Lingling.

She doesn't know either.

Mutangtang, standing outside the crowd, tilted her head, smiled, and tugged at Grandma Mu's hand. "Grandma, those little animals are so cute."

"Tangtang is right about everything."

Grandma Mu peeled open a lollipop and said gently to her granddaughter:

"Here, have something sweet."

"Thank you, Grandma!"

Xylitol took the lollipop, put it in her mouth, and continued watching the fun with a smile.

The clown next to Yu Shijiu applauded enthusiastically after he hit the target.

"Amazing! Absolutely amazing! The first shot hit!"

Yu Shijiu seemed not to hear the conversations around him. Without pausing, he quickly aimed at the second moving target—a yellow cartoon duck.

boom!

"Whoaaaaaahh ...

A second gunshot rang out, followed by a second scream.

The third target—the suffering bear.

boom!

"Whoaaaaaahh ...

The third target landed.

……

The fifth target landed.

In just over ten seconds, Yu Shijiu had already hit five targets.

He released the plastic gun from his hand and turned to look at the clown.

The clown's smile became even more exaggerated. He rummaged in his pocket and finally pulled out a palm-sized plastic smiley face badge, which he handed to Yu Shijiu.

Congratulations! Here's your prize!

The badge was extremely cold to the touch, and the eerie smiling face on it had its mouth stretched wide, almost splitting open.

Yu Shijiu did not refuse. As soon as he took the badge, the system notification sounded in his ear:

Congratulations to player Yu Shijiu for obtaining the item: "Disguised Smile Badge"

[Item Description: A small prize from a shooting game stand, symbolizing a fleeting, insincere joy.]

[Item Effect: When worn, this item slightly increases the player's resistance to mental pollution within the dungeon. The side effect is that it slowly accumulates "pleasure points." When the "pleasure points" reach the player's critical point, the wearer will be unable to control their laughter. — (Note: This item is only effective in the dungeon "Shh, Please Be Quiet.")]

Yu Shijiu raised an eyebrow as he heard the notification sound in his ear.

Can it only be used in the current instance?

Those are regional props and items.

He lowered his head and put the badge into his coat pocket, showing no intention of wearing it.

"Shall we continue?"

The clown grinned and continued to tempt her:

"Hit five more targets and you'll win an even better prize!"

Yu Shijiu shook his head.

"enough."

He put down the toy gun and turned to leave.

But the clown suddenly stopped him.

"Wait a minute, little guest!"

The clown's voice became somewhat shrill.

Chen Yi and the other three immediately took a step forward, and An Jie even reached out to block the clown's hand that was trying to grab Yu Shijiu's arm.

"Speak instead of resorting to violence."

An Jie said expressionlessly.

The clown's face twisted slightly as she separated him from the balloon. He gripped the balloon string tightly, and the brightly colored balloons above his head floated up and down with his emotions.

"I'm sorry, guests, I hope I've made you unhappy."

The clown sighed, looking extremely guilty and helpless, and said:

"But the game isn't over yet! Look, your friend just hit five targets, and according to the rules, he should get a small prize. But the problem is... your friend hasn't... 'paid' yet!"

Payment?

Yu Shijiu peeked out from behind An Jie, turned to look at the clown, and asked in confusion:

What do I need to pay?

"Of course it's...the game fees!"

The clown grinned and stretched out his hand with red nail polish.

"One shooting game requires payment... of a 'memory'!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the "tourists" waiting in line all turned their heads and stared at Yu Shijiu with empty eyes.

The sweet smell in the air began to intensify, mixed with a faint, pungent odor similar to rotting meat.

"What memory?"

Anjie asked in a cold voice.

"Anything is fine~"

The clown tilted his head, pointing his finger at his chin, which was suddenly painted with paint.

"A happy memory, a sad memory, a fearful memory—any memory you approve of is welcome!"

The clown paused, his dark eyes beneath the greasepaint fixed on Yu Shijiu.

"To put it another way... the 'joy' you felt when you shot just now, young guest, could also be considered a shot, you know~"

Yu Shijiu raised an eyebrow upon hearing this.

He did indeed experience a strange kind of "pleasure" while shooting.

In that instant of aiming, pulling the trigger, hitting the target, and hearing the target scream, a familiar, burning restlessness seemed to emanate from deep within his left arm.

It's like... the feeling of tearing things apart when the beast's claws were still around.

What if I don't pay?

Yu Shijiu turned to ask.

"..."

The clown's smile slowly faded.

The strange face covered in paint gradually stiffened, its scarlet lips turned down, and its eyes revealed a cold malice.

"If you don't pay..."

He slowly raised his hand and clapped it.

clap clap-

As the crisp sound of a slap rang out, the tourists who had been enjoying themselves began to slowly gather around.

Their steps were stiff, and their faces still wore various smiles, but their eyes had all become empty and greedy.

"Then we can only ask that you... stay here forever and become a member of our amusement park staff~"

The clown's voice became hoarse, like rusty iron scraping against each other.

Just like them~

He pointed to the tourists who were queuing, shooting, screaming, and laughing—no, he pointed to the staff standing in front of the booths.

"Forever laughing, forever playing, forever... staying in this joyful playground!"

The atmosphere suddenly became tense.

Jiang Chuan and the other onlookers from "Shenchuan" retreated, watching the scene unfold with caution.

Mu Tangtang opened her eyes wide, looking at Yu Shijiu curiously, and muttered to herself:

"Grandma, what do you think he'll choose?"

Grandma Mu gently stroked her head without saying a word.

Just as the clown and the tourists were about to surround him—

Yu Shijiu suddenly laughed.

He raised his left hand, not to attack, but to gently press it on his temple.

"A memory, is it?"

His voice was very soft, with an eerie obedience.

"Okay."

Yu Shijiu closed his eyes, seemingly recalling something.

A few seconds later, he opened his eyes and reached out his hand to the clown.

There was nothing in my palm.

But the clown's eyes lit up as if he had spotted something delicious.

He eagerly reached out his hand, his fingertips touching Yu Shijiu's palm.

In an instant—

The clown's body began to tremble violently.

The paint on his face began to melt, dripping down and revealing the pale, rotting skin beneath.

A strange "hoarse" sound came from his throat, like a mixture of pleasure and pain.

The tourists who had gathered around also stopped what they were doing, their faces showing a look of rapture, as if they were sharing this "memory" with the clown.

A good ten seconds passed before the clown abruptly pulled his hand back.

His face was covered in a mess of paint, but the contorted expression on his face had become unusually satisfied, even with a hint of... pity?

"What...what a sad memory..."

The clown muttered to himself, his voice regaining its previous sharpness, but now tinged with a strange sense of melancholy.

"You can go now, little guest! Welcome to come again next time!"

As he spoke, he skipped back to the shooting game stall and then started greeting other tourists.

The tourists who had gathered around dispersed and continued queuing, shooting, and screaming.

It was as if the threat had never happened.

Yu Shijiu turned around and nodded to An Jie and the other three.

"Let's go."

An Jie frowned as she looked at Yu Shijiu, opened her mouth, and finally said:

"Okay, let's leave here first."

After saying that, the five people quickly left the area of ​​the shooting game booth.

Only after they had walked quite a distance did Xu Han finally ask in a low voice:

"Shi Jiu, what memories did you give him?"

Yu Shijiu remained silent for a few seconds.

"...Memories of the day my mother passed away."

His voice was calm.

"I stood at the bathroom door, watching her lying in the bathtub, the blood from her wrists staining the water red, dripping down one drop at a time."

Xu Han opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but couldn't utter a single word.

Chen Yi gently patted Yu Shijiu's shoulder.

He Lingling's huge black pupils stared at Yu Shijiu, and she suddenly spoke:

"Shi Jiu, did your left arm react just now?"

Yu Shijiu was taken aback and looked down at his left hand.

The arm was intact, the skin was pale, and there was nothing unusual about it.

But I did feel that faint burning sensation and restlessness when I fired the shot.

"...It might just be an illusion."

Yu Shijiu said somewhat hesitantly.

He Lingling didn't press the matter further, but she felt somewhat agitated.

...Has Shi Jiu's arm not fully recovered yet?

Not far away, Mu Tangtang watched Yu Shijiu's departing figure and tugged at Jiang Chuan's sleeve.

"Brother Jiang, shall we go play a shooting game too?"

Jiang Chuan was somewhat reluctant, "It's too dangerous, and the cost of losing our memories is still unclear—"

"It's okay~"

Mutangtang smiled sweetly and turned to look at Grandma Mu.

"Grandma will always protect me, right?"

Grandma Mu nodded kindly.

Jiang Chuan looked at the "grandfather and grandson" pair, then at the clown at the shooting game stall who had returned to his normal smiling face, and finally gritted his teeth.

Well... I was the one who invited Mutangtang in, so I should still go along with her suggestion...

"Try only once."

"Good~"

After receiving a reply, Xylitol happily ran towards the shooting game stall.

She quickly picked up the toy gun, her movements seeming a little clumsy. She squinted, aimed at the target not far away, and pressed the trigger.

boom!

The first target—the crying rabbit—fell to the ground with a scream.

Xylitol seemed startled, and almost dropped the toy guns in her hands.

But soon, a strange expression appeared on her face, a mixture of fear and excitement.

She continued firing.

The second, the third, the fourth...

With each hit on the target, the excitement on her face intensified, and the emptiness in her eyes deepened accordingly.

When she hit the fifth target, the clown handed her a smiley face badge that was exactly the same as the one Yu Shijiu had received.

Mutangtang took the badge, but instead of putting it away immediately, she played with it curiously.

"Little guest, you need to pay for 'a memory'~"

The clown said with a grin.

Mutangtang held the toy gun, tilted her head, thought for a moment, and then stretched out her little hand and pressed it on the back of Grandma Mu's hand behind her.

"Grandma, could you pay for Tangtang's meal?"

"Okay, whatever Tangtang wants Grandma to do, Grandma will do it, of course!"

Grandma Mu smiled kindly as she slowly extended her other hand, which wasn't being held by Mu Tangtang, and placed it on the clown's outstretched, paint-covered palm.

The clown's body trembled violently again, just like before, as he excitedly tried to collect his fee—but this time, his excited and joyful expression quickly turned into...confusion.

"..."

A dozen seconds later, the clown slowly withdrew his hand, looking at Grandma Mu's kind smiling face. Under the thick paint, his comical face revealed obvious fear and deep confusion.

"You...can leave now..."