Ita Era

Chapter 111 Golden Scratch Card

Next attraction: roller coaster.

The roller coaster was a little different from the ones we usually see: it didn't have safety bars, only a seatbelt on the abdomen. Watching the roller coaster tumbling and spinning on the track, Ding Shi said, "Lion, at least you know how to outsmart us." Ita never hides her true intentions; players will spot the red dress first, then the arrows will fly in. Of course, if your eyesight is really bad, the system can't help you.

Ding Shi said, "Bees, take off your clothes."

Ding Shi took off the coat with the hole shot out by the arrow, first removed the sleeves, then disassembled the clothes according to the thread ends, took out a dagger to cut the cloth, tore it into strips, and made some cloth strips himself.

Tie Zhenzhen is quite clever and imitates what she's doing. However, without their coats, the two of them are left with only close-fitting hoodies, and it gets a bit cold when the wind blows.

Once on board, Tie Zhenzhen learned to tie up Ding Shi, which was like weaving a net, and people were in the net.

Players have clever strategies, and the system has a way to overcome them.

The roller coaster struggled to climb to a near 90-degree peak, slowly coming to a stop at the top, then plunged down, spinning wildly like a drilling machine, throwing white figures out of the coaster. Finally, the roller coaster came to a stop upside down on the track.

Ding Shi and Tie Zhenzhen's heads started to throb with blood from being upside down. Being upside down wouldn't harm their health in the short term, nor would it kill them in the medium term, but it was very uncomfortable. However, the dog system's plan to throw them out was completely thwarted; let alone being thrown out, Ding Shi couldn't even squeeze himself out without breaking the strips of cloth.

The system eventually gave up, ending the project after a series of thrilling moments. This thrill largely stemmed from Tie Zhenzhen. Whenever the roller coaster reached the dangerous sections, Tie Zhenzhen would scream...

Because Ding Shi loudly reminded her of the animal's name, Tie Zhenzhen was able to avoid three calamities.

The last attraction: the carousel.

Similar to a traditional carousel, it has three rows, but the difference is that the speed of the horses is not constant. While Ding Shi and Tie Zhenzhen were still observing, the white figures one after another rode the horses. The moment they mounted, they transformed into solid human figures. They were wearing armor, some carrying swords and shields, some carrying lances, and some carrying spears.

The two took the last two seats, and a one-minute countdown began. Various weapon, armor, and shield sets appeared in front of them, and they could only choose one.

Tip: The horse is invincible. Squeeze your legs against the horse's belly to move forward. The faster you squeeze, the faster the horse will run. Press the "Mount" button to change the track. You can only change the track once per minute.

Ding Shi looked at the dazzling array of combinations and finally chose chainmail, a one-handed sword, and a small metal round shield.

The wooden horse began to spin. The girl behind Ding Shi frantically spurred the horse's belly, and a 2.8-meter-long lance stabbed towards Ding Shi's back. Ding Shi used his Force Hand to grab the slow-moving lance, reducing the horse's speed. The two horses drew closer, and Ding Shi raised his sword to slash. The girl tried to block with her shield, but Ding Shi changed his attack to a thrust, his one-handed sword piercing the girl's body. The girl screamed in agony, and she and the wooden horse beneath her vanished.

A man on the left, wielding a two-handed sword, charged forward. Ding Shi spurred his horse and charged, while the cavalryman in front of him moved slowly. Suddenly, the cavalryman turned and thrust his spear at Ding Shi's throat. Ding Shi, however, was prepared with his shield in his left hand and deflected the spear to the side.

One force can overcome ten techniques. Ding Shi killed the person in front of him with a single sword strike, and then immediately switched to the right track, causing the two-handed swordsman to miss his target.

The number of NPCs dwindled, but the battle intensified. After five minutes of fighting, five enemies remained, all armed with one-handed swords and metal shields.

Ding Shi and enemy A had already fought four times, their swords clashing with one hand and their shields blocking from side to side, the clanging sounds ringing out incessantly. In the midst of the fierce battle, enemy B caught up with them.

Tie Zhenzhen was really lucky. Since Ding Shi was the last level and Tie Zhenzhen was the penultimate level, most of the cavalry were heading for Ding Shi. Tie Zhenzhen chose a large round shield, a shield that could protect the front or back. This shield was quite heavy and not very flexible.

Tie Zhenzhen's strategy: The Trojan horse can only move forward. As long as she stops the horse, the attack will only come from behind. The large shield can protect the back, since everyone is just passing by anyway.

Ding Shi sheathed his one-handed sword, drew his crossbow, loaded it, and shot down enemy A, who was five meters away. He then loaded another crossbow and shot down enemy B, who was pursuing him. Enemy C tried to block with a metal shield, but the medieval iron shield couldn't withstand the 21st-century crossbow bolt. The bolt pierced through the shield, penetrated the armor, and went several centimeters into the flesh. Because of his injury, his agility and strength were greatly reduced, so Ding Shi fired another crossbow bolt and killed him.

Finally, after an 8-minute battle, Ding Shi and Tie Zhenzhen passed the test.

The two emerged from the rocking horse ring, and Tie Zhenzhen said, "Teddy, you've cleared the level, but where's the inverted cross?" What she really meant was that Ding Shi had misunderstood the priorities. Ding Shi was addicted to completing the levels, and apart from the first level, the drop tower, he hadn't spent any time or effort looking for the inverted cross.

Ding Shi raised his left arm, on which was the stamp on the back of the clearance facility. All the stamps were stamped in the same place, forming an inverted cross. The inverted cross was red and located in the center of a pentagram array, which was filled with incantations.

Tie Zhenzhen was first surprised, then realized, and said, "Field Mouse, you knew this from the very first level?"

Ding Shi: "Carp, yes, I noticed the spell characters in the first stamp as soon as it was printed."

Tie Zhenzhen asked in surprise, "Kangaroo, do you know any spells?"

Ding Shi: "Sloth, no, I don't know it. Words I don't know are spells."

Tie Zhenzhen gave a thumbs up: This logic is something I didn't expect.

Tie Zhenzhen looked at her arm and asked, "Goat, I..."

Ding Shi knew what she was going to ask and directly shattered her illusions: "Rabbit, there's only one inverted cross. However, I think you should still complete the challenge. The inverted cross is related to evil spirits, not villains. You must continue to abide by the amusement park rules."

"Huh? A puppy."

Ding Shi shrugged: "Wolfhound, that's why I didn't wait for you to dance disco together. Otherwise, if we completed the challenge together, some of you would have things I didn't, and some of you would have things I didn't, and everyone would be unhappy. On the bright side, clearing the amusement park will definitely improve the completion rating."

Tie Zhenzhen pouted as she pondered.

Ding Shi: ?
Tie Zhenzhen: "Hummingbird, I'm considering whether I should get angry or not."

Ding Shi: "Groundhog, and what happened?"

Tie Zhenzhen said, "Duck, it seems I should be happy."

Before Ding Shi could ask why, a scream came from afar. Ding Shi and Tie Zhenzhen looked up and saw Wang Meng flying over their heads at high speed, his head hitting the swordfish figurehead of the pirate ship. The swordfish's mouth went through his head, and Wang Meng's body hung upright on it.

Tie Zhenzhen covered her mouth and said after a long while, "Huang Niu, was he thrown out by the roller coaster? How come you're not sad at all?"

Ding Shi thought for a while and said, "Grass carp, firstly, he has already died once in front of me. If I should be sad, then I have already been sad. Secondly, I have a feeling that he won't die so easily."

Tie Zhenzhen pointed to the corpse hanging at the bow of the ship, incredulous. How could it be resurrected?
Ding Shi said, "Wild Boar, he should have a chance to revive. I believe that everyone who enters the Hell Dungeon has a chance to revive. The Ita World's goal is not to kill you, killing you is just a means. Its goal is to find a suitable person."

Tie Zhenzhen: "Shanji, what does 'suitable person' mean? What are they going to do?"

Ding Shi replied, "I don't know about the sika deer. I'm leaving now. Good luck, I hope you can survive." Ding Shi waved and left. As he left the amusement park, he heard the devil's whisper in his ear: "If you choose to keep the inverted cross, you will gain mysterious and powerful ghost power. The more people you kill and the more sacrificial tasks you complete, the stronger your ghost power will become."

Ding Shi answered without hesitation, "No reservations." Whether as an undercover agent or the second-in-command of the White Gang, Ding Shi's motto was always: there's no such thing as a free lunch. When someone is willing to give you a hundred dollars, they're eyeing your thousand dollars.

The more free something is, the more expensive it becomes. There's only one reason: no one is willing to give for free, so no one will truly receive something for free. There are only two ways to get someone to give: the first is coercion, and the second is an exchange of benefits.

The devil continued to tempt: "Power represents authority, it represents the ability to obtain everything you desire, to make up for the regrets you still hold dear. What do you want?"

Ding Shi thought about it seriously for a while: "To be honest, I lack nothing." Even in the real world, Ding Shi only lacked a document to prove his identity; his material desires were very low.

Ding Shi said, "Give me the card, or I'll file a complaint against you for your nagging."

The demon fell silent, and the seal on its left forearm began to take on three dimensions, standing up, spinning, and finally transforming into a gleaming golden card. Ding Shi glanced at his luck—2 points—and put the card away.

In the past two days, people have been discussing the value of luck in their spare time, and the final conclusion is: it is somewhat useful.

As the card appeared, a chilling wind swept through the amusement park, the lights flickered incessantly, and the sharp, agonizing howls of demons echoed throughout the area. A black tornado appeared, covering the entire amusement park, but it did not affect people or the rides, seemingly originating from another dimension.

The tornado grew smaller and smaller, slowly shrinking to the size of a little finger as it swirled on the ground, until it finally disappeared without a trace.

Ding Shi took out the gold paper and saw that the inverted cross in the amusement park had turned gray.

I cycled home, took a shower at 9 PM, and went to sleep. Day after day, I barely had any rest. It's only in the world of Ita that I find it interesting; if I were in a real job, I'd quit in a heartbeat.

……

At nine o'clock on the morning of the sixth day, Ding Shi was awakened by the ringing of the phone. He went to the study, picked up the receiver, and sat down in a chair: "Hello."

Tie Zhenzhen's voice came: "Ding Shi, are you going to school today? Take me with you, I don't want anything."

Ding Shi replied with his eyes closed, "I'm still sleeping. Aren't you tired?" It was already five in the morning when he got home by bike.

Tie Zhenzhen said, "I'm not tired."

Ding Shi said, "I think the school might not be suitable for you."

"why?"

"I suspect that the school and the haunted house are somewhat similar."

Tie Zhenzhen: "Then..."

Ding Shi: "I don't plan to go to the other two inverted crosses." The pharmaceutical factory is too large, with many buildings, so it's likely the evil spirit has at least two rules. The police station isn't large, but Ding Shi knows the evil spirit's rules and doesn't want to gamble with his life.

Before Tie Zhenzhen could speak, Ding Shi said, "I've decided to go to school today. I'll contact you after I've had a good night's sleep. You should get some rest."

After hanging up the phone, Ding Shi glanced at his luck stats. Still 2? Oh, he checked it in the early morning.

He went back to his bedroom, flopped onto the bed, and fell asleep immediately, sleeping straight until four in the afternoon. Standing in front of the mirror, Ding Shi looked at his long hair and the stubble around his nose for a while, looking like a rough, unkempt man. "Will I have to carry a razor with me when I go into dungeons?"

Grab your coat, find a barbershop, get your hair done, and then buy two sets of clothes.

After dinner, Ding Shi tried to contact Tie Zhenzhen, but found that no one answered the phone at Tie Zhenzhen's home.

……

At 9 PM, Ding Shi arrived at Ham Town Middle School. The school is located on the north side of the rugby field, in a rather desolate area. A small river runs behind the school.

Ham Town Middle School has a teaching building with four floors. The first to third floors each have four classrooms, and the fourth floor is used for integrated practice, experimental classes, etc.

The faculty and staff building has three floors and is located to the left of the teaching building, but it is not connected to the teaching building. Behind the teaching building are the track and field and the football field, and beyond that are two faculty and staff dormitory buildings.

I didn't see anyone, but I could see lights. In addition to the streetlights in the public areas that were always on, there were also lights in the classrooms and offices, which were sometimes turned on and sometimes off, but I still didn't see anyone.

When Ding Shi peeked around, a blue phantom appeared inside the school's yellow lines, the phantom resembling a 3D projector image.

This is a woman around sixty years old, dressed neatly and cleanly, with a kind smile on her face and dignified eyes.

After sizing each other up for a while, the woman said, "I am the principal of Ham Middle School, and my name is Zhang Zhen."

Ding Shi politely replied, "I am an undercover officer from Ham Police Station. My name is Ding Shi."

Zhang Zhen said, "As you can see, Ham Middle School was taken over by evil spirits overnight. The children can no longer go to school, no longer enter the ocean of knowledge..."

Ding Shi politely interrupted, "I'm sorry, but many children may not be willing to swim in the ocean."

He thought that interrupting Zhang Zhen would annoy her or make her ignore him, but to his surprise, Zhang Zhen remained silent for a while and then said, "Yes, there are bad apples in any ethnicity, skin color, planet, age, and gender, and schools are no exception. Because of the protection of the law, we sometimes only see students being bullied by bad students."

Ding asked some questions, and Zhang Zhen answered them one by one.

A few nights ago, some believers broke into the school, attacked the teachers and staff who were on duty, and performed a ritual on campus. Before the ritual was completed, Zhang Zhen, the school principal, suddenly rushed onto the altar and drank a cup of boiling blood—a crucial offering—in one gulp. This led to a rather awkward situation.

Zhang Zhen is dead, but her soul is bound to the school. The evil spirit, lacking a cup of blood, can only operate in its physical form.

Conversely, even if a player violates the evil spirit's killing rules, the evil spirit cannot appear in front of the player in a short period of time like other evil spirits.

Ding Shi wasn't happy: "And then?" He didn't believe in a system that would throw good things away.

(Edited!)
(End of this chapter)