Chapter 11 What's Next?

"Where are we going next?" Mingmei asked, breaking the silence. She sensed the strange atmosphere between the two people beside her.

"To the north, to the 'Ride the Waves' attraction." Mu Chen spoke quickly, without hesitation. Lu Xiaoyao nodded in agreement upon hearing this.

Although she didn't know why Mu Chen was forsaking the closer "Hellfire Inferno Haunted House" to the south in favor of going north, after seeing his bomb disposal skills, Lu Xiaoyao felt it was best to let the expert decide.

"Why?"

Mingmei, who already had an inkling, was curious and asked for clarification.

"The suspected bomber, Songdao Guang, studied abroad in a neighboring country and greatly admired its culture. His previous designs often subtly incorporated elements of ancient culture from that country. This time is no different."

Mu Chen had gone to the surveillance room with the others to search for suspicious-looking tourists and, based on the identification provided by the Zhen brothers, had found the information on the person with the mole on his lip and the omega-shaped chin from the poster.

After confirming the person's details, he was even more certain that the bomber was the amusement park's designer.

"But I don't see any obvious signs of that country's elements in the park's design, including the entrances and exits, other than it being rather… serpentine," Lu Xiaoyao said, frowning as she pondered for a long time.

Of course, given Lu Xiaoyao's level, no one present thought she would know anything about it.

Mu Chen chuckled and turned his gaze to Mingmei. "What do you think?"

"The Five Elements."

Mingmei said only those two simple words, and Mu Chen smiled, his eyes filled with tenderness as he looked at her. He nodded. "Clever."

Lu Xiaoyao, however, was completely lost.

Her mouth hung open, her large, listless eyes wide with confusion.

Lu Xiaoyao: I want to say something, but it seems like there's nothing for me to say.

"Um… what are the Five Elements?" Lu Xiaoyao raised her hand and asked timidly.

"The Five Elements are water, fire, wood, metal, and earth."

Mingmei looked at Mu Chen. Explaining the Five Elements was rather complex, and she wasn't good at saying too much at once, so she gave an example and then looked at Mu Chen, hoping he would continue.

Mu Chen was happy to oblige, and continued, "And the relationship between the Five Elements and the directions is like this."

At this point, the group passed by a map of the scenic area, and Mu Chen pointed to it, continuing:

"The west belongs to Dui, which is metal in the Five Elements; the northwest belongs to Qian, which is also metal. The east belongs to Zhen, which is wood; the southeast belongs to Xun, which is also wood. The north belongs to Kan, which is water; the south belongs to Li, which is fire; the center belongs to Gen and Kun, which are earth. Likewise, the northeast belongs to Gen, which is earth, and the southwest belongs to Kun, which is earth."

"And it's summer now."

Mingmei followed Mu Chen's finger as he pointed out the Steel Dragon roller coaster in the west, the Wooden Ferris Wheel in the east, the Ride the Waves water flume ride in the north, and the Hellfire Inferno Haunted House in the south, before finally landing on the Sand Sea Maze in the southwest, emphasizing the current season.

Mu Chen smiled in agreement and said with tacit understanding, "That's right. The Five Elements interact with the Ten Heavenly Stems and Twelve Earthly Branches, as well as the year, month, day, and hour, to form shape and qi. In the heavens, there is qi, which is the climate of cold, heat, dryness, and humidity. On earth, there is shape, which is metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. Shape and qi interact and give rise to all things in the world. Therefore, the interactions of the Five Elements are infinitely wonderful."

Lu Xiaoyao: =口=

"Among them, the position of fire is in the south, corresponding to summer, and earth grows in late summer. Summer corresponds to fire, so earth is located in the southwest at this time."

After explaining, Mu Chen's hand finally landed on the Sand Sea Maze in the southwest. "Therefore, this is a long-planned bombing!"

"Yes, this amusement park only opened in early summer, and it's only late summer now. If the other party hadn't calculated everything in advance, they wouldn't have designed it this way."

Mingmei nodded. Compared to the happy expression on Mu Chen's face, she seemed more indifferent.

However, the joy and admiration in her eyes couldn't be concealed. The two looked at each other, and Mu Chen's smile grew even brighter.

Of the three, Lu Xiaoyao, the only one who needed an explanation, looked utterly bewildered after hearing it.

Not only Lu Xiaoyao, but even the viewers in her livestream were the same.

[I don't understand! Do you Hua Lan Star people learn this kind of mystical stuff from childhood?]

[No, no, no, as a Hua Lan Star person, I can testify that we really don't understand this. Very few people understand it. This is the same kind of knowledge as in *Ghastly Wedding.*]

[Then how did people pass this level before?]

[They used to look at guides. I heard that those who cleared it didn't play it just once. They stood inside from the beginning and waited for all the facilities to explode, memorized the order, and then played it again.]

[Now, people basically just run away while playing. No one wants to clear all the levels.]

[So… they analyzed the explosion order?]

[It's exactly the same as the order deduced by the Merchant Miss and the Cub classmate expert.]

After a series of […], someone finally asked the ultimate question—

[Are they… cheating?]

[Cub, go home. There are too many cheaters out here. Dad can't protect you~]

After an explanation that involved "I want to hear an explanation" but "I didn't understand anything," Lu Xiaoyao completely gave up.

She would just honestly be a mascot and accessory _(：3」∠)_

She followed Mingmei and the others directly to the "Ride the Waves" attraction, where the other plainclothes police temporarily stopped the ride and went inside to search.

"Here it is, here it is!"

This time, Lu Xiaoyao discovered the bomb, which was located under the middle seat of the boat. Mu Chen and the others arrived with bomb disposal tools and quickly and safely disarmed the bomb, which Lu Xiaoyao watched with envy!

Bomb disposal is so cool!

"Merchant Miss, do you think… how long until I can be this cool?"

"Hmm?"

Mingmei was watching Lu Xiaoyao staring at Mu Chen disarming the bomb, a strange feeling flashing through her heart, when the girl suddenly turned around and asked her this question.

Mingmei saw Lu Xiaoyao's excited expression. "Bomb disposal is so cool! I want to be this cool too!"

"Didn't you think Mu Chen was cool?"

Mingmei inadvertently blurted out her thoughts.

"The expert is pretty cool, but…" Lu Xiaoyao seemed to think of something and waved her hands repeatedly. "Never mind, forget it."

Someone like Mu Chen was beyond Lu Xiaoyao's reach, and she knew it.

Lu Xiaoyao's combination of fear and disdain was something Mingmei couldn't understand. With a questioning look, Mingmei turned to look at Mu Chen, who was disarming the bomb not far away.

One glance, two glances, three glances.

Mu Chen looked alright. It wasn't like he was someone to be disdainful of, right?

…

On the other side, Julian, who was just getting off the Ferris wheel with his pale-faced NPC girlfriend, happened to run into the Zhen brothers, who were carrying two cubs.

The former had just gotten on the Ferris wheel when the roller coaster across from them exploded. Julian's "girlfriend" was so frightened by the villainous announcement that she burst into tears.

The latter, however, could be described as refreshed!

The Zhen brothers had already played three attractions, and they planned to hunker down until the end and go straight to the Sand Sea Maze.

Fewer points were fine, as long as they stayed alive.

It was a waste that the two of them had bought two boxed lunches. They had no intention of striking while the iron was hot or seeking wealth and danger.

Holding the soft, fragrant little cubs, Zhen Hu's young heart began to flutter.

He completely forgot the deep impression they had made on him earlier!

As soon as he graduated, he would get married and have babies!

"Hahahahahaha…" Unable to restrain himself, Zhen Hu laughed foolishly in front of the two babies and his younger brother.

That look… tsk!

Julian, who happened to be passing by the Zhen brothers, also noticed them. The next second, his girlfriend seemed to be frightened and hugged his arm tightly, whispering, "Let's go. There are people here who have been driven crazy."

Zhen Hu: …