Chapter 574: Carnival of Desire [6]

The bodies of several independent players standing not far away had begun to show unusual signs. One man furtively reached out to touch the candy-cane fence decorating the roadside. The moment his finger touched the glossy layer of sugar, the number on his chest plummeted from 93 straight down to 85!

Only then did he seem to snap out of a trance, slapping his forehead in dismay.

Clearly, the lower their level, the more alluring the things here were to them.

The contamination was beginning to gnaw away at those who were careless.

"The Night Circus sounds pretty interesting. I like circuses too. Let’s go." Adrian curled his lips into a smile, his blue eyes brimming with excitement as he looked toward the enormous, tattered red-and-black tent in the far corner of the plaza, where the muffled sounds of horns and drums drifted over.

Ember seemed to think of something and suddenly curled his lips into a faint smile. "Maybe you’ll even get to work as a performer in there."

Nick: "..." Right, Adrian was a snake. But was it really okay to say something like that? Was Ember seriously not worried that Adrian would get angry?

Unexpectedly, Adrian seemed as though someone had flipped a switch inside him. He cheered, his eyes sparkling as he looked toward them. "You’re right, Ember. You’re a genius!"

Nick: "..."

Seeing Adrian’s eager, impatient expression, Ember could not help feeling a little regretful that he had brought it up.

[I’m a little afraid of snakes, but if it’s Adrian, I’m fine with it]

[He’s so cute hahaha]

[Respect to those who have already seen Adrian in his snake form and still call him cute]

[Careful, Adrian. The circus only has pythons. Venomous snakes aren’t allowed to work there hahaha]

Ember carried the enormous iron staff over his shoulder, every step pounding against the stone-paved road with a heavy thud... thud.... Adrian and Nick slowly followed behind, heading straight toward the enormous, tattered red-and-black tent of the Night Circus.

Compared to the other districts, the Night Circus stood in the most secluded corner of Central Park. Its towering canvas roof was torn by numerous long gashes, exposing the gray, bleak expanse above. At the foot of the entrance gate, two torches spewed bizarre green flames, filling the air with the pungent smell of sulfur mixed with the heavy, burnt-butter scent.

Tss... crack...

Hanging beside the entrance was a dry, desiccated sign made of some unknown material. Faint green luminescent letters flickered into view:

[RULES OF NIGHT CIRCUS]

Every visitor who enters must deposit 1 Happy Coin at the ticket booth to receive a Circus Ticket.A well-behaved audience member is one who does not leave their seat for the entire duration of the performance.To receive a Satisfaction Commemorative Coin, visitors must successfully participate in the interactive segment The Pastor and the Wolves, performed by the Ringmaster.Warning: Do not eat any snacks carried by the roaming vendors unless you want to exchange Satisfaction Points for an empty stomach.

"How do we put the coin in?" Ember muttered absently, raising his large hand and pulling a smiling clown-faced Happy Coin from his pocket.

He simply raised his hand and tossed the coin toward the ticket vending machine. However, before the coin could even slip into the slot, a hand caught it.

Adrian flicked his hair. Nick could almost swear that sparkles seemed to shimmer with every movement he made. A moment later, Adrian turned to look at them, his bright, sparkling eyes and signature sunny smile on full display as he said, "We’re here to perform a circus act, aren’t we? Performers don’t need tickets."

As he spoke, he slipped the coin he had just caught into his own pocket.

Nick couldn’t help but feel deeply uneasy, but he remained silent. He had to trust Silvansu’s colleague, after all...

No one knew when Adrian had spotted another entrance to the circus. The three of them put on a bit of a disguise outside. Adrian seemed to have a magical bag, pulling out clothes and makeup, and in the end, even producing a ten-meter-tall cage mounted on a six-wheeled cart.

Nick looked at the clown costume he was wearing, then couldn’t help glancing toward Adrian, who was still sitting inside the cage. "Is all of this really necessary?"

Adrian gave a little laugh and nodded. "I think you’re actually quite suited to this character."

Nick: "..." He certainly didn’t take that as a compliment.

By this point, Ember had also finished changing. He was wearing a dusty outfit that accentuated his tall, muscular build, and in his hand he held a large whip coiled into several loops.

As soon as he stepped out, the comments section became impossible to contain.

[Oh no, my mind is imagining something, and I can’t control it.]

[Fine, since everyone is afraid of pain, I guess I’ll have to sacrifice myself and hold Ember back.]

[You’re shameless.]

Over here, Adrian couldn’t help letting out a low whistle. He covered his chest, his face turning red at will. "Good heavens, just thinking about you beating me later is already more than I can handle."

Nick couldn’t help swallowing hard, while Ember’s features had all twisted together, a vein throbbing on his forehead. "I could beat you to death right now. Do you believe me?"

Adrian wasn’t scared in the slightest. "Oh, really? Then who was it in the previous dungeon, crying and begging me not to die..."

"Shut up!" Ember roared.

Adrian tilted his head and looked at him. Ember rubbed his forehead and said coldly, "If we don’t get ready now, the performance inside will be over before we even get there."

Adrian laughed. "You look so cute when you’re embarrassed."

Ember was speechless. Nick, standing nearby, was emotionally drained as well. He could only count himself lucky that Adrian wouldn’t tease him the way he teased Ember.

At the same time, the sound of cracking bones rang out with a teeth-grinding crack. Adrian’s body twisted grotesquely before transforming into a huge, terrifying form.

Layer upon layer of golden scales overlapped across his body. Even beneath the gloomy light of this place, they emitted a dazzling, beautiful radiance.

Adrian had concealed his wings and horns. He stretched and coiled his body, and his enormous head loomed near Nick and Ember, making the two of them look pitifully tiny by comparison.

Neither Nick nor Ember could help holding their breath for a moment. Ember was still relatively composed, but goosebumps had risen all over Nick’s skin.

Adrian narrowed his eyes at them. He did not open his mouth, yet his words still rang crystal clear in their ears.

"Let’s go."

Meanwhile, inside the unnaturally vast circus tent, thousands upon thousands of rows of black wooden seats rose in a steep bowl-shaped formation, stretching high into the darkness. However, sitting in those seats were not humans, but countless ragged cloth dolls with eyes sewn shut with black thread. They held little sticks in their hands, repeatedly tapping them together and producing dry clack... clack... clack... sounds.

The pollution here was so dense that it could be seen with the naked eye. Wisps of murky gray smoke rippled through the air before falling onto the floor like clumps of caked dandruff.

Ting!

The number on the Silver Ticket pinned to Lily’s chest flickered once, dropping from 94 to 92.

Lily frowned, his hand tightening around the hem of his robe. He felt a strange hunger suddenly surge from the pit of his stomach, leaving his throat slightly dry and raw. His number was clearly still in the nineties, yet the hunger was already this intense. It was difficult to imagine what would happen to them if the number dropped even further.

"Don’t pay attention to the hunger," Lily reminded the others in a light voice. "It’s only an illusion caused by the air here."

Besides them, another group of four people had also entered the place. They were all looking around and observing their surroundings.

The viewers were no exception.

[This dungeon really went all out!]

[The other places have already started, so why is it still so slow here?]

[Look! The main stage is lit up!]

BOOM!

Almost the moment that comment flashed past, a pale golden beam of light shot straight down onto the circular patch of sand at the center of the circus.