Chapter 590: Carnival of Desire [22]

Adrian stopped chewing and turned to look at the dog mascot with genuine curiosity. He tilted his head, tossed a handful of popcorn into his mouth, chewed noisily, then swallowed so quickly that the mascot began to wonder whether he had even chewed it before Adrian finally spoke.

“What’s wrong with that red stuff?”

The dog mascot’s mouth fell open. Its button eyes looked as though they were about to pop right out of their sockets.

“What’s wrong with it?! YOU’RE ASKING WHAT’S WRONG WITH IT?!”

It jumped to its feet, its two plush paws pounding against the pavement. If its body hadn’t been made of stuffing, it might have exploded from sheer rage.

“Happy Water ruined everything! Everything! Do you know what this park used to be like?”

Adrian shook his head. Looking at the furious dog mascot, he couldn’t help but smile. “I don’t know, but you can tell me.”

The dog mascot sniffled and took a deep breath—even though it didn’t have lungs, the gesture still conveyed the utter depths of its despair.

“Back then… back then, this park was truly beautiful. Children played on the roller coasters, adults enjoyed the fresh air. We—us mascots—were hugged, waved at, and photographed with. Every morning when we woke up, we knew that somewhere, someone would laugh because of us.”

Its voice gradually grew quieter. “But then… then the Happy Water stalls appeared…” It fell silent, lowering its head to stare at its worn and tattered stuffed toes.

“Happy Water is addictive. It distorts the visitors’ perception. They don’t have fun on the rides anymore. They don’t get excited about the roller coasters. All that’s left in their minds is food and anything that can make them happy!”

Adrian blinked. He remembered the long lines of people waiting at the drink stalls, the faces wearing stiff smiles, the lifeless glassy eyes. They all drank, and drank, and drank.

“And what about the mascots?” Adrian asked.

The dog mascot didn’t answer right away. It raised a plush paw and rubbed at its eyes, but the tears kept flowing.

“We became useless. Nobody needed us anymore. Sometimes we’d stand right in front of a child, waving and dancing, and the child would simply look straight through us, toward the drink or food stall.”

His voice began to tremble.

“And worse… some of the other mascots have gone mad. They’ve become resentful. Twisted.”

Adrian remembered the mascot rabbit with its grotesquely torn-open grin and strange, stuttering noises. So it wasn’t simply an eccentric NPC—it was a victim of this transformation.

“So…” Adrian raised a hand to his chin, thinking. “…if Happy Water no longer exists, will everything go back to normal?”

The mascot dog raised its head, its eyes filled with doubt. “Yes… but how could we do that? The Happy Water factory is right at the end of that road. It’s always running. It never stops.”

It turned its head and pointed into the distance, where a plume of dark gray smoke twisted strangely upward from a colossal smokestack on the horizon.

Adrian narrowed his eyes as he followed its gaze. The smoke was nothing like the exhaust from an ordinary factory—it writhed like a living serpent, coiling upward before spreading out again, as though it were reaching out to strangle the park’s artificial sky.

“Oh.” Adrian smiled, his sapphire-blue eyes lighting up. “Then that must be it.”

He tossed the half-full bag of popcorn to the mascot dog. The dog caught it in surprise with both paws, staring blankly at the steaming-hot bag in its hands.

“What’s this supposed to be for…? I don’t want to become corrupted!”

Adrian couldn’t help laughing. “What? Not crying anymore?” He turned to look at it, backing away as he spoke without a care in the world. “By the time you finish eating, Happy Water will be gone too.”

Then he turned around and walked away, leaving the stunned mascot dog standing there, clutching the bag of popcorn in its paws.

“But—?!” the dog called after him, its plush paws beginning to run. “That factory is incredibly dangerous! No one has ever gone in there and come back out!”

Adrian didn’t look back. He merely raised a hand and waved.

“Then I’ll be the first.”

The closer he got to the factory, the more noticeably the atmosphere around him changed.

The blue and red neon lights gradually gave way to sickly yellow industrial bulbs, flickering weakly through the gloom. The scents of popcorn and vanilla ice cream disappeared, replaced by the acrid smell of scorched butter—not the rich, mouthwatering aroma of butter in a kitchen, but the stench of butter burned to the bitter end, mingled with the smell of hot metal and something pungent and metallic, almost like fresh blood.

The park’s cheerful music gradually faded into the background, giving way to the sluggish, rumbling roar of machinery echoing from somewhere in the distance. It was the sound of compressed pistons, turning conveyor belts, and liquid flowing through thousands of pipes.

Adrian stopped before a massive black-steel gate, its surface covered in rust. Above the gate hung a sign bearing blood-red letters:

HAPPY WATER FACTORY — PRODUCTION AREA

DANGER: AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY

DO NOT ENTER WHEN HUNGRY

Adrian read the last line and burst out laughing.

“Don’t enter when hungry… Good idea.”

He stepped forward and pushed against the steel gate. It wasn’t locked, but the wheels screamed against the rails with a grating squeal as the rusted mechanisms dragged it open.

The moment Adrian stepped through the gate, the mascot dog followed after him, its plush paws nervously pattering across the hot metal plates.

“I-I’ll… I’ll go with you,” it said, its voice trembling as it tried to sound brave. “If you die here, at least there’ll be someone to tell the story.”

Adrian looked at it and gave a faint smile.

“You really are a loyal dog.”

The mascot dog froze, and for some reason, tears immediately began welling up in its button eyes again.

But it didn’t cry. It straightened its back, took a deep breath, and walked into the factory.

[So Adrian’s not even sparing the dog now?]

[What’s wrong with expanding his harem over time? He’s a shounen protagonist, after all.]

[It’s hilarious how seriously you guys are taking this.]

[I have a feeling this might be the way out.]

[Hurry up, Adrian! Ember and Nick are about to lose it!]

[I have a feeling Adrian doesn’t even know what kind of predicament those two are in. He always looks like he’s casually out for a stroll. It’s honestly infuriating.]

Inside, a long, gloomy corridor stretched out before them. Along the walls, metal pipes twisted together like intestines, emitting a deep hum as liquid flowed through them. Hot steam seeped from gaps in the pipes, carrying with it a sickly-sweet, pungent smell tinged with something metallic and foul.

Apart from the machinery, steady footsteps could also be heard coming from deeper inside.

Adrian stepped forward and placed his hand on the doorknob.

“What’s your name?” he asked the mascot dog.

The mascot dog, already tense to the point of breaking, genuinely couldn’t understand why Adrian was asking that now.

“I’m Lulu. Wh-why… why do you ask?”

Adrian narrowed his eyes and smiled at him.

“Nothing. I just don’t want someone to sacrifice themselves without leaving a name behind.”

Lulu: “…”