Want to take a gamble? Angel tossed this question to Laplace.
Laplace then turned his gaze toward Glaipnir.
Whether the relay race can succeed, Glaipnir is key now, so Laplace entrusted the choice to Glaipnir.
Glaipnir did not respond immediately but closed her eyes, and the nebula appeared.
Her whole being seemed to merge into the nebula, giving a sense of wondrous mystery.
When Glaipnir finally opened her eyes from the faint nebula, she gave an answer.
"We can give it a try!"
...
"A new round of challenges has begun, and this time the petition has been changed to an intense relay race!" The host, wearing a lazy Joker makeup and dressed in a bright red suit, shouted eagerly under the spotlight: "Moreover, this time we wele new challengers!"
"Ta-da-da-da!"
The host knelt on one knee and pointed grandly toward a particular darkness.
With this gesture, five beams of spotlight descended from the sky and illuminated the people.
Among them was the Rabbit Girl in a black rabbit costume, Laplace in a Silver Fox costume... and also Angel, Glaipnir, and Luigi.
Angel’s expression was calm; he had seen Laplace’s experience before, so he was familiar with the prelude to this petition.
Glaipnir seemed not to like the bright lights in the darkness, squinting her eyes and remaining silent.
Only Luigi greatly enjoyed this feeling of being "in the spotlight"... although he couldn’t see the audience, he heard the waves of cheers in the darkness, making him feel as if he was really standing on a stage for tens of thousands. As a performer, he loved these cheers.
Even though Luigi couldn’t move right now, he had already put on a professional smile, nodding to the darkness around him.
If anyone could hear Luigi’s thoughts at this moment, they would probably be shocked. Because the little figure in his mind was excitedly shouting: "More warmth, yes, just like that; sound waves, cheers! Spin, dance, woohoo~"
Luigi was probably the only one here who enjoyed the spotlight.
After the loud applause from the audience, the host started the routine: "Each challenger can choose a code name for themselves."
The matter of code names had already been discussed among the group. Code names can basically be determined and should be related to the costume, so it’s best to choose the most suitable costume according to the demand of the track.
Luigi was the first to speak: "Red-tailed Frog."
The Red-tailed Frog is a mon animal. Its overall form is similar to a regular frog, with the difference being it has a slender tail similar to a rat’s tail.
The Red-tailed Frog, also known as the Red-tailed Frog, has the thinnest tail among frogs.
Luigi chose Red-tailed Frog as his code name because the tail is slender and long, allowing him to easily bind himself to the Illusionary Dolphin... of course, he’s not binding the dolphin to keep it from moving, but to maintain his own balance.
According to Luigi, to give a perfect performance, action design is definitely required.
If he doesn’t fix himself well with the Illusionary Dolphin, he’s afraid he’ll fall into the Silver Ocean halfway through the performance, which would be disastrous.
Besides that, another reason Luigi chose Red-tailed Frog as a code name is that its hands, or rather its forelimbs, have noticeable broken webs. It can be understood as having one finger not connected with the others.
The Red-tailed Frog’s fingers are round in front and long at the back, resembling a "microphone." Although Luigi can no longer play the harp, he hopes to have a microphone assist in his performance, even if it won’t amplify the sound.
No one objected to Luigi’s choice; overall, the Red-tailed Frog is quite light, and the ring of fire track poses no significant danger, allowing Luigi to follow his own ideas.
The host had no objections either, shouted enthusiastically, "Wele challenger Red-tailed Frog," and then looked at the others.
Glaipnir was the second to speak; she chose the code name: "White Bear."
It’s not because Angel previously dressed her in the White Bear costume that she chose White Bear. Rather, it’s likely that the White Bear costume is thicker and heavier, and when taming beasts, if bitten, it will surely provide better protection than lighter costumes.
Additionally, the White Bear costume’s hands are quite flexible and won’t affect her use of the whip... as long as she’s allowed to use it.
White Bear is a very mon beast, and many circuses also keep bears for performances, so this code name faced no objections either.
Lastly, the host looked at Angel: "Let’s see the final challenger; what choice will his code name be?"
Angel: "Black Cat."
Angel’s choice criteria had only one: agility.
Cat costumes are obviously agile-type; he chose "Black" Cat because everyone’s code name involved a color, and he didn’t want to be the odd one out, so adding a bit of color was necessary.
As for the cat’s color, as long as it’s not the orange of the heavy-orange cats, Angel is fine with it.
While answering, he thought of Luna, Qi Li’s "Gloomy Night Grim Cat," whose mimicry is a standard black cat. So, he casually said Black Cat.
"All challengers have their code names: Silver Fox, Black Rabbit, Red-tailed Frog, White Bear, and Black Cat! These are the lineups for this relay race. Are Sunshine Circus’s loyal audience looking forward to this lineup?" The host’s voice carried extraordinary appeal; even though most of the audience didn’t know the new challengers, they still enthusiastically shouted.
"It seems the audience can’t wait to see the performances from these challengers, but, before this performance, I will make a brief introduction for each of you." The host looked at everyone, with an unnoticeable slyness in his eyes.
Everyone felt a sense of impending doom.
Previously, when Laplace and the Rabbit Girl had their solo races, the host said nothing, but now he suddenly wanted to make introductions—does this mean... there’s a change?
The host smiled slightly: "The relay race is divided into five tracks; each track can only have one player, and the same player cannot go on stage twice."
"The players who have not appeared will wait there." The host pointed his finger at the sky.
Following the host’s finger, they looked and saw beams of spotlight in the air about fifty meters up, revealing five parallel floating seats.
Each seat had a vividly carved animal statue on its back, clearly representing everyone’s code name.
In front of the seats was a long table that included all five seats.
"All players who have not yet gone on stage will sit there. There, you can municate, exchange, or trade... Oh, the exchange and trade here is limited to gifts given by the audience. Other items are not exchangeable."
Audience gifts? The others looked puzzled. Is this relay race so plicated, with audience gifts?
Angel silently mused in his heart: Is this what the holographic tablet refers to as... gift-giving?
Live streaming gift-giving?
Angel’s expression was subtle. Previously, he would at most just think secretly or make a slight sarcastic ment, but as he got to know more about the Wonderland of Dreams, he increasingly felt that this Wonderland was quite trendy.
Or rather, this trend leans more toward the trends of Earth’s civilization.
Instances, linkage instances, forced plot deaths, clearance rewards, and now gift-giving. Each seems like a mere mechanism on its own, but when bined, they bee quite interesting.
One can be considered a coincidence, but can multiple ones bined still be a coincidence?
Angel silently pondered in his heart, wondering why such a situation would arise. He didn’t believe it was a coincidence. The only possible answer was that he had grasped the most core authority——the Ability Tree. And the Ability Tree was rooted deep within his Mind Space. Perhaps because of this, the Ability Tree began to merge with his own thoughts and personality, resulting in an Angel-styled Ability Tree.
And possibly all the authorities on the Ability Tree, more or less, were influenced by Angel’s style, resulting in some subtle transmutations.
Is the Wonderland of Dreams a product of such changes?
Angel inexplicably had a feeling that this conjecture might just be the answer.
That said... now that there’s a relay race appearing in the Wonderland, even he is forcibly pulled into it, and the ultimate culprit is actually himself?
Thinking of this, Angel’s mood grew inexplicably plicated.
Looking at the people around him, Angel silently thought... conjecture, conjecture. Even if it were true, there was no evidence. In the future, no matter who says it, except for Jon, Angel would consider it a conjecture... this is also to avoid being the scapegoat if any big shots get trapped in the Wonderland.
While Angel was silently contemplating, the host spoke again: "The rules for the multi-person relay race are certainly different from the solo speed race. Each race will be scored by the audience, with a full score of 20 points."
"As for the scoring method, you can look there—" the host pointed to the sky again.
A new spotlight lit up, revealing two rows of ten neon lights each under it. These neon lights were just about ten meters away from the suspended seats, close enough for them to see clearly.
"Each lit neon light represents one point. The scoring rule is based on the enthusiasm of the audience—the more enthusiastic, the higher the score!"
As the host said this, he gave an example, skillfully and humorously telling several jokes. Though the jokes seemed cold to the crowd, the audience inexplicably bought it, giving out enthusiastic cheers.
Meanwhile, the neon lights began to light up one by one, finally reaching eighteen lights.
The host then chuckled and said to the challengers, "See, that represents eighteen points. Each race will be scored, and the total score must exceed 75 points for the relay race to be successful."
"If it’s below 75 points, your challenge will fail. The punishment for failing... hehe, Black Rabbit and Silver Fox should know, you can ask them later."
Upon hearing this, everyone couldn’t help but curse internally.
If it were just about clearing the race, that would be fine. But now, even the relay race checks scores?!
Undoubtedly, this score refers to the so-called degree of exploration. Each track accounts for 20% exploration; reaching a total exploration of 75% means each track needs an average exploration of 15%.
In other words, while pleting the race, they also have to do their best to please the audience?!
This is definitely not easy.
Angel looked at the crowd, and besides Luigi, everyone’s expressions became serious, especially Laplace, whose face was so gloomy it seemed like it might drip water.
This was the first time Angel saw such an emotion on this treacherous woman.
Looking at her appearance, it was clear that she regretted it. Had she known about the scoring mechanism in the relay race, she definitely wouldn’t have chosen it.
She would rather stay in Sunshine Circus with Rabbit Girl, waiting for someone to clear it solo in the future so they could leave too. As for whether it would take a long time, it doesn’t matter... she’s been floating in the Sea of Void Mirror for so many years, could she not bear the solitude?
But now, it’s too late to say anything about regret.
She’s already agreed to the relay race, and since everyone has been pulled into Sunshine Circus by her, they’re all in the same boat, and regret now is impossible.
Since there’s no turning back, Laplace can only think about how to achieve a 15% exploration.
She chose the swamp track, and slightly forted herself, as when she first cleared the swamp track, she achieved a 14% exploration. If switched to audience scoring, that’s 14 points, just one point shy of the passing line.
However, based on the information she had, it’s easier to gain exploration in the solo speed race, and harder in the multi-person relay race. Considering this, her exploration on the swamp track, which seems to be 14%, might even drop some.
Is there any way to increase exploration?
Pleasing the audience? A performance?... Forget it. Better to discuss with Luigi later, and let him score full marks to make up for some low scores.
While Laplace was calculating Luigi in her heart, the host continued: "By the way, I mentioned earlier that the audience can send gifts, and the value of these gifts corresponds to a certain score. And these scores are extra scores, which are exchangeable~ So, challengers with low scores can ask higher-scoring challengers for gifts, bringing them closer to 75 points~"
The host finished with a serious expression: "However, I believe your pursuit is not just 75 points, but full marks, or even exceeding full marks!"
"Now, let the audience see your strengths!"
With that, the spotlight above the host disappeared, and he himself faded into the dark.
Angel knew that the host should have left the glass box by now and headed to the outside world, while they remained in the scenery within the glass box.
The curtain of darkness slowly lifted, and as it did, they ascended into the air.
During the ascent, costumes began to appear on them. Just as they had guessed, the costumes were themed according to their codenames.
Luigi wore a red long-tailed frog costume, and together with his lush green hair, it created an indescribably absurd look.
Glaipnir’s White Bear costume indeed looked very solid in defense, giving a bit of an adorable impression from the back, but from the front... that shaking old face and plump, furry body seemed quite strange.
Angel himself... was odd too. Because he chose the Black Cat, he was dressed in a tight-fitting, black, furry suit, with an upturned tail at the back.
Though agile, with paw pads on both hands and feet, it was somewhat embarrassing.
Laplace and Rabbit Girl, having experienced this once before, were something the crowd was used to seeing in the Illusionary Realm, so they seemed relatively more normal than a few others.
Setting aside these disforts, the crowd arrived at the floating seats in the high sky.
According to the animal statues, they each took their seats.
After seating, the dark curtain was pletely lifted, revealing the first track: Knife Mountain track!
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