Shortly after Jiang Hao left, Shen Fei left as well.

He had never had a favorable impression of Bai Youwei, and now that Tan Xiao was here with her, he saw no reason to awkwardly hover around her. He went back to find his brother.

Bai Youwei braced herself on both crutches and, with some effort, finally climbed to the top of the clock tower.

The view from the top floor was extraordinarily wide-open — the entire amusement park spread out below, and a telescope was mounted in each direction for visitors to take in the scenery.

Bai Youwei trained a telescope toward the carousel and looked carefully.

At the top of the carousel, Mary and the cat were sleeping peacefully.

The cat was far more conspicuous than Mary.

Called a stuffed cat, it truly was a stuffed cat — not the cat breed called a “ragdoll” that Bai Youwei had imagined, but a cat stitched together from patterned fabric and stuffed with cotton. Its body was a riot of colors, patched together from all manner of fabrics; its eyes were made from buttons, its whiskers from springs, and it had no teeth, no sharp claws. It was hard to imagine that this cat had killed so many people.

As for Mary, she was a girl of about twelve or thirteen, sleeping soundly on top of the cat.

She had a head of beautiful golden curls, tied into two pigtails that sat atop her head like a pair of fluffy golden cotton-candy puffs.

Her dress was pink with white lace trim; the puffed skirt was decorated with satin ribbon bows, paired with pink-and-white checkered stockings, and on her feet she wore a pair of red leather shoes. She also carried a rag doll shoulder bag — the entire look was childlike and innocent, as vivid as a real person.

Bai Youwei finished observing Mary and the cat, adjusted the telescope angle, and looked toward the other side.

Yan Qingwen’s traps were gradually taking shape.

Given the limited time and materials available, he had set up mechanism traps along several paths near the carousel. The traps weren’t especially elaborate, but they should be able to inflict some damage or at least slow the cat down.

Shen Mo, Yu Yaqing, and the others were all helping.

Jiang Hao had returned as well — he was among the group.

Evidently feeling that now wasn’t the best time to kill and loot, he had temporarily sheathed his fangs and showed no sign of anything unusual.

The sky was growing dim. The hands of the clock tower were slowly moving toward six o’clock.

Bai Youwei surveyed the entire area around the carousel, forming a rough picture in her mind, then braced herself on her crutches and slowly made her way downstairs.

Tan Xiao offered to carry her on his back, but she wasn’t interested, and made her way down at her own leisurely pace. She was about a third of the way down when Shen Mo came to meet her.

“All ready?” she asked.

“Yes, all ready,” he answered.

She put away her crutches, and he carried her on his back. Before nightfall, the two of them entered a gift shop on Fantasy Street, and through the window, quietly watched the distant carousel.

When the clock hands reached six, the clock tower rang out — a clear, resonant clang!

Night descended, and the entire sky turned pitch-black.

Then, as if the amusement park had suddenly come alive, a dazzling blaze of colored lights burst on, and music came flooding in like a tide! Every building was ablaze with light!

Including the gift shop where Bai Youwei and Shen Mo were hiding!

The two looked at each other in astonishment.

This was completely unexpected.

With light everywhere, shadowy corners were exposed, and many hiding places were no longer concealed.

Shen Mo’s brow creased. He swiftly moved Bai Youwei behind the checkout counter, then concealed himself behind the curtains.

Through the glass window, he saw the entire amusement park come alive with noise and spectacle.

The roller coaster screamed through the air, the carousel swayed to the music, the Ferris wheel blazed with a dazzling riot of colored lights — and every mannequin and doll that had stood motionless was now, seemingly, imbued with life. They swayed and wobbled, lining up in long queues, following behind the amusement park’s float procession — marching, in a grand parade.

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