Chapter 664: Road to recovery
Chapter 664: Road to recovery
The ride continued on, with Reed basically having half of his eyes closed and clinging onto his seatbelt as if his life depended on it.
He missed a lot of the features, including the whirlpool that took them to the very bottom of the floor and even the last ’fight’ scene with the Leviathan before they reached the exit.
He only opened his eyes when he saw that they exited out of Cthulhu’s mouth, with the bright rays of the sun finally illuminating them once again.
Reed never thought that he would welcome the sight of the surface world compared to water, but this ride made him become aquaphobic.
“Well done, heroes. You have saved the pearl in the shell. My thanks is forever yours.”
Cthulhu’s voice echoed out, thanking them for the ride before they descended down the rails and returned to the base.
Once they came to a stop and the seatbelts came loose, Reed immediately jumped out of the ride and plopped onto the ground, short of breath and his face as pale as snow.
“Haa… Haa….”
Juniper and the others slowly walked out of their seats as well, still reeling from this unique experience. They felt as if they had just come from a grand adventure deep in the oceans, encountering the beauty of the deep sea as well as the monsters that lurked within.
The dark atmosphere, the eerie sounds of the deep ocean, the salty cold water, and even the Leviathan… everything came together to create this unbelievable experience that couldn’t be explained to anyone without them having to experience it themselves.
They could hardly believe that someone was able to think of this concept, much less make it.
Juniper, in particular, could only look up at the grandiosity of the whole ride. Surprisingly enough, she enjoyed every single bit of that ride.
And it looks like she wasn’t the only one.
She looked at Nixie, who stayed in her seat, ready for another round.
“Again!” Nixie muttered in excitement. There was pure joy and glee in the child’s face.
Juniper could hardly believe that she was looking at the same mermaid child that was on the brink of death. Now, Nixie just looked like any other child excited to play a game.
She moved towards Nixie, grabbing her wrist and checking her pulse.
Badump… badump…
Her heart rate was healthy—healthier than it had ever been her entire life. It was beating loudly enough for Juniper to even hear it!
“Amazing,” she muttered. “This rollercoaster has strengthened her Dao Heart!”
She took a step back, unable to properly express the magnitude of this accomplishment.
This had never happened before. There were some Beastfolks who miraculously recovered from their curse, but that was because they were able to survive a rigorous training regiment meant specifically to strengthen their Dao Heart.
Even then, Juniper heard that the success rate of that whole process was less than one percent. Sinclair considered it dangerous, and made a vow to not condone such actions.
Of course, people still did it through pure desperation.
But now, Michael seemed to have found a safe way to properly strengthen a Dao Heart. All those afflicted with the curse no longer had to gamble their lives to cure their disease!
“Oh, my sweet daughter!”
Nixie’s mother dashed to hug Nixie, amazed at her total transformation. She was so focused on her daughter that she didn’t even notice that her husband was throwing up on a trash can due to ride sickness.
Eventually, Reed recovered enough and returned to his family’s side.
“Miss Juniper… this is a miracle!” he rejoiced.
“It is,” Juniper replied. “If she continues to strengthen her Dao Heart at this rate, then she’d completely get rid of the curse in a year.”
Reed and his wife immediately beamed up at such good news. All the verdicts they’d heard throughout this whole affair were pessimistic estimates of their daughter’s lifespan. But now, for the first time ever, someone was giving them a time estimate to her full recovery!
“Dad… mom… again!” she said, looking at them with anticipation.
“Okay!” Reed replied. He was going to camp on this rollercoaster for an entire year if he had to.
He then turned towards Michael, giving him a big hug.
“Thank you! Thank you! You don’t know what this means to me. I am ready to give my life to you in exchange for letting my daughter recover in this rollercoaster!”
Michael scratched his head awkwardly. “It’s nothing,” he replied. “I’m just happy that I can help Nixie.”
“You did more than just that,” Reed insisted. “You saved her life. You saved mine. You saved my family’s. I’ll give you all of my life in return.”
Basically, Michael was being offered to get Reed’s entire wealth and his belongings just because of their gratitude towards him for curing their daughter.
That was a lot of Sand Dollars. He’d practically be rich in terms of Soo drops.
However, he just wouldn’t feel right taking advantage of vulnerable parents like Reed.
“Instead of paying me back, I have a little favor that I want you to fulfill,” he said to Reed. “I want you to spread the word about the rollercoaster. I want more mermen to know that this is the place where they can have their Dao Hearts stimulated without the drawbacks.”
Reed wasn’t just a wealthy merman. He was also influential and well-known amongst the mermen community. Just one word from him would be enough to get their attention.
If this roller coaster got his seal of approval, then many mermen would believe the rollercoaster’s properties almost immediately.
This was his true goal.
He didn’t just want to earn Reed’s Sand Dollars. He wanted every mermen to cycle their money through him.
He might have rejected a lot of Sand Dollars right now, but that would be nothing compared to the potential income he would get if thousands upon thousands of mermen would visit his theme park every day.
There was once a famous saying back in his old world.
Give a man a fish, and he will live for a day. But teach a man to fish, and he will live for a lifetime.
Michael wanted to learn how to ’fish’. He wanted to attract as much mermen into the Nation of Reborn as possible. That was the only thing he was going to get a steady stream of Sand Dollars coming his way.
And as a businessman himself, Reed seemed to understand Michael’s intentions very clearly.
“You have a bright future ahead of you,” praised Reed. “I shall do as you say and invite as many Mermen into this place as possible.
However, that really isn’t a favor to you. It’s more of a favor to me and my fellow mermen. There are going to be a lot of other people cursed with a weak Dao Heart that could be saved with this roller coaster. It is my duty to lead them here and have them gain hope just as I have.
So aside from that, I shall also give you 100,000 Sand Dollars now, and 10,000 more every month as compensation to let me and my family stay in your Nation as we go through Nixie’s recovery.”