He Gu’s cold sweat began to pour as he stared at the hammer hovering just above his head.

He had only turned his head for 2 seconds, not even a full 2 seconds!

In such a short span of time, the puppet had moved nearly 25 meters and appeared right behind him!

Had He Gu been even a fraction slower, or merely blinked, that hammer would have likely crashed down on the back of his head!

Now, with the hammer within arm’s reach, He Gu’s body stiffened slightly as he slowly sidestepped to the left to avoid it.

Throughout the ordeal, He Gu was on high alert, not daring to blink.

At such close quarters, a single blink might bring the hammer down!

So there he stood, facing the puppet with eyes slightly squinted to reduce blinking, and began to shuffle step by step to the left.

Fortunately, there were rooms behind him, and no matter where he moved, he could always find himself in front of another door.

Quickly, He Gu sidestepped a dozen meters to the left, creating a safe distance from the puppet once more.

Continuing to face the puppet, He Gu carefully pulled out his phone from his pocket, held it up, turned on the camera, and used the front-facing lens to observe the sign above the door behind him.

The square sign above the door was orange at the moment.

He Gu slowly regulated his breathing, watching the sign on the phone screen while keeping an eye on the puppet, waiting in silence.

The color of the sign was random, it could turn purple any second.

All He Gu needed was for the sign to turn purple, and he could dash through the door!

However, after waiting for two to three minutes at the door, the sign remained stubbornly orange, never changing.

During this time, He Gu couldn’t help but blink twice, and the puppet was now only about 5 meters away!

Anxiety began to gnaw at He Gu.

This waiting game wasn’t a solution. What if the sign didn’t change for several more minutes?

Without specialized training, it was impossible for a person to avoid blinking for a prolonged period!

Left with no choice, He Gu tried blinking one eye at a time, allowing each eye to rest in turn.

But after a few minutes, He Gu realized that although this method ensured one eye was always on the puppet, his eyes began to ache and tear up, making him want to blink.

This was not a sustainable solution!

And so, He Gu spent nearly ten minutes in front of that door.

During that time, He Gu noticed something odd—the sign above this door hadn’t changed color in ten minutes!

In the meantime, he saw the other signs changing colors several times!

With no other option, He Gu kept an eye on the puppet while slowly moving to the left, using his phone as a “rearview mirror” to check the colors of the other signs.

Just then, He Gu spotted the sign above the neighboring door turning purple—a great opportunity!

His spirit lifted, but he dared not turn his back, as the puppet was too close, and turning around might mean getting hit on the head with the hammer.

Reluctantly, He Gu moved sideways like a crab, keeping his eyes on the puppet while using his phone to navigate, quickly approaching the door with the purple sign.

He Gu soon reached the door, once again creating some distance from the puppet.

Taking a deep breath, he spun around, grabbed the doorknob, and twisted it forcefully.

“Click!”

The door opened.

In that instant, He Gu caught a glimpse of the sign turning orange out of the corner of his eye.

His heart tightened, and without a second thought, he spun around again.

In a flash, He Gu completed the actions of turning around, opening the door, seeing the sign turn orange, and turning back—all within a second.

As He Gu had anticipated, he turned to see the puppet less than half a meter away from him.

Clearly, the puppet was moving faster and faster!

He Gu’s heart pounded, and his brow furrowed deeply.

Something was wrong with these doors!

Although the colors of the signs kept changing, it seemed as if they were toying with him, turning orange whenever he approached!

The puppet’s speed was increasing with each move, and He Gu was trapped, unable to leave.

If this continued, He Gu’s margin for error would shrink until he ultimately met his demise under the puppet’s hammer!

He Gu kept his gaze fixed on the puppet, recalling every detail.

Perhaps there was a pattern to the changing colors of the signs that he had missed?

He Gu carefully thought about the entire process, remembering the rule and hidden message he had seen at the elevator door.

The hidden message said… here, it only cares about the outcome, not the process. Adaptability is the key to survival.

Only the outcome matters, not the process?

Adaptability is the key to survival?

Maybe he had been too rigid in his thinking. Perhaps this challenge required some unconventional methods to break through?

With this in mind, He Gu began to consider “unconventional” solutions.

His greatest pressure wasn’t from the doors, but from the puppet that constantly sought to smash his skull.

Maybe He Gu should change his approach, not rush through the doors, but first find a way to deal with the puppet?

This thought brightened his outlook.

As long as he could see the puppet, it couldn’t move—an easy target that couldn’t fight back!

And with He Gu’s strength far exceeding that of an ordinary person, dealing with a defenseless puppet didn’t seem so difficult, did it?

With this realization, He Gu’s spirits lifted, and he glanced at the puppet less than a meter away.

The next moment, He Gu took a deep breath and delivered a powerful kick to the puppet’s chest.

“Thud!”

A muffled sound echoed.

As He Gu’s foot connected with the puppet, his expression changed dramatically.

The kick felt like it had struck a solid iron wall.

The puppet didn’t budge, and a massive force of recoil traveled up his leg, sending He Gu staggering backward, crashing heavily against the doorframe behind him.

The impact left He Gu disoriented, his right leg in pain and numb, barely able to stand.

After catching his breath, He Gu gritted his teeth and glared at the unmoved puppet, feeling a surge of frustration.

Clearly, taking down the puppet with his bare hands was unlikely!

After a moment’s thought, He Gu tried to snatch the hammer from the puppet’s hand, hoping to use it to smash the puppet.

But the hammer might as well have been fused to the puppet’s hand; despite his great effort, He Gu couldn’t remove it.

Maybe he was thinking about this all wrong. Instead of trying to destroy the puppet, he should find another way to deal with it?

Like throwing it into a room and locking the door?

With that thought, He Gu stepped forward to try and lift the puppet.

But it was as if the puppet was welded to the floor, immovable!

Finally, He Gu tried various methods, such as applying a mixture of four types of blood to the puppet’s forehead or splashing it with a blue liquid that was lethal to shadows.

However, all attempts were futile, nothing had any effect.

In the end, He Gu felt helpless, growing irritated at the changing colors of the signs.

“Damn it, why does it have to be purple? If I had an orange level access, which door couldn’t I enter!?” He Gu complained in frustration.

As the words left his mouth, He Gu suddenly felt his shadow on his back squirm twice, as if nodding in agreement.

Could this be the real solution?

“But my purple level is fake, where can I get an orange level…”

He Gu stopped mid-sentence, his expression turning peculiar as he sized up the puppet’s orange uniform…