Proofreader & Editor:Peter Pan
Lin Baici noticed the billboard too, but ever since he became wealthy, he no longer cared about such small change. Besides, this was meant to be leisure and entertainment; using the powers of the Gourmet God to clear the game would be an overkill.
Qian Hui looked at Lin Baici: "It's not about whether it's free or not. I can treat everyone. The key point is the record. I want to refresh it! Come on, Old Bai, it's time for your show!"
Lin Baici shook his head, uninterested.
"Don't chase after too much, just be happy!"
Ji Xinyan wanted to say, are you guys sick?
Most guys come here to invite girls to join them, hoping to spend more time in the escape room. Even if they can't foster any feelings, being with a fragrant girl is a pleasant thing. But you two, one is shouting about breaking records, and the other, without a word, I haven't even fully checked the props in my room, and you've already broken through four levels.
What a lack of gaming experience!
Ji Xinyan didn't care about breaking records; she just wanted to spend more time with Lin Baici in the escape room. Maybe by using the suspension bridge effect, she could make him develop a liking for her.
Sigh!
That's why this kind of game is best played by two people.
Fang Mingyuan didn't care; he preferred basketball over such games. Hu Wenwu thought Lin Baici was amazing, but he still wanted to compete, especially since Ji Xinyan and Bai Jiao were in the group.
Men, after all, want to show off in front of beautiful girls.
Pei Fei pushed Lin Baici into the next escape room: "Stop wasting time, hurry up! Now that we've saved money, we can have a good meal tonight!"
"If you want to play to your heart's content, just wait here for Zhang Zhixu and the others." Lin Baici reminded them, implying that he was ready to clear the levels quickly.
"…"
Bai Jiao felt Lin Baici was too arrogant. There were still five levels left, and she didn't believe he could clear each one in five minutes.
So Bai Jiao followed.
In terms of IQ, this girl, whose skin was fairer than many other girls, was also very confident. So she planned to find the answer first in the next level and beat Lin Baici.
After everyone entered the room, the hidden staff quickly came out and closed the door, creating a tense atmosphere of the escape room.
Beep!
A whistle sounded in the room, and then the lights 'clicked' off, plunging the area into darkness.
"Ah!"
Ji Xinyan screamed, lunging to the left, and then hugging someone. She knew Lin Baici was there.
"Damn, what happened?"
Qian Hui shouted.
"Xinyan, are you okay?"
Pei Fei was also worried.
"Don't panic, I have a lighter!"
Fang Mingyuan shouted, and a few seconds later, with a click, he lit a lighter.
A flame lit up, casting a dim red glow around, but soon everyone turned on their phone flashlights.
"Damn!"
Fang Mingyuan felt embarrassed. How could he forget about the flashlight?
But he was quick-witted and immediately complained: "This way, there's no sense of horror!"
Hu Wenwu saw Ji Xinyan hugging Lin Baici, her chest pressed against her roommate's arm, and he was envious.
The room was the size of a study, with a floor lamp as tall as a person. The white lampshade had a red English word written on it.
The walls were adorned with photos, portraits, and a dried moose head mounted on the north wall, all very ordinary items. But the walls were covered with irregularly shaped English words like dead, cry, crazy, written in dark red paint, like fresh blood.
Besides, there were some creepy patterns, like a clown face with a half-cry, half-laugh.
On the floor, there was a pentagram magic circle with the number 666 in the center, as if it had been written by someone on the brink of death, and combined with the dark environment and the flashlight beams, it was quite scary.
"I know, in the West, 666 is an unlucky number, representing evil, symbolizing the devil!"
Because the light was dim, Hu Wenwu felt less socially anxious and boldly spoke up.
"Symbolizing the devil Satan, right?"
Pei Fei had studied astrology and tarot cards.
"Can these candles be lit?"
Fang Mingyuan saw several candles around the magic circle and thought the clue to escape might be on them.
"Then what are you waiting for?"
Bai Jiao urged.
The competition had already begun.
Lin Baici watched Fang Mingyuan light the candles and felt sentimental. If this were in God's Ruins with rules tainted, just the act of lighting candles could have killed several people.
As the candlelight flared up, Bai Jiao immediately widened her eyes, searching for clues, constantly changing positions to observe from different angles.
Ji Xinyan wasn't interested in solving puzzles, so she followed Lin Baici: "Any discoveries?"
"Mm, I have some ideas!" Lin Baici nodded.
Everyone turned their attention to him upon hearing this.
Bai Jiao's mouth twitched, thinking Lin Baici was bluffing. Everyone had just entered for less than two minutes, and you've found the key point?
I don't believe it!
Lin Baici stood still, shining his flashlight on each wall and the floor decorations. After a few glances, without waiting for Lin Baici to answer or asking, they continued to rack their brains.
Except for Ji Xinyan, it was everyone's first time playing this kind of escape room game. They found it very fresh and honestly wanted to prove their intelligence.
After pondering for a short while, Lin Baici walked to the north wall, then looked down at the fist-sized square floor tiles, counted them, and stepped on one.
He stomped hard with his foot, no response, then took a few steps and tried another tile. This time, when he stomped, he could clearly feel it was hollow underneath.
"Got it!"
Lin Baici crouched down and pried up the floor tile.
Ji Xinyan's face was full of astonishment, her eyes wide open because beneath the wooden tile, there was a small box.
On top of the small box was a combination lock requiring a three-digit code.
Lin Baici fiddled with it a few times.
Click!
The small box opened, revealing a key.
"Wow!"
Ji Xinyan's exclamation was genuine surprise. She couldn't help but look at Lin Baici's face.
So handsome? And so smart?
Please, leave some room for other men!
"Your turn to unlock?"
Lin Baici smiled slightly and handed the key to Ji Xinyan.
"Okay!"
Ji Xinyan took the key, ran to the door, inserted it into the keyhole, and turned it three times. With a click, the door opened.
Soft light immediately flooded into the room, dispelling the darkness.
Swoosh!
Qian Hui and the others, who were intently searching for clues, looked up in shock.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please!"
Ji Xinyan stood at the door, bowed slightly, and extended her right hand in a 'please' gesture.
"…"
Everyone was dumbfounded, instinctively looking at Lin Baici.
"Damn, Old Bai, you're too awesome!"
Qian Hui exclaimed.
"Weren't you busy dating all through high school? Otherwise, with your brains, why would you come to Haijing Polytechnic?"
Pei Fei was shocked.
Haijing Polytechnic is quite good, a top 10 prestigious school in Haijing, but Pei Fei obviously thought Lin Baici should have gone to Tsinghua or Peking University.
"Big class leader, from today on, I'm your dog!"
Fang Mingyuan said, even barking twice to lighten the mood, making everyone laugh, but inside, they were all filled with awe.
Especially Bai Jiao, a huge sense of defeat surged in her chest.
This wasn't about beating Lin Baici anymore; she didn't even qualify to compete.
What was this?
A total wipeout!
Hu Wenwu shook his head, looking dejected.
"Class leader, explain the puzzle?" Ji Xinyan timely played the straight man, like a detective revealing the murderer's method at the climax of the play.
"This room is made to be distracting, and the lack of light is all to divert the players' attention. The real clues are hidden among those English words!" Lin Baici explained.
"Words?"
Everyone pointed their phones at the words on the walls.
"Doesn't it look like elements used to create atmosphere in horror movies?"
Lin Baici asked with a smile.
"Yeah!"
Ji Xinyan often watched such movies. American, Japanese, and Thai horror films all liked to use certain elements to scare people.
Like bloody handprints, shadows, strange sounds, and so on.
"If you think that way, you've fallen into the trap of the escape room designer. Take a closer look at those words!"
Lin Baici reminded.
Everyone immediately scrutinized them.
"I don't get it, Old Bai, just tell us!"
Qian Hui was too lazy to think.
But before Lin Baici could answer, Bai Jiao shouted.
"I get it!"
Bai Jiao had an epiphany: "Some words are missing letters, like this 'lugh,' it should be 'laugh,' right?"
"Mm!" Lin Baici nodded.
With a lead, Bai Jiao immediately looked at the other words: "These common words are all missing a letter. If you rearrange these letters, could they form a new word?"
"And that word is the clue?"
Bai Jiao finished and looked at Lin Baici.
"Yes, the words formed are 'north,' 'floor,' 'two,' 'six,' and 'Inverted.'"
Lin Baici looked at Bai Jiao and asked with a smile, "Do you know what that means?"
"North is north, floor is the floor, indicating the clue is on the floor near the north wall. 'Two' and 'six' represent coordinates!"
Bai Jiao looked down; those two numbers should represent a certain floor tile, either the second row sixth tile or the sixth row second tile.
"Smart!"
Lin Baici applauded. Bai Jiao's thinking was indeed agile.
Bai Jiao smiled bitterly. If she had found this on her own, she would have been very proud and happy for half a year. But the problem was, this was after Lin Baici had given her a hint.
"Great, Bai Jiao is smarter than me!"
Ji Xinyan was frustrated, but after looking around and seeing everyone's thoughtful expressions, she felt comfortable again because the majority were still ordinary people.
And I don't rely on IQ for a living!
Right, Don't compare that!
"This level is a bit tricky, 'north,' 'floor,' and the numbers are all common English words that elementary students understand, but that 'Inverted,' many people don't know!"
Bai Jiao commented.
The word meant inverted.
"Where is the clue for that?"
Bai Jiao asked for advice.
"You're right, I saw that word and…"
Lin Baici shook the small box in his hand and tossed it to Bai Jiao: "Then I figured it out!"
Everyone came over to observe the box, which had a combination lock requiring a three-digit code.
"There's already 666 on the floor, and this lock needs a three-digit code, plus the word 'Inverted,' which means inverted, so the password is self-explanatory!"
Lin Baici explained.
"What's self-explanatory?"
Qian Hui didn't understand.
That one sentence let Bai Jiao know that Qian Hui must have gotten into Haijing Polytechnic through connections.
"The password is 999!"
Hu Wenwu added, showing a look of admiration.
Can't beat him! Can't beat him!
Utterly convinced!
"Quick, quick, the next escape room. Today, our class leader will break the record!"
Pei Fei pushed Lin Baici towards the next escape room: "Class leader, as long as you break the record, at tonight's dinner, let Bai Jiao and Xinyan sit next to you and serve you tea!"
"Don't be polite with them, treat them like maids!"
Bai Jiao knew Pei Fei was joking. If it had been before, she would have scoffed at the idea. So far, no man had the right to make her serve tea, but after experiencing the escape room, Bai Jiao's pride was shattered a bit.
Serving tea to Lin Baici wasn't out of the question.
Ji Xinyan was completely numb.
No, please!
I've been interested in this man since the day of school registration. I was first!
Lin Baici, stop being so outstanding.
She really wanted to tell Lin Baici.
Brother, brother, Girls like Bai Jiao only like geniuses. I'm different; I just like you as a person!
In the next four levels, Lin Baici took just 25 minutes to clear them, putting on a dazzling show.
***
"Let's go! Hurry!"
Pei Fei excitedly dragged Lin Baici to the service desk, happy to have saved 900 yuan today.
Delightful!
Although the tickets were half-price group buys on online store, free was obviously better.
"We broke the record."
Pei Fei was somewhat reserved and didn't shout out "refund the money."
"Ah?"
The female receptionist was shocked, instinctively turning to glance at the clock on the wall.
These people were group buyers, and with a few handsome men and beautiful women, she remembered them clearly. From the time they entered the first escape room until now, it was less than an hour.
She had just seen these people and thought the levels were too difficult, they couldn't find the clues, and didn't want to play anymore. There were such people before who didn't want to be tortured and came out early, but she didn't expect these people to have broken the record?
Could it be fake?
"You can ask the staff!"
Ji Xinyan was better at handling such situations than Pei Fei.
"Wait, I'll make a call!"
The receptionist called the staff to confirm that these people had indeed broken the record, and she was dumbfounded.
"Please wait!"
The receptionist quickly called the boss to report the situation.
"They won't refuse to refund, will they?"
Pei Fei was worried.
"If she doesn't refund, I'll have someone slam this store online until it goes out of business!"
It must be said, Qian Hui had money, and his words carried weight.
The receptionist couldn't help but glance at Qian Hui, thinking he thought he was some kind of domineering CEO.