As He Gu stared helplessly at his laptop.
***
Blue Star.
China's Paranormal Event Command Center.
When everyone saw He Gu obtain the third notebook on the big screen, a wave of excitement surged through them.
However, they all knew that without the "password," having the decryption text alone was useless.
"Da Hai, extract the text from this notebook from the recording and try to decrypt it with the previous texts," someone commanded.
Da Hai, sitting in a corner, nodded, "I'm already retrieving the text information."
After speaking, Da Hai sighed, "It's a pity we no longer have any hints to offer He Gu, even if we decipher it."
Someone nearby chuckled bitterly, "There's nothing we can do. Almost every instance has insufficient hints. We can only offer limited help; challengers mostly have to rely on themselves."
"Let's decipher it first. At least we'll know what's going on, and be mentally prepared."
Another person chuckled bitterly, "That might not be a good thing. Knowing the truth in advance might make watching the live broadcast even more nerve-wracking."
"Ah, be content. At least He Gu is doing well. We're in a much better situation than most countries."
"By the way, Whistle, your team has been monitoring all night. How are the other challengers doing?"
On the other side, a thin middle-aged man shook his head and sighed, "It's a disaster, too tragic to watch."
"Last night, almost all the challengers reached the point where they had to confront the manager."
"A few challengers were prepared with hints from their countries, but after killing the manager, they were caught off guard by the security guards who came in and died on the spot."
"Others had it worse, their preparations were too rushed, and without the black cat's blood, they couldn't kill the manager and were counter-killed."
"Those were still the better outcomes. Another small group had used up their official hints in the previous days. They had no idea what happened last night and were unprepared when the manager devoured them…"
As Whistle recounted, everyone's faces grew solemn.
"Damn… the death rate in this instance is terrifying. Did no other challengers survive last night?"
Whistle shook his head, "That's not the case. There are still four who survived."
"Interestingly, these guys are clever. They all received their countries' last hints and discerned clues from the recording 424 left on the radio, which prepared them."
"Two of the challengers, coincidentally, promised to exchange a small piece of medicinal patch and some of their blood with the contents of the boxes. After killing the manager, they turned the tables on the security guards, who were waiting to pounce, with the help of the contents of the boxes."
"However, these two challengers are not in good shape. Exchanging their blood with the contents of the boxes seems to have side effects. Although they survived, half their faces turned ashen, and they look very weak. It's uncertain if they can handle the upcoming dangers."
Whistle paused, seemingly thirsty after staying up all night, and took a sip of water from the cup on the table.
Someone immediately urged, "Come on, spill it all at once! How did the other two survive?"
After gulping down half a glass of water, Whistle continued, "The other two are even more interesting. One is a Thai challenger, a Muay Thai expert, and it seems his talent is also related to combat."
"This guy is fierce. After killing the manager, he went head-to-head with the security guard. It seems the guard's weakness was also the forehead, and he was killed with a knee strike to the forehead! Of course, he was also badly injured, with several broken ribs."
Everyone was amazed, "Awesome, this guy is truly tough!"
Whistle went on, "The last one is the most interesting. His talent seems special, or maybe he's just incredibly intelligent."
"His country had used up their hints earlier, and he didn't receive any key hints about this part. But like He Gu, he deciphered it himself and seemed to have grasped quite a few clues."
"Before taking action, he set up a trap in the warehouse using simple tools and cargo boxes. After killing the manager, he trapped the security guard with the trap and slit his throat with a blade he fashioned from a nail he pried from a box."
***
After this night, including He Gu, only five challengers remained in this instance from various countries.
The night weighed heavily on many nations from top to bottom.
Correspondingly, the viewership of the live broadcast rooms of the remaining five challengers skyrocketed, especially China's, which was the most watched from start to finish.
Of course, as the person of interest, He Gu was unaware of these developments.
After pondering the words on the first page of the last notebook left by 424, He Gu fell asleep without realizing it.
Perhaps due to the exhaustion of the past two days, or the blue pill he had taken at the personnel office, or maybe the medicinal patch he had for dinner.
In any case, He Gu slept deeply, almost wishing to sleep forever without waking.
At 18:00 in the evening, the alarm on He Gu's phone went off on time.
He Gu woke up groggily, sitting on the bed for several seconds before coming to his senses.
Since he had lost his luggage, He Gu couldn't wash up properly and just rinsed his face with his hands.
Then, learning from past experiences, he pocketed everything he could carry to avoid returning to an empty dormitory next time.
After getting ready, He Gu left to get some food.
Remembering 111's warning not to eat at the manager's canteen from Monday to Wednesday, and since today was Monday, He Gu headed to Canteen No. 4 as usual.
Although he couldn't be sure if 111's words were trustworthy, He Gu would always choose the safest option when in doubt.
After dinner at Canteen No. 4, He Gu went straight to the internal warehouse office.
There was still some time before work, and 449 hadn't arrived yet.
He Gu opened the door to Warehouse 44 and meticulously checked inside to prevent 449 from setting a trap or hiding tools.
But as expected, He Gu's search turned up nothing.
Soon, 449 arrived.
Although he knew it was unlikely to find anything, He Gu still thoroughly searched 449.
By then, it was almost dark.
He Gu left the warehouse and headed to his office.
Just arriving at the office area, He Gu noticed that the office to his right had a new occupant.
Where 369 used to sit, there was now a burly man with a fierce face, the very 401 He Gu had glimpsed the night before.
401 saw He Gu and walked straight into his office, saying in a deep voice, "111 sent me to tell you, they'll make their move before midnight, catching you off guard."
Proofreader & Editor:Peter Pan