Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 21

Near the door of room 701, the smell of blood was growing stronger. Three corpses lay nearby, each with a hole torn through their chest. Thick blood flowed from their wounds, gradually creeping towards the door of room 701, even showing signs of seeping into the room.

The side quest “Checks and Balance” seemed like a puzzle about identifying a pattern. The game designer had vividly displayed the puzzle before everyone using the corpses of these three janitors.

On a circular plane, room 701 was at the center. Surrounding it, 12 rooms formed a perfect circle.

Now, the three janitors were labeled as A, B, and C.

Janitor A entered room 12 and died.

Janitor B entered room 1 and died.

Janitor C first went into rooms 6 and 7 safely but died upon entering room 2.

The hints for passing the level were two sentences written on a piece of paper that Zhou Qian obtained by touching a black-and-white photograph. After him, Gao Shan, Yun Xiangrong, Lu Mengmeng, and He Xiaowei also tried touching the photo in succession, but they couldn’t gather any more clues. The only one who hadn’t touched the photo from the beginning was Situ Qing.

“Arithmetic sequence? Geometric sequence?” He Xiaowei, frustrated, exclaimed in room 701 after scribbling down some calculations. “Damn, I can’t solve this puzzle! Also, what do those two sentences mean?”

Beside him, Yun Xiangrong was also drafting calculations on a piece of paper on the floor. While He Xiaowei attempted to find a pattern among the numbers “1” through “12,” Yun Xiangrong drew a diagram of the rooms, trying to connect specific points and draw diagonals. However, in a short span, she couldn’t identify a reliable pattern and frowned in frustration.

Seeing Yun Xiangrong frown, Gao Shan grew concerned. “Even if we can’t find the pattern quickly… rooms 6 and 7 are safe. Let’s check them first for clues, maybe we can find some evidence. We only have one hour left… I’m afraid time is running out.”

He Xiaowei’s eyes lit up. “That’s right, we can go check!”

Yun Xiangrong shook her head, stopping them. “Wait. Let me think…”

She didn’t elaborate further, deeply engrossed in thought, seemingly searching for the key solution, and not yet ready to discuss it with the others.

Lu Mengmeng, who looked pale and frail, slightly opened the door to room 701. “It’s so confusing. Are there any clues outside this room? Should we go out and check?” Upon hearing this, He Xiaowei glanced outside and noticed a faint mist. “What the hell?”

Situ Qing, who had remained silent the entire time, finally spoke. “This is a common tactic of side quests inside the game, just to distract the players. The side quest is to find evidence inside the rooms. When we open one of the 12 rooms, the mist will flow in and hinder our vision. But apart from that, the mist has no other significance.”

“Wow, you really are worthy of being a Rank C player! Miss, not only are you beautiful, but you’re also so skilled! What do you think about this? Why didn’t you touch the photo earlier? What do you think the pattern is?” He Xiaowei’s barrage of questions came to an abrupt halt under Situ Qing’s cold gaze.

With an arrogant tilt of her chin, Situ Qing stated, “My leveling method involves rapidly completing a large number of instances, accumulating experience points in a short time to level up quickly, enhance my combat capabilities, and earn coins. I don’t care about so-called hidden achievements and item rewards. Hence, I usually focus on the main quest and can give up on the side quests depending on the situation.”

She nodded towards the corridor. “If we can’t find a definite pattern, opening any room out of the 12 might lead to us getting shot. On the other hand, if we don’t open any rooms, we won’t die. The side quest is probably related to a hidden achievement. But, as I said, I don’t care. Don’t ask me about ‘identifying patterns’; I’m not interested in math problems. The secret exit from this space might be hidden somewhere on the corridor walls or beneath a floor tile. I’ll go look for it. I only focus on the main quest.”

What Situ Qing said indeed somewhat shook the morale of everyone to a certain extent.

The time limit for the clearance was only an hour, and if the wrong pattern was identified, people could die. But if they held their forces and did nothing, the players would always be safe.

Gao Shan and Yun Xiangrong exchanged glances, both seemingly detecting hesitation in each other’s eyes. But remembering Zhou Qian’s performance in the previous instance, they both turned to look at him.

It would seem out of place if Zhou Qian didn’t do something unexpected.

And indeed, Zhou Qian made a move.

His actions were still eccentric and baffling to the onlookers.

He left Room 701 and headed into the corridor. Surprisingly, he walked towards the cleaning tools casually left on the ground by the three janitors.

Mops, brooms, towels, disinfectants, stain removers, scissors—all sorts of tools were available.

Zhou Qian was rummaging through these tools as if he was searching for something.

Watching him, Uncle He Xiaowei’s eyes lit up.

He Xiaowei immediately approached Zhou Qian and said, “Smart move, bro! Why didn’t I think of that? Right, these tools were brought by NPCs! They must be useful for this side quest! Hahaha… So, did you find any useful tools?”

“No. This blood is really annoying,” Zhou Qian replied. “I just want to clean up.”

He Xiaowei: “…”

Gao and Yun: “…”

After selecting his cleaning tools, the first thing Zhou Qian did was actually spray detergent on the floor and then mop it up.

However, after cleaning the blood off the floor, Zhou Qian found three deformed bullet casings near the three bodies. The casings were badly deformed, with significant cracks in some places, and the broken fragments were nowhere to be found.

After a sniper took a shot from a concealed position, the casing would fall near the muzzle of the gun. Typically, to avoid revealing their location, the sniper would toss the casing elsewhere.

It seemed the gunmen in these 12 rooms had the same trait as snipers. When the bodies were removed from the rooms, they also threw out the bullet casings.

After collecting the three casings, Zhou Qian took out a new towel and squatted next to one of the bodies.

Undoubtedly, Zhou Qian’s actions attracted many people’s attention.

Under their gaze, he carefully pierced the victim’s chest wound with scissors. The body was still warm, and the blood hadn’t cooled.

Blood spurted out as Zhou Qian made the incision. Frowning, Zhou Qian wiped the blood with a towel while pushing the scissors further into the chest.

“What… What are you doing?” He Xiaowei blinked and asked.

After a moment, before Zhou Qian could answer, He Xiaowei saw it.

Zhou Qian extracted a bullet from the victim’s chest.

He kept frowning throughout, only relaxing once he had cleaned the blood off the bullet and sprayed it with disinfectant. It turns out that his frown wasn’t because he was dealing with a corpse but because he despised blood.

Once the bullet was cleaned, the engraved symbol on it became very clear.

It was the letter “S”, a mark resembling a snake.

He Xiaowei, who was close enough to see it, exclaimed, “S?! What does that mean?”

“In Jiang Yuqing’s room, everything is related to ‘7’. Their troop number must also be related to ‘7’. So, this ‘S’ might refer to his enemy, but in any case, it’s not from the same unit as his.” Zhou Qian theorized, then with a smile, he added, “Why don’t you help extract the bullets from the other two NPC corpses and see if their bullets also have an ‘S’?”

“Sure,” He Xiaowei readily agreed. “You hate blood, right? Leave it to me.”

With such a ready agreement, He Xiaowei completely thwarted Zhou Qian’s plan to coax him into helping. Zhou Qian paused, then smiled, holding the bullet with the “S” engraving and heading back into Room 701.

Of the other players, many seemed curious about what Zhou Qian intended to do, and Gao Shan quickly followed him. He Xiaowei, on the other hand, took the cleaning tools selected by Zhou Qian and started extracting bullets from the two other bodies in the corridor.

Standing near the room door was Yun Xiangrong, who didn’t immediately follow Gao Shan into the room but observed the other two people in the corridor.

The first one she looked at was Lu Mengmeng. Curious about the bullet, Lu Mengmeng slowly walked over to He Xiaowei to observe. He looked pale and frail, not at all resembling the typical assassin.

Afterwards, Yun Xiangrong looked towards Situ Qing.

In the rather quiet corridor, Situ Qing’s footsteps were very clear. She was pacing back and forth, seemingly trying to find if any of the tiles were hollow, wondering if there might be an exit to leave this space hidden underneath.

At this moment, Yun Xiangrong noticed that Situ Qing took out a bell from her bag and tightly held it in her hand.

This bell must be her weapon. But what does she want to do with it?

She once said she didn’t care about the side quests, so she wouldn’t directly confront those snipers with a 100% accuracy rate. If so, this weapon wasn’t meant to deal with NPCs.

Who is she aiming for? The players?

A chill went down Yun Xiangrong’s spine. She closed her notebook and entered room 701.

……

Inside room 701.

Gao Shan and Zhou Qian stood in front of a seven-tiered bookshelf.

The range of books there was vast.

First, there were medical books covering bandaging, first aid, pharmacology, and even acupuncture and massage. Next, there were many books on physics, mathematics, and mechanics, some even discussing airplanes and train engines. The last section was filled with literature, including ancient texts and modern prose and poetry.

Gao Shan casually flipped through a few books and commented, “Could the clue be hidden here? Every book here is complex! And we only have an hour. If the clue is in one of these books… it’s like finding a needle in a haystack!”

Yun Xiangrong’s voice came from behind him. “Given the limited time, could the clue be related only to the titles? We don’t need to look inside; perhaps the secret lies in the titles?”

“Just looking at titles might not be enough.”

Zhou Qian responded, scrutinizing the bookshelf before adding, “However, you two can search the shelves. Focus on finding something other than books.”

“Something other than books… What do you mean?” Gao Shan inquired.

“Literally what I said.” Zhou Qian blinked at him, intending to leave the room.

“Hold on—” Yun Xiangrong called out to him.

“What is it?” Zhou Qian paused.

Glancing at the corridor outside, Yun Xiangrong approached and closed the door. She then addressed both Zhou Qian and Gao Shan, “I have a feeling… something’s off with Situ Qing. We should be cautious. None of us can match her one-on-one. Let’s avoid being alone with her.”

Curious, Zhou Qian asked, “How did you figure it out?”

“Just intuition. Her aura is too strong. She even blatantly carried her weapon, not hiding her murderous intent at all! I always feel…”

Yun Xiangrong shook her head and continued, “But, a barking dog seldom bites. If she really wanted to kill, she wouldn’t display her aggression so openly. Maybe I’m overthinking.”

It might not be an overthought on Yun Xiangrong’s part. From the earlier group details, Zhou Qian also had suspicions about Situ Qing. If Situ Qing was so openly aggressive, her accomplice could hide their intent.

One in the open, one in the shadows; it was a common strategy.

The one in the open was Situ Qing, so the hidden one was either He Xiaowei or Lu Mengmeng.

Zhou Qian said, “In any case, it’s never wrong to be cautious. Don’t trust anyone, not just Situ Qing. Stay together and don’t split up. It’d be tough for anyone to take down both a tank and a healer in a few moves.”

“Alright, understood,” Gao Shan replied, then asked Zhou Qian, “Earlier, Situ Qing said we could skip side quests. I’ve been considering it since she might have a point. I don’t have a talent for puzzle-solving. Should I consider her approach? Given the game’s current mechanics, coasting through main quests is easier, albeit with lesser experience. But if I grind more than others, leveling up quickly and earning gold, that’s also viable.”

“No. I don’t agree with her,” Zhou Qian answered firmly. “Remember the [Seed of Fire] we obtained? It’s currently useless. But if we achieve hidden achievements from similar quests, obtaining other items, its value might skyrocket. If one can clear the game through sheer combat power, then why design so many plots? I believe we should aim for key hidden achievements to get closer to the game’s ultimate secret. But of course, this is just my suggestion—”

Gao Shan pondered for a moment and said, “Alright. Let me think again… No, there’s no need to think anymore. I’ll listen to you.”

Hearing this, Yun Xiangrong couldn’t help but look at Gao Shan with surprise.

Meeting her gaze, Gao Shan patted her head. “Before coming here, didn’t we discuss this? Zhou Qian is quite reliable. We can join his team—”

Turning to Zhou Qian, Gao Shan continued, “We think that although you might be a potential psycho… you indeed have the capability to lead a team. Going solo in this game won’t work. We’re willing to follow you. Since you’ve decided to take the side quests, we can assist you. We’re near the bookshelf now, let’s look for that ‘something other than a book’ you mentioned.”

“Thank you.” Zhou Qian waved at them and walked out. “I’ll go take a look outside and be back soon.”

…..

Inside the presidential suite of a five-star hotel.

Several large draft papers lay in front of Yu Xian, each displaying the floor plan of the 13 rooms he had drawn. Not long after, he gave up, threw his pen away, and took a big gulp of beer.

“Darn it, I can’t figure it out. Qian Ge didn’t even take out a pen; I wonder if he noticed anything… Hey, Qiang Ge, do you have any idea what those two clues mean? What does ‘the lowest ranked cannot kill’ mean?”

“I don’t get it either.” Zhu Qiang opened a bottle of beer for himself.

With a disappointed look, Yu Xian lamented, “Before entering the game, I promised Zhou Qian I’d help him solve the riddles!”

Zhu Qiang: “But this pattern is too complicated. We’re both bad at math, what can we do? Why not… let him try rooms 6 and 7? They must be safe. That male janitor already checked.”

Yu Xian snapped, “You said that two minutes ago! I tried that! I’ve already sent that hint to Zhou Qian! He saw it and didn’t respond!”

Zhu Qiang shrugged. “Then there’s nothing we can do.”

“I… Oh!” Before Yu Xian could finish, he suddenly jumped up and ran to the restroom. “My stomach hurts so much. Was there something wrong with the hot pot today? I’m going to complain…”

Zhu Qiang remarked, “This is your second trip to the restroom. I’ll go to the pharmacy to get some medicine for you… I’ll be right back!”

As Yu Xian headed to the bathroom, Zhu Qiang’s expression turned solemn. He soon left the suite and went into his room next door. Taking a deep breath, he returned a call he had missed earlier.

Before entering the game, Zhu Qiang had secretly made contact with Lu Mengmeng behind Yu Xian’s back. At that time, Lu Mengmeng told Zhu Qiang they had to kill Zhou Qian. Killing Zhou Qian was something Lu Mengmeng had no choice but to do, or else he feared he’d be silenced by Peach Blossom. And if he died, Zhu Qiang would be in deep trouble too.

Recently, Zhu Qiang had been spending recklessly, even visiting the casino. Not only did he not save money, but he also accumulated debt. He had to make sure Lu Mengmeng survived this round. Otherwise, he’d never be able to pay off his debts.

Back then, during their video chat, Lu Mengmeng gave Zhu Qiang a phone number, stating it was from a high-ranking member of Peach Blossom, and that this person would be giving instructions to Zhu Qiang.

At this moment, the call connected, and Zhu Qiang heard a deep magnetic voice, yet it sounded youthful.

Swallowing hard, Zhu Qiang felt a hint of nervousness, then said, “I’ve tried as you instructed, attempting to use Yu Xian to guide Zhou Qian into rooms 6 and 7. But Zhou Qian didn’t fall for it!”

After a few seconds, the man on the other side instructed, “Find a way to get Yu Xian’s phone and send Zhou Qian a message in Yu Xian’s name, saying—

[Qian Ge, my good buddy Qiang Ge, the one you’ve met, is also playing ‘Last Wish’ and is on the same level as you all. They found a hidden clue in a hallway wall, indicating that rooms 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 are the lowest rank. So, all five rooms are safe!]

While on the phone, Zhu Qiang received the message. His hand trembled. “All five rooms are safe… This clue, you made it up, right?”

The man laughed. “Of course I did.”

After a brief pause, the man went on to further explain to Zhu Qiang, “The hint from the handsome man in the Republic era picture is, ‘The lowest ranked cannot kill’ and ‘Balance of power is the only solution’.”

“These lines can be interpreted easily. There are 12 gunmen in 12 rooms, and their ranks are not equal. The lowest ranked among them cannot shoot and kill. Therefore, his room would be safe. The challenge then is to determine which room that is.”

Zhu Qiang pondered and said, “I see…”

The man continued, “So, I’ll have my player create a false clue related to ‘rank’ to mislead others. Of course, she will pretend that the clue was found inside a fake wall or hollow floor tile in the hallway. The false clue will suggest, metaphorically, that the ranks of the five rooms are very low. These rooms are 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. The cleaner had personally tested rooms 6 and 7 and confirmed they are safe.”

“Therefore, first, there’s the false clue in the corridor; second, the NPC’s personal trial; and third, false external information provided by gamblers. With these three combined, they’re bound to fall for it.”

Zhu Qiang swallowed hard. “Wait, I have a question.”

The man said, “Go ahead.”

Zhu Qiang nervously asked, “You’ve prepared the fake clue… So, have you already discerned the real ‘pattern’ of those 12 rooms?”

The man confidently replied, “Of course. I’ve figured it out.”

After hesitating a bit, Zhu Qiang said, “You might not be aware, but Zhou Qian is really clever. Even if he doesn’t show it, I feel like he might have figured it out just like you did. So, if I send this fake clue to him, he will be suspicious! He will doubt either Yu Xian himself or me! Then, not only will we fail to kill him in this side quest, but we’ll also alert him. It’ll be difficult to kill him afterward because he won’t fall for false information anymore!”

“Hmm. You, rookie gambler… quite interesting.” The man chuckled but didn’t refute Zhu Qiang’s words. After a while, he said, “Alright, don’t send the message to Zhou Qian. Tell me first, what did Gao Shan, Yun Xiangrong, and Zhou Qian do in the room?”

Zhu Qiang then recounted the entire conversation between the three.

The man responded, “Understood. So, they’ve indeed formed an alliance. In that case, forward the fake message and clue I sent you to your player, Lu Mengmeng.”

“Lu Mengmeng? How can I lead him to his death?” Zhu Qiang exclaimed in distress; his back soaked in sweat.

The young man responded, “Of course, we’re not leading Lu Mengmeng to death. Tell him it’s a fake message. Then, have Lu Mengmeng make Gao Shan believe it’s real, leading him to any of those five rooms, say room number 6.”

“You… you want to kill Gao Shan?” Zhu Qiang’s face turned pale.

“Yes. Killing a healer isn’t very beneficial. She can only heal so much, and she seems clever enough not to fall for it easily,” the man said. “I anticipate danger in the later stages of this instance. It’s best to get rid of Zhou Qian, the main tank, first.”

Zhu Qiang remained silent for a long while. Finally, he asked, “You figured out the ‘pattern’ so quickly just by looking at a mobile screen? How did you determine which rooms are ‘lowest ranked’?”

The man replied, “Exactly. This challenge can be difficult or simple depending on how you view it.”

Zhu Qiang said, “I have no idea how to clear it…”

The man smiled. “Then you have to trust my abilities, trust the capabilities of our Peach Blossom. Believe that you haven’t chosen the wrong side and that following us is the right choice.”

For reasons he couldn’t fathom, Zhu Qiang felt a chilling sensation. Trembling, he said, “Who are you gambling for? He Xiaowei doesn’t seem like it… It must be Situ Qing, right?! You are Si Tu Qing’s gambler!”

“Yes, Situ Qing’s role is to attract all suspicions on the surface. When everyone is wary of her… the one striking in the shadows will be Lu Mengmeng. We will coordinate well. Furthermore, you should know that I am the puppet master behind all of you.”

Holding the receiver tightly, the man’s voice slithered into Zhu Qiang’s ear like a venomous snake.

“I control you through the phone, control Situ Qing through the gambler system, and indirectly control Lu Mengmeng through both of you…”

“All of you must follow my orders.”

“Zhu Qiang, don’t feel guilty. Get rid of your conscience completely. Otherwise, you won’t be able to handle it.”

“Remember my instructions. Guide Gao Shan to Room 6 as I taught you.”

……

Inside the game.

Gao Shan and Yun Xiangrong were flipping through books in front of a bookshelf, while Zhou Qian went out and took another round around room 701.

Starting from room 12, which was directly opposite the door of room 701, Zhou Qian walked at a rather slow pace, eventually returning to room 12, as if calculating something in his mind.

After completing a round, Zhou Qian returned to room 701.

Inside, Yun Xiangrong and Gao Shan were still flipping through books.

Zhou Qian casually asked them, “Did you find anything?”

They both responded quickly.

“Judging by the titles, Jiang Yuqing seems to be a physicist. I skimmed the physics books here; they are filled with his notes and formulas. These notes are very specialized. If you don’t study this, you can’t understand.”

“In addition, he seems to have read medical books quite seriously, making many notes. But compared to the physics books, his medical notes seem a bit naive; he seems like a layman in the field of medicine.”

“His math notes are still very professional. Of course, if he’s a physicist, he would need to be proficient in mathematics.”

“Furthermore, he seems to be good at mechanics, especially in areas like kinematics.”

“Wait a minute—” Zhou Qian interrupted. “Did you find any clues apart from the books?”

Yun Xiangrong replied, “No, I flipped through the books and let Gao Shan search around. There are really only books on these shelves. Even after flipping through many books, there were no postcards or any letters.”

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qian looked around the room. The room’s layout was rather simple. He went forward and casually opened a bedside table, only to find it empty.

“There probably isn’t anything in this room. Apart from the bookshelf and two bedside tables, everything can be seen at a glance. What exactly are you looking for?”

Just as Yun Xiangrong finished speaking, He Xiaowei’s voice came from outside.

“Damn, I finally dug out two bullets! It was so hard. Searching around someone’s corpse… I never want to do such a thing again; it’s too disgusting.”

“Let’s see if those two bullets are also marked ‘S’?” Yun Xiangrong looked at Gao Shan and Zhou Qian.

Zhou Qian said, “You guys go first. I’ll be right there.”

Thus, Gao Shan and Yun Xiangrong left together.

Zhou Qian stayed in the room, continuing to search for clues.

However, after opening both bedside tables, he found nothing.

As Yun Xiangrong said, the room’s layout was simple, and apart from the two cabinets and bookshelf, there was no place to hide anything.

But then…

Zhou Qian turned his head to look at Jiang Yuqing.

The elderly man had only three days to live.

At the moment, he was deep asleep on the bed, completely unaware of the outside world.

Zhou Qian looked at him, stepped closer, bent down, and closely examined his wrinkled face.

Despite his old age, he wasn’t unattractive, making one wonder how handsome he must have been in his youth.

So, could the thing I’m looking for be hidden on you?

Approaching the bed, Zhou Qian bent down, reached over Jiang Yuqing, and lightly touched the space beside his pillow.

He gently patted the empty space beside Jiang Yuqing’s pillow, as if trying to wake up a sleeping child. With no response, Zhou Qian patted several more times and then lightly pushed his shoulder.

This action was effective.

Jiang Yuqing stretched out his hands and quickly waved them towards the other side of the pillow, as if playing a game in his dream. With this movement, he slowly turned to his side and curled up, freeing up most of the bed and half the pillow.

Zhou Qian immediately sat down on the vacant spot on the bed, moving his hand back and forth on the bedding.

After finding nothing, he lifted the pillow.

This time, he was rewarded.

“Thankfully, it was hidden under the pillow and not on you. Otherwise, having to strip you down and wake you up might have caused trouble.”

Zhou Qian muttered to himself while staring at Jiang Yuqing, then quickly reached under the pillow and pulled out the object he had been searching for.

It was also a bullet. But a complete bullet with its casing intact.

There was a letter engraved on the bullet, still the letter “S”.

Finding this, Zhou Qian could confirm—he had indeed found the pattern to crack this level.

He pocketed the bullet and took a deep look at Jiang Yuqing, who was lying on the bed, before exiting the room.

After leaving Room 701, Zhou Qian noticed that the mist in the corridor had become much thicker.

He could barely see the bodies of three cleaners nearby.

At this moment, the other five players were busy in the corridor, seemingly searching for other clues.

Zhou Qian overheard He Xiaowei saying, “I can’t see clearly… Did Zhou Qian come out? I cleaned the other two bullets. They both have an ‘S’ on them.”

“Mm. I know.” Zhou Qian walked past the crowd and turned left.

“Hey, where are you going?” He Xiaowei asked.

Zhou Qian simply replied, “I’ll try Room 7. If I succeed, I’ll tell you how to pass this level.”

“Damn, bro, impressive! You’re going for results before explaining. Good on you! Hahaha.”

He Xiaowei, while praising Zhou Qian, followed him. “I’ll come with you. If you get shot and die, I’ll take care of your body!”

Of course, after saying this and getting a cold glare from Zhou Qian, He Xiaowei immediately refrained from joking around.

Zhou Qian’s gaze was chilling.

Turning his head, Zhou Qian continued walking. He found that the corridor had mysteriously lengthened, making his walk from Room 701 to Room 12 take longer than before.

As he walked, the mist got even denser.

He could sense He Xiaowei close by, but when he turned, he could barely see him. Moreover, although He Xiaowei, being a burly man, usually had loud footsteps, now his steps were as quiet as a whisper, almost inaudible.

The lengthened corridor and thickened mist were added challenges for this level.

Considering this, even without figuring out the “pattern”, searching all 12 rooms for evidence within an hour wasn’t easy.

After a long while, Zhou Qian finally stopped between Rooms 6 and 7.

……

Outside the game, in a presidential suite of a hotel.

After using the bathroom, Yu Xian returned to his room to find that Zhu Qiang was gone.

Assuming that Zhu Qiang went to buy some medicine, Yu Xian waited patiently with his phone. When Zhou Qian approached Rooms 6 and 7, Zhu Qiang finally returned.

As soon as Zhu Qiang entered, Yu Xian urgently called him over. “Come here quickly! Look! Isn’t it weird? We said before that the cleaner had been to Rooms 6 and 7, personally verified, and they’re totally safe!

“I even sent Zhou Qian a hint as you suggested! But he didn’t go!”

“He didn’t, and neither did anyone else… but now he’s trying to enter these two rooms!”

Zhu Qiang looked at the phone screen and saw Zhou Qian indeed standing in front of Rooms 6 and 7.

A moment later, Zhu Qiang’s expression changed. Yu Xian, sensing this, asked, “What is it? Did you think of something?”

Zhu Qiang said, “I just realized something crucial…”

“What is it?” Yu Xian asked impatiently.

Zhu Qiang continued, “In this floor’s 12 rooms, there’s a gunman in each one. From the hints the players received, the gunmen can only kill under specific conditions, when their rank is not the lowest.”

“But have you noticed the system’s level description?”

“Level description?” Yu Xian thought for a moment and exclaimed, “Yes! The system mentioned… in this level, all 12 rooms have evidence. Players need to collect all the evidence to clear the level!”

Zhu Qiang added, “Exactly. What does that mean? It means that the players have to visit all 12 rooms. And what does that imply?”

After a moment, Yu Xian realized. “Ah, I get it! This means that no room is ever completely safe! The safe rooms keep changing, right? The safe room, in some pattern, appears consecutively among the 12 rooms? Players need to find this changing pattern to go through all the rooms! Fuck, this is so difficult!”

In the 12 rooms, each one hid a gunman.

Whether the gunman would fire depended on whether his rank was the lowest or not. There might be some hidden conditions that would lead to a change in their rank. Once the rank among the gunmen changed, which one, or which rooms were safe, was no longer a constant but a variable.

Players needed to find the pattern related to this variable.

Zhu Qiang explained to Yu Xian, “Right. When the rank is the lowest, the gunman won’t shoot, making the room safe. But what causes their rank to decrease? That’s the key factor players need to search for. But… I haven’t figured out what this key factor is yet.”

“Holy shit! I don’t care what this factor is! All I know is, even if rooms 6 and 7 were safe before, they might not be safe now! But Qian Ge is about to enter! Fuck, I need to warn him!”

Yu Xian, with trembling fingers, picked up his phone. However, before he could send a message, he saw in the game that Zhou Qian walked straight to the door of room 7 and entered.

“God damn it, Qian Ge, please be safe!

“I’ve bet a million this time! If something happens to you, I’ll be in huge debt!!!”

……

Inside the game, Zhou Qian stepped into room 7.

Following him, the door closed on its own.

“1—”

“2—”

“3.”

Zhou Qian silently counted to three, and nothing happened.

The room was also filled with thick fog, and Zhou Qian could vaguely see a shadow in front of him holding a gun pointed at him.

But after three seconds, the gunman didn’t shoot; he lowered his weapon.

“Thank you.” Zhou Qian smiled at him and started searching the room.

He was looking for the so-called “evidence.”

The room was spacious with seemingly no obstacles, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find the evidence. If there was indeed no furniture in the room, the evidence might be just lying somewhere on the floor.

However, given the size of the room and the fog, it still took Zhou Qian quite some time to find it.

After finding the evidence, Zhou Qian examined it closely.

It was also a bullet.

But instead of an “S”, it had the number “7” engraved on it.

A force related to “S”, and one related to “7”…

Was there any gunfire incident between these two?

Before he could think further, Zhou Qian pocketed the bullet and approached the door.

Just as he was about to leave the room, suddenly—

“Bang!”

A gunshot echoed from a nearby room!

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