Author: 颜凉雨 / Yan Liang Yu

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

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Chapter 185: The End

In the security monitoring room, besides the security guards, there was only one “outsider”—the sneaky man who overestimated himself and attempted to shake off the guards and kidnap Chi Yingxue in the corridor. Baseball Cap was gone; ever since Xu Wang chose the path of coming out to ensure safety, Baseball Cap never came up again, thus permanently severing his connection with the security room.

Three people in gray coats were brought into the security monitoring room. The sneaky man was startled and immediately lowered his head to avoid eye contact.

Xu Wang repeatedly reminded them to pay special attention to everyone’s reaction the moment they entered the door. Kuang Jinxin remembered this, so he didn’t miss the subtle movement.

The security guards’ reactions were quite uniform: they were initially puzzled by their arrival but became alarmed and cautious upon seeing one of their own in a security uniform among the three bound individuals.

Qian Ai explained the situation of the three people to the security guards, who were so frightened that they immediately called the police. The call had just been hung up when Wu Sheng and Xu Wang, along with the person who came down to fix the lights, arrived.

Kuang Jinxin quietly shared his observations with Xu Wang.

Xu Wang glanced at the sneaky man and then at the three in gray coats, noting there was absolutely no communication between them, not even accidental eye contact. Overdoing it could actually be counterproductive; a simple greeting like “Hey, brother, what did you guys do?” would have made things seem more natural.

There was nothing wrong with the security guard, and the maintenance person they brought down was completely bewildered. The identity of the fourth person had been revealed.

At 12:55, a large number of police officers arrived. Xu Wang and the others quickly reported the situation, and the police immediately evacuated the entire building and started a floor-by-floor search for bombs. The three in gray coats and the sneaky man were directly taken to the police car, while Wu Sheng and the others insisted on staying, eventually remaining in the security monitoring room with the frontline commanding officers.

Xu Wang, representing the group, continued to assist the police with a more detailed report.

Wu Sheng leaned against the wall, quickly sorting through the event’s timeline in his mind, checking for anything that might have been missed.

Lin Lin.

This name emerged once again. The event was like a turbulent river, and Lin Lin was a small fish being swept along from beginning to end, only surfacing once, yet her shadow was visible underwater most of the time.

The girl claimed she knew nothing—a result Kuang Jinxin obtained upon resetting the situation.

There were two possibilities: one, the girl wasn’t telling the truth; two, she accidentally witnessed a scene or person, leading the four men to believe she knew of their evil plans, when in fact, she was unaware.

Kuang Jinxin, who was best qualified to judge, said, “Sheng Ge, I don’t think she’s lying.”

With the identities of the four people confirmed and considering Kuang Jinxin’s intuition, Wu Sheng leaned towards the second possibility.

But he dared not gamble any further…

“Captain, the person has been brought in.” A police officer entered, accompanying a panic-stricken girl.

“Okay.” The middle-aged police officer was focused on the monitor and didn’t move. “Keep an eye on her.”

Lin Lin looked around the room and immediately moved next to Kuang Jinxin upon finding a familiar face.

Kuang Jinxin whispered a few words of comfort to her without saying much more.

Wu Sheng finally felt completely at ease.

He and the police had mentioned Lin Lin’s suspiciousness, but with such uncertainty, the police couldn’t just detain anyone. So, they decided to bring her in for monitoring—whether Lin Lin was innocent or not, under everyone’s watchful eyes, she couldn’t do anything, and that was enough.

At 1:30 p.m., a bomb was found on the 5^th floor, different from those tied to the gray coats; it was waterproof, leaving dismantling as the only option.

At 1:50 p.m., it was confirmed that bombs were placed at the same location on every floor.

At 2:40 p.m., Xu Wang finished giving his statement.

At 3:40 p.m., the bomb dismantling progressed to the 5^th floor, with floors 6–22 remaining—17 floors left.

Since the statement was finished, the security room was in a busy yet tense silence. This silence carried the weight of slowly approaching victory but also pressed heavily on everyone’s hearts.

The closer to the end, the more anxious it became.

Wu Sheng broke the silence prematurely. “We’re running out of time.”

As soon as these words were spoken, a sense of dread filled his companions. After fighting side by side until now, they wouldn’t question Wu Sheng’s judgment any further.

“If we can’t dismantle all the bombs by 4:44, they will still explode.”

Wu Sheng had pondered more than once why the test was “survive past 4:44 p.m.”. If it was just about finding the bomb maniac, then this time point had no significance. The only explanation—4:44; that was the time set for the bombs to explode.

“There’s no timer on the dismantled bombs.” The middle-aged police officer, who had been watching the monitors, finally turned around. His expression was as stern and calm as ever.

“What about a remote control device?” With time so tight, Wu Sheng didn’t believe they could be so thorough.

The middle-aged officer paused, then shook his head again. “All four suspects are under our control now. Even if there was a remote control device, they’d have no chance to detonate it.”

“What if no one is needed to trigger it? If they placed the remote control device on some timer, which would automatically press…”

“Team by team.” The middle-aged officer called on the radio, his furrowed brows revealing a hint of anxiety. “Have Lao Geng check the dismantled bombs again… Yes, tear apart and scrutinize every nook and cranny…”

After hanging up the radio, the officer picked up the phone. “Xiao Wang, search those few bastards again… I know the bombs are wet. I’m looking for a remote detonator…”

Three minutes later, the radio buzzed. “Boss, it’s Lao Geng. You guessed right. There’s a remote control device in the bomb. Damn, it was hidden in a really tricky spot…”

Before the radio finished, another call came in. “Boss, no detonator was found on the four suspects.”

The radio and the phone fell silent, and the middle-aged officer slowly turned to Wu Sheng. His gaze was as sharp as a knife. “How did you know there would be a remote detonation? And so certain, the time would be at 4:44.”

Wu Sheng couldn’t explain, as the other party couldn’t see his owl head or [Cheat Sheet]; to them, he seemed even more suspicious than those four suspects.

“Officer.” Xu Wang approached. “You can suspect our identity, but not our purpose. If we wanted the bomb to explode, there’d be no need to catch those people and rush to call the police.”

The middle-aged officer pondered for a moment before his gaze returned to Wu Sheng. “Since you know so much, then help me guess again. Where could the detonator be?”

Wu Sheng confidently said, “It’s in this building.”

The middle-aged officer didn’t hesitate to shake his head. “Anyone could remotely control it from anywhere nearby. Hiding it in this building is too foolish.”

Perhaps foolish.

But this was a test, and the answer wouldn’t be hidden where the test-takers couldn’t reach. Otherwise, it would be unsolvable for everyone, defying logic.

Wu Sheng: “Trust me one more time.”

Re-inspecting the bombs was the first time.

A building-wide carpet search for the detonator was the second time.

4:00 p.m.

4:15 p.m.

4:30 p.m…

Time was running out, but the detonator was nowhere to be found.

In the monitoring room, silence spread into oppression.

The five companions and the middle-aged police officer, just like them, were intently watching the monitors, observing the police busy on various floors while their hands clenched unconsciously.

4:40 p.m.

“Boss, found it! Found it!” an excited shout came through the walkie-talkie.

The four had hidden the detonator behind a refrigerator in a company’s pantry, using ice as the timer. Once the ice completely melted, the detonation button would be triggered.

On the monitor, only a thin layer of ice remained. The police carefully removed the detonator, took out the battery, and eliminated the last bit of danger.

Wu Sheng’s body, tense for so long, suddenly relaxed.

Qian Ai sat down on the ground with a thud, sweating profusely and breathing rapidly, as if he had just finished a marathon.

Chi Yingxue whistled casually and ruffled Kuang Jinxin’s hair to his heart’s content.

Kuang Jinxin brushed his hand away and took out his ID card from his pocket. Before he could hand it over, Chi Yingxue quickly snatched it. He examined it for a long time, his brows relaxing like the clear sky after the rain, and finally, he kissed the photo on the ID card.

Kuang Jinxin’s face flushed red unexpectedly, annoyed as he tried to snatch it back.

Xu Wang let out a long sigh and patted Wu Sheng on the shoulder. “It’s truly a loss for our police force that you’re in IT…”

The words “loss” and an explosion sound mixed together, becoming Xu Wang’s last memory.

12:00, red number: 1.

His mentality collapsed.

Xu Wang stood up and walked out of the office, standing at the door until Baseball Cap arrived.

“Just stab me to death. Hurry up. Give me a quick end.”

Baseball Cap: “……”

Meanwhile, on the top floor.

Qian Ai: “Don’t try to persuade me anymore. I’ve made up my mind… No, no, it has nothing to do with bankruptcy… Brother, let me give you a piece of golden advice. You can rise again without money, but exams are fucking hell…”

On the 7^th floor.

“Director Wu, why do you look so pale…”

On the 15^th floor.

Director Chi fluttered like a butterfly to the 16^th floor.

On the 16^th floor.

Kuang Jinxin was combing through the golden retriever’s back.

Repeated failures had dulled his anxiety and frustration; he just felt empty. There was only one chance left, and they had already tried their best, completely clueless about what else they could do.

What would happen if this last chance was also used up and the number turned to 0? Would they… really die?

The golden retriever ran out of the beauty salon again, was caught by a passing employee, and was brought back.

Kuang Jinxin patted the golden retriever’s head angrily. “This is the last time. Behave.”

“What?” Lin Lin didn’t catch his words clearly.

Kuang Jinxin shook his head at the young girl and smiled with a bit of bitterness.

“What’s wrong? You seem off…” Lin Lin keenly sensed his emotional fluctuation.

Kuang Jinxin took a deep breath and looked at the time. It was 12:03 now, and no matter what, he had to meet up with his teammates first. Even if it was for the last time, he didn’t want to drag everyone down!

“Don’t go to the storage room. Don’t go to the 18^th floor. Don’t go to the rooftop.” He left these three instructions, regardless of whether the young girl understood.

He quickly walked out of the beauty salon, thinking that he might never return here again. His steps suddenly paused.

Although it was only the memory that had repeated itself a dozen times, he still felt a bit reluctant to leave this place and these colleagues.

Turning back, he smiled at Lin Lin, full of farewell. “Your earrings are very pretty today.”

Lin Lin blinked and smiled back. “You’re kidding, right? I’m not wearing earrings.”

“Ah?” Under the half-length hair, Lin Lin’s earlobes faintly shimmered with light. They were obviously earrings, but when the other party said this, Kuang Jinxin became uncertain again.

The girl rolled her eyes at him and, with a bit of coyness, tucked her hair behind her ears. “Look clearly. See? There’s nothing.”

He did see clearly. Right on her left earlobe, a small, sparkling, exquisite, and charming light.

Kuang Jinxin, as if drawn by some force, turned back to Lin Lin and inexplicably raised his hand, his fingertips gently touching the sparkle.

[Owl: Congratulations on finding the 13/23 Amnesia Badge!]

Kuang Jinxin felt as if struck by lightning. His box of memories flooded open!

The Owl, levels, captain, Sheng Ge, Qian Ge, Xiao Xue…

“Xiao Sijin.” Someone was calling him at the door, with beautiful eyebrows slightly raised, exuding an “I’m-the-toughest” vibe, just like their first meeting on the mast.

“Did you, remember too?” Kuang Jinxin’s voice trembled with uncertainty.

Chi Yingxue didn’t answer, leaning against the doorframe. “Why did you give me your ID card?”

Kuang Jinxin was at a loss for words. After a long while, he muttered evasively. “It’s fake anyway…”

Xu Wang, Wu Sheng, Qian Ai, at the moment of regaining their memories, almost simultaneously rushed to the 10^th floor, though Wu Sheng and Xu Wang arrived first since Qian Ai had to run from a higher floor.

Upon meeting, Xu Wang hugged Wu Sheng tightly and wouldn’t let go.

Wu Sheng happily accepted it.

After indulging in the hug, Xu Wang reluctantly loosened his grip—just a bit. “Because of the badge?”

“Should be.”

Once the badge was in hand, the memories returned. It was a clear cause and effect.

“I wonder who found it. They deserve a bonus…” Xu Wang immediately resumed his role as the captain.

Wu Sheng silently observed, wanting to engrave this person into his eyes and his heart, filling in what had been forgotten.

“Oh, right.” He seemed to remember something.

Xu Wang looked up. “Hmm?”

Wu Sheng smiled. “I’m not married, but I’m in a relationship.”

He leaned down to kiss the slightly parted lips—a kiss that was both aggressive and lingering.

When Qian Ai burst into the office, the two had just parted, and though their lips were apart, they still embraced each other.

“When being kissed, you should close your eyes,” Wu Sheng murmured, with a mix of helplessness and indulgence.

Qian Ai silently exited the office, leaning against the wall next to it—what had he done to deserve this!

Kuang Jinxin and Chi Yingxue arrived to see Boss Qian squatting in front of his own office door, hesitating to enter.

The five companions finally reunited. Learning it was Classmate Kuang who found the badge, everyone was unsurprised, even feeling a sense of “it had to be”.

If it had been Lao Qian who found it, they would have been filled with speculation.

“Hey—” Qian Ai protested against such assumptions.

Xu Wang stretched his shoulders, looking at the blood red number 1 outside the window. “From now on, the real challenge begins. Are you ready?”

Without saving, each level had only one chance. They hadn’t wasted 12 chances but had overcome obstacles to finally reach the true starting line of level 13.

Kuang Jinxin followed his gaze outside. “Mm.”

Qian Ai swung his arm and said, “Bring it on.”

Chi Yingxue nodded slightly.

Wu Sheng was silent until all his companions looked at him, then he pointed to his head. “It’s fully unlocked now. My intelligence was discounted before, sorry.”

Xu Wang, Kuang Jinxin, Chi Yingxue: “……”

Qian Ai: “That modesty doesn’t exactly make us happy…”

It turned out that the advisor wasn’t being modest.

12:20.

“Stick to the original plan: catch the gray coats and the guard, bring them to the 10th floor, but don’t call the police…”

12:44.

“Be aware. The gondola is coming over…”

12:50.

“Lao Qian, you and Xiao Xue keep an eye on them here. Xu Wang and Xiao Kuang head to the monitoring room to bring the fourth person over. I’ll go find the detonator…”

At 1:30 p.m., in Qian Ai’s office, the four bomb suspects were securely locked up, the detonator was disconnected, and the situation was entirely the same as last time—except that they hadn’t called the police.

“Why not call the police?” Qian Ai had always been puzzled by this.

Wu Sheng’s gaze darkened. “Because there’s a fifth person.”

Qian Ai was stunned. “Isn’t it four? Could the illusory stationery have malfunctioned?”

“The illusory stationery is fine,” Wu Sheng said. “They indeed only have four people, but there’s also a god.”

[Who is the Mo Lu?]

[Our god.]

The four companions recalled the moment when the gray coats showed fanatical devotion in their eyes, sending chills down their spines.

“This god is working in the building.” Xu Wang understood. He blended into the building like a drop of water, perfectly disguised.

Kuang Jinxin realized. “There are two detonators, one timed with ice and the other in the god’s hands. Last time, he was the one who ultimately detonated the bomb!”

Chi Yingxue nodded. “Then we indeed can’t call the police. Once we evacuate, we’ll never catch him.”

Qian Ai, speechless for a long time, was suddenly filled with doubt. “I must still have memories that haven’t returned.”

It was now 2:00 p.m.

Who is Mo Lu?

This was the most severe question facing the team.

After a long silence, Wu Sheng suddenly spoke up. “There are two things I’ve been unable to figure out.”

“Which two?” Xu Wang knew he was onto something.

Wu Sheng said, “First, the krait in the utility room of Xiao Kuang’s company; second, our carbon monoxide poisoning in the finance room.”

Xu Wang got it instantly. “Because they make no sense?”

“Exactly.” Wu Sheng’s eyes narrowed, a sharp light flashing in them. “Every mishap and accident in this level has a reason. Baseball Cap attacked you because of his girlfriend; Lao Qian jumped off the building because of bankruptcy; Xiao Xue was nearly hit by pliers because someone was fixing the light; the attack in the hallway was because someone was trying to escape…”

“But the attack on Xiao Kuang by that krait came out of nowhere, as if it appeared from thin air. Our attack in the finance room made even less sense. Their goal was to blow up the entire building. Why bother killing us? We didn’t even know their plan at that time.”

“Unless…” Wu Sheng looked around, his gaze finally landing on Kuang Jinxin. “From the beginning to the end, they wanted to kill Xiao Kuang.”

Kuang Jinxin was bewildered. “Why?”

Chi Yingxue wrapped his arms around him from behind, protecting him tightly, looking at Wu Sheng as if he were looking at a bomb maniac.

“That’s something you need to ask yourself.” Wu Sheng took a deep breath. “Xiao Kuang, go over everything you’ve experienced again; this time I want every detail.” He emphasized, “Every single one.”

Kuang Jinxin didn’t hesitate and immediately delved into his memories, this time going through them frame by frame—combing hair, the dog barking constantly, the dog running out, bumping into a colleague, the colleague bringing it back, Lin Lin saying something…

“What did she say?” Wu Sheng suddenly interrupted him.

Kuang Jinxin paused, bewildered, for a long time. He had just awakened at that time, so everything was blurry. Almost every clear memory started with the colleague bringing the dog back. The scenes before that were like dreams shrouded in fog.

Lin Lin’s smile and her words were like the boundary between dream and reality—half illusion, half real.

Kuang Jinxin closed his eyes, piecing together every time Lin Lin spoke, trying to decipher the shape of her lips. “She said… Thank you. Huh, what’s that smell…”

His eyes snapped open. Kuang Jinxin’s memory became crystal clear. “Right, that’s what she said. Huh, what’s that smell?”

“What smell?” Wu Sheng pressed on.

Kuang Jinxin shook his head. “The colleague just smiled and walked away.”

“Did you smell anything?” Xu Wang helped steer the conversation in a new direction.

Kuang Jinxin fell silent, furrowing his brow in thought, and soon sweat appeared on his forehead.

“It was… fireworks,” he finally said. “When I was young, I used to take apart fireworks and play with the powder inside, that’s the smell!”

The last shadow was cleared, revealing the sun.

The krait and the carbon monoxide were targeted at Kuang Jinxin; Mo Lu believed he, like Lin Lin, had glimpsed his secret in that sentence.

Even gods have guilty consciences.

While two stayed on the 10^th floor, Wu Sheng, Chi Yingxue, and Kuang Jinxin rushed to the 15^th floor. The man was still working, appearing very gentlemanly. Seeing them approach, he welcomed them with a smile.

His scholarly glasses cast a gentle light over his eyes, but Xu Wang saw through to the bottomless abyss hidden behind them.

From a distance of tens of meters, the man naturally raised his hand to touch the name tag on his chest.

There was no violence or danger. That moment was as tranquil as a breeze by the lake in the afternoon.

But Wu Sheng was already prepared, using [(Illusory) Meng Po Soup].

His finger stopped at the last moment before touching the name tag.

The detonator, disguised as a name tag, would never have a chance to be pressed again.

Xu Wang used stationery to securely tie up the gentleman. “A god? Win against our advisor first.”

Wu Sheng deactivated the [Meng Po Soup], and Mo Lu’s demeanor turned grim. This was truly the end of the road for him.

Chi Yingxue didn’t get a chance to act, content with the peace.

They called the police, evacuated the building, and defused the bombs.

At 4:44 p.m., only 50% of the bomb defusing was completed, but there was no puppet master to detonate them.

[Owl: Congratulations on passing the 13/23 test and handing in your papers! See you at the Wish House~~]

……

Fragrant, warm, comfortable.

Xu Wang woke up on a soft, long-haired carpet, with his four companions gradually coming to consciousness beside him.

“Did we, make it through level 13?” Qian Ai was the first to speak, scratching his head.

“Should have,” Xu Wang wasn’t entirely sure, “if I remember correctly.”

Kuang Jinxin thought hard but came up blank. “Just like Mr. Fan said, we forgot the content of the level.”

Wu Sheng stood up and approached a lake-blue door without any rash actions. “This should be the Wish House.”

Chi Yingxue lay on the carpet, unwilling to get up, pondering getting the same carpet when he returned.

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