Niddy's game was still in full swing, while on the other side, Roy rode Claudia to the abandoned subway station.
The scene still showed the charred remains of a subway car, surrounded by the electrical setup designed around it.
The original design here was clearly meant to be a one-time use, but pulling off something this dramatic must've cost a fortune.
Searching for traces of Niddy and Ashley in this kind of environment was obviously a hassle, but Roy had a simple solution.
"Claudia, scan the area."
"Understood, Mr. Black."
The headlight of the blue Harley-Davidson Buell Firebolt emitted a blue scanning beam, meticulously sweeping over the blackened subway car.
A moment later, Claudia reported back.
"I've detected a downward passage, but no remains of carbon-based lifeforms were found."
No bodies meant Niddy and Ashley were likely safe.
Though Roy trusted that Niddy, with her angelic bloodline, would be fine, concern still clouded his judgment. Confirming their safety was the best news he could hope for.
Just then, the sound of a railcar echoed in the distance. A legitimate subway wouldn't come here, so it was almost certainly someone from the dark web.
Probably their cleanup crew, here to erase any traces.
"Perfect. Time to take out some frustration on these guys!"
---
Everyone ducked in panic, thinking the lasers were about to activate, but nothing happened.
At that moment, Baldy was still halfway to the vault door, and the clock-related hints had already been used up.
Only about four minutes remained.
Suddenly, the floor gave way beneath Baldy's feet, startling him into closing his eyes. When no pain followed, he cautiously opened them.
It turned out the white tile he'd stepped on was some kind of mechanism, but all it did was reveal a line of text.
"Hey, guys! I've got something here! It says, 'Money makes the world go round—don't stop, or it's game over!' What the hell does that mean?"
Baldy looked at Niddy, knowing she—the bespectacled female student—was the best at solving puzzles.
As everyone stood up, Ashley noticed a large safe on the other side, near Black Sis and Roundface, that had just opened.
"Look at that safe!"
At Ashley's prompting, Black Sis quickly checked the open safe and came to a conclusion.
"Damn it! There's another safe inside this one! It's one of those old-school combination lock safes. We need a three-digit code!"
A safe within a safe? Really?
These old combination locks required turning the dial in one direction for the first number, then the opposite direction for the second, and once more for the third to unlock the mechanism.
That's why Black Sis said they needed a three-digit code.
Black Sis and Roundface immediately started searching nearby shelves for clues, while the Priest offered a theory.
"Does this mean we just keep moving forward along this path?"
Baldy, eager to act, seemed ready to test the idea.
"Should I give it a shot?"
Niddy quickly shut down his reckless impulse.
"Hold on! Everyone, stay calm! Checking files or charging forward is clearly a distraction meant to waste our time!"
Black Sis and Roundface put down the documents they were holding, looking lost.
"Then what do we do?"
"Think calmly! We've got about three minutes left. The key is not to panic! Focus on the hint and that safe!"
Everyone tried to cool their heads and figure out the true meaning of the clue.
Unfortunately, most struggled to stay calm under such intense pressure, wasting two precious minutes.
Then Ashley spoke up.
"The game designer seems to love wordplay—puns or hidden meanings. Is there something else in that phrase?"
Her words sparked something in Niddy. From the first challenge, the designer had indeed used plenty of wordplay, like the "blood money" hint earlier.
"Hey! Check the safe again—try turning the combination dial!"
Spurred by Niddy's suggestion, Black Sis—the second-smartest in the group—sprang into action. She spun the safe's dial and realized it could be removed entirely, along with the cylinder behind it.
Frantically, Black Sis disassembled the cylinder, revealing a transparent plastic sheet with red squares on it—clearly a route map for the second half of the challenge.
"Quick, toss over the map!"
The terrain map was on Niddy's side, and the plastic sheet needed to be overlaid on it to reveal the correct path.
Just like the previous challenge, someone would have to stay behind until the last moment.
"I'll read the map. You guys go!"
The Priest volunteered to stay and guide the others.
But Niddy refused. She was already by the terrain map, and there was no need to waste time having the Priest come over.
"No time to argue—go!"
Ashley didn't hesitate. She trusted Niddy's skills to keep her safe.
Under Niddy's guidance, Baldy quickly navigated the remaining correct path, becoming the first to reach the vault door.
Ashley, Black Sis, and Roundface followed, safely crossing the black-and-white tile area.
The only near-miss was the Priest, who—whether from alcohol or nerves—almost stepped on the wrong tile at the end.
Thankfully, Roundface's quick reflexes yanked him back just in time.
"Phew! Thanks!"
"Maybe lay off the booze. Alcohol doesn't solve everything."
The Priest clutched the metal flask in his pocket, still shaken.
"You might be right."
After this brief hiccup, Niddy had less than 15 seconds to escape. Fortunately, Baldy had left candy markers on the correct tiles, so Niddy just needed to follow them to cross the black-and-white tile area.
Fifteen seconds was plenty.
Niddy nimbly climbed onto a counter, then carefully hopped onto the correct tiles. Though her angelic blood had boosted her physical abilities, her balance hadn't improved one bit.
This meant Niddy still risked tripping even on flat ground, though it happened less often than before her transformation.
So, she kept her pace measured, avoiding any rush.
But as the final 10 seconds ticked down, a broadcast began counting, and dense lasers appeared behind her, steadily closing in.
The threat of death made Niddy nervous, and her movements started to falter.
Luckily, despite her awkward posture in the final stretch, she only stumbled after diving through the vault door.
Beyond the door was a dimly lit cave, where the others were leaning against the walls, catching their breath.
"God Almighty, we actually survived again!"
The Priest, overcome with emotion, instinctively reached for his flask but stopped himself, recalling Roundface's words.
"That was no joke!"
Black Sis glanced back at the vault door, still rattled.
Niddy got to her feet, her face showing both lingering fear and a hint of excitement.
"As long as we stick together, we can all make it through!"
Everyone except Niddy and Ashley were second-time players who'd survived a previous game. They all understood the importance of teamwork.
The Puzzler's games often required cooperation to succeed.
Like the bank challenge they'd just faced—alone, no one could've solved the puzzles in time.
"Unity! Teamwork!"
Roundface, a former soldier, placed her hand out first, her understanding of teamwork deeper than most.
The others quickly stacked their hands on hers, forming the classic team huddle gesture.
"We've got this!"
But just as their spirits lifted, the cave began to shake, as if it were about to collapse.
"Get out, now!"
The six of them bolted out of the cave, emerging onto a cloudy beach.
Straight ahead was a small lighthouse, to the left a wooden shack that looked like a beachside diner, and to the right a damaged pier or boardwalk structure.
"What the hell?"
Everyone looked bewildered, and Baldy threw out some obscure slang.
"Where the hell did this place spit us out? Are we still underground?"
(Honestly, this part feels straight out of a sci-fi movie.)
Niddy, with her sharp senses, observed the scene and came to a conclusion.
"The sky and horizon are probably a set—too far to tell if it's real or fake. I bet the dark web found a massive natural cave beneath that abandoned subway station and turned it into this with movie-set techniques."
"Even if it's a natural cave, that's a ton of work! Why spend all that money on this?"
Ashley couldn't help but complain. Coming from a modest family, with her mother, Samantha, a small-town sheriff supporting her and her brother Mike on a meager salary, Ashley had little tolerance for such extravagance.
Black Sis, the journalist, chimed in.
"Rich folks would rather burn their money for fun than give a cent to the poor. That's reality. Their greatest asset is the poor."
Her words silenced the group, especially the three second-time players, who'd seen enough of the world to feel the truth in her statement.
"Let's not dwell on that. We need to figure out how to clear this stage."
Niddy clapped her hands, refocusing everyone on the challenge ahead.
They split up to search for clues. Soon, Black Sis spotted a disposable Polaroid camera lying near a fence.
"Look, a camera!"
She picked it up and noticed a phrase written on it.
"It says, 'Lasts longer'?"
Baldy couldn't resist a joke.
"Sounds like an ad for guy stuff, huh?"
With four women present, the ill-timed quip earned him an eye-roll from Ashley.
Ashley used to be into bad-boy types like Baldy, but after meeting Roy, her tastes had shifted to guys like him.
"Not funny. Why don't we try taking a picture?"
Black Sis pressed the camera's button, and a blinding flash went off.
The light was so intense it felt like a military flare, leaving everyone momentarily dazzled.
When they opened their eyes, the beach had shifted from a cloudy daytime to a dusky twilight, signaling the start of this stage's game.
Black Sis pulled out the photo the camera spat out and noticed it showed a different scene from the one before them.
There was a ship on the ocean in the picture, and a message on the back.
"'Drop the anchor in Hourglass Bay.'"
"Hourglass Bay? That's where we are!"
The Priest tapped a wooden sign nearby, which indeed read "Hourglass Bay."
"So, this stage is about finding a ship and an anchor?"
Roundface pieced together the clues.
"What are we waiting for? Let's split up and search!"
Baldy, ever action-oriented, suggested they fan out to find the ship and anchor.
But Ashley noticed Niddy had been quiet for a while, frowning in thought.
"Niddy, what's on your mind?"
"I've been wondering what kind of danger we're facing here. After taking that photo, I thought a trap would trigger, but nothing happened. That's not normal."
Niddy's words froze the group in their tracks.
She was right. The first stage had an electrified subway car right off the bat, and the second showcased deadly lasers. Why would the third stage be safe?
Drawing on her experience, Roundface ventured a guess.
"Could there be mines buried in the sand?"
Baldy threw out a wilder idea.
"Or maybe they'll flood the place to drown us. I saw a water outlet over there."
Niddy shook her head.
"I think the answer lies in the name—Hourglass Bay."
Black Sis caught on instantly.
"Hourglass! You mean quicksand?"
Everyone immediately grew cautious, eyeing the sand beneath their feet.
"It's just a theory—I can't confirm it yet. But let's be careful."
With Niddy's warning, the group moved more cautiously. The Priest grabbed a rope and a life preserver from the beach, just in case someone got stuck.
Soon, Roundface found an anchor symbol by the door of the wooden shack, suggesting the anchor from the clue might unlock it.
The Priest discovered a radio emitting a distress signal, while Black Sis found a small ship inside a bottle.
Baldy opened a metal box and found pungent salted crab claws inside, and Niddy noticed a telescope at the top of the lighthouse.
Finally, Ashley found a small boat under the damaged pier, covered in debris.
"I found the ship! And there's writing on the hull: 'Blind Love'?"