Xiao Lou used Ring to subdue the six people and called Yu Hanjiang, Shao Qingge, and Ye Qi to the next room to discuss countermeasures.
He looked at Yu Hanjiang and asked softly, " Captain Yu, how's the situation in the city?"
Yu Hanjiang said, "The city was without water, electricity, and internet. Traffic was completely paralyzed, and a serious stampede occurred near the supermarket."
Xiao Lou's expression changed slightly: "It seems the situation is really getting worse..."
Shao Qingge said, "Yes, the bank was robbed, the ATMs were smashed, and the supermarket was packed with people. It was really scary. Luckily, I managed to settle my account before the internet was cut off. I made a profit of 1 million by shorting the stock market this time."
Upon hearing the word "million," Ye Qi's eyes widened in shock: "Million? That much money?"
Shao Qingge glanced at him and calmly said, "This is still relatively small. Give me a few more days, and the profit can double."
Ye Qi was dumbfounded—other Challengers in the world of Financial Crisis were struggling to survive. This man with the short braid was actually making a fortune through Financial Crisis?
Meeting the boy's shocked gaze, Shao Qingge narrowed his eyes and smiled, "Don't you feel honored to be on my team?"
Ye Qi nodded vigorously: "Yes, I hope CEO Shao will take good care of me in the future!"
Xiao Lou glanced at Shao Qingge but didn't expose the truth about his "hearts " and "diamonds" being scumbags.
Yu Hanjiang said seriously, "There's another matter. The front desk of the hotel where CEO Shao is staying refuses to let the Challengers pay for their rooms with supplies. Today, the room rate has increased eightfold, and many Challengers have checked out and found other places to stay. Also, all the Challengers who were robbed before have left."
Shao Qingge added, "But most of the Challengers at Shanshui B&B stayed because the owner gave them a discount... Captain Yu suspects that the owner and the thief were accomplices."
Xiao Lou was taken aback: "Accomplices? Is Shanshui B&B a shady establishment?"
Ye Qi was also shocked by this deduction. After carefully recalling his previous experiences, he felt as if he had been struck by lightning: "No wonder! All of our supplies were stolen on the second night, and no one noticed how the other party did it. If he didn't know the situation of the guesthouse very well, how could he steal supplies from more than a dozen rooms in one night? Maybe this shady guesthouse owner put some kind of sleeping pill in all the rooms!"
Xiao Lou frowned and thought for a moment before saying, " Captain Yu and I previously speculated that this person stole things using the Invisibility Cloak and the key, but the Invisibility Cloak only lasts for 30 minutes, which isn't enough to move all the supplies. If the boss is an accomplice, then it's much easier. He doesn't even need to go through the trouble of moving the supplies elsewhere; he can just leave them at Shanshui B&B."
Yu Hanjiang nodded: "The most dangerous place is the safest place. The stolen supplies should still be at Shanshui B&B."
Ye Qi said, "On the second day, we suspected there was a mole in Challenger, so we searched all the rooms together, but we didn't find any supplies... Could it be that this guesthouse has other storage rooms, or hidden compartments, basements or something like that?"
Xiao Lou nodded: "The possibility of it having a basement is extremely high."
Shao Qingge looked at Yu Hanjiang and said, "This thief killed someone and ran away after you discovered him, which shows how ruthless he is. Let's ignore the guesthouse. With so many supplies on hand, plus Ye Qi's teleportation card and Professor Xiao's Peach Blossom Spring, we can move around at any time. Surviving for seven days to clear the secret room is not a problem at all."
Ye Qi and Xiao Lou also looked at Yu Hanjiang.
Yu Hanjiang paused for a moment, then said, "I still want to go and see."
He was, after all, a policeman, and there was nothing he could do about the stampede that had already occurred. However, the Challengers staying at the guesthouse were innocent. A criminal who could steal supplies or even kill people was hiding there at any time. He knew that danger was brewing there, and he couldn't just stand by and do nothing.
Shao Qingge said, " Captain Yu, you used to be a policeman, saving people is almost instinctive for you, I can understand your feelings. However, survival is the key in this world. You can call me selfish, but I don't think we have an obligation to save others. If they can't save themselves, they will have a hard time surviving in the locked room later. Besides, if you go to save people, you might put yourself in danger."
CEO Shao's concerns are also valid, after all, Yu Hanjiang is facing ruthless thugs.
Xiao Lou looked at Yu Hanjiang and met the man's deep eyes.
Yu Hanjiang took a deep breath and said, " Professor Xiao, you decide."
If they are rescued, they might be in danger. If they are not rescued, the four of them can easily pass the level, but the other Challengers are likely to be wiped out. Yu Hanjiang and Shao Qingge disagreed and left the decision to Xiao Lou. Whether to help or not was entirely up to Xiao Lou.
Xiao Lou didn't make excuses. Since they were a team, continuing to hesitate would only waste time.
After thinking for a moment with his head down, Xiao Lou suggested, "How about this, around dawn, I'll set up a Peach Blossom Spring at the Construction Site. CEO Shao and Ye Qi will stay at the Peach Blossom Spring to guard the supplies, while Captain Yu and I will use our teleportation cards to check out Shanshui B&B. We'll help if we can, and if we can't, we'll leave."
He looked at Yu Hanjiang and said, "We only have half an hour. If things go wrong, I will immediately teleport you back to the Peach Blossom Spring that was set up in advance at the Construction Site. Captain Yu, do you think that's okay?"
After careful study of the " Tao Yuanming " card, Xiao Lou discovered a technique—
Peach Blossom Spring is an independent alternate dimension; its entrance is only accessible to him and Tao Yuanming, invisible to others, making it extremely secure. However, its existence is limited to a short time.
After 30 minutes, everyone inside Peach Blossom Spring will be forced back to the entrance.
Returning to the entrance does not mean disappearing.
In other words, if he had Tao Yuanming open the entrance to Peach Blossom Spring in the room in the northeast corner of the third floor, and Shao Qingge and Ye Qi brought supplies into Peach Blossom Spring, then after 30 minutes, when Peach Blossom Spring disappeared, Shao Qingge, Ye Qi, and the supplies they brought in would not disappear, but would be forcibly thrown out of Peach Blossom Spring and returned to the room in the northeast corner.
He and Yu Hanjiang could teleport back to Peach Blossom Spring at any time during the 30 minutes that Peach Blossom Spring existed.
Peach Blossom Spring is like a safe transit point.
In this way, the supplies and CEO Shao and Ye Qi are very safe hiding in Peach Blossom Spring. He and Yu Hanjiang can also retreat to the Construction Site at any time.
Xiao Lou explained his strategy in detail, and then added: " Although CEO Shao has 1 million in his personal account, the bank and ATM in Secret Room World can no longer withdraw money. Red Heart 3 Escape Room is a campus world, and there are no ATMs. If you go to Heart 3, you will be penniless and won't even be able to afford instant noodles at the convenience store."
He smiled slightly and said, "So, rescuing the other Challengers is actually beneficial to us as well—we have a lot of supplies, and they might still have some money left over. We can let them use that money to buy our supplies, and they can take the spare change they earn to the convenience store in the Red Heart 3 escape room to buy food."
His considerations were truly comprehensive and thorough.
Shao Qingge praised, " Professor Xiao's method is perfect, I have no objection."
Yu Hanjiang looked at Xiao Lou with a complicated expression.
He thought his plan to go to Shanshui B&B would be opposed by everyone. After all, in Secret Room World, everyone only cares about their own survival and doesn't care about the lives of others. People would become more and more cold-blooded.
But Yu Hanjiang is a policeman, and most of the Challengers are law-abiding ordinary people in the real world. They came here due to various accidents and were forced to play a survival game. Everyone is innocent, and it is hard for him to watch them be eliminated.
He can't control other secret rooms, but at least in this world—he has the ability to save people, so why not?
*
Ye Qi dared not express his opinion and stood obediently to the side, waiting for the three big shots to discuss the results.
CEO Shao's idea was correct, and Captain Yu's idea was also correct. Ye Qi initially thought the two of them would argue, but unexpectedly, they handed over the decision-making power to Xiao Lou. Professor Xiao cleverly came up with a perfect solution that everyone could accept.
It seems that in this team, Professor Xiao still has the final say when it comes to crucial moments.
Ye Qi moved quietly to Xiao Lou's side—he had already figured out whose orders he should listen to from now on.
Xiao Lou asked, "What should we do with these six people I arrested? Does anyone have any suggestions?"
Shao Qingge raised an eyebrow: "They dare to come to our door and steal our supplies. You wouldn't be so kind as to share your food with them, would you?"
Xiao Lou laughed and said, "Of course not. These people are wicked. Just now, that man even took out a Fruit Knife and tried to ambush Ye Qi and me, and steal all our supplies. Giving them food will only make them a threat." After a pause, Xiao Lou added, "But if we let them go, they might expose our hiding place and attract a large number of people to fight over our supplies."
Yu Hanjiang simply said, "Then let them fend for themselves."
Ye Qi's eyes lit up, and he suggested, "I have an idea. During my last few days in the Nightmare Secret Room, I survived by eating grass and leaves. From now on, let's give them some leaves and grass to eat every day?"
Shao Qingge sighed and rubbed his forehead in exasperation: "Feeding them grass every day, do you think you're raising rabbits?"
Ye Qi: "..."
Xiao Lou suppressed a laugh and said, "Xiao Qi, you're naively simplistic about people's hearts. If you feed them grass, they won't think you're helping them. Instead, they'll think you're deliberately insulting and tormenting them, and they'll hate you even more."
Ye Qi lowered his head: "Ahem, I was just saying."
Xiao Lou said, "Arresting them will teach them a lesson. Whether they can persevere depends on their own willpower."
Everyone agreed with Xiao Lou's opinion.
After the four returned to the room in the northwest corner, the people trapped by Ring immediately began to beg for mercy.
The young man said with a pained expression, "Brother, please let us go. We haven't eaten all day and we were starving. We acted impulsively and wanted to steal some food. We didn't mean any harm!"
Ye Qi thought to himself, he hadn't gone to rob anyone even after being starving for seven days in the Nightmare Secret Room, but these people robbed him after only one day of hunger, and even outnumbered him and took advantage of his weakness—just as Xiao Lou said, these people were truly wicked.
The girl's voice was trembling with tears: "Please, have mercy on us! Just give us a little bit of food, just a tiny bit..."
The man in the corner grinned and said, "You guys have so much stockpiled, you can't even finish it in a month, right? Could you share some with us? Not too much, just a little bit of biscuits and milk to keep us alive..."
Yu Hanjiang grew impatient and said coldly, "Shut up. You got caught robbing someone's property, and you still have the nerve to ask for it back?"
Everyone was stunned into silence by his sharp gaze.
Xiao Lou smiled and said, "If the six of you hadn't had any bad intentions from the start and had tried to reason with me about getting some food, I might have softened my stance." He then turned cold and said, "But you two, seeing that there were only two of us here, thought we were easy to bully, and you actually came in and started robbing me, even pulling out knives—I have no reason to give you even a tiny bit of food."
His finger pressed down gently, hanging in the room
The two men on top immediately plummeted to the ground, their buttocks splattering and emitting screams of agony. Xiao Lou then manipulated Ring to quickly tie up all six men, saying calmly, "You'd better watch yourselves."
He glanced at the six people and deliberately spoke in Yu Hanjiang's ear at a volume just loud enough for them to hear: "Let's leave here. It's not safe here anymore."
Yu Hanjiang immediately understood: "Okay, there's a grove of trees on the outskirts of the city, let's move there right away."
Xiao Lou gave everyone a wink, and Shao Qingge, Yu Hanjiang, and Ye Qi quickly moved the supplies out of the house.
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The four pretended to move out of the construction site. After the supplies were gathered at the door, Yu Hanjiang took out a teleportation card and moved all the items to a room in the northeast corner of the third floor.
The building is only three stories high, but it is very wide. The distance between the northeast and northwest corners is nearly 1,000 meters. Without the aid of an eavesdropping device, it would be difficult to hear any movement on the other side. As a result, the six people who were arrested would mistakenly believe that they had moved to the woods.
The room in the northeast corner also has a great view, with windows on all four walls offering a view of the floor below.
As the sun set and dusk fell, Xiao Lou took some food from the supply box, spread a cloth on the ground, and prepared to eat dinner. Ye Qi saw that the ground was covered with canned fruit, canned fish, canned luncheon meat, sandwiches, milk, juice...
The feast was comparable to a picnic.
He suddenly felt incredibly inadequate for only stockpiling bread, milk, biscuits, and mineral water.
**
After dinner, everyone went to rest. It wasn't until the early hours of the morning that Xiao Lou started Peach Blossom Spring as planned.
The Peach Blossom Spring's skill growth level is currently 2, allowing him to bring two teammates inside. However, each use increases the growth level. After bringing Ye Qi and Shao Qingge inside, the growth level indeed became 3, allowing Yu Hanjiang to enter as well.
The four carried the supplies into Peach Blossom Spring. Ye Qi exclaimed with delight, "What a beautiful Peach Blossom Spring! And such an amazing card!" He ran to the lakeside, pointed into the distance, and asked, "Is that Tao Yuanming fishing over there? Can you eat the fish he's catching?"
At first, Ye Qi was a little afraid of everyone, but after spending a day with Professor Xiao, he found that Professor Xiao had a very good temper. So, when he was with Professor Xiao, Ye Qi couldn't help but talk more.
Xiao Lou smiled and said, " Tao Yuanming ignores us and just fishes. You can treat him as a scene NPC."
Shao Qingge squinted at the peach blossoms covering the mountains and sighed, "The environment here is really nice. It's a pity that it can only be open for 30 minutes a day. Otherwise, Professor Xiao, you could develop a tourism business in Secret Room World."
Xiao Lou: "..."
Tourism? He hadn't really thought about it. CEO Shao was certainly good at seizing money-making opportunities. In the real world, a 30 -minute tour of Peach Blossom Spring for 30 yuan, plus a photo opportunity with Tao Yuanming, would definitely attract many people. But this wasn't a peaceful world. It was best not to let too many people know about Tao Yuanming's card, except for his teammates. Shao Qingge was just joking.
Time was of the essence, so after moving the supplies, Xiao Lou said, " Captain Yu, let's go."
Yu Hanjiang nodded and left Peach Blossom Spring with Xiao Lou, quickly arriving in the city center using their teleportation cards.
On the streets late at night, Yu Hanjiang teleported 50 meters with Xiao Lou in a single leap, moving as fast as the wind, as if he had mastered advanced magic.
This struck Xiao Lou as quite novel.
Yu Hanjiang looked at Xiao Lou, his gaze unusually gentle: "Thank you."
Xiao Lou paused for a moment, then asked, "What are you thanking me for?"
Yu Hanjiang said in a low voice, "You support what I'm doing and even came with me."
Xiao Lou understood his meaning, smiled slightly, and said, "Your and CEO Shao's thoughts are both correct; he's also worried that you might be in danger. But I think that saving people within one's capabilities isn't a bad thing." Xiao Lou paused, then gave an analogy: "It's like... if you see someone fall into the water, jumping in to save them if you can't swim is foolish. If you can swim, why not try to save them?"
Yu Hanjiang listened to his analogy and couldn't help but smile slightly: "That's right. Right now, I still have the ability to help these innocent Challengers. Perhaps in the future, even if we want to save them, we won't be able to."
It was quiet all around; they could only hear each other's voices. Hearing Xiao Lou's gentle voice, Yu Hanjiang felt a surge of warmth in his heart. It was truly rare to find teammates who understood him and shared his views.
He was really happy that Xiao Lou was willing to come with him.
...
The power outage plunged the entire city into darkness. The streets were unsafe, and residents stayed indoors, too afraid to venture out.
Based on their memory of the location, the two teleported and arrived at Shanshui B&B in just a few minutes.
Surprisingly, the moment they reached the ground floor, a faint candlelight suddenly illuminated the previously dark Shanshui B&B. Yu Hanjiang immediately tossed his eavesdropping device onto the second-floor window; its 100-meter range allowed him to quickly hear what was happening inside the guesthouse.
A deep, hoarse voice came from beside him: "Are you sure there are only twelve outsiders left at the guesthouse?"
The boss said with a smile, "Well, the couple you stole from before, and some wary outsiders have all checked out and left. I couldn't stop them. As for the rest, I added sleeping pills to the mosquito coils in the rooms, and they're all fast asleep now, I can't even wake them up."
The man asked, "What about the two from 207? Did they come back?"
"Is that right?"
The owner said, "You mean Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang? Yu Hanjiang came back once at noon today to ask if there were any guests here with the surname Xu. I told him you had already checked out, and he left and hasn't come back since."
The man sneered, "If it weren't for these two causing trouble last night, my plan would have been completed long ago."
The boss said, "It's not too late to act now. These outsider cards are really useful, but I added a lot of sleeping potion today, so there's no need to use the Invisibility Cloak. I'll help you; we'll just go in and steal it."
The man asked, "Where is the body of the person I killed?"
The boss said, "It's hidden in the basement, but the rotting body will smell bad, and it might arouse the suspicion of these outsiders tomorrow morning."
Without hesitation, the man said, "Later, we'll drive the supplies away, burn down the guesthouse, and then I'll have the brothers look for those two guys surnamed Xiao and Yu—the boss said that none of these outsiders can be left alive."
Xiao Lou: "..."
This escape room boss is truly ruthless!
It seems that he and Captain Yu interfered with the enemy's plan to steal supplies, so the enemy also brought forward their plan to wipe out the outsiders.
They actually wanted to burn down the guesthouse?!
Fortunately, Yu Hanjiang arrived in time; otherwise, the twelve innocent Challengers staying at the guesthouse would have perished in the fire in their sleep!