Yu Hanjiang locked Liu Tong's body and the owner of Shanshui B&B in a room on the first floor of the construction site. The owner trembled with fear: "Please, please don't lock me with a dead man! Let me go, and I'll give you your money! I'll pay you back for your accommodation these past few days, no, I'll pay you back double!"
Upon hearing this, Shao Qingge immediately leaned close to Xiao Lou's ear and said, "Let's go to Shanshui B&B another day. He took so much cash from us, he might still have it. That money was ours to begin with, it's not unreasonable to take it back."
CEO Shao is really good at calculating. Xiao Lou also thought this method was feasible, so he said to the boss, "You stay put and don't have any crooked ideas. Whether or not to let you go, we still need to discuss it."
The four men tied the guesthouse owner up inside and quickly inventoried the supplies in the truck.
Roughly estimated, the boss and the freelancer surnamed Liu worked together to steal at least 20 outsiders. After killing all these " outsiders," they would sell the supplies and make a fortune.
The boss said the man's name was Liu Tong, but he didn't know if it was his real name or an alias.
Xiao Lou remembered the card "Dictionary" that he was rewarded with when he cleared the Diamond 3 secret room. He immediately took the card out of the card holder and flipped through the table of contents to the Freelancer section to take a closer look—and sure enough, Liu Tong's information appeared on the third page.
Liu Tong
Male, 41 years old
Height 180cm, weight 75kg
Identity: Freelancer, member of the mysterious Moon City organization
Encountering Escape Rooms: Spade- type Survival Escape Rooms
Note: Mission to Spade 3: Secret Room failed; the player has died. Cause of death: Suicide by poisoning.
Seeing Xiao Lou intently studying the dictionary, Yu Hanjiang leaned over for a look as well, frowning as he said, "A mysterious organization? It seems this dictionary only displays the information we already know, and doesn't give away any spoilers."
Xiao Lou pointed to the dictionary and said, " Captain Yu, look at the third line. The only secret rooms he frequents are Spade- type survival rooms. I don't know if this is an isolated case, or if the members of this organization only slaughter Challengers in Spade Secret Rooms?"
Yu Hanjiang thought for a moment and said, "It's possible that it's limited to the Spade Secret Room. After all, Hearts is about puzzle-solving and the plot is basically fixed; Diamonds is mainly about mechanisms; Plum Blossom is about the confrontation between Challengers; only Spade involves survival issues, making it easier for them to take action against the Challengers."
If all four types of secret rooms are controlled by organizations dedicated to killing Challengers, then the Challengers are truly doomed. In this light, the Spade Secret Room appears to be the most dangerous, while the Hearts, Diamonds, and Plum Blossom rooms are relatively safe for now, which brings the four a slight sense of relief.
Ye Qi leaned closer to look at the dictionary and asked curiously, " What kind of place is Moon City?"
Shao Qingge said, "I remember when I took a taxi, the driver mentioned that Moon City is the most prosperous city in the world, and it also has the largest casino."
Xiao Lou stroked his chin and speculated, "Perhaps it's a place like the 'game's main city'? There should be a lot of Challengers and other forces and organizations there. We're too low-level to get in right now."
Yu Hanjiang agreed: "It's very likely that it will only be unlocked after clearing all the C-level secret chambers... or even B-level secret chambers."
Shao Qingge rubbed his temples and said, "I hope we can rest there. It's so tiring to keep going through one challenge after another."
Everyone felt the same way as CEO Shao and really wanted to find a safe place to sleep until they naturally woke up.
It was already past midnight when Yu Hanjiang said, "You guys go back upstairs and get some sleep. I'll keep watch here at the truck."
Xiao Lou said, "I'll go with you."
Yu Hanjiang turned to look at him: " Professor Xiao, why don't you go upstairs to sleep? The environment there is better."
Xiao Lou smiled and said, "It's okay. We slept in the hallway every day in Heart 3. At least there's a truck here, so we can sit in the truck bed." He turned to Shao Qingge and Ye Qi and said, " CEO Shao and Ye, go upstairs. While you're at it, drop an eavesdropping device into the room in the northwest corner and see if there's anything unusual about the six people we arrested."
Shao Qingge and Ye Qi turned and left, while Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang sat down in the carriage.
I got up early yesterday morning to catch a thief, and then went to Shanshui B&B to rescue someone early this morning. I haven't slept well for two days in a row and I'm very tired. The two of us took turns sleeping for two hours in the carriage, but we didn't sleep well and it was already dawn.
At 7:30 in the morning, the two of them opened a bottle of Mineral Water, washed their faces and brushed their teeth, and then went upstairs to wake up Shao Qingge and Ye Qi. After everyone had breakfast, they started setting up.
I slipped a note into the guesthouse room last night; soon, those Challengers will be coming knocking.
To avoid unnecessary armed conflict, Xiao Lou decided to first find a way to subdue the Challengers who came to his door; only in this way could they behave.
***
At this time, Shanshui B&B.
The Challengers were shocked to find their supplies stolen when they woke up.
Several Challengers immediately went to the hall, and after asking each other, they discovered that everyone's supplies had been stolen.
Even more strangely, everyone was holding a note that read: "The thief has been captured. The supplies have been temporarily sent to the western suburbs construction site. Please come and collect them at 8:00 AM."
Several Challengers looked grim. One of the girls whispered, "All the things I hid under the bed were stolen, and I didn't even notice. Could I have been drugged?"
The girls' expressions changed; they were all worried that they might have been taken advantage of.
A young man shouted, "Do you believe this note? I don't know..."
"I don't believe it. Would anyone be so kind as to steal supplies and then return them to us? This is clearly a trap, deliberately luring us to the Construction Site!"
Someone said, "Maybe the person who wrote the note was the thief, who stole the things and then tried to lure us into killing him to cover it up!"
Someone immediately objected: "Do you have a brain? If he wanted to kill someone, wouldn't it have been easier for him to do it last night while you were fast asleep?"
One of the girls said timidly, "Maybe we shouldn't go? What if they've dug a trap for us? We won't even be able to save our lives. Although our supplies have been stolen, today is already the fourth day. We only have three more days to clear the level. If we don't eat or drink for three days, we can survive, right?"
A person next to him agreed, saying, "Yeah, didn't they say that someone survived seven days without food in the wilderness? As long as we get through these few days, we can always go out into the wild to eat tree leaves or go hunting."
One of the men yelled, "Are you all stupid? This isn't the wilderness, this is the city! I checked this out on my first day. It's all skyscrapers, there's no wilderness at all. You think you can hunt wild game? Be careful you don't get slaughtered and made into soup by the starving locals."
Someone yelled, "Damn it, stop scaring people! Cannibalism is way too much!"
The Challengers in the hall were arguing amongst themselves, each expressing their own opinions. Suddenly, a booming male voice rang out from behind them: "Stop fucking arguing! Fighting amongst yourselves at a time like this? Don't you want to die already?"
Everyone turned around and saw a middle-aged man with a thick beard walking slowly towards them.
The man's gaze swept across the room, and he said calmly, "With your IQs, how did you even get through the Heart Room? Don't you know how to analyze it?"
Several people were about to get angry, but the man coldly interrupted them: "If the other party only wanted to steal things, there would be no need to leave a note for us to take the supplies. He would have run away with the supplies long ago. If this thief wanted to kill us to cover it up, last night, everyone was drugged, and he could have easily destroyed the evidence with a fire. Why would he wait until this morning to lure us to the Construction Site with a note before killing us?"
After thinking about it carefully, everyone realized that what the uncle said made a lot of sense.
The bearded man said, "There's no point in arguing. I'm going to go to the Construction Site to find out what's going on. Those who want to come along can come, and those who don't can figure it out themselves."
Immediately, two people stood behind him and said, "We want to go and see."
A young woman followed along, saying, "This uncle makes a good point. If they really wanted to kill us, why didn't they do it last night when everyone was asleep? Why go through all that trouble to leave a note and lure us to the construction site? It wasn't necessary."
Someone agreed, saying, "I also think the contents of the note might be true. In any case, let's go and see."
Of course, some people were worried that it was a trap and decisively broke away from the group, saying, "We're not going." "Me too, I'm not going either. I have a feeling it's a trap."
Four out of the twelve people left, leaving only eight willing to go to the Construction Site together.
The bearded man sighed and said, "I thought that anyone who made it to the third level wouldn't be a fool, but it turns out there are quite a few fools. Ignore the four who left the team. As for the rest of you, I'm warning you, don't do anything rash when we get to the Construction Site. If I'm not mistaken, there will be a pro guiding us through this secret room."
The other six people exchanged glances, their faces full of surprise.
The middle-aged man frowned and said, "Don't you guys know to keep an eye on the other Challengers ' movements? The two people in room 207 go out every day with their backpacks to investigate. After a couple was robbed the day before yesterday, they disappeared and haven't come back since. Maybe they discovered that this guesthouse is not normal. Last night, they went there and came back and took care of the thieves."
Seeing everyone's blank expressions, the uncle laughed and said, "The girls are probably terrified and are staying indoors and not going out much, right?"
The girls looked embarrassed. One of them whispered, "Uncle, do you mean there are some really skilled people in Challenger who have taken care of the thieves at the guesthouse and are willing to help us?"
Bearded Uncle nodded and said, "That's the most reasonable guess. Otherwise, how do you explain the note in the room and the boss's sudden disappearance? Do you think the freelancers at Secret Room World would be so idle as to steal our things and leave notes to lure us into playing hide-and-seek? Besides, the note reveals a lot of details. Take a closer look."
The group immediately lowered their heads to examine the object closely.
The uncle said, "The handwriting on the first note is the clearest and neatest. The handwriting on the subsequent notes becomes more and more hurried, and the ballpoint pen runs out of ink towards the end. Obviously, the situation was urgent at the time, and he couldn't write that much. He had to hurry up and finish writing, which is why there is such a big difference."
A girl exclaimed excitedly, "That's right! We're staying in the innermost room on the second floor. The words on the back of this note do look like they're from a ballpoint pen that's almost out of ink; the color is very faint, barely legible..."
The older man continued to remind them, "Take another look at the pen on the front desk of the guesthouse."
Everyone turned to look, and there lay a suggestion book, several pages torn out, exactly matching the notes they held. Next to the book was a ballpoint pen—it was indeed out of ink.
Clearly, the person who wrote the notes last night was in a rush, grabbing paper and pen to leave a message for everyone, genuinely wanting to help. If it were a pre-arranged trap, they wouldn't have been unable to write the notes clearly.
The group was immediately filled with shame. The young man, who had initially been skeptical but later changed his attitude, said in a daze, "Uncle, are you an expert in heart rooms? You were able to notice so many details..."
The bearded man chuckled wryly, "I was forced into this by the heart room. I can't help but observe details wherever I go. The clue of the note left by the other party was quite obvious. Those four who ran away just now didn't even notice that."
"I wonder how horribly people will die in the heart room later."
The few who remained were still shaken.
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It seems that Secret Room World really brings out people's potential; they're all almost turning into detectives!
***
Thanks to Bearded Uncle's careful analysis, everyone felt much more at ease, but after all, this was just deduction, and someone might deliberately use this method to set a trap.
On the way, the team leader said, "What cards does everyone have? Be prepared in advance, so that we can't be put on the defensive if things go wrong and a battle breaks out at any time."
Everyone took out some of their more aggressive cards and held them in their hands, ready to start a battle at any time.
However, as soon as everyone entered the Construction Site, they were caught by a barrage of falling rings, which ensnared their feet and nearly caused them to fall flat on their faces!
Before anyone could react, a handsome man with a gentle smile suddenly appeared next to the truck. He gently raised his hand, and around his fingers were several floating silver rings of different sizes. The scene was like a dazzling magic trick.
The Challengers were all startled, but the older man was more composed and immediately asked, "What are you doing?"
Xiao Lou smiled and said, "Don't worry, everyone. I'm only holding you back for now to prevent any radicals from acting rashly and causing unnecessary violence. I mean no harm. Please let me finish, okay?"
Finding that no one was going to make a move, Xiao Lou took out his phone and sent a message: " CEO Shao, bring the boss over."
Shao Qingge escorted the guesthouse owner over. Everyone recognized the owner and was shocked to see him: "Isn't this Boss Zhang?" "You're the one who arrested the guesthouse owner!"
"Yes, he put sleeping pills in the mosquito coils to knock you unconscious. He also teamed up with a guy surnamed Liu to steal your supplies, intending to burn you alive and sell the supplies for money, but we discovered it." Xiao Lou smiled at the boss: "Am I right?"
Mr. Zhang, who had been tied up all night, was ashen-faced and stammered, "Yes, yes... please let me go! I still have money, I'll give you money! My lodging for the next few days will be waived, just let me go back!"
The Challengers looked at each other in bewilderment.
Xiao Lou continued, " Shanshui B&B is a shady business. We went to the guesthouse last night and caught the owner and the thief. Your supplies were stored in their truck, which made it inconvenient for us to move them. We were also worried that other citizens would steal them, so we temporarily moved the truck to the Construction Site."
One of the girls said gratefully, "Did you really save us? Thank you, thank you so much!"
Bearded Uncle laughed, "I told you long ago, if he wanted to harm us, he could have easily destroyed the evidence with a simple fire while everyone was unconscious last night. Who would leave a note and lure us to the construction site at dawn to clean up the mess?"
"That's right, that's right, thank you so much, kind people. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't even know how we died!"
"We also have to thank the uncle for helping us analyze and deduce that there was an expert helping us, otherwise we wouldn't have dared to come to the Construction Site!" A girl suddenly looked gratefully at the bearded uncle.
"Oh?" Xiao Lou asked with interest, "Brother, you guessed we were helping out?"
"Well, I also gleaned some details from the note you left." The man frankly reiterated his analysis.
Xiao Lou was quite surprised; she hadn't expected there to be such a smart person in Challenger.
Despite his burly appearance, Bearded Uncle was actually the most meticulous person in the group.
He and Captain Yu were right to go and rescue people. Although there are some selfish, cold-blooded, and vicious people in Challenger, there are also smart and kind people who try their best to complete the game without burning, killing, looting, or violating human nature.
Moreover, Card World has a huge organization specifically targeting Challengers. If Challengers don't unite, things will only get harder in the future.
Ye Qi's Secret Room World was where the Challenger team was wiped out by the prisoners lured by Liu Tong on the fifth day.
There should be people from Liu Tong's organization among the prisoners. Liu Tong said before, "I'll have the brothers go look for those surnamed Xiao and Yu. These outsiders, none of them can be left alive." The "brothers" he mentioned were the prisoners in the prison.
On the fifth day, the Challengers will likely have to confront the criminal gang head-on.
Either run away in advance and hide so the other party can't find you.
Alternatively, they could wait and wait for the thugs to come to them, then turn the tables and kill them.
Thinking of this, Xiao Lou smiled and said, "I have a suggestion. If you trust me, then come with us—let's team up and clear Spade 3 Secret Room, what do you say?"