Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang were just about to ask Tang Ci about the walkthrough for the next secret room when a mechanical voice suddenly rang in their ears: "Alarm! Alarm! Someone has broken into the underground base!"
A large screen appeared in front of Tang Ci, displaying a familiar face.
The man's handsome face wore a carefree and arrogant smile. His gaze was fixed on the security camera, and he gestured for Tang Ci to let him in. Tang Ci frowned slightly, pressed a green button, and the metal door immediately opened.
A moment later, a tall young man dressed in casual clothes strode in.
Yu Hanjiang asked in confusion, "Ninth Brother?"
The newcomer was none other than Lu Jiuchuan. Neither Yu Hanjiang nor Xiao Lou had expected him to appear here.
Tang Ci asked, "What brings you here?"
Lu Jiuchuan smiled and walked over to him, standing in front of his wheelchair. He leaned down to look at him and joked, "I've come to see you."
Tang Ci ignored his joke and calmly asked, "As an undercover agent in the Hunter Alliance, and daring to risk running around everywhere, aren't you afraid of being followed and having your identity exposed?"
Lu Jiuchuan said, "The Alliance gave me a week off after the mission failed, so no one will be bothering me for now. Don't worry, I took several different routes here, so no one will suspect my identity or follow me."
Tang Ci looked up at him: "What did you do to deserve this leave from the league?"
Lu Jiuchuan casually pulled open his shirt—revealing a large, deep scar on his left chest, around his heart, a bloody mess that looked like a spider.
Tang Ci's pupils suddenly contracted: "You let Sister Ying stab you?"
Lu Jiuchuan chuckled as he buttoned up his shirt, saying, "That's right. Otherwise, how would I cover up the lie? Spider Goddess is the Hunter Alliance's number one bounty target. I can't exactly say she'll let me go, can I? I couldn't beat her, and she almost killed me. I only survived by faking my death and reporting back to the organization about Spider Goddess. That way, the organization will believe me and give me credit."
Yu Hanjiang felt a slight pang in his heart when he saw his calm expression.
Xiao Lou couldn't help but feel sorry for him; being an undercover agent is no easy task. He couldn't even imagine the suffering Lu Jiuchuan had endured in the past two years. Such a deep wound, almost piercing his chest—how painful must it have been to be stabbed again and again? Yet Lu Jiuchuan didn't even flinch; clearly, being injured had become a habit for him.
Xiao Lou said worriedly, "Ninth Brother, your wound needs to be treated as soon as possible, otherwise it will get infected. And it's too close to your heart. If the person who did it hadn't been careful, a few centimeters off, your heart would have been pierced."
Lu Jiuchuan laughed and said, " Hua Ying has killed countless people, so she still has this much judgment. Besides, my heart is naturally a few centimeters off-center from others, so there's nothing to worry about." He looked at Tang Ci and said, "Come on, treat me."
Tang Ci said with a blank face, "Don't take such risks next time, or you might lose your life."
He turned around in his wheelchair and pressed a few buttons on the control panel—
A cute robot pushed a medical cart to Lu Jiuchuan's side and touched his wound with its mechanical arm. The wound healed at a speed visible to the naked eye. The previously hideous scar gradually flattened, leaving only a faint spider-shaped mark.
Without stitches or bandages, the wound healed by 80% in just a few seconds.
Seeing this amazing scene, Xiao Lou couldn't help but ask, "Is this... a card?"
Lu Jiuchuan said, "That's right, one of Director Tang's robot cards."
Yu Hanjiang asked with interest, "Mr. Tang is building this smart factory in the basement to research robots?"
Before Tang Ci could speak, Lu Jiuchuan explained, "In the real world, he was a senior engineer specializing in the research and development of intelligent robots. The first S card he drew after arriving in Card World was this healing intelligent robot. He disassembled the robot from head to toe, studied its programs, and then wrote his own code to make some other machines."
At this point, Lu Jiuchuan looked at Tang Ci and said with a smile, "Come on, show them the little things you made."
Tang Ci pressed a button on his wheelchair, and a giant mechanical ant suddenly appeared in front of everyone. Following his instructions, the ant quickly carried a heavy box. The more than 5-meter-long mechanical ant had incredibly flexible legs and carried the supplies at lightning speed!
Xiao Lou: "..."
This is called a "small thing"? It's tens of thousands of times bigger than a real ant!
The size of an ant was comparable to that of a large bus; he had never seen such a gigantic creature before…
In addition, a large number of drones suddenly flew overhead, all equipped with offensive weapons and capable of launching direct airstrikes.
After the drone, a large number of centipedes appeared. Each leg of those mechanical centipedes was like a sharp blade, capable of cutting through iron like mud! If these spiders were thrown into a crowd during battle, their destructive power would be comparable to Yu Hanjiang's S-class shotgun!
Xiao Lou couldn't help but exclaim – Mr. Tang is practically a mechanical summoner!
Yu Hanjiang also looked surprised: "Can these machines be brought into Secret Room World?"
Tang Ci nodded, pressed a button on his wheelchair, and the machinery in the open space vanished into thin air.
He calmly said, "I drew an S card called [Data Master], which can convert specified data into cards, but it has some limitations."
With the restriction, only four cards can be transformed. I made [ Mechanical Ant ], [ Drone Array], [Mechanical Centipede], and [Smart Wheelchair]. The ant serves as a transport vehicle, carrying us away or helping to move supplies; the drone is for aerial attacks, the centipede is for ground attacks, and the wheelchair is, of course, my mode of transportation.
Yu Hanjiang looked at his brother with suspicion: "Mr. Tang has such a strong card, how could you lose in Plum Blossom J, where you paid 150 Hunters?"
Lu Jiuchuan's expression darkened, and he said in a low voice, "This was developed by Tang Ci after we failed the test. He cracked the robot's code and spent half a year developing it in the underground factory. If he had had these weapons earlier, he wouldn't have..."
Tang Ci interrupted the other person softly: "There's no need to bring up the past. With these things, at least we won't be so passive next time."
Lu Jiuchuan smiled and looked at Yu Hanjiang, saying, "That's right, we'll show you the strength of the group, which will give you more confidence for future escape rooms. You've all seen Senior Old Gui's pen, haven't you?"
Yu Hanjiang nodded: "Yes, the brushstrokes control the movement of objects in mid-air, very powerful."
Lu Jiuchuan said, "That's just one of his pens. He has several pens with different functions. Tang Ci's cards are all related to mechanics. As for Hua Ying, she doesn't want to show herself for now, but she is our team's strongest assassin. I think you've all heard the legend of Spider Goddess. The four of us were able to survive in Plum Blossom J, so of course none of us are weak."
Xiao Lou understood Lu Jiuchuan's meaning and said, "Don't worry, Ninth Brother, we will also improve our strength as soon as possible."
Lu Jiuchuan looked at him approvingly: "It's not that I doubt you, but with your current level, you really can't clear the S-level secret chamber. Next, you should clear the B-level secret chamber as soon as possible, draw more cards, and get the strategy for the B-level secret chamber..." He looked at Tang Ci, who took a USB drive from a box next to his wheelchair and said, "It's already prepared."
Lu Jiuchuan took the USB drive and handed it to Yu Hanjiang: "This is why I asked you to come to him. Tang Ci's strategy guide is absolutely the most comprehensive. For the B-level escape room, you can just follow the strategy guide and easily achieve a perfect ending."
Xiao Lou had previously heard Lao Mo mention that the Intelligence Bureau would sell walkthroughs for 1 million gold coins each. Now, Tang Ci was giving away the most complete walkthrough for free, clearly out of respect for Lu Jiuchuan, and wanted to help them clear the B-level escape room as soon as possible.
Yu Hanjiang thanked him, took the USB drive, and put it in his pocket.
Tang Ci cautioned, "The USB drive I gave you only contains walkthroughs for levels five through seven, a total of 12 B-grade secret rooms. You'll have to challenge the A-grade secret rooms yourselves, because giving you walkthroughs might actually harm you."
Yu Hanjiang raised an eyebrow in confusion: "Is it because the plot of the escape room changes?"
Tang Ci said, "Yes. There are many versions of the A-grade secret room, such as the heart room. In the secret rooms I've experienced, the murderer might become the victim after you enter the room. Looking at walkthroughs can actually affect your judgment. Since you two are people who can break the world record for the heart room, I think the A-grade heart room won't be difficult for you either."
Lu Jiuchuan added, "As for Spade, as far as I know, the strongest teams from Luoying Pavilion, Intelligence Bureau, and Distant Place Association have entered different A-level Spade Secret Room environments and have different survival objectives, so we can't provide a detailed guide. The maze in Diamonds changes its route every time, so following the guide will only lead you to a dead end. Plum Blossom has many competitive games, and you'll have to figure those out yourselves."
Yu Hanjiang nodded solemnly: "Understood. We'll figure out a way to get the A-grade secret room ourselves."
Tang Ci glanced at Lu Jiuchuan, then looked at Yu Hanjiang, and said, "I hope you can reach the eleventh level within a month and join the four of us. We won't go to the fixed secret room; every weekend we'll be pulled into the Weekly Routine. Each additional Weekly Routine means one more danger."
Lu Jiuchuan laughed and said, "Are you talking about me?"
Tang Ci was silent for a moment before frowning and saying, "You can't always drag Sister Ying in and let her stab you in the back, can you?"
Lu Jiuchuan said nonchalantly, "What's there to be afraid of? Your healing robot is quite effective at dealing with these kinds of superficial injuries, isn't it?"
Tang Ci didn't speak, but just stared at him calmly, almost as if she were trying to bore a hole through his face.
Lu Jiuchuan helplessly raised his hands in surrender: "Okay, okay, I understand." He put away his smile and his gaze suddenly became serious: "Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to myself. I still need to wait for my brother to meet me at the Eleventh Pass, and for you all. I said I would take you away from this world, and I will never break my promise."
He looked at Yu Hanjiang: "You know what to do, right? Don't embarrass your brother."
Yu Hanjiang nodded: "I understand."
Lu Jiuchuan walked over and patted his younger brother on the shoulder: "You can rest for two days and study the strategy Tang Ci gave you thoroughly. Once you've figured it out, go and try out the B-level secret room on Friday. I think with your skills and the strategy, you can easily crush the B-level secret room. Be careful when you get to the A-level. If you encounter any difficulties, you can come to me. The Absolute Domain card allows you to connect across secret rooms—of course, I hope you're not so bad that you need help even for an A-level secret room."
Yu Hanjiang said, "Don't worry, brother, we've already figured out how to get through this."
Xiao Lou assured him, "Don't worry, Ninth Brother. After this Weekly Routine, we're not afraid of the Spade Secret Room. We have teammates who excel at Hearts, Diamonds, and Plum Blossom, so they shouldn't be too difficult for us."
Lu Jiuchuan smiled slightly: "Okay, then goodbye."
After leaving the underground factory, Xiao Lou had mixed feelings. Compared to Lu Jiuchuan, Tang Ci, Mr. Old Gui, and Chu Huaying, who had already cleared the A-grade secret room, their team was indeed too weak.
Tang
Ci's mechanical centipede, mechanical ant, and drone array could wipe out all eight of them in an instant.
Mr. Old Gui's pen can make them float in the air and play with them!
Aside from the limited-edition weapon [Blood Spider] which kills without leaving a trace, Chu Huaying's other cards are currently unknown; it's also unclear what cards Lu Jiuchuan has, but as the captain, Jiu Ge is definitely the strongest among this group.
These four people are all incredibly capable; how could they possibly hold Brother Jiu back?
Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang exchanged a glance, and at the same time, their resolve hardened.
Xiao Lou believed that levels 5, 6, and 7 would be a piece of cake for them. They could quickly clear the B-grade secret rooms, achieve perfect scores, and draw some good cards... The A-grade secret room would be the real challenge they would face.