— Congratulations to Xiao Lou's team for successfully passing the hidden room in the tenth stage.
After Qin Wan committed suicide, the same line of text simultaneously appeared in the floating boxes in front of his teammates. At this time, Long Sen and the other three were still in the hotel in Qingshui Town organizing data, while Yu Hanjiang and the other three were looking at each other in Shao Qingge's bedroom.
Shao Qingge stared at the woman's lifeless body on the ground, his heart heavy. After all, he had always called this woman "Mom," and he recalled the warm memories of being raised by her for over twenty years. She had taken good care of him these past few days, even cooking for him herself. He never imagined that at the last moment, she would so readily point a gun at his head!
The bond between mother and child, the gratitude for raising and nurturing, cannot compare to the black totem on her shoulder.
Hunter.
These three words are like a thorn left in everyone's heart.
Recalling his nightmarish experience in Spade 3, Ye Qi couldn't help but shudder, goosebumps rising on his back. "These Hunters are utterly inhuman," he said. "They're like a brainwashed cult. When they go crazy, they'll even kill the son they raised themselves..."
Yu Hanjiang turned to Xiao Lou: "Do you remember, just now in the underground secret room of Qinghe Village, I put on an invisibility cloak and took you, Ye Qi and Lao Mo away. After the four of us suddenly disappeared from the surveillance footage, those people didn't seem surprised."
Xiao Lou thought about it carefully and realized it was indeed quite strange. An ordinary person would be startled if someone suddenly disappeared in front of them, but the two assassins chasing them were very calm. They simply picked up their submachine guns and started firing into the empty corridor, as if they knew someone was in the air.
Xiao Lou speculated, "Perhaps they already knew we were ' outsiders '? Besides silencing us, the more crucial reason Qin Wan ordered us all killed was actually this?"
Yu Hanjiang nodded: "I'm afraid she noticed you as early as when you tricked Shao Zhengyang into going to investigate at the hospital."
Xiao Lou felt a chill run down her spine.
This strange Hunter Alliance prioritizes "killing outsiders " as their primary objective, employing methods far more cruel and ruthless than anyone can comprehend. As Ye Qi stated, these Hunters, when driven mad, won't even spare their own family members. As for the deep-seated grudge the Hunters hold against them, they have no idea, and the true leader of the Hunter Organization remains a mystery.
I wonder if Ninth Brother has any clues?
Sensing Xiao Lou's thoughts, Yu Hanjiang said via Telepathic Connection, "After leaving the secret room, I'll go ask Ninth Brother."
Xiao Lou agreed: "Okay, now that we've cleared the level, let's get out as soon as possible?"
Yu Hanjiang was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "You all rest for a while, I have something else to take care of."
Ye Qi asked curiously, "Haven't you already cleared the game? Captain Yu, is there anything you're still worried about?"
" Zhao Sen," Yu Hanjiang murmured the name.
"..." Thinking of the deranged killer with silver-rimmed glasses who had performed heart surgery on him, Shao Qingge felt a chill run down his spine and asked in a low voice, "You want to arrest him?"
" Zhao Sen has two lives on his hands; I can't let him get away with it. Besides, if we don't get rid of him, there might be endless trouble later, and he might interfere with us in future secret chambers." Yu Hanjiang looked at Xiao Lou, asking for his opinion, "What do you think?"
"Yes, I understand." Xiao Lou looked into his eyes and said seriously, "After all, your job is to be a police officer. If a psychopathic murderer is roaming around in front of you, you would feel uncomfortable if you let him get away with it."
Meeting those warm eyes, Yu Hanjiang felt a surge of warmth in his heart. Xiao Lou not only didn't blame him for "meddling," but also supported his actions, which greatly pleased Yu Hanjiang. He glanced at Xiao Lou, then turned and said, "I'll be right back."
Xiao Lou was a little worried: "Where are you going to catch him by yourself?"
Yu Hanjiang said, "Since I am the Criminal Police Officer of this world, let's follow the normal procedure. Don't forget, I shrunk to the size of a thumb and followed him to his secret villa, where there was ready-made evidence—a room full of specimens made from his cousin's corpse."
Connecting the scene Yu Hanjiang described, Shao Qingge made a disgusted expression, suppressing the churning in his stomach.
Ye Qi was quite curious, his tone tinged with excitement: "This Zhao Sen is too perverted! He actually made his cousin's corpse into a specimen and kept it as a collection? Captain Yu, I'll go with you. I'm still the Insect King, so I can help you if Zhao Sen resists."
Yu Hanjiang did not refuse and simply drove Ye Qi to Zhao Sen's private villa in the mountains.
When the two kicked open the door, Zhao Sen was in the specimen room, smiling as he admired his "masterpiece." The room full of entrails and dismembered limbs made Ye Qi feel nauseous.
Yu Hanjiang had followed Zhao Sen once before and was very familiar with his villa. Now he had caught him red-handed.
When Zhao Sen was taken back, Yu Hanjiang took the opportunity to find the files on Red Heart 2: Rose Funeral.
The timeline of this locked room is shortly after the " Rose Funeral " case. Zou Xiaomei's parents had been unable to contact their daughter for several days, so they reported her missing to the police. When the police arrived at the scene, they found a strong stench emanating from the villa. Following the smell to the bedroom, the scene they witnessed shocked all the Criminal Police Officers present.
On a bed covered with roses, lay a woman's corpse. If it weren't for the strong stench of death, the scene would have been a work of art.
Following an investigation, police found He Yongqiang's hair in the kitchen drain and a large amount of it on the tableware.
The fingerprints of Qiang and the deceased confirmed that the two had dined together. After opening Zou Xiaomei's phone, the police found chat records between her and He Yongqiang. Since Zou Xiaomei's husband, Zhao Sen, was away on a business trip at the time of her death and had a solid alibi, the police identified He Yongqiang as the suspect.
Yu Hanjiang glanced at the investigation record in the case file. Zhao Sen had been brought back for questioning. He was indeed away on a business trip at the time, and his face was captured by the cameras on the plane and in the hotel. Zhao Sen stated that he did not know about his wife's affair with He Yongqiang.
Since the police were unable to locate He Yongqiang, the case became unsolved.
Everything unfolded according to Zhao Sen's script. The two had an affair, and during an argument, He Yongqiang killed someone and fled to avoid punishment, leaving Zhao Sen as an innocent victim.
Unfortunately, this time he encountered Yu Hanjiang.
The net of justice is vast and its meshes are wide, yet nothing escapes it. Yu Hanjiang not only found the corpse specimen of his cousin that he had secretly prepared, but also took off the exquisite watch that Zhao Sen was wearing on his right wrist and handed it over to the technical department for identification.
The final test results showed that his wife's blood DNA was indeed detected in the gaps of his watch chain.
The name on the line for the case handler was a familiar one— Xie Xinghe.
Yu Hanjiang paused, thinking, " Xie Xinghe, that must be the person I know, right?"
He was apparently the Criminal Police Detachment Chief of the precinct.
Yu Hanjiang asked his colleagues at the Police Station to inform Xie Xinghe to come to the Municipal Bureau to see him the next day.
The next morning at eight o'clock, a young and handsome Criminal Police Officer rushed over after receiving the news, and asked in surprise, " Captain Yu, I heard there's been a new development in the Rose Funeral case?"
When Xie Xinghe and Xiao Lou experienced the Maple Leaf Chamber, Xie Xinghe was an eighteen-year-old boy.
Yu Hanjiang recalls that, after the innocent Ying Xiaoya was murdered, Xie Xinghe vowed to become a Criminal Police Officer at his classmate's grave. Unexpectedly, he would meet Xie Xinghe, who had already become a Criminal Police Officer, here.
The young man in front of me had a calm gaze, and he had long since shed the naivety of his youth, instead exuding a sense of competence.
Yu Hanjiang picked up the case file and asked, "You handled this case, didn't you notice anything wrong?"
Xie Xinghe nodded: "Something's not right. He Yongqiang fled after committing the murder, and this hypothesis seems reasonable based on the surface evidence. But we've been searching for him for a long time and haven't been able to find him. He can't just disappear into thin air. Also, Zhao Sen's alibi seems complete, but it's missing the part about him sleeping in the hotel. He stayed on the second floor of the hotel. If he escaped through the window after entering the room, drove back to the city, killed the person, and then drove back to pretend he had been sleeping, I've calculated the distance between the two cities. There's enough time."
Yu Hanjiang gave him an approving look and said, "The murderer is indeed Zhao Sen. I have brought him and the evidence for you."
Xie Xinghe looked at Yu Hanjiang with suspicion, wondering why the other party would intervene to help him.
It wasn't until he arrived at the forensic department and saw the room full of organ specimens that a hint of horror flashed across Xie Xinghe's calm face.
Yu Hanjiang said, "You've never encountered such a twisted killer before, have you?"
Xie Xinghe frowned: "Indeed...surprising."
Yu Hanjiang gently patted the young man's shoulder: "I'll leave the rest to you. I have to go now."
Xie Xinghe said respectfully, "Thank you, Captain Yu."
Yu Hanjiang turned and left the Criminal Police Detachment. At the same time, Xiao Lou's voice came through the Telepathic Connection: "How did I run into Xie Xinghe? The high school student in the Red Heart 3 escape room who aspires to be a policeman?"
"I didn't expect that I would end up handling Xie Xinghe's case instead of Zhao Sen's. I was just trying to take care of Zhao Sen's case at the same time."
Yu Hanjiang stopped at the door.
The morning sun was bright and dazzling, and pedestrians hurried to and fro on the streets. The presence of Hunter and Challenger seemed to have no effect on this world.
Yu Hanjiang whispered, "I have a bold theory: Secret Room World has its own operating rules. People like Li Mo, Zhao Sen, and Xie Xinghe will appear at different ages in different secret rooms. We can even influence their fate. If I don't deal with Zhao Sen today, I might meet him again in the future. Similarly, if we don't get a perfect run in Maple Leaf Secret Room and trigger the ending where Xie Xinghe becomes a policeman, with his intelligence, he might become psychologically twisted and become the most difficult killer for us to deal with."
Listening to Yu Hanjiang's analysis, Xiao Lou couldn't help but say, "It's like a multi-threaded RPG? We are the players, and our every move will affect the ending of different NPCs?"
Yu Hanjiang nodded: "It's a pity we only have one chance to complete the game. We can't afford to make a single mistake. We're playing this game with our lives on the line. If we lose, we're gone forever, and we can't reload our save."
Xiao Lou took a deep breath and said, "Let's leave here first. I've already received a notification."
A notification popped up in front of Yu Hanjiang's eyes—
[ Xiao Lou's team successfully apprehended the culprit Zhao Sen, triggering a hidden ending and granting an extra reward upon completion.]
[Should we leave the secret room now?]
Yu Hanjiang decisively pressed "Yes".
At the same time, the other teammates also pressed "Yes", and everyone gathered in the Personal Space.
Ace of Spades, Red Heart A, Diamond A, and Plum Blossom A sat neatly in front of them.
Seeing the four familiar Guardians, everyone had mixed feelings and were speechless at the escape room they had arranged.
Shao Qingge suppressed his anger and said with a smile, "The parents you arranged for me are very good, thank you."
Hearts Sister said with a smile, "This is a perk for you, you really should."
Thank you, gentle mom was the final boss! Surprised? Unexpected?
Shao Qingge: "..."
Xiao Lou, who was once arranged to be husband and wife for life, has no intention of having any complaints about Hearts Sister.
If she doesn't like someone, she'll have plenty of ways to torment everyone in the next escape room.
Yu Hanjiang was too lazy to waste words with them and simply said, "Let's do the lottery. We can't forget any of the rewards we promised."
Wearing sunglasses, Ace of Spades maintained his cool demeanor and waved dismissively.
Eight glittering golden treasure chests appeared before the eight people.
This was the first time everyone had seen so many treasure chests. The gloomy mood of the past few days was finally relieved when the treasure chests landed.
Old Mo chuckled, "One for each person, are you going to smoke your own?"
Ye Qi rubbed his hands excitedly: "This was agreed upon before we cleared the game. This time, the four-in-one escape room is more difficult, and the treasure chest rewards will be more. Everyone, hurry up and draw! It feels so good to have a share for everyone."
The teammates all looked expectant, and Xiao Lou suggested, " Captain Yu, shall we go first?"
Yu Hanjiang did not object and simply reached into the treasure chest.
******