54

 At this moment, Liu Shuyao's hearing was amplified to the extreme. A distorted, processed voice crackled through an old speaker overhead.

"Hello everyone, welcome to Mr. Feng’s party!"

"As the bell chimes, allow me to explain the rules that will govern your journey. Each of you finds yourselves locked in a room — just a starting point. These rooms are interconnected within this mysterious structure."

"But take note, escape is not confined to just one room."

"When the door to the initial escape room opens due to your efforts, a new scenario will unfold — a door leading to another connected room, where you may find companions facing the same predicament."

"Each room has a time limit. Solving the puzzle and escaping within the allotted time will be considered a victory. Failing to escape in time will result in an automatic door opening, but the player will lose their chance to escape."

"Be aware, you can choose not to rescue your companions. Abandoned companions will enter a solo mission."

"That concludes the first phase of the rules!"

Then, a countdown began through the speaker overhead.

"Three."

"Two."

"One."

"Now, Mr. Feng's party has officially begun."

At this moment, Liu Shuyao was utterly terrified. It wasn't until long after the countdown had finished that she slowly realized she should try to remove the cloth over her eyes. Unfortunately, it seemed like there was a knot behind her ears, and despite her efforts, she couldn't manage to untie it.

With no other choice, she slumped against the bed, recalling the game rules mentioned earlier through the speaker.

“They were split up in pairs, so there must be three people solving puzzles and three people trapped.”

Her boyfriend would definitely come looking for her!

Liu Shuyao forced herself to calm down, curling up on the bed with her back pressed against the headboard, feeling utterly helpless.

Meanwhile, Xiang Ran wasn’t blindfolded or handcuffed, but he had been placed in a room where mathematical symbols and formulas floated along the walls.

In the center of the room hovered a cube, with various math problems inscribed on each of its faces.

Xiang Ran carefully examined each face of the cube and saw a series of mathematical equations, including calculus, algebra, and number theory.

The countdown in his room had already begun as well.

Blood-red numbers accompanied by faint ticking sounds created an overwhelming sense of pressure, forcing Xiang Ran to jump into solving the equations without much time to think.

In the corner of the room was an old wooden table, with a book, a piece of paper, and a pen on top of it.

The book had a combination lock on it. Xiang Ran shook it a couple of times and realized the key to escaping was inside.

However, after looking at the cube, he frowned.

He hesitated between solving the equations and simply breaking the small lock, but eventually, he chose to stand before the cube.

Xiang Ran began combining the functions, murmuring to himself as he wrote:

“Both f and g have the same variables, x and y. Can I find a value such that f(x) equals g(y)?”

As time ticked by, the sound of his pen on paper echoed in the room. Xiang Ran’s expression was focused, his brows furrowing occasionally. In no time, he had filled half a page with notes.

“f(1) = g(4).”

“This means f and g are equal at x = 1 and y = 4.”

Without delay, he tried connecting this value of 1 and 4 with the other equations. It turned out to be the answer.

He quickly entered the code into the lock at the door.

“Click.”

The lock made a soft sound, indicating it was successfully unlocked.

After solving the combination, Xiang Ran opened the book. Inside was a hint directing him to the next room.

He stepped out into a hallway.

Only the emergency lights were on, casting a dim glow. Judging by the layout, it seemed like everyone was in various rooms on the second floor. The main party area was likely downstairs, but the hallway leading there was blocked, and he couldn’t see the lobby.

So, Xiang Ran gave up and turned back.

Following the instructions from the book, he arrived at the door of Room 205.

“Creak.”

He pressed down on the handle, and the old door let out a series of creaks as it opened.

Once he stepped inside, the door locked behind him.

This room was slightly brighter than the one he had just been in. The walls were bare, with the things on them covered by white cloths. There was a bed, an old desk, and a row of empty bookshelves.

But none of these things really mattered.

What mattered was the girl.

Xiang Ran was startled by what he saw and gasped.

The girl on the bed had her hands cuffed, her eyes covered by a black cloth. Her white dress barely covered her thighs, and there were fresh scrapes on her knees. The red canvas shoes she wore blended with the dim light.

Liu Shuyao’s hair was slightly messy from the black cloth, with a few strands falling next to her delicate face, giving her a disheveled look.

Xiang Ran stared at the bound Liu Shuyao, his heart racing, as if it too was veiled by the same black cloth, shrouded in mist.

Wild thoughts began growing like weeds in his mind, and all kinds of forbidden images flashed across his heart.

The dim lighting seemed like the backdrop to a hidden performance, amplifying the ambiguity of the scene. He could almost feel the tense atmosphere in the air, a mixture of restraint and release that caused his heartbeat to quicken uncontrollably.

Until a voice, carrying a tone of anxiousness and insecurity, interrupted his thoughts.

Hearing the faint sound of the door unlocking, Liu Shuyao felt a wave of fear wash over her.

Tentatively, she spoke, her voice trembling with a hint of grievance:

“Xiang Ran? Is that you?”

As she spoke, she lifted her hands and shook them a little. Her thin wrists, delicate as fragile bamboo branches, seemed as though they could snap under the slightest pressure.

This made Liu Shuyao appear all the more helpless and obedient.

In the dim room, a particular atmosphere began to fill the air.

Xiang Ran silently cursed himself!

He quickly snapped back to reality.

“It’s me.”

He hurried over to help Liu Shuyao remove the black cloth from her eyes.

After being blindfolded for so long, Liu Shuyao blinked as she adjusted to the light. As soon as she saw her boyfriend, her composure crumbled.

She leaned her head on Xiang Ran’s shoulder, tears welling up as she sniffled and accused him seriously:

“What kind of escape room is this...”

“Wahhh…”

“I don’t want to play anymore~~~”

Xiang Ran, anxious to free Liu Shuyao from the handcuffs — knowing they were under a time limit — patted her shoulder gently, soothing her with soft words while scanning the bed for any clues.

“It’s alright.”

“Just sit here and wait, I’ll be quick.”

Previous Chapter Next Chapter