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The scene quieted down.

The fatty shook the map in his hand, frowning as he spoke.

"Don’t any of you protect the clues?"

Cough cough...

Wang Hao cleared his throat twice and then nodded at the fatty.

"You did well."

Seeing that Zhao Ying was fine, Qi Dong relaxed a bit but still quietly reminded them.

Since they had already obtained the map and knew the next direction, they all began to head outside, leaving Xiang Ran and another person still in place.

Liu Shuyao's arm was still wrapped around his neck, her fair skin flushed pink with fear, creating a chaotic feeling that seeped from her bones.

"Honey~ I'm scared~"

"It’s okay now."

"You won’t leave me behind, right?" Liu Shuyao murmured, tightening her grip, wishing to merge herself into her boyfriend's body.

"I won’t."

Even though Liu Shuyao was already in her boyfriend's embrace, she instinctively shrank in closer.

Xiang Ran felt his heart melting at such a small gesture. He seemed to understand why Qi Dong chose this couple-themed escape room; it was clearly with a little of his own intentions in mind! For now, he’d overlook calling him “son.”

"Then you promise!" Liu Shuyao stubbornly insisted from within his arms.

"I promise."

Xiang Ran glanced at the already empty room and gently patted Liu Shuyao's back, as if soothing a kitten.

"They've all left. Should we follow?"

"Can you carry me on the way back?"

Liu Shuyao inched closer, as if clutching a lifeline.

"Weren’t you already holding onto me?"

Since entering the escape room, Liu Shuyao's dependence on Xiang Ran had reached its peak after being handcuffed.

Now, in this situation, they had completely disregarded any set rules. The two were pressed close together, their noses nearly touching, their breath mixing in the warm air.

He originally wanted to create some space, but Liu Shuyao wouldn’t allow it.

She was still leaning against the wall, but the once chilly wall and terrifying escape room atmosphere had become less daunting because of their closeness.

Xiang Ran’s hand rested on her waist, and the area he touched felt like it was tingling.

Liu Shuyao felt a bit breathless. Initially, she thought it was fear, but her heart was actually filled. Looking at her boyfriend, who was lowering his head to comfort her, she finally realized where the urgent breaths and tingling feelings came from.

They didn’t waste any more time. Xiang Ran took Liu Shuyao's hand and they rejoined the group.

Exiting the basement, following the map, they arrived at a mysterious room, where an ancient skeleton statue stood in the center.

Xiang Ran circled around to take a look, frowning as he noticed something odd about the statue's left and right eyes.

He reached out to rotate one, but Liu Shuyao pulled him back.

"Be careful of traps."

"It’s fine; I just want to take a look."

The others gathered around, and Xiang Ran twisted the statue's eyes.

"Creek, creek..."

It could indeed be rotated.

They discovered a handwritten secret letter. Qi Dong took it out and read the text aloud.

"Shadows lurk within the forest sea."

"Forest sea?"

Xiang Ran repeated the two words, as if pondering something.

"This should all be enclosed escape rooms. I don’t see any trees around."

Zhao Ying spoke up.

As they walked, they had indeed only seen walls, without any trees or similar objects.

"No, there should be a place with plants."

Liu Shuyao, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up.

"The tombstone?"

Xiang Ran picked up on her thought and continued.

"The area in the hall is a graveyard; it's perfectly normal to have trees there. Plus, we went straight down to the basement earlier without properly checking the hall. I have a feeling that area is quite large and likely holds some significance."

Perhaps it was because they had been together all day, but Liu Shuyao had picked up a hint of her boyfriend's shirt's scent, which made her feel a little more at ease.

Everyone thought Xiang Ran's reasoning made sense, so they began to head back.

Sure enough, when they returned to the hall, they found a dense "forest sea" in one corner.

As they explored, they noticed an unusually large tree, beneath which was a slightly open coffin.

"Should we open it?" Wang Hao glanced at it, feeling something was off.

Qi Dong immediately shielded Zhao Ying behind him.

Xiang Ran, needless to say, had Liu Shuyao clinging to him since entering the escape room; she hadn’t let go at all.

"Shall I go?"

The fatty looked around, feeling a bit constrained playing this escape room for the first time.

"You’re the hero!"

As the class leader, Wang Hao felt a strong sense of responsibility—not only calming his girlfriend Xiao Qiao but also caring for the fatty's feelings, giving him timely encouragement.

"Stop!"

"Go out and have your sister introduce me to someone!"

"I’m never coming out to play with you guys again! Why have I suddenly become a lonely soul?!"

The fatty muttered as he stepped forward to open the coffin.

Creak...

Sure enough, something suddenly sat up from within the coffin, releasing a cloud of black smoke.

"Ahhh!"

"There's a ghost!"

"What’s that noise?"

"Behind! Ahhh! It’s behind us!"

Among them, the fatty’s voice was the loudest, completely drowning out the three girls’ cries.

He stumbled back several steps, thinking Xiang Ran would support him, but instead, he fell to the ground.

When he finally looked for Xiang Ran, he discovered that the school beauty was sitting in Xiang Ran’s lap without him noticing!

Earlier, something had jumped out and scared Liu Shuyao to the point of tears.

Her delicate fingers clung tightly to Xiang Ran’s shirt, her big eyes glistening with moisture, looking utterly pitiful.

Her voice was choked as she spoke, "Wuwuwu..."

"Isn’t it too scary~~~"

"Honey, your mental fortitude is too good~"

Liu Shuyao murmured, her eyes sparkling.

Actually, the earlier scene had startled Xiang Ran as well; he was on the verge of cursing. However, since everyone had scattered in a panic, and with the fatty’s outburst, he managed to keep a relatively normal reaction, preserving his perfect image in his girlfriend's eyes.

That should still be a perfect image, right?

After the chaos, a gentle breeze swept through the graveyard, as if invisible hands were caressing the leaves. The rustling sound among the trees resembled ghostly whispers, sending chills down their spines.

The old phonograph emitted eerie sounds, echoing unsettlingly in the empty graveyard.

The escape room's mechanism was triggered, and footsteps echoed through the graveyard. Xiang Ran tried to locate the source of the sounds, but everything seemed blurry and strange in the shadows.

A rustling sound came from the coffin, as if countless invisible eyes were watching them.

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