Chapter 49 The Factory

Recalling the scene, Zhou Ya still felt a little emotional, but the most urgent task was to rescue Brother Yao.

Several arrows were shot out. Seeing that the situation had turned around, Yao Ge, despite being exhausted, mustered some strength and gritted his teeth as he ran outside. Yu Shuling and Zhou Ya immediately went downstairs to meet him.

The two rescued him from his desperate situation, like saviors, which calmed Yao Ge down considerably. He just didn't know how Luo Ziqi was doing, but at least he could finally catch his breath.

Zhou Ya handed Yao Ge a bottle of water. Even a strong, healthy man like him was exhausted after running around for so long. Yao Ge sat on the ground, panting and resting for a while, before telling them what had happened between him, Tao Liang, and Luo Ziqi:

"Ziqi gave me the key before she left. I looked at it and it had a 'C' written on it, and a small mouse was engraved on the back. It probably means computer room."

After all, this place is so big, there must be a control room. Yao Ge only remembered this now, but luckily it's not too late. They had been chased the whole time and their minds were all fuzzy, but now that they have their partners with them, they've come to their senses again.

“Besides, Ziqi received a call earlier, telling us to wait at the warehouse, and it’s been repeated over and over. How about I go to the server room by myself?” Yao Ge took out a wet wipe from his pocket and wiped his sweat. “It would be good for the two of you to go to the warehouse so you can look after each other. Just make sure you don’t get separated.”

They were in such a predicament because they got separated; otherwise, with the three of them looking out for each other, they wouldn't be in such a sorry state.

“No,” Zhou Ya shook her head. “I think we still have to go together. Who knows if there’s any danger on the way to the server room? The clues we have now are very important. If you get caught on the way, you might not get out so easily.”

Brother Yao was taken aback. He hadn't thought of that, and scratched his head somewhat sheepishly. But now was not the time for him to be modest and deferential.

"Then let's go quickly."

He was afraid that if too much time passed, the task in the warehouse would be forgotten. All three of them were action-oriented, and by now they had pretty much figured out the surrounding routes.

The computer room is on the third floor. Brother Yao passed by there when he escaped, but he didn't have time to check the key carefully.

After walking for a while and avoiding a pair of patrolling factory workers, Yu Shuling noticed that their patrols seemed to have intensified, as they hadn't been as frequent before. She realized that the game was finally coming to an end.

Although the production team initially stated it would be five days and five nights, adjustments would be made based on the players' physical condition and the progress of the story. Before appearing on the show, she had seen a group complete the game in three days, but that still took a lot of effort, and it was said that the guests in that group all needed a week to recover afterward.

Darkness is the best camouflage for all actions.

Even though they had flashlights in their bags, the three of them didn't turn them on. Yao led the way, and the other two followed quietly, making no noise, and successfully reached the door of the server room. Yao fumbled for the keyhole but couldn't get it right after a while. The experienced Zhou Ya, who had long since mastered the art of working in the dark, took the key from him and opened the door in a few quick movements.

Before Yao could even say a word of thanks, he quickly went inside and left the door slightly ajar, just in case something happened and he couldn't escape.

Zhou Ya, who was the first to enter, turned her flashlight to its dimmest setting and scanned the room to make sure there was nothing hidden before calling her two teammates over.

The flashlight was turned up another notch, and now the entire setup could be seen within the beam's reach.

This is a central control room. Computers of all sizes are running, but since it's just a game and not a real escape, the players have been labeled with "Control Host," "Monitor 1," "Monitor 2," etc., with thoughtful notes in crooked handwriting.

"I'll go out and keep watch."

This is where the MC's usefulness comes in. Although she wasn't the strongest in the physical challenges, Zhou Ya's adaptability to the show was perfect. After all, she had been on the show for so many episodes. No matter how many new tricks the production team came up with, the routines they used were always the same.

Seeing that the two girls could complete the task perfectly, Brother Yao went outside to wait, to prevent the group from being caught by the patrol team inside, which could lead to a game over if they accidentally stole clues at the crucial moment.

Zhou Ya quickly glanced through the note, then turned to Yu Shuling and said:

"Shuling, you're taller than me, try to reach the computer with three rows and four columns and press the power button."

Yu Shuling was slightly off when she stood on tiptoe, but she lightly jumped in place and completed Zhou Ya's requirement, landing silently and perfectly dissipating the force. Zhou Ya, however, was not looking at her and was also quickly working on her own.

After completing this simple action, Yu Shuling looked back and saw that the computer light had enveloped Zhou Ya's entire face.

Zhou Ya's appearance wasn't particularly outstanding, but her focused expression at that moment made her exceptionally beautiful and dashing. The rare silence was broken by the sound of Zhou Ya's fingers rapidly tapping on the keyboard; she worked quickly, completing the task in less than a minute.

"OK, all the mechanisms have been shut down, but I haven't turned off the main power yet, to prevent them from discovering it too quickly."

Although her movements appeared fluid and graceful, Zhou Ya was sweating. Yu Shuling took out a wet wipe and handed it to her. As Zhou Ya wiped her sweat, she saw the young woman, who was almost ten years younger than her, smiling.

"You are excellent and remain calm under pressure."

Zhou Ya: "..." Although she knew she was being praised, why did she inexplicably feel like a subject being rewarded?

Yu Shuling smiled but remained silent.

In her former country, although the customs were open and women could freely go to school, most people's fate was to be arranged to marry and have children when they were teenagers, and she was no exception.

Compared to before, she still prefers the freedom she has now. Modern relationships allow women to pursue their own paths, and even if absolute fairness isn't achieved, it's still so much better than what she experienced before.

Zhou Ya snapped out of her daze and called Yao Ge, who was outside, to come in:

“You said Ziqi had a cell phone before, right? I haven’t seen it anywhere else. I guess besides making calls, it can also take pictures and record videos. I was organizing my computer just now and I saw some surveillance videos. They are evidence of the people here colluding with the longevity village. We need to find Ziqi and record these.”

Yu Shuling hadn't forgotten that their mission was to "find the source of the water pollution in Changshou Village" and solve the village's drinking water problem, which seemed completely unrelated to what they were doing now.

“The source of the water pollution is the factory,” Zhou Ya said, already preparing to leave. “We can’t record this video; it will take time to watch the whole thing.”

Needless to say, everyone was afraid that things might change if they delayed, and there was also the task at the warehouse. Luo Ziqi knew about this task, so if she could shake off those people, she would probably head towards the warehouse.

If Luo Ziqi is arrested, it will indeed be quite troublesome.

With that thought in mind, the three of them quickened their pace. The warehouse was on the basement level, and they practically ran there.

After the motionless mechanisms were deactivated, it became easier for people to move around here. When they arrived, they saw a man holding a familiar petite figure hostage at the warehouse entrance.

They were around the corner, and the people over there hadn't spotted them yet. Yao Ge was impatient and was about to rush over when Luo Ziqi, who had just walked a short distance with the man and girl, seemed to see them and her eyes lit up.

The man in black also saw it, but for a moment he was distracted, and Luo Ziqi seized the opportunity to throw him over her shoulder. The girl was petite, and when she first came to the show, she told everyone that she had trained, but few people seriously believed her.

Seeing Luo Ziqi's swift and decisive actions, even Brother Yao was shocked.

Luo Ziqi grabbed him and pressed him down:

"Where is your factory manager? Didn't you say you wanted to drag me to see the factory manager?"

Seeing that her teammates arrived quickly, Luo Ziqi, now emboldened, became even more reckless. The man stammered and couldn't speak, but after being threatened by Luo Ziqi and having a walkie-talkie found on him by Brother Yao, he finally became obedient.

"The walkie-talkie told us to go to the second floor of Block B." Brother Yao took the initiative to escort the man. "Let's go that way."

The key issue is that we don't know where the other teammates are or whether they have obtained any other clues. This factory is very large and is divided into two areas, A and B.

Area A is where they are now, and they've already covered most of it. Actually, everyone is more inclined to believe that their teammates will be in Area B.

On the other side, Mu Yubing, Chuan Nai, Xiao Shu, and Jiang Wenxi did indeed gather together, while Tao Liang had truly finished the game and was taken away by the production team to watch everyone continue.

It was almost dawn outside. After staying up all night, because the end of the story was just around the corner, no one felt too tired.

As expected, they were ambushed while escorting this person from Area A to Area B; the people in the factory wouldn't let them leave so easily. However, the main force that came to intercept them were the monsters, who were repelled by Yu Shuling's "arrows."

The second time, the ground beneath their feet seemed to shake, startling everyone. At that moment, all the monsters in the factory came out. Even though they picked up a few more bottles of potion on the way, it was no use for just a few people. Fortunately, because the commotion was so loud, the people lurking in Area B also came out. Mu Yubing spotted Yu Shuling and the others trapped, and Chuan Nai immediately used a prop card.

This item card is extremely rare; it can stop all the monsters present from moving for thirty seconds, which is a very rare opportunity for them.

"You're pretty lucky."

Although they were running the whole time when they met up, Yu Shuling still managed to joke with Kawana during a break. Kawana held her arm tightly, and couldn't help but smile when she heard this.

But the thirty-second deadline quickly passed, and the monsters blocked the road to Area B completely. Yao, having learned his lesson through trial and error, and remembering their unfinished recording, decisively said:

"Back to Area A!"

Even if the exit is in area B, there are more monsters than people there, and not everyone has enough weapons. If they lose too much health, they might just die here.

Xiao Shu, who had been running ahead, suddenly turned the group around and was caught off guard by the monster behind him. His cry for help barely escaped his throat when Yu Shuling decisively released Chuan Nai and grabbed him from either side.

"You're not allowed to go back. Are you going back to your death now?"