A chill rose from Mingqiao's feet to his head.

If he saw Wang Lu drowning in agony in front of him, he might be sad and guilty, but he would never be afraid. But now, he relied on the fragments of Zhang Wanqiao and the other two to imagine the whole process of Wang Lu's death, and this inexplicable horror made him tremble even more.

Mingqiao calmed down and forced himself not to imagine the matter too much.

He couldn't show fear at this time, otherwise they would all fall into an extremely depressing atmosphere. This unhealthy emotion was meaningless in the current predicament.

"Shi Xin, let's go around." Ming Qiao looked at the entire concrete stand. The space that could accommodate people was not small, so they could walk around and look for other clues to get out.

"Okay." Shi Xin raised his foot and followed Ming Qiao.

"Teacher, I'm going too." Qin Xue stopped the two of them and said, "I have nothing to do sitting here. I've also rested a bit. I'll go with you guys."

"Okay, let's go."

The three of them walked along the concrete stands, throwing small stones along the way, and made sure that the entire playground was filled with this unknown liquid.

When he reached the first corner of the playground, Mingqiao saw the paper on the stainless steel bulletin board embedded in the wall.

This piece of paper is completely different from the yellowed and rotten papers around it. It is only the size of a note, but the paper quality is much better. There are a few lines of words printed on it in black Song font.

Mingqiao has become somewhat accustomed to the new rules and notices that can be seen at any time. Whenever he sees them, he stops immediately and takes a closer look.

【Notice about the playground:

Exercise for an hour every day and live a happy life forever.

1. The main part of the playground is a rubber track, which is hard and elastic, all red, with white dividing lines. In the middle is a football field, which is paved with artificial green turf and has two 2.44 x 7.23 goals on both sides of the football field.

2. The playground has a good drainage system and no liquid will remain except on rainy days.

3. The playground is well-equipped with fitness equipment such as single and double bars, elliptical machines, rowing machines, sit-up aids, etc. If you see wooden boats, swimming rings, diving platforms, and diving boards on the playground, please do not approach or use them, as they are fake.

4. When exercising, it is best to find a companion to accompany you to avoid injury.

5. Running, standing long jump, sit-ups, etc. are all basic sports items for primary and secondary school students across the country. Careful practice can help you achieve higher scores in physical education exams.

6. Our school does not offer swimming courses. If you find someone swimming in the playground, please do not pull them.

7. The playground is open from 6:00 to 22:00. Please pay attention to the exercise time.

Follow the rules, or you will suffer the consequences. 】

"It's this kind of thing again." Shi Xin also looked at it twice: "It's even stranger this time."

"It only says what a playground should be and what it should not be, but it doesn't say how to solve this abnormality," Qin Xue added.

"What do you think?" Shi Xin asked Ming Qiao.

"The rules here are different from those in the restaurant," Ming Qiao said. "The rules in the restaurant are very strict and tell you what you should and shouldn't do. But this notice, like Qin Xue said, is more like an explanation, telling you what the playground should and shouldn't be like."

Before the other two could speak, Mingqiao continued, "Also, there should be a part of this paper left." Mingqiao touched the rough edges of the paper. "These tiny hairs are hard to detect, but the other three sides are smooth and cut your hands, only this side is different. It's obvious that someone tore the paper."

They both nodded.

Mingqiao said: "The playground is now full of acid, which means it definitely does not meet the first and second items of the notice, but if we go further, the wooden boats, swimming rings and so on have not appeared."

Qin Xue suddenly realized: "This means that we must either find a way to make the acid disappear, or find a way to make the playground even stranger and lure these things out."

"Yes." Mingqiao looked at Qin Xue with praise.

"Mr. Ming, what do you think the purpose of rules is?" Shi Xin took a different approach: "If these so-called rules are meant to protect us, then I agree with Qin Xue's point of view. Just like in a restaurant, you can either do nothing and break nothing, in which case you might not even have a chance to enter the restaurant. Or you can break the rules completely and survive. But what if the rules are just meant to kill us? Just imagine that in a restaurant, if there is any mistake, we will all lose our lives there."

Ming Qiao followed Shi Xin's thoughts and continued, "Regular rules are formulated to ensure that people can abide by them, so as to achieve peace and stability. But now there are two different rules, one is creating chaos, and the other is helping us escape from the chaos."

"I don't understand." Shi Xin shook his head: "Isn't this a contradiction?" Shi Xin half understood: "Why does 'it' create a chaotic order while giving rules to crack it?"

Mingqiao reacted: "Maybe there are two forces on campus."

When these words were spoken, all three of them were stunned.

If this is true, then who is the one creating the chaos, and who is the one giving the rules?

At that time, the appearance of the new principal brought both chaos and order. Which side was the new principal on?

Is he a good guy or a bad guy?

Mingqiao thought about it for a long time but still couldn't get an answer.

"Let's solve the current problem first." Qin Xue broke the deadlock between the three people: "If the rules that appear now are to protect us, then it means that we can do as I say, either solve the acid water or create chaos."

He glanced at Mingqiao, who nodded in agreement, so Qin Xue went to look at Shi Xin again.

This person seemed unfriendly from the first time we met, and just now he questioned what he said.

Qin Xue didn't expect this person to agree. At worst, he and Ming Qiao would work together to find a solution without this person.

But unexpectedly, Shi Xin actually nodded and agreed.

"If you want to solve the problem of acid water, you have to start from the source." Mingqiao said: "The second one is, 'The playground has a good drainage system, and there will be no liquid residue except on rainy days', so the retention of acid water is either because the drainage system is broken or it is raining now."

"But it's sunny now." Qin Xue widened his eyes and looked at Mingqiao in disbelief.

Shi Xin smiled and said, "But your school's drainage system was once on the news. It was said to be the best drainage system in the city. It can't be blown away by wind or damaged by rain. It was exaggerated."

"Indeed." Ming Qiao said: "The school's drainage system has also undergone flood resistance testing. At that time, it was said that it could prevent major floods and was listed as a municipal-level safe area."

"So it's raining now?" Qin Xue couldn't believe it.

But it's clearly sunny now, even quite hot, and there are no raindrops falling from the sky, so how can it be considered raining?

His little head was filled with big doubts.

Mingqiao explained: "Rain is usually a natural phenomenon, when water vapor condenses into clouds and then falls as raindrops. But we know it is definitely not raining now, and we are more certain that there is no problem with the drainage system. The option obtained by eliminating two options using the elimination method may not be correct, but it is absolutely correct."

"I got lost again." Qin Xue shook his head painfully.

"Just pretend it's raining somewhere you can't see." Mingqiao could only say.

"Then what should we do?" Shi Xin asked, "We can only say that it is raining, but we can't find where it is raining. This way, we can't stop the increase of acid water, and we can't solve the problem."

Ming Qiao glanced at him with a faint smile: "Then start Plan B and make the situation worse. Isn't this what you are best at?"

"Why would I..." Shi Xin thought about what he had done in the cafeteria and was powerless to refute, "How can that make the situation worse? If you want to sabotage me, you have to give me a chance."

"That's another question," Mingqiao said.

He walked a few steps forward and found another piece of paper.

The paper was stuck in the crack of the concrete stand and he took a long time to dig it out.

The back of the paper was covered with dust and dirt, and when Mingqiao was unfolded, dust all fell on him.

He didn't care about that and opened the note and looked at it.

I'm trapped in

No food or drink.

It has been raining outside.

It said let me ●●●,

But it doesn’t work. 】

The writing on it was very blurry, and there were several places where it was smudged and completely unrecognizable, probably because it had been stained with water. The whole piece of paper was also wrinkled, but it was not the same kind of paper as the notice.

Shi Xin came over to look at it: "This is a bit like the paper in the diary we found in the restaurant."

"But that kind of notebook is issued by the school," Ming Qiao said. "Anyone in the school, whether a student, teacher, or other staff member, may have one."

"Where is he trapped? What does it ask him to do?" Qin Xue turned the paper over and over again: "It actually didn't leave any key clues."

"That's what a puzzle game is like." Shi Xin said disdainfully, "I can tell from the looks of it that you haven't played many escape room games. If I could give you the key clues so easily, the whole game would be so boring."

"..." Qin Xue was so speechless that he let out a cold smile.

Ming Qiao looked at the two people playing and held his forehead with helplessness. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "This is not a game. If you play it wrong, you will die."

After much persuasion, the two finally calmed down a little.

Mingqiao continued walking forward until he reached the podium, but he still couldn't find the torn part of the paper.

"Some people can't even walk steadily." Shi Xin's gloating voice came from behind, and Mingqiao turned around to look.

Qin Xue immediately retorted: "If I hadn't been tripped by this protruding iron sheet, I would definitely not have fallen."

When Mingqiao thought he had to be the mediator again, they were both startled and called out to Mingqiao: "Teacher Ming, come and see! There is a staircase here!"