Qin Xue's tears were half from fear and half from being moved. When he ran to the basement, half his face was covered with tears and snot. Shi Xin was stunned when he saw him for the first time.

"What's wrong with you?" Shi Xin lay on the windowsill and looked at Qin Xue who was crying loudly below, feeling unbelievable.

Qin Xue, who had shrunk to less than ten centimeters, looked up at Shi Xin and choked up as he spoke: "Teacher Ming asked me to bring you a card."

"What about the cards?" Shi Xin asked again.

"The card is too big and heavy. It's hard for me to even cross the threshold, let alone such a big metal card."

That's right, Shi Xin thought. He and Ming Qiao had carried out tall work badges together before. At that time, they had to lift them together to get them out. Now it was indeed a bit difficult for Qin Xue to carry four badges by himself.

"Why are you back? Is your teacher Ming at the door?"

When Qin Xuezha heard him mention Mingqiao, he trembled all over and was speechless.

"Did you get someone to give you a mute drug?"

"...Mr. Ming is at the door, he's tired." Qin Xue's voice was not normal, which made Shi Xin even more suspicious. But Ming Qiao is so smart, he shouldn't let himself be in such a bad situation. Instead of worrying about Ming Qiao all the time, it's better to solve the current problem beautifully.

"Before you came, I was thinking about something." Shi Xin changed the subject: "But even if I tell you, you might still be confused. I'll be brief and to the point."

Qin Xue nodded as if he understood, waiting for Shi Xin to continue.

"There should be a mechanism in the corridor between the casino door and this basement. It's probably hidden before it gets smaller. Go look for it."

"Why?" Qin Xue was puzzled. This was like playing an escape room game. Others told you what to do but didn't tell you how they found the clues. In this way, you would be like a tool and have no sense of participation at all.

Shi Xin also understood Qin Xue's awkward curiosity. Although he didn't want to explain it to him, he still said, "There is a tall man who lives in this basement. Whether he is in this basement or in the casino, his height will not change much. Your teacher Ming and I have only followed him from the basement to the casino, but not from the casino. We became smaller because there must be something strange about this road. Go and see if there is a mechanism. Come back after you find it."

"Then let's go together?" Qin Xue asked him.

"No, someone must be small to get through this window and reach the mechanism below. You can go alone."

"Oh oh." Qin Xue understood now, and ran out in two steps. When he reached the door, he looked back and found Shi Xin was still staring at him.

"You don't have to worry about Teacher Ming." Qin Xue suddenly said, "He should be... fine."

Shi Xin blinked, his cheeks slightly reddened: "Hey you, what do you mean?"

Qin Xue didn't reply to him and ran away.

He always felt that Shi Xin had some indescribable feeling towards their teacher Ming. Shi Xin's eyes seemed to always stick to Teacher Ming and refused to look down. When Teacher Ming looked over, he turned his eyes away and did his own thing.

It's very strange, it seems that all the students in the class who fall in love prematurely are like this, but Teacher Ming can't be in love with Shi Xin.

It must be comradeship! After all, they have been through so many life and death together, it is normal for them to have some sympathy for each other. Qin Xue persuaded himself like this.

Therefore, it was perfectly appropriate for him to take the initiative to ask Mingqiao to tell his good comrade not to worry.

Qin Xue quickly ran back to the corridor and looked around in the extremely dim light.

The whole corridor was cold and damp, with mold and moss growing on the corners, giving it a horror movie vibe. The walls of the entire corridor were made of red bricks, some of which had been eroded beyond recognition, giving it a sense of age.

Qin Xue looked around and stared at the gap, afraid of missing a suspicious place.

For a whole hour, until he finished walking through the first corridor out of the basement, he still found nothing.

Qin Xue turned a corner and continued walking. His eyes were sore and tired, and his energy was not as focused as at the beginning. He would stare at one place for a while, and then he would be distracted and run to another place.

Fortunately, there was a little light in the second corridor, so it wouldn't strain his eyes too much. Even though he looked slowly, he finished the search in just half an hour.

Still nothing.

By the time he turned to the third section, which was the section in front of the casino, Qin Xue had basically returned to his normal height.

When Mingqiao saw his sad face, he knew that things had not been accomplished yet.

"Why are you back?"

"Teacher Ming, can you please stop asking?" Qin Xue rubbed his eyes and said sadly, "I have been looking at these bricks for almost two hours."

"Looking for a mechanism? Did Shi Xin ask you to find one?"

"Yeah." Qin Xue finally rubbed his eyes until they felt better. He then opened his eyes and looked at Ming Qiao, and found that both of his eyes were intact, and his limbs were intact. He was shocked and widened his eyes, blinking hard, afraid that he had seen wrong: "Teacher Ming, are you okay?"

"It's okay." Mingqiao still sat there without much strength: "What are you looking for?"

"It should be a mechanism hidden in the wall." Qin Xue said: "The tall guy uses this mechanism to prevent himself from shrinking."

Mingqiao immediately understood what he meant and followed him to look for it.

Because of the neon lights, this section of the corridor was very bright. Before Qin Xue had looked for a while, he heard Ming Qiao say that he had found it.

Mingqiao pointed at a brick above Qin Xue's head and said, "Is that it?"

Qin Xue turned his head and looked over.

That brick was no different from other bricks, but there were tiny gaps around it, which you couldn't find without careful observation. Qin Xue stretched out his arms and tiptoed, and was able to touch it.

"Jump." Mingqiao said.

Qin Xue jumped up on the spot and pushed the brick upwards. The dust fell directly on Qin Xue's face, choking him and making him cough.

The expected clicking sound of the mechanism did not come, and the silence around made people feel cold. Qin Xue wanted to turn around to look at Mingqiao, but he saw that the neon lights that were originally on were turned off one by one. Mingqiao closed his eyes, and there was no movement at all, as if he was dead.

"Teacher Ming!" Qin Xue was startled and ran over with gritted teeth, arriving next to Ming Qiao before the last light went out.

He put his finger under Mingqiao's nose and waited for a long time before he felt a faint breath coming out.

Not dead. Fortunately, it's okay.

Qin Xue swallowed his saliva, as if he had swallowed his heart back into his stomach. The lights going out might also be a sign of success. He chose the latter between letting Mingqiao sit here to block the door or taking Mingqiao in with him.

Anyway, Mingqiao is in a half-dead state and can't block the door, so we might as well bring him in together so that someone can keep an eye on him.

Qin Xue lifted Ming Qiao up and supported him with his shoulders, moving back step by step. The corridor was dark and narrow, and normally one had to lean slightly sideways to pass one person, not to mention Qin Xue was carrying one person. He could only carry Ming Qiao sideways, walking like a crab, and he kept bumping into the wall after walking for a while, which made him gasp in pain.

When they reached the third corridor, they didn't shrink, which was supposed to happen. Qin Xue knew he had found the right mechanism. He saw four playing cards scattered on the ground, and finally bent down to pick them up, and pushed the door open with Ming Qiao.

Shi Xin first saw Qin Xue, who was sweating profusely, and then he saw Ming Qiao behind him.

Mingqiao's face, clothes and hands were all covered in reddish-brown blood, some of which was dry and some was not, all over his body. He closed his eyes tightly and his face looked even worse.

Shi Xin almost jumped out of the window.

Qin Xue first put the unconscious Mingqiao on the single bed, then walked to Shi Xin with the cards and gave him four cards.

Shi Xin looked at Qin Xue, who was many times older than him, and said with hatred: "Is this what you mean by 'it's okay'?"

"It's all right now. You don't know that when Teacher Ming just came back from the casino, one of his eyes was dug out and several fingers were chopped off. The blood flowed like a river. It was scary to look at."

"Why didn't you tell me just now?" Shi Xin felt more and more uncomfortable the more he listened. He was almost dying of anxiety: "Is it meaningful to report good news but not bad news at this time?"

"I..." Although Qin Xue had prepared to be scolded before coming here, he was still speechless because of him.

"Okay, let's get down to business." Shi Xin pointed at the glass window behind him and said, "Break it."

"Okay." Qin Xue clenched his fist and was about to punch over when he heard Shi Xin yelling, "Are you stupid? Who would use a fist to smash glass? Can't you find a tool?"

Qin Xue knew he was in the wrong, so he picked up the stool next to the desk and was about to hit it.

Then Shi Xin yelled again: "Can you use your brain? Can't you see I'm still here? Do you want to kill me?"

Qin Xue obediently reached out and moved Shi Xin from one windowsill to another, and then he smashed the door open with confidence.

"How far can the arm go in?" Shi Xin asked.

Qin Xue tried it and found that his forearm could go in, but it got stuck at his elbow.

"Put me down there with the cards. I'll call you when I'm ready."

Qin Xue held Shi Xin in his palm and slowly lowered him along the inner wall. When he was sure that Shi Xin was down, he would throw the playing cards down.

When he was one meter away from the ground, Qin Xue's arms reached their limit.

"No." Qin Xue couldn't see what was going on inside, so he could only stretch his hand in as far as possible to allow Shi Xin to go in as far as possible.

"Stick to the wall." Shi Xin shouted at him.

Qin Xue pressed his hands against the wall.

Shi Xin transferred from Qin Xue's hand to the wall and continued to climb down.

Walking down is more difficult than climbing up. When climbing up, the road is very clear, but going down you can only rely on luck. After all, this posture cannot judge where to step under your feet, nor can it guarantee that there will be a place to hold on to your hands after your feet go down.

When he was still more than 30 centimeters from the ground, Shi Xin suddenly lost his strength and slid down the wall. Fortunately, he caught himself in mid-air and avoided breaking his leg.

Shi Xin rubbed his numb legs and shouted upwards, "Qin Xue, throw the cards down and aim them a little more."

Qin Xue lived up to expectations and threw the four cards at the protruding playing card mechanism. All four cards fell around the mechanism.

“Good job.”

Shi Xin first dragged the two confirmed cards onto the mechanism, and then dragged the last trump card.

He dragged Xiao Wang up first.

No movement.

Then he replaced the little king and dragged the big king up.

At the moment when the playing cards matched the grooves, a dazzling white light shot out from under the three cards. The ghost mechanism bounced up and shook a few times when it encountered the light, and finally fell down.

That's right.

"Qin Xue."

“Here I come.”