Chapter 96

As the afternoon drew to a close, the production team didn't assign any new tasks. The contestants were all resting and tidying up in their rooms. The cameras in the corners of the rooms were on, but only recording video, not audio. Iris glanced at the entire room and, unsurprisingly, saw the Shu siblings bickering. She manipulated the computer, zooming in on Zhuang Zhuoyuan's room. She saw him and Su Wenqiang, one on the bed and the other at the table, talking as if discussing something.

Iris had tried learning lip-reading with Ella, but unfortunately, she didn't succeed. However, she could easily guess that most of the conversation would be related to the tasks assigned by SDU. With a change of heart, she decided not to waste her energy on that anymore, but instead put herself in the position of the game planner, considering both the game's appeal and the show's viewership, and guessing when would be the best time to issue the host's instructions. If she were writing a novel, she would definitely do it in the middle of the night, when people are sound asleep.

Jennie had already left, and Iris stretched, deciding to take her son and Yuanbao for a walk. Yuanbao is a very intelligent and well-behaved dog. When Iris was pregnant, Yuanbao was always well-behaved, never running or making a fuss during walks. After Yuanbao was born, Yuanbao often stayed by the crib, guarding and keeping her company. Whenever Iris saw the baby and dog quietly together in the room, she couldn't help but think of Ella. Her longing for her had never ceased. For every important moment in her life, Iris hoped her sister could share it with her.

The sun hadn't completely set, and one or two stars were already twinkling. Yuanbao barked, and Tangyuanzai woke up just before the sunset faded. Iris bent down and kissed his outstretched little hand, then his chubby little face. Every part of the little child was adorable; she kissed him a little too hard, as if provoking a little resistance. She slid her hand down from his raised arm, under his armpit, and skillfully picked him up. Iris tapped Tangyuan's nose, responding to his "protest": "Little guy, your daddy doesn't dislike me doing this at all."

Zhuang Zhuoyuan's first time recording a program wasn't a bad experience. He had also visited several filming locations with Iris, and compared to others, the "Running Army" production team's arrangements were quite thoughtful. If he hadn't known beforehand that a huge cult conspiracy was brewing during this filming, probably no one would have remained highly vigilant until bedtime.

Zhuang Zhuoyuan was always a light sleeper when on missions. Therefore, the moment the loudspeaker in the room started broadcasting, he almost reflexively sat bolt upright. The host, Zhang Tao, announced energetically from every room: "Ladies and gentlemen, the first round of eliminations has begun. Your rooms are locked, and the keys you just received are fake. You can use the clues we provide to find the keys in your rooms, or escape the locked room by any means necessary. The only rule is that you cannot damage the doors or locks. The four slowest teams will be eliminated. Good luck to you all!"

"What the hell?!" At the same time, Larine was woken up by the sudden broadcast, feeling extremely annoyed. She irritably pulled the covers over herself, trying to shut out anything that might disturb her beauty sleep. But Jacob, obsessed with the match because of the Japanese actress Fujii Mie, woke up excitedly, turned on the two bedside lamps, and vigorously shook his sister, who was turned away: "Larine, the match has started, get up!"

“Shut up, Jacob!” Larine’s tone was harsh, showing extreme resistance. She was utterly disgusted by whoever came up with this ridiculous idea—looking for keys in the middle of the night, it was insane! “What a stupid game!”

Jacob, disregarding everything else, heard the sounds of doors opening and closing nearby and grew even more anxious: "Get up, Larine, or we'll be eliminated!" Since the normal methods weren't working, he decided to escalate the disruption by turning on all the lights in the room to prevent his sister from sleeping peacefully. This tactic did have some effect, but he underestimated Larine's morning grumpiness. As soon as he reached the light switch by the door, a huge pillow flew towards him. Jacob cried out in pain as Larine turned off all the bedside lamps. Her threat was palpable without being spoken. While Jacob wasn't afraid, he didn't press the issue further, as Larine had already done him a great favor. Just as the room plunged back into darkness, a line of fluorescent text appeared on the wall—"At the end of darkness lies light."

In Zhuang Zhuoyuan and Su Wenqiang's room, the same clues appeared. When they entered the room that afternoon, out of professional habit, Zhuang Zhuoyuan first searched the entire room thoroughly, only settling in after confirming there was nothing amiss. After Zhang Tao's reminder, he and Su Wenqiang discussed searching the key areas of the room again. However, Su Wenqiang, with a sudden inspiration, focused on the word "darkness" and tentatively turned off the light switch, successfully obtaining the password to pass through.

Zhuang Zhuoyuan couldn't help but give her a thumbs up. At the time, Zhan Hantao recommended Su Wenqiang to Pan Zilong for the mission, one reason being that having a girl in the team would be more convenient in situations requiring gender considerations; the other was that girls are more meticulous and thoughtful. Now, it was proven that Zhan Hantao's words were true and his deductions were correct. Su Wenqiang smiled, feeling more confident, and looked around the room: "Let's see if there's any light coming through."

The two acted quickly, and soon Zhuang Zhuoyuan found a small hole under the curtains. He smirked, knelt down, and peered inside. Sure enough, he saw a key hidden inside. He called out to Su Wenqiang, "My wife has considered making a little Jerry door like this in the wall at home, but unfortunately we don't have a cat."

“Very Iris,” Su Wenqiang commented briefly, his hands moving quickly from searching for clues to selecting usable supplies. The key was hidden deep inside, and the entrance was blocked by a fence. From the pile of items, they needed to find a tool to hook the key out. Zhuang Zhuoyuan immediately spotted the notebook Su Wenqiang intended to use to record and analyze mission clues; the coils on it, stretched and bent, could easily be made into a hook. But when it came to crafts, girls were far superior. Su Wenqiang picked up a clothes hanger and quickly disassembled it. She handed it to Zhuang Zhuoyuan, who shook her head and smiled, immediately tossing aside the notebook and using pliers to cut open the hanger's casing, pulling out the wire inside. This was much more useful than the coils.

The questions weren't difficult, and Zhang Tao expected Yu Xueli's group to finish smoothly. However, after waiting a while, it was finally Yu Xueli and Xu Jiaming who entered the hall through the main entrance. Zhang Tao was somewhat surprised: "Congratulations on passing the test, but your problem-solving methods seem a bit unusual."

Yu Xueli immediately filed a complaint. He took out the key he had found and said, "Our room key has been tampered with. Even if we find the key, we can't open the door." Fortunately, they had a lot of training, so they were able to dismantle the lock, climb through the window, and rappel down in one go.

Zhuang Zhuoyuan maintained his usual smile and exchanged a glance with Su Wenqiang. It was clear that Yu Xueli and Xu Jiaming, both physically imposing and seemingly strong contenders for the championship, had been targeted. However, they had no clue as to the identity of the newcomers.

Cult members can impersonate staff, making surveillance and attacks much easier; they can also pose as contestants, providing an even better excuse to conceal their true intentions. As Jacob's gaze swept across the group of contestants who had passed the test, and he saw the first team emerge from the room, he suddenly heard Jacob's exclamation: "Larine? Larine? My sister! Has anyone seen my sister?"

The two siblings solved the problem with seven parts luck and three parts skill. Seeing Fujii Mie sitting on the sofa, Jacob couldn't wait to go over and chat with her. Larine, who had been beside him, had disappeared. Having had a terrifying experience before, and now encountering the Flying Tigers again, Jacob was especially sensitive. Seeing his anxiety, Zhuang Zhuoyuan suggested they help search. Everyone dispersed, giving them a legitimate reason to observe their surroundings.

Yu Xueli led Xu Jiaming and Jacob upstairs. Larine wasn't in her room, and a worried Jacob rushed in and out, searching back and forth. He unexpectedly found a few drops of blood on the floor. Even more terrified, he hurriedly asked Yu Xueli for advice: "Ali, blood! Blood! Could something have happened to Larine? Could she have been kidnapped again?" Having gone through hardships together, the brother and sister had a very deep bond.

Yu Xueli stopped Jacob's panic. He calmly and cautiously listened and observed, and finally, together with Xu Jiaming, opened a half-open door. Larine was indeed inside! Jacob rushed in like a madman, only to be met with another barrage of insults. It was because he rushed in too fast, shaking Larine's hand and ruining her makeup. Jacob exclaimed even louder than downstairs, "You're putting on makeup here? Do you know how worried we were about you?"

"Making a mountain out of a molehill!" Larine was clearly unhappy; even seeing Yu Xueli didn't lift her spirits at all.

Yu Xueli quickly stopped the siblings' argument and checked Larine's whereabouts again. Finally, he asked about the few drops of blood on the floor and inquired about the cause of the injury on Larine's arm. Larine was even more furious: "I was putting on makeup in my room when the mirror suddenly shattered. I didn't have time to dodge and got cut. This lousy show, the location they chose is so shabby!" As she spoke, she glanced around, feeling her lipstick wasn't applied evenly enough, and picked up her lip brush to touch it up. Looking at her blush, it didn't seem quite right either. It was a false alarm; she was the only one in the room who remained unperturbed. Jacob was quite annoyed; he had his own temper. He stepped forward, grabbed his sister's wrist, and tried to drag her downstairs. When they arrived, Larine had said it was ridiculous of him to participate in such a ridiculous competition for a woman; looking at her now, was she really any better than him?

Larine was not about to give in so easily, but with Yu Xueli still in front of her, she had to restrain her temper a bit. So she broke free from Jacob's hand, verbally attacked everyone except Yu Xueli, and stormed down the stairs.

Jacob persisted, relentlessly berating his sister for her foolish behavior. This only added fuel to the fire. Downstairs, where the accompanying medical staff were treating her wounds, Larine, hearing this, raised her unharmed right hand and pointed at the group of people in the living room: "I'm stupid? They are stupid! Playing such pointless games in the middle of the night, is that fun?"

After the young lady vented her frustrations, no one responded. Zhang Tao, seemingly trying to ease the tension, changed the subject by announcing the list of participants advancing to the second round. The first six teams to escape the room successfully received notifications of the competition location for the next day. Back in his room, Zhuang Zhuoyuan was somewhat worried: "Tomorrow is orienteering, we can run all over the mountains, it's the perfect opportunity for them to strike. And we still don't have any clues, we have to be careful."

Su Wenqiang nodded. Holding the map, she tried to memorize the terrain of the next day's competition location, but she felt uneasy: "What I'm most worried about now is that Ali and my cousin have obviously become their targets."

The four people caught in the middle of the situation had no clues, but Iris, with her omniscient perspective, was different. She stayed up all night writing, becoming more and more energetic as she wrote. After stopping to go to the nursery, she found her son sleeping peacefully, so she ran back to the media room to check on Zhuang Zhuoyuan's task progress. She watched the short film from the perspective of an audience member; with different purposes, her perspective changed. And soon, she noticed something unusual.

Zhuang Zhuoyuan heard his phone beep at dawn. He glanced at it and saw it was a message from Iris. She wrote, "Honey, watch out for those two smug guys who got first place."