15 Three people also

I found a way to escape

After dinner, it was exactly midnight.

The hotel owner left first. No one was talking in the hall to begin with, and now it was even quieter, so quiet that you could almost hear a pin drop. After a tiring day, everyone was extremely exhausted both mentally and physically. They should have hurried back to their rooms to rest, but by some strange coincidence, not a single player got up at this moment.

Everyone fell into an eerie silence. Time passed by minute by minute. It was unknown how much time had passed before a girl in the crowd whispered, "Can we... make it back alive?"

This was the worry she hid deep in her heart, and it was also the worry of everyone present. For two consecutive days, someone had an accident every day. Even if no real corpse was seen, the large pools of blood were still terrifying.

"Should we try to go out again?" a man suggested.

"It's less than forty minutes to one, and it's raining heavily and foggy outside. Even if you do go out, you might not find any useful information, and it's hard to say whether you can return on time." Zhang Xin, the quietest of the four people, spoke up at this moment. This was the first time she spoke to anyone other than her companions. "Besides, I don't think you can get out."

The man was a little confused: "Why?"

"This isn't my first dungeon." Zhang Xin paused, finally ready to speak frankly. "Based on my previous dungeon experience, each one has its own corresponding mechanisms, as well as numerous taboos that cannot be violated. This isn't a matter of probability, it's inevitable, just like how we're forced to go on tours every day, eat the same three meals a day... and being stopped by masked men before 1 a.m. every night is a certainty."

"What if it's not true?" The man obviously did not give up his previous idea.

"You can try," Zhang Xin said, "but based on yesterday's experience, once the masked man appears, everyone will be immediately urged to return to their rooms. This is not a big deal. The most important thing is that this matter may be related to the death of the man this morning."

Death is always a heavy topic. The man who had asked the question just now changed his expression and muttered, "Really?"

"It's just a possibility, but no matter what, we should be careful," Zhang Xin said. "Who knows what taboo caused that man's death? He'll be stopped if he leaves before one. Even if he wants to sneak away, he'll have to wait until after one. Maybe he went out at the wrong time, or maybe he offended the masked man before and is being retaliated against."

After he finished speaking, Li Yiqing, who had been silent before, suddenly complained: "This is too petty."

Zhang Xin: “…”

Zheng Miao, who was sitting diagonally in front of her, was startled and quickly put up his hand to silence her, saying kindly, "That's not something you can talk about."

"Alas." Li Yiqing sighed in despair. "So there's really no other way? How can I survive?"

No one spoke up because no one knew the answer.

The atmosphere gradually became silent, and gradually, crying sounds were heard again in the crowd. Except for a few people, everyone was entering the dungeon for the first time. Anyone would be extremely desperate if they encountered such difficulties in the novice period.

As the clock finally pointed to one, footsteps suddenly came from outside the hotel, which was originally so quiet that only the sound of rain could be heard. There were footsteps of varying frequencies, some light and some heavy. It sounded like a lot of people, extremely many, far more than the number of players. Villagers filed out from all directions and gathered together in an organized and purposeful manner.

The sound of a car roaring seemed to be heard not far away. The villagers got on the car one after another and rushed to a certain place together in the middle of the night when they should have fallen asleep early.

——It’s a temple, and it seems that it’s time for worship.

"Were there so many people in the village during the day?" Zheng Miao felt goosebumps all over his body and hugged himself tightly.

"No," Dong Peng replied uncertainly, "Although this island is huge, there are only a few habitable houses. Everyone has seen it, right? They must be packed to accommodate so many people!"

Zheng Miao was devastated: "Where did all these people come from?"

Dong Peng bit his lip: "...I don't know."

From where?

The conversation between the two caught Qi Qiuxue's attention. She subconsciously looked up and examined the small door in the southeast corner again. For three consecutive days, every time she went out, she started and ended at the hotel. Subconsciously, it gave people the illusion that this was the border. But if this was really the border, why bother to build a door?

What secrets were hidden behind that door, and where did the front lead to? Qi Qiuxue remembered that she had noticed that from the outside, there was indeed an endless lake behind the hotel, but was everything really as it seemed?

Thinking of this, Qi Qiuxue stood up and walked quickly to the door.

"Axue, what are you doing?" Li Yiqing stood up and chased after her the next second. "You want to go through that door? The hotel owner and the masked man disappeared from here. Aren't you afraid..."

"It's the time for sacrifice now, the masked man should not be here. As for the hotel owner... Anyway, I want to take a gamble. It's better than sitting and waiting to die." After saying that, she put her hand on the door handle and pressed it hard.

"Click, click, click." The door did not open as expected.

It was locked from the inside.

“…”

"Wow." The hope that had finally been ignited was shattered again. Zheng Miao, who had originally planned to stand up with others, fell back into his seat, tears falling down his face.

Of course, she was not the only one experiencing such great emotional fluctuations. Many players fell into despair, and some even shouted loudly, complaining that God was so unfair. There was no point in looking for clues. The fate that they would die one after another in the dungeon was already a foregone conclusion!

No one, not even Qi Qiuxue and the others, noticed that Geng Hao seemed to be whispering something to Dong Peng in the chaos.

"Boring." Wang Shuo, who had been silent for a whole day, finally spoke again at this time. His current condition was even worse than that morning. Since the moment he was ostracized by everyone, he was angry and panicked, and now he was disgusted and desperate.

No one understood him, whether it was his former friends or the group of brainless players in front of him. Wang Shuo didn't want to stay any longer. His pride drove him to leave: "I want to go back to sleep."

After saying this, without expecting any response, he walked upstairs in the indifference of everyone.

Just as I reached the stairs, I suddenly heard footsteps behind me. I turned around and saw that it was Dong Peng who had caught up with me.

"Brother." He called Wang Shuo like this.

Among the four, he was the one Wang Shuo took the best care of on weekdays, and he was also the one who felt the most disappointed now. However, Dong Peng was his cousin after all, and there was a blood relationship between them. Hearing the familiar "brother", Wang Shuo was slightly moved and gradually stopped.

"Why did you follow me?" He was silent for a few seconds, mocking and blaming Dong Peng, feeling heartbroken that he had abandoned him. "Didn't you join that bastard Geng Hao? Why are you still following me?"

"I'm innocent, I'm innocent, brother." Dong Peng started to cry out, and quietly glanced back at the players downstairs. Seeing that no one noticed him, he stepped forward, getting closer to Wang Shuo and lowering his voice, "You've always been so good to me, taking care of me like your own brother. I've called you brother for so many years, and I've been in so many dungeons with you. How could I possibly betray you over such a small matter?"

"I went there to get information," he whispered. "Actually, Geng Hao had been wanting to split us up from the beginning. He approached me that day, saying he knew a way to survive. He tried to trade secrets with me to get me to join him. I was extremely reluctant at the time. What did he think of me? Am I, Dong Peng, that kind of person?!"

"But then I changed my mind and realized there's nothing wrong with this. I'll pretend to surrender, but actually endure the humiliation and steal the secret from him, then come back and tell you. That way we can live together. Brother, you trust me. I only trust you, and I only want to follow you!"

"Look, this is a note he found in a temple. Everyone was busy worshipping at the time, and no one noticed the clue, so that bastard accidentally picked it up." Perhaps afraid that Wang Shuo wouldn't believe him, Dong Peng fumbled through his pockets and pulled out a piece of paper. The paper was made of a special material, and when he smelled it carefully, there was a faint scent of incense. It really looked like it was found in a temple. "Brother, look, there is a clue here."

"?" Perhaps he was bewildered by Dong Peng's sincere calls of "brother", or perhaps Wang Shuo was unable to be cruel to his younger brother. He believed what Dong Peng said and picked up the note to examine it carefully.

Written on it were these words: [At midnight, a spirit blinded the eyes. Everyone went out, but only three returned.]

Wang Shuo looked at Dong Peng in front of him and asked, "Are the three of you back?"

"Yes." Dong Peng nodded and said seriously, "Geng Hao and I have analyzed the meaning of this sentence. The 'still' here should mean 'survive'. We have been in and out of dungeons together many times, but none of them are as difficult as this one. Various conditions are almost trapping us here. But I believe that there is no dungeon where death is inevitable. As long as it is a game, there must be a way out. At the critical moment, this note appeared."

"What the innkeeper said is both right and wrong. It's true that we shouldn't go out during the festival. It would violate the taboos, but the taboos are not as strict as she said. There are loopholes. As long as the two of us are the first to leave, we will definitely survive!"

"That's not right." Wang Shuo shook his head, barely regaining some clarity. "If that's the case, how did that man die? He was the first one to get out, so why did he still die?"

"He must have accidentally touched another taboo," Dong Peng said. "Otherwise, how can we explain his death deep in the forest and not at the entrance to the hotel? Taboos won't wait for anyone; once triggered, death is instant."

Too.

Wang Shuo nodded in response. Based on his previous experience in dungeons, what Dong Peng said made sense.

“But Chen Wei, Zhang Xin and the others…” Wang Shuo thought about it and was still a little hesitant.

Dong Peng, however, became sensible at this time: "Anyway, there are still two spots left. It's okay if you don't want to take me with you. If it weren't for me, I would have died in the first instance. Just consider it as me returning my life to you. You can take whoever you can't bear to leave with you. Don't worry about me."

"Forget it." Wang Shuo shook his head. Even though he had a deep relationship with Shen Wei and Zhang Xin, friends were ultimately no match for family. If he had to choose, he hoped the person who would survive would be Dong Peng. "Let's go. Keep our voices down so no one else can find out."

"Okay." Dong Peng nodded and smiled.

"Let's go."

【Author’s words】

Here we come!

Special thanks to Xiaoyu Shenshui~ (I really ate fish tonight, tomato fish fillet, so delicious!) And thank you to all the babies who support me, love you guys woooooo

Thanks to the little angel who cast the deep-water torpedo: Shi Yi 1;

Thanks to the little angels who threw the grenade: Internet Police, Shi Yi 1;

Thanks to the little angels who cast mines: 4 for Mancao; 1 for Chonghuixinian and Qiulangshimei, 2 for Fairy; 1 for Tuhuhu, 1 for Internet Addiction, Spicy Rabbit, Huaiyi, and 1 for Langli's Dog;

Thanks to the little angels who irrigated the nutrient solution: Qiuchan 17 bottles; Gouziruai 10 bottles; Bu Xiang Gou 3 bottles; Jingran Qin Jiaren Yi 2 bottles;