Chapter 40: Club Recruitment (Seventeen)
The cave is bottomless and just big enough for one person to enter.
The three of them lay at the entrance of the cave. Yu Hui nervously turned on the flashlight on her cell phone and shone it into the cave, but saw nothing.
It was pitch black everywhere. They didn't see any monsters, but they didn't see anything else in the cave either.
Mu Yu: "Brother Bird, can you go to classroom 203 and ask them to borrow a ladder?"
Bird Brother: “Oh, okay!”
A ladder was quickly borrowed, and together they both slowly lowered it.
The wooden ladder sank down little by little, and did not encounter any obstacles in the process.
The three of them held their breath and concentrated until the ladder was lowered to the end and could not be lowered any further, but the other end of the ladder still seemed to have not touched the bottom of the hole!
"How deep is this?" Bird Brother was shocked. "This can't possibly lead to the first floor, right?"
Downstairs from their classroom is the first floor lobby, which is an empty area, and the partition wall between the two floors is not that wide at all.
But if this downward passage does not lead to the first floor at all, then where does it lead to?
Could it be that the dungeon took him to the lair of a mysterious monster? ?
Mu Yu thought for a moment, then looked up and said to Niao Ge and Yu Hui, "The ladder isn't long enough. Let's use a rope. You hold the rope while I go down and take a look."
Yu Hui asked nervously, "What if we encounter a monster?"
"Logically speaking, even monsters have to abide by the rules of the dungeon. If I haven't violated the rules, then monsters can't attack me at will."
Mu Yu spoke calmly, so Niao Ge and Yu Hui tried their best to cooperate with him.
They couldn't find any particularly thick hemp ropes, so they ended up using clothes instead of ropes. They twisted the clothes and cloth together and connected them end to end, and finally made a cloth rope about four meters long.
They threw one end of the cloth rope into the hole, and Niao Ge and Yu Hui stood at the entrance of the hole, holding the other end of the cloth rope one in front and one behind.
Mu Yu turned on the flashlight mode on his phone, put it in his mouth, turned around, grabbed the cloth rope, and prepared to climb down.
Brother Bird quickly reminded: "If there is any problem, shout, we will pull you up immediately!"
Mu Yu said vaguely: "OK!"
Under the worried eyes of Niao Ge and Yu Hui, he entered the cave neatly and swiftly.
After his head was completely immersed in the cave, Mu Yu clearly felt that he was enveloped by a thick darkness.
This darkness was substantial, like the flowing water of a swamp, surging coldly and silently.
Light cannot easily penetrate it, and sound seems to be blocked by it.
They had only descended a short distance, but Yu Hui's shout at him from above, "Be careful, take it slow," seemed to come from a very far away place.
Mu Yu concentrated his attention and looked down intently.
The flashlight could only barely illuminate the space within five centimeters around him, and the deeper space was still completely dark. His intrusion did not seem to alert any creature in the cave.
He climbed down at a steady pace.
The rope dangled into darkness, and he continued his vertical descent.
In the darkness, his infiltration was unimpeded.
Time passes by every second.
Outside the cave, Niao Ge and Yu Hui looked around nervously.
It was pitch black inside the cave, and only the light from Mu Yu's cell phone could be vaguely seen, a blurry spot of light.
About a minute and a half later, Mu Yu's voice was heard from inside.
"I'm at the bottom!"
Bird Brother and Yu Hui immediately asked: "Is there anything inside?"
"This hole has no bottom!"
Bird Brother and Yu Hui: “???”
Huh? This hole isn't at the bottom yet?!
In the cave.
Mu Yu was already grabbing the end of the cloth rope. He was hanging in the air in the darkness, with nothing under his feet. It was just an empty void.
Looking down, the weak flashlight still could not illuminate anything, making it difficult to judge how deep it was.
Bird Brother's worried voice came from above: "Why don't you come up first?!"
Mu Yu stared at the darkness and did not answer.
The next second, he loosened his hands and fell down.
Niao Ge and Yu Hui felt the other end of the rope suddenly lose weight, and they were shocked. They rushed to the cave entrance and shouted, "Mu Yu?!"
Immediately afterwards, there was a "bang".
“…I’m at the bottom!”
Niao Ge and Yu Hui were almost scared to death.
——This guy actually dared to jump down like that just now!
They didn't know how far it was to reach the bottom of the cave. What if it was dozens or hundreds of meters?
If you jump down like this, you will definitely fall to death!
However, Mu Yu did not jump down without any preparation.
This deep hole exists in the dungeon and can be entered by players, so it must have its purpose.
Four meters is the longest distance they can put together using props in this copy, and they can't make any longer props.
If they descend to the end of the rope, they are still a long distance away from the bottom of the hole. If they jump down, they will surely die. Then there is no point in the hole existing because no player can reach it alive.
Sure enough, Mu Yu fell less than two meters before reaching the bottom of the cave.
——The copy was like betting on whether they dared to take this last jump.
At this moment, Mu Yu was lying on a cold table.
Based on the sound quality of the "dong" sound just now, he quickly determined that the other end of the platform below was another space.
This is a door.
He bent his index finger and tapped three times.
Then he reacted, his premonition became stronger and his heartbeat became faster.
He knocked again.
This time, he knocked four times.
Knock knock knock.
*
Classroom 204.
Li Ke, with his weak body, was still struggling to check the classroom when he suddenly heard a "bang" sound of something heavy falling to the ground.
Then, a voice came from behind the small door in the ceiling -
“Knock, knock, knock.”
“Knock, knock, knock!”
Li Ke widened his eyes and turned to look.
——Oh my god, that monster behind the ceiling is here again?!
At this moment, he was the only one in classroom 204.
He turned around in panic and reflexively wanted to go out to find someone, but as soon as he took a step, he realized that no one except him could enter this classroom.
...No one can help him.
No, no, now that he is the only one left, is there nothing he can do?
Does he have to ask others for help? Isn't this a giant baby!
Li Ke froze in place.
After struggling for a moment, he took a deep breath, moved the ladder to the corner, and climbed up with difficulty.
It's okay, don't panic.
He just checked it out.
Anyway, this small door can't be pushed open, so as long as the monsters can't get in, it doesn't matter -
Then Li Ke froze again.
Because he found that when he applied force to the small door with both hands, he did not feel any suction at all...
...This seems to mean that it can be pushed open?!
ah?
So should he push it?
If he pushes, will he be killed by the monster with a face hug?
But if we don’t push it, according to what Fu Xiaoju and the others said, won’t we miss some very important clues? ?
Li Ke's face suddenly turned bitter and he wanted to call for help again.
But if I run out now to call for help, in the time it takes to get back and forth, won’t the monster run away, taking the clues with it?
Li Ke was torn between his conscience and his desires.
After a few seconds, he gritted his teeth, made up his mind, and pushed hard towards the small door.
Just die, come on!
The small door was very heavy. He used all his strength to push it open a crack. A voice came from inside: "Wait, wait a moment!"
Li Ke was stunned.
——This, this sound?
There was a light sound above the small door.
He came to his senses, pushed the door open decisively this time, and looked up in shock—
Behind the door was a dark and narrow passage leading upwards. Mu Yu was standing in the passage with his hands and legs spread out.
Seeing that the door was finally opened, he immediately stretched out his foot and stepped onto the ladder.
Li Ke was stunned, but his face changed drastically after he realized what was happening: "Wait, aren't we not allowed to visit each other?!"
"It's okay, look!"
Mu Yu had already put one foot into the classroom, but he was safe and sound, with no injury on his body!
Li Ke was even more confused. What was going on?
He quickly climbed down the ladder to make room for Mu Yu.
Mu Yu climbed down two or three steps, jumped lightly, and finally landed on his feet!
At the other end of the passage, Niao Ge and Yu Hui shouted from afar: "Where—are—you?!"
Mu Yu shouted at them: "Come on - 2 - 0 - 4!"
Li Ke looked into the passage with a confused look on his face, but he only saw light at the end. The person at the other end had already run away.
Mu Yu looked at the time on his phone, 8:54.
He asked Li Ke: "Is the sound you heard in the classroom just now exactly the same as the one you heard last time?"
Li Ke was confused for the third time.
He recalled it and said in surprise: "Yes, exactly the same!"
It's always one dong, then three dongs, then four dongs.
Not only the order in which the sounds were made, but even the strength of the knocks was the same!
——This is basically the same set of sounds happening at 8:12 and 8:54 at the same time!
Mu Yu touched his chin.
Some of his guesses have been confirmed, but the confusion about time has not been solved.
Why does the knocking sound shift in time?
Li Ke was confused at the moment. He stuttered and asked, "What's going on? What's behind this door? Why can you come into our classroom?"
Just at this moment, there was a knock on the door of classroom 204.
Mu Yu walked over and opened the door. Niao Ge and Yu Hui looked him up and down in shock from outside the door, as if they couldn't believe that he had crossed that passage and entered classroom 204 safely.
Mu Yu said to them, "Don't come in yet, the two of you. Only players who have passed the assessment through that small door can come in."
“W-Why?!”
"It has something to do with Article 7 of the Activity Center's Rules of Use."
Article 7 of the Activity Center Rules of Use: Once the assessment is passed, the club is established and members can enter other classrooms to conduct inter-club exchange activities.
Yu Hui was shocked and puzzled: "Why, didn't you say before that this was a fake rule?"
Mu Yu said: "To be precise, I felt that there was something wrong with this rule at the time."
This rule contradicts the first rule in the activity center's usage rules. Mu Yu was almost certain that there was something fishy going on here.
But at the same time, he felt that this rule was not just a false rule.
The two words "drop by" seemed like a hint given to them by the copy.
The copy seemed to be telling them that there was a setting in this game where people could visit each other.
But it would never be as simple as walking through the main door into other classrooms.
Then the time came to not long ago.
They discussed and concluded that they seemed to be missing a key clue to crack this copy.
This key clue will probably require more groups to pass club assessments to find it, and it does not seem to be in the club union office, but in the activity classroom - what kind of clue could that be?
Which rules have not yet come into play?
Mu Yu's gaze then fell on [Article 7 of the Activity Center Rules of Use].
When he discovered that the small door on the ground floor of classroom 201 could be pushed open, a guess began to arise in his mind.
"We have already advanced this far in this instance. Are there really any mysterious monsters that we haven't discovered yet? Are there really places like 'Monster Lair'?"
"Why couldn't Li Ke and his classmates open this door at 8:12, but now we can open the door in our classroom? What's the difference?"
"It's a club assessment."
"At 8:12, none of our groups passed the assessment. But now, Senior Li Ke in this classroom has passed the assessment, and the three of us in our classroom have also passed the assessment."
"And the only door that the rules mention that players can open after passing the assessment is the door to another classroom."
Li Ke, Niao Ge and Yu Hui were speechless.
Article 3 of the Activity Center Rules: If you hear a knock on the door in the classroom, you can open it; if you hear a knock on the door from somewhere else, please ignore it and concentrate on club activities.
The second half of this rule should be viewed in two ways.
——Before the player club passes the assessment, it is a true rule; after the player club passes the assessment, it becomes a false rule.
As for Article 7 of the Activity Center's Rules of Use, players must figure out which door they can open after passing the assessment.
If the player takes any wrong step, they will be doomed.
Brother Bird and the others were speechless. They had never expected that the rules in the dungeon could be so complicated.
Having said this, Mu Yu suddenly began to look around.
Li Ke asked blankly: "What are you looking for?"
Mu Yu: "I suspect these passages connect all five of our classrooms. It's impossible for each classroom to have only one door. There must be some classrooms with two doors, right?"
Because he had a clear goal, he quickly found the small door on the ground in the northwest corner of the classroom!
——This classroom really has a second door!
Li Ke's brain was completely overwhelmed.
Bird brother shouted: "I'll go get the rope!"
After getting the cloth rope, Mu Yu picked up a piece of wood from the ground, and asked Li Ke to hold one end of the cloth rope. He opened the small door on the ground, grabbed the cloth rope and went in again.
This time, it still descended to the end of the cloth rope but hadn't touched the bottom.
But Mu Yu did not let go and jump down. Instead, he threw the piece of wood he had picked up down.
With a thud, the wood hit the bottom, making a dull sound.
Mu Yu looked at the time, 9:00.
He hung in the air like this and waited for a while, but there was no response from the other end of the passage.
It was expected.
Because the other three classrooms have not passed the club assessment, this is why Mu Yu did not jump down this time——
This time, if I jump down, I really can’t get down or up.
He climbed up the rope and returned to classroom 204.
Then he ran out and knocked on the doors of 205 and 203, and asked the other four people: "Did you hear any noise coming from the ceilings of your two classrooms just now?"
They were all stunned.
Lu Chongnian and Ye Sui both said no.
Mu Yu told them about his discovery, and then thought: "Although the sound of my knocking on the door at 8:54 was shifted to 8:12, Senior Li Ke still heard it when I knocked on the door."
"Then when I knocked on the door on the ground just now, there should be a classroom that could hear the sound. If neither of you heard it, then could the small door on the floor of 204 be connected to 202?"
Because only classroom 202 is empty at the moment!
Lu Zhongnian's eyes turned slightly: "It's possible. From the beginning of the dungeon to now, I, Fu Xiaoju and Senior Li Ke should be the only ones among us who heard the knock on the door at 8:12——"
"Assuming that the sound of you knocking on the door on the ground just now also shifted in time, and also shifted toward the past, then before this, one of us should have heard the second knocking sound behind the small door."
"But that's not actually the case, is it?"
Everyone nodded.
They had never heard such a sound!
"Then there is only one possibility. The sound of your knocking on the door just now was moved to the past classroom 202 or classroom 205, because only these two classrooms were empty before."
Combining the present and the past, the small door on the floor of 204 is most likely connected to classroom 202!
Jiang Shuyue was puzzled: "That is to say, classroom 201 leads down to classroom 204, and 204 leads down to classroom 202."
"——What about 203 and 205?"
They had checked these two classrooms before. There was a door on the ceiling of classroom 203, but not in 205. So what about the floor?
Are there small doors on the ground of these two classrooms?
Ye Sui, Fu Xiaoju, Jiang Shuyue and Lu Zhongnian immediately turned back to the two classrooms, and soon came out to meet Mu Yu and the others again, and gave the answer -
There are doors on the ground of these two classrooms, but they don’t know how they are connected to other classrooms for the time being.
Here comes the question——
Fu Xiaoju was confused: "What is the purpose of these passages? They can't just be for us to visit, right?"
"And why does the time shift occur?"
"8:12 and 8:54, there is a gap of 42 minutes between them. Does this time difference have any significance?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
