Since Mingqiao and Cao Bohai are now trapped in the library, and there is no place to hide in the library, it has become an empty space. So once the side quest is started, Mingqiao and Cao Bohai will be like grasshoppers on a rope and neither of them can escape.
Mingqiao had to persuade Cao Haibo for a long time before he was less afraid of the "real person challenge". He really didn't expect that Cao Haibo, a boy who could be considered big and strong, and a sports player, would be so timid.
Mingqiao climbed the stairs to the swing and took off his backpack. He first prepared food and water for Cao Haibo and himself, as well as some necessary tools, and then began to remind Cao Haibo of some precautions.
Based on Mingqiao's previous experience, the difficulty of side quests and main quests is almost the same, but the difficulty and horror of the library copy have decreased compared to before, so this time the side quest will not be particularly difficult, which makes Mingqiao feel at ease.
When Mingqiao had packed up his things and was about to call Shi Xin to start the side quest, Cao Haibo was still huddled on his little stool in fear, looking up at him carefully, refusing to move.
"Don't be afraid, I will protect you." Mingqiao's words made people laugh. Compared with the tall and strong Cao Haibo, he seemed even more fragile. A small person had to protect a big person, a weak person had to protect a strong person. This contrast and inversion was really incredible.
But Cao Haibo didn't think so. He pouted and looked at Mingqiao aggrievedly, completely putting himself in the position of a weak person who needed help. He said in a trembling voice: "Teacher, I am usually scared when my classmates ask me to play escape room together, let alone playing for real now."
"I understand. I'm scared too." Mingqiao patted Cao Haibo on the back. He knew that he couldn't hold an underage child to the standards of an adult, so he didn't force him to stand up and follow him. Instead, he said patiently, "No one wouldn't be scared if they encountered this kind of situation. We are not gods. We are ordinary people. We don't have strong mental qualities, physical strength, or anything else. But we just encountered this kind of weird thing, and we have to rely on our mediocre selves to fight for a way out. We want to survive and let more people survive. Even if we are afraid, we have to move forward."
"Teacher..." Cao Haibo's body was still shaking. Mingqiao waited for a while. He took a few breaths and finally stood up from the bench and stood with Mingqiao: "I understand. I'll go with you."
With Cao Haibo's consent, Mingqiao finally put his last wish into his stomach. He checked his backpack, asked Cao Haibo to pull up his clothes so as not to get separated, and said, "Shi Xin, let's start."
Shi Xin didn't waste any time with them. As soon as Mingqiao told him to start, he immediately controlled the controller and clicked on the side quest.
Mingqiao's eyes went dark, and when he opened them again, the scene was completely different. They were clearly just standing there, but in the blink of an eye, they "traveled" to another place.
The two of them were now in a room that was many times larger than the small second floor of the library. This room was filled with all kinds of amusement facilities. It was definitely a small indoor playground. The floor, walls, ceiling, and everything in the room were made of building blocks.
They seemed to have come to a real fairy tale world.
When in the cafeteria, Mingqiao would be sitting at his seat and in the next second he would end up in the leftover food bucket, so when he experienced this again, he didn't think it was anything strange. Instead, Cao Haibo, who was standing next to him, rubbed his eyes and exclaimed "Wow" in surprise.
"Shi Xin, what is the mission?" Ming Qiao asked immediately after he calmed down.
"Wait a moment, the display is loading." Shi Xin said.
Mingqiao took a look around while waiting. Most of the rides here are small ones suitable for children. The only large one is the pirate ship located at the innermost part.
Cao Haibo followed behind Mingqiao, also turning his head to look around. He sat on the turntable of a small carousel nearby and turned around. When he came back again, he said, "Teacher, it seems that there is no one here."
Ming Qiao hummed softly, then shook his head: "If there is no one here, why are all the devices running?"
Cao Haibo was so frightened by Mingqiao's casual reminder that he quickly jumped off the carousel and looked behind him with lingering fear.
There really wasn't a single person, but Mingqiao was right. The equipment was all running, which meant...
Cao Haibo was so frightened by his own thoughts that he was shaking. He always believed that there were ghosts in the world. Thinking of the strange things Mingqiao had said about the restaurant and the playground, he felt even colder on his back and his hair stood on end.
Fortunately, Shi Xin's voice interrupted his brief fantasy in time: "Side mission: The power of the amusement park can only last for two hours, but there are still children who haven't played enough, so please help the employees generate enough electricity to maintain the normal operation of the amusement park."
"Okay, good." After receiving Shi Xin's reminder, Ming Qiao immediately prepared to find the power supply location of the amusement park, but when he turned around, he saw Cao Haibo still standing there.
"Haibo?" Mingqiao went over and pushed him gently, and Cao Haibo sat down on the ground with his legs going weak.
Cao Haibo's voice was trembling: "Teacher, you said there is no danger here."
"Indeed, not yet." Ming Qiao squatted beside Cao Haibo, thought for a moment and said, "My previous speculation about someone is a logical 'someone'. Just think of it as nothing here, and don't feel burdened."
"I don't believe it. Even the mission says, 'There are children who haven't played enough.' This is the biggest proof." Cao Haibo said as he backed away, grabbing the air with his legs and hands, until his back was against the wall with no way to retreat. He screamed in panic and did not let Mingqiao get close at all.
"Haibo, look at me." Mingqiao did not insist on getting closer to Cao Haibo, but maintained a distance that both of them felt was safe.
Cao Haibo squatted, hugged his knees, and whimpered softly.
None of the students who have followed Mingqiao have ever encountered a situation like Cao Haibo. Even girls like Deng Ya would not be so uncooperative.
But Cao Haibo was apparently in a normal state when he first came in, and even had the mind to walk around the equipment. How could he be so scared just by one sentence?
Mingqiao was a little worried, but he couldn't just abandon Cao Haibo. He had to let Cao Haibo stand up on his own and complete this side quest with him, so that if Cao Haibo encountered a similar situation alone in the future, he would be able to handle it on his own.
"Haibo, we discussed this before we came in, right? Don't be afraid." Mingqiao said patiently, "There is no one here. We only have one mission, which is to help the staff generate electricity. As for whether there are people here or not, it has nothing to do with us."
"Teacher, can you please let me calm down? Please stop talking."
Mingqiao wisely shut up.
He looked around but didn't find any mechanisms or exits. He also didn't see any starting devices for the amusement equipment. He guessed that it was under the unified control of the power generation place.
Cao Haibo stayed alone for a long time but didn't get better, so Mingqiao had to go over and pick him up from the ground. Cao Haibo was so scared that his whole body went limp, and he didn't make any noise, but he just kept scaring himself.
Mingqiao asked helplessly: "How can you not be afraid?"
"I don't know either." Cao Haibo's voice was originally low, and now it was almost inaudible: "Teacher, I'm scared."
Ming Qiao had no choice but to find another way: "Ghosts usually appear in the middle of the night when there is no light and it is quiet. Only then can they suddenly appear and deal a fatal blow. But now in this indoor playground, there is plenty of light, neon lights are changing, there is a hint of light music and the sound of gears turning. You can see everything at this time. Even if something wants to suddenly appear and scare you, you can see it from a long distance."
Feeling that what Mingqiao said made some sense, Cao Haibo swallowed his saliva and walked in front of Mingqiao. The reason he gave was: he could see a head-on critical hit, but not a surprise attack from behind, so he would not walk last.
So Mingqiao could only be the one at the back.
Since then, Cao Haibo has not had another attack. He walks step by step carefully, which makes it less likely for him to trigger unexpected mechanisms.
On Shi Xin's screen, this room could only show the simplest pictures, without any prompt information, so he could only explore with Ming Qiao and the others, and was unable to help much.
Mingqiao and his companions searched and felt their way along the wall. After avoiding several attack mechanisms, they found a door on the wall behind the pirate ship.
The door was similar in color to the surrounding area, and the gaps between the blocks were so wide that if they hadn't knocked on the wall every few steps, they wouldn't have noticed the looseness here.
This time, Cao Haibo didn't dare to push the door first. He lowered his head and stepped aside, looking at Mingqiao expectantly.
Mingqiao pushed the door open directly.
Inside the door is a small room with more than a dozen treadmills neatly arranged inside. Wires are connected underneath the treadmills and then extended to a circuit box in the corner.
"It's here!" Cao Haibo pointed at the treadmills and counted them. "There is exactly one treadmill for each amusement equipment."
Mingqiao walked around the treadmills and circled the room, but found no other entrances or exits except the small door.
Their task is to assist the staff in generating electricity.
This raises the question – where is the staff now?
Mingqiao asked seemingly abruptly: "Shi Xin, what do you think?"
"Mr. Ming, first of all, the equipment outside is running, which means there are people working on these treadmills. If I were the designer of a chamber game, in order to echo the previous copy, turning off the lights would be the best time for NPCs to show up."
"Yes." Mingqiao nodded with a smile: "How do I turn off the lights?"
"For the light to be on, it needs power. Powering it means that the treadmill used to generate electricity for the light bulb is running. So if you want to turn off the light, you must first disconnect the treadmill."
Cao Haibo was shocked by the conversation between the two people. Before he understood what Mingqiao was asking, Shi Xin had already given the answer. And judging from the smile on Mingqiao's face, Shi Xin's answer was exactly the same as what Mingqiao was thinking.
"I can't turn off the lights... I'm scared if I turn them off." Cao Haibo subconsciously wanted to lie down and give up, but when he thought of what Mingqiao had said to him before he came into this side quest, his brain finally started to work fast and caught up with Mingqiao. He asked, "Which treadmill is connected to the light bulb?"
"Good question." Mingqiao pointed to the one next to Cao Haibo and said, "Go up and try it."
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