Mingqiao didn't want to go against the old man, but he had to confirm some things.
For example, whether he really changed from a student to a restaurant employee, if he became an employee, how could he change back, and the most important point: how could he get out of here.
After hearing his question, the old man's ferocious face froze for a moment. Unlike other monsters that reacted quickly, he was like a computer that was originally in standby mode. He needed to carefully analyze and check this sudden bug before he could deal with and solve it.
Mingqiao took advantage of this opportunity to shout Zhang Wanqiao's name loudly.
He was not far from the stairs on the third floor, so the loud noise should have no problem being heard by the second floor.
But he shouted until his voice became hoarse and got no response.
Mingqiao immediately guessed that he was in the same situation as on the first floor, where only the people in it could hear the sounds made by the environment.
At this moment, these employees seemed to react. They first covered his mouth, and then found that Mingqiao had been struggling to escape, so they simply picked up a rag from the side and stuffed it into his mouth.
Mingqiao almost vomited when he smelled the smell. The rag was soaked with swill, and the more he wanted to vomit, the more he used his lip muscles to squeeze the rag, and the more water inside it could be squeezed out.
He felt so uncomfortable and disgusted.
"Your work content is written in the employee log." The old man did not answer his question, but was obviously irritated: "Article 2 of the manual: The most basic job of an employee is to work hard. You didn't work hard, and I will punish you!"
Mingqiao suddenly felt something was wrong.
The second rule he mentioned was obviously confusing and illogical, but when Shi Xin was reading the employee handbook, he would point out anything that was wrong and tell them about it, so there was no way he would miss such a rule.
Either the rules were changing, or the old man had made up a rule to trick him.
Hearing the old man say "punishment", the other people around seemed to get excited and grabbed Mingqiao's limbs one by one.
Mingqiao was not too worried about being punished too severely. In his opinion, the old man's verbal violation of the rules was far less serious than his illegal card swiping at the time. He was held up by the people around him, with his arms and legs lifted up, and his whole body suspended in the air.
His head tilted back due to gravity, and his brain, which was constantly filled with blood, made him perceive everything more clearly. Mingqiao stretched his neck so that he could see the road ahead clearly.
He was led through a small door into the back kitchen, and then made many detours inside. The further he went in, the dimmer the lights became, and they flickered.
When they arrived at the place and the scene in front of them stopped shaking, Mingqiao was let down.
This was a room where miscellaneous items were stored. As they opened the door, a lot of dust rose up and scattered in the air. Mingqiao was choked and had difficulty breathing. He tilted his head to take a breath, then blinked and looked at the room.
There were no windows on the wall, and the whole room was just filled with some old pots and pans piled up in a corner.
"Push him in," said the old man.
Ming Qiao was pushed hard by a strong force and stumbled a few steps before he could stand firm. His hands and feet were finally freed, and he immediately pulled out the rag stuffed in his mouth.
The foul smell of the pot-washing water had already made him feel nauseous, and now that he was finally relieved, he vomited thoroughly.
The men pushed him in and quickly locked the door, fearing that he would take the opportunity to escape.
Mingqiao didn't have so many thoughts to begin with. Being locked up here would allow him to stay away from that messy group of people, allowing him to think quietly.
Judging from the old man’s reaction, he had indeed become a cafeteria employee. This was the same as Lao Jiang’s behavior when he met Lao Jiang at the office door when he became a student in the morning.
The next step is how to get out of this identity. Mingqiao is not familiar with this aspect. If he is a regular staff employed by the school, he will most likely have to apply to the school leaders and the Education Bureau for resignation. However, the cafeteria of No. 1 Middle School is outsourced to a social enterprise by the school, and the employees are managed by this catering company. He is now trapped in the school and has no way to contact the outside world, so he cannot resign and change his identity.
Mingqiao closed his eyes and thought about it again.
But when he changed from a teacher to a student, there were no twists and turns. It was just a small mistake that led to the change of identity. Similarly, when he changed from a student to an employee, he just wore the clothes of an employee. It seems that changing identities does not require a common sense process, but only requires corresponding behavior or compliance with corresponding rules.
If this is true, he just needs to wait for the next opportunity, do what the teacher should do, and follow the rules that the teacher should follow, and he will be able to change back.
After thinking through these questions, there are only two things left: finding the students trapped here and escaping from here.
Mingqiao had been through so many things and had consumed too much of his physical strength. He had to take a break to recover his energy before he could continue to solve the current problems and difficulties. He slowly sat down against the wall and looked around the place with the little light coming in through the crack in the door.
Even though he looked again, the walls and the ground were still bare, but he still felt that there should be a breakthrough.
As soon as the old man mentioned the punishment, the others were extremely excited. What were they happy about? Also, they seemed very determined and familiar with the way they tied themselves up to come here, which meant that this was not the first time they did this. They might have tied other unlucky people here before.
Since someone has been here, there must be traces left.
Mingqiao was delighted for a moment, then he supported himself on the ground and stood up, slowly feeling his way back and forth on the wall.
Although the thin light could not reach these places, he could feel them with his hands to check if anyone had carved anything on the wall.
When he touched the door, Mingqiao felt a small indentation under his finger.
He immediately felt down along the depressions, carefully feeling the changes, and after confirming that they were the engraved Chinese characters, he pieced them all together.
【Help】
Mingqiao confirmed it several times, and it was always two words: help.
Someone had asked for help here before. Mingqiao placed his finger on the two words and exhaled heavily.
It is meaningless to carve a help sign in this room. It can neither comfort oneself psychologically nor convey this information to people outside. It has no benefit except to bring endless psychological pressure to those who come later.
His mood continued to be low, and finally he touched the corner where the sundries were piled, but he did not find any other inscriptions. He could not hold on any longer and fell to the ground. However, this action happened to knock off an iron pot covering the surface, and some other things collapsed like dominoes due to the sudden change in force, revealing the things inside.
A hand with only a skeleton left.
Ming Qiao was so shocked by the suddenness that his brain stopped thinking and he could only sit there unable to move.
He has been trying hard to get others out alive since he came in.
But the skeleton hand shattered his fantasy.
Mingqiao swallowed twice and buried his face in his hands.
Don't let yourself get discouraged.
At least he is still alive now, so there is hope.
He opened his eyes again, gasping for breath, and saw a small note next to the hand.
The small piece of paper completely blended into the white color of the bone, and it was hard to see unless you looked carefully.
Mingqiao picked up the note with trembling hands and held it to a place with light to read it.
There were maroon handwriting on it, with thirteen correct characters written on it.
Zhang Wanqiao held Wang Dada's hand with her right hand, and held the note she had just found in her left hand, and continued walking in the maze.
They had been wandering around in here for an hour and had not figured out the way. When they first reached the second floor, they discovered the maze and had no intention of going in. But after calling for help for a long time, there was no response. When they tried to go upstairs, they found that the stairs were blocked by a solid wall.
There might be a glimmer of hope if they walked out of the maze, so the two had to bite the bullet and walk in. In this maze, they only found a flashlight and a piece of paper with sixty-five black spots in no regular pattern.
Wang Dada was a little tired after walking so he slowed down and muttered, "Teacher, let's take a break before we go on."
"Are you tired?" Zhang Wanqiao asked him.
Wang Dada nodded.
Zhang Wanqiao consoled him, “But you also saw the notice at the staircase. Once you enter the maze, you can’t stop.”
"Well, let's walk slower." Wang Dada said a little aggrievedly: "Teacher, I didn't feel this tired when I took your class."
Zhang Wanqiao gently patted Wang Dada's back and said, "If you can't walk, the teacher will carry you. Let's not stay here too long."
She squatted down and waited for Wang Dada to come up. Wang Dada was actually very small and thin, and looked underdeveloped among her peers. It should be no problem for her to walk a little further with a child on her back.
But after waiting for a long time, Wang Dada didn't make any move.
She looked back in confusion.
Wang Dada met her eyes, twisted his fingers and whispered, "Teacher, I see your heels are worn out. You don't need to carry me. I can walk by myself."
Zhang Wanqiao herself didn't even notice that her heels were rubbed raw. She stood up with a wry smile and held Wang Dada's arm again: "Then let's walk slower."
"good."
Shi Xin didn't expect that when he watched Ming Qiao and the teacher and student leave, he turned around and saw the window for getting food was already full of robots.
These robots are arranged at equal distances, holding a large spoon for scooping rice in one hand and a sharp kitchen knife in the other.
He frowned and stared at the robots, adopting the strategy of not moving unless the enemy moves.
But he wanted to be calm, and robots would not be calm.
At one point they all changed direction and went out of the window.
Robots kept coming out of the kitchen, seemingly endlessly, until they surrounded the entire restaurant.
Shi Xin tensed up and clenched his fists.
Suddenly, the radio on the first floor made two crackling sounds, and then a robotic male voice slowly read out:
"Xingchuan No. 1 Middle School's Rules for Outsiders:
Welcome to Xingchuan No.1 Middle School. Our school has a history of 100 years and has always been well received. The school is student-centered and committed to cultivating outstanding talents.
On behalf of the school leadership, I would like to extend a warm welcome to you again. Thank you for your concern and support for our school and wish you a pleasant visit.
During your stay at school, please abide by the following rules to ensure that you can adapt to visiting work as quickly as possible.
1. Remember that you are a foreign visitor.
2. Please promote our school positively.
…
The penalties for violations include, but are not limited to, death. Once again, follow the rules or you will bear the consequences at your own risk.”
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