The bathroom is divided into two parts, an outer and an inner one. The outer part is the dressing room, which is filled with wardrobes with doors. Next to the wardrobes are wooden benches with brand new towels on them.
Inside is the bathing area. In addition to the shower stalls, there is a large bathtub, but it is empty now, with no water inside, revealing the bottom of the tub covered with blue and white tiles.
Besides them, there was no one else in the bathroom. Number 2 was already showering inside, and the sound of running water could be heard, with steam rising from the cubicle.
Xiao Cheng picked out a wardrobe nearby, took off her clothes, folded them carefully, and put them in. Then she walked into the bathroom, intending to avoid the other players and read the note Fang He had handed her.
"Um...that..." Number 3 suddenly stopped her, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated, "Hello, are you also a player?"
"Do I look like an NPC?" Xiao Cheng asked, somewhat puzzled.
Number 3's face flushed red instantly, and he waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "No, no! That's not what I meant! I meant to ask, are you... are you a newcomer too?"
"Hmm..." Xiao Cheng thought for a moment, "I guess so, after all, I've only cleared three dungeons."
"You're amazing!" Number 3's eyes lit up, but then his mood immediately dropped again. "This is only my second instance. It looks so dangerous. I don't know if I'll be able to get out of here alive."
Number 5, who was taking off his clothes nearby, suddenly chuckled: "What a coincidence, everyone here is barely able to take care of themselves."
Number 3 choked on her words, stammered for a long time, and then walked into the cubicle without saying a word, his face flushed. A little while later, the sound of dripping water could be heard.
Number 5 leaned against the cabinet with her arms crossed, looking Xiao Cheng up and down with a playful expression: "She doesn't look like a saint, so why did she specifically choose you?"
Xiao Cheng stared at the flamboyant phoenix tattoo on her right arm: "Maybe it's because I have a natural aura of dominance."
"Then let me bask in your domineering aura." Number 5 extended her right hand and smiled with a particularly dashing air. "Let's get acquainted. My name is Liu Xiaoying, and this is my eighth game."
The eighth game.
Xiao Cheng was shocked.
This cool girl with a gentle name seems to be a big shot, but I wonder who is more powerful, her or Fang He's.
Then she suddenly realized that she was thinking of Fang He again.
Something's not right, something's really not right.
"Hey? What are you spacing out for?" Liu Xiaoying snapped her fingers in front of her eyes when she saw her suddenly looking conflicted.
"Ah, it's nothing." Xiao Cheng shook her head vigorously, trying to clear her mind of all the random thoughts. "Go take a shower quickly, who knows what might happen later."
"You're very alert," Liu Xiaoying said, patting her shoulder casually.
In the bathroom stall, Xiao Cheng turned on the showerhead and then quickly opened the note Fang He had given her.
The piece of paper looked like it had been casually torn off somewhere; the edges were quite uneven, and there was no writing on it. When held up to the light, you could see crisscrossing scratches, as if they had been scraped with a fingernail.
"Quickly...come out?" Xiao Cheng carefully examined the words on it, looking completely bewildered.
What's the meaning?
Judging from the note, Fang He must have discovered something on short notice and wanted to get it for himself before entering the bathroom. In other words, there was danger in the bathroom, which might be related to the length of the shower.
In short, it's best to get out as soon as possible.
Number 2 and Liu Xiaoying moved quite swiftly, while Number 3, who was originally reluctant to enter the bathroom, hesitated instead.
"I...I don't really want to go out. That old man is acting strangely. He might be waiting for us to go out and then..." She shuddered at her own terrible suspicion.
“But it’s hard to say what the dangers might be. For example, if you don’t leave before the deadline, ghosts might appear. If you treat that old man as a tool for issuing missions, then the outside is the safe zone,” Xiao Cheng said calmly to her.
"Whether you leave or not is entirely your own decision," Liu Xiaoying said sarcastically from the side. "After all, you're a mature adult, right?"
"I..." Number 3 bit her lip, then looked at Number 2. Seeing that she was obviously unwilling to stay here with her, she said helplessly, "Okay, I'll go out with you."
When they went out, only Fang He was waiting outside. When he saw Xiao Cheng, a barely perceptible smile appeared on his lips, and he nodded very slightly.
A few minutes later, the other two male players also came out.
Number 6 looked very unhappy, glaring fiercely at Fang He. Number 4 had a helpless smile on his face, patted Fang He's shoulder, and whispered something.
"What bad luck," the old man said lazily from his rocking chair, his hoarse voice echoing in the small space. "You almost went over time, but luckily you washed fairly clean, so you were in luck."
"Overtime?!" Everyone looked at each other in surprise. Number 6 reflexively looked at the blank white paper with a small corner missing that was pasted on the side of the desk.
Then he leaned closer to take a closer look.
A bone-chilling cold rose up from the soles of my feet.
On the white paper, a line of small text is printed in a light gray color similar to the background.
"Hot water will be available for 30 minutes. Please do not exceed this time limit, or you will be responsible for the consequences."
"This is a fucking trap!" Having just escaped death, his eyes widened in shock. "They're clearly trying to kill us!"
The old man looked at him calmly, as if he were looking at a clueless clown, then he grinned sinisterly, about to say something.
"What nonsense are you spouting? You should be polite to the elderly." Fang He said slowly, "The warning is clearly written here. Is he wrong? He's not wrong. He's just an old man who likes to play pranks on his own turf."
Number 6 realized with shock that his actions were tantamount to courting death. Looking at the gloomy old man, he broke out in a cold sweat.
"So, can we go out now? After all, our counselor is still waiting outside, quite worried. And we girls still have wet hair; won't we catch a cold late at night?" Xiao Cheng added.
The old man's gaze lingered on Fang He and Xiao Cheng for a long time before he reluctantly nodded and uttered a low, hoarse voice: "Get lost."
As Fang He said.
A counselor surnamed Si was waiting outside the public bathhouse, looking at them with resentment and malice.
“It’s great to see you all again,” he said, but his expression clearly showed no joy.
However, he was clearly quite professional and quickly regained his composure, continuing his guidance: "Next, I will take you to your dormitories. You can rest well there tonight and prepare for your first class tomorrow."
As he spoke, he suddenly laughed with great anticipation: "Trust me, you will never forget this."
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