"Hehe, there are actually people in China who know about the Eight-Tone Music? And so young, not bad, a promising young man!" The shopkeeper did not show his anger at being exposed, but instead stared at Gu Jueye with admiration.
"Shopkeeper, we don't necessarily want to make things difficult for you. Just lead us to the safe with the number shown, and we'll release you immediately."
The shopkeeper smiled and said, "So you've come for safe number 211. Although I'd love to pay to avoid trouble, I'm afraid I can't help you with safe number 211."
Jiang Xiaoyu said, "You are the manager of this pawn shop. I know you have the keys to all the safes. Don't try to fool us."
"Hehe, little girl, I'm tied up here and can't move at all. My life is in your hands. Tell me, what could be more important than my life? If I could trade a key for my life, I would do it without hesitation. Unfortunately, I really don't have the keys to these safes."
The shopkeeper had a long face.
Bai Qianmo stared at him silently for a while, then curled her lips into a smile, her calm eyes revealing nothing of her thoughts.
She didn't really believe what the shopkeeper said.
Jiang Xiaoyu snorted: "I think you're all talk and no action. No wonder the big boss of the pawnshop let you be the manager here. I'm afraid even you don't believe what you say."
"Young lady, I'm really just an ordinary shop clerk. The safes you want to open belong to important customers of the store. We don't have any keys reserved here. If you don't believe me, go look for them. Once you find them, they're yours."
Bai Qianmo chuckled: "Since the shopkeeper refuses to tell, there seems to be no use keeping you around. Let's send the shopkeeper on his way."
At Bai Qianmo's command, two of her men immediately approached the shopkeeper, one of whom pulled out a pistol.
When the shopkeeper saw the gun pointed at him, his pupils dilated sharply.
"No...no, although I don't have the key, I still...I do have a way to open the safe, but...whether I can open it or not depends on your skills."
Gu Jueye whispered to Bai Qianmo, "Let's hear what he has to say first."
Although the shopkeeper was as cunning as a fox, it was clear that he valued his life.
Bai Qianmo waved to her subordinates, and the two of them put away their guns.
The shopkeeper breathed a sigh of relief.
"The safe you're looking for actually seems to have been set up by the person who deposited it, as if they sensed someone would come looking for it. So the original owner set up a barrier. Once you break that barrier, the safe can be opened."
“Take us there to have a look.”
Led by the shopkeeper, Bai Qianmo and her group arrived at the basement of the pawn shop.
The basement was brightly lit, and the large space was clearly visible.
A door opened, revealing rows of safes in a large room.
The shopkeeper walked at the front, heading straight to a row of safes. His hands were bound, and he pointed with difficulty to one of the safes.
"This is a 211 university."
Bai Qianmo looked at the safe, and the numbers there did indeed match the numbers she was looking for.
"Why is the lock on this cabinet door different from the others?" Jiang Xiaoyu asked, reaching out to touch the rusty iron lock.
Bai Qianmo and Gu Jueye had also noticed the unusual lock on the cabinet door long ago.
Other locks are larger in appearance, while the lock on cabinet door 211 is much smaller in appearance, and its shape is not the common square lock shape on the market, but an oval shape.
Bai Qianmo lifted the bottom of the lock and looked at the keyhole.
Instead of a keyhole, a row of gears appeared at the bottom.
"It's a combination lock, exactly seven digits!"
Jiang Xiaoyu guessed, "A seven-digit number? Could it be the same as the cabinet door's serial number?"
"It's not that simple!"
"Why don't we try and see? Let me do it." Jiang Xiaoyu eagerly stretched out her hand.
"Little girl, don't blame me for not kindly reminding you, this lock is indeed a combination lock, but it's different from ordinary combination locks."
Bai Qianmo looked at the shopkeeper: "What's the difference?"
The shopkeeper chuckled: "This lock is called the Death Lock. If you fail to open it even once, it's completely ruined. Even the locksmith who made it can't open it!"
"There's such a lock? You're not lying to me, are you?"
Why don't you give it a try? You'll see once you try!
Jiang Xiaoyu slowly withdrew her outstretched hand.
"I'll believe you this once, old man. You must know the password to unlock it. Tell me, what is the password?"
The shopkeeper shook his head: "I really don't know. Even if you shoot me right now, I really can't tell you."
Jiang Xiaoyu said angrily, "Then why did you lie to us and bring us here?"
The only answer is there.
The shopkeeper pointed to a spot against the wall, and everyone's eyes turned towards that direction.
It was a mahogany bed with a chessboard on it.
"They're not going to make us play chess, are they?" Jiang Xiaoyu asked, her face full of surprise.
Bai Qianmo seemed to have understood something.
"You guessed right this time. This is an unfinished game of chess, left behind by that guest from room 211. He said that when the right person comes, they will understand the meaning of the chessboard. I suspect that the password is probably inside the chessboard, but no one has been able to decipher its mystery yet."
Bai Qianmo's eyes flickered slightly: "You mean, someone else tried to open this safe before?"
"Hehe, I've been in the pawn shop for thirty years, and you're already the fifth wave of people here."
Bai Qianmo was taken aback when she heard the number.
I was surprised to find that so many people had been here.
Jiang Xiaoyu snorted coldly: "Are you kidding me? If you really came for what's in the safe, even if you can't break this mess, you still have a way to open the safe. If you can't open that so-called life-saving lock, I'll smash it open. If you can't smash it open, I'll blow it up. I don't believe I can't open a safe."
“Violence won’t solve anything. Since you’ve come all this way, you must know what’s inside. If you smash it or blow it up, you’ll lose everything. Besides, do you really think we’re a pawn shop that’s so easy to get into? Even if you can get in, you might not be able to get out.”
At this moment, the shopkeeper's face was full of shrewdness.
Bai Qianmo's heart tightened.
From the first moment she saw the shopkeeper, she felt that he was no ordinary person.
Although he looked ordinary, he appeared terrified after being tied up, as if he was afraid that his life would be in danger.
But what secrets are hidden deep within those eyes?
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