Escape Room (Part 2)
The moment I stepped into the secret room, a tangled smell of sawdust and mold hit me. The off-white wallpaper was peeling, cracks of varying depths revealing yellowed newspaper fragments beneath, like the teeth of time. The crystal chandelier, draped with spiderweb-like tassels, reflected the cold white flashlight, casting fragmented shadows on the carved European-style dining table—where faded bone china was neatly laid out, and dried brown stains, like lingering blood, clotted around the rims of the cups.
As the four entered the chamber, an electrical hum erupted from the overhead speakers. A mechanically synthesized voice echoed through the confined space: "Dear escapees, you have bravely chosen the first scenario. I hope you will be the first to pass this one—" Before the words had finished, the overhead lights suddenly went out, and darkness, like thick ink, instantly drowned out all light.
"Ah!" Jiang Wanning screamed, grabbing Lu Chenzhou's sleeves and practically hanging herself from him. Lu Chenzhou stumbled half a step, and from the darkness came his helpless chuckle: "Miss, this NPC hasn't appeared yet. When the real NPC comes out, you're going to hang me by my neck, aren't you?"
"What do you care!" Jiang Wanning huffed, releasing her hand. However, she accidentally bumped into the wall while groping, letting out a muffled groan. Then, with a crisp click, Gu Hanzhi flicked on her tactical flashlight, its cold white beam piercing the darkness. As the light swept across the mottled wall and the cobwebs in the corners, her pupils constricted. Three meters away, at the end of the corridor, in a room, a blurry figure drifted around the left corner, its long black hair cascading in a curve that didn't resemble a living person.
"There's someone over there!" Gu Hanzhi grabbed Shen Zhihe's wrist with her backhand, the cold touch startling her slightly. Shen Zhihe, however, remained remarkably calm. With his free hand, he pulled out the folding knife he carried with him. "It might be the clue NPC, chase them!" The two of them quickly crossed the corridor, their footsteps echoing in the empty chamber. Behind them, Lu Chenzhou could be heard urging Jiang Wanning on with a laugh and scolding: "Hurry up, Miss! If you dawdle any longer, they'll run away!"
As Gu Hanzhi's fingertips touched it, rust fell into his palm. The moment he pushed it open with a creaking sound, the damp smell of mold and the empty silence washed over him. The room was damp and silent, but the vague figure had disappeared.
Just as she turned to retreat, the ceiling speakers suddenly emitted a piercing electrical sound. A mechanically synthesized female voice, tinged with a cold smile, boomed, "Congratulations to players Gu Hanzhi and Shen Zhihe for successfully unlocking their first single-quest." As the echo lingered in the empty room, the old-fashioned wall clock suddenly clattered with the sound of gears engaging. "Find the seven hidden keys to unlock this room. Ninety minutes. Start!" The crimson second hand ticked in the dead silence, each click like a hammer striking a nerve ending.
A damp, musty smell fermented in the dead silence. Shen Zhihe twisted his wrist slightly, and the flashlight's beam pierced the darkness, the edge of the circle of light still trembling slightly. Gu Hanzhi stared at the dancing halo of light, and belatedly realized that her nails were digging deep into her palm. The cold touch came from their clasped fingers. The sweat from her palm mixed with the thin calluses on the back of Shen Zhihe's hand, and even her fingertips were trembling uncontrollably.
The moment he flung his hand away with a snap, Gu Hanzhi stumbled back half a step, her lower back hitting the dusty wooden box with a dull thud. She hurriedly lowered her head to tidy up her tangle of hair, the ends of which brushed against the tips of her reddened ears. "Our most urgent task is to find the key..." Before she could finish her words, Shen Zhihe had already crouched down, his knuckles tapping the ground with a hollow echo.
The old attic's wood panels creaked beneath his feet. As the third brass key was plucked from the cobwebs in the corner, Gu Hanzhi watched his deft rummaging and suddenly laughed. "Teacher Shen seems so familiar with this place. Has he ever brought his girlfriend to explore a secret room before?"
Shen Zhihe froze, his knee slamming hard against the edge of a wooden crate. His hasty rise knocked over stacked cartons, sending yellowed blueprints flying like snowflakes. "No way!" His knuckles whitened as he gripped the keys, his Adam's apple bobbing. "I don't... have a girlfriend..." Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Gu Hanzhi's upturned face, her eyelashes casting fine shadows beneath her eyes. His unspoken excuses suddenly burned him to the point of being unspoken.
He turned around abruptly, the flashlight beam sweeping across the cobwebs between the beams, his voice muffled in his chest: "I'm not interested in girls." Wall dust fell on the back of his neck, he reached out and wiped it randomly, but he couldn't wipe away the heat rising from behind his ears.
Gu Hanzhi bent down to pick up the fallen blueprint, a look of disappointment in her eyes, her nails unconsciously scraping the edge. As the paper wrinkled, she heard her own calm voice: "Oh, then keep looking." As she turned, the end of her hair brushed against the back of her cold hand, as if someone had gently tugged at it, or like the wind blowing through a broken attic window.
A crackling sound of electricity suddenly resounded within the confined space. Gu Hanzhi was startled by the sudden noise, and the bronze key in her hand scraped against the stone wall with a harsh sound. The dark red emergency light cast a flickering light on the damp wall, stretching the overlapping shadows of the two people.
"Congratulations to players Gu Hanzhi and Shen Zhihe for successfully finding the key within 50 minutes. The door will automatically open next. Please try again to find the remaining NPCs."
The iron door creaked harshly, as if a giant beast, slumbering for centuries, had just opened its eyes. Gu Hanzhi's palms broke out in sweat, and she tightened her grip on Shen Zhihe's. A chill wind blew in from the depths of the corridor, carrying with it a lingering, decaying air, like a gentle breath of cold air from the shadows.
"Did you notice anything amiss?" Gu Hanzhi lowered her voice, her nails practically digging into Shen Zhihe's palm. The damp stone pavement beneath her feet reflected the flickering incandescent lights overhead, their halos distorting into strange shapes in the stagnant water.
Just then, a painting suddenly appeared on the wall around the corner. A familiar oval face, an enigmatic smile—it was the Mona Lisa. But the woman in the painting was pouting, a murky teardrop dangling from beneath her left eye. The dried paint glowed dark red in the light, like congealed blood.
Gu Hanzhi held her breath and, as if possessed, took two steps closer. The painting suddenly shook violently, and the corners of the mouth ripped to the ears at a visible speed, revealing sharp white teeth. Before Gu Hanzhi could scream, the frame suddenly twisted and deformed, a scarlet wedding dress cascading down like a waterfall of blood, and a woman with disheveled hair emerged from the painting.
"I've been waiting for you for over a thousand years." The woman's voice seemed to come from the depths of a cellar, its tail tingling with a tooth-grinding tremor. Her rotting fingertips brushed Gu Hanzhi's cheek, the cold touch causing him to stumble back, and in panic, he fell into a warm embrace.
Shen Zhihe quickly grabbed her waist. The woman in the red wedding dress let out a sharp laugh, and the scarlet dress exploded in the air, transforming into thousands of blood-red butterflies that swirled and danced in the narrow corridor. At the end of the corridor, the sound of chains dragging on the floor, mixed with the woman's faint singing, echoed in the darkness. Shen Zhihe tried to catch the woman, but she had already left.
Dusk stagnated in the confined space, turning into a thick, viscous ink. Gu Hanzhi's fingertips traced the dusty wall, the faint blue light of her watch reflecting the beads of sweat on her forehead. Nearly three hours had passed since she entered this secret room. The hum of the ventilation mechanism intertwined with Shen Zhihe's steady footsteps. Finally, the moment the rusted iron door was pushed open, the fifth NPC's tattered costume came into view.
"Found it!" A hoarse cheer echoed off the stone wall. Shen Zhihe pulled the last fragment of a clue from an NPC's hand from his messenger bag, piecing together the faded words on the yellowed pages to complete the puzzle. Just then, a familiar electronic speaker suddenly blared, startling the dust and mist dormant in the corners. "Congratulations to both players for successfully finding the remaining five NPCs. You've now successfully solved the escape room. Congratulations on your victory!"
The sudden onset of the incandescent light made one squint. As Gu Hanzhi raised her hand to shield herself from the halo, her eyes met with Shen Zhihe's, standing against the light. His eyes shone faintly behind his lenses, his cuffs stained with spiderwebs soaked with sweat, yet he maintained a charming smile. The moment they exchanged smiles, the tension in the air snapped.
"According to the investigation, your other two companions are escaping. We will meet you successfully within half an hour. Please wait patiently." The horn sounded again, mixed with the hum of electricity and echoing in the empty chamber. Gu Hanzhi and Shen Zhihe were waiting patiently.
As a blood-curdling "Ahhh!" scream echoed from the end of the corridor, Jiang Wanning suddenly grabbed Lu Chenzhou's wrist. Almost simultaneously, they both launched a run in the direction they remembered. The humid air was filled with the mixed smell of rotting wood and rust. The sound-activated lights at the end of the corridor flickered as they ran, distorting their shadows.
Pushing open the half-open fire door, a warm yellow light instantly dispelled the darkness. Shen Zhihe leaned against a cracked dressing table, fingertips fiddling with a half-melted red candle. Gu Hanzhi crouched in the corner, her cell phone flashlight illuminating the scattered diary pages beside her. The faint scent of sandalwood lingered in the air, forming an eerie contrast with the rancid odor in the corridor.
"You're finally here." Shen Zhihe raised an eyebrow, the candlelight casting tiny specks of light on his glasses. "If you were three minutes later, the vengeful spirits in the basement would have come up to join in the fun." Gu Hanzhi stood up, her hand sweeping across the moldy old photo frame in the corner. "Did you have a smooth search?"
Lu Chenzhou shook his sweat-soaked bangs and pulled a cobweb-covered copper key from his pocket. "Thanks to the young lady for discovering the secret compartment in the ventilation duct." Jiang Wanning rubbed her aching wrist, her eyes scanning the scattered tarot cards on the table. Suddenly, she pointed at the Hanged Man and smiled, "This tarot card is actually the key to our mission."
The four of them smiled at each other. A drizzle had begun outside the window, and amidst the patina of the rain, the old-fashioned wall clock struck midnight. As Shen Zhihe inserted the brass key into the final lock, the lights in the room suddenly lit up, and the electronic screen displayed the message "Midnight Terror Successfully Completed." The dolls that once whimpered in the darkness now lay quietly in their glass cases, as if they had never awoke.
Night fell like an overturned inkwell over the Ferris wheel's spire. The four of them stepped out of the amusement park, their lights gradually fading as the carousel shone. The final jack-o'-lantern flickered behind the iron gate, seemingly swallowing up the entire holiday's clamor. This National Day celebration, which began with street fireworks and ended in a secret room, finally came to an end with the click of a combination lock.
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