Chapter 37

When he received the message, he was trying to pry open the door.

Although he knew that this action itself was meaningless - behind the door, there was still a door. Even if he really pried the door open and went out, he still couldn't find any exit. The only thing he could see was a room exactly the same as the one he was in now.

Rooms connected to rooms, like a nightmare with no end in sight. There was everything in the room, but everything was weird. The mirror was broken, the door was locked, and the walls were full of scratches.

He didn't remember how long he had been trapped, let alone why he was trapped here. He couldn't even remember his own name, didn't know who he was, and didn't know what to do after getting out.

But he had to escape.

For no reason, this thought kept circling in his mind.

But in a room like this with no exit, the existence of this thought always seemed ridiculous, and what followed was often only frustration and fatigue - and perhaps anger. At least he felt that he should have been angry about this, and he had also been afraid and collapsed. It's just that time has passed so long that he has forgotten everything.

Even so, he was still trying to pry the door open. Prying every door he could see.

He had a vague feeling that what was more important than "escaping" might just be this thought itself. Once he gave up even this, he would really have nothing.

The computer in the room would occasionally send him similar messages. That was the desktop computer that came with this room, and he kept it turned on all year round because of loneliness. There is a preset chat software in the computer. Anonymous people often pop up and push some articles full of life to him, or talk to him in private.

Most of the time, they send some ridicule or insults, or disturbing weird sentences; but very rarely, there will be a completely different tone, telling him that there are people waiting for him outside, and he can try to hold on.

He doesn't know whether those messages are true, but he must have taken them seriously. He also regarded these messages as a life-saving straw, holding the computer every day waiting for years, seizing every opportunity to ask for help, using text and voice to beg for expectation; but slowly, as so many messages fell into the sea, that urgency finally died out like a flame of oxygen deprivation.

"No one saves me" - he finally realized this at some point. It

's a terrible fact. But it's a good thing to realize this. It means that he will no longer have unnecessary expectations for other things, and accordingly, there will be no more disappointment and despair. The content of those messages has become irrelevant to him. Curses or encouragements, to him, there is no difference, and it has no meaning...

?

Looking at the new message popping up on the screen, his expression froze for a moment. His

already stiff brows raised unconsciously, he looked at the message, restarted the computer, opened it again, and read it again.

It's confirmed that it's not an illusion.

So... what activity? What demolition office? Why are they all things I haven't seen before?

And it was very long, really very long...

For him now, it was difficult to understand such a long message. Fortunately, he tried hard and understood the general meaning.

Collect words and... leave?

Is this some new way of mocking people? For example, he did it, and then sent a message like "Don't be silly, you can't escape anymore"? Or is it some kind of trap to trick him into reading those weird words?

He was not sure. He didn't know whether to take it seriously. But he could feel that because of this inexplicable message, something long gone came out of his chest again, like embers blown by the wind, and a light was faintly lit again.

So after a brief silence, he finally got up in hesitation and began to collect various "words" according to the requirements of the message.

There are actually quite a lot of these things, like fruits in an orchard, everywhere. But he usually hides or tears up most of them to prevent himself from seeing them, which makes it a bit troublesome to find them now. It took him about several minutes to finally find seven or eight sheets.

He then sat on the edge of the bed and copied and sent out the words one by one according to the rules.

He knew that these were not good things, and when copying them, he tried hard to force himself not to think and just act like an emotionless typewriter. Even so, some words still broke into his mind uncontrollably -

[Don't contact other people you see. They are fake, they don't have brains.]

[The mouse is a higher level of evolution, it is the legitimate son of the butterfly. The butterfly has the most beautiful patterns. It is the mother of everyone.]

[Believe in the butterfly. Believe devoutly. When you acknowledge it, it will come to pick you up, riding on colorful lights and dancing gracefully. 】

【You can try to open the door. But there is no exit behind the door. It is a nightmare with no end. 】

【The Bichon Frise here is so beautiful! 】

He:...

his typing action paused. What Bichon Frise?

After hesitating for a moment, he decided to ignore the question and continued to copy the following.

However, before he had copied a few sentences, another red bold word burst into his field of vision.

【The stairs are the green but sincere intestines.

【The elevator is the elegant corners of the white-clothed boy's lips gently raised. 】

"..."

I...what kind of perverted place am I trapped in?

At this moment, he couldn't help but think deeply about this question.

Soon, his attention was diverted again - as the content was sent, he immediately received a confirmation message, and the signature was still "Strange Stories Demolition Office". About ten minutes later, the content on the paper actually changed.

- [Don't contact the other people you see. They are fake, they are Xing Tian.]

- [The mouse is a higher level of optimization, it is the father of the butterfly. The butterfly is wearing a water-red cheongsam. It is the mother of the mouse.] -

[Believe in the butterfly. Believe dialectically. When you acknowledge it, it will carry a package with a blue background and white flowers and come to pick you up beautifully.]

- [You can try to open the door. But there is no door behind the door. That is the dream of a time-traveling girl returning home.]

"..."

What... is all this?

He couldn't help scratching his head, feeling that this already inexplicable world had suddenly become even more confusing.

Come to think of it, what did the event notice say?

- [If you find that the words you sent out have changed, please immediately observe the current room again and look for an exit.]

...Exit.

His numb heart moved slightly because of this word. He got up hurriedly and looked around the room.

After making sure that there was no change inside the room, he finally turned his gaze slowly to the closed door.

The door was a very common bedroom door, but it was wrapped with a heavy chain, with a padlock on the chain, and the wire he had just used to pry the door open was inserted in the keyhole.

His throat rolled unconsciously, and he slowly stepped forward, first trying to force the door open - unfortunately, through the gap in the door, he couldn't see anything outside. He had no choice but to pick up the wire again and continue the previous lock-picking work.

The further he went, the more his hands trembled, and the more hurried his movements became. When the lock was finally opened, he almost pulled the chain off, so he moved too hastily and even scratched his skin; the moment he stretched out his hand to push the door, his movements froze again, and after a pause, he carefully turned the handle again.

It was like approaching a dream that would wake him up if he wasn't careful.

And the moment the door was pushed open, his expression finally changed completely.

What appeared outside the door was a corridor. A

very long corridor with lights on. He took a tentative step outside, and felt the soft touch of the carpet under his feet.

He came out.

He really came out.

There was a moment of stagnation, followed by a long-lost ecstasy. The strong emotions came up almost instantly, so strong that they choked his throat and made him unable to make any sound. He breathed rapidly, and his first reaction was to run outside. He just stepped out but came back, rushed to the computer, opened the notice again, and quickly and carefully reread it several times, wishing to engrave every detail in his mind.

"Strange Talk Demolition and Relocation Office, you have to look for the signboards when you go out, and look for the one that says Demolition and Relocation Office..."

He muttered, turned around and rushed to the door again - because he was worried that the door would close again, he deliberately used a chair to block the door panel when he reread the information just now.

After entering the corridor, he immediately became cautious, groping forward all the way, and his eyes occasionally scanned the walls on both sides. Fortunately, not long after, he really found a sign posted on the wall, which was very clear with every stroke.

After seeing the five words "Strange Talk Demolition and Relocation Office" in the lower right corner of the sign, his heart, which had been hanging in the air, finally settled down a little. He stopped immediately, not daring to walk around anymore, and waited quietly where he was. After

a while, a figure gradually approached. He waited with bated breath, and only after confirming that the other party was indeed wearing a work badge belonging to the Demolition and Relocation Office did he breathe a sigh of relief.

... In comparison, the other party's charred skin and distorted face seemed less important.

He remembered every word written on the notice and followed the staff member honestly; on the other hand, he seemed to have good luck. The staff member took a few steps and suddenly seemed to think of something. He turned around and handed him a work badge and a pen.

The work badge also said "Strange Talk Demolition and Relocation Office" and the position was temporary worker. The name column was blank, and he needed to take the paper out of the plastic and write it on it.

The legendary random reward. He was in awe.

It was just that he couldn't remember the name. He pondered for a while and simply filled in "Sesame" on it. Open

sesame, how auspicious.

After filling in the work card, he put it on carefully and continued to follow the people downstairs. All the way down to the first floor, when he was about to enter the hall, he saw another figure swaying in the other direction, and a few others approached.

There were three people in total. The one walking in front was also a staff member with a charred body, and following behind were two young people, a man and a woman.

He took the opportunity to glance at the chests of the two people. There was no work card.

An inexplicable sense of pride surged up. He couldn't help but straighten his chest, followed his guide, and walked forward quickly.

——The other side. Looking at the figure passing in front of her, Fang Xueqing was also a little dumbfounded.

"That, Ling Guang." She couldn't help but pull the person next to her, "Look

, is the one who just passed by..." "Yeah." Ling Guang responded to her with a slightly heavy voice, "It should be someone who has been affected."

The figure gradually walked away, covered with fur, with a hunched back, long arms hanging down, and overly sharp black nails visible from behind. It

was obviously no longer in human form.

But he himself seemed to feel nothing. I don't know if it was an illusion, Fang Xueqing even felt a little excitement from him.

"..."

Slowly retracting her gaze, she slowed down her pace and lowered her voice: "So, does that activity notice include the trapped dead?"

Ling Guang obviously couldn't be sure about this. After a few seconds of silence, he nodded hesitantly. Fang Xueqing's eyes became more and more surprised: "So, that demolition office, is it... oh, forget it."

She pursed her lips and said, "Then you say, Brother Tang and Lao Zhang..."

Will they also receive the same information and have the same possibility of escaping?

In response to her, Ling Guang's increasingly solemn silence. After a while, he heard him say softly: "Brother Tang may be able to."

He did not mention Lao Zhang, and Fang Xueqing did not ask again.

Both of them knew that Lao Zhang was different from Tang Menglong. Tang Menglong left as a "captured" prey, and it is possible that he still retains consciousness, but Lao Zhang was killed by humans as a sacrifice.

In fact, if you think about it carefully, even Brother Tang may not be able to escape - the premise of being able to escape is to still "exist", but the requirement of their organization is to make oneself no longer "exist" as much as possible after death.

After all, everything related to ghost stories, as long as it "exists", is a hidden danger and can be used by ghost stories. Only a complete disappearance is the most beneficial to mankind.

"..."

Because of this topic, the atmosphere between the two of them became a little heavy, and the subsequent process was silent for a while. Until he was led by the staff to the front desk again.

When she was still a few dozen steps away from the front desk, Fang Xueqing keenly felt that this area was different from other spaces in the hotel. After entering the showroom, this feeling became even more obvious.

"...Yeah, it's true." Ling Guang listened to her and nodded in agreement, "Compared to other places, this place is much cleaner and there is not such a noticeable sense of oppression."

"That's not what I'm talking about." Fang Xueqing said, "Don't you think there are a lot of noises here? It's very noisy, as if many people are busy..."

Before she finished speaking, the two of them had already passed through the exhibition hall. Fang Xueqing raised her head and looked forward, and her words stopped instantly.

... She now understood why the noises from the front desk sounded so "busy".

Aren't they busy?

In the hall, many staff members were busy shuttling back and forth, some from the Magic Cube Building, and some from the Ghost Story Demolition and Relocation Office - the amazing thing is that they all carried the Ghost Story Demolition and Relocation Office's badges. They were either busy moving things or guiding tenants to settle in. Because the front desk was temporarily unavailable, they had to move tables and chairs to set up a temporary rest area and service counter.

As for why the front desk was temporarily unavailable, it was also very simple - because it was completely occupied.

Gu Ming, who claimed to be an intern from the demolition office, had somehow sat down at the front desk and was now busy with his work. Because there were girl's handbags in front and on the side of her, which happened to block the movement of her hands, Fang Xueqing could not see clearly and could only roughly guess what she was writing.

And she looked like she was very hardworking.

To the right of Gu Ming was a former hotel staff member who was constantly typing away on the keyboard, occasionally pulling out sheets of paper from the printer next to him and handing them to Qiu Yufei who was on the other side. The latter had a huge pile of papers in front of her, which were divided into several stacks for some reason. She was comparing two sheets in her hand, with a pen on her ear, which she would take off from time to time to circle and draw on the paper, or transcribe something else.

And there was Gu Yunshu, who was almost sent away by the hotel... She was there too. But her job seemed to be easier than the others.

At this moment, she was standing behind Gu Ming, massaging her shoulders expressionlessly.

Fang Xueqing: "..."

What are you doing? Are you here to work overtime for the team building in the strange area?

There are too many question marks in my mind, and it is necessary to confirm as soon as possible. After exchanging glances with Ling Guang next to her, Fang Xueqing took a deep breath, and walked over quickly based on the principle of momentum first no matter what.

However, just as she approached, she heard Gu Ming said without raising his head: "I know you have a lot of questions, but don't ask yet."

"Time is urgent, there is no time to explain, you guys go in first."

After that, he threw two semi-finished work badges over.

Fang Xueqing: "..."

What do you mean? What attitude? We are professionals, do we look like people who would casually wear such things of unknown origin--

"Are there any questions?" Gu Ming took the time to look up again.

Fang Xueqing, who accidentally made eye contact: "..."

"It's okay, then you go ahead." After a moment of silence, Fang Xueqing said. After saying that, he stretched out his hand to pick between the two work badges, and slapped away Ling Guang's hand:

"I want the one with the dotted eyes in the profile picture. You take the other one."

Ling Guang: "..."

He hesitantly picked up the work badge given by Gu Ming. He and Fang Xueqing walked to another table to fill in their names, but he was still hesitant while filling them in.

"Do we really have to wear this?"

"Of course, why not?" Fang Xueqing argued, "Since she gave it to me, she must have her reasons. She can take it off if something goes wrong."

"Are you sure?" Ling Guang frowned, "But we haven't figured out the situation yet..."

"Indeed." Fang Xueqing glanced in the direction of Gu Ming and curled her lips slightly, "But at least now, there are two things we can be sure of."

Ling Guang: "?"

"First, whether it is the Ghost Story Demolition Office or the Rubik's Cube Building, although their means are unclear, they have not shown any malice towards humans." Fang Xueqing whispered, "You also saw that they not only brought out all the current living tenants, but also the dead who were trapped..."

In this case, she felt that they had every reason to trust them.

"Okay." Ling Guang frowned again and reluctantly accepted this reason, "What about the second thing?"

"..." Fang Xueqing looked at him deeply, with a serious look on her face.

"Second, now is definitely not the right time to ask Gu Ming questions."

Ling Guang: "......?"

"...Have you ever seen workers' resentment substantiated by long hours of overtime?" Fang Xueqing continued to look serious, "I saw it, from Gu Ming's eyes just now."

The resentment was so strong that it seemed like black fire, and it almost hit her face the moment they looked at each other. Fang Xueqing had no doubt that if eyes could speak, Gu Ming's eyes would have cursed him hundreds of times, "Boss, go to hell" and "Don't get close to me."

"So there are some things that we should ask after we finish this."

Fang Xueqing said with a lingering fear, and casually hung up the work badge she got. Ling Guang thought for a moment, and finally nodded.

"That's right..." He said softly, looking at Gu Ming who was still working at his desk from a distance, and suddenly frowned as if he thought of something.

"Hey." He patted Fang Xueqing, "Do you think she also has...that?"

"Which one? Rules...I'll go." Fang Xueqing didn't finish her words, and was suddenly patted by Ling Guang again. She reacted and slapped her lips. After a pause, she said hesitantly: "I don't think so."

Ling Guang: "?"

"Think about it, those in our organization who have 'that', including me, have to pay a price for using it. Once it is used, at least half of the people will be useless. How can this be possible? Using 'that' is the same as working overtime..."

Fang Xueqing said, shaking her head again. Coincidentally, a sheep-headed woman wearing red shoes passed by. She subconsciously dodged to the side, and waited until the other party walked away before saying: "Anyway, I don't think so."

She herself also holds the rule book. Since she said so, Ling Guang didn't ask any more questions.

He stared at the work badge in his hand for a while, and put it away first, and turned to other staff members. On the one hand, he wanted to ask if there was anything he could help with, and on the other hand, he still wanted to find out some information.

Fang Xueqing saw that he had his own ideas, so she didn't care and looked around. On the other hand, Xu Ming, who was secretly watching this side, breathed a sigh of relief without leaving a trace.

Fortunately, fortunately.

She pushed out another finished work card and closed her eyes silently.

At least this time she got through.

God knows how panicked she was when she saw the two people from Anxin Gardening coming over - after all, there were some things that she really hadn't had time to make up.

Of course, she could have tried to smooth it over, but at this moment, with so many things to do, she really didn't want to make up a story. Fortunately, for some reason, Fang Xueqing was surprisingly easy to talk to this time. She just evaded the question and didn't ask any more questions.

... But in a sense, she wasn't lying.

She really didn't have time to explain now - there were too many things to deal with.

The front desk computer could contact far more tenants than she had imagined, which meant she had to modify more rules. At the same time, in order to expand the vocabulary as much as possible, temporary workers' work badges must be produced continuously. On this basis, she also has to study all the reading records and all the rules at hand, striving to complete the modification at the lowest cost...

Fortunately, Qiu Yufei is now helping with the latter job. Before Xu Ming officially makes the modification, she will help to go through it and provide some modification ideas... But the overall workload is still very large.

Not to mention that her shoulders are still hurting - and because she accidentally chose an inappropriate word when she modified the rules before, she paid a price again, and now both shoulders are hurting.

Unpaid overtime belongs to that.

The good news is that her method, at least for now, seems to be quite useful - so far, most of the living tenants have come down, and five or six of the "tenants" who were once trapped have also come down. They are being organized by the staff to register, and it seems that they will be resettled.

More and more work badges are issued, the corresponding vocabulary is constantly expanding, and it is becoming more and more handy to modify the rules. She is not sure whether this method will be useful in delaying the butterfly invasion, but what is certain is that after this whole "activity" started to move forward, not only the tenants, but also many trapped staff members have come here one after another. The whale man said that perhaps because of some adjustments to the text, it also indirectly gave them the opportunity to find the exit of the "secret room."

The front desk area has always been kept "clean" without any signs of invasion. Not only that, as more and more hotel employees returned, Xu Ming noticed that many of them had obtained a lot of chess-shaped clocks from somewhere, and placed them one by one in various locations in the lobby - Xu Ming couldn't see it, but the fat man and Qiu Yufei said that as the clocks fell, the entire lobby seemed to be getting cleaner and cleaner.

Whether it was the strange words, the butterflies themselves, or the invisible walls and secret rooms, they all seemed to be temporarily blocked outside the lobby by the clocks.

The fat man guessed that the clocks, like the candies they had taken, might be products of the same root.

Surprisingly, the function of these clocks is obviously not as simple as expanding the safe zone. Xu Ming did not realize it at first, but later, after being reminded by Qiu Yufei, he discovered that as the number of clocks continued to increase, the speed of time seemed to be getting faster and faster.

To be precise, it was the speed of the clocks in the hotel that was getting faster and faster.

It was clear that less than an hour had passed since her "activity" landed until now, but the time shown on those clocks was already five o'clock in the morning. At this rate, it would only take a few more minutes to fast forward to noon.

... No.

Looking at the clocks that were still being moved in by the hotel staff, Xu Ming suspected that it might not even take a few minutes...

What is this, one person crossing the Atlantic in seven days, seven people crossing the Atlantic in one day?

Xu Ming didn't understand the principle behind it, but that didn't stop her from being shocked.

At this moment, two more figures walked into the lobby. One of them had bright hair and was the driver who entered the hotel at the same time as Xu Ming and the others - so far, all the living people in the hotel have been taken away.

There were already staff waiting in the lobby, and when they saw him coming, they immediately led him to one side and began to deal with him insincerely. The yellow-haired gentleman didn't know if he was scared or what, his face was dazed until he was arranged to sit aside and wait, holding the temporary work card issued by the demolition office in his hand.

As for those who were once trapped by butterflies, they were all arranged in another area. Xu Ming shouldn't be able to see them, but she didn't know if their presence together was too strong or what, but sometimes when she looked up, she could vaguely see an outline, or a pair of beautiful red shoes stomping on the ground.

After a while, she saw several staff members walking towards that area - and then she heard Qiu Yufei's description that all the tenants sitting there waiting were called up.

"They are queuing, as if they are going somewhere...ah, they are moving." Qiu Yufei whispered, "Where are they going, why are there so many staff members accompanying them?"

Xu Ming looked over subconsciously, and the same question popped up in her mind - from her perspective, she could only see about seven or eight staff members gathered together, like bodyguards escorting something.

Probably because they were afraid of being trapped again, the staff member who led the way was holding two clocks in his hands, and he looked inexplicably ghostly.

"We have to go to a safe place." This time, it was the front desk employee who had been operating the computer next to them who responded to them. His voice was faint and his eyes were straight ahead. "There are some rooms here that are difficult for them to enter. Let them hide in them, and they won't be easily captured again."

"No longer captured?" Xu Ming turned his head curiously, "Then what?" "

Choose to disappear. Choose to leave. Or become like us." The front desk employee still had a faint tone, "They are all similar options."

Xu Ming: "..."

Does that mean that once you choose to stay and become an employee of the Rubik's Cube Building, you will never be able to leave again?

Xu Ming wanted to ask this, but he didn't ask it out loud. The whale blubber man in her mind spoke thoughtfully:

"It's probably the same as Gu Yunshu and you. The essence is to rely on establishing a binding connection with the mutant roots to strengthen their own existence. In this way, it can indeed help the dead maintain their sanity, but they can't leave easily anymore..." "

..."

Xu Ming was silent for a moment, and the corners of his lips moved slightly. After thinking about it, he didn't ask any more questions. He lowered his head and continued to deal with the work at hand.

Gu Yunshu, who was massaging her shoulders from behind, seemed to be lost in thought after hearing this, and looked in the direction where the tenants left.

Those tenants were being led to the depths of the corridor on the first floor. She looked at the back of the last person, pondered for a moment, and suddenly said: "Are you going to room 8107?"

"Yes." The front desk employee nodded, still without looking back, "It hates the number 7."

So the corresponding rooms 8107, 8207 and 8307 are relatively safe.

Xu Ming nodded with sudden realization, looked down at the strange words he had just received, and changed the "13" in it to "7".

On the other side, as the group of staff who transported the tenants left, the hall suddenly became much emptier.

Only the clocks they moved were still running faster and faster, and some of the dials even looked like electric fans.

Just as their hands were about to point to twelve o'clock, Mint, who had been sitting in the room, finally came out.

The hair that was tangled around her eyes and ears was gone. She still looked very confused, looking around from time to time, as if she was looking for something.

"Well, well..." She hesitated for a while, then turned to look at Xu Ming, looking helpless and uneasy, "My friend told me to follow you guys later..."

"Oh, sure, no problem at all!" Before she finished speaking, Qiu Yufei had already come over to her familiarly, taking her arm to another table: "Come, come here first, we'll complete the check-out procedures first, and then we can leave when the door opens... Oh, yes, and this piece of paper, you must keep it. It's best to keep it where you can see it at a glance... Have you got your work ID? Not yet, then wait a minute, I'll get you one, and you can put this piece of paper inside the plastic cover of your work ID..."

Qiu Yufei said, turned around and ran back to the front desk, leaving Mint alone, looking down at the piece of paper in her hand in a daze.

There were only a few simple handwritten lines on it:

[Congratulations on being selected to participate in the [Magic Cube Building] special reward event.

[To protect your rights, please wait outside the hotel after getting off the bus. Do not enter the hotel, thank you! ]

The signature is "Strange Talk Demolition Office".

Mint: "......?" What does it mean?

She didn't understand, but a faint chuckle rang in her ears. A friend's faint voice rang behind her: "These guys, they are quite capable."

Mint: "......?"

Even more confused.

At this time, Qiu Yufei had already brought back her work card and taught her step by step how to put the paper into the work card. After confirming that Mint could see it with a single glance, she let out a sigh of relief.

Bohe tilted her head at this time, paused for two seconds, and whispered: "Well, my friend asked me to ask you, have you seen a person wearing red..."

At this point, she stopped again. Qiu Yufei looked over in confusion, but saw Bohe frowned again, nodded, and shook her head.

"It's okay." Bohe said, "My friend said it's almost over, there's no need to ask."

"......???"

Qiu Yufei was even more confused. At this time, all the clocks rang, and two staff members walked quickly forward and ran to the door -

twelve o'clock, it's here.

Or rather, twelve o'clock recognized by the rules of the Magic Cube Building, it's here.

The staff standing by immediately spoke up to remind all the tenants present to check out and prepare to leave. Xu Mingyi quickly packed up her things and walked out of the front desk. After completing the check-out procedure, she ran to the door and was dumbfounded again.

"This door... doesn't seem right?"

She looked at the door in front of her that was less than one-third open, and turned to look at the hotel employee next to her for confirmation. The latter had a wooden face, without any expression, only a little worry in his eyes.

"There is no way." She said to Xu Ming, "It can only be opened this far."

... Meaning, this is the only rule that allows humans to leave the hotel, or is it affected by butterflies?

Xu Ming couldn't help but frowned, but Qiu Yufei on the side was very optimistic. She had already very skillfully calmed the doubts of other guests and began to urge them to leave.

It's just that this kind of "open, but not fully open" door is really not very convenient. The hotel's door is a non-sensing sensor-type sliding glass door, and at this moment it was only less than halfway open from the middle. Because they were worried that the door would suddenly close again, two employees from the hotel took the initiative to step forward and press the two sides of the sliding door for them. In this way, the gap left in the middle is only enough for one person to pass through at a time.

But there is nothing to do now.

Xu Ming and the two people from Anxin Gardening exchanged glances, and very consciously stood back. Gu Yunshu tentatively walked out first, and after confirming that there was no problem, Bo He Fang was the second one to be pushed out of the door. After that came the driver with blond hair, and the innocent passers-by who came in with Fang Xueqing and the others.

Qiu Yufei was the fourth to leave. Next came Fang Xueqing and Xu Ming, and Ling Guang chose to stand behind.

However, just as Fang Xueqing was about to step forward, the voice of the whale man sounded again in Xu Ming's mind.

"It's bad--" Xu Ming heard its voice ring briefly, and soon there was no movement. Almost at the same time, the back of her neck suddenly tightened, and a familiar sense of intense pressure seemed to come again--

"Wait!" Her heart skipped a beat for no reason, and when Xu Ming reacted, her hand had already grabbed Fang Xueqing's collar.

In response, Fang Xueqing gave her an inexplicable and surprised look. Almost at the same time, there was a "bang" sound--

the door closed heavily in front of several people.

It closed so hard and so quickly that it took several people present a while to react to what happened. The employee in charge of holding the door was dragged to the ground by the sliding door. One of them was lucky enough to get away in time, but the other's arm was directly trapped by the door. Half of his arm was now lying on the other side of the door, and his fingers were still shaking.

Just as Xu Ming belatedly smelled the smell of blood, another creepy sound was heard.

Bang, bang, bang. Each sound got louder and closer. She didn't understand what the sound was at first, but when she turned around, she realized that it was the sound of a clock exploding.

The clocks that filled the entire hall exploded one after another, starting from the outside, right in front of them. Parts were flying everywhere, like splashes of blood.

The sound of the approaching object gave people a trance-like illusion, as if there was some invisible huge creature not far away. The explosions were also the sound of the opponent's footsteps approaching.

This realization made Xu Ming's scalp numb. Just as she turned around to discuss countermeasures with others, she found that everyone except her was staring at the opposite wall.

"..." Xu Ming subconsciously looked over there, his throat rolling unconsciously, "Is there anything over there?"

"Butterflies." Fang Xueqing's trembling answer came from the side, "Lots and lots of butterflies."

To be precise, it was shadows - the shadows of countless butterflies, passing over the opposite wall in large groups, casting huge shadows, accompanied by crazy buzzing.

Just looking at it makes people's knees weak.

The voice of the whale blubber man in Xu Ming's mind also made people weak.

"It's over." It murmured in a distracted tone, "It's approaching."

...It's self-evident who it was talking about.

Xu Ming listened, but she just wanted to curse.

"Hey, hey! Wake up! Wake up!" Seeing the blown-up clock getting closer and closer to her, she finally slowed down and spoke hurriedly, calling out while slapping the two people next to her, and kicked the staff member next to her who was also in a daze. At the same time, she quickly turned her eyes, trying to find a direction to escape -

fortunately, there were still reliable people at this time.

A staff member next to her was the first to wake up, and quickly carried the two people who were doing gardening in Anxin on one hand, and then lifted Xu Ming's collar, and soon led people into the room behind the front desk not far away. The moment the door was closed, a heavy crash was heard from outside.

Xu Ming swallowed his saliva involuntarily, looked at the people around him with gratitude, and then looked at the two people he put on the ground, and was even more in awe.

"Master, your technique is very professional." She praised sincerely, "What kind of work do you usually do?"

"..." The worker who was leaning on the door to listen to the sound paused. After a while, he replied: "Repairing the air conditioner."

"Oh..." Xu Ming nodded in sudden enlightenment, not knowing why.

On the other side, perhaps because they were out of the control of the butterfly, Fang Xueqing and Ling Guang shook their heads and finally came to their senses.

"Oh my god." Fang Xueqing recalled the scene just now, her face changed instantly, "What happened?"

"Butterflies are blocking the door. We are the ones who are unfortunately blocked." Xu Ming said honestly, and looked at the door with some worry, "There are still workers outside..."

"Don't worry, you won't die." The air-conditioning master's tone was firm, and his cold eyes turned and fell on them, "But it's guarding here, you can't get out."

"What should I do?" "

..."

What else can I do? I can't change my job to work in a hotel...

Xu Ming thought silently, and was about to speak, but he heard Fang Xueqing sighing softly.

"If it's about leaving the hotel, I do have a way." She said softly, "but I need 20 minutes to prepare, and I need a wheelchair."

...?

Facing Xu Ming's puzzled gaze, she added calmly: "A cart or a back will do, anyway, I need something to get around. Because once that method is successfully used, I will most likely temporarily lose my ability to move." "

..."

Somehow, it felt like it was made clear.

At least the blubber man in Xu Ming's mind had spoken:

"This girl is capable, she's really willing to take out the rule book!"

"..." However, Xu Ming closed his eyes, waved away the voice in his mind unhappily, and turned to look at Fang Xueqing.

"Excuse me for asking again. What is the success rate of the method you mentioned?" she asked.

Fang Xueqing listened, but was stunned. She lowered her head and calculated before saying: "Maybe... 92.3%?"

...So why is there a decimal point here?

"Wait, that's not right. One person is 92.3%. There are three of us here, so the probability should be decreasing in sequence..." Fang Xueqing looked confused.

Xu Ming blinked and decided not to pursue the issue. He said, "Then maybe my method has a higher success rate."

"..."

?

The other two looked at her in surprise, but Xu Ming did not rush to explain. Instead, he turned to the air conditioning engineer next to him: "Excuse me, according to the current clock speed, how long will it take to reach 2:28 p.m."

The air conditioning engineer looked at her strangely, not quite understanding why the time was rounded: "About 15 minutes."

"In other words, shorter than 20 minutes." Xu Ming nodded and looked at Fang Xueqing again, "Okay, then make preparations for both situations. You wait here. After 15 minutes, if the door here is not open, we can only rely on your method."

...? ? ? !

Wait, so why is it 2:28 p.m.? And what does "make preparations for both situations" mean? And your method is...

Fang Xueqing's mind was full of question marks for a while, and she quickly grasped the most critical one among the pile of question marks.

"You guys?" she asked quickly, "What do you mean by 'you guys'?"

"With so many butterflies pressing down on us, we won't be able to get out even if the door is opened." Xu Ming said as a matter of course, "We have to try to lure that guy away."

She has an idiotic nature. Even if the opponent is overwhelming, she can still see where the open door is, and at the same time she can be immune to damage to a certain extent - relatively speaking, no one is more suitable for this task than her.

Of course, Xu Ming didn't explain it in such detail to Fang Xueqing and the others. He only said that the Ghost Story Demolition Office had a way to protect her and employee insurance. The two people from Anxin Gardening were still hesitant after hearing this.

"Why don't I go?" Ling Guang took the initiative to say, "We are in the same industry, there is no reason to let others take risks."

"I am also in the same industry." Xu Ming said seriously, "Although the Monster Demolition Office is small, it also has its own principles. Since I have joined there, its principles are my principles."

As for what the specific principles are, I don't know, they haven't been made up yet.

Fortunately, she didn't need to explain it in too much detail. The two people opposite her obviously made up something in their minds, and they looked at her with a bit of respect.

Xu Ming felt embarrassed. Only the whale fat man in his mind couldn't stand it anymore and screamed:

"No, it's already this time, you should stop thinking about marketing your shell company, okay-"

"What shell company, how can you talk like that!" Xu Ming immediately retorted in his mind, "We are just not very formal!"

Although it is estimated that it will not be formal in the future.

In any case, this matter is settled. While the two were still in a daze, Xu Ming immediately stood up, asked the air-conditioning engineer about the back door of the room, and then planned to leave-

there was a small passage behind the room, and after going out was the restaurant. However, if you want to lead the butterfly farther away, you probably have to walk farther after going out.

Xu Ming calculated in his mind, stood up and was about to open the door, but was stopped by Fang Xueqing again.

She turned her head helplessly, and was about to persuade the other party not to play the Kong Rong giving up the pear drama at this time, but she saw Fang Xueqing close her eyes and take a deep breath, as if she had made a great determination.

Then she took out a black-covered notebook from her bag in front of Xu Ming.

"I knew that the plaster I had been wearing for half a month would not go away." She muttered softly, opened the book, closed her eyes and concentrated, as if she was feeling something. After a moment, she opened her eyes and ran her fingers across the book, and there was a key at her fingertips.

"This is not for use, it's just a mark." She handed the key to Xu Ming and said seriously, "Twenty minutes later, the sixth door you touch will lead to where you want to go. The range is limited to this strange area."

"..." Xu Ming held the key, but hesitated, his eyes kept scanning her legs.

"...You will become lame only when you use it! And you may not become lame! Can you hope for me to be well!" Fang Xueqing was furious when she looked at her, and waved at him quickly. Seeing this, Xu Ming did not delay any longer and immediately sneaked out. He quickly walked through the passage behind the room and came to the restaurant.

The restaurant was empty at this moment. Except for the clean unloading of food, it looked no different from before.

At least that's what Xu Ming thought.

However, the blubber man obviously saw another scene, because since entering the restaurant, Xu Ming's mind has been filled with the sound of its vomiting.

Xu Ming felt uncomfortable for a while, so he quickly walked through the restaurant and stepped into the corridor on the first floor. He walked all the way to the end of the corridor and slowly stopped.

"Come to think of it." The whale man finally asked the question that had been bothering him for a long time, "What exactly is that door opening method you mentioned?"

"One-level substitution plus double-level substitution." Xu Ming looked back vigilantly and answered in his mind, "Didn't Yunshu bring me the rules from Hongqiang before?"

The rules brought were in two parts. One part was the employee code of conduct, and the other part was the "Fire Drill Notice." Xu Ming happened to be able to use both.

"The first level of substitution allows me to extract keywords from other strange rules and build my own rules. And it just so happens that the 'Employee Code' contains content about opening doors, so I can extract this part first..."

But the keywords that can be extracted from a rule seem to be limited. At least in Xu Ming's attempt, after extracting "opening the door" as a keyword, he could no longer extract other words.

And it just so happens that there is a specific time point in the "Fire Drill Notice", 2:28 p.m., so if I extract this as well and combine it, it will be a rule for opening the door at a fixed point.

But this alone is not enough, because the rules established under the first level of substitution do not allow the change of the constraint object. So it is necessary to supplement it with double substitution - as long as you choose an irrelevant word to replace the established rules, you can take advantage of the double substitution effect and change the object of the rule from humans to monsters. So

far, it is equivalent to establishing a rule for the hotel, and the content of the rule is to require the hotel to open at 2:28 p.m.

"Of course, I'm not sure if it will work." Xu Ming admitted, "So Fang Xueqing still needs to be an insurance."

The whale man suddenly realized and immediately said twice: "This method does work, but the problem is, how are you going to lure Butterfly?"

The other party is now obviously more interested in the gate.

People are not stupid. If they defend the gate, they can still catch three. If they come over and chase alone, they can only catch one.

"That's not necessarily true." Xu Ming said, "I have great confidence in its unstable spirit."

Whale Blubber: ?

"The key is to make it realize where hatred should be placed." Xu Ming continued.

Whale Blubber: "???"

"Wait." It suddenly felt a little uneasy, "Don't tell me you really plan to change Butterfly into Idiot..."

"Of course not." Xu Ming said immediately, "How can you change it like that."

Whale Blubber: ...

Okay, that's good...

"That will cost you." Xu Ming continued.

The gap between "Idiot" and "Butterfly" is still quite large. There is no need for that.

There is obviously a better way.

Xu Ming thought silently, and took out the reading records he had accumulated before, as well as the weird text that he had not yet modified.

Then, in the stunned eyes of the whale man, another strange text quietly changed -

[When you welcome its gaze, you will finally feel the beauty. ]

[Let us call it with pious voices, let us praise it together -]

[Praise you, beautiful big cockroach! Please hug me, beautiful big cockroach! ]