Chapter 29 Elevator (6) The Queen and Castle Poker Game. ...
"Alice is faster than I thought. Cheer up, this isn't an uninvited guest who 'accidentally' wandered in... Mr. Cheshire Cat, is there a problem?"
They all knew that Xie Tan hadn't wandered in by mistake; this "wrong entry" served as a sarcastic remark, mainly mocking the annoying colleague who kept it a secret, as well as the uninvited guest himself.
But Xie Tan, who had been pointed at, looked strange and did not answer.
Zhu Fengliang assumed he had no problem and handed him a firework: "Show some enthusiasm, gentlemen, this is the main character, and the main character always arrives late."
Xie Tan's expression became even stranger.
The elevator reached the 18th floor, the doors opened again, and Zhu Fengliang and Xi Rui set off fireworks, the ribbons drawing long arcs like rainbows as they sprayed towards the people at the door.
Lu Jinzhao was a little confused, but quickly smiled happily: "Thank you for the welcome! Wow, your outfits are so cool, so our theme for today's murder mystery game is Alice in Wonderland?"
An eerie silence.
The colorful ribbons drifted down softly, yet an eerie silence remained.
Once the gate checks and confirms that the number of attendees for the tea party has been reached and matches the number of seats, it automatically locks, ensuring that no one can escape.
Xie Tan spoke up, his tone laced with a dry joke: "The protagonist who stumbled upon this has arrived."
Zhu Fengliang: "..."
Xi Rui: "..." Pfft.
As soon as Lu Jinzhao entered, he saw Xie Tan. Hearing Xie Tan speak, he happily ran over: "Ah Tan! You're here too!"
He looked at the untouched fireworks in Xie Tan's hand and immediately gave her pitiful puppy-dog eyes: "Aren't you welcoming me?"
Xie Tan remained silent for a moment, then set off the fireworks. Lu Jinzhao deliberately bent down to catch them all. Once the ribbons had fallen, he revealed his brightest smile.
Xie Tan calmly shifted his gaze and looked straight ahead.
Lu Jinzhao consciously sat down in the empty seat next to Xie Tan and greeted Xi Rui across from him: "Hello, President."
“Today.” Xi Rui smiled and waved.
Zhu Fengliang said grimly, "Another one of your members?"
“My members are all very capable.” Xi Rui glanced at him casually, with a hint of warning.
He still doesn't know what his colleague is thinking? His colleague doesn't dare to touch the mysterious young man, but Lu Jinzhao is just an ordinary person who has mistakenly entered this world. His petty colleague won't look for the reasons for his mistakes; he will only want to kill the innocent young man directly.
They really are uncivilized barbarians.
Zhu Fengliang's lips twitched. Killing this young man wouldn't make a difference. The door closed, and the tea party had already begun.
Lu Jinzhao: "Is this a friend of the president? Hello, Mr. Mad Hatter."
Xi Rui: "Just colleagues, colleagues."
"The company president also works part-time?"
"I've been traveling quite a bit, haven't I? Last week we went to an exhibition out of town together, which also helped me with some work."
"I see, thank you for your hard work, President!"
"Haha, there isn't any—"
Zhu Fengliang calmed down; there had been enough troubles tonight anyway: "Alright, let's begin our party."
Xi Rui, also unaware of the party schedule, asked with interest, "So what games are we playing, riddles?"
"No." Zhu Fengliang raised an eyebrow, the scar on his face twitching like a terrifying centipede crawling. "Or do you want to hear me say that nonsensical classic line?"
“Then I can only answer ‘I don’t know either.’” Xi Rui sighed and shook his head. “Although Alice isn’t here, I still have to say it for her: let’s not waste our precious time here.” [1]
Lu Jinzhao looked around and obediently raised his hand to ask a question.
Zhu Fengliang felt a pang of jealousy and looked down on him. This young man was no smaller than him and was even taller, but his personality... God, this was a native character from a fairy tale. Was he here to take care of a goody-two-shoes?
But it's perfectly natural for young people to do these things.
What's your problem?
"My identity? I don't even know my role yet. Mad Hatter, March Hare... I guess Ah Tan is a cat, the Cheshire Cat? Then what am I?"
Good question. Zhu Fengliang wondered, how did he know? The Cheshire Cats were all temporary replacements.
Zhu Fengliang remained silent, Xi Rui stroked his chin in thought, while Lu Jinzhao looked at Xie Tan with bright eyes.
Xie Tan: "You're a puppy."
Lu Jinzhao tilted his head: "Woof?"
Zhu Fengliang scoffed, "This isn't in the script, and where is he small?"
“Then it’s Big Dog,” Xie Tan said. “He was invited by March Hare.” He could see that Xi Rui was protective of Lu Jinzhao.
Xi Rui was taken aback for a moment, then agreed: "Oh, that makes sense."
“Okay, thank you for the invitation, March Hare.” Lu Jinzhao thought for a moment, “You all have special names, so I should also come up with one, a three-character one.”
Zhu Fengliang hated these overly cheerful and naive types the most, and scoffed, "Sunny dog?"
Lu Jinzhao's eyes lit up: "This is it!"
"..." Zhu Fengliang coldly cued the process, conjuring up a castle made of playing cards from under the table and placing it in the center of the table, "We're playing the Queen's Castle game."
“Starting with me, going counter-clockwise to the Cheshire Cat, each person draws a playing card from the castle. Without compromising the castle, we compare the cards. One round counts as one round.”
"There are no Joker cards in the castle. The Queen card rules everything. Whoever draws it wins the round."
"The winner of each round of the size contest can let the loser play Truth or Dare. The winner chooses the truth, and I didn't prepare one. The winner draws the dare, and the winner draws the dare for the loser."
Zhu Fengliang grabbed the brim of the hat and turned it upside down to take it off. The bottom of the hat was full of crumpled strips of paper, not many, but they made up a quarter of the hat.
He explained, “There aren’t many left. Before the tea party, every resident of Wonderland drew a slip of paper, which was their task for the day.”
"When the castle collapses, the game ends, and the final winner gets a reward—the chance to make a phone call to our dear Miss Alice."
Lu Jinzhao quickly guessed who Alice was: "Xiao Ai? Is she doing a solo quest?"
Xi Rui nodded, indicating it was none of his business, and Xie Tan didn't react at all.
The rules of the game were not difficult, but they were not perfect. Some parts were not clearly explained. Xi Rui and Lu Jinzhao both asked questions, but Zhu Fengliang stopped them.
He pushed over the largest teapot, opened the lid, and a terrifying red-eyed rat scrambled out, revealing a mouthful of dense, sharp teeth.
"To ensure fairness in the game, I've hired a referee. If there are any questions during the game, Mr. Dormouse can make the decision. Is that alright, Mr. Rabbit, Mr. Dog, and Mr. Cat?"
Upon hearing the word "cat," the dormouse's still-drowsy eyes widened instantly, and it squeaked incoherently, "Where's the cat? Where's the cat?! How scary! Back away!"
Zhu Fengliang covered the dormouse's head with the teapot lid to help it calm down after falling back into the teapot. He smiled and said to Xie Tan, "Don't worry about it, it's still asleep. Also, I want to remind everyone that the dormouse will verify whether your answers are 'truths' and will also urge you to complete the dare. Please play the game well and don't make things difficult for Mr. Dormouse... You don't want to see it in a difficult position."
With a referee in place, Lu Jinzhao accepted the offer at lightning speed, and Xi Rui, after some thought, agreed that it was fine too.
Xie Tan understood. Giving him the Cheshire Cat identity was a deliberate act of waiting for him.
Mice are afraid of cats, so they won't side with him, right?
But is that really the case?
Xie Tan was also curious: could the food chain of the characters overcome his strange pheromone attraction?
Zhu Fengliang wanted to take advantage of the unclear rules to find opportunities to target him during the game.
But he might also be able to take advantage of it.
Unseen, Number 7 jumped off its host's shoulder and gracefully walked to the dormouse's teacup, watching the mouse sharpen its claws.
The dormouse didn't see any cat, but it did shudder and feel an intense chill. It only felt this way when a cat was around!
It looked around fearfully, then followed the Mad Hatter's gaze to Xie Tan, and understood the situation: this was a cat! Damn it… damn it…
The dormouse scurried back into the teapot and rubbed its nose with its paw. Did it smell something?
His nose twitched twice more unconsciously.
"Alright, let's begin the first round."
The four players took turns drawing a card from the castle, with Xie Tan having the highest card and Xi Rui the lowest.
Xie Tan is contemplating whether to play truth or dare, and how to make a better impression on the audience.
Is this a test of the cult?
But Zhu Fengliang said, "In this round, the March Hare wins and the Cheshire Cat loses."
The remaining three all looked at him.
Zhu Fengliang said matter-of-factly, "You can't look at Wonderland with the logic of reality. It's the opposite here. It's about size. Of course, the one with fewer cards wins."
He looked at the dormouse, who pondered and tapped the tea lid: "That makes sense! This is paradise, I agree, squeak!"
Xi Rui waved the cards in his hand and laughed, "So it's my turn? Then let's play truth or dare, Cheshire Cat, which do you think is more important, the truth or the lie?"
Xie Tan paused, pondering what Xi Rui really wanted to ask.
Apart from Lu Jinzhao, the other three people present did not treat each other's questions as ordinary questions.
There must be a hidden meaning behind it.
The concepts of truth and falsehood reminded Xie Tan of the bubble paintings in the art museum, which Zhu Fengliang had mentioned back then, such as "truth and falsehood" and "reality and illusion."
But the bubble painting segment has ended.
So the question is about Wonderland? Alice in Wonderland, reality and Wonderland, can be considered a kind of truth and illusion.
Xie Tan didn't understand Xi Rui's position in the story or his purpose, so he couldn't give a clear answer.
In addition, there is also testing for dormouse.
Then let's follow his and Number 7's popular character development plan and answer according to his own heart.
Let's make it even more of a riddle.
Xie Tan said calmly, "None of that matters."
Xi Rui was surprised by this answer and asked curiously, "None of them matter? Why?"
Xie Tan: "Then you have to win one more game against me."
That's the next question.
Xi Rui looked at Dormouse, whose blood-red eyes, devoid of their luster, stared at Xie Tan like a cold, mechanical lie detector.
After a while, the dormouse's eyes regained their light, returned to normal, and it nodded.
So it's the truth. Xi and Rui were even more interested.
In the second round, Xi Rui's card was still the smallest, while Lu Jinzhao's card was the largest.
Xi Rui asked curiously, "Tell me the truth, how did you get in today?"
Lu Jinzhao has a job and arrives at the latest, so the timing matches up. He must have just entered the fairyland.
But here's the problem: after Chang Mingai entered Zhongbin Apartment, the Wonderland opened and covered the apartment. They essentially disappeared out of thin air and entered the apartment's inner world.
When others enter the apartment, they are simply entering the original Nakahama Apartment; they cannot enter the Wonderland.
How did Lu Jinchao get in?
But when he thought about Lu Jinzhao's terrifying constitution of getting involved in metaphysical events every day, he understood a little.
Lu Jinzhao is different from him. He brought it on himself, running to wherever there was a ghost. Lu Jinzhao just happened to encounter a ghost while walking on the street.
It was because of this amazing physique that he invited Lu Jinzhao to join the club.
And then there's that incredible luck, which might not show up in small matters, but when it comes to life and death, it's more effective than any deity.
He's perfect as a talisman; wherever he's going to cause trouble, he'll take Lu Jinzhao with him, hoping the magical members of the society will bail him out.
Sure enough, Lu Jinzhao said in confusion, "They just walked in; the door wasn't closed."
Xi Rui nodded deeply; he knew it.
Zhu Fengliang's face turned grim; he had truly begun to reflect.
The mirror shards were indeed too few; the solar energy was insufficient to power the fairy realm. Otherwise, how could so many problems have occurred?
Xie Tan was observing the playing card castle.
The castle is one meter in diameter, which is very large. To prevent the castle from collapsing, you just need to keep drawing cards from the corners.
They drew the same numbers in the first two rounds, and if this continues, they can play for a long time.
But Chang Mingai is still on another floor; she is not dead yet. Otherwise, as the protagonist of Wonderland and the protagonist of this episode, Wonderland would have dissipated, and they would have reached the end of this story, leaving no time to play cards here.
But she didn't make it to the tea party, and the situation wasn't much better.
Neither Xie Tan nor Zhu Fengliang, the mastermind behind the creation of the fairyland, would allow the card game to continue so leisurely.
They weren't really trying to kill time.
Sure enough, in the third round, Zhu Fengliang immediately drew the card that was the center of the castle that was the most important.
"Gentlemen, we are too conservative. This is a wonderland. Only the bold can create miracles. It's your turn."
Xi Rui gave his colleague face and also drew a card close to the center. Lu Jinzhao responded just as enthusiastically, and the card he drew was even more nerve-wracking than Zhu Fengliang's.
Xie Tan had been drawing cards close to him all along, so he didn't change his route and just drew the nearest card again.
Zhu Fengliang clicked his tongue and shook his head, indicating his disagreement.
Xie Tan ignored it.
In this round, Zhu Fengliang had the lowest card, while Xi Rui had the highest.
Xi Rui lost interest. Although they weren't exactly close, what was there to ask each other, except for colleagues passing the buck and gossiping? Who cared about colleagues?
My colleagues probably think the same way; the draw wasn't good.
Hurry up and get through this.
Xi Rui glanced at Zhu Fengliang with boredom, only to see Zhu Fengliang slowly shift his gaze to him and calmly ask, "What murder mystery game script did you decide on for today?"
Xi Rui narrowed his eyes.
My colleague's attitude doesn't seem like he's just asking a pointless question.
Today's team building activity for murder mystery games didn't actually involve deciding which game to play, because it was a last-minute idea yesterday. One of the members was out of town and only returned today, so he just set the time in the group chat this afternoon.
Xi Rui smiled and said, "The reason why I, as the president of the club, am so well-liked is because I have always respected the opinions of the members. So the plan is to wait until they are all here and then discuss together which game to play."
Zhu Fengliang looked at Dormouse, whose blood-red eyes stared at Xi Rui for a while. Suddenly, Dormouse opened its mouth wide, its sharp teeth biting the rim of the kettle, making a crunching sound like a mad mouse: "Please reread the question. What is the murder mystery game script you decided on today?"
Zhu Fengliang sarcastically remarked, "The referee doesn't believe you're telling the truth, Mr. March Hare?"
Xie Tan glanced sideways, wondering if Xi Rui was lying.
Or perhaps this statement is based on the premise that Xi and Rui had indeed pre-arranged a murder mystery game.
Zhu Fengliang's problem isn't whether it's been finalized or not, but what the finalized script for the murder mystery game is.
Xi Rui understood, so Zhu Fengliang knew that the travel agency's team building activity today did not have a set theme.
This question is actually asking whether he knew in advance about Zhu Fengliang's Wonderland game today.
Xie Tan thought of Xi Rui's cold attitude towards Chang Ming'ai, and even wondered if Xi Rui had arranged this team building activity to give Zhu Fengliang, who had his eye on Chang Ming'ai, an opportunity to use this team building activity to open up a fairyland.
Zhu Fengliang suspects that Xi Rui knew about it all along and wanted to use the fairyland he opened to achieve some purpose.
The two members of the cult exchanged a few tense glances for a few seconds before Xi Rui shrugged and said, "Okay, actually I have a childlike heart that loves fairy tales. Just like Sunshine Dog said, aren't we all playing it right now? It's Alice in Wonderland."
The dormouse, which had already chewed half of the teapot and was on the verge of mutation, instantly returned to normal, banged on the cup, and declared that it was the truth.
Zhu Fengliang twitched the corner of his mouth and looked away with a cold gaze.
Lu Jinzhao looked at this person and that person, seemingly oblivious to their strange confrontation. Since no one was reminding him of the procedure, he took the initiative and said, "Next round!"
In the fourth round, Zhu Fengliang drew the lowest card, the Ace, right away. He raised his eyebrows and looked at Xie Tan without any attempt to hide his intentions.
Xie Tan sat there calmly, still without reacting.
Lu Jinzhao noticed Zhu Feng's bright gaze. He originally wanted to draw the center card, but his hand naturally shifted and drew the card from the top of the tower.
Turn it over, the Queen card is there.
The Queen card governs everything.
Zhu Fengliang frowned, clicked his tongue, and said, "Okay, this round has some people with even better luck."
Xie Tan also drew a card, the number 10, which was indeed the highest card in this round.
He looked at Lu Jinzhao.
Lu Jinzhao: "I choose truth."
Zhu Fengliang and Xi Rui also looked at Lu Jinzhao, waiting for the questions from this lucky dog who had wandered in by mistake.
Although they didn't have much hope, because they didn't know what questions Lu Jinzhao would ask, they might be able to deduce some information about the boy from Xie Tan's reaction and the details of his answers.
However, Lu Jinzhao's amber eyes were bright and warm, and his whole heart was focused on Xie Tan. Without the slightest hesitation, he asked, "Can we go to the movies together tomorrow?"
He hasn't gotten an answer yet.
Zhu Fengliang and Xi Rui, who listened with utmost attention: ...
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The author says: [1] This refers to the Mad Hatter's riddle in the original work, "Why does a raven look like a writing desk?".
Alice asked what the answer to the riddle was, and the Mad Hatter and the March Hare both said, "I don't know either."
Alice commented that "riddles like this, which have no answer, are a waste of precious time."
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