Unaware of anything amiss, Ke Xun was squatting there, spreading out his wet clothes to dry, saying, "We can find a loophole in the rules. Our clothes shouldn't be considered props, right? They're our own stuff, not props. We can wrap our clothes around our feet, make them thicker, and run faster. Maybe we can reach the other side without getting hurt. That's not using props, right? That's using ourselves. That way, we have one less thing to consider, don't you think, Yi Ran?"
Mu Yi Ran: "Hmm."
"Then we can get another heat-insulating prop, use that to get another person across, and think of the last method. We'll figure it out eventually, right?" Ke Xun said.
Mu Yi Ran: "Hmm."
"I've got it! I've got it!" Ke Xun snapped his fingers, "We can have the person using the heat-insulating prop carry the third person across, that works, right? Hahaha, right?"
Mu Yi Ran: "Hmm."
Qin Ci: "..." Mu Yi Ran, please come back to your senses.
"We'd better come up with one or two different methods," Master Mu finally snapped out of his daze. "The three methods you mentioned might not all be approved. First, we can't be sure whether our clothes will be considered part of us and excluded from the props, or whether they will be included in the heat-insulating props. Second, we can't be sure whether, if the clothes are considered part of us, we are considered part of each other. If both the clothes and our companions are considered part of us, then once the clothes have been used, we can't use the companion's carrying method again. So it's safer to come up with one or two different methods."
"That makes sense," Ke Xun praised her boyfriend.
"Xiao Mu's analysis makes it seem even more difficult," Qin Ci said. "If we use different laws, the only way to cross the scorching iron plate, besides running, is probably to fly."
"It's hard to say," Ke Xun said. "In the previous round, we were asked to cross the pool in three ways. We also considered flying, but to fly, you need a machine to help you fly, right? As long as you use a machine, you have to explain all the laws involved in its operation. Even Hao Wen, the engineering god, stumbled on this. I'm afraid we…"
"God?" Mu Yiran's voice came down calmly.
Ke Xun felt a chill run down his spine, and his survival instincts kicked in, prompting him to risk a counterattack: "I was talking about engineering students, Yi Ran, you misheard. So, I doubt you'll be able to fly."
"Tell me the specific requirements for your round," Mu Yi Ran's voice came again, calmly, "tell me every single word, without missing a single detail."
Ke Xun didn't dare turn around. After thinking carefully, he said, "Apart from the water in the pool, without any other load, each person must reach the exit in a different way."
Mu Yi Ran didn't speak again, seemingly deep in thought. Ke Xun mustered his courage and glanced back at him, only to see his idol's gaze sweeping over him. Despite his expressionless face, Ke Xun inexplicably felt as if he had been trained by this big shot for three days and three nights, and the memory of being unable to get out of bed several days ago seemed to materialize back within him.
Ke Xun involuntarily clenched his legs, hearing the big boss suddenly speak: "These two requests have a difference. The former requires different 'methods,' while the latter requires different 'laws' or 'material tools.' This is the key to breaking the deadlock—laws and tools."
"Just like Old Qin said earlier, the word 'or' is very significant. It might mean that as long as the same law is used, even if the same type of tool is used, it's still possible," Ke Xun said.
Mu Yiran nodded.
"In fact, using the same type of tool to achieve two different laws is also quite difficult. As you said, if the tool we require is a complex mechanical combination involving multiple laws, it's beyond our knowledge," Qin Ci stroked his chin, deep in thought.
"Let's not limit our thinking to ordinary objects," Mu Yiran said. "Let's broaden our horizons; even just imagining things can be useful."
The three of them then pondered deeply, and time slipped by unnoticed until Ke Xun asked, "Aren't you two hot wearing so many layers?"
Mu Yiran and Qin Ci were still wearing the thick clothes they would have worn outdoors, and in this strange space, almost the entire ground was covered by scorching hot iron plates, making the temperature in the limited space very high. Even though Ke Xun was naked, he felt very hot.
"Oh, I didn't even realize it until you said so," Qin Ci said, taking off his coat and wiping the sweat from his forehead.
Mu Yiran also unbuttoned his wool coat, glancing at his naked dog, "Aren't your clothes dry yet?"
Ke Xun touched his clothes, saw that his underwear was dry, and put it on. The other clothes that were still drying were a little damp, and there was even some water left in his shoes from the previous mission.
Ke Xun turned the shoe upside down and poured the water inside onto the iron plate. The water dripped onto the plate, making a few sizzling sounds before quickly evaporating. Ke Xun couldn't help but say, "What do you think? If we asked to use water as a prop, and filled the entire space into a pool, and then swam across it, would that work?"
"I think it's possible, but we need to consider two consequences," Qin Ci said. "First, this iron plate is endless, so we don't know how wide it is, and if we fill this space into a pool, we don't know how long it would take.
"We need to consider the possibility of a situation like what happened in the [Language World], where a night suddenly passed. I feel that the flow of time in this painting is quite chaotic; the first day felt particularly short. And now, I feel that it has already exceeded the first night by a long time, so obviously the second day is longer than the first."
"From the very beginning of this [World of Laws], I paid special attention to the time on my phone. I discovered that our phones, influenced by this painting, still keep time, but the passage of time is irregular and jumps around. For example, one minute we look at our phone and it shows 10:00, the next minute it's 10:30, and about half an hour later it might show 10:31.
"For another example, right now, I just checked the time, and it shows 7:21 PM, but it's very likely that in five minutes it will show 3:00 AM. Therefore, we cannot rely on the time on our phones to determine the length of the night.
"If, during the process of filling the water, the time suddenly jumps to the next day, those who haven't passed through the iron plate might die. We wouldn't even have a chance to change our method in time, because at that point the iron plate would be covered in water, and we wouldn't be able to switch to other laws or tools.
"The second consequence we need to consider is just how hot the iron plate is. Could the iron plate heat up the water during the filling process?" "This iron plate isn't short. Swimming from our starting point to the exit on the other side, won't the water get increasingly hotter until it reaches a temperature we can't stand? Then we'll be stuck, unable to move forward or backward, and we'll probably die a horrible death."
"That makes sense..." Ke Xun nodded, then snorted coldly, "Now I know why this trap is an iron plate instead of fire. They're afraid we'll try to put water on it." He crouched down, stretched out his hand, and pressed it as low as possible above the iron plate to test the temperature. "This iron plate is fucking hot. I can't go any lower with my hand; it's already unbearably hot. Damn it, I'll just pee on it to cool it down!"
Qin Ci was startled by this, fearing that this idiot might actually do what he said, and quickly stopped him: "Don't! Not only will it not work, but it probably won't smell good either..." Ke
Xun withdrew his hand, squatted down and moved back a few steps, rubbing his leg hair, which was almost curling from being too close to the hot plate: "My goodness, I'm just venting, I'm not really going to pee! The evaporated water will just go into my own stomach."
Qin Ci: "..." Don't say it out loud...
Ke Xun was just saying it casually when he suddenly felt a foot stick out from under his butt, the toe lifting his buttocks and bouncing him twice. He quickly turned to look at the owner of the foot and saw Mu Yiran looking down at him, a slight smile playing on his lips: "Your hint is very timely and spot-on. I think we have another way to overcome this obstacle."
Ke Xun jumped up with a beaming smile, pounced on him like a big dog, tail wagging wildly: "Tell me, am I your god of inspiration?"
Qin Ci: "..." May I ask which god is just wearing underwear and wandering around...?
Stroking the dog's head, Mu Yiran received Qin Ci's gaze—a look that said he didn't want to eat dog food but only wanted an answer—and said, "We can apply the Leidenfrost effect."
"What's that?" Ke Xun asked, blinking.
"To give an example," Mu Yiran said, "if a drop of water falls into the bottom of a pot that is heated to a temperature exceeding its boiling point, a layer of steam will quickly form between the water droplet and the bottom of the pot. This layer of steam will lift the water droplet, keeping it suspended. At this time, the water droplet is not in contact with the bottom of the pot. Because the suspended water droplet cannot absorb more heat temporarily, it slows down the rate of vaporization. Therefore, this suspended state can even last for about 30 seconds.
"And because the heat transfer rate of steam is much slower than that of liquid water, the steam layer prevents the water droplet from directly contacting the hot iron plate and greatly reduces the rate at which the water droplet boils. This phenomenon is called the Leidenfrost effect."
"Those acrobats we often see who walk barefoot across bonfires utilize this phenomenon. Before crossing the fire, they wet their feet. The Leidenfrost effect prevents the water from heating up quickly, so the heat doesn't easily transfer to the feet. Therefore, as long as they don't stay in contact with the charcoal for too long, they won't easily get burned."
"That means we just need to wet our feet and run across!" Ke Xun's eyes lit up. "My idol is awesome!"
Mu Yiran's expression was indifferent: "Heh."
"Let's not delay, let's start now." Qin Ci took out his phone and glanced at the time, which showed 7:58 PM.
After 8 PM, it enters a relatively dangerous period.
"Brother Qin, you use the heat-resistant props to get across," Ke Xun said. "The other two methods require speed, so Yiran and I will handle them."
Using heat-resistant props is the safest and most secure method. Qin Ci didn't refuse Ke Xun's offer. After all, one should bear as much responsibility as one's abiity, a tacit understanding that the veteran members had formed long ago through their shared journey.