Xiao Lou and his team chose Moon City for their return trip. Old Mo had rented a three-story villa in the suburbs of Moon City as their team base. Before tackling the Twin Kings Secret Room challenge, Xiao Lou wanted to rest and recharge there, making thorough preparations.
It was nighttime in Moon City. After entering the villa, Lu Jiuchuan looked around the room and couldn't help but praise, "Your living environment is quite high-end, and the decoration is very exquisite."
Xiao Lou glanced at Lao Mo and said, "Lao Mo personally designed the decoration of this house."
Lu Jiuchuan gave a thumbs up, "No wonder they're so professional."
Old Mo chuckled and said, "I just tidied it up a bit. Actually, this house was rented by the first team I joined. At the time, we didn't know how long we'd be staying in Card World, so I just wanted to tidy up the place. I didn't expect this to turn out like this..."
As he recalled his teammates who were eliminated in the Weekly Secret Chamber, Lao Mo's smile gradually faded.
Tang Ci walked over and said, "Your teammate encountered Hunter during the Weekly Routine in Rotating Maze."
Old Mo nodded. "Yes, I'm the only one who survived."
When Lao Mo joined the team, he had discussed this point in detail with Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang. The reason he was able to escape death during that Weekly Routine was precisely because of his excellent spatial perception. The path in the Rotating Maze was constantly changing, and he moved around the maze to evade the Hunter's pursuit. At the last moment, he found the exit and saved his life.
But his teammates were all killed in that Weekly Routine.
Tang Ci took out his computer, pulled up a row of data, and said to Xiao Lou, " Rotating Maze, the elimination rate of the Weekly Secret Chamber that time was around 80%. Of all the Challengers who were forcibly pulled into the secret chamber without staggering their times, only 20 survived."
Such an elimination rate is truly terrifying. Aside from the Challengers who happened to be in other secret chambers and could avoid the Weekly Routine, everyone else was forcibly dragged into the Weekly Secret Chamber. There must have been many like Lao Mo who lost their teammates. It's hard to imagine how Lao Mo managed to persevere when everyone around him suddenly disappeared, leaving him all alone.
Lu Jiuchuan felt this deeply. He walked over to Lao Mo, gently patted him on the shoulder, and sighed, "You've had it tough too. I heard you have a daughter who's still in high school this year."
Old Mo nodded. "If my daughter hadn't been left without anyone to take care of her, I wouldn't have been able to persevere until now." He turned to Xiao Lou. "I guess I was lucky to meet Professor Xiao and Captain Yu, join a new team, and actually manage to get all the way to the K room."
"Old Mo, you've helped us a lot. Without you, we would have gotten lost in the maze several times," Xiao Lou said gently. "We will definitely go back, and your daughter is definitely waiting for you in the real world."
Mentioning this topic brought tears to everyone's eyes. Each of them had a reason to go back; there was no reason for them to give up. The Hunters in the secret chamber sent chills down their spines just thinking about them.
Yu Hanjiang frowned and said in a low voice, "Regarding Hunter, we must investigate as many clues as possible; this is our last chance." He walked to Tang Ci, looked at the computer screen, and asked, "Mr. Tang, is it only possible to find out about the three brothers? Do they have any other surviving teammates?"
Tang Ci shook his head. "No. The information shows that the three of them formed a team and came to Moon City after clearing Spade 4. However, the three of them were very unlucky. They arrived in Moon City on a Friday and were not prepared. At midnight on Saturday, they were forcibly dragged into that maze room."
Ye Qi couldn't help but complain, "They're so unlucky! It seems like they can't use any of their cards in the maze or secret room."
Old Mo, who personally experienced the Rotating Maze, agreed, saying, "That maze was completely closed off, so their cards were really useless. Kites couldn't fly, tornadoes couldn't destroy the maze's environment, and the only usable crystal ball might not have been able to activate its skill because the card owner wasn't quick enough."
Liu Qiao said, "In other words, they were dragged into a high-difficulty Weekly Routine instance as soon as they left the newbie village. They were unprepared and then unfortunately encountered Hunter, resulting in their death and the card falling into Hunter's hands."
Tang Ci said, "This is indeed the most reasonable speculation."
He glanced at Lu Jiuchuan and lowered his voice, "What's even more terrifying is that countless people, like the three brothers, are eliminated in the beginner stage. Besides the Weekly Secret Chamber's elimination rate of up to 80%, Hunters also appear in many Spades and Plum Blossom Secret Chambers. Assuming that the cards of those Challengers who are killed all fall into the hands of Hunters, then the strength of Hunters..."
Lu Jiuchuan said with a stern face, "It will far exceed our expectations."
The cards on the eliminated Challengers probably weren't particularly strong, otherwise they wouldn't have been so easily killed. However, quantity leads to quality; if a Challenger has just one card, they could kill ten, a hundred, or even a thousand.
The Hunter Organization possesses an enormous number of cards, but it's currently unclear how they distribute them. Do they simply assign cards to whoever gets a kill, or are high-value cards allocated based on battle merits?
Tang Ci's expression was serious. "What's even stranger is that, apart from these three brothers, the other cards you mentioned, such as Dark Alley, Poisoned Silver Needle, Red Oiled Paper Umbrella, Illusion Copy, etc., cannot be found in the database. I cannot be sure of the origin of these cards."
Xiao Lou speculated, "Could it be that some lone Challengers always keep their cards secret, and they end up in the hands of Hunters after they die? Or perhaps, after completing a designated quest, Hunters, like us, can also draw treasure chests?"
Tang Ci stared thoughtfully at the screen. "Both are possible. Let's assume this Card World has three types of people: Challengers, Hunters, and innocent natives."
The group is structured as follows: our task as Challengers is to navigate through different enclosed spaces and solve puzzles, while the Hunter's task is to kill us. The natives are like NPCs in a game, playing a role in driving the plot forward. Ye Qi, a frequent online gamer, immediately nodded in agreement, saying, "That explains most of the doubts. The natives are NPCs, influencing the plot of some dungeons; we Challengers and Hunters are opposing players with different tasks. We clear dungeons to loot treasure chests for rewards, while Hunters kill us to collect equipment, or complete quests to loot treasure chests for rewards."
Liu Qiao couldn't help but say, "Isn't this very unfair to us? We not only have to deal with troublesome NPCs, but also with Hunters who want to kill us at any time. And the Hunters only need to focus on killing us."
Yu Hanjiang frowned and said, "Perhaps Hunter also has special missions, such as needing to kill several people in a certain secret room to complete the game. Back in the Q secret room, didn't the clone deliberately lure us to the Mermaid Royal Palace in order to wipe us out?"
Xiao Lou lowered his head and pondered for a moment, then said, " Hanjiang's words make sense. During Ninth Brother's time as an undercover agent in the Hunter Organization, he was constantly accepting missions and traveling to different worlds to hunt outsiders. Perhaps because Ninth Brother did not have contact with the higher-ups of the Hunter at that time, the missions he received were relatively simple."
Lu Jiuchuan said, "So it seems that the stampede at that concert was a high-difficulty assassination mission for pop diva Luo Yan. She killed thousands of people with just one concert."
Recalling the hellish concert scene, with the deafening screams still ringing in his ears, Xiao Lou turned pale and said, "For them, killing is commonplace. They've long been numb to it. I guess in their eyes, human life is as worthless as grass, and killing thousands of people is like stepping on a bunch of ants."
As they prepared to face such a terrifying organization, a chill ran through everyone's hearts.
Ye Qi asked, "Are you really going to the Twin Kings' secret room? This time, we might not come back alive, and we might die there."
Xiao Lou looked gently at his teammates. "You can also choose the ultimate reward package and stay in Card World. If anyone doesn't want to take the risk, they can go to the two kings now to collect their reward and leave the team. I respect everyone's choice."
The room fell silent. Although everyone was struggling internally, no one wanted to give up at this moment.
Yu Hanjiang's gaze swept over his teammates one by one, and he said calmly, "Since no one is giving up, let's go all out. Everyone should get a good rest tonight and recharge. For the remaining three days, practice your cards carefully until you are proficient and even develop a conditioned reflex to survive when attacked."
Lu Jiuchuan said, " Hanjiang and I will be in charge of this. During the three-day special training, we will teach you some strategies for dealing with one-on-one situations based on the cards you have. While ensuring you get enough rest, you can't be too lax."
Xiao Lou suddenly looked at Yu Hanjiang and said, "By the way, should we agree on a secret code?"
Yu Hanjiang paused, startled. "Secret code"
He quickly understood Xiao Lou's meaning and said, "You're worried that another clone will appear."
Xiao Lou said, "After all, the clone in Q's secret room almost caused our demise in interstellar space, so we have to be careful. Besides, besides clones, Hunter might also have cards that can replicate appearances, like Ninth Brother's Mask and Liu Qiao's Twin, which can both clone character appearances, right?"
It is said that you can guard against a thousand things, but it is hard to guard against a thief in your own home. They are not afraid of Hunter coming openly, but they are afraid that someone will impersonate familiar teammates such as Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang and stab them in the back when they are not paying attention.
Xiao Lou's concerns are indeed worth taking seriously.
Yu Hanjiang immediately suggested, "Let's start now. Each of us will say a few words to our teammates, whispering in their ears to avoid being overheard."
Xiao Lou advised, "This dialogue should ideally be unrelated to Card World and not have much to do with your real-world experiences. The more natural the conversation, the better. For example, what did you eat today? Is the weather nice today? These are everyday conversations that are unlikely to arouse suspicion, but the answers should be rather unique and not easily guessed correctly."
Yu Hanjiang added, "After entering the 'Two Kings' level, we don't know if we'll be together or separated. If we're separated at the start, when you meet any teammate, you must first ask for their password. If the password is wrong, be careful, as the other person may be Hunter in disguise."
The crowd
This is just like a spy drama. Next time we meet in a locked room, we need to have a long chat before we can determine whether the other person is an ally or an enemy.
Everyone racked their brains trying to figure out the "code." Suddenly, Yu Hanjiang leaned close to Xiao Lou's ear and whispered, " Professor Xiao, do you have a girlfriend? I have a colleague who's very pretty. Want me to introduce you?"
Xiao Lou thought for a moment, then leaned close to Yu Hanjiang's ear and whispered, "No need, I already have someone I like, and I'm planning to visit his parents in a couple of days."
Yu Hanjiang smiled slightly. Seeing his teammates checking their codes in pairs, he leaned forward and gently kissed Xiao Lou's ear, whispering, "My parents will definitely like you."
Xiao Lou's ears turned red, and she said, "Can you be a little more serious about the code?"
Yu Hanjiang raised an eyebrow. "Do you think anyone can guess the correct answer to our code?"
Xiao Lou thought about it and agreed. It was indeed difficult to match them word for word, which was also their little secret.
Half an hour later, the teammates had finished verifying the code. Xiao Lou listened to what the other ten people said to him and carefully memorized it. Seeing that it was getting late, Xiao Lou suggested that everyone go to sleep first and receive special training from Lu Jiuchuan and Yu Hanjiang the next day.
For the next three days, apart from Tang Ci who was constantly researching Hunter -related information, everyone else had to practice their reaction abilities with Lu Jiuchuan and Yu Hanjiang every day, such as being attacked from behind.
How to protect yourself during a sneak attack; how to determine the opponent's location by listening to footsteps and breathing sounds, etc.
Although this knowledge cannot be fully mastered in the short term, it is better than nothing, and it may be of some help at a critical moment.
Three days passed quickly, and on the last day, Xiao Lou personally cooked a sumptuous dinner for everyone.
Professor Xiao's cooking skills have always been highly praised, but during this meal, everyone felt a bit uneasy. Lu Jiuchuan generously opened a bottle of red wine, poured twelve glasses, stood up, and said, "Don't look so sullen, we should be happy."
Tang Ci paused, her pale face softening slightly, and said, "Actually, for all of us, we have all died once in the real world. Being able to come back to life in Card World is already a blessing from heaven."
Xiao Lou also stood up and said, "Besides, I've met so many of you friends in this world."
Ye Qi laughed and said, "Yeah, I think it's a win-win situation no matter how you look at it. I've been given a second chance and I'm already very content to have completed the game with so many friends. If I hadn't met everyone, I might have been eliminated in Spade 5 or Heart 5. "
Long Sen scratched his head and said, " Wanyue and I are also very grateful to everyone. I'm not good with words, so how about this: if we really can return to the real world, when Wanyue and I get married, I'll cover all your airfare and accommodation, and invite everyone to our wedding!"
Qu Wanyue's eyes reddened slightly as she raised her glass and said, "Meeting you all makes this life worthwhile."
Gui Yuanzhang said, "I'm an old man, and I've long since become indifferent to life and death. I don't have many attachments in the real world, but I admire your courage. Once you've set your mind on your goal, go all the way to the end."
Old Mo joked, "When you go back and buy or renovate a house, you can contact me. I'll personally design it for you, and I guarantee you'll be satisfied."
Shao Qingge said with a smile, "For investment and financial management, come to me, I'll help you make money."
Liu Qiao, usually so composed, had tears welling in her eyes. She looked at everyone and said, "I hope that after returning to reality, I can save my sister, graduate smoothly, and become a good doctor. Thank you all for taking care of me during this time."
Chu Huaying didn't say much, but said calmly, "Don't be too pessimistic. At worst, you'll die again. What's there to be afraid of?"
Yu Hanjiang raised his glass one last time and said, "Let's drink to this, to everyone who met, and to this final escape room challenge. If we can return to the real world, we'll still be friends for life. If we can't leave alive..."
He paused, his gaze calm and firm, but when he looked at Xiao Lou, a hint of tenderness appeared in his eyes. "It can be said that this life has not been in vain."
Xiao Lou and he exchanged a smile, and then they all finished their glasses of red wine.
The clock struck Xiao Lou, who opened Personal Space and saw the familiar card wall, as well as the last card that alternated between the King and Queen, the only one without the "cleared" mark.
He reached out and gently pulled the last card from the wall of cards.