Why Did the Top Alpha Suddenly Stop Acting Out? - Chapter 58

After a round of games, the pairings among the guests remained unchanged. The first-place winner, Yi Qian, and the second-place winner, Cai Yunyoo, both chose their respective managers, while the third-place contestant, Long Xiaoqin, had no choice and was automatically paired with her manager.

Cai Yunyoo glanced at Director Lu, crossed her arms, and walked into the secret room without hesitation, muttering bluntly, “Just wasting time.”

Her words trailed off as if she suddenly realized something. Her steps faltered, and she quickly retreated behind her manager, coughing awkwardly as if nothing had happened.

Huang Xin tilted her head slightly, hiding a smile at the corner of her lips.

Director Lu saw through her bravado but didn’t call her out. Instead, he picked up his megaphone and announced, “If there are no issues, everyone can head in and get ready. Good luck~”

His gleeful tone unsurprisingly earned him a disdainful look from Cai Yunyoo.

The six of them lined up and filed in, only to find three entrances inside, each guarded by a black-clad man completely shrouded in black cloth, standing at attention as they waited.

A staff member spoke up, “Please choose one of the black-clad staff members to follow based on your earlier rankings. First up, Teacher Yi.”

Yi Qian glanced at Ye Shuyi, clearly seeking her opinion.

Ye Shuyi scanned the three figures briefly before replying calmly, “You decide.”

Yi Qian nodded, observed the three figures, then walked toward the one on the far right. Ye Shuyi followed.

As they approached, the black-clad figure suddenly “activated,” opening his eyes and grabbing Yi Qian’s arm with one hand and Ye Shuyi’s with the other, leading them toward the rightmost entrance.

The moment they stepped inside, two more staff members seemingly appeared out of nowhere, silently placing blindfolds over their eyes. Before hers was secured, Yi Qian had already locked onto Ye Shuyi’s position and immediately grasped her wrist the moment darkness fell.

Ye Shuyi didn’t resist, letting her hold on, partly because she wasn’t sure what was happening, and partly because this was the kind of game she feared most.

Once blindfolded, neither moved, waiting for the next instruction.

But after a long pause, the black-clad figure beside them remained silent. For those deprived of sight, the space plunged into endless darkness and eerie stillness.

In the suffocating silence, Ye Shuyi could hear her own heartbeat, now racing uncontrollably. Unconsciously, she curled her fingers slightly against Yi Qian’s, seeking reassurance.

Feeling her touch, Yi Qian tightened her grip and tapped lightly against the inside of Ye Shuyi’s wrist, as if to say, “I’m here.”

Fortunately, the staff didn’t separate them. Instead, he guided them forward by pulling Yi Qian’s arm.

After what felt like an eternity, they finally stopped. The black-clad figure instructed them to remain still and keep their blindfolds on, promising further instructions via broadcast.

Silence stretched endlessly.

In the oppressive quiet, Ye Shuyi tried to steady her breathing, but no other sounds reached her. Struggling to control her ragged breaths, her fingers unconsciously clung tighter to the hand holding hers.

Yi Qian felt the trembling in the fingers of the person beside her and immediately turned to shield their clasped hands. Her palm slid down to hold Ye Shuyi’s hand, her fingertips lightly tapping the back of it as if to say she was always there.

She had no idea how much time had passed when a crackling electric current sound suddenly echoed around them, followed by a broadcast announcement: [“Good evening, players. Welcome to the horror escape room specially prepared by the production team. Please remove your blindfolds now.”]

Upon hearing this, Yi Qian quickly took off her blindfold and scanned her surroundings. Everything was pitch black except for a faint light at the lock of the iron cage they were in.

Confirming there was nothing frightening nearby, Yi Qian let go of Ye Shuyi’s hand. She was about to help remove her blindfold but hesitated, remembering something, and instead whispered, “It’s fine, you can take it off now.”

Ye Shuyi complied and removed her blindfold.

[“First, an important announcement: The moment you removed your blindfolds, the production team activated the live broadcast. This entire session will be streamed live.”]

Hearing this, Yi Qian sighed in relief, good thing she hadn’t reached out to help Ye Shuyi earlier.

[“Players have three main objectives in this game. First, escape the cage. A reminder: Once out, pay attention to your surroundings.”]

[“Second, once all players escape their cages, the game will escalate. Three teams will take turns being the hunters, while the other two become prey. Players caught by hunters will be eliminated on the spot. The first caught earns one point, the second earns two, and so on. However, the final ranking will be based on the combined scores of each pair. So, this game is both an individual and a team battle. Based on the results of the previous game, the first hunting pair will be He Tong and Long Xiaoqin, followed in reverse order. Special reminder: Each team’s hunting time is ten minutes, after which the next team takes over. The timer starts when the first pair escapes the cage.”]

[“Third, uncover the murderer in the story. The player who identifies the killer will earn an extra point.”]

[“The game begins now. Good luck, everyone.”]

The crackling electric sound gradually faded, plunging the surroundings back into silence.

[It’s starting, it’s starting! My favorite escape room, Yi Qian and the gorgeous Ye Shuyi, go for it!!!]

[I was about to ask for jump-scare warnings, but then I remembered this is live HAHAHAHA, suddenly too scared to watch.]

“Can’t even see my own hand in this darkness. How are we supposed to unlock anything?” Yi Qian muttered as she walked toward the faint light at the lock, fiddling with it casually. Suddenly, someone grabbed her wrist.

The familiar scent told her who it was, so she didn’t react violently. Instead, she turned toward the person and asked softly, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, it’s just that something lit up over there.”

They spoke in the enveloping darkness, and Yi Qian wasn’t sure where “over there” was until she looked up and spotted a second light source besides the lock. The glow was still dim, illuminating only a small patch of space.

“I just checked the combination lock, it’s a four-digit code. There might be password-related clues over there. Shall we go take a look?”

Ye Shuyi instinctively nodded in agreement, but then belatedly realized their current surroundings and responded with a quiet “Mmm.”

The two groped their way toward the light source, where they found what looked like a bar counter, illuminated only on its surface.

Yi Qian leaned in to see a series of numerical equations:

4812=15
9320=4
1324=？
9311=3
*
3265=？
7421=2
3331=27@
6130=0

After studying the numbers for a moment, Ye Shuyi asked, “The lock is four digits, right?”

“Yes, how did you know?” Yi Qian paused, then realized something. “Did you figure out the password?”

Ye Shuyi replied calmly, “If these are the password hints, then yes.”

[What? Already solved? I haven’t even finished reading the question yet!]
[I still haven’t spotted the pattern…]
[Another day feeling like I’m just taking up space in this world… lights a cigarette in despair]

Yi Qian was slightly stunned, she hadn’t cracked it yet either.

“Let’s go try it,” Ye Shuyi said, pulling Yi Qian toward the lock.

Arriving at the lock, Ye Shuyi input the answer she had deduced. With a click, the lock opened.

[That’s it? Is the puzzle too easy, or am I just dumb.]
[I’ve heard Ye Shuyi is a genius, maybe the puzzle isn’t that hard, but her mind works scarily fast.]
[Another day falling for the beautiful Ye Shuyi.]
[I screenshotted the puzzle, but I still can’t figure out the pattern.]

After unlocking it, Ye Shuyi pulled out the coiled chains, which clattered noisily against the iron door. Once all the chains were removed, she pushed the door open. She was about to step out but then hesitated, subtly retreating half a step to stand beside Yi Qian. She nudged her elbow lightly, feigning composure. “Shall we go?”

When Yi Qian didn’t respond, Ye Shuyi nudged her harder. “What are you thinking about?”

Yi Qian snapped out of it. “Just wondering how you solved it. I still haven’t found the pattern.”

“Want a hint?” Ye Shuyi offered considerately instead of outright explaining.

“Go ahead,” Yi Qian agreed, waiting patiently.

“Try adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing the first two digits with the last two, then do the same with those results.”

Silence fell in the darkness as Yi Qian pondered.

After a moment, she answered, “So the password is 2416?”

Ye Shuyi nodded. “Mm, clever. Shall we go now?”

She had no desire to stay in this place a second longer, she wanted to find the so-called murderer in the story and leave as soon as possible.

Yi Qian nodded cheerfully and took the lead, stepping out first.

Suddenly, the crackling sound of electric current echoed through the air again. Yi Qian felt the person behind her quickly grab her arm once more. A smirk curled in the darkness as she instinctively reached out to hold that hand, but halfway through the motion, she suddenly remembered they were recording a show, and it was being broadcast live.

She nearly got carried away…

Raising her arm instead, she lightly patted her own shoulder and calmly asked, “What’s wrong? Did you see something again?”

Ye Shuyi replied, “No.”

After prolonged static noise, a clear voice finally emerged from within: [Congratulations to Yi Qian and Ye Shuyi for being the first team to escape the iron cage. You’ll receive a reward, two flashlights hidden in your current room. Finding them will help facilitate the game’s progression.]

Yi Qian scanned their surroundings, but her vision was completely swallowed by darkness. If the environment remained like this, it would indeed pose significant challenges for solving puzzles later.

“Should we look for them?” she asked.

In the darkness, Ye Shuyi furrowed her brows. The announcement indicated they were the first team to escape, meaning the initial hunters, He Tong and Long Xiaoqin, hadn’t emerged yet. This presented an excellent opportunity to search for clues. However… she glanced around. Without flashlights, they’d literally be groping in the dark, which would undoubtedly severely delay their progress.

“We need to find them,” Ye Shuyi said.

Receiving this confirmation, Yi Qian was about to feel her way forward when she suddenly had an idea. Turning around, she picked up the combination lock from the floor, using its faint glow to navigate the room.

In the near-total darkness, only the clanking of chains dragging across the floor could be heard.

The two groped their way to a triple-door cabinet taller than Yi Qian. Opening the leftmost door, Yi Qian searched inside but found nothing. Moving to the middle door, she felt around again this time quickly discovering two ice-cold cylindrical objects on the second shelf. Before she could share the discovery, the rightmost cabinet door burst open with a crash. A pair of hands reached out from within, dragging Ye Shuyi inside the cabinet.

“Shuyi!”

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