Chapter 68

Chapter 68

"I didn't bring it."

Xie Yin Xue responded precisely, showing his empty hands to prove he wasn't hiding anything.

However, it was Liu Bu Hua's words that finally dispelled her doubts, "My godfather didn't bring his phone. I bought two tickets, didn't you notice when you checked the QR codes?"

"Oh, I see," the staff member apologized sincerely once more, "I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention."

Seeing the situation, Liu Bu Hua chose not to dwell on her oversight.

Once everyone had stored their belongings and communication tools, the staff member distributed blindfolds and identity cards to them, saying, "Please wear the blindfolds and follow me. You can only remove them once inside the escape room. Also, who will take this walkie-talkie?"

Before the escape room adventure begins, staff typically provide a walkie-talkie to participants for communication and to seek assistance if completely stumped.

Noticing that Xie Yin Xue and Liu Bu Hua remained silent, Xia Rui offered, "I'll take it."

Everyone put on their blindfolds, and as the staff placed identity cards into their hands, they entered a small room, holding onto each other's clothes for guidance.

The room was quite cramped, elongated in shape. With seven people inside, it felt tight, and Xie Yin Xue felt as if they were all packed into a coffin.

Once everyone was inside, the staff announced from the doorway, "Alright, your game takes place here. There will be live NPCs in this theme. Remember to hide when an NPC appears and ensure they don't find you."

Before the echo of her words faded, she briskly shut the heavy door.

The sudden thud startled everyone. Xi Can instinctively clung to Yan Wen He. As they removed their blindfolds, they were met with pitch-black darkness. Not only were they unable to see their identity cards, but they couldn't even see their own outstretched fingers.

Then, an eerie tune started playing. Initially, it was slow and ethereal, gradually growing frantic, accompanied by drum beats and a female chorus, as if something was tightening its grip on their hearts.

Xie Yin Xue and Liu Bu Hua, having previously played real-life horror escape games, felt that if there's one thing this place nailed, it's the atmospheric music. Without it, the horror effect would be diminished significantly, relying solely on jump scares.

After what felt like an eternity, the chilling music finally ceased.

"I have a question," Xi Can said, breaking the eerie silence, her voice slightly breathless.

"Didn't we pick the 'Horror Dormitory' theme, which was advertised as having no live NPCs and focused purely on exploration and mechanisms? Why did the staff mention an NPC?"

"Maybe she misspoke?" He Min suggested, "Almost all rooms at 'Secret Seekers' feature live NPCs, except for the 'Horror Dormitory'. And that staff member seemed... a bit off."

"Secret Seekers" is the name of this escape room chain. They have various outlets in the city, each with its unique theme. Today, they were at the second outlet.

After listening to the discussion, Xie Yin Xue chimed in, "I have a question too."

Han Dong Ni inquired, "What is it?"

Xie Yin Xue remarked, "Ever since we entered this escape room venue, I've noticed a faint smell of blood. And now, it seems even more pronounced."

Thanks to his experiences with "Lock of Immortality," Xie Yin Xue had become particularly familiar with and sensitive to the scent of blood. From the moment he stepped into the establishment, he detected this metallic aroma. At the time, besides him and Liu Bu Hua, there was no one else present, not even staff.

Neither of them were the type to snoop around when no one's watching, so they simply sat in the waiting area, patiently waiting. The staff only appeared after Han Dong Ni and the others arrived, but she seemed in such a rush that Xie Yin Xue didn’t have a chance to ask any questions.

"Is this your first time at 'Secret Seekers'?" Xia Rui asked casually. "This is just how they operate. The props they use are real flesh and blood. I heard our chosen theme even features a real corpse."

Liu Bu Hua chuckled, "Real flesh and blood is believable, but a real corpse? Really?"

Let's not even consider the legal implications; the operating costs would be astronomical! The tickets they purchased were priced at 98 yuan each, which is average for most escape rooms. Even if they used real flesh and blood, the absence of live NPCs kept the costs manageable.

"Enough of this. Let's find the light switch."

Rustling of clothes echoed in the room as Han Dong Ni moved about, directing the group, "For rooms that are pitch-black from the start without candles, the light switch is always on the wall."

Clearly, Han Dong Ni was experienced in escape rooms.

Both Liu Bu Hua and Xie Yin Xue began searching along the walls, feeling uneven and rough textures. Moving further to the right, they felt patterns that resembled carved characters.

As Xie Yin Xue traced them, he recognized one character: "相" (photograph).

At that moment, Xi Can exclaimed excitedly, "I found a cord!"

Yan Wen He suggested, "Pull it, Can Can."

The next instant, with a faint click, a dim light shone from above, revealing the room's true nature. It wasn't a coffin but the entrance to a photography shop. On the wall where Xie Yin Xue stood, blood-red characters read – [Xu's Photography Studio].

Everyone quickly checked their character cards, focusing not on the names but the images and descriptions: a cheongsam-clad singer here for a portrait, a liquor vendor taking solo shots, a farmer taking wedding photos with his wife... none of which seemed related to students.

"What's going on?" Xi Can looked even more puzzled, "Weren't we playing 'Horror Dormitory'?"

"Did the staff set up the wrong theme for us?" Xia Rui cursed, "Damn it, no wonder she mentioned a live NPC."

With that, Xia Rui was about to use the walkie-talkie to contact the staff.

But Yan Wen He stopped him, suggesting, "Why don't we play this theme instead? I think it's called 'Terrifying Photo Studio.' It's pricier, 168 yuan per person if I recall correctly."

Han Dong Ni added, "Yeah, I've read reviews that it's quite fun too. I don’t mind trying this one."

Initially, she, along with Xi Can and He Min, wanted to experience this theme. But for college students yet to graduate, with a limited monthly allowance of around two thousand yuan, the 168 yuan ticket price seemed a bit steep. That’s why they eventually opted for the cheaper 'Horror Dormitory' priced below a hundred.

Had they known the staff would mistakenly unlock the room, leading them into a real-life NPC escape game, both she and Xi Can wouldn't have worn skirts. After all, it would be hard to run if a real-life NPC started chasing them.

Upon hearing this, Xia Rui indeed felt tempted. However, their group wasn’t just the five of them; there were also Liu Buhua and Xie Yinxue. So, he turned to the two and asked, “What about you two?”

Xie Yinxue replied, “We don’t mind, we’ll go with the group's decision.”

For both of them, the visit was just to experience something new. Given their frequent encounters with real ghosts, a haunted-themed escape room wasn’t particularly novel. They had opted for a purely cerebral puzzle. But since the staff made a mistake, and the team seemed keen on this theme, they decided to go with the majority.

"Alright," Yan Wenhe nodded, "Let’s start with this one. If the staff realizes their mistake and asks us to leave, we’ll deal with it then."

Liu Buhua said, “Sounds good.”

Once they reached a consensus, everyone turned their attention to the tightly closed doors of the photo studio in front of them.

Xia Rui tried the door handle, but even with his weight, he couldn’t open it. He announced, “It’s locked. We’ll either need to find a key or some mechanism.”

“Could there be one under this flower pot?” He Min quickly went to lift the flower pots in front of the studio. Many people hide spare keys outside their homes, often under doormats or pots.

But she couldn’t move them. Both pots were secured in place – non-clue items in escape rooms are often immobile. She also didn’t find any spare key behind the pots.

He Min remarked, “There’s nothing here.”

After feeling around the entire wall, Yan Wenhe frowned and said, "I can't find any other mechanisms on the walls either."

“How are we supposed to open this door?” Xi Can moved closer to inspect, "Pushing, pulling, sliding either way doesn’t work.”

Xie Yinxue stepped forward, looking at the golden door knocker and mused, "When visiting someone's home, it’s customary to knock. Perhaps we need to knock on this door."

Following her instinct, Xie Yinxue gently rapped on the door three times using the knocker.

With a creaking noise, the door they had struggled with for so long, surprisingly, opened.

Beyond the door was a spacious room. The dim lighting revealed décor reminiscent of the 1970s or 1980s Republic of China era. The camera was old-fashioned, and the walls were adorned with photo frames, each containing eerie photographs that were unsettling to behold.

Xie Yinxue stood at the entrance, her pale green dress strangely harmonizing with the surroundings.

Han Dongni approached him and asked in a soft voice, “Which school do you attend?”

With a smile, Xie Yinxue responded, “I’ve already graduated.”

Han Dongni uttered a small “Oh,” and continued the conversation, “You look around our age, so I thought you might be a student too.”

Typically, when a girl initiates a conversation with a boy, and if the boy doesn’t want to end the topic abruptly, he'd usually respond by sharing his age and then counter-asking questions like, "Are you a student?" or "Where do you study?" Isn't this how they'd gradually get to know each other?

Unexpectedly, Xie Yinxue repeated, “But I've already graduated.”

Effectively bringing the conversation to a halt.

Han Dongni was at a loss for words. Meanwhile, He Min entered the photo studio and pointed to another door deeper inside, saying, "There's another room here."