Due to the blurry lighting, Chu Shiyu could only search along the corridor, shop by shop.
As her figure disappeared down the hallway, everyone else huddled together, scared.
“So what now? Where do we go?”
“I don’t know. Aren’t there any clues? They can’t just expect us to play around, right?”
“Would player with the number two badge please proceed to shop 7-14?” A few minutes later, the woman’s voice echoed again.
“Who has number two?”
Zhou Jingyun replied, “Me.”
“Then you be careful.”
“Wait, are we all supposed to split up?”
“No way! I can’t be separated from Jingjing! I’d die!”
“I don’t want to be separated from Jingjing either.”
“Hey! I don’t want to split up either!”
Unlike the others, Zhou Jingyun wasn’t chattering away. He braced himself, psychologically gearing up, and reluctantly headed out alone.
“Would player with the number three badge please proceed to shop 7-17.”
Tao Bai was unexpectedly calm, flashing a reassuring smile at everyone, “It’s just the flow of the game, don’t worry. I’m off.”
“Would player with the number four badge please proceed to shop 7-20.”
Tong Yang straightened up, waving her badge to the remaining group, “I’m off.”
“Be careful, Tong Yang!”
“It’s my turn soon!”
As Tong Yang walked along the corridor, she noted that the numbers on each shop were jumbled randomly. Passing by shop 7-11, she glanced inside. The emergency exit sign was lit, but there was no sign of Chu Shiyu.
[It’s so quiet.]
[Tong Sister, what’s it like over there?]
“Nothing much, ever been in a dark mall? It’s kind of like that.”
Reaching shop 7-20, a toy store with a glass door slightly ajar, Tong Yang entered to inspect it. Behind her, the glass door slowly closed with a click, locking itself.
“Would player with the number five badge please proceed to shop 7-23.”
Only once the previous player entered their designated shop could the next player leave the starting point.
Tong Yang scanned the toy store, which wasn’t large. There was a snack-laden cashier counter at the front and six or seven aisles of toy-filled shelves with a storage room at the back.
[Is the door locked?]
[Didn’t they say it’s like an escape room? Maybe you have to find your own clues to open it.]
Tong Yang eyed the emergency hammer on the wall, “Can I just smash my way through?”
[Hey! What are you doing, Tong Yang? Even if it’s related to the parallel world, can’t you just enjoy the thrill of solving mysteries?]
[Exactly!]
[I think this is more fun than your typical murder mystery room. It’s like a real immersive experience.]
[Wow, I’m so jealous. I want to play too!]
[Though, we might just end up boxed on the floor, but it’s really exciting!]
Tong Yang had no real intention of smashing the door. Uncertain of who was from the parallel world and what might happen next, it was best to act according to the situation and the rules. Moreover, if she broke the door and it somehow linked back to reality, wouldn’t she have to pay for the damages?
Tong Yang eyed the snack rack by the cashier, tore open a lollipop, and popped it into her mouth. “I’ve told you many times, cashiers can’t take things off the shelves!”
“Boss, I’m sorry, can I pay for it now?”
“You’ve done this before, and I turned a blind eye because I thought you and your mother were pitiful. But you can’t keep pushing your luck!”
Amid the quiet toy store, an argument erupted.
Tong Yang, with a lollipop in her mouth, examined the first shelf when she heard the dispute and turned her head towards the storage room at the back.
“Boss, I’m sorry! I really know I was wrong. Please, considering our situation, don’t fire me. I’ll pay you!”
“Forget it! You’re always clumsy and often make cashier errors, I have to recheck everything with Xiao Xue every day.”
“Boss, I really know I was wrong…”
The argument ceased there.
Tong Yang looked toward the darkly shut storage door, preparing to move closer when the white door was suddenly yanked open and slammed against the wall.
[I heard that!]
[Finally some action!]
[Tong Sister, listen carefully, there’s definitely a clue in their conversation.]
The pitch-black storage appeared like a deep abyss, and after a couple of seconds, a faint human silhouette swayed.
Following this, a woman in a white uniform emerged.
Tong Yang stood by the shelves, not making any rash moves.
Even though she suspected they had entered a parallel world, she knew the murder mystery game involved many NPCs, unclear if they too were involved in this unusual situation. Therefore, Tong Yang couldn’t just act against them.
The woman crossed several aisles to the cashier counter in the exceedingly quiet environment, and Tong Yang faintly heard dripping sounds.
The woman approached the cashier counter and without warning, looked at Tong Yang, “I’m sorry, have you paid?”
Tong Yang turned her head and stared at her for a few seconds before slowly walking over, “Not yet, how much?”
“Two dollars,” said the woman.
Her voice was monotonous, and in the dim light, Tong Yang couldn’t see her expression, her face obscured by shadows.
“That’s expensive. Where I’m from, it’s at most one dollar.”
“Please, just pay. If you don’t, the boss will scold me again.”
Tong Yang fished two coins from her pocket, wondering if she had accidentally triggered a part of the narrative or if the murder mystery host had specifically set this scene to prevent players from eating freely.
“I get scolded even if I don’t pay?” Tong Yang handed over the money, and as the woman took it, her fingers accidentally brushed Tong Yang’s palm, leaving a trace of a cold, sticky liquid.
“Yes, our boss has a bad temper,” sighed the woman.
Tong Yang rubbed the liquid in her palm, unable to see its color clearly in the poor light, but it was definitely not just water.
“Isn’t there surveillance? Just review the footage to find the thief,” Tong Yang suggested, sniffing her hand.
Sure enough, a faint smell of blood wafted up.
“The store’s surveillance has been replaced long ago, the boss is too stingy to change it.”
“So, whatever is missing, the boss blames it on you?”
“Yes.”
Arguments, theft, broken surveillance, and the blood on the woman’s hand—the implications weren’t hard to guess.
Another death had occurred here.
“I’ll look around some more,” said Tong Yang.
“Please leave, we are closing now,” the woman stated as the door’s lock clicked open, offering an exit from the toy store.
[It’s a trap! Definitely a trap!]
[Tong Sister, don’t go out, the scene isn’t fully unlocked yet. If you leave now, there’s definitely a big pit waiting!]
[The front desk probably means she didn’t steal anything, the boss is just misunderstanding her.]
[But during the argument, didn’t they say she’s not doing it for the first time, and she admitted it herself?]
[She might want to get Tong Sister out and then finish off the boss, right?]
Tong Yang watched the exit, shook her head lightly, “Wait a bit longer, I haven’t finished shopping.”
“Then please continue,” the woman replied.
The door closed again.
Tong Yang approached a few aisles, and sure enough, she noticed faint water stains on the floor. Following the stains to the back of the aisles, she stopped in front of the open storage door.
Lit by the faint green light inside, the water stains led into the storage, with a blood-stained finger peeking out from the shadow by the door.
“What are you looking at?” the woman appeared silently behind her, asking softly.
Tong Yang casually averted her gaze, “Nothing…”
Before she could finish, she suddenly saw someone standing outside the glass window.
Tong Yang was startled by the unexpected intrusion into her line of sight, but on closer inspection, she recognized Hu Shuo, another player.
At that moment, he was standing outside the display window, looking at Tong Yang with a horrified expression.
“She has a knife…”
Hu Shuo mouthed silently, warning her.
Tong Yang lowered her eyelids, subtly turning her body, “It’s nothing, just wanted to remind you to close the storage door to prevent theft.”
The woman behind her was silent for a moment before responding, “Thank you, I understand.”
Tong Yang turned to look at the shelves on one side, noticing many glass jars on the bottom row seemed to contain something soaked inside. Bending down for a closer look, she saw several incomplete human embryos.
“Thud thud.” Hu Shuo tapped his fingers twice against the glass.
Tong Yang looked at him, puzzled.
Hu Shuo asked, “Why haven’t you come out yet?”
Tong Yang looked outside and inquired, “They’ve left?”
Hu Shuo shook his head, “No, but I saw the door to this shop open from across.”
“How did you get out?”
“The NPC let me choose, so I just came out.”
“Did you gather all the information?”
Hu Shuo looked confused, “What information?”
Tong Yang pursed her lips, “You came out without seeing anything?”
“They didn’t let me see.”
Tong Yang stared at him for a few seconds and said, “There should be clues inside the shop, go back and look again.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah.”
“Alright then.” After speaking, Hu Shuo glanced again at the woman walking into the storage, “Your NPC here actually has weapons, it’s too realistic, I thought she was going to stab straight through.”
Tong Yang asked, “What do the NPCs on your side look like?”
“Similar to the others, wearing wigs, draped in white sheets, and silent.”
Tong Yang nodded thoughtfully, “I understand, go back.”
“Okay, watch out for yourself, and remember, you can’t hit the NPCs.”
Tong Yang didn’t respond, turning back to the shelves.
The woman who had gone into the storage hadn’t come out, the door left slightly ajar.
Tong Yang approached the door to check it. Suddenly, the rocking horse on the right side of the shelves started making noise, a creepy tune playing in the toy store.
[What the hell? Is someone humming a tune?]
[Sounds like a child’s voice.]
[Tong Sister, are you okay?]
“I’m fine,” Tong Yang replied.
She walked over to the rocking horse, seeing its body and base nearly floating in the air, swinging back and forth to the rhythm of the music.
The tune was different from any nursery rhymes Tong Yang had heard before, the melody very narrow with the childish voice humming incomprehensible lyrics intermittently, and you could hear some effects like those from an old record player.
At that moment, Tong Yang noticed a bookshelf next to the rocking horse, stacked with newspapers and books.
Among them were a few children’s picture books, and on the side, a folded old newspaper.
Tong Yang took out the newspaper, slowly unfolding it. The date on it was December 21, 2020, the corners already yellowing, with severe creases in the middle.
The content of the newspaper was mostly related to urban development. Due to the dim light, Tong Yang had to stand by the window, using the light from the emergency exit sign to read it.
“The construction site on Changshui Street in the capital’s Tianyuan District uncovered twelve female skeletons during the digging process. After investigation by the authorities, these skeletons are suspected to be sacrificial offerings from a folk necromancer at the end of the Qing Dynasty trying to revive the dead…”
Reviving the dead? What kind of fanciful dream was that?
Tong Yang flipped to the back to continue reading the news, finding no useful information.
In the bottom corner of the newspaper, she saw a small box detailing the plight of a woman who had suffered a miscarriage and was abandoned by her husband, seeking help from the public.
With that, the newspaper content ended.
Having not gained any information from the newspaper, Tong Yang refolded it and placed it back on the shelf, just as the rocking horse stopped moving at that moment.
[Tong Sister, did you find any information?]
[If it’s in the toy store, look for places that feel out of place; they usually have clues.]
[But murder mystery rooms and escape games also have misleading and ineffective clues, so be careful.]
[I wonder how the others are doing, they should be fine, right?]
Tong Yang joined their discussion, continuing to flip through the children’s picture books, when suddenly, she felt something tug at her clothes.
Tong Yang swiftly turned around, finding no one behind her.
The nearest rocking horse started up again, similar to before, with the nursery rhyme echoing along with its back and forth movement.
“Hee hee…”
A child’s laughter rang out in the toy store.
Toys on display like cars and robots began to make noise and light up with weak LED lights, twinkling in the dark like stars.
“Click, click—”
The mechanical starting sound was close at hand, with more and more toys starting up on their own, the LED lights lighting up the toy store.
“Hee hee…”
A child’s silhouette lay on top of the shelves, emitting a bell-like laugh.
“Mommy, why aren’t you playing with me today?”
As the music from the rocking horse and the noise of the toys filled the room, Tong Yang stood still, observing her surroundings. The child on the shelves was indistinct, its legs swinging back and forth in mid-air.
[Damn, I’m freaking out!]
[Tong Sister, what’s happening over there? I can’t see the screen through the phone, but it sounds terrifying.]
[That noise sounds like a lot of mechanical toys starting up. I saw a horror movie before, where all the toys in a toy store suddenly started moving on their own at midnight…]
[Shut up! I have a dozen toys by my bed, if they start moving on their own, I’ll show you a real explosion.]
“What movie? What happens next?”
[I forgot the name of the movie, but it seems like the protagonist was killed by the toys.]
Tong Yang put the children’s picture book back on the shelf, the music from the rocking horse gradually stopping, and the toys on display one by one returning to stillness, the LED lights shutting off one after another.
Suddenly, the toy store returned to tranquility and darkness.
Tong Yang walked to the shelf where the boy was lying, looking up to examine it closely, only to find it was just a robot in the shape of a child.
And the woman who had entered the storage had not come out until now.
Tong Yang decided to go and take a look.
She walked behind the door, seeing only darkness through the crack, hesitating for a moment, she used her toe to push the door open wider. As it was pulled further open, a creaking noise broke the silence.
Tong Yang didn’t immediately enter, waiting by the door for half a minute. Seeing no sign of the woman, she tentatively stepped inside.
The warehouse was a bit brighter than Tong Yang had imagined, with goods piled all around and a small lamp hanging near each pile, although they did little to illuminate.
[Tong Sister, say something, it’s too quiet.]
[If only we could video call, it would be great.]
“Be quiet.”
Tong Yang took down a small lamp from the hook and shone it on the floor. A long trail of fresh blood led to a small yellow door on the other side of the warehouse.
Tong Yang didn’t rush after it, holding the small lamp as she inspected the warehouse. The left side was almost entirely filled with goods, while the right side held some personal items and an old desk.
Approaching the desk, she placed the small lamp on it and began examining the items on it.
There was an old iron cup, three pencils of different colors, a notebook, and a photo frame on top.
Tong Yang picked up the photo frame, which contained a middle-aged man’s photo, with the name “Chen Ming” written behind it—likely the toy store’s boss.
Looking up, she noticed a poster on the wall, a promotional photo of a female celebrity, advertising a one-year anniversary celebration at Xili Mall.
“Xili Mall?”
The location they were in was indeed Xili Mall on the seventh floor.
“One-year anniversary…”
The poster looked quite new, probably posted not long ago.
Xili Mall had only been open for a year?
Tianyuan District… Changshui Street…
Could the construction site where twelve skeletons were dug up in 2020 be Xili Mall?
Tong Yang flipped open the notebook, the inner page bearing Chen Ming’s name, recording recent events.
“August 1, 2024, sunny, the store’s surveillance mysteriously broke down, had a technician check but found no problems, might be a wiring issue, but there’s surveillance in the corridor, so let it be for now.”
“August 2, 2024, sunny, Xiao Xue is on leave.”
“August 3, 2024, sunny, things have been missing from the store these last few days, Xiao Liu said she has no place to stay, so she’s been staying in the warehouse at night, surely it couldn’t be her stealing.”
“August 4, 2024, rainy, heard from Xiao Xue that Xiao Liu seems a bit off.”
“August 6, 2024, cloudy, Xiao Xue said she heard Xiao Liu on the phone with her child in the room, saying everything was almost ready, probably planning to bring her child over soon, they’re a mother and child alone… those missing things might have been taken by Xiao Liu for her son.”
“August 7, 2024, sunny, Xiao Liu has been acting weird, always mumbling to herself in the room, not sure who she’s talking to, Xiao Xue said she often carries a bunch of glass jars to the shelves at night and then takes them back to the room in the morning.”
“August 8, 2024, sunny, two large toys went missing from the store, it really might be Xiao Liu… need to get the surveillance fixed soon.”
“August 9, 2024, cloudy, Xiao Liu is crazy! She’s keeping dead children’s bodies in glass jars! No wonder so many customers’ children have been crying lately, must have seen something unclean, I need to find a time to fire her! Now that I think about it, it’s weird, she and her son don’t have any relatives, and I’ve never seen her leave the store or bring her child here to play, who’s been taking care of her child all this time?”
“August 10, 2024, cloudy, today I found a book ‘Sorcerer’s Directions’, it actually records that method can revive the dead, it’s too scary…”
“August 11, 2024, sunny, I must fire Xiao Liu, she’s doing such terrifying things.”
The diary entries ended there, Chen Ming hadn’t started writing for August 12, 2024.
Tong Yang put the diary back, the truth revealed through these clues was now quite clear.
[Tong Sister, did you find any clues?]
[Do you have any thoughts?]
Tong Yang continued to search for clues while speaking, “In the late Qing Dynasty, a sorcerer held a sacrificial ceremony here, killing twelve women, intending to revive someone. The clerk Xiao Liu is a woman who miscarried and was abandoned by her husband, possibly traumatized mentally, preserving incomplete embryos and using the sorcerer’s methods, hoping to revive her own child.”
[Hmm?? That’s quite mystical??]
[Did she succeed?]
“Perhaps the toy store’s location has good Feng Shui, she somehow got twelve embryos in glass jars for the sacrifice, I guess she’s halfway successful. The things missing from the toy store indeed weren’t stolen by her. She admitted to the losses because her son’s ghost wanders around the toy store.”
[So, the boss wants to fire her, and she’s going to kill the boss?]
[The boss really brought disaster on himself.]
[That seems like enough information gathering, you should go check on the others now.]
While searching, Tong Yang discovered a locked drawer in the desk, possibly containing more clues.
Since Chen Ming was in the warehouse before his death, the keys were likely on him.
She looked at the small yellow door leading to an unknown place, Tong Yang approached quietly, reaching the door without hurrying to open it, instead listening for any sound from inside, but all was silent.
Tong Yang held the small lamp, grabbed the cold doorknob, gently pressed down, and after the lock retracted, pushed the door open.
It revealed a cramped bedroom with a bed right by the door, the blood trail hidden under the bed, but the room was clear, no one inside.
However, the space under the bed was not large enough to fit two people.
Tong Yang frowned, stepping into the room, lifting the lamp in her hand, looking around to ensure there were no hidden spots.
She specifically walked to the corner to avoid any surprise attack from behind, bending down to inspect under the bed.
Placing the lamp close to the ground, she illuminated the space under the bed, and indeed saw a body lying there, but from its shape, it wasn’t the toy store’s boss Chen Ming; it looked like a woman, still dressed in a white uniform.
Tong Yang looked puzzled; the woman was face down, a pool of deep red blood flowing beneath her.
“It’s not the boss,” said Tong Yang.
[What?]
[Ah???]
[I don’t understand the situation, sister.]
Tong Yang didn’t rashly move the woman’s body, instead looking at other places under the bed, finding a neat array of many glass jars right against the wall, exactly twelve in number.
Tong Yang’s gaze faltered; according to Chen Ming’s diary, the only person staying in the store was Xiao Liu, this room and these glass jars undoubtedly belonged to Xiao Liu. Since the twelve glass jars used for the resurrection sacrifice were here, then who owned those glass jars on the last shelf of the toy store?
Suddenly, Tong Yang had a bold guess.
She knelt down, almost pressing her upper body to the ground, reaching out to turn the woman’s body over, but the space under the bed was too cramped, and the room too cramped to drag her out, so Tong Yang had to put the lamp on the ground, using both hands to push against the woman’s shoulders. During the struggle, she suddenly saw a metal tag on her chest.
“A name tag?” Tong Yang murmured.
She then pulled out the woman’s clothing hanging with the name tag, placing the lamp under the bed to clearly see the name on the tag—Liu Xinya.
Was the dead person Liu Xinya, the room owner, the Xiao Liu who Chen Ming described as always mumbling to herself?
Then who was the person who had spoken to Tong Yang just now?
“Click—”
At the same time, Tong Yang heard a slight noise near the door, instinctively looking up to see a pair of women’s black flat shoes by the door.
The shoe surface was stained with water, and looking further up, her white socks clearly had blood splatters.
Tong Yang held her breath, slowly looking up, a shadow stood at the narrow bedroom door, due to insufficient light, still unable to see her face clearly, she made no other movement, just standing motionlessly at the door.
In the darkness, Tong Yang could clearly feel that she was watching her.
“Xiao Xue?” Tong Yang hesitated to call out.
“Please leave, this is a private area for staff.” The woman’s voice sounded a bit cold.
Tong Yang said, “I’m just picking something up, I’ll leave right away.”
Tong Yang bent down to pick up the lamp, standing up while reaching into Liu Xinya’s upper pocket, finding no clues.
As Tong Yang stood up, Xiao Xue had already stepped aside, opening the way out, standing by the door motionlessly watching her.
Tong Yang, holding the lamp, passed by her, seeing her right hand still hidden behind her, likely holding a weapon.
Tong Yang did not linger, heading towards the warehouse door.
Passing the desk again, Tong Yang looked back to see the woman still standing at the room door watching her, not moving until Tong Yang left the warehouse, then the woman entered the room and closed the door.
[I can’t see what’s happening and I’m totally confused.]
[I’m so curious.]
But where was the boss? The person who had argued with Liu Xinya was clearly Chen Ming, so why had Xiao Xue come out instead?
Since the glass jars on the last shelf of the toy store didn’t belong to Liu Xinya, then who could they belong to?
“Things aren’t so simple,” Tong Yang said.
[What exactly is going on?]
[I only understand half of what I heard, negative review, negative review!]
“I’ll explain when I get back.”
Tong Yang returned to the cashier counter, feeling she might have missed some information.
Entering the cashier area, she used the small lamp for illumination, discovering a schedule taped to the cabinet door below.
The toy store had two cashiers, Liu Xinya and Xiao Xue, with August 12 being a Monday, day shift from nine in the morning to five in the afternoon, and midday from two in the afternoon to ten at night, but today the person on the day shift was Liu Xinya, meaning it was now Liu Xinya’s time to get off work.
Tong Yang opened the cabinet, finding a woman’s shoulder bag inside, unzipping it to see an ID card with Xiao Xue’s name.
Tong Yang opened the inner compartment’s zipper, pulling out a folded piece of paper, seemingly wrapped around something substantial, unfolding it to find a miscarriage diagnosis inside, dated around December 2020. Chen Ming’s diary was misleading, the newspaper article about a woman seeking help after being abandoned by her husband due to a miscarriage was not about Liu Xinya, but about Xiao Xue.
Then she opened the yellow talisman paper, finding it wrapped around a strand of human hair, unclear whose it was.
Xiao Xue’s bag had nothing else inside.
Chen Ming’s diary was not very reliable, perhaps the reality was the exact opposite, the diary’s mentions of Xiao Xue and Liu Xinya should be reversed, and as for the toy store’s boss Chen Ming…
Tong Yang looked at Xiao Xue’s photo on the ID card, recalling the female celebrity promotional poster stuck on the warehouse wall, clearly the same person.
No other posters were hung anywhere else in the store, only in the warehouse right above the boss’s desk, and Chen Ming’s diary frequently mentioned Xiao Xue, even during arguments with Liu Xinya, all evidence suggesting an extraordinary relationship between the two.
This meant that most of the information Chen Ming got was exaggerated.
The real person needing to revive a child was Xiao Xue, and the person Chen Ming wanted to fire was Liu Xinya, but why did she kill Liu Xinya? And where had Chen Ming gone?
Tong Yang thought hard, understanding why Chu Shiyu and the others liked playing real-life detective games. If it weren’t for getting mixed up with parallel world affairs, this place would indeed be a good spot to unwind.
[Tong Sister, how’s it going?]
[Did you find any new clues?]
“Yeah, a bit more interesting than I thought.”
Because she first heard the argument between Liu Xinya and Chen Ming, Tong Yang assumed the woman who came out of the warehouse was Liu Xinya. It seemed she had already been killed by that time.
The murderer was undoubtedly Xiao Xue. The store boss Chen Ming was either already killed or had become Xiao Xue’s accomplice, given their unusual relationship.
But did this have anything to do with how to leave here?
Tong Yang left the cashier counter, walking to the glass door. Forcibly breaking it was definitely not an option, breaking the game’s rules, and possibly requiring compensation, but the clues she found had no relation to leaving. It felt as though she had unintentionally walked into a murder scene.
The game couldn’t continue.
Tong Yang searched the toy store inside and out, even the glass jars soaking embryos on the shelves weren’t overlooked, just shy of physically retrieving them.
Xiao Xue had locked herself and Liu Xinya’s body in the room and hadn’t come out since. Tong Yang re-entered the warehouse, clearing all of Chen Ming’s goods to find no clues, eventually only the locked drawer remained.
[Tong Sister, how have you not passed this level yet, I’m already sleepy.]
[Me too.]
[How about I tell you a ghost story? It’s not scary, no charge.]
[Let’s hear it.]
“What exactly is this game about?” Tong Yang searched for a long time for the key, not finding a single metal object around.
[If it’s not a murder mystery, then it’s an escape room.]
[Tong Sister, in this situation, you just need to find a way to open the door.]
“Open the door?”
Tong Yang then thought back to the cashier counter. The glass door seemed to be automatic, and the control lever should be near the cashier.
Sure enough! She saw a password lock switch button installed next to the computer.
“I found the button to open the door, there’s a password.”
[Then you just need to find the password.]
[Finding the password should be quick.]
“Done.”
Tong Yang pressed the door-opening button, and the glass door indeed automatically opened.
[???]
[What? You moved so fast?]
[Did you just guess it?]
Tong Yang said, “Chen Ming’s pinyin.”
[Ah?? That easy? Don’t you need to think about it??]
[Damn! That’s what they call a top student’s problem-solving speed.]
“The manager’s name is Chen Ming, the only clue related to him in the store is his name, what else could the password for the door be?”
[Makes sense!]
[Tong Sister is right!]
[Finally unlocking the next scene! Excited!]
They were overjoyed, but Tong Yang’s face bore no smile.
Had she known it was this simple, maybe when Xiao Xue asked her to leave, she could have just left directly. She had encountered similar situations too many times, always feeling that if it was too simple, there must be a trick, outsmarted by her own cleverness.
Leaving the toy store, Tong Yang looked around for the others, suddenly noticing a lit area in the originally dark corridor, at a corner.
Tong Yang approached cautiously, faintly hearing voices inside.
“Why hasn’t Tong Yang come out yet?”
“I don’t know, who will go check?”
“Didn’t the broadcast say players can’t interfere with each other?”
Broadcast?
After they were separated to enter the shops, Tong Yang hadn’t heard any broadcast sound.
“Don’t worry, she has to arrive before we can start.”
“It’s okay, everyone have some snacks.”
“To be honest, I thought it would be more terrifying when I first went in, but they just let you sit down and read the script.”
Chu Shiyu worriedly said, “Why hasn’t she come yet?”
Xu Junyue said, “Hey! You’re worried about our Tong Yang? Don’t worry, if anyone’s fine, it’s her.”
Listening to the discussion, Tong Yang walked into their resting area, about to ask what was happening, when her expression suddenly froze.
The brightly lit resting area was utterly empty, clearly not a single person there!
“Tong Yang, what are you doing?”
“I’m still a bit worried…”
“Don’t worry, it’s all fake anyway.”
Tong Yang’s face stiffened completely, the voices clearly should have been right in front of her, but in the fully visible resting area, there was definitely not a single silhouette.
Suddenly, a cold breeze blew from behind, Tong Yang couldn’t help but shiver.
She thought she had prepared herself to face any phenomenon that science couldn’t explain after experiencing these events.
However, the empty scene before her eyes told her that was not the case.
