IOLYF Chapter 48

“This is insane!” someone in the group exclaimed, clutching their head. “It’s already tough enough to crack the numbers, and now we have to flip them left and right?”

“Mo Ming, you’re amazing. You didn’t say much during those easier rounds, so we all thought you weren’t good at these kinds of games.”

“Let’s move on to the next stage.” Wen Ci suggested. “The puzzle rounds are almost over; the next stage should involve something different.”

The door opened, revealing a long corridor lined with thirty black and white electronic tiles arranged in a five-by-six grid.

The system explained the rules: the team had to cross this corridor in three separate attempts, with only one person allowed to pass each time. Each step had to land on a designated tile, and any misstep would result in a one-point deduction.

Within ten seconds, a glowing spot would appear on each of the thirty tiles.

“So we have to remember thirty numbers in ten seconds? Forget about how difficult that is; it’s impossible to even scan through them all in time.”

“Losing a point for each mistake isn’t too bad. I can probably remember about fifteen of them, so even if I lose fifteen points, it’s no big deal. Uh… what happens if someone loses all their points? Are they eliminated?”

“No, the bigger issue is that only three people can cross, one at a time. That means we’ll have to sacrifice six people.”

Suddenly, the room fell silent.

Wen Ci spoke up, “I have two extra life cards that I’m willing to use to save two people.”

Everyone looked at Wen Ci with gratitude. Inspired by him, others raised their hands as well. “I’ve got two cards too. I’m willing to contribute.”

“I have one as well.”

“With five cards total, that means we’ll have to eliminate just one person manually.” Wen Ci said, frowning slightly, as if weighing the decision.

Cheng Jing began to sweat when he saw Wen Ci leaning towards discussing elimination. He had the lowest score and was most likely to be eliminated. In a flash, he darted over to Mo Ming’s side, clutching Mo Ming’s arm desperately. “Save me, benefactor!”

If he got kicked out midway, it’d be all over the hot searches. He had only joined this show to flaunt his charm and heroic moments of protecting the weak. Who knew the game would be so cruel, leaving him backed into a corner?

Mo Ming winced from the pain in his arm and frowned. “Don’t worry, no one will be eliminated in this game.”

Zhao Li overheard and asked curiously, “Why won’t anyone be eliminated? The system said we only get three chances, with one person crossing each time.”

The group turned their eyes to Mo Ming again. He calmly explained, “Three people cross together. As long as only two feet touch the ground at a time, it should count as one person. If one person carries another, the two can cross on one foot each.”

“Wow! How didn’t I think of that?”

“That’s definitely it. This round is about teamwork.”

Wen Ci’s lips twitched slightly before he smiled and said, “Then we won’t need to eliminate anyone. Let’s split into three groups and cross.”

Since Mo Ming had figured out the rules, he was naturally the first to give it a try.

Cheng Jing stuck close to Mo Ming, and Zhao Li stepped forward to join them, showing her trust in Mo Ming. The three quickly formed a team.

Mo Ming suggested that each person remember ten numbers so the score could be shared equally.

The corridor lights dimmed, and the thirty tiles lit up in a random pattern before going dark after ten seconds. Cheng Jing carried Zhao Li on his back while Mo Ming led the way.

Following Mo Ming’s instructions, Cheng Jing kept pace with him, balancing on one foot at a time. When it was Cheng Jing’s turn to recall the last ten tiles, he hesitated and only managed to call out the first four, explaining that the previous numbers called out by Mo Ming and Zhao Li had thrown him off.

Without hesitation, Mo Ming accurately stepped on the last six tiles.

When Cheng Jing and Zhao Li looked at him in disbelief, Mo Ming explained, “Just in case, I memorized them all.”

Cheng Jing’s jaw dropped, and Zhao Li looked at Mo Ming thoughtfully before saying, “You’re not at all like how my brother described you.”

“Your brother?”

Zhao Li smiled. “I’ll tell you after we finish filming.”

The three successfully crossed without losing any points, confirming that Mo Ming’s interpretation of the rules was correct. With Mo Ming and his team’s flawless crossing, it became much easier for the remaining players to pass.

Seeing Mo Ming’s skills, the group naturally started relying on him for the tougher challenges ahead. Mo Ming didn’t hold back anymore and answered his teammates’ questions truthfully, proving himself to be quiet but always on point.

With Mo Ming’s help, Cheng Jing’s score surged along with his, putting them both near the top. As the game neared its end, Cheng Jing whispered to Mo Ming, “Who do you think the ‘villain’ is? I’ll vote with you.”

“I don’t know.” Mo Ming replied.

“Well, it’s definitely not me. Don’t waste your vote on me.”

“It’s not me either.” Zhao Li chimed in. “But don’t worry. In every episode, the villain always gets found out, and the good guys always win. It’s always a positive ending.”

In the second-to-last round, the group needed to collectively vote out the “villain” among them before moving on to the final challenge. To do this, they had to open the three envelopes they had collected and use the clues inside to identify and eliminate the villain.

The key was to decode the numbers, letters, and Chinese characters in the envelopes. Once solved, the villain’s identity would be revealed.

The puzzles were displayed in front of the group, and they all furrowed their brows in concentration. Soon, Wen Ci spoke up, “The villain is Mo Ming.”

Everyone looked at Wen Ci in shock.

“That was quick.”

“I haven’t even figured out what these clues mean yet.”

“The number is 22, the character is ‘water,’ and the letter is ‘M,’” Wen Ci said clearly and calmly, explaining the reasoning behind each clue in detail. His explanation was logical and convincing.

“This round is about solving riddles. Once you get the answer, the villain is revealed.” Zhao Li said, looking at Mo Ming with a smile. “You said you didn’t know earlier, and you almost had me fooled.”

Mo Ming smiled wryly. He had to play along until the end; revealing his identity too early would be unprofessional.

Just as he was about to speak, Cheng Jing cheerfully suggested, “The game’s almost over, and it’s probably dark outside by now. How about we all go out for dinner after this?”

After spending several hours together in the game, everyone had cooperated well and agreed to the idea.

“Let the losing villain treat us.” Cheng Jing added.

Mo Ming: “…”

Cheng Jing patted Mo Ming’s shoulder, half-joking, “I know a really expensive sushi place near the hotel. How about we squeeze a meal out of Mo Ming?”

Mo Ming raised his hand. “I’m not the villain.”

The room fell silent as everyone stared at Mo Ming in confusion.

Wen Ci’s expression remained calm as he smiled at Mo Ming. “Then why don’t you tell us your answer?”

No one else spoke, their gazes shifting between Mo Ming and Wen Ci in bewilderment.

“The villain is you.” Mo Ming said, looking directly at Wen Ci.

Someone immediately questioned Wen Ci on his behalf. “But the clues in those three envelopes clearly point to ‘water,’ ‘22,’ and ‘M.’ Wen Ci’s explanation made perfect sense. Doesn’t that obviously point to you?”

“The clues are indeed those three things, but they don’t point to me.” Mo Ming said, his expression serious as he patiently explained. “The ‘water’ character doesn’t refer to a radical. In the room where we found the ‘water’ clue, do you remember all the dismantled toys? The final challenge was to count the number of pieces each toy was broken into. This means that the character ‘water’ should also be dismantled. The character ‘文’ has four strokes, which matches the number of strokes in ‘water.’”

Everyone stared at Mo Ming, wide-eyed.

Wen Ci’s lips twitched slightly. “That’s not right. ‘Water’ just refers to the radical, which matches the character ‘洺’ in your name.”

Mo Ming continued, “The number 22 doesn’t represent an age. The room where we found the 22 clue was filled with Chinese characters and letters, and the theme of the room was disassembly and reassembly. If I’m not mistaken, it refers to the total number of strokes in the characters ‘文’ and ‘辞.’”

“But…” Cheng Jing counted on his fingers, “文 and 辞 together only have seventeen strokes.”

“Add in the five letters in the pinyin of Wen Ci’s name, and it totals 22.” Mo Ming explained.

Everyone was stunned. After passing through so many rooms, they had forgotten which room each clue had come from. But Mo Ming not only remembered, he could also clearly describe the scenes in each room.

Wen Ci himself was taken aback.

“No way, the puzzles in previous episodes were never this crazy.”

“I’m seriously impressed, Mo Ming. Your reasoning is flawless! I can’t believe you remembered all that.”

“Mo Ming has an amazing memory.” Zhao Li nodded thoughtfully. “You could tell during the corridor challenge.”

“The ‘M’ clue is even simpler. The room where we found it was the one with the ‘flip east, turn west’ puzzle. When you flip ‘M,’ it becomes ‘W,’ which is the initial of ‘Wen,’” Mo Ming continued. “So it’s clear: Wen Ci, you’re the villain.”

Mo Ming had a hard time catching his breath as he finished his explanation, speaking calmly. “Don’t let him fool you. In previous episodes, there was never any connection between the envelopes and the rooms.”

The villain was clearly Mo Ming; that was the answer the production team had given Wen Ci beforehand!

This guy was just making things up with a straight face!

In the control room of Mystery Chase, the director frantically flipped through the script while questioning the writer beside him. “Did you change the script?”

“I didn’t!” The writer looked just as baffled. “The script has Mo Ming as the villain. We were worried the puzzles were too hard, so we gave Wen Ci the answers beforehand. There’s no way the villain could have been changed to Wen Ci!”

One of the staff members who had been monitoring the screen commented, “The ‘water’ clue should have come from the room with the dismantled toys, not ‘M.’ He’s just forcing an explanation.”

“But his reasoning sounds so convincing!”

“He’s just working backward from the answer to find supporting details, forcing the logic to fit. And he got a few things wrong. It’s not about having a good memory; it’s that everyone else forgot, so they have to take his word for it.”

“What should we do, Director?” someone asked, pointing at the screen. “They’ve all voted Wen Ci as the villain. Are we really going to let the villain win?”

At that moment, Wen Ci, who had been voted the villain by almost everyone, looked distraught, barely able to keep up the facade.

The system’s voice echoed: [Please reveal your identity cards.] Wen Ci, despairing, tossed down his “good guy” card, leaving everyone who had voted shocked and speechless. When Mo Ming pulled out his “villain” card, the room fell silent.

Seeing everyone staring at him wide-eyed, Mo Ming softly asked, “So I don’t have to treat you all to dinner?”

[Congratulations, villain. You have reached the final round. All eight good guys have been eliminated.]

The system’s mechanical voice fell coldly on everyone’s ears, and they all snapped out of their daze.

“Wow, just wow!” someone exclaimed, clutching their head. “Mo Ming, you’re a genius at bending the truth!”

“So the villain’s identity was right there all along? I knew it! In previous episodes, once you solve the puzzle, the villain’s identity is revealed. The production team wouldn’t make it so insanely difficult.”

“So Mo Ming made up that entire explanation? How did you come up with that? It sounded so legit it could’ve been the real answer!”

“Completely fooled by Mo Ming’s acting.”

“If the villain wins, I guess it’s up to us eight good guys to treat the villain to dinner, haha.” someone joked. “Mo Ming, you just saved yourself a lot of money.”

Mo Ming smiled, saying he was indeed very happy.

Just then, the door to the room opened, and the director and writer quickly walked in.

“Everyone, please quiet down and listen to me for a moment.” the director said, adjusting his glasses. He quickly explained, “According to the script, the good guys must win this round, and the villain must be eliminated.”

The director continued, complimenting Mo Ming’s impressive performance but explaining that the villain winning wouldn’t fit the show’s tone.

Mo Ming nodded. “I understand, Director.”

It was just a game, after all. He wasn’t going to take it seriously. Since he had signed the contract, he would cooperate with the production team’s arrangements.

But… since he had been forced to lose as the villain, did that mean he would still have to treat everyone to dinner tonight?

“This is a bit much, Director. Mo Ming won fair and square.” someone protested.

“Yeah, can’t we change the script?”

“Anyone who’s seen the show knows the villain never makes it to the final round.” Shen Xixi said, giving Mo Ming a knowing look. “When Wen Ci pointed you out as the villain, you shouldn’t have argued. Now the director has to come and explain everything.”

“This game rewards those with brains. Clearly, the production team underestimated Mo Ming.” Zhao Li shot back at Shen Xixi. “If you don’t have the smarts, don’t expect others to go easy on you.”

“You…” Shen Xixi huffed, muttering under her breath, “Smart? More like a master of deception.”

In the end, the director took Mo Ming out of the room, glancing back at Wen Ci with a complex expression, a hint of disappointment in his eyes.

Wen Ci felt as if he had been slapped in the face, his body prickling with discomfort.

He could easily interpret the director’s gaze. As someone who had been given the answers in advance, he had failed to convince everyone to vote for the real villain. The production team had high expectations of him and had chosen him specifically to reveal Mo Ming as the villain, hoping to play up the drama between them.

But no one had expected Mo Ming to cunningly turn the tables… Perhaps the production team was now regretting giving Mo Ming the villain card.

After the director left, the group’s enthusiasm for the game waned.

“Not fun anymore, it’s a hollow victory.”

“Mo Ming’s argument was really impressive. The first time I’ve seen someone lie so convincingly with such a solid case.”

“What’s the point? They’ll probably edit it out.”

“Whatever, let’s just finish up and get out of here. I’m starving.”

At that moment, Mo Ming, who had left the room, retrieved his phone from the production team. He didn’t wait in the rest area as the staff suggested, but instead boarded the bus back to the hotel alone.

It was already 8 PM, and apart from the areas illuminated by lights, the amusement park was shrouded in darkness.

Sipping on the milk provided by one of the show’s sponsors, Mo Ming leaned back in his seat and started replying to Han Shao Zhou’s messages… Half an hour earlier, Han Shao Zhou had messaged him, asking him to text as soon as he was off work.

Biting the straw, Mo Ming held his phone in one hand and sent a reply.

Within seconds of sending the message, Han Shao Zhou’s response popped up.

Brother Z: [Come outside, little darling.]
Brother Z: [I’m beside the car.]