Chapter 2
Chapter 2
After a wave of dizziness, I tumbled down the rabbit hole and landed inside a small log cabin. The others who had passed the first stage arrived at the same time.
The Short-haired Girl was among them.
Including me, there were eight people in total.
Clutching my head after it hit the floor, I braced myself against the wall and stood up, feeling lightheaded.
It looked like an extremely ordinary log cabin. The hole that had transported us here had already vanished. The only piece of furniture in the room was a round wooden table.
On the table sat a plate of cookies with a card in the center that read “EAT ME.”
Next to the cookies was a bottle of deep purple liquid. A card hung from the neck of the bottle, reading “DRINK ME.”
The details of the room were a perfect recreation of the original story.
The only difference was that in the movie, the house had a tiny opening that Alice could enter and exit freely after shrinking.
In this house, however, the door was normal-sized and locked.
“Congratulations to everyone for entering the second stage: Cookies and Potions.”
The green-eyed Cheshire Cat suddenly appeared, floating in mid-air. Its mouth was stretched into an exaggerated arc, revealing a creepy smile.
“In the previous stage, two players were the first to clear the level simultaneously. They have received the game reward: two Jack of Hearts cards.”
I followed the Cheshire Cat’s gaze toward a man wearing glasses and a blonde girl wearing a Lolita dress.
They had teamed up during the first stage.
After receiving their cards, the two glanced at each other but said nothing.
Would there be new, unknown rules on the back of the Jack of Hearts?
No one made a move. Only a man with a long scar over his left eye stepped forward and gave the wooden door a heavy kick, but it didn’t budge an inch.
The Short-haired Girl, who had cooperated with me in the first round, broke the silence. “I assume none of you are new to this kind of rules-horror game. I suggest we exchange information. There’s no limit on the number of people who can pass this round; as long as the door opens, everyone can get out.”
So they had all experienced similar rules-horror trials before. I wasn’t the only one.
If the previous fairy tale world was my single-player game, then this time, it was multiplayer.
“I can share first.” The Short-haired Girl pulled out the Heart Seven from her hand. “Rule 7 says: A raven is like a writing desk. Though I haven’t figured out the use for that sentence yet.”
Awkwardly, no one was willing to continue sharing after she finished speaking.
In a life-and-death game like this, holding rules unknown to others was a form of leverage and insurance.
Only a silver-haired Old Lady wearing reading glasses took out a Heart Eight card and said slowly, “The Cheshire Cat trusts children and hates adults. I think we can find a breakthrough there.”
Everyone’s eyes turned toward the only Mixed-race Boy in the corner. He had brown, naturally curly hair and looked to be only eleven or twelve years old.
The Little Boy seemed to understand everyone’s expectations. He nodded obediently, reached out his hands toward the Cheshire Cat, and flashed an innocent, childlike smile. “Cute kitty, hurry and tell me how to leave this place.”
The rule on the Heart card was correct. As expected, the Cheshire Cat’s eyes lit up. It tumbled into the Little Boy’s arms and flipped over comfortably. “The door cannot be opened by force. It can only be opened with a key.”
Aside from the table, there were no other furnishings in the log cabin. As far as the eye could see, there was no sign of a key.
I picked up the deep purple potion bottle and shook it a few times. It wasn’t inside the bottle either.
The Little Boy continued to ask, “Then where is the key?”
The Cheshire Cat shifted its green eyes guiltily, its mouth maintaining that eerie smile.
“I accidentally swallowed it.”
Everyone looked at each other in dismay.
The Little Boy suddenly grabbed the cat’s tail and ruthlessly flipped it upside down, shaking it frantically.
“Meow! Help! Your method is wrong! You won’t get the key this way!”
The bristling Cheshire Cat begged for mercy, letting out a piercing, shrill, and miserable cry.
But other than some foul-smelling bile, it spat out nothing.
Lolita, who had received the Jack of Hearts reward in the first stage, spoke up for the first time. “Didn’t the rules mention cookies and potions? That must be the key to solving the puzzle.”
Hearing her words, the Little Boy let go.
The Cheshire Cat fled to a corner as if it had lost its soul, curling up into a ball in a fit of self-isolation.