Chapter 21
Chapter 21
“Hm? Where’s Dean Leng?”
Li Que reached the appointed place and stood outside the Southern Suburbs Escape Room, but Leng Qingyan was nowhere to be found.
He tried calling her, yet the call wouldn’t connect.
Had some urgent matter forced her to leave?
“Sir, would you like to try our escape room?”
An employee stepped outside. Even under the shopping center’s bright lights, his face looked strangely pale.
The passing crowds seemed unable to see him. Not one person noticed anything unusual.
“Yes. I brought my students to give it a try,” Li Que said.
It didn’t matter if Leng Qingyan wasn’t here. His students could still enjoy the experience.
“What themes do you have right now?”
“We currently have three main themes: Green Hills Psychiatric Hospital, Graduation Sacrifice, and A Puppet’s Love. Unfortunately, Green Hills Psychiatric Hospital and A Puppet’s Love are both under maintenance, so only Graduation Sacrifice is available.”
The employee handed Li Que a brochure. He skimmed it and saw that every theme was horror-themed.
He felt a little worried. If it was too frightening, would Lin Xiaoyu and the others be scared?
Then he looked at the three students and immediately dismissed the thought.
Hope gleamed in Lin Xiaoyu’s eyes. Nian Youyu licked his lips excitedly. Bai Lu was the calmest, studying herself in her little mirror.
These students certainly had strong nerves.
“All right. The three of you can play.”
Li Que readily paid the fee. “I’ll sit this one out and wait across the way.”
Escape rooms didn’t interest him much. Once he knew every scene was an artificial set, none of it could inspire real fear.
Without fear, there was no thrill.
“Very well.”
The employee turned calmly. “Follow me.”
Lin Xiaoyu, Nian Youyu, and Bai Lu followed him to a dark passageway. A bloodred curtain hung across its entrance, with nothing but blackness beyond it. The sight filled the heart with dread.
“Before entering the escape room, you must burn incense. Once the incense is lit, the gods will protect you.”
The employee pointed to a battered, bloodstained incense burner in the corner. Two pairs of red candles burned before it.
He handed Lin Xiaoyu three incense sticks, and she placed them in the burner.
The candle flames abruptly flickered. For an instant, it looked as though endless streams of blood were flowing through them.
“You may enter.”
An eerie smile appeared on the employee’s deathly pale face.
The three students noticed nothing. They drew aside the curtain and entered the pitch-black corridor.
A voice rang out.
“Welcome, players, to Graduation Sacrifice. You must obey the following rules.”
“One: Never look back. Wherever you are, you may only move forward. Otherwise, your head will fall off.”
“Two: Stay away from every reflective surface. If you appear in a mirror, cover your eyes, or you will go blind.”
“Three: Once you enter the escape room, never speak to your companions. Your companion may no longer be the person you knew.”
“Finally, find the red knot, and you will be able to leave.”
The moment the voice fell silent, the curtain behind the three students vanished, taking the last faint trace of light with it.
Soft rustling sounds rose around them, as though something were crawling toward them through the darkness.
…
With nothing else to do, Li Que decided to have a coffee across the way while he waited for Lin Xiaoyu and the others.
He found an empty table beside the window, ordered a cup, and sat down.
“Excuse me. Is anyone sitting here?”
The moment he settled into his chair, a pleasant female voice spoke beside him.
Li Que looked up. The beautiful woman in the short skirt and sunglasses stood there with her coffee, smiling brightly at him.
He was surprised. He had noticed her when he entered. Hadn’t she already had a seat?
…
At the Anomaly Suppression Bureau…
Xu Changjiang, Leng Qingyan, and the others personally went outside to receive their visitors.
A middle-aged man in a black jacket stepped out of a black government vehicle at the entrance.
Xu Changjiang was startled. He hurried forward.
“Deputy Director Shi, you came in person!”
Even Leng Qingyan looked surprised.
Shi Xuan, deputy director of the Provincial Anomaly Suppression Department, was renowned throughout the province.
He had risen through the ranks on battle merit and had even achieved the brilliant feat of destroying three S-class anomalies.
Only after being wounded had he transferred into administration.
Shi Xuan was a true standard-bearer in the eyes of every anomaly wielder in the province.
His personal arrival showed just how seriously the Provincial Department regarded Mingjiang City.
Shi Xuan had a square, dignified face. He sighed softly.
“With something this serious happening, of course I had to come see for myself.”
He beckoned behind him, and two young men quickly approached.
“Xu, let me introduce two of the Provincial Department’s finest young talents: Wang Zhong and Zuo Qingting.”
The two men politely stepped forward and shook Xu Changjiang’s hand.
Xu Changjiang’s expression was solemn. He dealt with the Provincial Department often and knew that the names Wang Zhong and Zuo Qingting had become famous in recent years.
Despite their youth, both had already risen to division chief within the department, and both had entered A-class. Their futures were limitless.
“Deputy Director Shi, Chief Wang, Chief Zuo-please, come inside.”
Xu Changjiang led the group into the Anomaly Suppression Bureau’s conference room.
“Deputy Director Shi, these are all the records and reports from our preliminary interrogations of Zhao Xueru, Qin Yuandong, and the others. Would you like to conduct a further review?”
Xu Changjiang had his people bring over every document.
Shi Xuan merely waved a hand.
“Your report is already very detailed. I trust you’ve extracted everything you can. There’s no need to question the prisoners again.”
“Wang, Zuo-take the files and look around the city. Focus on analyzing the evidence and see if you can pinpoint Rain’s current location. Director Xu and I will catch up.”
Wang Zhong and Zuo Qingting took the files, assembled a team, and left the Anomaly Suppression Bureau.
Xu Changjiang frowned slightly.
He knew his former superior well. Shi Xuan had fought his way up from the front lines. He was never the sort of leader who washed his hands of an investigation.
In past anomaly cases, Shi Xuan always examined important evidence and suspects personally. Because he was an exceptionally powerful anomaly wielder himself, he often discovered details ordinary people overlooked.
Yet this time, he had skipped the most important suspects and delegated even the field investigation to two subordinates.
“Puzzled?”
Shi Xuan smiled at Xu Changjiang.
“Do you think your old superior isn’t as responsible as he used to be?”
Xu Changjiang straightened. “You’re joking, Deputy Director Shi. I’m certain you have your reasons.”
“There’s no need to guess. I’ll tell you plainly,” Shi Xuan replied.
“There are more traitors inside the Provincial Department. Zhao Xueru was definitely not working alone.”
“That’s why your report conceals half the story. You’re obviously waiting for whoever the department sends to expose themselves so you can drag the traitor into the light. Correct?”
His tone was casual, but Xu Changjiang was startled.
He shot to his feet, suddenly tense. “Deputy Director Shi…”
Xu Changjiang had never imagined that the plan he and Leng Qingyan had agonized over would be seen through so completely by his old superior.
“Don’t worry.”
Shi Xuan raised a hand.
“You did well.”
“Because you did well, I can save some time and build on the trap you’ve laid. Let’s see which one of them is the traitor.”
He calmly lifted his teacup, took a sip, and looked out the window.
Below the Anomaly Suppression Bureau building, Wang Zhong and Zuo Qingting had boarded their vehicle with their team. They were driving toward Mingjiang No. 7 Special School.
That was where Rain had last appeared. They would conduct a meticulous investigation there.
Xu Changjiang suddenly understood.
“Deputy Director Shi, are you saying the traitor is either Wang Zhong or Zuo Qingting?”
…
Inside the Liuyi Road shopping center, at the second-floor café…
The beautiful, elegantly dressed woman held her coffee and smiled at Li Que. Several customers nearby cast him envious looks.
Not everyone was lucky enough to have a woman like this approach them first.
“No. Sit wherever you like.”
Li Que remained calm, but immediately checked the system.
Only after seeing that the anomaly reading was still 0.01 did he relax.
Anything out of the ordinary was suspicious. In this era, if a beautiful woman approached him out of nowhere, she was either an anomaly or recruiting for a pyramid scheme.
The woman sat opposite him and removed her sunglasses with a bright smile, revealing a pair of beautiful eyes. She studied Li Que.
“Are you waiting for someone too?”
As she spoke, she glanced toward the Southern Suburbs Escape Room.
…