Chapter 162

Chapter 162

Jian Fan and Qin Nan had already rushed out.

The two of them did not leave right away.

They ran to the iron gate and stopped there, without going any farther back.

It would still take some time for the Fire to spread from the dormitory to this side. Jian Fan wanted to watch a little longer and see how things unfolded behind them.

The dorm supervisor on the first floor was still there, which meant the students in this dormitory building should still be there too. The Fire had already started-would no one notice? And once they did, what would happen? Jian Fan wanted to wait and see if any new clues would appear.

The Fire grew larger and larger.

Before long, the door to one dorm room opened, and a girl in pajamas, still groggy with sleep, poked her head out.

She had clearly smelled smoke and come out to check what was happening. Her dorm room faced 6107 directly, so she naturally saw the situation in full.

At the sight of the Fire filling the air, already on the verge of spreading outward, the girl instantly snapped awake.

“There’s a Fire!” she shouted as she turned and ran back into her dorm room.

With that shout, more people from her room quickly came out to check the situation. Then the neighboring dorms also stirred. In an instant, the entire floor became chaotic.

Some people hurried to find the dorm supervisor, but after knocking for ages, there was no response. Others fetched water from their dorm rooms and tried to put out the Fire, but it was completely useless. After a long stretch of shouting and frantic activity, everyone realized the Fire could not be controlled and began running downstairs one after another.

The Fire began spreading across the entire floor.

The students started rushing downstairs in a panic, and some did not forget to warn the people on the lower floors.

Jian Fan still did not move. His eyes remained fixed on 6103.

Every dorm room had some movement, except 6103. However, amid the chaos, Jian Fan did spot a familiar face.

It was the girl who had appeared in the video but had not died in the sea of Fire.

Jian Fan glanced at the dorm room she had left.

6105. Between 6103 and 6107.

Jian Fan quietly committed that to memory. Once they got back, perhaps they could look for information about this person.

Before long, the entire dormitory building was in an uproar, and the Fire had spread across the whole sixth floor.

“Should we go?” Qin Nan looked at Jian Fan and asked.

The Fire was still spreading. At this point, they could still head farther downstairs, but if they did, there might be no chance of returning to the fifth floor afterward. In that case, they would have no idea where to find another Time-Space Junction.

They could not stay here any longer.

Jian Fan sighed and said, “Let’s go.”

Fortunately, it was not as if they had gained nothing at all. Jian Fan tightened his grip on the key in his hand.

And just as the two of them headed toward the Stairs from before, Jian Fan faintly heard the sound of fire engines.

The students must have called the police after discovering the Fire.

But they no longer had any time to spare. The Fire was already coming toward them.

Qin Nan grabbed Jian Fan and pulled him along. The two of them stepped into that Time-Space Junction.

The heat behind them rapidly faded. When the two looked again, the Fire that had filled the sky had once more turned into darkness. And on the other side…

“You’re back? Find anything?” Lu Jing stood not far away, looking at the two of them as he asked.

He noticed that the two were holding hands and was not surprised.

As for Mu Xin and Lin Junruo, their eyes widened slightly before they exchanged a glance.

While they had been away, what had happened between Qin Nan and Jian Fan?

Perhaps their gazes were too intense. Jian Fan lowered his head and glanced at his hand clasped with Qin Nan’s, then hurriedly pulled away. Qin Nan realized it too and quickly let go. He raised a hand, scratched his hair, and explained awkwardly, “Uh… time and space were overlapping. I was afraid we’d get separated, hahaha.”
Jian Fan frowned.

That was what had happened, but why did it sound so suspicious when Qin Nan put it like that? Like someone protesting too much?

“Well?” Qin Weiyi asked again, bringing the topic back on track.

Jian Fan held up the key in his hand. “The front door key.”

Everyone was delighted at once.

Jian Fan had actually found the front door key!

“What point in time did you reach?” Qin Weiyi asked.

“We’ll talk as we walk,” Jian Fan said.

Until they left this place, danger still lurked everywhere.

Qin Weiyi naturally wouldn’t object.

The group began heading downstairs, and Jian Fan gave a brief account of what he and Qin Nan had encountered.

And brief really did mean brief. Luckily, Qin Nan was beside him to fill in the gaps.

When Jian Fan mentioned the girl, Qin Weiyi added, “It was Li Xiting.”

“Li Xiting?” Jian Fan stopped and looked over in surprise.

Qin Weiyi nodded. “I went back to before the incident happened. I’m not sure exactly what point in time it was, but I can confirm that the girl was Li Xiting.”

Jian Fan frowned. “On the day of the Fire, Li Xiting came out of Dormitory 6105, while Dormitory 6103 had no activity at all.”

Li Xiting was clearly someone from Dormitory 6103, so why had she come out of Dormitory 6105 at the time? And why had Dormitory 6103 remained completely silent?

“There are still plenty of strange things,” Qin Weiyi said with a sigh.

If they wanted to truly unravel the entire mystery, they still had a long way to go. Fortunately, Jian Fan had already obtained the key.

The group talked as they descended, and before long, they reached the first floor.

Jian Fan walked to the front entrance, inserted the key, and successfully unlocked the door.

Everyone had been watching his movements. When they saw him turn the key, they all let out a breath of relief. But immediately after, confusion crept in. Jian Fan had clearly unlocked the door with the key, yet he remained frozen in the act of unlocking it and did not open the door.

“What’s wrong?” Qin Nan asked, puzzled when he saw Jian Fan standing there motionless.

Jian Fan’s gaze rested on his own hand. More precisely, on the key.

“If we open this door, can we really leave?” Jian Fan asked.

Qin Nan was at a loss. “Once we get through this door, of course we can leave. What, are we supposed to go back?”

“But there are still many mysteries we haven’t solved,” Jian Fan said.

Qin Nan understood Jian Fan’s concern. He smiled and said, “We don’t necessarily have to solve every mystery before we can leave. In an Escape Room, isn’t the point to break out of the room? As for whether we need to fully understand the backstory, that’s not always required. Take Lu Jing earlier, for example. Didn’t he just tear the drawer apart and find the MP3 Player? Besides, it’s possible that after we get through this dormitory building’s door, there’s still another gate for the entire dorm area.”

Qin Nan made sense, but Jian Fan still did not move.

He was thinking.

There was no way things were this simple. The front door was right in front of them, and there was indeed nothing wrong with the key. The lock had already been opened. But Jian Fan still felt that it couldn’t be that easy.

They must have overlooked something very important.

“Perhaps it’s just as Qin Nan said. After we open this door, there may still be a gate to the dormitory area,” Qin Weiyi said as well.

He was more inclined to agree with Qin Nan.

If they wanted to truly leave, this likely wasn’t the final door.

As for Jian Fan…

He suddenly turned the key again and locked the door once more.

“No. Something’s wrong.”