Chapter 63

Chapter 63

Qian Xing led the group to the Surveillance Room.

Just as Qian Xing had said, the door to the Surveillance Room was secured with an electronic lock. Without the code, they couldn’t get in.

“Should we search the area?” Qin Weiyi asked, eyeing the electronic lock.

Since there was an electronic lock, there had to be a way to unlock it. Clues might be hidden nearby.

Jian Fan observed their surroundings but didn’t speak immediately. Instead, Qin Nan frowned, sounding a bit hesitant as he said, “This isn’t an escape room. The method to unlock it might not necessarily be hidden in clues around here, right?”

Qin Weiyi paused for a moment before nodding. “That makes sense. Do you have any ideas?”

Qin Weiyi accepted Qin Nan’s point sincerely and asked for his input without any trace of sarcasm, though the way he phrased it could easily have been misinterpreted.

“Following normal logic, the people watching the monitors would definitely know the code for the Surveillance Room. They probably got it from the person who hired them. It likely wasn’t just verbal; maybe there’s a document? Or a file sent to their phones?” Qin Nan tentatively offered his thoughts.

Jian Fan considered this. “That’s likely how the process works. If so, we don’t have a good way to get the code right now.”

“We wait for them to come to work tonight,” Qin Nan said, his confidence instantly returning now that he had Jian Fan’s approval.

They would deal with the night when it came, but they couldn’t afford to waste the present time. Since they had confirmed there was no immediate danger in the area, Jian Fan, Qin Weiyi, and Qi Shuping all intended to take a look for themselves, even though Qian Xing had already scouted the place once.

Besides, while Qin Nan’s point was logical, this was a game world after all. Who was to say the code wasn’t hidden in nearby clues?

If they were searching for clues, there was no need for all eight of them to stay together. After all, everyone had their own way of thinking.

The group split up once more.

Qi Shuping took Xu Tian with her. Qian Xing originally wanted to follow Jian Fan, but a single look from Jian Fan signaled him otherwise. Despite his reluctance, he chose to stay with Qi Shuping and Xu Tian. Qin Weiyi and Lu Jing went together, while Jian Fan naturally teamed up with Qin Nan and Mu Xin.

The three teams parted ways at the Surveillance Room, each heading in a different direction.

As soon as they were away from the other Players, Qin Nan let out a long sigh of relief.

Jian Fan turned to look at him. “Something wrong?”

“Being around those big shots makes me have to watch every single word I say. It was killing me. Take those Stairs earlier-I’m not trying to be a Monday morning quarterback, but I wanted to say it was all just our guesswork and might not be certain. But seeing how confident you all were, I didn’t dare say a word,” Qin Nan admitted, not bothering to hide his feelings in front of Jian Fan.

Mu Xin laughed. “Actually, I felt a bit of that too. Even though I think I’m somewhat clever, it’s nothing compared to geniuses and top-tier players.”

Qin Nan considered himself an ordinary person who might have some street smarts. His life experiences had given him decent emotional intelligence and people skills. His job and personal interests-specifically his love for mystery and deduction games-had given him some basic reasoning abilities. Compared to most people, Qin Nan felt he was quite capable.

Mu Xin was indeed smart, possessing a higher IQ than Qin Nan, but her strengths lay more in her ability to disguise herself, her understanding of human nature, and her deceptive appearance.

After all, Qin Weiyi was a teenage genius, Jian Fan was a high-IQ powerhouse, and Qi Shuping was on an entirely different level-a veteran among veterans who could crush anyone.

In front of people like that, Qin Nan and Mu Xin felt they had to weigh their thoughts over and over again before speaking, fearing they might make fools of themselves.
Jian Fan seemed somewhat shocked, and it took a while before he managed to squeeze out a single sentence: “We’re all just ordinary people.”

Qin Nan and Mu Xin exchanged a look.

“I think we have different definitions of what ‘ordinary people’ means,” Qin Nan said bluntly.

Jian Fan: “…”

Mu Xin let out a small laugh. “I always feel like when I’m with you two, it doesn’t even feel like I’m playing a Death Game sometimes.”

Qin Nan arched an eyebrow, looking much more lively than before. “Well, yeah. Our situation is miserable enough as it is. If we don’t find a little fun for ourselves, how are we supposed to keep going?”

Jian Fan nodded. “That makes sense.”

“Then shall we continue searching for clues while having ‘fun’?” Mu Xin felt that although she hadn’t been Qin Nan’s Partner for long, her personality had become much more cheerful because of him.

The three of them chatted about trivial matters, but they didn’t slack off in their search for clues.

Along the way, they encountered the other two teams again. After a brief greeting, they went their separate ways to continue their search.

Soon, they finished circling the immediate area without finding anything for the time being.

Time quickly reached 4:30.

“What’s next? Should we go meet up with Qin Weiyi and the others, or…?” Once they finished their sweep and came to a stop, Qin Nan turned to Jian Fan to ask for his opinion.

“No need. We don’t have much time,” Jian Fan replied.

Qin Nan thought about it and nodded. “True. Even though it says the Bar opens at seven, the staff will need to arrive early. Plus, with time flowing faster here, we really don’t have much time left when you factor everything in.”

“Where are we going this time?” Qin Nan asked again.

Jian Fan already had an answer in mind. “The Private Rooms.”

Qin Nan didn’t particularly care where their temporary hiding spot was, but when he heard Jian Fan mention the Private Rooms, he had a sudden intuition and asked, “Are you looking for Xia Zeqin?”

“Yes,” Jian Fan admitted without hiding it.

Sometimes Qin Nan really couldn’t figure out what kind of grudge existed between Jian Fan and Xia Zeqin.

“I want to confirm a few things,” Jian Fan said, offering no further explanation.

Qin Nan shrugged. “You’re the boss on these small matters. I have no objections.”

Although Mu Xin was also curious, she wasn’t the type to pry and signaled her agreement as well.

The three of them began heading toward the Private Room area. As they left, they made sure to turn off the lights in every area they passed through. Otherwise, once the Bar staff started their shifts-even if they were just NPCs-they still followed a certain logic. If the lights were suddenly on, anyone would know something was wrong with the Bar.

The trio soon entered the Private Room area.

Since they intended to find Xia Zeqin, they made a point of checking the entire section.

Qin Nan and Mu Xin, who hadn’t initially taken the matter to heart, soon developed grim expressions after completing the circuit.

They hadn’t found a single trace of Xia Zeqin or Lin Junruo in the Private Rooms.

Could they have hidden themselves so well that they didn’t leave a single clue behind?

No, Qin Nan clearly couldn’t accept that.

He looked at Jian Fan. “What are you thinking? Are Xia Zeqin and the girl really in the Private Rooms?” Qin Nan’s logic was still relatively straightforward at this point; two reasonable guesses flashed through his mind.

First, Qian Xing was lying. Second, Xia Zeqin had left the Private Rooms after Qian Xing departed.

Jian Fan’s expression was grave. “Have you looked at the items in the Points Mall?”

Qin Nan was surprised, but he shook his head. He wouldn’t use his Points unless it was absolutely necessary, so he hadn’t really studied the shop at all.

“You can take a look now,” Jian Fan said.