Players, Please Board the Train

Xu Huo and Gu Yu also mentioned the blueprint matter. Wu Qiuyi quickly pressed, ”Does it have the gate switch on it?”

”Haven’t found it yet.” Xu Huo unfolded the blueprint he brought out. ”I previously checked the area where the Mutants hide—no electrical switches or similar mechanisms were found nearby.”

”The Mutants’ containment and release is automated. The electrical switches are probably underground. However, the east and west gates are essential for daily entry and exit from the town, so the opening mechanism should be somewhere within the town itself.”

”Could it also be underground?” Shen Xin hesitated before saying, ”Should we go underground to search?”

”Underground definitely has passageways for the Mutants to move through, but what we’d face down there wouldn’t be as simple as just one Mutant.” Lin Pei was the first to oppose. ”Besides, although we’ve found three Mutants so far, none of them feel like the one from the east gate.”

”After containing these three Mutants, we still need to try luring it out before we can investigate around the main gate.”

They had been searching for the gate switch all along—not just them, but also the players who died earlier had been looking.

After failing to find it for so long, they gradually began to suspect this switch might differ from conventional switches they knew. But now another possibility emerged: that the switch was underground.

If it truly was underground, this completely contradicted their preset approach. Blocking the Mutants underground would also block their own way out.

”I don’t think the switch is underground,” Gu Yu said. ”I believe Xu Huo is right—that would make entering and exiting the town extremely inconvenient. Even if coming here is like being imprisoned, there must be provisions for food and clothing, plus all those shops here.””If we still can’t find the opening mechanism in the town, we’ll have to go underground eventually,” Lin Pei sighed.

”There’s a clumsy approach,” Ke Liang spoke up. ”We find and kill the Mutants one by one, then go down through the Pit Cage.”

The group gathered around the blueprint, searching for circuits that might connect to the main gate. However, finding the corresponding line among these thousands of lines was as difficult as climbing to heaven, especially since there were no clear markings.

”No good, no good, my eyes are going blind,” Gu Yu retreated after searching for a while. ”What kind of crappy blueprint is this? The person who drew it must have mental problems—how can anyone tell these apart?”

Xu Huo noticed Wang Chaoqing peeking around nearby. ”Did you notice something?”

Wang Chaoqing’s cheerful delight was impossible to hide. He cleared his throat and said, ”Actually, these lines do have differences.”

”What differences?” Gu Yu glanced at him. ”You’d better not waste everyone’s time.”

Wang Chaoqing shrunk his neck back and quickly said, ”Different pens were used. At first glance they all look like pencil, but the color depth and hardness vary—like 2B pencil versus HB pencil. But there are several types of pens in this drawing, not the common ones we use.”

”How can you tell?” Wu Qiuyi looked at him doubtfully. To her eyes at least, the lines on the blueprint showed no difference—even the thickness was roughly the same.

Wang Chaoqing’s delighted excitement was impossible to hide. He cleared his throat and said, ”Actually, these lines do have differences.”

”We believe you!” Lin Pei and Shen Yi each pressed down on one of his shoulders, pushing him toward the blueprint. The latter said, ”Quick, look where the main switch is!”

”Don’t know,” Wang Chaoqing said bluntly. ”I can only recognize pens, I can’t read circuit diagrams.”

”Useless,” Gu Yu looked at him like garbage, clearly still angry.

Wang Chaoqing had repeatedly harassed Gu Yu with some ulterior motives, and afraid of getting beaten, he could only keep apologizing.

”Then look at which pen type has the most and least lines, and point them out,” Xu Huo said.

Wang Chaoqing carefully examined for a while, then hesitantly said, ”There aren’t any particularly many or few. Except the perimeter wall used a separate pen type, the interior is divided into roughly equal fan-shaped sections.”

Xu Huo separated the circuit diagram based on the approximate positions Wang Chaoqing indicated. With his ”Informer’s Perspective” trait, his eyes could discern microscopic differences. Once Wang Chaoqing mentioned it, he gradually began to see some distinctions too.

”The perimeter wall circuitry appears to be separate,” Lin Pei pondered. ”We still need to search near the wall area.”

Gu Yu now brought out her notes. ”Let’s handle things one by one. First, block the Pit Cage.”

”But what item should we use?” Lin Pei asked.

”I don’t have any blade-type items,” Gu Yu pointed her chin toward Wu Qiuyi and the others. ”How about you?”

”Neither do I,” Wu Qiuyi said.

Lin Pei and Ke Liang similarly shook their heads. The latter said, ”I have a few items, but they’re not useful for this.”

He simply took out his items: an open mini parachute, a nunchuck, and a folding fruit knife.

”But what item should we use?” Lin Pei asked.

The group turned back to look at Xu Huo.

”You have a suitable item? What is it?” Lin Pei asked.

The atmosphere grew somewhat awkward. Ke Liang smoothed things over: ”We all want to leave this town. Let’s not dwell on it too much right now.”

”Anyway, we’ll try one by one. If Xu Huo’s item doesn’t work, we’ll think of another approach.”

Lin Pei tactfully changed the subject. Next, the group gathered to discuss the most likely locations for safe puzzles, then split into groups to return to Master Nise’s residence.

”You have a suitable item? What is it?” Lin Pei asked.

Once the six were in position, soon a clock from a toy store rang out. The doll holding the clock moved its mouth up and down: ”Six o’clock, six o’clock! Pleasant dinner time has arrived. Let’s solve puzzles while enjoying dinner!”

”Today’s question is: What was Master Nise’s favorite food?”

Wu Qiuyi took a deep breath and walked over, staring at the nearby Decibel Meter as she spoke: ”I want to answer the puzzle, but I have a question.”

Wu Qiuyi nodded toward Lin Pei. Lin Pei then signaled to Shen Xin in the shop across the street. Shen Xin gave an ”okay” gesture to Shen Yi standing on the adjacent rooftop. Shen Yi turned and waved both arms toward Master Nise’s residence.

”All set,” Gu Yu entered the room through the window.

Xu Huo held a crimson sword. The light released from the ruby on its hilt illuminated the entire room. With several crisp zheng zheng zheng sounds, six sword beams—two vertical and four horizontal—swiftly flashed across. Three perfectly square sections were cleanly cut from the interior walls.