Tang Ci has already tested the Iron Tree Hell's mechanisms with both mechanical ants and drones. Whether the ant crawls along the ground or the drone flies through the air, everyone has witnessed the iron tree immediately release vine-like iron chains that, at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye, lightning-fast, entangle the prey and hang it upside down on the tree.
The Hunter, hanging at the top of the tree, must have been too careless and walked right into the iron tree's sensing range, whereupon he was instantly killed.
Xiao Lou suggested using the Invisibility Cloak because it can conceal form and sound. They had used this card repeatedly in other escape rooms before. When worn, one's appearance becomes transparent like air, and footsteps disappear...
The only thing that doesn't disappear is the tactile sensation.
Even while wearing the Invisibility Cloak, they can still bump into each other, proving that the cloak only obscures sight and hearing, but the physical entity still exists. Stepping on the floor while wearing the cloak will also trigger a pressing mechanism on the floor.
Therefore, invisibility and lightness skills must be used simultaneously.
Xiao Lou looked at Yu Hanjiang and said, "Put on the invisibility cloak, then use the Light as a Swallow Lightness Skill Card to fly over. It'll be like a wisp of air floating past the iron tree, so it shouldn't trigger any sensors."
Tang Ci thought his statement made sense, so he summoned another drone and said, "Let's do an experiment with my drone. Let it wear an invisibility cloak and see if it can get through smoothly."
Invisibility Cloak is a reward card in Heart 3, almost everyone gets one, it lasts for 30 minutes, and two people can share one if necessary. At this time, Tang Ci and Liu Qiao are both in their teammate's pocket. When their teammate puts on the invisibility cloak, they also become invisible.
Tang Ci didn't need his Invisibility Cloak, so he took it out and put it on the drone to experiment with. He controlled the drone, making it fly around the iron tree. Tang Ci could sense the drone's location, but no one else could see anything.
A moment later, the drone that had circled twice returned to his hand. Tang Ci took off the Invisibility Cloak and nodded to Xiao Lou: " Professor Xiao's method is correct. It's a mechanism that senses sight, sound waves, and footsteps in all directions. Only by wearing the Invisibility Cloak and flying over can you avoid triggering the attack of this giant iron tree."
How do I fly there?
Yu Hanjiang has a " Light as a Swallow" album; you can carry Xiao Lou around with you.
Liu Qiao's "Light as a Swallow " can be used by Lao Mo. Anyway, she's in Lao Mo's pocket, so if Lao Mo is safe, she's safe.
Yu Hanjiang looked at his older brother: "Brother, do you have any flying-type cards?"
Lu Jiuchuan nodded and immediately summoned the Vermilion Bird.
Suddenly, a bird engulfed in flames spread its wings in mid-air, its magnificent red feathers covering its entire body, leaving its teammates in awe.
Xiao Lou turned his head to look at it: "This is a mythical beast? It must be very powerful."
Lu Jiuchuan said, "The Vermilion Bird Heavenly Fire can create a large-scale fire that can burn down an entire forest."
Xiao Lou couldn't help but think that with such a powerful fire attack skill, if Brother Jiuchuan had simply set fire to the insects when they entered the insectoid secret room, passing the level would have been too easy... However, the A-grade secret rooms are customized for each team, and Lu Jiuchuan and his team certainly didn't encounter an insectoid infection back then.
The Vermilion Bird's body is over five meters long and over three meters wide.
Fortunately, Iron Tree Hell is a relatively spacious area, which it can fly through. If it had encountered a narrow passage like the blade array earlier, Suzaku might not have been able to get through.
But can Invisibility Cloak protect Suzaku?
Just as Xiao Lou was about to ask, Lu Jiuchuan explained, "Although the Vermilion Bird is large, it has already recognized me as its master, its fate is linked to mine, and its state is also affected by me. When I become invisible, it will become invisible as well."
Yu Hanjiang glanced at his brother's arm: "You're injured, but it's injured too?"
Lu Jiuchuan gently touched the Vermilion Bird's wing and smiled, "Yes, fortunately my wound has been bandaged up, and it can fly now."
Now that everyone has the tools to pass the test, Xiao Lou's method can naturally be implemented.
Yu Hanjiang put his arm around Xiao Lou's waist, and the two of them simultaneously donned the Invisibility Cloak, then flew over using the Light as a Swallow card.
Using Liu Qiao's card, Lao Mo and Lu Jiuchuan rode the Vermilion Bird. In the blink of an eye, the six of them had left the range of the Iron Tree Hell's trap array. Looking back, the Iron Tree behind them was indeed motionless—it couldn't see, hear, or sense anything, so there was nothing it could do.
Xiao Lou breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Let's keep going."
The sight of Hunter's corpse hanging from the iron tree made everyone uneasy. As Xiao Lou walked, he relayed the news to Ye Qi via Telepathic Connection and asked Ye Qi, "Have you found any trace of Hunter over there?"
Ye Qi said, "No. We had a smooth journey, and all we heard here was the melodious sound of Buddhist chants. There were also many images of Bodhisattvas on the walls."
At this moment, Ye Qi and his six companions entered a very strange room.
The room was about the size of a classroom in high school. On the four walls hung four colorful and lifelike murals, one in yellow, one in white, one in red, and one in green.
Although Ye Qi doesn't understand Buddhism, he can tell from the murals that the four walls depict Bodhisattvas.
Sure enough, Gui Yuanzhang said, "These four are the four great Bodhisattvas in Buddhism."
He looked at the first wall and explained to his teammates, "The one wearing an earth-yellow dress and riding an old elephant with yellow teeth is Samantabhadra Bodhisattva. The background of this painting is Mount Emei, the sacred site of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, which symbolizes virtue."
"The one wearing a red kasaya and holding a staff is Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. The background of Mount Jiuhua represents the power of vows."
"The one dressed in white, holding a jade vase, is Guanyin Bodhisattva."
It represents compassion, with Mount Putuo in the background.
"The one dressed in green and riding a blue-faced lion is Manjushri Bodhisattva, symbolizing wisdom, with Mount Wutai in the background."
Wisdom, Compassion, Action, and Vow: the four great bodhisattvas in Buddhism.
Besides the lifelike figures, the mountains and rivers in the background of these four murals are also extremely exquisite and detailed, almost comparable to the paintings in museum collections.
Ye Qi exclaimed in admiration, "This is so well painted! The colors are vibrant, and the details are exquisite. But, is there any significance to the placement of these four Bodhisattvas? And how do you open the mechanism in this room?"
Just as they were wondering what was going on, the mural in front of them suddenly cracked open and turned into countless palm-sized fragments! Then, these fragments quickly scattered, and the murals on the four walls became chaotic and disorderly.
Chu Huaying raised an eyebrow slightly: "It seems to be a jigsaw puzzle. Did everyone remember the four pictures from earlier?"
Teammates: "..."
It's only been a few seconds since I entered the room, how could I possibly remember that!
Everyone's expressions turned somewhat grim. Ye Qi scratched his head and said, "Playing a jigsaw puzzle doesn't necessarily require memorizing the original image. Cough cough, anyway, the pieces are irregular, the edges need to match, and the color blocks on the clothes are relatively easy to find. Shall we... give it a try?"
Gui Yuanzhang thought for a moment and said, "Here's the arrangement: I'll take charge of the Manjushri Bodhisattva puzzle, Hua Ying will take charge of the Samantabhadra Bodhisattva puzzle, CEO Shao and Xiao Ye will take charge of the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva puzzle, and Mr. Long and Ms. Qu will take charge of the remaining Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva puzzle. When assembling the puzzle, start by finding the easier-to-assemble color blocks like the clothes and hair. We'll work on the background mountains and rivers last. Everyone, hurry up!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a message appeared above everyone's heads: [Countdown 30:00].
A 30-minute puzzle covering four walls!
When Ye Qi was a child, he often played jigsaw puzzles, but there was never a time limit, and the original picture was always there for reference. Now, not only is the original picture broken, but there's also a time limit. Everyone got a little nervous when they saw the countdown and quickly went to the wall to start working.
Ye Qi soon discovered that Old Gui had left them with two simpler diagrams.
The murals of Ksitigarbha and Avalokitesvara, the two bodhisattvas, the former wearing red robes and the latter wearing white robes, are easy to find. After piecing together the robes, the outline of the figures becomes clearer. Then, based on the principle of matching the edges of the fragments, find the adjacent pieces next to each fragment. Gradually, they are pieced together in a rough outline.
The jigsaw puzzles that Gui Yuanzhang and Chu Huaying were responsible for were extremely difficult. First, the clothing alone had several colors; second, the murals of Manjushri and Samantabhadra Bodhisattvas also depicted their mounts, not to mention the complex backgrounds...
However, Gui Yuanzhang and Chu Huaying's speed was not slower than the other two groups.
Chu Huaying, in particular, used her slender fingers to quickly pick up the fragments and piece them together. In just 10 minutes, she had already pieced together nearly 50% of the pattern. Ye Qi admired her and also sped up his own pace.
With 10 minutes left in the countdown, Gui Yuanzhang was the first to complete the Manjushri Bodhisattva jigsaw puzzle.
With 8 minutes left in the countdown, Chu Huaying completed the mural of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva.
With only 6 minutes left in the countdown, Shao Ye and Long Qu completed the jigsaw puzzle of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva and Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and Qu Wanyue couldn't help but feel ashamed, saying, "Our duo isn't even as fast as Senior Gui and Sister Ying alone."
Chu Huaying said calmly, "I have a photographic memory; I can remember a picture instantly. Old Gui is naturally more familiar with things like Bodhisattvas, so piecing them together is a piece of cake for him. It's not your fault; as long as you finish within the allotted time, that's fine."
She may seem aloof, but she doesn't speak in a condescending manner.
Qu Wanyue was initially hesitant to get too close to this legendary female assassin, but after hearing what Chu Huaying said, the distance between them lessened slightly. She looked at Gui Yuanzhang and said, "Senior Gui was right after all. The first challenge is the Eighteen Arhats, the second is the Four Great Bodhisattvas, and there should be even higher-level Buddhas appearing later, right?"
Long Sen scratched his head: "Will there be a Buddha?"
Ye Qi said, "No matter how difficult the traps are on our side, at least there is no danger. Professor Xiao just told me that after they passed Iron Tree Hell, the trees were full of corpses, and they even found the body of a Hunter."
Everyone was quite tense because of the timed puzzle, and Ye Qi didn't have time to pass the information to his teammates.
Gui Yuanzhang's expression changed slightly upon hearing this: " Hunter?"
Ye Qi describes Xiao Lou The scene transmitted via Telepathic Connection: "Hmm, the branches and leaves of the iron tree are all sharp knives. A hunter may have entered the Iron Tree Hell and was accidentally killed by the iron tree. His body is still hanging there."
Chu Huaying clenched her left fist and with a "whoosh," pulled the Spider Dagger from the card holder with her right hand, saying, "It seems the Hunter has infiltrated the labyrinth. We need to be careful."
Shao Qingge pondered, "Where did they come from? How come they're walking ahead of Xiao Lou's group?"
Gui Yuanzhang remained silent for a moment before coming to a conclusion: " Six paths of reincarnation... what if the flow of time is different?"
This conclusion left his teammates looking at each other in bewilderment.
Ye Qi shuddered, the goosebumps rising on his back, and said, "A day in heaven is a year on earth, that's what they say in fantasy novels. We're on the path of heaven and earth now, 30 minutes here might not be 30 minutes over there in hell... Is that what you mean, senior?"
Gui Yuanzhang nodded solemnly: " Hunter walked ahead of Xiao Lou and the others, either because he entered through another entrance, or because he was directly teleported to Hell Path through another reincarnation channel. Time in Hell Path should be faster than in other reincarnations. The sentence for the Eighteen Levels of Hell is calculated in tens of thousands of years. Guardian wouldn't let them actually stay there."
Ten thousand years, so time will be compressed.
At the same time, Xiao Lou's stomach suddenly started rumbling.
They had eaten a late-night snack before entering the maze, and it seems like only an hour has passed since they entered the maze. Why are they suddenly so hungry?
Xiao Lou wouldn't hide his hunger from his teammates. He knew that every sensation in the confined space was a piece of information, even something as simple as hunger might represent something else entirely.
Thinking of this, Xiao Lou stopped and asked, "Are you feeling hungry or tired?"
Lu Jiuchuan also stopped, rubbing his stomach: "I'm really hungry. I just had a big meal before entering the secret room. What's going on?"
Old Mo scratched his head: "I also feel very tired. Is it because we kept running forward and passed several checkpoints in a row?"
Xiao Lou thought about it carefully and guessed, "It must be due to the flow of time. We feel like only an hour has passed in Hell Path, but in reality, the flow of time in this passage is very fast. At our current level of hunger, it should have been a day already."
He often forgets to eat when he gets busy at the hospital, and that's why he gets so hungry after not eating all day.
Tang Ci agreed with Xiao Lou's deduction: "The flow of time in the escape room is controlled by the Guardian, but this is the first time I've encountered a situation where the flow of time is different in different areas of the same escape room. It seems that Hell Path is indeed not easy to navigate."
Yu Hanjiang made a quick decision: "Eat something first to replenish your energy."
Otherwise, if they encounter the Hunter next, it would be embarrassing for them to be too hungry to run.
spade 3 Everyone who's been to the Financial Crisis escape room has received the [Supply Pack] card, which can be used once a day to obtain basic food items such as milk, mineral water, instant noodles, and chocolate. Although this is barely enough to satisfy an adult man, it's better than nothing.
The group sat on the ground and quickly ate their supplies.
After Tang Ci and Liu Qiao shrank in size, their appetites also decreased, since their stomachs shrank as well. Lu Jiuchuan looked at Tang Ci, who was about the size of a thumb in his pocket, broke off a small piece of chocolate the size of a sesame seed, stuck it to his fingertip, and brought it to Tang Ci's mouth, smiling, "Is that enough?"
Tang Ci: "..."
Mr. Tang, who was being fed, opened his small mouth expressionlessly and ate the sesame-seed-sized piece of chocolate from Lu Jiuchuan's finger.
Then he was really full, and he even let out a soft burp.
Lu Jiuchuan couldn't help but laugh: "Why don't you shrink like this every day from now on? You're so easy to take care of, hahaha."
Tang Ci: "..."
Ignoring him, she climbed back into her pocket to rest.
Xiao Lou suppressed a laugh and wanted to share half of his instant noodles with Yu Hanjiang, but Yu Hanjiang offered Xiao Lou his milk instead, saying, "You drink it, I'll just have some water."
With limited food, Xiao Lou's physical exertion wasn't actually severe. Yu Hanjiang had used a military knife to cut off his tongue and a Lightness Skill to carry him away. Moreover, Yu Hanjiang was over 185 cm tall and much more robust than him, so his appetite was naturally much larger.
Xiao Lou felt embarrassed to accept food from him under these circumstances, but when he met Yu Hanjiang's gentle gaze, it wouldn't be right to refuse. So Xiao Lou simply put the two bottles of milk back in the card and said, "Keep them for now, in case you get hungry again later, you can have a snack."
Yu Hanjiang did not object.
At this rate of time flow, it would be ridiculous if they survived the Eighteen Levels of Hell and starved to death instead of being killed by hell.
Yu Hanjiang stood up decisively and pulled Xiao Lou along: "Since the flow of time has been compressed, let's hurry up. We're only in the third level of hell."
The teammates had no objections and followed suit.
***