At the same time, outside Qingfeng Town.
As arranged by Xiao Lou, Ye Qi and Shao Qingge stayed outside the town with the card [ Tao Yuanming ]. The two found a secluded corner and activated Peach Blossom Spring in advance, ready to teleport teammates in danger at any time.
Peach Blossom Spring lasts for 3 hours. Two Tao Yuanming cards can be used twice, so that's 6 hours.
Six hours later, it was already dawn. So theoretically, as long as you have the Tao Yuanming card, you can escape at any time, no matter how difficult the situation.
Ye Qi and Shao Qingge stayed in the very safe Peach Blossom Spring, where no one would find them.
Shao Qingge still had a [ Qin Guan ] card. He originally planned to connect with Xiao Lou via Telepathic Connection for easier communication, but when he activated the skill, a notification popped up above his head: " Card skill is blocked, its effect is invalid."
The familiar prompt reminded the two of the scene in level Q.
Ye Qi said nervously, "Oh no! Professor Xiao and the others may have encountered Hunter, who happens to be carrying the [Magnetic Field Shield] card... Could something have happened to them?!"
Shao Qingge patted Xiao Ye on the shoulder and comforted him, "Don't worry, Xiao Lou isn't that easy to kill by Hunter. Even if they do encounter Hunter, they have ways to deal with it. Let's talk about it in 5 minutes."
Ye Qi remembered clearly that the [magnetic shield] was effective for 5 minutes. He paced anxiously back and forth, and finally, after 5 minutes had passed, Ye Qi immediately pressed the protrusion on the earpiece and asked, " Professor Xiao, can you hear me?"
There was no sound.
Shao Qingge sensed something was wrong and pressed the team communicator to ask, "Ninth Brother, please respond if you hear me."
Lu Jiuchuan's team has also lost contact.
There was absolutely no noise in the headphones.
Ye Qi and Shao Qingge exchanged bewildered glances. Xiao Lou had originally assigned them to stay at the town entrance to activate Peach Blossom Spring, intending for them to serve as backup and be ready to teleport teammates at any time. But now, with both Xiao Lou's and Lu Jiuchuan's teams out of contact, they were completely useless! They didn't know if their teammates were in danger, or when they would need to teleport.
Shao Qingge and Ye Qi were essentially isolated within the Peach Blossom Spring.
Ye Qi turned to leave, but Shao Qingge grabbed his wrist and whispered, "Don't go out yet, something's not right outside."
Ye Qi's face turned pale with anxiety: "But we've lost contact with the voice channel, they must be in great danger!"
Shao Qingge looked at the peach tree next to him, stroked his chin, and asked in confusion, "The voice channel is down, which is obviously not due to Card Magnetic Field Shielding. The five-minute magnetic field shielding time has passed. What's going on?"
Ye Qi suddenly thought of something and guessed, "The effective range of the team's voice communication is 10 kilometers. Could it be that they've gone beyond the card's effective range, and beyond 10 kilometers, the voice headset loses its signal?"
Shao Qingge said, "Whether it's a small town or a forest, they're no more than 10 kilometers away from us. Unless..."
Ye Qi asked, "Spatial isolation?"
Shao Qingge nodded: " The Ghost City that Xiao Lou led the team to might not be in the town. After Ninth Brother and the others entered the forest, they might have been teleported to another world. In that case, the 10-kilometer range of the voice headset would be ineffective."
Ye Qi also thought this speculation made sense. He scratched his head and said with distress, "What should we do?"
Shao Qingge thought for a moment and said, "I'll activate the teleportation first. They can accept it or refuse. At least we need to let them know that we're still in Peach Blossom Spring, and also check if Peach Blossom Spring is working properly."
Ye Qi looked at the man's serious expression and felt a mix of emotions. When she first met CEO Shao, this man always followed behind everyone with a smile, saying he wanted to "win without lifting a finger." But ever since Spade 8 was infected by the Zerg and he obtained the Bug King Card, Shao Qingge seemed to have become more cautious and meticulous, and even his jokes seemed to have decreased.
Even without Xiao Lou, he would still try his best to analyze the situation instead of waiting for his teammates to carry him to victory.
Ye Qi joked, "You seem to have changed a lot. It's been a long time since I've heard you say you won by doing nothing."
Shao Qingge looked at him gently, thinking—because, I also have someone I want to protect. The despair of holding you but not daring to speak when the Space Pirate nearly crashed last time, I never want to experience that again.
This world is full of crises. If we don't become strong, how can we take you back?
Shao Qingge took a deep breath, gently rubbed Ye Qi's head, and said with a half-smile, "What's the use of saying I can just lie down and win? You can't carry me to victory right now. Are you going to run away from Peach Blossom Spring and start playing the suona?"
Ye Qi: "..."
He still hasn't changed his sharp tongue; it seems I was just overthinking things.
Shao Qingge put aside his jokes and began the Peach Blossom Spring Teleportation.
At the same time, in the woods.
Lu Jiuchuan, along with Tang Ci, Hua Ying, and Gui Yuanzhang, hid near the hunter's cabin they had encountered during the day.
According to the hunter, three years ago on a rainy night he saw the wedding procession walking towards Mass Grave with zombie-like, expressionless faces, proving that the murderer, who manipulated the victim to go to Mass Grave, would inevitably pass through this path.
They're lying in wait here, hoping to witness the murderer committing the crime.
The four held their breath and waited patiently behind a large tree.
After an unknown amount of time, a bolt of lightning struck the sky.
A deafening clap of thunder sounded overhead, followed by a torrential downpour that soaked the four of them instantly.
Lu Jiuchuan wanted to curse inwardly—what the hell is this weather? It pours rain every night? I almost caught a cold last night after being soaked all night, and I got soaked again tonight. Do I really need an umbrella to go out?!
Just then, Tang Ci suddenly whispered, "Did you hear any strange noises?"
Lu Jiuchuan paused, then pricked up his ears to listen carefully—
One after another, thunderous booms resounded, causing a sharp pain in people's eardrums. However, mixed in with the thunder was a clear sound, which resembled thunder but was not quite thunder. Because the thunder was so loud, it masked the other sounds and was difficult to hear clearly.
The sound only emerged suddenly after the thunder and rain stopped.
Clang, clang...
The sound of the beads striking the drumhead—that's a rattle drum!
In the pitch-black night, the sudden sound of rattle drums immediately alerted everyone. Lu Jiuchuan said in a deep voice, "The killer may be on the move. Invisibility Cloak, prepare!"
The four quickly changed into Invisibility Cloaks.
Just as I finished changing my clothes, I saw a group of people appear in front of me—it was actually the Zhao family's wedding procession!
Three years ago, Zhao Zean, the daughter of the Zhao family, was to be married at the hour of Yin (3-5 AM). The wedding procession left the town, was controlled, and entered this mountain forest, heading straight for Mass Grave, never to return.
And now we've actually encountered a wedding procession again in the woods?
Walking beside the sedan chair, the expressionless, vacant-eyed maid was none other than the maid Xiao Lou had just dissected in Mass Grave earlier that day. Her embroidered shoes were highly recognizable; Lu Jiuchuan had even paid special attention to them back then.
Lu Jiuchuan asked in confusion, "Is it a hallucination of what happened three years ago?"
Tang Ci said, "It's also possible that the flow of time in this world is disordered, and we were transported to a timeline three years in the past?"
Gui Yuanzhang quickly pressed his earpiece and whispered to his teammates, " CEO Shao, Professor Xiao, please respond if you hear me."
There is no sound in the headphones.
Lu Jiuchuan felt a chill run down his spine—if they really were transported back three years, they would definitely lose contact with their teammates; the timelines wouldn't match up, and the team headset would be useless. How could someone possibly talk to someone from three years ago?
Tang Ci's speculation made everyone uneasy. Chu Huaying frowned and said, "Whether we've traveled back three years or seen an illusion, we can only continue investigating for now... Should we follow them?"
Lu Jiuchuan nodded: "Let's go."
Using the Invisibility Cloak, the four quickly followed behind the wedding procession.
The dozens of people dressed in red walked forward in unison like puppets, all with expressionless faces—they were indeed heading in the direction of Mass Grave.
The sound of the rattle drum seemed like a signal guiding them forward.
What puzzled Lu Jiuchuan was that he couldn't see the rattle drum at all, let alone find the person controlling it.
The closer you get to Mass Grave, the clearer the sound becomes.
The sound seemed to rise naturally from the depths of their minds, growing louder and louder until only the clanging of rattle drums filled their brains. The four of them had splitting headaches, felt as if their heads were about to explode, and were almost driven to unconsciousness by the noise.
Fortunately, they had team earpieces in one ear, so they weren't completely brainwashed by the maddening sound. Lu Jiuchuan quickly covered his ears and whispered, "Don't listen! The key to controlling consciousness is this sound!"
Tang Ci had long been so disturbed by the noise that his face turned pale. His head was buzzing, and he could hardly tell where he was. Fortunately, Ninth Brother's stern shout woke him up, and he immediately covered his ears.
The four stopped in their tracks, their faces growing increasingly grim.
Gui Yuanzhang calmly said, "We can't follow any further. The source of the sound should be in Mass Grave. If we get too close, our consciousness will be controlled by the killer, and we'll only face death."
Lu Jiuchuan clenched his fists tightly, his face ashen. He recalled the time earlier that day when he, Xiao Lou, and Yu Hanjiang went to Mass Grave to examine the corpses. Suddenly, the zombies began to attack them. Clearly, it wasn't that the dead in Mass Grave had "reanimated," but rather that the corpses were being controlled by the strange voice and were beginning to act according to its commands.
If they continue down that path, whether they are controlled by the killer or besieged by zombies, they will not have a good ending.
Lu Jiuchuan was truly unwilling to watch the wedding procession walk past him!
Tang Ci advised in a low voice, "Ninth Brother, we need to confirm whether we have traveled to the time three years ago or are simply seeing an illusion. If it is three years ago, we may not be able to change the outcome of history, and these people will definitely die."
Lu Jiuchuan thought about it carefully and agreed that Tang Ci's words made a lot of sense. He nodded and said in a low voice, "Let's retreat first and go back to see if CEO Shao and Ye Qi are at the entrance of the town."
The four retreated quickly.
Soon, they arrived at the wooden house where they had just taken refuge.
Another group of people lined up and headed towards Mass Grave. This should be the Chen Yu family, who disappeared three years ago. Mrs. Chen was still holding her newborn child. Tang Ci and his three companions, wearing invisibility cloaks, hid nearby. Lu Jiuchuan keenly noticed that a window of the wooden house had been opened a crack, and a man with messy hair peeked out before quickly retreating.
Only after the group's figures disappeared into the distance did Lu Jiuchuan ask in confusion, "Wasn't that hunter tied up at the bottom of the cliff during the day? I remember his hair wasn't this long."
Tang Ci was silent for a moment, then said in a low voice, "We may very well have really come back to three years ago."
Although Lu Jiuchuan thought so too, he still wasn't entirely sure. He simply leaped up a tree and entered the wooden house.
Approaching the hunter like the wind, he subdued him in a few swift movements and asked in a deep voice, "What year is it this year?"
The hunter trembled with fear: "Ahhhhh, a ghost! A ghost! No, don't kill me!"
Lu Jiuchuan frowned: "I'm asking you a question! Isn't it the Year of the Sheep now?"
The hunter was taken aback by the question, and stammered, "This year is the Year of the Dragon, uh, the year in the mortal realm and the year in your underworld should be the same, right?" After he finished speaking, he quickly covered his head and begged for mercy: "Don't kill me! I haven't done anything wrong. The grievances have their perpetrators, and the debts have their debtors. Brother, even if you're going to take my life, don't come after me..."
The pressure on my neck suddenly eased, and a gust of wind blew in through the window.
Lu Jiuchuan flew to Tang Ci's side and said with a stern face, "We were there three years ago, and this hunter was also a witness three years ago. He did see the wedding procession walk past us like zombies."
Tang Ci: "…"
His guess turned out to be true, and he didn't know what to say.
Chu Huaying said coldly, " It's not surprising that the Guardians can manipulate time. However, since we were transported back three years, we haven't been able to contact Xiao Lou and the others. Even if we find some clues, it's difficult to summarize and analyze them."
The fact that teammates are scattered across different time periods is perhaps the biggest challenge for K Secret Chamber.
...
After Shao Qingge sent out the Peach Blossom Spring Teleportation invitation, not a single person responded. Half a day later, he and Ye Qi were still staring at each other blankly under the peach tree.
Ye Qi looked puzzled: "How could this be? There's no ' card blocking' message in the pop-up window, so why is the Peach Blossom Spring delivery still failing?"
Shao Qingge didn't understand the reason either. He thought about it carefully— the Peach Blossom Spring had failed twice.
One instance was when they encountered Hunter's [ Card Magnetic Field Shielding ], which rendered all their cards ineffective, including Peach Blossom Spring. Another instance was when they were in the interstellar chamber, Capital Star, where Xiao Lou couldn't pull Liu Qiao across because Liu Qiao, Lao Mo, and Senior Gui were in the Mermaid Royal Palace on Azure Planet, unable to teleport across interstellar distances.
Since it's not a card blocking issue, there's only one explanation—
Xiao Lou and the others are likely in a different time and space. It's similar to the interstellar travel in Q Secret Room, so it can't be pulled together.
Thinking of this, Shao Qingge said, "Maybe it's because Xiao Lou, Ninth Brother, and the others were teleported to another space?"
Ye Qi scratched his head in confusion: "But Professor Xiao and the others were also in Ghost City last night. Ninth Brother placed the Peach Blossom Spring in this location and teleported them all here. There's no reason why they can't teleport to Ghost City tonight?"
Shao Qingge suddenly said, "Could it be that this time, we were teleported to another dimension?"
Ye Qi was stunned: "This..."
Xiao Lou and his group stayed at the inn in town and should head into Ghost City tonight. Ye Qi and Shao Qingge were at the town entrance, just like last night when Lu Jiuchuan used Peach Blossom Spring Teleportation on his teammates. Teleportation is disabled tonight; if Xiao Lou and his group's location hasn't changed, then Shao Qingge and Ye Qi's location must have changed.
The two exchanged a glance and quickly walked out of Peach Blossom Spring.
The words " Qingfeng Town " were still written in large characters at the entrance of the town, but strangely, as soon as the two walked out, they heard the sound of a child crying around them.
The bright moon hung high, and the trees along the roadside were all withered, their branches casting messy shadows on the road. Following the sound of crying, a woman sat by the roadside, eating tree bark as if she were starving. She held a baby in her arms, and the crying was coming from the baby's mouth.
The baby was nothing but skin and bones, and the woman was equally emaciated. When she saw the well-dressed Ye Qi and Shao Qingge, her eyes turned red, like a hungry wolf seeing a wild beast. Suddenly, she crawled over and knelt down in front of Ye Qi with a "plop," pleading, "Young master, please give me some food! I beg you! I haven't eaten a single meal in five days!"
Ye Qi was startled and immediately backed away. Shao Qingge blocked his way, frowning as he looked at the woman kneeling before him, and asked in a low voice, "What happened in town? Why haven't you eaten for so long?"
The woman looked at them suspiciously: "Don't you know there's a famine in town?"
Ye Qi and Shao Qingge exchanged a glance and looked at each other blankly.
In different times and spaces, Peach Blossom Spring fails... famine?
Thinking of a terrifying possibility, Ye Qi asked in a trembling voice, "Is this year the Year of the Pig?"
The woman nodded: "Yes!"
Ye Qi: "......"
The famine twenty years ago.
He and Shao Qingge actually arrived in Qingfeng Town twenty years ago!
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This is where the escape room really gets interesting!
The case is being investigated simultaneously across three timelines. See how CEO Shao and Ninth Brother leave clues for Xiao Lou!