Shao Qingge found himself in a strange space with no one around. He took out his card holder from his pocket and tried to connect to Ye Qi using " Telepathic Connection, " but Ye Qi did not respond.
He frowned and carefully observed his surroundings.
The ceiling above his head was pure white, with a soft spotlight every two meters; the floor beneath his feet was black marble, so clean it was like a mirror, reflecting his image.
The walls on the left and right sides were covered with playing cards, each card the same size as real playing cards, with a common blue background and pattern, all face down.
At the end of the corridor was a white wall, blocking the way.
Shao Qingge quickly realized that this was likely a "poker maze".
Just then, a notification suddenly popped up in the floating window in front of me—
Welcome to the third leg of the relay mission: the Poker Maze.
[Please find the correct exit within the time limit of 1 hour, otherwise the relay mission will be considered a failure.]
The third link in the relay mission? Since it's the third link, there must be a "first link" and a "second link" before it. He can't contact Ye Qi, which means Ye Qi is not in the same world as him. Maybe Xiao Ye was assigned to the first or second link and has already completed the mission.
The key to a relay race is that if any link goes wrong, the whole thing will be lost.
In this vast maze, I have no idea how many teammates I have.
As Shao Qingge was deep in thought, four playing cards on the surrounding wall suddenly flipped over and emitted a soft glow—they were the King of Hearts, the Spade King, the Diamond King, and the Plum Blossom King.
He paused, staring thoughtfully at the four cards.
Could it be a government agency?
Seemingly to answer his question, a supplementary explanation quickly popped up in the floating window: "In the Poker Maze, you need to collect a total of 54 playing cards within one hour. Only one card can be collected from each corridor. Each card taken will open a corresponding maze passage. Different suits may result in different rewards or penalties, so please choose carefully."
Shao Qingge carefully reviewed the hints—meaning the door at the end of the corridor was currently closed, and the path should have four branches. He could open a corresponding branch by taking any one of the following cards from the wall: Spade King, King of Hearts, Diamond King, or Plum Blossom King. After reaching the next branch, he could take another card and continue exploring…
Since you can only take one card at a time, it means you can only open one branch of the road at a time.
The mazes I'd encountered before all had clear paths. But this one was like a fog, with all the paths requiring you to collect cards to unlock them. Four suits corresponded to four paths, and if you made a mistake, you had to start over. The difficulty was on a completely different level compared to the mazes I'd played before!
A countdown had appeared in the floating window. Shao Qingge took a deep breath, quickly stepped forward, and picked up the diamond k.
He didn't dare take spade or plum blossom, fearing that opening them would lead to a survival crisis.
Since it's a maze, it's more reliable to get the diamonds first. As his slender fingers removed the [ diamond k ] from the card wall, the door at the end of the corridor opened, revealing a passage.
Shao Qingge entered the passage without hesitation.
The passage looked no different from the previous one, except that the cards that lit up on the wall had changed to Diamond 7, Diamond 8, Diamond 9, and Diamonds 10. Shao Qingge was worried that the card's points might be related to the difficulty, so he chose the lowest point, [ Diamond 7 ], first.
Sure enough, another door opened at the end of the road, and Shao Qingge continued walking forward.
The moment he stepped through the door, his foot suddenly gave way beneath his feet, and he plummeted downwards at breakneck speed!
The feeling of weightlessness during freefall made Shao Qingge's heart tighten suddenly.
The vertical passage was like a dark elevator shaft, making it impossible to see what was beneath his feet. What if it was a rain of arrows and a barrage of blades? He would be doomed! Even if there were no traps beneath his feet, falling from this height would be enough to turn him into a bloody pulp!
In just a few seconds, Shao Qingge's mind raced. He didn't have a Lightness Skill Card, and his Teleportation Card could only teleport horizontally. Other cards like Throwing a Fortune, Rich and Willful, Stock Curve, and ATM were completely useless in this situation.
Shao Qingge activated the Insect King Transformation without hesitation!
Otherwise, it would be too unjust for him to fall to his death.
In the darkness, the man's eyes suddenly turned blood red, and the change in his body made him feel at ease. Shao Qingge swiftly reached out, his sharp nails hammering into the wall like nails.
To his surprise, his fingernails broke off completely the moment they touched the wall!
The Insect King's claws could easily pierce steel, and this wall, made of some unknown material—hard and smooth—offered no support for his limbs. Was this a message telling him that the walls of the Poker Maze were indestructible?
Shao Qingge withdrew his hand, and the broken fingernail regenerated at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The fall continued, and since he wouldn't die from the fall anyway, Shao Qingge calmly began to observe his surroundings.
The Zerg's night vision is enhanced, and he discovered this vertical, dark passage resembling a "cave," surrounded by many doors. Due to the rapid descent, he couldn't count the exact number of doors, but he could deduce that this poker maze was a very large, three-dimensional maze, like...
A tower made of stacked playing cards.
Just as he realized this, his feet touched the cold floor tiles, and Shao Qingge landed steadily on the ground.
Fortunately, he transformed into the Insect King in time; otherwise, falling from such a height would have surely turned him into a bloody pulp.
After landing, Shao Qingge saw a door slowly opening in front of him. He took a deep breath and stepped inside.
The blinding light made Shao Qingge squint slightly. He took a few steps forward and, sure enough, saw a card corridor exactly the same as before. Just then, he heard the sound of something landing behind him, along with very light footsteps. Shao Qingge immediately turned around and met a pair of familiar eyes.
It's Old Gui.
Senior Gui, dressed in a Tang suit, looked very energetic despite his gray hair. Upon noticing Shao Qingge, he paused for a moment, then quickly calmed down and asked, " CEO Shao, which stock has been performing well lately?"
This is the secret code that everyone agreed upon before entering the secret room.
Shao Qingge said with a smile, "180376521, this stock is worth keeping an eye on. Senior, do you like tea? I have some excellent Zhuyeqing tea at home, I'll go have a cup later."
Gui Yuanzhang said, "I prefer West Lake Longjing tea."
Shao Qingge: "..."
This clandestine-style method of exchanging signals sounded a bit awkward. However, being cautious never hurts; at least he could be certain that the Old Gui in front of him was indeed himself.
Shao Qingge stepped forward and said, "Senior, are you also in the third stage of the relay mission? We've been assigned to the same group."
Gui Yuanzhang nodded: "Yes, that's what the hint says. The others are likely in the first or second ring, but we've been assigned to the third ring. I wonder if there are any other teammates?"
Shao Qingge sighed, "This maze was really difficult. If only Lao Mo or Professor Xiao were here."
Gui Yuanzhang wasn't very good at mazes either. He took out a playing card and said, "I took the Diamond 7 and it suddenly fell down."
Shao Qingge said, "I also fell here after I got the Diamond 7. "
Gui Yuanzhang frowned and thought for a moment, then said, "So, each card represents a passage. This maze has a total of 54 passages, and each passage will randomly have collectible playing cards. If you get the corresponding card, you can go to the corresponding passage?" He paused, then turned to look at Shao Qingge: "The mission requires us to collect all 54 playing cards. Should we split up or go together?"
Collecting separately would be more efficient, but there's a problem: if you get separated, it will be much more difficult to reunite in such a large, three-dimensional maze. Besides, there's also the possibility of encountering various potential dangers.
Shao Qingge said, "Let's act together, so we can help each other if we encounter danger."
Old Gui glanced at the countdown display [59:12]. There were still 59 minutes left. If they collected one card per minute on average, they could collect 54 cards. He just didn't know where the correct exit was. He said, "Okay, let's hurry up."
The two walked into a passageway whose walls were covered with playing cards.
The cards revealed in this passage are Plum Blossom 3, Diamond 3, Spade 3, and Heart 3.
Shao Qingge wondered—why are some channels the same suit but different numbers of points, while others are the same number of points but different suits? What is the difference between the two?
He looked at Old Gui and said, "Keep taking the diamonds?"
Old Gui agreed: "Yes, collect playing cards of the same suit first, it'll be easier to remember them that way."
Currently, Shao Qingge has a Diamond King and a Diamond 7. Old Gui started with a Diamond 7. Since the task requires collecting 54 cards, duplicates are not allowed, so the card Old Gui took will not be counted in the collection count.
Shao Qingge stepped forward and took the Diamond 3 from the wall.
Sure enough, another door appeared at the end of the corridor. Shao Qingge walked over and found a set of stairs that curved to the left and went up.
The steps are very long, seemingly endless, and I have no idea how high they are.
As Shao Qingge walked, he analyzed, "I initially took the King of Diamonds, but when I got the 7 of Diamonds, I suddenly fell. When I got the 3 of Diamonds, I had to go up. It seems that the number of the playing cards does not represent the height of the passage?"
Shao Qingge nodded: "If this maze were a tall building, and getting Diamond 2 would drop you to the second floor, and Diamond 3 would be on the third floor, that would be too easy. The playing cards are definitely randomly scattered across different floors, but unfortunately we can't see any pattern yet."
The two weren't in a hurry. After all, there were 54 playing cards, and they had only taken 3, so it was normal that they couldn't see the pattern.
The spiral staircase was very long, so to save time, Gui Yuanzhang simply took out his calligraphy brush and said, "Climbing like this is too slow, let's just fly." He used the brush to create a whirlwind beneath his feet, and then, as if riding a magic broom, he floated in the air, taking Shao Qingge with him as they flew upwards.
About half a minute later, the spiral staircase finally came to an end, and a door appeared in front of it.
The two entered the passage and saw four more cards: diamond 2, diamond 6, diamond 4, and diamond 8.
Currently, Shao Qingge has K, 7, and 3 in hand. He also got [ diamond 2 ] and continued forward. A spiral staircase reappeared at the entrance, but this time it went to the right, and there were significantly fewer steps than before. It took him less than 5 seconds to reach the next passage.
The next path contains the numbers: diamond 8, spade 8, plum blossom 8, and red heart 8.
Shao Qingge got [ diamond 8 ]. After a passage appeared at the door, the two continued forward, but suddenly their feet slipped and they both plummeted downwards!
Shao Qingge's head was throbbing: "This up-and-down motion..."
"What on earth is going on?!"
Old Gui has a calligraphy brush, and Shao Qingge transforms into the Insect King, neither of them fearing to fall to their deaths. However, with one moment climbing long staircases and the next suddenly plummeting down, the two have only collected 5 cards so far, and they are already completely bewildered by this maze.
Gui Yuanzhang said with a stern face, "We need to draw a map."
Shao Qingge said seriously, "My sense of direction isn't very good. I don't quite remember the winding path we took earlier. I only know that after taking Diamond 7 and Diamond 8, I suddenly fell down after taking a wrong step."
Gui Yuanzhang: "...Me too."
The two looked at each other in bewilderment.
If they can't even figure out a two-dimensional maze, putting them in a three-dimensional maze is just ridiculous.
Shao Qingge pressed his temples, his head aching, and said, "Let's go in and take a look."
The two pushed open the door and walked into the poker corridor of Diamond 8. As soon as they entered, they saw a person sitting on the ground, holding a piece of white cloth the size of a handkerchief in his left hand, writing and drawing on it with his right index finger. He looked serious and was obviously deep in thought.
Shao Qingge smiled and said, "Old Mo, you're here too!"
When Lao Mo first heard CEO Shao call his name, his tone revealed a strong...surprise?