The appearance of Tang Ci surprised Long Sen, who had clearly seen Tang Ci being thrown into the fire by Old Gui. How could Tang Ci be standing here now, perfectly fine?
Peach Blossom Spring's teleportation summons people across the entire map of the current escape room. For example, if the real Liu Qiao is unconscious and someone takes her place, the fake Liu Qiao will also receive a teleportation invitation. This has happened countless times in previous interstellar escape rooms.
Could this Tang Ci also be fake?
Long Sen quickly took a step back, glaring at Tang Ci and saying, "Mr. Tang, weren't you dead?"
Tang Ci said calmly, "Did you see my corpse with your own eyes?"
Upon closer reflection, Long Sen realized he had discovered the bodies of Ninth Brother and Old Mo near the fire; both had been killed by Old Gui with a single stab. However, Tang Ci had been thrown into the fire, and he hadn't seen Tang Ci's body, assuming Tang Ci had been burned to ashes.
However, even the high-temperature furnace at the crematorium takes time to burn a person to ashes, let alone ordinary fire. Even if Tang Ci was burned to death, he should have been left with a charred corpse.
Long Sen's eyes lit up: "You weren't burned to death? You really are Mr. Tang?"
Tang Ci simply took out the contract book and handed it back to Shao Qingge, saying, " CEO Shao can confirm my identity."
After seeing the book, Shao Qingge finally dispelled his doubts— all the cards in Card World could be copied, but only the contract book was unique. As the new team leader, Shao Qingge personally handed the contract book to Tang Ci.
He flipped open the contract book and glanced at it. The signatures of Xiao Lou, Yu Hanjiang, Qu Wanyue, Lu Jiuchuan, and Mo Xuemin had disappeared, but the names of the remaining seven people were still there.
At this moment, there are four people in Peach Blossom Spring, while Ye Qi, wearing an Invisibility Cloak, is hiding to the side.
Did Chu Huaying and Gui Yuanzhang receive the teleportation?
Before Shao Qingge could speak, Tang Ci calmly said, " Is Hua Ying here? Come out."
A woman dressed in black emerged from behind the peach tree—indeed, she was also wearing an Invisibility Cloak.
Ye Qi wanted to come out, but Shao Qingge said via Telepathic Connection: " Ye Qi, don't come out yet. The fewer people who know you're still alive, the better. I can't completely trust these teammates right now, understand?"
Ye Qi had no choice but to continue wearing the Invisibility Cloak and hide to the side, listening intently to everyone's discussion.
Chu Huaying walked up to Tang Ci, raising an eyebrow in surprise: "You're not dead?"
Tang Ci said, "Well, luckily I still have a heat-resistant protective mech; the flames won't burn me to death."
Shao Qingge asked, "You just said that now is not the best time to use [ Time Reversal ]. What do you mean by that?"
Tang Ci explained, "[ Time Reversal ] can turn back time by 5 hours, but it has a limitation—only the person who uses this card can retain the complete memory; other people's memories will be regressed to 5 hours ago."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone, and said in a low voice, "In other words, suppose I use [ Time Reversal ] now to turn back time in the locked room by 5 hours. Then, only I know what will happen next, and all of your memories will go back to 5 hours ago. At that time, if I directly tell you that Old Gui is the mole and Liu Qiao will be used by her sister, would you believe me?"
The group looked at each other and fell silent.
"Whether I trust them or not is the first question I need to face. Besides, what can we change if we turn back time? The Hunter in this secret room is very powerful, and Liu Qiao's most cherished family member is among them." He looked at the pale-faced girl and asked in a low voice, " Liu Qiao, if I told you that your sister is the Hunter and will use you to kill Professor Xiao, would you believe me and kill your sister without hesitation?"
Liu Qiao's eyelashes fluttered, and she gently lowered her head: "...I can't do it."
Before anything happened, how many people would believe that Hunter orchestrated Liu Ying's scheme based solely on Tang Ci's account? Who would believe that Old Gui was a mole within the team? Perhaps people would start to suspect Tang Ci instead.
Shao Qingge frowned and fell into deep thought.
Time Reversal reverses the timeline by 5 hours, but erases everyone else's memories. Only the person who used the card retains their full memory. This person must not only be careful not to let the Hunter discover that they used the Time Reversal card, but also possess exceptional eloquence and logical thinking skills to convince their teammates and gain their trust.
Tang Ci is very difficult to achieve.
Shao Qingge looked up at him: "Mr. Tang, do you have a better idea?"
Tang Ci calmly said, "My one-sided account is unlikely to convince you. But if it were Xiao Lou, he could first establish a Telepathic Connection with Yu Hanjiang, and Yu Hanjiang would unconditionally trust him. Liu Qiao and Ye Qi both admire Professor Xiao, so they would naturally follow his arrangements. In addition, with Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang on the same side, it would be easy to persuade me and Ninth Brother—therefore, Xiao Lou is the best candidate to use the [ Time Reversal ] card."
The group exchanged glances, all agreeing that Tang Ci's words made sense. Tang Ci had joined later, and Shao Qingge and the others were more accustomed to following Xiao Lou's arrangements. Besides, once Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang reached an agreement, it would indeed be easier to persuade their teammates.
Therefore, it is the safest choice for Xiao Lou to use this card, which can only be used once.
But now, Xiao Lou has been eliminated and moved to Nightmare Secret Room.
Shao Qingge frowned and said, " Xiao Lou is in the Nightmare Secret Room. What if she can't get out?"
Tang Ci said, "With Xiao Lou's abilities, I think he can..."
" If you survive in the Nightmare Secret Room, come back here and find us. If... Xiao Lou really can't come back, then the worst-case scenario is that I use [ Time Reversal ] to go back in time to find him and try to gain his trust."
Shao Qingge nodded: "Okay, we'll try our best to stay alive until Xiao Lou comes back. Time Reversal can only go back 5 hours. Two hours have passed since Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang were murdered at the Hospital. We still have 3 hours to investigate and try to leave as much information as possible for the person who ultimately uses the card."
Tang Ci said, "Xiao Liu and Long Sen will stay at Peach Blossom Spring to rest, while Hua Ying, CEO Shao, and I will go out to investigate."
Liu Qiao's expression changed, and she walked up to Tang Ci: "Mr. Tang, my sister..."
Tang Ci said seriously, "It's precisely because of your sister's existence that I can't let you go out. If she impersonates you again, it will be difficult for us to distinguish between you and your sister. Xiao Liu, for your own sake and for everyone's sake, you'd better stay in Peach Blossom Spring."
Liu Qiao silently bit her lip.
Shao Qingge walked over, gently patted her shoulder, and said, "Don't worry, as long as we can leave Card World, you'll definitely have a way to save your sister. After all, you were in the same car accident in reality. On the contrary, if Hunter succeeds, do you really think that Brother Xu from the Eternal Kingdom will be so merciful as to give you [Eternal Life Cards]?"
Liu Qiao gritted her teeth and said, "He's definitely lying to my sister. I can guess that once he succeeds and kills you all, my sister and I will be the first obstacles he wants to eliminate, because we know too many secrets!"
Little Liu is indeed much smarter than Big Liu.
Actually, if she doesn't show up, her sister still has some use and is safer. But once she goes out and Hunter tracks her whereabouts, she and her sister will definitely be killed by the person behind it all.
Liu Qiao quickly realized this and said to everyone, "I'll stay at Peach Blossom Spring... Thank you all."
She bowed deeply to Tang Ci and the other two.
It all started because of her, but her teammates didn't scold her. Liu Qiao felt extremely ashamed and took out her card holder, handing all her cards to CEO Shao: "I'll wait for you to come back."
Long Sen also handed over the card holders: "I'm still sick and can't be of much help, so please take these cards. Be careful, everyone!"
Peach Blossom Spring can last for 3 hours. As long as they don't leave, Long Sen and Liu Qiao will be fine. The card is useless if they keep it in their hands, so they might as well give it to their teammates. CEO Shao can also copy two useful cards.
Shao Qingge unceremoniously accepted the card holders from the two people and led Tang Ci and Chu Huaying out of Peach Blossom Spring.
Ye Qi wanted to follow, but Shao Qingge said in his mind, "Xiao Ye, you stay here and hide in the peach blossom forest. If we encounter danger, I will use Telepathic Connection to notify you to teleport at any time."
Ye Qi nodded seriously: "Okay."
This teleportation point was several kilometers from Oasis Town. After leaving Peach Blossom Spring, the surrounding area was a desolate desert, with not a soul in sight. Shao Qingge confirmed it was safe before leaning close to Tang Ci's ear and whispering, " Since Old Gui is a spy, why didn't he accept the teleportation during the Peach Blossom Spring Teleportation? Did he think he couldn't win against us alone?"
Tang Ci gently shook his head: "No. Because he feels that now is not the most appropriate time."
Chu Huaying paused, then asked, "What do you mean?"
Tang Ci stopped and looked at the two, saying, " Time Reversal is the only way to break the deadlock in Twin Kings' secret room. The person who goes back in time must have all the Hunter's information in order to lead his teammates to victory despite being outnumbered."
Shao Qingge said, " It's impossible to have all the information about Hunter. Hunter is lurking in the shadows, like a ghost in the night. We don't know where Hunter is, but Hunter can replace the natives of Secret Room World at any time, steal their identities, and even become our relatives..."
Chu Huaying frowned and said, "Ninth Brother has been undercover in the Hunter Alliance for so long, but he still couldn't find out the truth or even get close to the core members. How could we possibly find out everything? At most, we can find their hideout."
Tang Ci gazed calmly into the distance: "Actually, it's not impossible to find out Hunter's background."
Shao Qingge and Chu Huaying asked simultaneously, "What method?"
In the desolate night, the biting wind chilled them to the bone, and the three of them shivered simultaneously. Tang Ci took a deep breath, wrapped his tattered coat tighter around himself, clenched his fist gently, and said, word by word, "Become the Hunter."
***
At the same time, in the Nightmare Secret Room.
When Lu Jiuchuan woke up, he was lying on his hands and knees in the desert, crawling like a dog. Next to him was Lao Mo, who was lying on the sand in the same unsightly position. The two of them were like trash thrown into the desert. There was no one around, and as far as the eye could see, there was only endless sand.
Lu Jiuchuan frowned and spat out the sand in his mouth several times before walking over and shaking Lao Mo awake.
Old Mo woke up quickly, looking bewildered, until a pop-up message appeared in the floating window: [Welcome to Nightmare Secret Room ].
Old Mo's eyes widened: " The Nightmare Secret Room?"
As soon as the notification popped up, a piercing wolf howl rang out all around.
Lu Jiuchuan cursed and immediately drew his icy sword, freezing the wolves that were pouncing on the two of them!
Old Mo hid behind Lu Jiuchuan in fear: "These wolves are several times more numerous than the ones Liu Qiao and I encountered before!"
He built a sealed room out of marble and hid inside with Liu Qiao, which saved their lives. Now that the marble is ruined, what should they do?
Old Mo had a quick wit
He quickly pulled out the [ model room ] card!
As the card was thrown, a fully furnished three-bedroom, one-living-room model room with an exterior entirely made of cement appeared before them, enclosing both Lu Jiuchuan and Lao Mo inside. Aside from a few wolves that were close to them and quickly dealt with by Lu Jiuchuan, the rest of the wolves were kept outside.
No matter how sharp a wolf's teeth are, they can't bite through cement; they can only howl in vain outside.
Lu Jiuchuan gave Lao Mo a thumbs up: "You're quite adept at building in the desert."
Old Mo chuckled wryly and scratched his head: "Unfortunately, this card is useless once it's used, and how I'll survive is a big problem. This is also my first time in the Nightmare Secret Room..."
Lu Jiuchuan stopped joking, his face gradually darkening.
This was his second time visiting Nightmare Secret Room.
He narrowly escaped death last time, and was covered in injuries. He wasn't sure if he would survive this time.
Recalling the scene before his death, a cold glint flashed in Lu Jiuchuan's eyes— Old Gui's attack was swift and ruthless, piercing his heart with a single blow when he was completely unprepared. He never imagined that one day he would die at the hands of this senior!
Lu Jiuchuan clenched his fist, veins bulging on the back of his hand, but just then, he found a letter in his palm.
He paused for a moment, then quickly tore open the envelope. It read: " Lu Jiuchuan, you are still too young. You can't become an undercover agent by simply altering documents and infiltrating the Hunter Alliance. Only by becoming a Hunter yourself and gaining the trust of the higher-ups can you uncover the organization's true secrets."
The cursive script, written with a brush, is vigorous and powerful, and ends with a sentence—
" Time Reversal, defying fate, is the only way to break the deadlock in the card room."