The exit being at the Death Gate is just Xiao Lou's guess, and it cannot be guaranteed to be 100% correct. Xiao Lou looked at his three teammates: "Let's give it a try, there's no better way now."
Yu Hanjiang nodded: "According to your analysis, the maze is under the control of the Diamonds, which is the red team; while the people who are frantically chasing us in the maze belong to the black team. In other words, in the mirror maze, there are forces of both the Big and Little Kings, one side wants us dead, while the other side has left us a way out."
Xiao Lou said: "Since we're still in the Nightmare Chamber after coming out of the Life Gate, maybe we can really leave through the Death Gate."
Lu Jiuchuan said decisively: "Let's do it this way!"
Xiao Lou handed the [Long Jump Champion] card that Qu Wanyue had given him to Yu Hanjiang, saying: "Teacher Qu's card can jump 8 meters at a time. You take me with you, it'll be faster that way."
Yu Hanjiang took the card, put his arm around Xiao Lou's waist, and Xiao Lou felt his body suddenly lift into the air. He looked down and saw that Yu Hanjiang's legs had already stretched out several meters.
Using the North Star as a guide, Xiao Lou leaped swiftly across the sand with Yu Hanjiang.
At a speed of 8 meters per jump, while not as fast as Ye Qi's 50-meter teleportation, their extended legs allowed them to traverse uneven dunes, making it much faster than walking. Braving
the onslaught of sandstorms, the four walked for an unknown amount of time in the vast desert until a familiar building suddenly came into view—the very maze Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang had entered when they first entered the Nightmare Chamber.
Now, the entire maze was buried under a sandstorm, with only the roof visible.
The four exchanged glances. Lu Jiuchuan frowned and said, "The entrance is buried in sand. How do we get in?"
Yu Hanjiang whispered, "Dig."
As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Jiuchuan deftly rolled up his sleeves, and Yu Hanjiang followed.
The two brothers began digging with their bare hands, but the surrounding sand was too thick and shifting. Every time they dug out a section, sand would flow in from all directions to fill the gap.
Xiao Lou thought carefully for a moment, then suddenly took out Old Mo's solid wood flooring clip and conjured a large piece of wood: "The sand is too fluid. After we dig it out, the surrounding sand will automatically fill the gap. Use Old Mo's planks to block the sand on both sides and dig a passage first."
Yu Hanjiang took the planks and forcefully inserted the two planks into the sand. Xiao Lou and Chu Huaying were responsible for securing the planks, while Yu Hanjiang and Lu Jiuchuan dug out all the sand between the planks and threw it far away.
The four of them worked together tacitly, and after a while, they finally dug a passage.
At the end of the passage, a familiar door appeared.
Xiao Lou was overjoyed: "This is the door."
Lu Jiuchuan patted his clothes, shook off the sand, and turned around to ask: "Go in?"
Yu Hanjiang whispered: "Be careful, the maze is very dangerous."
Xiao Lou also said: "We may encounter a large number of relatives again. Those relatives are not just illusions; they will really kill us." Lu Jiuchuan
raised an eyebrow: "There's no other way, we have to take the risk."
After saying that, he pushed open the door forcefully.
He walked at the front, Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou walked in the middle, and Chu Huaying brought up the rear.
As soon as the four entered, they saw a long, narrow corridor lined with mirrors on both sides. In the mirror facing Lu Jiuchuan, there was a striking image of his imposing father, a lieutenant general in the army.
Although Lu Jiuchuan was mentally prepared, he was still startled when he met his father's eyes.
After all, he was naughty as a child and was beaten by his father from childhood to adulthood, so he has a psychological trauma related to this face!
One after another, Lu Jiuchuan's fathers emerged from the mirror, all raising their guns, the muzzles pointed directly at Lu Jiuchuan's forehead! Also emerging were Yu Hanjiang's father, wielding a police baton; Xiao Lou's father, holding a ruler used for beating students; and Chu Huaying's father, wearing exaggerated boxing gloves.
The four people: "..."
Lu Jiuchuan cursed "Damn it!" The next moment, as if by reflex, he lunged forward and rolled to the ground, hearing a series of gunshots ringing in his ears!
Yu Hanjiang reacted quickly; the moment he saw these images appear, he immediately grabbed Xiao Lou and rolled several times on the ground, narrowly avoiding the bullets aimed at them!
Upon seeing her father, Chu Huaying froze for a split second. Suddenly, her father's boxing-gloved fist came flying toward her—a strike so fast and vicious it threatened to beat her face to a pulp. Reacting quickly, she ducked to the side, nimbly slipping under his lead arm. In one fluid motion, she lashed out with her right leg, taking him down with a clean, sweeping kick.
Lu Jiuchuan lay on the ground, still shaken.
He finally understood why this nightmare escape room was so difficult.
The more people enter the maze, the more loved ones they think of, and the more people will attack them!
Fortunately, Liu Qiao had the initiative to leave Uncle Mo and Qu Wanyue in the model room; otherwise, given Liu Qiao, Uncle Mo, and Qu Wanyue's skills, they would have been doomed if they had encountered Lu Jiuchuan's military father and Yu Hanjiang's detective father. Lu Jiuchuan and Yu Hanjiang simply didn't have the resources to care for so many teammates!
At this moment, apart from Xiao Lou, the other three members of the four-person team were the strongest fighters in the group. They could protect themselves while also protecting Xiao Lou; the three of them were like Xiao Lou's bodyguards, and they had to get him back to the Twin Kings' Chamber as quickly as possible.
Realizing this, Chu Huaying immediately said, "Brother Jiu, lead the way! I'll cover the rear! Captain Yu, protect Professor Xiao!"
The sudden attack had made all four of them tremble. The mirror could at any moment reveal expressionless relatives attacking them relentlessly—it was impossible to defend against.
They didn't have much time to figure out who was attacking them; they could only run forward desperately.
Xiao Lou's stamina was almost depleted. He had already used his speed-enhancing shoes, so he simply took out the [Dance King] card that Qu Wanyue had given him. This card could make a person's body extremely flexible, even bending at will, making the body as supple as if it had no bones.
The maze was dark, and the people in the mirrors were hidden in the shadows, making them easy targets for ambush. Xiao Lou shouted as he ran, "Quick, get out the lighting cards, or we'll be easily ambushed!"
No sooner had he spoken than Lu Jiuchuan, the leader, produced a palace lantern, illuminating the entire corridor.
More people appeared in the corridor.
This time, it was the mothers of the four. Lu Jiuchuan and Yu Hanjiang's mothers were both formidable, dressed in military uniforms and carrying guns. Chu Huaying and Xiao Lou's mothers were not to be outdone, displaying ruthless expressions!
Xiao Lou took a deep breath and unhesitatingly threw out the [Poison Queen] given to him by Liu Qiao.
A woman with long curly hair and wearing a black lace dress appeared beside him. She asked the mirror in her hand, "Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?" The mirror replied, "Snow White."
The Poison Queen's expression changed drastically. In a fit of rage, she threw the Magic Mirror. Everyone within its range, seeing their reflection in the mirror, immediately ceased their attacks.
Xiao Lou hurriedly shouted, "Run!"
The Poison Queen's area-of-effect control was limited in time. Taking advantage of the Magic Mirror's continued effectiveness, the four of them sprinted to the end of the corridor. After turning a corner, looking at the identical corridor ahead and the dense array of mirrors, Lu Jiuchuan couldn't help but curse, "Damn it, how many mirrors are there in this maze?"
Xiao Lou said, "After two more corridors, there's an open mirror in the southwest!"
Lu Jiuchuan followed Xiao Lou's instructions and continued forward. To save time, Xiao Lou simply took out all the cards from his card pack. As long as they returned to the Twin Kings' Chamber, he could turn back time; otherwise, all four of them would die in this maze!
A large number of relatives and friends appeared in the corridor. Xiao Lou then summoned Lu Yu, asking him to bring them tea.
After passing another corridor, he summoned Li Bai, asking him to pour them wine.
The constant stream of summoned characters greatly slowed down the onslaught of phantoms in the corridor. After turning three corners, Lu Jiuchuan indeed found the open mirror Xiao Lou had mentioned.
Of the nine mirrors in the corridor, the one in the very center was open. Lu Jiuchuan asked, "Is it over there?"
Xiao Lou nodded, "That's right."
Lu Jiuchuan was the first to slip through the mirror door, followed closely by the other three.
Before them lay another maze exactly like the one before. At this moment, Xiao Lou had used up all his control cards, and Yu Hanjiang, Lu Jiuchuan, and Chu Huaying also had no group control cards left.
Xiao Lou whispered, "I'm out of cards, everyone be careful."
Lu Jiuchuan's expression immediately turned serious.
Fortunately, the people in this maze were mainly Xiao Lou's family members:
his parents, grandparents, younger siblings, colleagues, and students.
His relatives were all teachers or civil servants, so they shouldn't have possessed lethal weapons. However, to Xiao Lou's surprise, upon returning to the maze, his relatives' strength increased. His "father's" ruler had transformed into a sharp longsword; his "mother's" knitting needles had become swords capable of piercing a person's body! His cousin, Xiao Xinyue,
held a deck of cards, each as thin as a cicada's wing, which, when thrown, became the most terrifying hidden weapons, capable of instantly severing a person's throat.
The moment Xiao Xinyue threw the silver playing cards, Yu Hanjiang's pupils constricted sharply. He quickly pulled Xiao Lou back, while Lu Jiuchuan, his face grim, drew his Frost Sword, twirling it in front of him to sweep away all the hidden weapons Xiao Xinyue had thrown.
Xiao Lou's face was grim: "The maze's difficulty has increased."
Yu Hanjiang replied, "As expected."
Perhaps because four people had entered this time, not only had the number of attackers increased several times over, but their strength had also significantly improved. Xiao Lou remembered clearly that when he was alone in the maze at the beginning, his parents and relatives didn't have so many weapons. It seemed that Xiao Wang had gone to great lengths to prevent them from returning.
Lu Jiuchuan said, "I'll deal with the girl who threw the hidden weapons. Hanjiang, Xiao Lou's parents are yours!"
Yu Hanjiang glanced at Xiao Lou.
Xiao Lou calmly said, "Don't hold back, they're not real people."
Yu Hanjiang nodded, decisively drew his Night Demon Saber, and charged out alongside Ninth Brother!
Chu Huaying quickly came to Xiao Lou's side to provide cover. Lu Jiuchuan and Yu Hanjiang, one wielding a sword and the other a saber, quickly took down most of Xiao Lou's relatives along the corridor.
Yu Hanjiang said, "Follow me!"
Xiao Lou and Chu Huaying immediately followed.
Although the people in the mirror were carrying various seemingly fierce weapons, their combat skills were clearly inferior to those of professionally trained soldiers and police officers like Lu Jiuchuan and Yu Hanjiang.
Lu Jiuchuan and Yu Hanjiang led the way, and the four of them rushed forward. After turning three corners, Xiao Lou stopped and said, "The mirror in the middle of the corridor should be the dead door in the southwest."
Lu Jiuchuan decisively went over and pushed the mirror open.
The four of them bent down and entered the mirror door.
However, Xiao Lou was surprised to find that after exiting the mirror door, they did not return to the Twin Kings' Chamber. Instead, they were in the same corridor as before, as if they had been going around in circles all day.
Lu Jiuchuan was stunned: "Did we guess wrong?!"
Chu Huaying looked at the person in the mirror and said coldly: "These are all my family members."
Xiao Lou thought carefully and suddenly said: "I understand, the number of mazes will change acc
ording to the number of people. At first, there were only Hanjiang and me here, so there were two connected mazes. This time there are four of us, so there are four mazes!"
Lu Jiuchuan frowned: "That means we just finished two, and now we have to go through two more mazes?"
Yu Hanjiang took a deep breath and said decisively: "Let's go."
Now, they were in a bind, and there was no turning back.
******