Chapter 38
The Labyrinth Game was located at the very back of the arcade and was also the most crowded area. Before the four of them even reached the entrance, they could see numerous appraising gazes directed their way.
Xu Meng had rarely faced such a situation. For a moment, she was at a loss, and even her walking became stiff.
She was like a little white rabbit that had wandered into a pack of wolves, about to be devoured.
Zhang Xiaochen noticed her nervousness and leaned in to whisper, “It’s okay, we’re here.”
But his words did little to bolster her courage. She just managed to force a smile, as if trying her best not to be a burden.
Amidst the noisy chatter, Jiang Liu casually let out a whistle, her expression exceptionally relaxed. She winked in Yang Caisi’s direction. “What’s there to be afraid of? We have our dear Miss Yang here.”
Yang Caisi was half a step ahead of her, about to cross the threshold. Hearing this, her foot paused in mid-air, and she said flatly, “The game hall has always been about winning through strength.”
Jiang Liu tutted. Seeing that she had already strode inside, she was about to follow when Zhang Xiaochen pulled her back from behind. “How did you convince an NPC to join?”
What was the difference between this and cheating? With an NPC mixed into a player’s team, who would dare to compete with them?
He gave Jiang Liu a thumbs-up, humbly asking for advice.
He had expected some secret trick, but Jiang Liu just glanced at him and threw up her hands. “I asked if she was free and if she could fill a spot.”
Zhang Xiaochen, who had expected a secret trick, was speechless. “…That’s it?”
Jiang Liu shrugged. “What else?”
As she spoke, they had already reached the game entrance. A group of five was already waiting off to the side.
Yang Caisi was clearly very familiar with the game. She pointed to the electronic screen at the entrance and explained, “The maze map is randomly generated for each game. There are ten people divided into two teams. The goal is to collect enough flags and successfully find the exit.”
On the huge screen, they had already been divided into red and blue teams, with the names and ranks of the participants displayed. Jiang Liu quickly scanned it. The opposing team was all B-rank, a very decent level.
As for their side, next to Yang Caisi’s name was—A-rank.
Do NPCs also have a comprehensive rank? Or was she once a player too?
Yang Caisi caught the doubt in Jiang Liu’s eyes and was about to speak when an excited voice interrupted.
“Since Sister Yang is a participant, the team’s average rank is automatically generated.” Although Zhao Ziming had never been here, he had inquired about the general rules and was now eagerly explaining to the others.
The leader of the opposing team was a young man, not very tall, dressed similarly to Zhang Xiaochen. He had a roguish air about him, and a prominent scar on his forehead added a touch of ferocity.
Judging by the scar’s appearance and location, it was likely from a knife, and the wound must have been deep. To have survived such an injury, this Chen Ping had some good luck.
Jiang Liu gave a faint smile and extended a hand towards the other side. “Hello.”
The moment he saw Jiang Liu, a flash of amazement crossed the young man’s eyes. He stared at her, his gaze raking her up and down, like a hooligan who hadn’t seen a beautiful woman in eight hundred years, making Xu Meng frown.
A dark light flickered in Jiang Liu’s eyes. She suddenly felt that the system was full of hidden talents.
On the surface, this person seemed lecherous, but she, who was being openly appraised, could feel that his gaze held no vulgarity. It was a pure appreciation and assessment, with a very well-controlled sense of propriety that wasn’t offensive.
After looking her up and down for a moment, the young man grinned, revealing a gold-capped tooth. His tone was roguish. “My name is Chen Ping. Miss Jiang, I’ve heard so much about you.”
Their hands touched briefly and then parted. Chen Ping nonchalantly shook his tingling palm, his gaze towards Jiang Liu becoming a little more serious.
He had wanted to test Jiang Liu’s temper, but who knew this girl had the strength of a god? A simple handshake had squeezed his hand so hard he almost lost his grip. She was definitely not someone to be trifled with.
The electronic screen above broadcasted the rules, and then the two teams took turns entering.
They were the blue team, so they went second. Just before entering, Zhao Ziming hesitated and pulled Jiang Liu aside.
“That Chen Ping is a regular at the bar. We need to be careful.”
Jiang Liu instinctively frowned and repeated, “Bar?”
Zhao Ziming organized his thoughts and explained as concisely as possible, “There are some illicit dealings there, like providing manpower for surveillance and robbery. I didn’t expect him to be the one betting a Team Kit. It looks like we’re in for a tough fight.”
With that, everyone understood.
It seemed that even if they won, Chen Ping wouldn’t let them leave easily.
Jiang Liu grunted in understanding, then strode into the maze.
Zhao Ziming was about to follow closely when he suddenly felt an intense gaze on his back. The cold sensation was like being in an ice cellar, and he shivered.
He stiffly turned his head and saw Yang Caisi standing with her arms crossed, looking at him coldly.
He swallowed nervously, his tongue a little clumsy. “S-Sister Yang, do you have any instructions?”
Yang Caisi snorted through her nose. “Are you the only one with a mouth?”
Zhao Ziming was completely baffled, his eyes wide with confusion. “Huh?”
But as his voice fell, Yang Caisi didn’t even bother with him and had already quickly slipped inside, leaving him standing there with a head full of question marks.
What did he say wrong this time? Was he not supposed to talk to Jiang Liu???
Zhao Ziming was completely bewildered, but he didn’t have the guts to ask any more questions, so he just followed with a pale face.
***
The maze was in a completely enclosed room. The tall walls on all sides were built into a winding, crooked path. Some places were as wide as two or three meters, while other paths were so narrow that only one person could pass through sideways.
The room was dim, and some miscellaneous rubble could be vaguely seen. The ground was uneven. Jiang Liu calmly took out her phone, and the flashlight’s beam illuminated the ground below, revealing a mess of screws.
“Pah, why is it so dusty?” Zhang Xiaochen got a head full of dust as soon as he entered. He shook his head frantically, his face full of disgust.
Zhao Ziming had heard some things about the maze from Gao Yuan and was about to speak when he suddenly remembered what Yang Caisi had said earlier.
A flash of inspiration struck him. He understood something and tentatively took two steps back, asking with a headache, “Sister Yang is so knowledgeable. Are there any tricks to clearing the maze?”
It was pitch black around him, but he could clearly feel Yang Caisi’s satisfied gaze sweep over him. Then, he heard that emotionless voice ring out in the darkness.
“The maze is divided into three small areas. At the end of each section, you can find a flag. Follow the map on the back of the flag to enter the next stage. After passing through completely, you can find the exit.”
Three flags, the one with the most wins.
Jiang Liu understood. She waved her flashlight around and suddenly stopped, her tone a little strange. “What kind of flag are you talking about?”
Yang Caisi replied without thinking, “Palm-sized, in red, yellow, and blue.”
As soon as her voice fell, the others saw Jiang Liu turn around innocently, waving a large red object in her hand. “Is it like this?”
Yang Caisi’s expression suddenly changed.
Before she could say a word, the area they were in began to shake violently. The stone wall, originally two meters away, came to life and moved rapidly towards them. The layout of the maze changed in an instant, and the space suddenly became crowded.
“What’s going on?” Zhang Xiaochen was hit on the head by a piece of rubble and clutched his head, wailing.
“The mechanism here has been triggered. Let’s go,” Yang Caisi’s voice was tinged with a rare urgency. She quickly darted in front of Jiang Liu and pulled her into a narrow path.
Just as the two of them squeezed in, the one-person-wide gap instantly closed, nearly catching Zhao Ziming’s outstretched hand.
He stared at his hand, his heart pounding with fear, and looked at the closed wall with a grief-stricken expression.
He was clearly the closest! To ignore all the wide-open spaces… he had a reasonable suspicion that Sister Yang just wanted to have some alone time with Jiang Liu!!!
He felt that he had seen through the truth in advance, but he didn’t dare to share it with the others due to the threat. He stomped his foot in frustration, then rushed over to grab Zhang Xiaochen and Xu Meng, quickly running towards the nearest exit.
The maze’s transformation lasted for a full three minutes.
The deeper they ran, the darker it became. Jiang Liu stumbled along, only able to feel a hand holding hers tightly, the only source of warmth in the cold and gloomy maze.
“Why did this happen?” The brief touch allowed her to identify the person beside her as Yang Caisi. Jiang Liu shouted as she ran.
Yang Caisi’s tone was as concise as ever. “The flag controls the mechanism. You were too fast.”
Jiang Liu pouted, her tone a little complaining. “Why didn’t you say so earlier?”
“My fault,” Yang Caisi said, gradually slowing her pace.
Jiang Liu couldn’t tell if it was her imagination, but she felt that she was subtly different from usual, and even the tone of her words carried a hint of suppressed amusement.
A hand reached out in front of her, and a dazzling light instantly shone. Jiang Liu’s eyes were shielded, preventing them from being dazzled by the overly bright light.
Taking a closer look, she saw that Yang Caisi had taken out an outdoor hiking flashlight from somewhere. The light was bright enough to illuminate the entire passage, reflecting off the stone walls and making the whole space as bright as day.
Jiang Liu was speechless.
Even so, there was no need to use top-tier equipment right from the start.
Yang Caisi caught her surprise, and the corners of her lips unconsciously lifted. “I’m afraid of the dark.”
Jiang Liu reluctantly accepted this explanation. While examining her surroundings, she took out her phone and found that she had a signal.
She tried sending a message to Zhao Ziming and quickly received a reply.
“Send them a picture of the map,” Yang Caisi said suddenly.
The bright red flag was small, and a few simple lines on the back indicated a route. Jiang Liu memorized it and pointed to one of the paths. “Shall we go?”
Yang Caisi nodded and took two steps forward to walk beside her.
This feeling was very strange. Jiang Liu had traveled with Chen Si and Xiao Si, who had the same face, but this was the first time she had been alone with Yang Caisi like this. In the overly quiet passage, that indescribable sense of familiarity spread once again.
She looked sideways at the person beside her and suddenly spoke up. “We’ve met before, haven’t we?”
This time, Yang Caisi rarely denied it.
She gave a light “mm,” admitting it very readily.
Jiang Liu was caught off guard by her reaction. The words she had prepared got stuck in her throat, and she didn’t know how to continue. After a moment’s pause, she finally responded, “My being here, does it have something to do with you?”
This time, Yang Caisi fell into a rare silence. She looked at her without a word, and for a moment, it seemed as if countless thoughts flashed through her eyes.