I actually sought out He Xin because she's quite intelligent, and I don't really have any plans right now. However, it's so dark here that I doubt He Xin would have any problems continuing her work secretly.
I intended to pick up my flashlight, but discovered it was out of power when I tried to use it. He Xin's was dead too. It seems we'll have to proceed in the dark. I shielded He Xin and carefully felt around. Although I couldn't see the surroundings, we could still move forward by touch.
It felt like walking blind. I decided to close my eyes and use my hearing to perceive the surroundings while navigating with my "mind's eye." It's said that blind people have excellent hearing and touch, and this is probably why.
However, He Xin clearly couldn't keep up with my pace. She bumped into walls several times accidentally, but at least she was safe because she was following me.
During this, she pressed her wristband several times. Just then, a blade suddenly swung out from a section of the wall. I yanked her away fiercely, thinking He Xin was doomed. To my surprise, the blade merely cut through the wristband on her arm!
At the same moment, Du Qitai's sinister voice echoed again: "Haha, did you really think I didn't know what Miss He was up to?"
"You've been trying to contact the outside world and find my location, right? Haha, impossible! I noticed the miniature computer on your wrist long ago. How could I overlook something so important! Now your last hope is extinguished. Serves you right! Hahaha!"
"This guy!"
I never expected things to be exposed so early. Du Qitai probably did it intentionally, letting us believe there was still hope before crushing it. For anyone, that would be a devastating blow.
Seeing her wristband split in two, He Xin clutched her hand in shock and cried out in fear.
But for her, it should have been more grief: "Du Qitai, you damned bastard, how dare you destroy my wristband!"
"I know, this thing must be very important to you, much like a dog owner's dependence on their pet."
"I won't let you go! I'll tear you to shreds and dismember you!"
"Fine! Come find me first. But you don't have that tool anymore, so how can you possibly find me? Go ahead and die. I forgot to tell you, this challenge also has a time limit. I just didn't announce it earlier. There are less than 3 minutes left now. Hurry up. If you don't pass this test, you'll both die. Don't say I didn't warn you two scumbags!"
"You stinky thing, you're trash, a good-for-nothing, a demon!" He Xin cursed, her lips dry. I pulled her, urging her not to get agitated and to calm down.
We continued walking carefully. In the complete absence of light, I suddenly noticed something strange. My eyes could normally perceive some environment even in total darkness, but as I walked, my vision was completely shielded, as if I were suffering from severe night blindness.
He Xin bumped into things easily. Even without asking, I knew her situation was similar to mine.
Perhaps it was caused by something Du Qitai had tampered with here. There was no time to dwell on it. As my hand touched an indentation, I realized there seemed to be an opening, but I couldn't pass through.
Theoretically, as we approached an exit, our eyes should sense light, even a sliver. Our highly sensitive photoreceptor cells would detect it.
But now, it was truly dark everywhere, as if the entire world were enveloped in silence. If I hadn't persisted, He Xin would have collapsed long ago.
"Dad, I'm in so much pain, it feels like I'm suffocating. Being here makes me feel incredibly oppressed!"
"He Xin, hold on, we'll be out of here soon!"
"But it's dark everywhere, there's no way out. It's like we're in the vast universe, lost in its depths, with no sense of direction, just slowly waiting for our lives to fade away."
"No! He Xin, don't say that. We will definitely pass this challenge!"
"Dad, I know you're strong, but my wristband is broken, and we can't leave here. Du Qitai will slowly kill us! We have no hope!"
I felt He Xin weeping, and for a moment, I didn't know how to respond. I gripped her hand. For an instant, I even thought we were truly at our end. But as the time neared the final minute, I suddenly heard a strange thumping sound from not far away. I immediately pressed my ear to the adjacent wall. The next second, something seemed to be approaching us!
We immediately became alert, and He Xin also grew wary. After about two seconds, I noticed the wall suddenly split open. He Xin and I immediately ran towards the gap in the wall. We entered a long corridor, and behind us, Du Qitai's voice sounded like a death knell, urging us on: "Run! Time is running out, get out of here!"
Du Qitai seemed unwilling for us to fail. I even suspected he wouldn't let us lose, and that even if we couldn't pass the game at the end, he would deliberately provide us with a way out.
This perfectly confirmed what He Xin had said earlier: if we died, Du Qitai would be very lonely.
But we couldn't let our guard down. We ran with all our might, traversing this passage. When we heard the announcer say there were only 10 seconds left, He Xin and I both closed our eyes and ran desperately. The last 5 seconds...
4 seconds.
3 seconds.
2 seconds.
1 second.
In the last half-second, He Xin and I barely made it out, stepping into a strange room surrounded by mirrors. At the same time, all the mirrors shattered. We heard Du Qitai's voice from above: "Close call, I thought you wouldn't make it out?"
"Du Qitai, where is this place now?" I asked.
"This was originally a changing room in a tourist area, but it's now abandoned. If you pass through the mirror on the left, you can return to the lottery area!"
As Du Qitai spoke, we immediately acted. Upon returning to the group, they learned of He Xin's situation and their faces turned grim. Liu Yuning said dejectedly, "Are we really going to be trapped here until we die?"
"What should we do? This was our last hope!" Gao Mingqiang said fearfully.
However, Xiao Yuande gritted his teeth and said with great solemnity, "Everyone, don't boost the enemy's morale and dampen our own. Chairman Zhang has given us our mission, and we must complete it. With me here, no one will be harmed!"