As if seeing through Jing Minghe's thoughts, Chi Hao gave a faint smile and leaned into Jing Minghe's ear, saying, "Humans are the most interesting beings, full of all sorts of infinite unknowns, distinguished by good and evil, intelligence and foolishness, appearing in myriad forms, a hundred people a hundred faces. That's why they are fun, and why they hold more value for entertainment."
After speaking, Chi Hao casually took a cake from the table and walked out of the restaurant.
"Hey, you..." Seeing that the person had already left the restaurant, Jing Minghe could only offer a helpless wry smile. He felt he understood Chi Hao's words, yet he also felt he understood them completely.
"What a strange person."
After a moment of hesitation, he tidied up the remaining food on the table, save for the bread, then walked over to pick up the unconscious Yumi. He said to Zhang Wu, "You, keep an eye on Tian Yong. If he tries to escape, you'll take his place. This villa is this small; you have nowhere to hide. Decide for yourselves whether you want to live or die."
With that, he carried Yumi away from the restaurant.
Jing Minghe stayed by Yumi's side, worried that Zhang Wu would not be intimidated.
If they truly couldn't find a pattern, they would have to wait until the seventh day.
But there were still three days left. Could they really wait for the pattern to reveal itself? Even if they could pass tomorrow safely, what about the day after, and the day after that?
Jing Minghe had no confidence that he could select safe food every time or avoid the system's poisonous matches.
"Brother Fan Fei," Jing Minghe clasped his hands together, his fingertips pressing against his forehead. "Please bless me so I can stay alive until I find you. I will also do my best. I implore you."
Yumi slept through the entire day and only woke up in the evening. Upon learning that Jing Minghe had stayed by her side all day, she apologized to him profusely.
"There's nothing to apologize for, Sister Yumi. You must be hungry," Jing Minghe offered Yumi the food he had brought from the restaurant. "Have something to eat."
Yumi shook her head. "No, I'm not hungry. You eat it."
"I've already eaten," Jing Minghe pressed the food into Yumi's hand. "Don't worry, it's not poisoned. Eat a little."
"How could they do that? How could they do something so awful!"
Jing Minghe sighed and gave a wry smile. "Most people are selfish. There will always be those who will go to any lengths to survive, paving their way with the lives of others. This is not surprising at any time, let alone in this Death Metropolis where life is constantly in danger."
"Still no way to get out?"
Jing Minghe shook his head. "However, there's a clue."
"What clue?"
Jing Minghe told Yumi his analysis and speculation. "This is all I can think of for now."
Yumi's brow furrowed after listening, and she said worriedly, "If we really have to wait until the seventh day, then... three days left, and we are only five people."
"Yes," Jing Minghe glanced towards the door. "If we don't make a choice, the system will automatically match a diner. But whether we choose ourselves or let the system decide, none of us can guarantee we'll be chosen. Therefore, we absolutely cannot wait until the seventh day."
"Then let's go take another look," Yumi got out of bed. "Let's look at those patterns together. Maybe we'll discover something new."
Jing Minghe agreed. "That's true. It's better than just waiting."
As a result, after studying for an entire night, they still couldn't figure anything out. It felt like the blink of an eye, and the sky was already bright.
"What do we do?" Yumi looked at Jing Minghe, the young female doctor, her face filled with exhaustion.
Jing Minghe stood up and stretched. "What time is it?"
Yumi looked down at her watch. "Seven-oh-five."
As soon as Yumi finished speaking, they heard footsteps approaching.
The two turned to look and saw Chi Hao walking in from outside, dragging Zhang Wu. Suicide Note Novel Network
Seeing this, Jing Minghe immediately understood. He only asked Chi Hao, "What's today's answer? Have you figured out the pattern?"
"Red wine," Chi Hao said, then kicked Zhang Wu towards the puzzle wall. He commanded, "Do as I say, and you'll have a chance to live."
His tone brooked no argument.
Zhang Wu shakily got up from the ground and, with trembling hands, reached out to press the squares on the puzzle wall.
The first square he pressed was the one with the grape pattern.
The moment they saw Zhang Wu press it, Jing Minghe and Yumi couldn't help but hold their breath.
"Suc-successful?"
Yumi reached out to grab Jing Minghe's arm. Jing Minghe nodded. "Our deduction was correct, but..."
Jing Minghe looked back at Chi Hao, who remained incredibly calm.
He recalled Chi Hao's answer to his question just now.
Today was red wine.
Jing Minghe suddenly realized. "It's repeating. Could it be..."
Jing Minghe didn't finish his sentence as Zhang Wu continued pressing the second, third, and then the fourth square, depicting a hen, a crab, and wheat respectively.
As Zhang Wu pressed the fourth square, the oval door next to them clicked open, and blinding light streamed in, making it impossible to open their eyes.
"It's open! It's open!"
Zhang Wu shouted and was the first to rush in, his voice disappearing along with his figure.
"Minghe," Yumi asked softly, "should we go in?"
Seeing that Chi Hao had already walked over, Jing Minghe no longer hesitated. "Let's go. It should be right."
Upon entering, due to the blinding white light, they could only walk forward with their eyes closed. When they could finally open their eyes, Jing Minghe looked around at their surroundings, then closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, the corners of his mouth twitched.
"This is... a platform? Why are we here? Why is it a platform?" Jing Minghe looked utterly bewildered. "Is this the second dungeon?"
As soon as Jing Minghe finished speaking, a train appeared on the tracks before them as if traversing time and space. The doors opened, the implication clear.
Chi Hao walked onto the train without any hesitation after the doors opened.
Seeing Chi Hao board, Zhang Wu quickly followed, as if afraid he would die if he was too slow.
Jing Minghe saw Yumi looking at him, scratched his head, and said, "Uh, shall we get on the train too? Following the boss is never wrong."
"Boss?"
"Isn't he?" Jing Minghe stepped into the carriage and looked at Chi Hao, who was already sitting with his eyes closed, resting. He commented with ambiguous praise, "This guy has explosive combat power and a first-class psychological state. He seems to be able to remain absolutely calm no matter what happens. If he's not a boss, then who is?"
"..." Yumi offered a speechless, wry smile. "What you said makes a lot of sense."
The four boarded the train. Besides them, there were no other passengers in the carriage.
"It's fine if there are no passengers, but why isn't there even a conductor?" Jing Minghe couldn't help but complain. "Is this system too stingy? Not even arranging an NPC to greet us."
Yumi hadn't fully recovered from her experiences in the villa. After getting on the train, she sat quietly.
Chi Hao was a man of few words to begin with, and now he seemed to have isolated himself from the outside world with an invisible shield, his entire being screaming "do not approach."
As for Zhang Wu, out of fear of Jing Minghe and Chi Hao, he chose a corner seat to huddle in.
Jing Minghe looked at this person and that person. He was naturally optimistic. While some things might anger him at the moment, he never dwelled on them afterward.
Time could not rewind, and what had happened could not be changed. Rather than letting predetermined events bother him, he preferred to contemplate the unseen future.
"I wonder when we'll reach the station," Jing Minghe yawned and reclined his seat. With no one to chat with and alleviate his boredom, he could only sleep.
Jing Minghe felt he hadn't slept for long before he heard Yumi's voice.
"Minghe, the train has stopped. Wake up quickly."
"Hmm?"
Jing Minghe groggily opened his eyes. "We've arrived?"
"We should have. The train has stopped, and Chi Hao and the others have already gotten off. We should get off too."
"Okay."
After getting off the train, Jing Minghe didn't see Chi Hao or Zhang Wu. He only saw an oval door, similar to the one in the villa, directly opposite the train doors.
Yumi looked at the door. "They've gone in already, haven't they?"
"Let's go and see what's behind the door."
Jing Minghe and Yumi walked through the door one after another. The words "Rest Area" appeared before their eyes.
These three words materialized in the empty space before them and disappeared after lingering for about three seconds.
Yumi was startled by the three words that suddenly appeared in front of her eyes and asked with a trembling voice, "What was that just now?"
"Uh, it should be," Jing Minghe thought for a moment. "It should be a system notification. Does that mean there's a rest period after completing each mission?"
"Is this? A hotel?"
As Yumi spoke, she looked around. Two other people had also come through the door next to them. The moment they entered, their expressions were equally stunned.
"Where have we arrived?"
A man wearing black-rimmed glasses, looking refined and scholarly, pushed his glasses up and asked with forced composure.
"The words 'Rest Area' appeared in front of my eyes just now," said the man who came out with the glasses-wearing man, rubbing his eyes. "It shouldn't be a hallucination, right? Did you see it?"
"I saw it too," the glasses-wearing man replied to his companion. "So, this must be a place for resting."
As they spoke, they noticed Jing Minghe and Yumi standing not far away. The glasses-wearing man approached them and asked, "You two also just came out of the first dungeon, right?"
Jing Minghe politely nodded. "Yes, just came out."
"Fellow sufferers of the same fate," the glasses-wearing man extended a hand to Jing Minghe. "We might become companions from now on. Let's introduce ourselves. My name is Yue Yang, and the guy with me is Cheng Jun. What are your names?"
Jing Minghe shook hands with Yue Yang and replied, "My name is Jing Minghe, and she is Yumi."
Yue Yang's gaze swept over Jing Minghe and Yumi, finally settling on Jing Minghe. "Did only two of you survive as well?"
"Ah? No, we are..."
Jing Minghe had only spoken half of his sentence when Yue Yang continued, "This place truly lives up to its name as the Death Metropolis with no return. The survival rate is already so low at the beginning; it will only get harder from here on."