"Du Qitai, what the hell are you playing at? Are you tired of us and just want to kill us off?" I cursed, sensing trouble.
"Haha, what are you thinking, Officer He? This is another challenge within the room. You'll be pulled into a chasm, with countless spikes extending out simultaneously. You must find a way to escape these dangers, or you know the consequences."
As soon as he finished speaking, I felt my body being pulled by chains. Xiahou, trapped in his cage, also saw the spikes slowly descending from above.
Spikes were also retracting and extending from the crevices in the walls before me. The little girl's corpse was already beyond recognition, pierced to shreds.
I had no time to worry about her now; I had to survive.
My body was continuously pulled by the chains, moving closer and closer. The spikes extended and retracted before me. I felt as if I was about to be impaled. I didn't know how Xiahou was faring, only that my own body was inching closer to danger.
The spikes within the walls were stained with the little girl's blood. With each retraction, some would spray out, landing on my clothes. But compared to my own life, this was nothing. Just as I was about to be pierced, someone tapped my shoulder from behind. The chains then snapped, and a purple figure, wielding a silver sword, sliced through the chains before me.
Simultaneously, she struck again, and the cage disintegrated. I had just seen her shatter the iron cage with a single palm strike!
Xiahou, too stunned to react, scrambled out. Before us stood a woman in purple boots with seven stars, a purple tunic, a straight sword sheath at her waist, her hair tied up, her skin fair, her eyebrows like crescent moons, and her eyes as bright as shooting stars. She held a dazzling silver longsword, a martial maiden stepped out of a painting!
She pulled us out with one hand. The room's door, for some inexplicable reason, was also forced open by her hand. It was steel! I couldn't imagine the strength of this girl. Seeing her fearless expression, it seemed she had undergone professional training.
After leading us out, she asked with concern, "Young master, are you alright? I'm late!"
"Young master? I don't think I know you! Who are you?"
"Please forgive my presumption, young master. This is our first meeting, and I have no gift. I will compensate you later. Young master, I am your He family's bodyguard!"
"Bodyguard? How is that possible? Given our family's circumstances, we couldn't possibly afford a bodyguard!"
"You don't need to worry about it. My mission is to protect you. Now, don't overthink it. Pretend nothing happened. I will go find Du Qitai."
With that, the girl vanished without waiting for my reaction. I didn't know how she did it; her movements were incredibly swift. By the time I realized she had jumped out of a window, she was already gone.
Xiahou exclaimed in astonishment, "Are we dreaming?"
"No, we survived!"
"Then you don't recognize that young woman?"
"I don't!"
"How can that be? Didn't she just call you young master? It's as if she's been protecting you in secret all along!"
"I swear, I really don't know her! Perhaps our He family has done too many good deeds, and someone has come to repay a debt of gratitude?"
I muttered to myself. Xiahou pulled my arm. "Forget it. Let's do as she said. Didn't she say she was going to find Du Qitai? I think she'll definitely succeed!"
I nodded and walked out of the corridor with him. It was only then that Du Qitai discovered we had escaped. Perhaps he hadn't expected us to make it out, as he exclaimed in surprise, "Am I seeing things? How did you two manage that?"
Of course, I wouldn't mention the girl. I deliberately said, "What's so difficult about that? It seems you walked away just now, Du Qitai!"
"Uh, I truly underestimated you. Since you passed, excellent! The game can continue."
Judging by Du Qitai's tone, I suspected he wouldn't have killed us even if we hadn't passed. Just as He Xin had guessed earlier, he would be lonely without us.
However, we couldn't afford to lose; it would greatly affect our morale.
Returning to the drawing area, Du Qitai slowly regained his composure. "Don't think the danger is over. Next, even more unexpected and thrilling games await you! You'd best be mentally prepared!"
I didn't reply. I looked around at the others and recounted what had happened in the room, omitting the purple-clad girl.
Liu Yuning cursed, "Isn't this intentional? You passed, and yet you're imprisoning them again!"
"Yes, but it's fine. This is too simple for us!" I deliberately tried to anger Du Qitai.
To my surprise, he did erupt in rage and yelled, "Too simple? Hahaha! Then Detective He, continue drawing. Let's see what lucky number you draw this time!"
I knew provoking him like this would make him call me to draw. I slowly pressed the switch, and the lottery box began to tremble. In a few minutes, a colored ball appeared in my hand.
Holding it, I looked at it carefully and realized I had drawn number 14.
"14, hahaha, you're doomed. This number is very interesting. But Detective He, I don't think you'll be scared!"
"Stop with the nonsense, let's begin!"
"Alright! You truly have courage. Now, let's see who will be with you this time!"
"May I choose? Du Qitai!"
"No problem. Since you're so brave, I'll let you choose this time!"
"He Xin, you'll be with me!"
I called her name directly. He Xin came to my side without hesitation, standing close to me.
"Good, as expected, father and daughter share the same heart!" Du Qitai seemed to praise, but his tone was laced with disdain.
"Let's go!" I said to He Xin. Without much thought, she followed me to the door of room number 14. Before us was a door covered in small holes. I couldn't describe the shape of the door. It looked like a rhombus, but it was actually square, and somewhat circular.
To be precise, it was a complex geometric figure. After I stared at it for a moment, it opened automatically. This time, we stepped inside, and shortly after, we found ourselves in extreme darkness, so dark that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. But I could sense that the room was quite large.
Just as I was about to speak to He Xin, Du Qitai's voice echoed, "Haha, don't think about discussing any countermeasures here. It's useless. This is a dark abyss. The air here will continuously deplete, and all sound will be completely isolated. What you need to do is find a way to escape from here. Of course, the exit behind you is sealed! You must find another exit here!"