Yumi called Jing Minghe over, and the others also gathered around upon hearing the commotion.
Behind the white sofa was a line of bright red characters: Find the Exit, Time Limit, Seven Days.
"Strange," Jing Minghe leaned closer. "I just passed by here and even circled it. How come I didn't see these words?"
"They just appeared," Yumi explained, her voice trembling slightly. "I watched them materialize, one by one."
Hearing Yumi's words, Jing Minghe immediately looked up at the clock on the wall. "It's 6:02 PM. This means these words must have appeared exactly at 6:00 PM."
Yumi nodded, understanding Jing Minghe's implication. "Seven days from now, at 6:00 PM, we either get out, or we die."
"You all come up."
A voice called from upstairs. Everyone looked up to see the suited man from before standing at the turn of the stairs. As they looked at him, he indifferently turned and ascended further.
"Let's go. He must have found something too," Jing Minghe said, then gestured for Yumi to follow him upstairs.
The others scrambled upstairs one by one.
Upon reaching the top, Jing Minghe saw the suited man standing at the end of the corridor and immediately walked over. He smiled at the man and asked, "What did you find?"
"Follow me."
His voice was low and his instruction concise. Jing Minghe raised an eyebrow and followed.
The three entered a room at the end of the corridor. The room was empty, devoid of anything. The suited man casually turned on the light and said, "Look to the left."
Jing Minghe turned his head. It was an oval door. Next to it was a square frame, the same size as the door, resembling a jigsaw puzzle. The frame had nine squares, each with a different pattern drawn on it.
Jing Minghe was about to step closer to get a better look, but he was preempted by the bald man who had been there earlier.
The bald man examined the frame from all angles, muttering, "What is this thing? A puzzle?"
He then reached out and tapped it.
The suited man's voice rang out again, not loud, but clear enough for everyone to hear every word, "It can't be moved. I don't know if it can be pressed."
As if compelled by some force, the moment the suited man finished speaking, the bald man placed his hand on one of the squares and pressed it.
"Ah—"
A scream and a cry of alarm erupted simultaneously.
Jing Minghe took a deep breath and clenched his fists. He had been watching intently and saw it clearly: the instant the bald man pressed the square, a jet of white gas sprayed out. After a scream, the bald man's flesh and blood vanished, leaving only a skeleton.
Half of the people were so terrified by this sudden development that they screamed and fled the room. The remaining two or three who stayed dared not move any closer.
Jing Minghe recovered from the shocking scene and patted the equally stunned Yumi. "Don't be scared. I'll go take a look."
"Minghe!" Yumi called out, but she knew someone had to do it. She could only caution him, "Be careful."
Jing Minghe smiled, turned, and approached the puzzle frame next to the door. He carefully observed the patterns on each square. Hearing approaching footsteps, he thought it was Yumi and said, "Don't come any closer."
But the person didn't heed his warning. He turned around to see the suited man. Jing Minghe said nothing more and waited for the man to approach and examine it with him.
"Were you doing that on purpose earlier?" Jing Minghe asked in a low voice, his eyes darkening slightly.
The suited man offered a cold smile and did not answer Jing Minghe's question. Jing Minghe didn't press further.
Jing Minghe's gaze swept over each square. The patterns were all different, including fruits like grapes and apples, grains like corn and rice, and poultry like chickens, ducks, and fish. Apart from being edible, they had no other commonality.
Compared to the skeleton of the man it had killed, it was not frightening at all, and even a little cute.
"Big brother," Jing Minghe said, glancing at the suited man from the corner of his eye, "What do you think these patterns mean?"
"I don't know."
As expected, Jing Minghe continued, "These squares can be pressed, which means this clue is useful. The reason this bald man died is probably because he pressed the wrong pattern, or rather, the wrong sequence?"
Jing Minghe had expected the answer to be "I don't know" again, but this time it surprised him.
"The answer might be elsewhere," the suited man said impassively, glancing at Jing Minghe. "Nothing can be determined here. Let's look elsewhere."
As the two turned to leave, a scream suddenly echoed from downstairs.
"Ah!!!"
The group, still shaken, flinched at the new scream.
Jing Minghe exchanged a glance with the suited man beside him and hurried downstairs. Though scared, the others instinctively followed.
As they descended, the screaming continued. Jing Minghe deduced that the sound was coming from the dining room on the first floor. Passing the turn of the stairs, he picked up a rusty iron bar and held it in his hand.
Jing Minghe was almost knocked over by someone scrambling out of the dining room door, but he was pulled back at the last second by the suited man right behind him.
Jing Minghe paused, marveling internally at how fast the man could run to keep up with him.
"The lights are on."
The suited man spoke and walked directly into the dining room.
Jing Minghe also noticed that when he had searched the first floor earlier, he was certain the dining room lights were broken, making the place dim and dilapidated, with shattered tables and chairs.
But now, the broken lights were on again, and the shattered tables and chairs were reassembled and neatly arranged. On the dining table were ten plates. Seven of them held seven different types of food: an egg, a bamboo shoot, a corn, a bowl of congee, a potato, a fish, and a portion of noodles.
A corpse lay by the dining table, appearing to have been burned to death. It was charred, leaving only a human-like shape. Next to the body was a shattered wine glass.
Yumi walked up to Jing Minghe and asked doubtfully, "Why are there three empty plates?"
"The food on the plates was likely eaten by him," Jing Minghe said, pointing to the charred body.
"Not likely, definitely."
Hearing the suited man's words, Jing Minghe turned to look. The suited man tilted his chin, gesturing him to look at the ceiling.
Jing Minghe instinctively looked up. On the pale ceiling, a line of bloody characters had appeared: Find the poisonous item. Mealtime is from 7 AM to 7 PM.
"From 7 AM to 7 PM?" Jing Minghe immediately asked, "What time is it now?"
Yumi checked her wrist watch and replied, "6:35."
Jing Minghe's gaze swept over the people behind him, then he approached the corpse and said, "This person must have entered with us, right? Why was he burned to death? Because he ate something poisonous? Is this... a game penalty?"