Chapter 58: What a Professional Actor

At this moment, journalists had rushed over upon hearing the news, but they were all stopped outside the police cordon. Even some passersby, curious about the commotion and wanting to watch, were told that a special drill was underway and spectators were strictly forbidden. Some attempted to take out their phones from afar to record a video for Douyin, but their devices were swiftly confiscated, and they were sternly warned.

Given the gravity of the situation, any leak could easily spark public panic. Thus, as soon as the armed police surrounded the escape room venue, they immediately sealed off information to the public, officially announcing it as a drill. At present, only the armed police on the scene, the escape room owner, and the employees who had just evacuated knew the truth. Including Bai Qingming, six players were still engrossed in the game, entirely unaware that the role of the murderer, which should have been played by an NPC, had been taken over by a real killer.

“Captain Liu, we found some chemicals at the fugitive’s hiding place over the past two days. We suspect he may have made an improvised explosive device and could possibly be carrying it with him,” a police officer reported to a middle-aged man.

This was Captain Liu—by coincidence, the same officer who had led the team when Bai Qingming had called the police last time. Hearing this, Captain Liu’s expression darkened.

“Do you have a map of the scene?” he asked the owner.

The owner immediately produced a guide map for the scenario called “The Murderer Knocks at the Door.” The map was crisscrossed with countless routes and deliberately marked points, including the layout of various mechanisms.

Captain Liu was baffled. The map was a labyrinthine mess, utterly incomprehensible.

“Captain Liu, should I take a team inside?” a squad leader asked for permission, but Captain Liu refused.

“We’re not clear about the layout inside. If we act rashly, we could run right into the fugitive. If he really has a bomb, and is cornered, he might detonate it. The safety of everyone inside would be in grave danger,” Captain Liu analyzed calmly.

“Owner, take me to the surveillance room,” he ordered after a moment’s thought. What he needed most now was to get a handle on the situation inside.

Soon, through real-time surveillance footage, Captain Liu spotted Bai Qingming, the fugitive, and the others.

Seeing this, Captain Liu finally breathed a sigh of relief. To be honest, he held some hope for Bai Qingming. After all, last time, Bai Qingming and Brother Wang had subdued three murderers. Captain Liu knew this guy was quick and resourceful.

Perhaps;
Maybe;
Possibly;
Just maybe, Bai Qingming could handle this fugitive just as easily as last time.

…

At the same time, inside the scenario.

“Is anyone here?”

“Still no one?”

“What’s going on? Did everyone get food poisoning at once?”

To give credit where it was due, Wang Dada’s male assistant was indeed quite capable. In a short time, out of nine rooms, he had managed to find five just by feeling his way around and reasoning. Yet, without exception, the NPCs in these rooms were nowhere to be found.

“Could this be a deliberate setup by the owner, with some hidden twist?” the assistant began to imagine, constructing elaborate theories.

During the search, Bai Qingming kept observing the surroundings. For some reason, he sensed something was off. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but there was an undeniable sense of unease.

Meanwhile, the quiet girl stuck close to Bai Qingming, while Aunt Zhou was in the live-stream chat, discussing possibilities with her resourceful viewers.

“Guys, did any of you spot clues in those rooms just now?” Aunt Zhou asked for help.

Instantly, the chat exploded with comments.

“They’re just a few empty rooms. What clues could there be?”
“Exactly! Tell that guy to stop overthinking. The owner of this escape room must be nuts.”
“Hold on, everyone. I studied abroad at a top university, specializing in codebreaking. I watched the entire stream and finally noticed a pattern.”

This unusually long comment immediately grabbed everyone’s attention.

“Wow, even in a small stream like this, there are hidden geniuses?”
“Which school did you graduate from, brother? I’m from Harvard—full name Harbin Buddhist College. Maybe we’re alumni.”
“If you know something, spit it out already!”
“Patience, everyone. Let me explain. Those rooms actually contained many clues, but they were so well hidden you wouldn’t notice at a glance. That’s when you need to use the codebreaking formula created by the famous cryptographer, Wo. Shagil Schott. After repeatedly working through the decryption, I got a string of English letters, but I can’t finish deciphering it alone. Anyone kind enough to help, here’s the string…”

“Impressive!”
“666!”
“I cracked it! The missing part is 4369!”

…

The chat devolved into off-topic banter. Aunt Zhou was utterly speechless.

She’d known these goofy viewers couldn’t be counted on.

She was about to say something when Bai Qingming suddenly covered her mouth.

“Shh, footsteps outside,” Bai Qingming whispered.

In an instant, everyone in the room fell silent, holding their breath.

This room’s door could only be opened by triggering a hidden mechanism, so it was well concealed. Wang Dada tiptoed to the door, peering through the only available crack. He saw a man in a black trench coat wielding a sledgehammer.

That must be the staff member playing the murderer, right?

The moment he saw him, Wang Dada swallowed nervously. This actor was too convincing—he really looked like a real killer. For the first time ever in an escape room, Wang Dada actually felt afraid.

But that wasn’t the end. He noticed the man outside was searching for something.

Suddenly, he realized—the man was looking for the hidden trigger to open their door!

Of course, that made sense. After all, the game’s premise was that the six players had to search for clues and escape while being chased by a murderer. If the players just hid inside a room and refused to come out, and the murderer couldn’t do anything about it, what would be the point of the game?

…

Watching this unfold on the surveillance monitor, Captain Liu’s heart clenched. Clearly, the fugitive had studied the layout of this game scenario in advance and was now searching every room for the players—or more precisely, for Bai Qingming.

Just as the fugitive was about to find the trigger to open their door, the assistant made a new discovery.

“There’s a secret door here!”

At the crucial moment, the assistant found a switch. When he pressed it, an entrance to the next room was revealed inside their own. Delighted, everyone hurried through.

Bai Qingming was the last. He was just about to step inside when something went wrong.

The floor beneath the others suddenly gave way, dropping them into a deep pit equipped with safety measures. Above, a sign popped up: “This is a trap set by the murderer. Falling in means you’re out of the game and have failed the challenge.”

“Damn, there are even traps now?” someone cursed.

After the commotion, Bai Qingming was the only player left in the scenario, utterly bewildered.