Chapter 37

The team with Lin Qimian consisted of four people, joined by a guy and a girl they didn’t know. The guy sported a buzz cut and was built like a tank, thick and sturdy. The girl was a bespectacled Middle Schooler in her uniform, skinny and petite, and not much of a talker.

The group of six was ushered into the first room of the escape room. The door slammed shut behind them with a heavy click. Apart from Lin Qimian and the Middle School girl, everyone else shuddered involuntarily.

The lights dimmed, and ominous background music swelled—whispering winds through a dense forest mingled with the cries of all sorts of wild animals. In an instant, they felt transported to some bizarre, otherworldly realm.

Lin Qimian’s group naturally huddled together. The Middle School girl silently began searching the room. The buzz-cut guy glanced around before sidling over to strike up a conversation.

He addressed You Weiwei, though his eyes darted across all four of them. “You all came together?”

You Weiwei gave a short “Mm-hmm.”

The buzz-cut guy pressed on. “You played this before? Scared?”

Huang Xiaoyi frowned. “It’s fine. This one’s got no NPCs—what’s there to be scared of?”

No sooner had the words left her mouth than a mechanism sprang from the wall: a massive box topped with a furry creature, its form a tangled blur in the dim light.

Huang Xiaoyi let out a shriek. “Ah—!”

Everyone else whipped their heads around and screamed. “Aaaah—!”

Lin Qimian glanced at Xu Yueliang. Ever since they’d entered the escape room, Moon had stuck close to Weiwei’s side, clutching her arm. Now, with this frightful thing appearing, her grip tightened even more.

Her eyes squeezed shut, she refused to look at the box. She shrank in on herself until her neck seemed to vanish, her lips pressed into a thin line.

Amid the cacophony of screams, Lin Qimian picked out one notable absence: Xu Yueliang’s voice.

Evidently, the girl who could chatter away solo in the live stream room for hours on end went utterly mute when real fear struck.

She was like a startled little animal, desperate only to hide.

Seizing the moment while everyone recoiled from the box, Lin Qimian edged closer to Xu Yueliang.

The buzz-cut guy flung his arms wide in a show of bravado. “Don’t worry! I’ll protect you all! That’s… that’s a gorilla! It’s fake—fake!”

He crept forward a bit, craning his neck tentatively. “Looks like… there’s a card. I’ll go check it out.”

With that, he shuffled ahead a tiny step.

“The card probably has some text, clues or whatever…”

He inched forward another minuscule step.

“There’s gotta be a key in that box, right?”

The Middle School girl, completely obscured by his bulk, suddenly ducked under his arm and strode right up to the gorilla. She snatched the card tucked into its lap and held it up to the light.

The buzz-cut guy: “…”

The four: “…”

Having scanned the card, the girl went up on tiptoe to grab the gorilla’s head. Then she plunged her other hand straight into its mouth.

The buzz-cut guy: “Aaaaaah!!!!”

You Weiwei: “Holy crap, she stuck her hand in!”

Huang Xiaoyi: “Girl’s a badass! Bigshot girl! Hey, what’s inside?”

Lin Qimian had successfully maneuvered to Xu Yueliang’s side by now. “Moon, you can open your eyes and look.”

Hearing Lin Qimian’s voice, Xu Yueliang cracked open one eye just a sliver.

Lin Qimian smiled. “We’re super lucky—we ran into a real pro bigshot. She’ll carry us to victory.”

Xu Yueliang craned her neck. “R-really?”

“Mm-hmm.” Lin Qimian replied softly.

Xu Yueliang eased her grip a little and peered toward the Middle School girl up front.

The gorilla sat high up, its body massive. The girl’s entire arm had disappeared inside, but she still couldn’t reach the bottom.

Frowning in determination, she stretched even higher, looking for all the world like the gorilla had swallowed her arm whole.

Xu Yueliang shrank back a step but nudged You Weiwei. “Weiwei, go help her out. She can’t reach.”

You Weiwei: “Oh, right, right!”

Huang Xiaoyi, burning with curiosity, chimed in. “Let’s all go—together!”

The two hurried forward, with the buzz-cut guy trailing behind them. They all gathered to investigate the gorilla.

Left without anyone to cling to, Xu Yueliang didn’t know what to do with her hands and clasped them at her chest in a prayer-like pose.

“We’ll just hang back here,” Lin Qimian said.

“Mm-hmm!” Xu Yueliang nodded vigorously, then turned to her. “Doctor Lin, are you scared too?”

Lin Qimian answered smoothly, “Scared.”

Xu Yueliang scooted right up beside her, their arms nearly brushing. “Then we’ll hide together.”

Lin Qimian gazed at her and couldn’t suppress a laugh.

And so the two of them really didn’t budge from the spot. The Middle School girl led the way, directing the search for clues, the key, and the password. She got the first door open, and still Lin Qimian and Xu Yueliang stood exactly where they’d started.

Once they’d settled on their tactic, it was nearly impossible to break.

Lin Qimian naturally fell into step beside Xu Yueliang, who stayed close to her side and stopped reaching for You Weiwei.

You Weiwei and Huang Xiaoyi were having way too much fun to pay them any mind.

Only now and then, as she passed by, would You Weiwei toss out a jab: “Enjoying yourselves, you two?” “What, did you buy on-site sightseeing tickets?” “I figured Doctor Lin’s vast professional expertise would come in handy today.” “Scoot over, scoot over, you mascot props!”

Lin Qimian met the teasing with a faint smile tugging at her lips, completely unfazed.

Xu Yueliang, however, was mortified. The moment she was targeted, she’d frantically scan the room for something—anything—to busy herself with.

But it never lasted more than a few seconds. The instant no one was watching, she’d scurry right back to Lin Qimian’s side.

By the time they entered the fourth room, everyone had the rhythm down pat.

They fanned out—one to the southeast, one to the northwest, and so on—hunting for the next batch of story clues.

Xu Yueliang wrung her hands, peering around, then whispered to Lin Qimian, “Should we… look around too?”

Lin Qimian turned to her. “Anywhere you want to check? We can go together.”

“Aaaah, fuck, this cockroach prop is gonna kill me!!!” Huang Xiaoyi shrieked.

“…”

Xu Yueliang’s throat bobbed. “I… don’t really feel like it…”

“Mm,” Lin Qimian said. “Then we won’t.”

“But then Weiwei and Senior Sister Xiao Yi will just laugh at us later…”

“Let them laugh. It’s good for their health.”

Xu Yueliang looked up at her. “I don’t mind—I’ve always been the timid sort. Even when I play games, I like hanging back. But you’re different, Doctor Lin…”

Lin Qimian arched a brow, remembering that game where she and Xu Yueliang had hidden from start to finish. “How am I different? I’m the same. I like hanging back too.”

“Eh? Doctor Lin plays games?”

“I do,” Lin Qimian said without batting an eye. “Sometimes I get really hooked.”

“Wow…” Xu Yueliang’s eyes lit up. “What games do you play?”

But before Lin Qimian could reply, she faltered and pivoted. “You know, it’s easy to get addicted when you’re young. Back in college, one of my dormmates was a riot—she’d even mutter in her sleep, ‘Orcs will never be slaves!’”

Lin Qimian watched her. Xu Yueliang finished the anecdote on her own, her lashes flickering in the shifting light, eyes fixed downward.

Lin Qimian got it. Xu Yueliang had regretted that slip the second it left her mouth.

She was terrified of gaming with Lin Qimian—probably scared of giving away her secret accounts.

She drew such a hard line between her casual gaming self and her professional one, jumpy as a bird startled by the twang of a bow.

“Mm,” Lin Qimian said, playing along. “I played a ton back in school, but work’s kept me too busy lately. Not much time anymore.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Xu Yueliang said, twisting her fingers.

Huang Xiaoyi waved them over. “Moon, Qimian—get over here. No more slacking for you two.”

They joined her. The task had split into branches now, requiring the six of them to divide into two teams.

In the midst of solving the last puzzle, the Middle School girl, Huang Xiaoyi, and You Weiwei had already gelled into a tight trio. The three glanced their way, and Lin Qimian said, “Moon and I will team up.”

The buzzcut guy piped up right away. “Then I’m with you two.”

He eyed Lin Qimian and Xu Yueliang. “You’re both pretty skittish. I’m the only guy on the team, so I’ll stick with you. Don’t worry—I’ve got your backs.”

The Middle School girl let out a sharp, derisive snort and spun toward Gate A ahead of them.

Huang Xiaoyi shot Lin Qimian a look. “You sure you’ll be okay?”

Lin Qimian smiled. “We’ve got Big Bro here. We’ll manage.”

Huang Xiaoyi burst out laughing. You Weiwei wavered for a second, but Huang Xiaoyi grabbed her arm and yanked her along.

Lin Qimian, Xu Yueliang, and the buzzcut guy stepped through B Gate together.

The door swung open to reveal a thick fog—white vapor blanketing everything, visibility near zero.

The path ahead was a ragged line of wooden planks; beyond them lay inky blackness, no place to set foot.

The buzzcut guy yanked at the hem of his jacket and thrust it toward Lin Qimian. “Here, grab my jacket. This fog’s meant to blind us and split us up.”

“…”

She stared at him for a couple of beats.

He shuddered and yanked it back, trudging forward. “Dry gas—dry ice? It’s chilly.”

Lin Qimian sidestepped and offered her arm to Xu Yueliang. “Want to hold on?”

Xu Yueliang blinked, eyes wide. Lin Qimian echoed, “This fog’s meant to blind us and split us up.”

Xu Yueliang burst out laughing with a “pfft.”

After laughing, she lowered her head and cautiously reached out a hand. She didn’t dare grab Lin Qimian’s sleeve the way she had with You Weiwei’s, grasping it fully in her fist. Instead, she only pinched the fabric between two fingers.

“When I’m excited, my grip gets really strong…” she explained softly to Lin Qimian. “I’m afraid I’d wrinkle your shirt…”

“Mm.” Lin Qimian replied. “Then hold this little bit tight.”

Xu Yueliang nodded vigorously. “I won’t let go of you.”

“Good.” Lin Qimian smiled.

The buzzcut guy was hollering up ahead. Lin Qimian led Xu Yueliang along by that scrap of sleeve, strolling slowly over the boardwalk.

When they reached the center of the room, the buzzcut guy suddenly yelled from the front: “Aaaah, don’t come any closer! Don’t come any closer!!!”

Lin Qimian halted. Xu Yueliang stood on the board right behind her, the hem of her skirt quivering lightly.

The mist thinned abruptly, and their vision cleared.

Somehow, the buzzcut guy had wandered into a large iron cage. The entrance had shut behind him, and the exit was a hole with four crooked characters scrawled above it: “Beware of Beasts.”

As if they needed a hint about what came next.

Xu Yueliang said tremulously, “Doctor Lin, there aren’t really… really fierce beasts in there, are there?”

Lin Qimian: “No.”

Buzzcut guy: “Aaaah, what do I do? This door won’t open, aaaah…”

Lin Qimian: “Keep walking deeper inside.”

Buzzcut guy: “There are fierce beasts, aaaah! Save me! There are fierce beasts!!!”

At this point, he had abandoned any shred of dignity.

Lin Qimian pressed her lips together to keep her smile from showing too obviously. She turned to Xu Yueliang. “Let’s look for clues to help him get the door open…”

Before she could finish, a thunderous tiger roar erupted, echoing with startling realism and filling the entire space.

The buzzcut guy’s screams pitched higher.

And Xu Yueliang, who had been bottling up her scream all evening, finally unleashed it. “Ahh, big kitty—!” she shrieked, then leaped forward and crashed straight into Lin Qimian’s arms.

All the careful distance she had maintained—and the slow steps to close it—dissolved into nothing.

Xu Yueliang’s strength in moments of excitement was no joke. The impact made Lin Qimian’s body sway, her heart lurching with it.

A wave of floral fragrance hit her, flooding Lin Qimian’s senses from head to toe.

Lin Qimian reached out on instinct, wrapping an arm around the waist inches away to keep them both from toppling.

Xu Yueliang’s face buried into her chest, her warm breaths brushing Lin Qimian’s skin like a gentle river.

And even then, the hand clutching Lin Qimian’s sleeve neither released nor strayed; it simply stayed there, clenched tight and rigidly outstretched.

The show had likely reached its climax.

Sound effects, crashes, and props assaulted them from every direction, a chaotic symphony.

The buzzcut guy kept yelling on his own, but Xu Yueliang had fallen silent.

She stayed quietly nestled in Lin Qimian’s embrace until a broadcast crackled from the corner of the room.

“Lin Qimian, Xu Yueliang, Zhou Yong—are you all okay? Are you all okay?” The staffer’s voice sounded frantic. “Do you need us to stop the game? Should we stop it right now?”

“Your heart rates are spiking! They’re spiking!! They’re spiking!!!”