Chapter 93: Note Hints

The moment the ten participants stepped into the maze, the entrance behind them slammed shut, leaving the grass walls towering before them with an inexplicable sense of oppression.

Lu Nan looked up. Unlike viewing it from outside, the maze walls now loomed over two meters high.

The male guests accompanying her were all over 1.8 meters tall, yet even the tallest only reached a little over half the wall’s height. They could probably see everything clearly if they stood on each other’s shoulders.

Soon, mist began to envelop them. It wasn’t too thick, and visibility remained clear. Lu Nan reached out and touched it; the mist slipped through her fingertips, carrying a faint chill.

It was cold—dry ice.

The surrounding temperature gradually dropped, though not dramatically.

“Wow, it feels a bit chilly,” said the male guest beside her. His name was Yi Xiao.

“The directors really know how to stir things up. They must have added this icy mist to make us hurry along.”

“Ouch.” Before anyone could start moving, a cry rang out from Tang Qi. She let go of her hand. “This rope doesn’t like water.”

She had probably been standing right in front of the dry ice emitter, and her hand had picked up a layer of moisture, which just happened to touch the rope connecting the two of them.

Song Wenwei glanced at the rope between them, noticing a small gap, and also let go. She said, “If anyone’s hands are wet, don’t touch the rope. It’ll break. Let’s get moving first.”

The rope looked unremarkable, but once it got wet, it would slowly erode. The rules had made it clear: a broken rope meant failure.

With ten people crowded together, it felt cramped. Xia Zhengyun had already begun navigating the maze, her hand tracing the wall.

Clang. The sound stood out sharply amid the few breaths in the group.

“What was that noise?” someone asked.

“It seemed to come from ahead.”

“Something’s there.”

Xia Zhengyun stopped in place. A box popped out from the grass wall, and she opened it to reveal five sheets of paper inside.

The others crowded around, but Xia Yubing grew irritated for a moment. She placed her hand on Xia Zhengyun’s waist, blocking anyone from getting too close.

“What is it?” Yi Xiao asked. He had been standing closest to Xia Zhengyun from the start and leaned in to peer at what she held.

“Five pass notes, one for each team. They’re all identical,” she said as she distributed the papers from the wooden box. Every team’s note had the same text and hints, leaving it up to each group to decipher them.

Small signs marked every path in the maze—first path, second path, and so on. They likely corresponded to the answers hidden in the jumbled code, which would lead them out.

The maze probably wasn’t too long. With everyone’s unique insights, it would split them up, creating a scenario where some reached the amusement park first and others lagged behind.

If it were too lengthy, they’d run out of energy—and they still had to head to the amusement park afterward to find the Knight’s treasure.

Lu Nan looked down at her note. It was divided into three main headings, the first being “Mountain Beast.”

She pondered for a moment and got an idea. The mountain beast was a tiger. With three paths ahead, reciting the twelve zodiac animals would reveal the answer.

Lu Nan looked up and locked eyes with Song Wenwei amid the group’s contemplation.

Song Wenwei arched a brow lightly, tempted to wink flirtatiously. Her facial muscles even twitched in preparation, but she snapped back to composure the instant she spotted the camera on Lu Nan’s head.

She had nearly outed them publicly.

Lu Nan cleared her throat lightly and shot Tang Qi a victorious glance. So what if we’re teamed up? My wife is still my wife.

As the group pondered, they stood at the maze entrance. Three paths branched off to the side. One of them led to the exit, but which? No one could say for sure. Blindly guessing gave a one-in-three chance.

Xia Yubing took her note and stopped at the third path. She waved her hand while calling out to the extremely reluctant Xia Zhengyun.

She said, “Let’s take this path.”

Xia Zhengyun glanced at her and nodded.

Tang Qi also pulled Song Wenwei toward the third path. Song Wenwei held the note, mulling it over: Zi-rat, Chou-ox, Yin-tiger… The twelve earthly branches—yin ranked third.

Confirming the third path was correct, she hurried after her.

The rope between the two already showed damage; it couldn’t withstand any tugging.

In that moment, all ten chose the third path.

About half a minute later, this path split into four forks, and the group halted.

You Hui tugged his partner Ren Bahai toward the first fork, saying as they went, “We’ll take this one, this one.”

Ren Bahai looked at his undeciphered note and disagreed. “Why this way? We haven’t figured out where to go yet.”

“Come on, trust my intuition. Remember last time? We succeeded because of me.” You Hui dragged him inside.

“Is your intuition reliable?”

“Totally reliable. I guarantee it.”

Lu Nan stayed put, unmoving. The numbers on the note didn’t indicate a direction.

Further down, it was just a string of odd letters: wwncc.

It did look pretty nonsensical.

Team A’s note was now in Xia Zhengyun’s hands. She leaned against the grass wall, pondering the answer. Xia Yubing waited impatiently and finally chose the third fork, pulling Xia Zhengyun along.

Xia Zhengyun tried to dissuade her. “You know this isn’t it. We don’t have confirmation…”

“Trust me. My sense of direction is great. Besides, if we’re wrong, we can just try again.”

Tang Qi racked her brain at the spot but came up empty. She asked Song Wenwei, who was deep in thought. “Any ideas?”

Song Wenwei shook her head. “Not yet. Do you feel like the mist here is thicker than before?”

Tang Qi glanced around; the thin fog had risen noticeably.

She said, “Probably tied to how long we stay put. To force a choice, the mist might get even denser soon.”

“Or we could do rock-paper-scissors and pick a path? It’s a one-in-four shot. Maybe our bad luck cancels out.” Tang Qi suggested.

Song Wenwei nodded. “Sure.”

The two started playing rock-paper-scissors. Lu Nan stopped thinking and stood by, watching their childish antics.

She couldn’t help laughing inwardly. What is this? I thought she was some mid-game rival, but she’s just a brat who hasn’t even grown up yet.

Provoking me? Ridiculous.

Meanwhile.

Xia Zhengyun and Xia Yubing ventured deeper. This path stretched longer than the previous one. After walking a bit, they stopped before a grass wall—a dead end.

Xia Yubing scratched her head and turned back. They retraced their steps to the fork and tried another path.

Xia Zhengyun clearly had no desire to talk and said nothing. Xia Yubing’s flustered appearance made it seem like she just wanted to escape quickly, but Xia Zhengyun knew she was scared. It had nothing to do with her, though.

The atmosphere between them froze solid.

Halfway along, they ran into Song Wenwei and Tang Qi—this was the path the two had chosen via rock-paper-scissors.

Xia Zhengyun held no grudge against Song Wenwei; she even admired her tenacity. Since the path ahead was a dead end, no need for them to waste time repeating it.

She said, “Turn back. This way’s blocked.”

“Thanks, Sister Zhengyun.” Tang Qi stopped in place, cupping her fists gratefully toward Xia Zhengyun before turning to Song Wenwei. “Looks like it doesn’t matter who wins between us.”

Song Wenwei shrugged helplessly. “Back to square one, then.”