Rules of Hopscotch

Wang Ding led Lin Yi ahead with one hand, and with the other hand, he also slipped an activated invisibility Item into Lin Yi's hand.

Lin Yi looked at the transparent jelly in his hand. "Actually, I don't want to..."

"Shh!" Wang Ding covered his mouth and whispered, "Don't speak, the invisibility Item can't block out sound!"

Lin Nieran snapped out of his slacking-off mode and patted Lin Yi's head from afar, "Nothing will happen with me here. It's fine to go and take a look."

Lin Yi looked at the Weird Object in his hand, helplessly shut his mouth, and followed the group ahead with Wang Ding.

Wang Ding walked very lightly, his eyes fixed on the black bags in their hands.

The black bags carried by the Disciplinarian Director were bulging, resembling a pile of miscellaneous items, but if they were truly miscellaneous, they wouldn't be so cautious.

Therefore, he was certain that it contained a person.

The Disciplinarian Director arrived at the Dining Hall and, after making sure no one was around, carefully moved aside a dusty brick behind the Statue, revealing a wooden door about a meter high.

The group opened the wooden door and quietly slipped inside.

Lin Yi was surprised; it turned out there was another passage leading underground.

Wang Ding ducked and squeezed inside first, followed closely by Lin Yi. Before the door closed completely, the two of them squeezed through the dark alley.

As soon as they entered the tunnel, a foul smell filled their nostrils. It was so dark that they couldn't see anything, and the only sound they could hear was their own breathing. It seemed as if the people in front of them had vanished in an instant.

Lin Yi covered his nose and frowned, about to walk forward, when Lin Nieran called out to him.

"Don't move."

Lin Yi subconsciously stopped and pulled Wang Ding, who was still walking forward, along with him.

As the two paused, they heard a soft clicking sound from the stone in front of them.

Wang Ding sensed something was wrong and tapped his glasses. The glasses emitted a blue light, allowing them to see what was under their feet.

Beneath their feet were countless movable square grids, each a perfectly square and sized unit, stretching deep into the passageway along the blue light.

The people who followed them in had disappeared into the passageway, leaving only the two of them.

"Lin Yi, look here," Lin Nieran called out.

Lin Yi looked at the corner Lin Nieran pointing to, where a yellowed piece of paper lay quietly.

He crouched down, picked up the paper, unfolded it, and saw that it was covered with densely written words.

Wang Ding caught a glimpse of his movement out of the corner of his eye and asked, "What did you discover?"

Lin Yi held up the paper for him to see. "There are many words on it. Do you recognize them?"

He's not old enough to start first grade yet, and even when he was at a higher level, he didn't pay attention in class for very long, so he knows very few characters.

Wang Ding looked closely and, seeing it was the Rules, finally breathed a sigh of relief, "I recognize it. Let me take a look first and then I'll tell you."

Hopscotch Game Rules:

As one of the children's favorite games in the Orphanage, the winner reaches the finish line, while the loser is punished.

Rules 1: The grid is divided into dangerous grids and safe grids. You can pass the level by stepping on all the safe grids.

Rules Two: Different levels of punishment apply to dangerous squares. Triggering a punishment three times will result in a 10-point deduction and will be reported to all Disciplinarian Directors.

Rules 3: You may only step on one square at a time, and you must step on the adjacent squares of the square you are on. You cannot step on more, less, or the wrong square.

Rules 4: 2 points will be awarded upon successful completion of the level.

"It's roughly divided into two types of squares: safe and dangerous. You can only move between adjacent squares, and you can only pass by stepping on a safe square... But you only get two points for successfully passing through? And you lose 10 points for failing?" Wang Ding frowned, this wasn't even a fraction of the points they would lose.

"... Two points is already a lot; he used to add points one point at a time..." Lin Yi muttered to himself, staring at the squares, and asked, "Is it enough to just walk across safely?"

Wang Ding stood in front of him and said, "You can't wander around. Let me try first."

Lin Yi nodded and took a step back to make room for him.

Wang Ding found the protective Weird Object in his hand and hesitated as he stared at the four squares in front of him.

At this moment, he missed Cheng Shanshi terribly, but he didn't know why he still hadn't found him.

Lin Nieran strolled up to Lin Yi's side and asked with a smile, "There are four squares in front of us. Guess which one Wang Ding choose?"

Lin Yi looked at Wang Ding and hesitated for a moment: I'd rather choose the third one, but I don't know which one Wang Ding would choose.

Lin Nieran stood up and leaned lazily against the wall, saying, "I'm rooting for the fourth one. The first and second ones don't feel quite right to me. I bet Wang Ding choose the first one."

Lin Yi: Then I guess he'll choose the third one.

When the two were making their bet, Wang Ding, holding the defensive Weird Object, carefully selected the second slot.

The moment he stepped down, the lattice suddenly opened, and a ball of scorching flames instantly engulfed his figure.

"Wang Ding!"

Lin Yi was startled and instinctively reached out to pull him out of the sea of fire. But he had only stretched his hand halfway out when he saw him calmly waving at him from inside the fire, indicating that he was alright.

"..." Lin Yi was stunned for a moment, his dark eyes widening slightly.

Wang Ding was clearly well aware of his luck; he had already grasped the defensive Weird Object when he left, and the flames were completely blocked by the Weird Object.

Standing in the sea of fire, he asked Lin Yi, "Which square do you think I should move to next?"

He can't just panic and randomly choose a square to walk on because he's fallen into a sea of fire; what if that square is even more dangerous?

"Um... how about you choose the second row, the one to your right and slightly in front?" Lin Yi hesitated.

Lin Nieran floated beside him, her expression complex. "Are you serious?"

Lin Yi looked bewildered: Is that not allowed?

He turned to look at Wang Ding: "How about we—"

But Wang Ding, having heard his words, had already stepped onto the right-hand square. The next moment, his figure suddenly disappeared in front of Lin Yi, leaving behind a scream that echoed.

"Ah--!"

Lin Yi closed his eyes slightly, feeling a little guilty, while Lin Nieran and 007 beside him laughed wildly.

He carefully stepped onto the third safe square and peered into the cracked square. He saw Wang Ding helplessly looking up at him from the bottom of the deep pit filled with sharp spikes.

Fortunately, the transparent barrier around Wang Ding kept the dangerous spikes out, so he was not injured, but he couldn't climb out for the time being.

"I'm sorry," Lin Yi muttered softly, peeking out from the edge of the cubicle, "I have bad luck. They all call me a jinx. You'd better not listen to me."

Wang Ding's expression changed. He remembered Lin Yi's childhood and immediately felt a pang of conscience.

"Cough, it's nothing. I'm just unlucky. It was bound to happen sooner or later."

Lin Yi blinked his big eyes, looking completely bewildered. "Then can you still come up?"

Lin Nieran, who was also peering down from the edge of the grid, immediately saw that Lin Yi was acting. Those who called him a jinx should have learned their lesson for their careless words afterward.