The Secret

Wang Ding and the others were suppressing their laughter, trying to figure out how to explain things to Lin Yi, when they saw Lin Yi quickly calm them down.

"It must be that kind of magical power again." Lin Nieran nodded cautiously, mimicking Lin Yi's expression. "I understand."

Qin Rang looked at him suspiciously. "Really? What have you figured out?"

Lin Nieran whispered in his ear, "Otherwise, it can't be a dream, can it?"

"I'm starting to wonder if I'm dreaming." Qin Rang looked enlightened, then looked at Lin Yi suspiciously, "You're not a fake too, are you?"

Lin Nieran frowned and snapped at him, "What do you mean, 'fake'? Are you out of your mind?"

Qin Rang cried out in pain, clutching his forehead, "You must be fake. Lin Yi wouldn't do that."

"Are we very familiar with each other?" Lin Nieran asked.

Qin Rang honestly shook his head.

"Then how do you know I wasn't like this before?" Lin Nieran sternly.

Seeing Qin Rang hesitate to answer, Lin Nieran continued to bluff, "Some people are completely different when they're familiar with someone compared to when they're strangers. I'm one of those people."

"Oh! I see." Qin Rang thought it made a lot of sense.

Looking at the young Qin Rang who believed him with just a few words, Lin Nieran couldn't help but sigh, wishing that the future Qin Rang would be just as easily fooled. Then he wouldn't have to devise a plan, plant someone, and go through all that trouble to avoid being discovered.

Here, Tao Yuan and the Black Cat talked for a while and decided to set off together, one person and one cat.

Both of them are children now, and there's more than enough room for both of them in one cubicle.

"Next, go to the left?" Tao Yuan hesitated, pointing to the left square.

"You can only move to adjacent squares, so there are only three choices. It's either the second, third, or fourth. You can't go back, can you?" Mi Chuchu squatted outside the square, offering her advice. "Anyway, you can't go to the third one; Wang Ding has already tried it and it was wrong. Just choose any of the other two."

"Shall we go for the second one?" Tao Yuan asked, a headache in his head.

Wang Ding shook his head. "I think fourth is better; I like this grid pattern."

"I don't think fourth is a good number; it sounds unlucky," Mi Chuchu objected.

Tao Yuan: "... You're all saying one thing, so who am I supposed to listen to?"

An Ying that none of them dared to make a decision, An Ying went to Lin Yi, who was resting, and asked him, "Lin Yi, do you have any ideas about where to go next?"

Lin Yi, who was dozing against the wall, lazily opened his eyes upon hearing this, glanced at Tao Yuan, then closed his eyes again and said, "I think the third one is better."

The third one?

Mi Chuchu said, "Isn't this the square where Wang Ding fell? This definitely isn't right."

Tao Yuan wanted to ask something more, but seeing that Lin Yi had already lazily closed his eyes and looked extremely sleepy, she didn't ask him anymore.

Lin Yi's appearance reminded her of Boss Lin.

"I think we should choose again--"

Before Wang Ding could finish speaking, Mo Lan had already moved to the third square.

The group was startled. Tao Yuan immediately activated the Weird Object in her hand, but Mo Lan remained unharmed and steadily stood on the grid.

Mo Lan proudly put her hands on her hips. "I am right." How could her Master be wrong?

Lin Nieran opened his eyes and glanced at Mo Lan, then chuckled and closed his eyes again to continue pretending to sleep.

"You really didn't fall?" Mi Chuchu looked at Wang Ding in surprise. "What happened? Wasn't it the wrong grid? Can these grids recognize people?"

Tao Yuan also tried stepping on the square, and sure enough, there was no problem; it was a safe square.

An Ying looked at Ge Zi in surprise, then glanced at Wang Ding. Seeing that Wang Ding was also looking at her incredulously, she slowly frowned.

Since Wang Ding is known not to be lying or to have a cognitive disorder, that means...

"This thing can change," said the Vines behind Flower Language, tapping the bricks.

The group turned to look at her, a sudden idea flashing through their minds.

"Yes, now it seems very likely. This password isn't static; it can be related to any variable," Tao Yuan said.

Wang Ding crossed out his previous guesses and wrote again, "Could it be related to time? Daytime is one kind of code, and nighttime is another; it's impossible for someone to get through entirely by luck."

"Even the luckiest person can't try hundreds of squares without making a mistake." Wang Ding paused, then added cautiously, "Unless it's Cheng Shanshi."

Mi Chuchu crouched down, clutching her head, giving up trying to think, "I can't figure it out, my head hurts so much."

Hearing this, Lin Nieran smiled and waved to Mi Chuchu: "Why don't you come over here? Take a rest, in case there's another tough battle to fight after we get there?"

Mi Chuchu glanced at the two little boys and shook her head in refusal. "Your genders are wrong."

Qin Rang: "Huh?"

"I hate men, even little boys."

Qin Rang looked at Lin Nieran strangely. "Is this considered an illness?"

"How would I know?" Lin Nieran said lazily.

Mi Chuchu had a terrible headache. She said, "Let's not think about that anymore. Let's just keep walking and see."

An Ying also said, "To find the patterns and mechanisms of change, we need to keep moving forward and obtain more information; trial and error are inevitable."

"Alright, let's go then." Tao Yuan took a deep breath, and without further hesitation, moved forward two squares without encountering any danger.

Wang Ding adjusted his glasses, sat down on the ground, and drew the layout of the passageway on a piece of paper, saying as he drew, "What on earth is stored down there? Even the guards are so complicated."

Mi Chuchu squatted down, watching Wang Ding scribble and draw. "It's definitely not good stuff. It might be related to the secrets of this Orphanage."

Beside him, Wu Liang tapped the ground with the handle of his Scalpel and said, "I smell blood. There are corpses on the ground, and more than one."

Qin Rang muttered, "It's not just a corpse."

"I knew this place wouldn't be simple." Wang Ding pushed up his glasses again, frowning in frustration. His glasses, which couldn't stay on his face after shrinking, kept slipping down.

Tao Yuan, who was sitting on the grid, suddenly remembered something and turned to look at Qin Rang and Lin Yi: "Do you know any secrets about the Orphanage? Tell us about them?"

Qin Rang leaned against the wall, hugging his knees, and replied, "You said it was a secret, how would I know?"

Lin Nieran nodded in agreement. "Yes."

Tao Yuan belatedly slapped his forehead. "Oh yeah, do you know any rumors or anything like that about this place?"

Lin Nieran silent; how could he possibly remember such trivial details?

"Yes, there are some." Qin Rang pondered for a moment, "Should I mention both the good and the bad?"

"Tell us your thoughts, we'll hear them." Tao Yuan said, then tentatively stepped forward with one foot, landing on the third square of the fifth row, which turned out to be a safe square.

The Black Cat followed her and moved forward one step.

"I know..."