Underground

On the decryption team's side, Tao Yuan followed Wang Ding's train of thought and guessed, "Could it be the number of people? We now have 9 people, and you used to have 2, which is why there was that arc."

Wang Ding nodded repeatedly. "That's right, but we need to redefine the exact angle of the arc of this 'nine.' Be careful not to step on it when you walk later—hmm? Where are they?"

As they were talking, they suddenly felt that there was no one around them.

They belatedly looked up and saw several familiar people standing on the other side of the passageway, waving happily at them.

Tao Yuan, Wang Ding:?

The two looked up at the same time and saw a cloud-shaped Flying Vehicle Weird Object floating in the sky above the hundreds of squares. Wu Liang and the Cat Boy were leisurely waiting to get off the vehicle while standing on the cloud.

"Captain, Wang Ding, come quick!" From the other side of the tunnel, Mi Chuchu excitedly smiled at Wang Ding and Tao Yuan, "We just tested it, we can fly over directly! No need to think!"

Wang Ding and Tao Yuan paused for a moment, then tacitly put away the draft, took out the launch Item from their spatial storage, and flew at low altitude to the other side.

Once the two of them reached the other side, a system notification sounded.

[Congratulations on completing the Hopscotch Game! Each participating player receives +2 Points]

"Only two points? The minimum penalty is three points, right?" Tao Yuan complained. "So stingy."

"Luckily, it's two points per person, not two points split equally between us," Lin Nieran said.

"That shouldn't be the case..."

As Lin Nieran walked, he said, "As for that, you haven't seen anyone even stingier."

After passing through the Hopscotch Game area, the path in front of them suddenly widened considerably, allowing five people to walk side by side instead of the three who entered.

The underground passageway was very well-organized, with a flat ground and wall lamps shaped like angels and children on the surrounding walls. The little angels, each holding a lamp and with a halo above their heads, smiled and squinted their eyes, illuminating the surrounding path brightly.

Fearing they would be trapped here, Wang Ding used a group of Concealment Weird Object on everyone, which lasted for ten minutes.

Everyone remained very quiet throughout the journey.

They didn't stop to observe until they found the first fork in the road.

There were two passages, one on the left and one on the right. Before they could decide which one to go, they heard footsteps coming from one of the passages.

"Hurry up, the TV station is coming tomorrow. We have to deal with this batch tonight, or it'll be troublesome if they find out."

"Okay, okay, stop rushing me, I've been listening the whole way."

"Isn't it because I'm afraid you, the newcomer, will mess things up again? I had enough bad luck cleaning up your mess last time."

Two people dressed Disciplinarian Director walked from the left fork in the road, and everyone immediately fell silent and hid in the right fork, keeping their distance from them.

"Why is that guy from the Suburbs asking for people again today? He only brought three back last time, and now he's asking again. If the Long Hair the number is wrong, he'll definitely come and ask again."

"Just fake it, anyway, the Orphanage Director is rarely home, he doesn't come back often."

"You make it sound so easy. What if you get caught?"

"It's not like this is the first time you've done this..."

The two walked back the way they came, talking as they went, and soon their figures disappeared into the passageway.

An Ying glanced in the direction the two had left, then looked back at the path they had come from, before returning. "They're gone. That path seems to lead to another exit."

Qin Rang frowned and pondered, "Strange, I've seen all the Disciplinarian Director at the Orphanage. When did these two Disciplinarian Directors arrive?"

Lin Nieran shook his head. "I don't know him."

"They might have been operating underground all along, handling matters related to the transactions. It's normal that you haven't seen them," An Ying said.

Lin Nieran and Qin Rang exchanged a glance but neither spoke.

The group continued walking along the passageway, and this time it took them a long time before they finally saw a large gate, three or four meters high, standing in the middle of the passageway.

Lin Nieran looked up in amazement at the gate, which was now more than three times his height. "There's actually a gate this tall underground!"

Qin Rang's eyes widened in astonishment. "How long will this take to build?"

The door is also carved with the pattern of the Statue in the Dining Hall, a god holding a child, who looks compassionate and divine.

An Ying casually remarked, "It's like building an ancient tomb."

Mi Chuchu laughed heartily, while Wang Ding adjusted his glasses and observed carefully. "This must be their reverence and piety towards their God. Fanatics are all like this, always building unnecessary structures in unnecessary places."

"Speaking of Fanatics," Tao Yuan turned to Lin Nieran and Qin Rang, "Do you know which God the Orphanage residents pray to every day in the Dining Hall?"

Qin Rang and Lin Nieran shook their heads.

Qin Rang said, "If you want to know the names, you can go to the Church. The names of the Statues are listed there. We rarely go there; we've only seen the inscriptions from afar."

"Understood, I can go in and take a look when I have time."

As Mi Chuchu pushed open the door, she said, "Don't you guys think that Statue in the Dining Hall is weird... huh?"

Before opening the door, they imagined that there might be many children locked inside, many corpses, or many cruel torture instruments and other horrific scenes.

But to my surprise, there was no one behind the door, and it was even clean, tidy, and spacious.

Compared to the old-fashioned Orphanage buildings outside, this place feels more like a modern Exhibition Reception Hall.

Tao Yuan went inside first, Lin Nieran looked around and followed him in.

The hall was empty and very quiet, so quiet that you could clearly hear their footsteps.

"What's the purpose of such a large space?" Tao Yuan guessed. "Some kind of exhibition? What could be exhibited here?"

Under the bright lights, Wu Liang's Scalpel gleamed with a silvery sheen. He said, "It's more than enough to run a small Clinic."

Mo Lan looked around and said, "It looks like Auction."

Flower Language lowered her eyes, the Thorns behind her swaying impatiently, as if she disliked being there.

Qin Rang and Lin Nieran waited for them for a few minutes, and seeing that they were still circling around, they said, "Come with us, there's nothing here, nothing to see."

Tao Yuan stared at the two children and said, "It seems you've both been here before."

Qin Rang nodded. "Yes, but we didn't come in through the entrance you found."

Lin Nieran said, "We've never come in through such a tall door before. We found it through Side Entrance."

"That's true, you've been here much longer than we have," Tao Yuan said.

She didn't know Lin Yi, but given Qin Rang's insatiable curiosity, how could he not have secretly wandered around the Orphanage? With Qin Rang's intelligence, how could he not have discovered this underground space?

Led by them, they walked through the brightly lit area and found a door hidden in a white wall. With a gentle push, the door opened.