[Escape Room] Review

In room three, Lu Zihan was "dutifully" playing the role of the horror boss.

Although he had tried his best to slow down, leisurely toying with them like a cat playing with mice, only two living people remained in the room.

Chu He's face was bloodless as he curled up behind a pile of building blocks, listening to the heavy, slow footsteps wandering nearby.

Just then, a line of text emitting a soft glow appeared before his eyes out of thin air:

[One participant has cleared the Instance. You may now choose to teleport directly out of the Instance.]

Nearly dizzying elation engulfed him in an instant.

I'm saved! I can live!

However, another line appeared immediately afterward:

[Do you choose to remain in the Instance?]

"No! No!!" His survival instinct made him blurt it out.

The moment the words left his mouth, he was horrified to see the towering bizarre creature in the center of the room whirl toward his hiding place! The scarlet visor beneath its mask seemed to lock onto his location.

Chu He's heart nearly leaped into his throat.

But immediately afterward, more excited voices rang out one after another throughout the room:

"No!"

"Let me out, quick!"

"I'm not staying! Absolutely not!"

Even from the direction of the despairing abyss in the distant second room, the trapped participants' hoarse cries of "No!" and cheers of tearful joy could be faintly heard.

The monster played by Lu Zihan seemed confused by the sudden wave of voices erupting from every direction. It clumsily turned its steel head left and right, as if deciding which voice was more worthy of its "attention."

The next second, it seemed to receive some clear instruction. Its massive body paused briefly, then vanished into thin air.

"I-it's over...?" Chu He's taut nerves abruptly relaxed, and his body went limp, leaving him nearly exhausted. Relief at having survived the ordeal washed over him.

Just then.

A sharp, icy chill silently pressed against the back of his neck.

"Ban Deng'er, quick, tell me what happened in the last two rooms! You're saying that woman was a superpowered person too?" Lu Zihan had already returned to human form. He leaned close to Ren Yi and asked with an interested look on his face.

They were sitting on the foam mat in the third room, the children's room, watching the Instance slowly wriggle over and swallow up the bloody scene around them, bit by bit.

"Not much." Ren Yi shrugged. "Lin Feng, the superpowered guy who could control metal, pressed the button with a gun, and the two of them cleared room four pretty quickly."

"Then that woman—I think her name was Chen Fang—said something interesting." He paused, a curious smile curling his lips.

"What did she say?" Lu Zihan was a great straight man.

"She said, 'That's more than enough to deal with those ordinary people.' That's when I realized she might be a superpowered person too, so I used my one illusion on her and made her think Lin Feng was going to kill her."

Ren Yi spread his hands, looking somewhat helpless. "But before I'd even done much to guide her, she reacted amazingly fast. She suddenly attacked, turned her body into water, and suffocated Lin Feng to death... In the end, I barely got to do anything as the 'system.' They stole the whole show."

"No way!" Lu Zihan grinned, showing a mouthful of white teeth. "You just said 'become the leader,' and Lin Feng obediently became a mole, didn't he? I was dying of laughter."

As he laughed, something suddenly occurred to him. He propped up his chin, looking thoughtful. "But that woman could turn into water... Her ability kind of counters mine. Would my bone blades do anything if I slashed water?"

"It doesn't last long." Ren Yi shook his head. "She only maintained her water form when she was fighting or fleeing for her life. As soon as she let her guard down, she immediately returned to normal. When they started fighting, I slipped out of Lin Feng's pocket, and the moment she relaxed, I picked up the gun..."

He mimed pulling a trigger.

Ren Yi looked down at his hands.

Earlier, when he saw Lu Zihan cut down enemies as easily as chopping melons and vegetables, he had thought his best friend was really mentally tough. But when it was his turn... he had felt no stirrings at all when he pulled the trigger.

That's not how it goes in novels, is it? Isn't the protagonist supposed to feel sick, tremble, and doubt himself after killing someone for the first time?

So... was I being affected by a bizarre creature's instincts?

He immediately pushed the thought aside.

"Oh, and," Lu Zihan pressed on, "what did you do to the rest of them? Why did they all suddenly start shouting 'no, no'?"

"I just showed them two fake Instance prompts, telling them they could leave the Instance and then asking if they wanted to stay."

"I was worried they'd be too desperate and break my combo, but luckily they all gave me positive energy." Ren Yi shrugged.

"Your ability is so much fun!" Lu Zihan's eyes sparkled, and "I want to try it too" was written all over his face.

Just then, a familiar full-length mirror silently appeared in front of them.

"That's a wrap." Ren Yi stood up and brushed off nonexistent dust.

Passing through the mirror felt like passing through a thin layer of water. Ren Yi blinked and found himself back in the little dark room where he had been before entering the Instance.

He opened his panel and checked his progress.

[Name: Ren Yi]

[Rank: E (progress: 47/100)]

Huh? Where did the extra four points come from? Ren Yi did the math. Aside from the four people Lu Zihan had cut down directly, the other six had all provided him with positive emotions, but he had ultimately gained ten points.

Beside him, Lu Zihan said in surprise, "Ban Deng'er, I got an extra four progress points."

"The Instance recovers the energy dispersed by participants and converts it a second time."

Lu Qing and Lu Zi walked over from the side and explained gently, "The Alliance usually takes twenty percent as a venue fee, and the rest is divided equally among you 'administrators.'"

"So we can get two meals from one fish?" Ren Yi blinked.

"Some bizarre creatures have particularly tricky rules that are hard to trigger, so they rely on this guaranteed income to get by," Lu Zi added, with a hint of pity from someone who had been through it.

Ren Yi didn't feel much about that. After all, what he had gained from the Instance fell far short of the progress he had earned through his "hard work" in the residential complex over the past few days.

"How did your first Instance experience feel?" Lu Qing smiled gently, her gaze moving between the two children.

"These participants... really weren't to be underestimated." Ren Yi thought for a moment before answering.

Thinking about it carefully, the lineup of participants in this Instance had been quite impressive: the armed firepower of Old Deng's trio, Lin Feng's metal-control ability, and a "water person" like Chen Fang, who was immune to physical attacks.

The parents on the eerie side had been at ease, not revealing a single thing about the world on the other side. As a result, the two little eeries had known almost nothing about the Pasture World before entering.

To be honest, Ren Yi had been a little surprised when Lin Feng revealed his ability. If he hadn't chosen Lin Feng when the "system binding" first happened, they might have been in serious trouble.

Most importantly, in the middle of the fight, the enemy had suddenly shot himself in the temple.

Lin Feng, the MVP of the whole event.

Ren Yi silently gave him a thumbs-up in his heart.

Lu Qing nodded approvingly, looking very pleased.

"You two must be tired. Go get some rest. Xiao Yi, would you like Auntie to take you home?"

"No, thank you. My brother said he'd come pick me up," Ren Yi answered obediently.

"I see. Then be careful on your way and get ready when you get back." Lu Qing covered her mouth and chuckled. "If nothing unexpected happens, you'll have another 'big job' in a few days."

After saying goodbye to the Lu family, Ren Yi walked out of the mall and spotted that familiar figure at a glance.

As usual, Ren Man was leaning against his electric scooter, gazing blankly in some unknown direction.

"Bro."