What's on the Second Floor of the Bath Center?

"Will the diary really contain information about clearing the level?"

While waiting, Sun Xiaowei looked worried.

"I believe Grandpa!" Zhuge Zi said, "Since he specifically left this diary, there must be some crucial information inside!"

"The main problem is that we have no other clues." Mao Xintong sighed. "The exit keeps changing locations, and the Void Pass is not allowed. All the methods we can think of on the surface are not working. We can only pin our hopes on the experience of those who came before us."

"But what if we can't find any useful clues in the diary..." Ma Qiao with a bitter face, looking very pessimistic.

"Don't worry," Luo Jun said with a smile, encouragingly. "There's always a way out!"

Although he didn't offer any substantial opinions, his optimistic attitude still resonated with many.

Having been in this maze for over a month, Luo Jun led the team most of the time. Initially, some people were unconvinced, believing that the most respected Old Yuan, Yuan Lao, should be the leader. However, to their surprise, Old Yuan respected Luo Jun's opinions. Along the way, under Luo Jun's guidance, although they hadn't found a way to break the deadlock, they were at least safe from death and were constantly acquiring new information, thus advancing their progress.

If there were no comparison, it wouldn't matter, but the occasional glimpses of the remains of those who came before, and the records in Zhuge Gan's diary, all tell of how difficult it was to maintain a stable life in the labyrinth.

In comparison, Luo Jun's team is probably the one that has had the easiest time since the maze was created.

Although they still call him "junior" or "Little Luo" outwardly, subconsciously, everyone has already regarded him as their backbone. As long as he has a smile on his face, the others feel reassured.

But Luo Jun had no idea what to expect...

If the diary truly doesn't contain enough information, then there's only one way left...

Following the Exit Indicator, we smashed through the walls and rushed out!

However, this tactic can only be used as a last resort, because the exit will change, the indicator only shows one hour, and although Luo Jun now has the ability to break through walls, it's not so easy. Relying on this method, his movement speed will definitely be greatly limited. In addition, the walls of the maze consume a lot of vital energy, so even with Luo Jun's energy reserves, his endurance will be a problem.

In conclusion, if one truly wants to break through the wall, it would likely require a large number of Exit Indicator to continuously attempt, which would naturally involve a massive amount of money, making it a lengthy process.

However, the maze is being replaced constantly, and Luo Jun can't afford to delay...

The only consolation is that, judging from the diary, Zhuge Gan and the others haven't been replaced after more than a month and a half, so Luo Jun should still have time...

The key will be in tonight's diary!

At 11:30, everyone returned to the location where the store had been before.

"It's Dead Alley, just walls..." Sun Xiaowei blinked. "They're not coming back, are they?"

Luo Jun shook his head. "It's alright, we still have the map. Even if he doesn't show up, we can find a new shop. He can't escape!"

As soon as the words were spoken, the wall suddenly twisted, and then the familiar window and plaque appeared.

"The shop really appeared!" everyone exclaimed in surprise. Luo Jun smiled and went forward to knock on the window. After a short while, the Fat Merchant poked his head out with a big smile, "The customer is very punctual."

"Where is what I asked for?" Luo Jun held out his hand.

The businessman turned back and flipped through the pages a few times, then took a few diaries. "Thanks to your 50,000 yuan, we used some special methods. These are all the diaries we could find. Even if there are any missing, we can't help you with that."

Luo Jun nodded, took the papers, and saw that there were four in total.

Is that all?

Everyone gathered around and began reading the diary together.

Two of the entries don't contain any particularly important information; they mainly record the process of using the Enhanced Monster-Attracting Incense to kill monsters. If I had found these entries earlier, they might have increased my earning speed.

There is another entry, which, based on the description, should be from a relatively early diary entry. At that time, although the four of them had money, they hadn't encountered a shop for a long time, their supplies were cut off, and they were starving when they suddenly came across a luxurious hotel.

According to the diary, the hotel entrance fee was 2,000 yuan per person. Inside, it was extremely luxurious, with two floors. The first floor included accommodation, bathing facilities, dining, and entertainment, with many handsome men and beautiful women serving guests. Once the entrance fee was paid, guests could enjoy all the services on the first floor for 24 hours. However, the hotel was only open for 24 hours, and even if you paid more, you could not extend your stay; guests were to be discharged on time.

Unless you go up to the second floor, you can extend your stay by an additional twelve hours, but each person will have to pay an extra three thousand.

According to the diary, the four of them enjoyed themselves on the first floor, eating and drinking to their hearts' content, and even changed into clean clothes. However, because the diary was updated at midnight every day, it only recorded half of their experience in the luxury hotel. It is unknown whether they went up to the second floor later, let alone what was on the second floor.

"This record... it seems to be about Bath Center..." Ma Qiao sighed, stroking his chin. "I think it's number thirty-eight..."

"Number thirty-eight? What does that mean?" Sun Xiaowei asked innocently.

"Kids shouldn't pry into other people's business!" Luo Jun interrupted.

"Aren't you younger than me?" Sun Xiaowei pouted angrily, looking indignant.

"But the facilities here are far more luxurious than your average Bath Center..." Ma Qiao said enviously. "Why haven't we encountered any? We're not short of money, we could go up to the second floor and take a look..."

Mao Xintong gave him a disdainful look. "Can't you think about something serious?"

"I think this is a serious matter!" Luo Jun suddenly said. Mao Xintong and Zhuge Zi looked at him at the same time, both showing surprise.

"This is, after all, Endless Maze," Old Yuan said. "No matter how normal the entertainment facilities here may seem, they must have hidden secrets. The second floor might really be hiding some incredible secret."

Luo Jun nodded. "The more information we gather while exploring the maze, the more mysteries we'll uncover. This second floor is currently one such mystery; if we can solve it, we might find a breakthrough to clear the level."

"It's also possible that Grandpa and the others went up to the second floor the next day." Zhuge Zi looked at the diary. "According to the records here, when they encountered the hotel, they still had a lot of money, which should be enough to open the second floor... I think if they had the chance, they would definitely explore it."

"But the truth is now impossible to know." Luo Jun shook his head and picked up the last page. "This page has nothing to do with what happened at the hotel."

This page of the diary should pick up the day after their encounter with the army of Phasing Monster. The main content is that they found a Black Shop using a map, intending to inquire about the Void Pass. After knocking on the door, a middle-aged bald man with a long arm protruding from his ring finger emerged. This bald man immediately went berserk, mutating and attacking the four of them. They struggled to escape, ultimately unable to understand why the Black Shop, which had previously been able to communicate normally, suddenly became unwelcoming.

Zhuge Gan, who was in the diary, didn't know, but the others outside the diary could guess. Clearly, among these four people, there was one who had been replaced by Chaos Creature. Based on the information they had already obtained, the most likely candidate was A Liang, who had returned alone after encountering the Chaos Monster!

If you are injured by Chaos Monster, there is a high probability that you will be invaded by a large amount of Chaos Substance, just like Ling Jian. Without a special method to slow down your metabolism, you will be replaced in a very short time.

But what good would knowing all this do? The diary still contained no effective information to break the deadlock...

"Are these really all of these diaries?" Luo Jun shook the diaries in his hand, looking at the Fat Merchant: "Not a single one can be found?"

"We've already used some unspeakable methods," the merchant chuckled. "If we still can't find it, it means the rest of the diaries have either been destroyed or hidden..."

"Hidden?" Luo Jun raised an eyebrow. "By whom?"

"That's hard to say," the Fat Merchant shrugged. "You should know that there are other forces in this maze besides ours."

Luo Jun sighed almost imperceptibly. Sensing the discouragement of the others behind him, he forced himself to cheer up and turned around, saying, "Let's not give up. Let's take out all the diaries we've obtained so far and go through them again. Maybe we'll find some clues we missed before!"

So far, the group has collected a total of ten diaries. Judging from the condition of the diaries, sixteen diaries should have been torn out. Most of the diaries that had been read before were given to Zhuge Zi for safekeeping. The little girl took out these diaries and spread them out together with the ones in Luo Jun's hand.

"Actually, we've already collected most of the diaries," Luo Jun said, frowning. "But clearly, a lot of crucial information is still missing, though we can still glean some insights from what we've already obtained."

The error-free version can be read at 69 Book Bar! 6=9+shuba is the first site to publish this novel.

"To reconstruct the story of these sixteen days, it's best to first arrange the order!" Luo Jun glanced at the torn parts of the diary. They had tried to piece the diary together by matching the torn pieces, but failed. Currently, it seems that the only way to determine the order is by the content!

"First, the order is clear: the pages that mention making money with the Monster Attracting Incense must be before the page where you exchange for the Exit Indicator... Then the last page can also be confirmed, and then..."

The group began to sort the contents, roughly restoring the original order.

"How much does it cost to go to the Bath Center?" Ma Qiao asked, holding up his favorite page.

"This page should be one of the earlier ones..." Mao Xintong said, "These people are clearly struggling financially... but judging from their savings, they shouldn't be on the first page, probably around the fifth page?"

Luo Jun nodded, "I think it's reasonable." As he spoke, he took the page and placed it near the front.

"Wait a minute..." Zhuge Zi suddenly interrupted Luo Jun, "I think something might not be right..."

"What's wrong?" The others looked at Zhuge Zi with some curiosity, only to see her pick up the diary and point to a passage.

"Having been in this maze for so long, this is the first time I've felt so relaxed and at ease. We went to the Dining Hall, where there was a dazzling array of high-end dishes to choose from, but my eyes were drawn to the most ordinary cold noodles."

"When I was young, I traveled to the north and met Xiao Lian for the first time. She treated me to cold noodles. It was the first time I had ever eaten noodles with such a strange texture. Xiao Lian laughed heartily as I choked on them."

"Come to think of it, today happens to be Xiao Lian's birthday, so I couldn't resist getting another bowl of cold noodles..."

"I still can't quite get used to the food..."

"What's wrong with this?" Ma Qiao asked, looking bewildered. "Haven't you Southerners ever eaten cold noodles?"

"It's not about the coldness!" Luo Jun saw the key. "Xiao Lian's birthday can be used to deduce the date of this diary entry!"

Zhuge Zi nodded. "Xiao Lian is my Grandmother. Her birthday is June 18th, if we start counting from the day my grandfather disappeared..."

As she spoke, Zhuge Zi opened her diary and began counting page by page. Finally, she reached the page for her Grandmother's birthday and inserted it into the diary.

"This is..." everyone exclaimed in surprise, "The third to last day?"

That's right. Based on the dates, this page of the diary is the third to last day, only one day after their final annihilation!

"How is this possible?!"

Sun Xiaowei's eyes widened. "So, they were enjoying themselves in the hotel that day, and then something happened the next day, and by the third day they were all dead?"

"Not necessarily..." Mao Xintong shook her head and said, "The Time Flow Rate is different inside and outside the maze..."

"But the people in the maze don't know how much the flow rate differs," said Old Yuan. "Little Gan has no reference point, so he can only calculate the days based on the Maze Time Flow Rate. From this perspective, placing this page of the diary here is correct!"

"So, the Bath Center was actually a trap?" Ma Qiao exclaimed, still shaken. "Damn it, it's a good thing we didn't run into it!"

"That's not right!" Luo Jun picked up the diary and shook his head. "Look at the beginning of this day's entry. Before encountering the hotel, the words were filled with frustration at being unable to leave..."

"At this point, they had already experienced all the previous failures and were at their most desperate... But if you look at the diary from the last day, it hints at something that can help future generations escape the maze. That means that something very important must have happened on the penultimate day!"

"They must have gone up to the second floor!" Ma Qiao said confidently. "Didn't the last page say 'finally escaped'? It must mean they escaped the Bath Center!"

"Not necessarily. It also mentions that they can't eat at the Black Shop!" Mao Xintong said. "That means they probably went to the Black Shop again after leaving the Bath Center."

"Not necessarily..." Luo Jun shook his head and said, "Look at the beginning of the page about the hotel; it vaguely mentions that when they were starving, they ate food bought from Black Shop. Maybe that's when the seeds of their disaster were sown..."

"After eating at the Black Shop and then going to the hotel, something terrible will happen?" Old Yuan analyzed. "Moreover, this incident might have given them a new clue to escape the maze?"

"It seems our next target is this mysterious hotel!" As he said this, Luo Jun looked at the Fat Merchant again and noticed that the man was quietly closing the window.

Luo Jun pulled him aside and asked with a smile, "We're friends, right? Would it be convenient for you to share some more information?"

(End of this chapter)