They switched rooms and tried again.
This time, Shirley used less force and adjusted her typing speed to a suitable pace, no longer putting more pressure on the keyboard than it could withstand.
Ke Meng timed her from the side, checking whether pets or bodyguards could help complete the task.
Shirley typed quickly. She had already memorized a novel outside, after all, so she only had to type it out in order.
Ke Meng kept watch nearby. As the word count gradually reached nineteen thousand and change, he focused intently, putting down his phone to watch only Shirley and the laptop.
19,990 words, 19,999 words, 20,000 words!
With a ding, the Black Room unlocked!
Shirley vanished instantly from her chair.
Ke Meng looked at the now-empty computer desk, then glanced around. He was the only one left.
"Hmm..." Ke Meng fell silent for ten seconds.
Shirley had gotten out, but Ke Meng had not.
He understood now.
The Black Room counted each person separately. However many words Shirley typed counted toward her own total. She had completed her typing task, but that had nothing to do with Ke Meng.
Ke Meng patted the Scarf again and called Tangyuan out.
"Use Dog Hair to type. I'll read aloud beside you. Type each passage after I read it, and don't hit the keys too hard or too fast," Ke Meng instructed.
"Woof!" Tangyuan indicated understanding.
Ke Meng then recited a thousand words of a novel on the spot. Tangyuan's Dog Hair flew across the keyboard, typing all one thousand words without damaging it.
"Move aside. My turn." Ke Meng sent Tangyuan away and touched the keyboard, intending to take over the work.
However, the laptop seemed to have an intelligent recognition feature. The text in the writing software instantly vanished, as though