After his last encounter with a dead end, Li Xian had walked briskly for quite some distance. As he rounded another corner, he seemed to sense that another dead end might lie ahead. Yet he did not turn back. Instead, he took the Utility Knife-the only thing he had that could pass for a weapon-into his hand.
The man who had initially judged Li Xian reckless hesitated for a moment at the sight. Some instinct was telling him-
Rather than "looking for the exit," Li Xian seemed to be "looking for dead ends."
While Li Xian prepared his item, Lin Shiming stopped writing and casually offered a remark:
"Dead ends are dangerous, but they're also one of only two ways to obtain information in this maze."
That neatly explained the man's intuition that Li Xian was looking for "dead ends." After a moment of realization, he caught a particular phrase Lin Shiming had used:
"Only two?"
Lin Shiming nodded.
"The other is... the system's 'hints.'"
Thirty minutes was far too short. Unless the maze was very small, there would not be nearly enough time even to give every mirror a cursory glance.
Following that logic, Li Xian had quickly concluded that "observing his surroundings" had never been a viable approach. After surviving the first danger, he had shifted his focus to "heading toward dead ends" and "triggering hints."
During their brief exchange, Li Xian had already started walking again, taking the path on the left at the next fork.
With mirrors on every side, it was difficult for anyone inside to judge distances. But Li Xian counted his steps and realized this passage was longer than any of the others. Even after two minutes, he still had not reached its end.
Realizing this, Li Xian did not turn back. He