Gathering Information

Knock, knock.

He knocked on the door, but there was no sound from inside.

Lin Ye turned the door handle. The door was unlocked.

He pushed the door open. The room looked somewhat like a standard twin room in a hotel, except it was enclosed, with no windows.

Lin Ye searched the room, but found only some miscellaneous items and nothing else.

He left the room. Nothing in the corridor had changed; rooms still sealed off both ends.

Just as Lin Ye was about to open another door, a system notification suddenly appeared before his eyes:

[Inspiration triggered: Gugu (Perhaps you should try closing the door while inside the room)]

Oh?

Lin Ye opened the door to Room 1346 again and went inside. Nothing in the room had changed. This time, Lin Ye closed the door behind him.

Doesn't seem to feel any different.

Lin Ye opened the door, only to find a blood-red corridor outside. The lighting had also turned a glaring red.

Moreover, Room 1346 was no longer at the end of the corridor, but somewhere in the middle, with Room 1179 opposite it.

Lin Ye immediately shut the door, waited a while, then opened it again. Room 1179 was still opposite him.

His keen Mental Strength gave him a sense of danger, but he did not know where the danger lay.

Lin Ye stepped into the corridor, closed the door behind him, waited a few seconds, then entered Room 1346 again and shut the door.

When he opened the door, the Red Corridor and Room 1179 were still outside.

After several attempts, Lin Ye gave up on using Room 1346 to leave this corridor and prepared to open the next room.

He walked around the corridor. This Red Corridor had the same layout as the previous one, with thirty-two rooms and a room at each end.

After confirming that there was no Room 1904, Lin Ye memorized as many of the room numbers as he could, then chose to open Room 966 at the end of the corridor.

He could not yet determine the pattern in the rooms' arrangement. Opening a room in the same position might provide some clues.

Knock, knock.

He knocked on the door, but there was still no sound from inside.

Lin Ye turned the handle and opened the door. It was still unlocked.

Whoosh!

A red blur flashed past. Relying on his perception, Lin Ye instinctively shifted one step to the left.

But he was still too late. Lin Ye's right shoulder vanished along with his right hand, and a large amount of blood spurted onto the wall.

Whoosh!

Before Lin Ye could steady himself, a red blur flashed past, and his body was swept into the room.

In the final instant before he lost consciousness, Lin Ye saw only the door closing on its own and the reddish-brown walls.

[Remaining simulations: 9]

Lin Ye woke up in bed, with the familiar ceiling before his eyes.

The pain of his body being torn apart and the helplessness of death still lingered in his consciousness, not yet fully faded.

What the hell was that thing?

Lin Ye got dressed and sat on the edge of the bed, waiting for the Supervisory Personnel to open the door.

What should I do? One death for every two doors. If I can't find a pattern, then at this death rate, even a thousand simulations might not be enough to find Room 1904, let alone figure out how to leave with the briefcase.

Can I only wait until an hour has passed and see what changes on the yacht?

But the Captain mentioned the crew checking tickets. Other dangers could very well arise.

The Supervisory Personnel opened the door and found Lin Ye already dressed.

"Time to go?"

Lin Ye spoke first.

"...Yes. This way, please."

Although he looked down on these Class-D Personnel, faced with one who was about to die, he still instinctively softened his voice.

Lin Ye followed the Supervisory Personnel downstairs. The process that followed was the same as last time, and they entered the yacht again.

This time, however, before boarding, Lin Ye took the child's right hand, saying that they would look more like a family that way.

The child did not refuse. Seeing this, the woman also took the child's left hand.

The three approached the corridor they had entered last time. This time, Lin Ye suggested looking elsewhere first, and both companions agreed.

After walking around the deck, they discovered a total of six passages leading into the yacht. There were also some more dangerous routes that would let them reach certain rooms' balconies by jumping or climbing.

But all these rooms were sealed, and their windows were opaque, so they could not look through them to see inside.

Lin Ye led the two back to the previous entrance. This time, he intended to test whether the rooms changed randomly, and if so, what kind of randomness was involved. He also planned to hole up in a safe room for an hour to gather information.

Of course, if he could enter the same corridor as his two companions this time, he might explore a few more rooms. After all, companions were the best help when investigating clues.

Yet the instant they stepped into the corridor, Lin Ye's hand was empty. The two beside him vanished into thin air, as though they had never existed.

Lin Ye had not seen how the two disappeared at all, nor had he seen how the corridor behind him turned into the door to Room 407.

Looks like all I can do is wait.

None of the room numbers in the corridor had changed. Lin Ye opened Room 1346 at the end again.

He closed the door, then opened it to find the corridor glowing red outside.

None of the room numbers in the corridor had changed, including Room 966 at the end.

This time, Lin Ye did not continue exploring other rooms. Instead, he returned to Room 1346, planning to wait an hour and then check for changes.

Lin Ye did not intend to waste that hour either. He planned to try practicing Psionic Energy Protection with Zed's body.

Psionic Energy existed in the air of the simulated world, with different concentrations in different areas. Its concentration aboard the yacht was very high.

But possessing Psionic Energy and Mental Strength alone was not enough to activate Psionic Energy Protection.

For a Psionic Being, the mind, Psionic Energy, and physical body were inseparable.

All three had to work together to use Runes successfully.

Zed was merely an ordinary person, so Lin Ye could not use Psionic Energy Protection with his body, at least not at his current level.

Thus, Lin Ye decided to spend the hour absorbing Psionic Energy and strengthening Zed's body regardless of the cost, then obtain as much information as possible afterward.

An hour soon passed. Lin Ye completed two basic Psionic Energy Circulations. Although the improvement in his physical condition was limited, with advance preparation, he could now barely produce a thin layer of Psionic Energy Protection.

Inside the room, Lin Ye had not sensed the Cruise Ship moving, nor could he sense the state of the corridor. There was no peephole in the door, so unless he opened it, he had no way to obtain information.

Lin Ye did not hesitate much. He first prepared his Psionic Energy Protection, then carefully opened the door a crack.

A brown eye was pressed right against the gap, meeting Lin Ye's gaze through it.

A smiling Attendant in a work uniform stood outside the door.

"Hello. Please show me your Boat Ticket."