: Holy shit, I'm stunned!
: What the hell?!
: You can solve puzzles like that? How is that even solving a puzzle?!
: Hahahahaha, I saw it coming, but Erchui actually did it!
: Is this puzzle-solving or demolition?!
: I think I heard something?
: Holy shit, don't tell me a monster's appeared!
Sure enough, what they feared came to pass. A hoarse roar came from the dark depths of the corridor, accompanied by the sound of something crawling at high speed.
: It really did!
: Fuck, fuck, that thing is ugly as hell!
: Erchui, run!
Zheng Xun had abandoned his leisurely old-man-out-for-a-stroll manner. He snatched up the key, slung the hammer over his shoulder, and ran at full speed, his long legs eating up the distance.
If he hadn't pulled his leg back in time, Painting Corpse's teeth would have torn the flesh off his calf!
Players smashing open boxes triggered the monsters in the instance, and Painting Corpse in Alice's instance was an unsolvable monster that couldn't be fought head-on.
Zheng Xun knew this well, so he smashed the box and ran, moving so fast he left afterimages.
A red door appeared ahead, matching the red key in his hand.
Zheng Xun unlocked the door and kicked it open in one smooth motion. Once inside, he braced his body against the door and locked the monster outside.
Once the iron door had been opened with the correct key, it automatically sealed itself when closed again, keeping the monster out.
The bullet comments breathed a collective sigh of relief.
: That was close. I thought Erchui was a goner.
: I knew playing like that would backfire on Erchui! Good thing he ran fast!
: He'd better solve the puzzles properly this time...
: Does he look like he's learned his lesson to you...? Holy shit, he's raising the hammer again!
Zheng Xun indeed hadn't learned his lesson. After finding the second lockbox, he gave it another vicious whack.
This time, a blue key came out.
The monster locked outside the door started howling again. The lock opened automatically, and it crashed inside.
Zheng Xun glanced at it and took off running.
: Here we go again!
: Even I'm getting nervous!
: I'm praying the next door is blue.
: ? Why is there a fork here?!
A T-junction appeared ahead. Without the slightest hesitation, Zheng Xun turned and ran down the right-hand path.
Painting Corpse pursued him closely. Unable to stop in time at the junction, it crashed into the wall, shaking two paintings loose, then rushed down the right-hand path with its claws bared.
The first-person view shook wildly, creating an intense sense of tension and pressure. The viewers watching Zheng Xun's camera were on tenterhooks. Finally, a door appeared.
: Why the hell is the door white?!
: What now, what now? Erchui's key is blue!
: It's over, it's over. He's done for.
: Then the blue door was the other way? He went the wrong way!
: Now Zheng Xun...
Zheng Xun's expression looked normal. Apart from his rapid breathing, the high-speed run had caused no other change.
He stopped in front of the white door and threw away the blue key.
He brought his hammer down on the door!
: That works too?
: I guess so. He got in, didn't he?
: Fuck, what do you mean it works?! The door opened, but he let the monster in too!
The bullet comments were right. Forcing the door open meant it couldn't keep the monster out either.
Zheng Xun carried his hammer and kept running for his life.
The puzzle game had turned into a full-blown battle royale, leaving everyone watching the livestream on edge.
The General Association had even posted a warning in the livestream, advising viewers with heart conditions to exercise caution.
For the first fifteen minutes, Zheng Xun went through the same cycle over and over: smashing open boxes, taking keys, finding they couldn't open the doors, and being chased and bitten at by the monster.
Whenever he got a key, the bullet comments prayed that the next door would be the matching color.
By the end, no one cared about the puzzles anymore. They were all watching to see when Zheng Xun would finally be bitten to death.
The forum's voting thread remained pinned at the very top of the front page.
Yet the man himself, inside the instance, seemed to be handling it with ease. He even had the energy to check his watch and see whether it was time yet.
When he looked at his watch, the bullet comments finally remembered the fifteen-minute mark.
: Right! Fifteen minutes!
: Didn't he say he'd have his two subordinates set out after fifteen minutes?
: I really don't get Zheng Xun. Why didn't he keep one of them with him for protection?
: Yeah, yeah. Otherwise, he wouldn't have ended up in such a mess.
: Speaking of which, are any of the three paths in this maze actually the right one?
: We'll know once Sister Hong and Xiaohua come in, right?
: So what's God Zheng going to do now? The monster's still chasing him!
Zheng Xun had gotten very good at smashing boxes. He spotted a lockbox in the corner and sent his hammer flying at it.
The box burst open with a crash, and a green key fell out.
: I don't even dare hope the next door is green anymore.
: Whatever. Since a while ago, Erchui's just been smashing the doors with his hammer, whether the key matches or not.
: I'm numb. Completely numb.
As if deliberately defying the bullet comments, the door this time really was green.
Everything was within Zheng Xun's expectations, matching the route he had simulated down to the last detail.
Unexpectedly, he put away the inflatable hammer and used the key to open the door. Zheng Xun moved swiftly and decisively. Even after running for so long, he didn't appear to have used up much stamina.
The door slammed shut, blocking the monster outside, where it could only roar helplessly.
Zheng Xun raised his wrist and checked the time on his wristband.
Exactly fifteen minutes had passed.
He caught his breath, pulled the whistle out from under his collar, and put it between his lips.
A clear, sustained whistle rang out and echoed throughout the maze.
The bullet comments grew interested in discussing it again.
: Is that whistle some kind of secret weapon?
: No idea. I don't remember Zheng Xun getting one as a reward in any instance.
: It's probably just an ordinary whistle.
: Then what the hell is the point?! Zheng Xun should stop messing around.
: What if Sister Hong and Xiaohua can't hear it? Won't everything be screwed then?!
After blowing for ten seconds, Zheng Xun nudged the black whistle with the tip of his tongue, and it fell back against his neck.
He didn't move immediately. Instead, he lowered his eyes and pricked up his ears, as if listening for something.
: What's Erchui doing?
: What's he standing there waiting for?
: I think I heard something.
: It's getting closer. Is it a monster?
: It sounds like something collapsing. Doesn't sound like something a monster could do.
: Holy shit! Quick, quick! Switch to the views of the other two corridors!
: Sister Hong and Xiaohua are going to raze this instance to the ground!
The view switched to the other two corridors, though they could hardly be called corridors anymore.
Little Red Riding Hood's hood had fallen back onto her shoulders as she ran at high speed. The little basket in her hand, which looked as though it could only make a little girl look a few degrees cuter, had become a weapon of immense destructive power. She didn't even look at the lockboxes, simply smashing through door after door.
As expected of a high-risk NPC from a former 3S instance, she was far too fast for the monster behind her to catch up!
As for Xiaoyin, there was even less need to say anything. The subordinate Zheng Xun had just taken in was herself the hardest weapon. Like a torpedo, she crashed through every door and wall in her path, taking the shortest route to her master's side!
Hearing the enormous commotion they made, Zheng Xun smiled in satisfaction, hoisted his hammer over his shoulder, and continued smashing through doors at his previous pace.
The next fifteen minutes were a nightmare for the viewers, the monster, and Alice's instance.
In the final minute, Zheng Xun successfully met up with his two subordinates.
Before them stood the final door to clearing the instance.
The bullet comments erupted in strings of question marks and a flood of curses. On screen, Zheng Xun rested his hand on the door handle and smiled.
"Sister Hong, play 'Für Elise' to celebrate."
Little Red Riding Hood took an old-fashioned radio from her magical basket and switched it on, and melodious piano music played.
The beautiful piano music, paired with the corridor that looked as though it had been bombed and the shattered picture frames before them, gave everything a distinctly fractured artistic air.