Previously, Zhao Xiaofei had used lipstick to draw a map on the ground. Before leaving, she had taken off her coat and drew a rough map on it. The calm female player spread out her coat on the ground, carefully counting every corridor they had been through. Finally she looked up and said, âIs it possible that Schrodinger is in a corridor we havenât been to and that we wonât be able to enter later?â
The third rule: the doors of the room are spread across both sides of the corridor and each player can only walk once in the same corridor. Once a player walks through a corridor, human footprints will be left in the corridor. Any corridor with human footprints are forbidden to enter.
This rule seemed complicated but it actually limited a person from going back.
A corridor that they passed through couldnât be entered a second time. Thus, every choice might lead to a dead end in the future (all taken paths had footprints). It was just the first round of the game and the map of the steel fortress was still unclear. It was inevitable that they would take a few wrong roads on the second floor and that some rooms were no longer accessible.
Li Miaomiao agreed. âIt must in these few rooms. Weâve only just arrived on the first floor and walked in a line. We havenât encountered a fork in the road, which means we havenât made any choices on the first floor, let alone made the wrong choice. Since the truth clock says we canât find Schrodinger, it means that Schrodinger in hiding in a room upstairs.â
There was still a problem.
Zhao Xiaofeiâs expression became difficult. âIn fact, the roads were just walked⌠I donât remember them very well.â
The rest of the group showed embarrassment at the words. Tang Mo licked his lips and turned to look at Fu Wenduo. Once he met the dark eyes, Tang Moâs heart immediately calmed down.
Fu Wenduo looked at him and then spoke in a low voice, âI remember.â
The group turned to Fu Wenduo.
Fu Wenduo took the lipstick from Zhao Xiaofeiâs hand and smoothly drew the curved route of the second floor.
He started from the apex of the sixth diamond, which was the kitchen. Then he calmly connected every corridor that the five people had walked upstairs and even marked the location of the more than 80 rooms they had entered with a small dot. Zhao Xiaofei was gobsmacked as Fu Wenduo drew to their currently location. She took back the lipstick from Fu Wenduo and asked skeptically, ââŚAre you sure that you didnât draw it wrongly?â
Fu Wenduo raised his eyebrows.
Tang Mo told her, âHe drew it right.â
Zhao Xiaofei looked at them suspiciously.
Zhao Xiaofei didnât know that Fu Wenduo had modified a few places on the map she drew and made it more accurate. In a dark room, there was a middle-aged housekeeper eating cat food in a corner of the room. Schrodinger stared at the map in Zhao Xiaofeiâs hand and wanted to scream.
This map was simply a smaller version of Schrodingerâs steel fortress. Even Schrodinger himself might not be able to draw it so accurately!
After the earth went online, every playerâs physical fitness increased. However, it was one thing to remember the path you took. It was another thing to draw a map in this confined space and to have a keen sense of space and distance. Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo walked at the rear of the group. Tang Mo whispered, âThere are really only four corridors on the second floor that we didnât go into?â
Fu Wenduo looked at him.
Tang Mo had just said with certainty that Fu Wenduo was right and now he was questioning Fu Wenduo.
Fu Wenduo showed an imperceptible smile. âYes, there are only four.â
Tang Mo explained, âI believe you. It is just that if there are only four corridors left, I feel that something is wrong.â
âThere is something wrong.â
Tang Mo asked, âDo you think⌠Schrodinger is hiding in these four corridors?â
Fu Wenduo stopped moving while the three people in front kept walking. He stared at Tang Mo and whispered, âI donât think so.â
Tang Mo suddenly smiled. âI donât think so either.â
Tang Mo never doubted if Fu Wenduoâs map was accurate or not. He had absolute trust in this person. Fu Wenduo didnât let him down. This type of map wasnât a challenge at all. He could draw it even if his physical fitness hadnât improved after the earth went online. In the past, Fu Wenduo had once entered a complicated secret military base. He only walked around once and could draw a detailed map of the base, accurately marking the laboratory and control room.
However, if the map was really like this then everyone became stranger.
Tang Mo followed the Zhao Xiaofei trio with his head bowed.
The corridors on the first floor were much simpler than the second floor. There werenât too many turns and forks and it was almost a neat rectangle. Rooms were distributed on both sides of the corridor. The five players walked half a lap and found 11 rooms. Zhao Xiaofei, who was walking in the lead, suddenly stopped. âThere is another staircase here?â
The group took out the map and compared the position on the two floors.
Li Miaomiao concluded, âIt is the first staircase that we saw.â
On the second floor, the five players had seen two staircases leading to the first floor. Tang Mo made a decision and didnât choose the first staircase. Everyone came down the second staircase and found the truth clock in the first room.
Zhao Xiaofei said, âIt is useless to go up. The corridors will be full of footprints and this round will be over. We havenât finished the corridors on the first floor yet. Letâs go through all of it.â
Everyone took a few steps when Tang Mo turned his head and asked, âVictor?â
In the dark steel corridor, a tall man stood upright. Fu Wenduo looked between the wall to the left and then the wall to the right. His brow wrinkled and he suddenly walked to Tang Moâs side. Tang Mo was stunned for a moment and didnât understand what he wanted to do. Fu Wenduo lowered his head, put his lips to Tang Moâs ears and whispered something that only the two of them could hear.
Tang Moâs body froze.
10 minutes later, the five players walked along the corridor and reached the room with the truth clock.
Zhao Xiaofei used the lipstick to fill up the map of the first floor and said, âThe first floor is really much simpler than the second floor. It is an ordinary rectangular corridor. There are 29 rooms in total and we didnât find Schrodinger. Schrodinger is definitely on the second floor in one of the few corridors we didnât enter.â
Grecia smiled. âMy lady, I donât think it is that simple.â
Forget Grecia, even Zhao Xiaofei felt that it was too simple. Could a tower attack game be this simple?
Of course, it wasnât impossible. If it wasnât for Fu Wenduoâs strong scouting ability and the clue from the truth clock, they would never have all this information. In addition, they encountered very dangerous inventions in several rooms. They wouldâve been killed by these inventions if they had been weaker.
Moreover, the map of the second floor was really complicated. Many people might walk around it and not get to the first floor. This would be wasting one round of the game.
Zhao Xiaofei thought for a moment before saying, âIn any case, we have already found over 100 rooms and there are only a few left. We have two more chances. In the second round of the game, we will do directly to the rooms we havenât searched yet. There is always the third round of the game. We donât have to worry about failure.â
The suggestion was very reasonable and Li Miaomiao nodded. She wanted to talk to Zhao Xiaofei when she suddenly remembered Ruan Wangshuâs orders. She quietly turned to look at Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo. Then Li Miaomiao became stunned.
Tang Mo shook his head at her.
Li Miaomiao looked awkward.
Tang Mo sighed. Li Miaomiao wasnât Fu Wenduo. This was a complicated matter and Li Miaomiao couldnât understand his meaning with a few glances.
Zhao Xiaofei asked, âShould we go directly back to the second floor and look at the rooms we havenât been to?â
âI want to look at the truth clock again.â
Zhao Xiaofei looked strangely at Tang Mo and asked with surprise, âYou want to find the truth clock? What for?â
Tang Moâs expression was calm. âThe door to the truth clock is facing the stairs. Since we have decided to start the second round of the game, we can use this room as a starting point. From this room, we can go directly to the second floor.â
ââŚThat isnât the point.â
Li Miaomiao spoke up, âLetâs go.â
This round was already doomed to failure. It didnât matter where they started the second round from. Tang Mo held the flashlight and grasped the doorknob made of steel in his right hand. He pressed it softly and there was an immediately blue glow that enveloped the five players. Once they opened their eyes, they were stuck to the ground and couldnât move.
A calm female voice was heard. âWelcome to the world of the truth clock. Iâm the gre⌠gre⌠greatâŚâ
Truth clock, ââŚâ
Why did they come again?
The truth clock hadnât expected this group of poisonous humans to run here again before even starting the second round of the hide-and-seek game. The corridors couldnât be repeated but the rooms were okay. The truth clock looked silently at the five players in front of it and the five players stared back.
They looked at each other in silence.
Truth clock, ââŚâ Look at these people!
After a long time, the truth clock tried to maintain a calm voice. âBlack tower intruders, what do you want? I have told you everything that I know. I will be made into all types of items to be sent to several other people. Do you have to want to kill me?â
Why did it sound like this voice was holding a grudgeâŚ
Li Miaomiao said, âWe just decided to use this room as the point to end this round. We will start the second round from here.â It had nothing to do with killing the clock.
The truth clock was depressed. âYes, you lost this round the moment you entered this room again.â
The black towerâs prompt came at this time. âDing dong! The first round of Schrodingerâs hide-and-seek game is over.â
âThe second round of the game has begun!â
The sweet catâs gloating laughter filled the room. âHahaha, stupid players! You canât find me! You will all join my collection! Garbage clock, drive these players out. I canât wait to put them into my warehouse and make them into stinky toilets for Santa!â
The faces of the two female players darkened.
Li Miaomiao wanted to leave this room and go straight upstairs to the room they havenât entered yet.
The truth clock quickly said, âYes Great Schrodinger, I will drive them out.â
Then a voice was heard. âWho said that we will leave?â
The truth clock was stunned.
In the dark room, the small black cat stared blankly at the humans.
In the truth clockâs room, Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo stood at the front of their group. Tang Mo raised his head and watched the huge clock calmly. He asked, âWe have entered your world. Canât we open the truth clockâs game? Become the truth or defeat the truth.â
The truth clock answered, âBut you already know the answer.â
Tang Mo asked again, âCanât we play another game?â
The truth clock didnât understand what Tang Mo wanted. ââŚYou can.â
It wasnât just the truth clock. Li Miaomiao and Zhao Xiaofei didnât understand why Tang Mo wanted to waste time in this place. Grecia stared thoughtfully at Tang Moâs back while the black cat touched his head with his claws, wanting to know what Tang Mo was thinking.
Then Schrodinger saw the smile on Fu Wenduoâs face. The black catâs green eyes suddenly widened. It quickly said, âTruth clock, drive them out. Donât let them askâŚâ
âMy question is that the second round has now started.â Tang Moâs voice interrupted the black cat. He stared calmly at the big clock in front of him. âTruth clock⌠have we already lost this round?â
The air stilled for a moment.
In the room of the truth clock, Zhao Xiaofei and Li Miaomiao stared at Tang Moâs back. Grecia was also a bit surprised and he tapped his short cane on the ground. No one discovered that his cane wasnât restrained by this room and that it could move as it wanted.
This time, the truth clock didnât answer.
The clock was silent for the first time. The blue clock body shook in an invisible manner and the black catâs distressed roar was heard, âDonât answer him! Fake garbage clock, you arenât allowed to answer him! I wonât allow it!!â
If it had eyes, the truth clock would be looking at the sky at this moment. Through the heavy steel walls, it watched Schrodinger, the greatest inventor in the black tower world.
Three seconds later, the truth clock spoke in the calm female voice. âGreat Schrodinger, I am a failure but I didnât fail because I couldnât understand all the truths in the room. I have feelings that donât conform to the truth. As long as someone asks me a question, I will definitely answer. I canât lie and he asked a right or wrong answer. If I lie, the black tower intruders will have defeated the truth and they will still know the correct answer. The fact that they asked this question shows that they already know how to pass the game.â
The black cat screamed, âUseless garbage clock!â
On the huge truth clock, the hour and minute hands started moving again. It spoke in a steady and unfeeling voice, as if it hadnât heard Schrodingerâs screams.
âWelcome to the world of the truth clock. I am the great truth clock and I tell the accurate time for the great Lord Schrodinger. You can ask a total of five questions. Become the truth or defeat the truth.â For the question you just askedâŚâ The truth clock seemed to âlookâ at Tang Mo and replied coldly, âMy answer is yes.â
âBlack tower intruders, at this moment you have lost the second round of the hide-and-seek game.â