Chapter 134: An Actor's Self-Cultivation

Li Zhitong stepped up to the character grid.

"This is the Xuanji Diagram, created by the talented poet Su Hui of the Former Qin dynasty. The grid contains a total of eight hundred and forty-one characters, measuring twenty-nine characters across and twenty-nine down."

"Whether read vertically, horizontally, diagonally, or in alternating patterns—forwards, backwards, skipping a character, or overlapping one—each path forms a poem. These poems vary in length from three to seven characters per line. Its complexity and versatility make it the Morse Code of the literary world."

"I just checked. The second barrier in the supermarket is an Electronic Combination Lock, and the passcode requires four digits."

Hearing this, everyone immediately understood that the passcode was hidden within the Xuanji Diagram.

The numbers associated with the diagram were:

Character count: 841

Grid dimensions: 2929.

Poem lengths: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 characters.

"There should be 7958," Li Zhitong replied, utilizing a classic Avoidance of Lying tactic.

No one was surprised by this phrasing. After all, throughout the various dynasties from ancient times to the present, the number of poems discovered within the Xuanji Diagram had always varied.

For example, Empress Wu Zetian had only managed to decipher just over two hundred poems from the grid.

Emperor Song Daizong had dismantled the Xuanji Diagram into ten separate charts, yet he only found 3752 poems.

Scholars in the Ming Dynasty reportedly found over six thousand, but even they failed to exhaust all the possibilities.

No one could say for certain if 7958 was truly the diagram's absolute limit.

In other words, there were two sets of numbers that could potentially be the code to the Electronic Lock.

2929 and 7958.

Based on the writing on the wall behind the checkout counter, 2929 could immediately be ruled out...

Although everyone deduced that 7958 was the real passcode, no one stepped forward to try it. Instead, they all looked at Li Zhitong, their gazes practically screaming: 'You found the answer, so you go test it.'

Li Zhitong grimaced. Seeing herself become the center of attention and terrified of drawing the resentment of the other Players, she turned to the One-Star Player on her team.

"Me?" The One-Star Player jolted in fright and frantically waved his hands. If the passcode was wrong and triggered a trap, he wouldn't even know how he died.

"I told you to go, so go," Li Zhitong ordered, her expression darkening.

The One-Star Player wanted to argue, but then he noticed the Three-Star Player who led their team slowly open his eyes to shoot him a chilling glance.

Trembling uncontrollably, the man had no choice but to trudge toward the supermarket entrance in absolute terror.

He reached out and pressed the numbers in sequence.

Beep!

The passcode was correct. All he had to do was push the door open to escape the supermarket. However, knowing the outside was flooded with poison gas, the One-Star Player was no fool.

Just as he turned to walk back...

"Put on a Hazmat Suit and walk outside." Li Zhitong's voice sounded like a demon's whisper.

The supermarket entrance actually consisted of two sets of doors separated by an airlock chamber. Even if the inner door was pushed open, the outer door would keep the poison gas at bay, preventing it from seeping into the building.

The One-Star Player donned a Hazmat Suit, constantly glancing back over his shoulder in the desperate hope that they would change their minds.

Seeing that neither Li Zhitong nor the Three-Star Player paid any attention to his pleading gaze, the One-Star Player gritted his teeth. He pushed open the inner door, stepped into the airlock, sealed it behind him, and then carefully nudged the outer door open to step outside the supermarket.

Immediately after, a bizarre scene unfolded.

Through the glass, the One-Star Player looked around wildly like someone who had never seen the world before, as if searching for something. Then, he looked down at the Hazmat Suit he was wearing. To everyone's utter shock...

He took off his helmet.

The very next second, he collapsed to the ground, convulsed violently, and then fell completely still. He was undoubtedly dead.

The entire sequence was entirely inexplicable.

None of them could understand why the One-Star Player had removed his helmet right before he died.

The outside was flooded with lethal gas; wasn't taking off the helmet pure suicide?

The group looked at each other in dismay. Both locks on the supermarket doors had been bypassed, proving that Lin Xiuyuan and Li Zhitong's deductions were spot on.

However, the result of opening the doors was death, which meant...

They all whipped their heads around, staring intently at the spare Hazmat Suits piled by the supermarket entrance.

Li Zhitong took the initiative, stepping forward to pick up a Hazmat Suit and inspecting it thoroughly, but she found nothing wrong with it.

"If there's nothing wrong with the Hazmat Suits, then it's possible he saw something outside the supermarket—something that compelled him to take off his helmet..."

"With this psychological warning in mind, the next Player to go out shouldn't take off their helmet so easily. They should be able to make it further."

After she spoke, a heavy silence fell over the Secret Room once more. Nobody wanted to be the next piece of cannon fodder.

Li Zhitong sneered. "I've already deduced the unknown answer. Isn't it about time the rest of you did something?"

Lin Xiuyuan immediately chimed in, "I also helped deduce the answer."

Of the four teams present, two had actively participated in solving the puzzle and deducing the passcode. Among the remaining two, one was anchored by the imposing Tibetan man, while the other...

Everyone shifted their gaze toward the five people cowering at the very back of the crowd. According to their assessments, this group of five did not have a Three-Star Player protecting them.

They were an easy target.

Within that five-person team, four of them immediately turned to look at a scrawny, clean-featured youth with a white Liar-Slayer tucked into his waistband.

The youth became the unanimous choice.

Panic instantly flashed across the youth's face. Just as he opened his mouth to protest, the cold-looking woman beside him considerately handed him a Hazmat Suit.

"What are you doing? Ah, come on!" The youth was utterly speechless, refusing to put it on no matter what.

Ultimately, under the threatening glares of two Three-Star Players, the youth reluctantly donned the Hazmat Suit. Glancing back at every step, he slowly approached the doorway.

He pushed the door open, stepped into the airlock, sealed the inner door shut, and then shoved the outer door open.

Stepping outside the supermarket, the youth bypassed the corpse of the previous One-Star Player. His behavior was just as bizarre; he looked around frantically, as if trying to confirm something...

The eerie scene played out a second time. The youth took off his helmet, his pupils shrinking to pinpricks. He then sprinted madly back toward the supermarket entrance, desperately pounding on the outer door until, finally...

He slowly collapsed!

Watching this sent a numb, tingling sensation crawling up everyone's scalps.

However, the youth's death failed to provide any valuable clues. As a result, the crowd shifted their focus to the team led by the burly Tibetan man. The implication was self-evident.

Four teams in total: two deduced the answer, one contributed the cannon fodder. Now, it's your turn!

The Tibetan man opened his eyes and glanced at the One-Star Player behind him—the same one who had a habit of interrupting others' deductions. "You go," he said evenly. "Remember to observe carefully and think critically about everything."

Receiving this hint, the One-Star Player wasn't nearly as terrified as the previous two sacrifices. He swiftly and efficiently put on a Hazmat Suit.

Pushing past the inner door, he entered the airlock chamber and tried to open the outer door. However, it was blocked by the youth's corpse, making it impossible to open. Of course, the main reason was that he simply didn't want to open that door in the first place.

Peering through the narrow crack of the partially opened door, he observed the scene outside the supermarket. That single glance left him frozen in place. His expression shifted from confusion to sheer shock, and then his chest began heaving rapidly.

Retreating back into the supermarket proper, the One-Star Player ripped off his helmet and violently slammed it onto the floor.

Smash!

The Hazmat Suit's helmet shattered into pieces. Furious, he drew his Liar-Slayer.

Aiming the muzzle squarely at Lin Xiuyuan, his face twisted in pure rage.

"You lied!"

"You lied!"

The One-Star Player pulled the trigger, but the bullet jammed—the Judgment had failed. Before he even had a second to process this, a gunshot rang out, blowing his head off.

The crowd recoiled in horror, instantly turning their heads toward the back. Standing among the four remaining members of the targeted group was a rather handsome youth. He calmly holstered his gun, a dazzling smile plastered across his face. Seeing everyone staring at him, he chuckled merrily.

"My apologies. For things like this, it's first come, first served."

Everyone: "..."

That was way too fast. The instant the One-Star Player uttered the trigger phrase, this guy had seamlessly echoed it without missing a beat.

It almost felt as though this handsome youth knew in advance that the One-Star Player was going to trigger a Judgment, and that the Judgment was guaranteed to fail.

The burly Tibetan man exchanged a solemn glance with the Three-Star Player from Li Zhitong's team.

'This guy is an expert!'