Chapter 298: Instant Distance-Free (1)

Time flashed back to ten minutes ago.

In another spatial layer.

Qiu Yinong, Gao Lan, and Short and Fat's three teammates were teleported to a Dormitory Building.

Just as the five of them appeared on the first floor, they saw a black shadow flash past the corner of the stairs.

By the time they reached the stairs and looked up, they found no trace of anyone else.

They returned to the first floor.

Qiu Yinong surveyed their surroundings. They were located in the middle of the first floor. There were five dorm rooms on both the left and right sides. From the notice board, they learned that this building had a total of five floors, and the main door behind them was the only exit.

The main door's handles had five locks that required a Key to be inserted.

'This should be a Whisperer's Escape Room.'

She approached the door; it was a glass door.

Right at this moment, Gao Lan suddenly pulled a small hammer out of his bag and smashed it fiercely against the glass door. It didn't shatter, but as they inspected the glass door, they saw...

Two identically sized white marks.

One of the white marks was left by Gao Lan just now when he smashed the door. As for when the second white mark was left, they didn't know.

Gao Lan put away his small hammer, glanced at the corner from earlier, and sneered:

"It seems we shouldn't be the first batch of players to arrive at this place."

Saying that, he then looked at Qiu Yinong.

"That player you Judged in the Wheel of Time earlier isn't here."

It was very obvious. Lin Xuan placed the five of them here because he wanted Qiu Yinong to find the Slave among the Four-Star Hunter Team and kill them.

But...

"I'm very curious. During the spatial travel just now, the lie on the Slave who provided the lie should have been erased. Why did you still Judge them with the Wheel of Time?"

Qiu Yinong remained silent. She certainly wouldn't tell Gao Lan that she was buying time for Chen Ran.

Seeing her aloof and haughty demeanor, Gao Lan ground his teeth in hatred. This time he had been utterly screwed over by Qiu Yinong and Chen Ran. Five Four-Star Players, one Five-Star, and even Chen Ran had constructed the Distance-Free Technique. This Instance was practically a Shura battlefield.

The other three Four-Star Players watched coldly from the sidelines, simultaneously scanning the first floor.

"There shouldn't be any useful clues here. Should we search somewhere else?" Qiu Yinong suggested after also finishing her observation of the surroundings.

She lifted her foot, ready to walk to the right side, and seeing this, Gao Lan prepared to walk to the left.

However, the three Four-Star Players didn't move an inch; instead, they repeatedly looked at their Watches.

The sole woman among the three looked at her Watch again. Seeing that the time was up, she walked back to the glass door and scrutinized it carefully. To her surprise, the glass door that originally only had two small white marks now had four.

The woman muttered to herself, "Just as I thought."

'There is a second Qiu Yinong in this Dormitory Building, and she used the Wheel of Time.'

'Logically speaking, each spatial layer should have exactly 20 people.'

'We only have five people, yet there are four white marks on the glass door.'

'This means we are the fourth batch of players to arrive at the Dormitory Building. Before us, three batches of 'us' from other spatial layers arrived here.'

'Suppress Mental State!'

'Overturn all the above deductions!'

'This is a Common Sense trap.'

'There isn't enough time. When the first batch of 'us' arrived here, the 'me' and two teammates from other spatial layers should have also waited here.'

'In other words, the first batch of 'us' from other spatial layers waited here for at least five minutes.'

'Even if the second batch of 'us' arrived here and Qiu Yinong used the Wheel of Time, the first white mark wouldn't be reset.'

'By the same logic, when the second batch of 'us' leaves the second white mark, they would also wait for five minutes. Regardless of which Qiu Yinong uses the Wheel of Time, the second white mark wouldn't be reset either.'

'Therefore, the second and third white marks should have been left by the same player.'

'However, earlier on the glass door, only the first white mark was shown.'

'If it was left by the first batch's Gao Lan, we would be the second batch.'

'If it was left by the second batch's Gao Lan, we would be the third batch.'

'In short, we are not the fourth batch.'

'Summary: Not counting the five of us, there are five or ten other people in this Dormitory Building.'

'These five or ten people might not necessarily be identical to the five of us from other spatial layers. For instance, four people could be the same, but one could be different.'

'Using this to construct a Common Sense trap.'

'When Qiu Yinong urged us to check the dorm rooms on the left and right just now, she probably realized this as well. She didn't want us to see the white marks that might appear on the glass door.'

Thinking of this, the woman gave a long, deep look at Qiu Yinong, who was as silent as a sealed gourd.

'This lady is someone who silently does wicked things... a god-tier scammer.'

Qiu Yinong's face wasn't red, nor did her heart skip a beat. As if discovering a new continent, she said in sudden realization, "It seems we are very likely not the first batch of players teleported to this spatial layer."

Right at that moment, a small calico cat jumped down from the stairs. Seeing the five strangers, it arched its back, puffed up its fur, and hissed.

The five narrowed their eyes. Seeing a cat here was definitely not a good thing. It was either an inherent part of the Whisperer's Escape Room or transformed by another player's skill.

Without a second thought, the five of them chased after the small calico cat. The reason was simple: since a batch of players had arrived here first, the ten dorm rooms on the first floor should have already been searched.

If the kitten was a player's skill, following it might lead them to the previous batch of players, and they could search the dorm rooms those players hadn't checked yet.

Seeing the five of them rushing over menacingly, the little calico immediately bolted, and the five continued their pursuit. The fire hydrant cabinets on each floor of this building were located on the midway landings of the stairs. Running at the very back, Qiu Yinong quickly pulled open the fire hydrant cabinet on the landing between the second and third floors. She had originally intended to toss her Liar-Slayer inside, but what she saw instead was...

An unbelievable sight.

…

The little calico ran all the way to the fourth floor before being caught by the five. Qiu Yinong touched the little calico and, seeing that she wasn't repelled, confirmed that this kitten was different from the pets she had seen in the Hell Maze's rule Apartment—it wasn't a transformed player. Only then did she withdraw her hand and look around the fourth floor.

The five of them surveyed the fourth floor. Just like before, there were five rooms on both the left and right sides. Qiu Yinong walked towards the last dorm room on the left side.

The other four also headed into different dorm rooms. Gao Lan was the first to check the innermost dorm room on the right side. The moment he pushed the door open...

He saw a Gao Lan inside, making a 'shush' gesture at him. He quietly closed the dorm room door.

…

The players searching the other dorm rooms suddenly heard the sound of running footsteps. When they stepped out to investigate, they saw a black shadow quickly running up to the fifth floor above.

'Another black shadow?'

Standing in the hallway, the five of them realized this scene was identical to what they had seen on the first floor.

The Four-Star woman gave Gao Lan a long, deep look.

'I specifically chose the second-to-last room on the right side, while my two other teammates chose the second-to-last and third-to-last rooms on the left side.'

'The footsteps just now came from the right side, so the person running upstairs should be from the dorm room this youth in a suit searched.'

"Don't all look at me. There was no one else in that dorm room but me."

"Oh, are you implying that the person who ran upstairs just now was a Gao Lan?" The Four-Star woman looked at him with a beaming smile, her eyes seemingly saying: that excuse of yours is a trick I've already outgrown.

Gao Lan was taken aback. Right at that moment.

The Four-Star woman suddenly locked eyes with him, her gaze brimming with all sorts of information.

Distance-Free Technique!

Qiu Yinong's heart tightened, inwardly sighing that she was indeed worthy of being a member of a Four-Star Hunter Team.

'Another Four-Star Distance-Free Technique powerhouse!'