Chapter 301: Ice Room Decryption (2)

Putting on their jackets.

Through a tacit understanding, the crowd didn't continue the previous topic and once again examined the rules on the table.

[Ice Room Escape.]

[Task: 50%.]

[Item: Gun.]

[Time: 2 hours.]

[Failure Penalty: Obliteration.]

The last rule was fake at a glance. This was likely a Whisperer's Escape Room, so obliteration was impossible. It was highly probable that failing would trigger some dangerous mechanism.

[Time: 2 hours.]

Since Lin Xuan was here, this rule could essentially be ignored as well.

[Item: Gun.]

The Gun was a standard firearm, with the only difference being its very long magazine.

Since it wasn't a Liar-Slayer, the purpose of the Gun here was either to kill people or to destroy some sort of object.

Firstly, killing people could be ruled out.

All the players present had the protection of their Liar-Slayers. They could only kill through Lie-Judgment and executing a Judgment with a Liar-Slayer. Therefore, the Prop Gun could not possibly be used to kill people.

Thinking of this.

All 23 people simultaneously looked towards the glass door.

They gathered in front of the glass door.

And all looked at Chen Ran. Chen Ran had just taken the opportunity to count the number of Bullets: a total of 20 rounds, exactly corresponding to the maximum limit of 20 people in the Instance.

Seeing them all look his way, Chen Ran took out the Gun, placed it back on the table, and said nothing.

Seeing this, the crowd knew Chen Ran wouldn't be stupid enough to act as Cannon Fodder.

Following that, they saw Chen Ran point at Lin Xuan.

The meaning was obvious: Lin Xuan teleported you all here, so he is the guiding light.

But the crowd wasn't stupid either.

'Chen Ran, Qiu Yinong, and Gao Lan—these three are highly likely real.'

'Out of the six Lin Xuans, only one should be real. After all, he can traverse through space.'

'Simply put, when the six Lin Xuans tapped the table one by one earlier, the first Lin Xuan was the real Lin Xuan. After he finished tapping the table, he underwent spatial teleportation, and the Lin Xuan from another spatial layer appeared as the second Lin Xuan.'

'In that case, the first Lin Xuan who finished tapping became fake, and the second Lin Xuan preparing to tap became real.'

'And so on and so forth.'

'It only takes one real Lin Xuan to make six Lin Xuans tap the table.'

This kind of trick might be difficult for One or Two-Star Players to deduce, but everyone present was at Three or Four-Star; deducing this was a breeze.

However, since they couldn't be sure which Lin Xuan was real, they had been treating him like thin air.

Big Gold Tooth felt it wasn't that simple.

'If only one of the six Lin Xuans is a physical entity, it means we are currently in the real world, not a world of consciousness.'

'That means five Lin Xuans are Phantom Images. Adding Chen Ran's trio...'

'There are only 18 real people in this Secret Room.'

'We are short of two.'

'Therefore, the Common Sense traps involved here are: 18 people, 20 people, and 23 people.'

'We cannot state these numbers outright. Even if we have to say them, we must use Avoidance of Lying.'

'Deducing further.'

Big Gold Tooth looked around. He felt the two missing people should be in the Secret Room.

'I haven't found any suspicious points.'

'But I can't rule out the possibility that the two missing people are in the Secret Room, so...'

'Whenever the topic involves the number of people, I absolutely must use Avoidance of Lying.'

'But if I were Lin Xuan, I should also be able to think of this layer.'

'Therefore...'

'All twenty-three people present could potentially be fake. That's troublesome.'

'The people cannot be trusted.'

'What about the clues within the Secret Room?'

'The Bullets shouldn't be able to pierce the glass door. Shooting the glass door might trigger a mechanism.'

'The Bullets shouldn't be able to pierce the ice. Shooting the ice might also trigger a mechanism.'

'Then the mechanism must be in...'

Thinking of this.

Big Gold Tooth approached the table, picked up the Prop Gun, ejected the Bullets from the magazine, and weighed it lightly in his hand.

'It's a bit heavy.'

'I can basically confirm that the mechanism is in the magazine. There should be some sort of electrical shock device inside the magazine, and firing the gun might result in being electrocuted.'

Thus, he tossed the magazine aside, pulled back the Pistol's slide, loaded a Bullet directly into the chamber through the ejection port, and then released the slide.

His handling was very proficient. At a glance, it was obvious he was someone who often played with guns during his lifetime.

"Alright, firing the gun now shouldn't trigger the mechanism." Big Gold Tooth grinned, revealing his two gold-capped teeth.

"You first?" Chen Ran asked.

Big Gold Tooth pondered for a moment. He clearly knew that all the players present were extremely cautious. No one would dare to be the first to attempt such a Cannon Fodder action.

"Sure, but we have to establish a Future Lie. Each person fires one shot, and we can't shoot randomly. We must state our reasons for shooting the way we do." Big Gold Tooth suggested.

Chen Ran, Qiu Yinong, Gao Lan, Ye Qian and her teammates, as well as Lin Xuan, all looked deeply at him.

The players sank into deep thought once again.

'If the glass door could be shattered by the Bullets, then this Secret Room...'

'Would be far too simple!'

'According to Common Sense, the ice cannot be pierced by the Bullets, but Common Sense is unreliable...'

'When we woke up just now, we were lying in a circular pattern around the table.'

'Since the glass door isn't the exit, the exit should be beneath the ice.'

'The circular pattern is highly likely the key clue to breaking through the ice.'

'If the exit is neither the glass door nor beneath the ice, then...'

'It must be related to the twelve zodiac ice sculptures.'

'[Task: 50%] probably means that when the sixth ice sculpture is shattered, it must be the exit, otherwise there will be a penalty.'

'6/12 = 50%.'

'So, one must try their best to avoid being the sixth person to shoot.'

'Summary: The glass door is ruled out. The exit is either under the ice or blocked by one of the twelve zodiac ice sculptures.'

'It's important to note here that regarding the twelve zodiac ice sculptures, to satisfy [Task: 50%], one cannot be the sixth person to shoot at an ice sculpture.'

'If I can think of this problem, the other players should be able to think of it too.'

'Therefore, the first five people to shoot will definitely take the lead to shatter five ice sculptures. Then the sixth person to shoot will have to shoot the ice. Otherwise, if they continue shooting at the ice sculptures, it might trigger some mechanism and they will be killed by it.'

'In summary, since Big Gold Tooth proposed the plan, he might know the answer. It's best to let him be the sixth person to shoot.'

'If he chooses to shoot the ice, we will also follow suit and shoot the ice. We will leave the last Bullet for Lin Xuan, who also knows the answer. Then his only choice will be to shoot an ice sculpture; otherwise, when the Bullets run out, no one will be able to escape.'

'Since there are six spatial layers, there are six Lin Xuans, but they can swap with each other to execute spatial teleportation. Guns of different colors have different skill effects.'

'Therefore, Lin Xuan should have six skills with seven effects, and the common skill effect is highly likely: Spatial Swap.'

'The six Lin Xuans can swap with each other.'

'Simply put, this Lin Xuan can swap with the Lin Xuan in the next spatial layer. The two swap spatial layers, and they can even swap intuitively at will.'

'Since it's certain that one Lin Xuan in this Secret Room is real, no matter how they swap, one Lin Xuan will be real. If the Bullets run out and the Secret Room still hasn't been solved, a Lin Xuan will also be trapped in here. He will have no choice but to use his skill again, and by then, we can all escape this space.'

'In short, Big Gold Tooth must be the sixth person to shoot, and Lin Xuan must be the last person to shoot. This way, solving the Secret Room will either result in clearing it, or it will be unsolvable. And when it is unsolvable, the real Lin Xuan trapped in here will be forced to use his skill to transfer the Secret Room, allowing everyone to escape. Therefore...'

'An unsolvable situation is also clearing the level!'

'Now comes the final problem: neither Big Gold Tooth nor Lin Xuan can fire the first shot.'

'Who fires the first shot?'

"Let's vote by raising hands. I propose he fires the first shot." Ye Qian took the lead and pointed at Chen Ran, who was quietly smoking.

Chen Ran: 'I fucking thank you so much.'

God only knew what other mechanisms lay within the Secret Room. Whether shooting the ice or the twelve zodiac ice sculptures, if the method was wrong, it could very well trigger a mechanism. To put it bluntly, the first person to shoot was just a lab rat.