Chapter 55: The Bodhisattva Said: You Can Record

"Actually, you don't need to act like this. Perhaps the twentieth piece of Xuan Paper will bring a miracle..." Chen Ran remarked unhurriedly.

Everyone: "..."

First, drive people to despair.

Then, give them hope.

With hope, Zhang Jinhua wouldn't resort to the desperation of a cornered dog. He manipulated her perfectly.

Looking at the entire layout, Chen Ran and Qiu Yinong not only took care of Zhang Jinhua but also made the cannon fodder willing to go to their deaths.

Having resolved the two major uncertain factors, the subsequent puzzle-solving became much simpler.

Following the previously arranged order.

One by one, the cannon fodder approached the desk trembling with fear, listening carefully as Chen Ran solved the puzzles. Whenever they felt sure he was explaining seriously, they would assume it was a safe number.

"Why would I still help you decipher the Dangerous Serial Numbers?"

Human nature was just like that. Once given hope, they would cling to it until the final results were revealed, acting exactly along the predetermined path.

"You lied."

"You lied."

"You lied."

One by one, after losing their memories completely, the cannon fodder were tricked by the others into telling Common-Sense Lies.

Soon, they reached the eighteenth piece of Xuan Paper.

Inside the Hourglass, there were still two numbers left.

Number 19 and number 20.

There were eight corpses on the ground.

The cannon fodder whose turn was up was The Youth. With tear stains streaking his face, he slumped onto the floor.

Ten Dangerous Serial Numbers.

Eight corpses.

This meant two more people had to die, but Liu Xing, one of the three captains, had not answered yet.

Liu Xing knew the ten Dangerous Serial Numbers, so he would definitely save a safe number for himself.

In other words, number 19 was dangerous, and number 20 was absolutely safe.

He still had the capacity for this bit of deduction, but he also knew that even if he survived and exited this Instance alive, it would be extremely difficult to survive the subsequent Secret Rooms.

As for whether the captain would keep his promise and send Points to his good friend, he could only leave such matters to fate.

At this thought.

The Youth began to hum and sing, "Sister, step boldly forward, do not look back..."

"Good is rewarded with good, and evil is met with evil. If it has not been met, the time has simply not yet come. I will wait for you all in Ultimate Death." The Youth did not even turn his head.

He did not even look at the contents on the Xuan Paper. Walking straight to the first bookshelf, he pulled out a random book and instantly lost all his memories.

The ending went without saying.

He was tricked into telling a Common-Sense Lie and died.

Inside the Hourglass, the number 19 Glass Bead dropped and subsequently lost its number. With that, only one Glass Bead remained. It was Liu Xing's turn to answer.

With Chen Ran helping to solve the puzzle, Liu Xing smoothly obtained his number in sequence.

Next, the remaining eleven people looked at the contents on the twentieth piece of Xuan Paper:

"The end."

Chen Ran did not give Zhang Jinhua any leeway. "It begins with Second-round Simplified Characters and ends with Second-round Simplified Characters. The content on this Xuan Paper corresponds to book number 19866. Go draw it."

According to her previous promise, Zhang Jinhua had to draw the book within one minute after Chen Ran finished solving the puzzle, otherwise it would count as her telling a lie.

Zhang Jinhua shakily approached the bookshelf and found the corresponding book. Reaching out, she steeled her heart and pulled out book number 19866.

However, when she immediately tried to recall her past, she realized she had not lost her memories. Just as a smile surfaced on her face, she saw...

The others were backing away from her desperately as if they had seen a ghost. She turned her head...

And discovered that the book was actually connected to a white wire, and a small plume of white smoke was rising from the spot where the book had previously been.

Boom!

An unprompted explosion blasted the three bookshelves and Zhang Jinhua into scattered fragments.

The explosion affected the desk. The Hourglass shattered, and Glass Beads rolled out one by one, stopping exactly in front of the ten remaining people.

Everyone wiped away cold sweat. It was a good thing Wang Yan had been put to Judgment and died immediately when he previously planned to draw this book. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

The ten people picked up the Glass Beads in front of them and were stunned to discover that they all bore their corresponding numbers.

Chen Ran received number 1, Qiu Yinong received number 2...

They looked ahead. In the area where the three bookshelves had stood, the floor had surprisingly revealed a Basement entrance following the explosion.

The group began to organize their information.

Chen Ran spoke up first. "First of all, the owner of this Study Room suffered from Alzheimer's disease when he was alive. While solving the Xuan Paper puzzles, we also learned that he was beaten by someone."

The Middle-aged Uncle also added, "There are also the Second-round Simplified Characters on the wall: My property is buried beside my Wife's grave. This is also very crucial information."

Liu Xing offered his own deduction. "We're still missing a Successor. Tell me, if this Successor didn't know Second-round Simplified Characters, wouldn't he be unaware of where the Old Man's property is?"

"Are you saying that the main theme of the entire Instance revolves around finding the property?" the Gold-Rimmed Glasses Captain asked uncertainly.

Chen Ran stroked his chin. "Why do I feel like the theme of the Instance is that Successor trying to help the Old Man recover his memory?"

"How so?" Qiu Yinong asked.

"Look, the Glass Beads symbolize Memory Anchors, and the corresponding Xuan Paper involves various types of knowledge. Connecting this to the vast number of books in the Study Room, can we draw this conclusion: the Old Man liked to read. After he lost his memory, the Successor wanted to know where the Old Man hid his property, so he tried to use the Old Man's love for reading to help him recover some of his memories, particularly those concerning the property."

As he spoke, he pointed at the Second-round Simplified Characters on the wall. "The puzzle-solving involved in this Secret Room is only related to the implementation and abolition dates of the Second-round Simplified Characters, but it has absolutely nothing to do with the actual meaning conveyed by the Second-round Simplified Characters."

"In other words, the Successor hasn't yet helped the Old Man recover his memories regarding the property. Therefore, there's a high probability that the next Secret Room will continue to help the Old Man recover his memories."

Chen Ran looked toward the Basement entrance, his eyes turning grave. "This time, I'm afraid..."

'We are in for some serious suffering!'

With that said, he took out his Marker Pen, intending to write the conclusion of this Secret Room on his arm.

However...

At that moment, the earlier explosion triggered the fire alarm inside the Study Room. A massive amount of water showered down from the ceiling.

In an instant, the numbers recorded on the palms of their hands and the text written on their arms were completely washed away, leaving absolutely nothing behind.

"The ink from my pen is supposed to be waterproof. How did it all disappear?" the Middle-aged Uncle complained in frustration.

As soon as his voice fell, the Middle-aged Uncle froze in place, and the others also wore grim expressions.

'This proves that the ultimate BOSS doesn't want us to record the relevant information.'

'This is going to be troublesome.'

The ten people sat on the floor. Some ate food to replenish their energy, while others drank a type of Recovery Potion that seemed to alleviate mental stress.

Chen Ran picked up a tattered Shielding Plate from the ground, held it over his head, and took out his Marker Pen to write on his arm.

But he found that the Marker Pen had been soaked by the water and could no longer write properly.

After a moment of thought.

Since he had nothing else to do, he took out a piece of bread from his bag and ate it while carefully examining the copy of "Journey to the West" in his hands.

Before long.

Having rested enough, the group stood up and gathered before the Basement entrance. Chen Ran and Qiu Yinong stood at the back of the crowd.

They entered the Basement one by one. When it was Chen Ran's turn, he quickly turned his head and tossed a crumpled ball of paper to Qiu Yinong behind him.

Qiu Yinong unrolled the paper:

"The Bodhisattva said: This Hinayana Teaching of yours cannot transcend the deceased to salvation; it can only allow one to muddle along with the mortal world. I have the Tripitaka of the Mahayana Teaching, which can transcend the deceased to heaven, deliver sufferers from torment, cultivate a body of immeasurable longevity, and achieve a state of no coming and no going."