Gamers Are Fierce-Chapter 572 - 570 Corridor

The speculation about Officer Wang being the final boss was, of course, a joke.

Crayon drawing, a window, a little girl... Li Ang stared at the drawing, squinting as he pondered for a moment. The window in the drawing is a cross-pane window with a brown wooden frame and clear glass, whereas the windows in this room are a pair of casement windows with silver metal frames and gray frosted glass. There's only one place where the color is the same...

The latch pin.

Li Ang returned to the window. Each of the two casement windows had a latch pin. The left window's latch pin was intact. The right one, however, was rusted, its top half missing. This broken latch was cunningly hidden, its base stuck fast.

The shapes of the left and right latch pins are different. The left latch pin is a standard L-shaped metal cylinder, while the tip of the right one is circular on the outside and hollow inside, indented into a regular hexagon. It resembles a Hex Screwdriver.

Li Ang applied a little force and pulled the L-shaped Hex Screwdriver—which had been disguised as the broken latch pin—from the base of the incomplete right-hand latch.

Li Ang weighed the somewhat hefty Hex Screwdriver in his hand and cursed inwardly, So deviously hidden.

The room's only light source was an elongated light strip inside a plastic diffuser embedded in the ceiling. The light by the window was extremely dim. Unless one carefully felt around, it would be impossible to spot the difference.

Alright, I have the Hex Screwdriver. Now what?

Li Ang tried using the Hex Screwdriver to turn a screw near the washbasin, but the head of that screw was already half broken off. Furthermore, the Hex Screwdriver had an indented hexagonal socket; its size and shape didn't match, so it couldn't turn the screw at all.

The exposed screws on the spring bed are too large, and the metal cabinet has no screws on its exterior. The only place in the room where this screwdriver might be useful is...

He mused, walking towards the metal door, and aimed the Hex Screwdriver at the hexagonal rivets on its surface.

CLICK.

The Hex Screwdriver fit perfectly. He twisted it with effort for a moment, but it didn't budge.

As long as it fits... With so many rivets on the door, it's impossible for every single one to be hiding something.

Li Ang stretched his fingers and began to test the rivets one by one. Finally, upon trying the seventeenth rivet from the left along the bottom of the door, he felt something different.

It's turning!

Joy surged in Li Ang's heart. He gripped the Hex Screwdriver tightly, slowly turning it, and gradually unscrewed the rivet.

Once the rivet was out, a narrow hole remained in the door. The light here was too dim to see anything inside, even if he lay on the floor. Moreover, his gloves were too clumsy to reach into the small opening.

Let me think... The tip of the Hex Screwdriver is magnetic...

Li Ang removed the rivet from the Hex Screwdriver, crouched down, inserted the screwdriver into the hole left by the rivet, and twisted it around for a moment.

CLANG.

A crisp metallic sound echoed from within the door. Li Ang's heart pounded. He slowly withdrew the Hex Screwdriver and, sure enough, saw a small key stuck to its tip.

Good.

Li Ang breathed a sigh of relief and stood up. Judging by its shape, it must be for the main door's keyhole.

He walked to the door and inserted the key into the keyhole. Before he could even turn it, he heard a CLICK. The heavy metal door automatically slid to the left along the ground rails, stopping after it had moved a certain distance.

Li Ang didn't rush outside. He held the door with one hand and poked his head out, looking around for a moment.

Outside the door was a very spacious stone corridor. Its floor, walls, and ceiling were all made of gray-blue stone bricks. Embedded in the ceiling were the same type of long, white light strips as in the room. The corridor curved. Li Ang looked left and right. He saw that the right side of the corridor was a sealed stone wall. To the left, he could faintly make out another identical metal door. A large letter 'B' was painted on the stone bricks above it.

Above the door he had just exited, the letter 'A' was painted.

In the mission log, the words "[Stage Two Mission Objective: Leave Room A]" slowly faded, replaced by: "[Stage Three Mission Objective: Explore Rooms B, C, D, E, and F within the corridor]."

...Five more rooms?!

Li Ang squinted, muttering to himself, They're not even listing the mission rewards or time limit this time? Does that mean it's just 'figure it out yourself'?

Grumbling is one thing, but the mission still has to be done.

Li Ang glanced at the Energy Battery on his left arm. The liquid inside had depleted further.

I need to hurry...

He sighed and tried to pull the key from the large door, but it wouldn't budge. So, once used, it can't be removed... Understandable. If one key could open all the doors, there'd be no point to these tasks. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Li Ang nodded. He returned to the room and wrapped the torn strips of bedsheet around his waist. He held the crayon drawing and the letter in his left hand and clutched the Hex Screwdriver in his right (it was metal, after all, and could serve as a makeshift weapon). To prevent the door from suddenly slamming shut, he also jammed the wooden chair into the door's guide rail. The chair looked wooden but was incredibly sturdy and seemingly unbreakable—probably another special item created through Alchemy.

After confirming he hadn't missed anything, Li Ang cautiously stepped out of the room and proceeded slowly along the corridor.

It was a circular corridor, approximately four meters wide and three meters high. The right side was a continuous stone wall. On the left, at regular intervals, were metal doors. The stone bricks above them were painted with the letters A, B, C, D, E, and F, in sequence. To the left of Room F, there was another stone wall.

Each room's metal door was different. Room B's door had an alphanumeric combination lock. Room C's door featured patterns of open-bottomed triangles and squares, with an eye motif below them. Part of Room D's door was hollowed out, forming a platform that resembled a small shrine. The words "Needs 4L" were written on it. The left side of the platform was empty, while the right side held a gilded cup with "3L" inscribed on its base. On the door to Room E, the sequence "2F2S21M2M3S13T2" was written. Below it was a twenty-four-letter combination lock. The door to Room F was quite ordinary, having only a keyhole.

In the stone wall to the left of Room F, a cylindrical cavity had been hollowed out. It looked just the right size to hold an Energy Battery.

...

Li Ang stood at the entrance to Room F and let out a long, heavy sigh. "No matter what puzzle we face, we shouldn't be afraid. Smile in its face. The best way to eliminate fear is to face fear... My ass! With this many puzzles, System, are you trying to kill me? Let me tell you, if it weren't for the Alchemy here, I would've rage quit on the spot!"

Li Ang's shout echoed through the corridor, but sadly, there was no response. Miss Chai wasn't around to tease him with, "Why are you yelling so loud?!"