Gamers Are Fierce-Chapter 574 - 572: The Black Store

The Pigpen Cipher had been passed down for hundreds of years. It was simple, expedient, and had a wide range of applications. However, relatively speaking, it was fairly easy to crack.

Li Ang glanced at the letter. When he looked up again, the answer was already in his mind. And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light.

God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.

This is from Old Testament Genesis 1:3. Does this alternate world also have The Bible?

Li Ang's brows furrowed slightly as he looked towards the strip lights on the corridor ceiling. "There's light in the hallway," he muttered. "Could it be that I need to find another source of light, like infrared or ultraviolet lamps? Or is it asking me to find the light switch and turn the lights off and then on again?"

The corridor was three meters high; even with a stool, he couldn't reach the lights. And the spring bed from Room A was too bulky to be moved through the doorway.

With no solution in mind, Li Ang temporarily set aside Room C's door and approached the last one: Room B.

Like Room E, the door to Room B also featured a combination lock.

The inscription above the lock read:

BASE+BALL=GAMES

Beneath the inscription were seven letters: A, B, E, G, L, M, S.

Each letter had a dial below it, marked with the digits 0-9.

I've tried and failed with the other doors. Only this one remains...

Li Ang's first thought was to use the solution obtained from the Room C Pigpen Cipher, taking the line numbers where the seven letters ABEGLMS appeared in the letter and entering them into the corresponding dials.

However, some of these letters appeared on lines beyond the tenth. Besides, if the answer was the Room C password, they wouldn't need to write BASE+BALL=GAMES on the Room B door.

Baseball, ball... tank battles, Qiu Qianren, armadillo, I've pleaded before Buddha for thousands of years...

Countless bits of information surged through Li Ang's mind. It felt like being in an exam; despite trying hard to solve the problem, his brain kept looping certain earworms, stubbornly unstoppable.

Wait a minute, maybe it's not that complicated...

Li Ang's eyes brightened. He extended his clumsily gloved hand and slowly turned the dials. "I just have to treat this code like a mathematical addition problem," he murmured.

A=4, B=7, E=3, G=1, L=5, M=9...

When the dial under S aligned with 8, the metal door to Room B trembled slightly, then slid silently to the right along its track.

The smile had barely formed on Li Ang's face when it vanished. Behind the opened door was another door...

"Are you kidding me?!" Li Ang stared wide-eyed at the ceiling and exclaimed. "Come on down, dungeon designer! If I get my hands on you, I'm tearing that hood right off! I'll slap you silly! And when I get out of here, you'll get what's coming to you! Mark my words!"

After venting, Li Ang composed himself, approached the doorframe, and peered inside.

There was a one-meter gap between Room B's two metal doors. On the floor in this space, a circle was spray-painted, with a footprint pattern in its center. It resembled the metal detection areas at high-speed train stations.

Are they hinting that I should stand inside the circle?

Honestly, Li Ang didn't want to go in. If he got trapped between the two doors, with no escape route, he'd have no choice but to quit the scenario.

After some thought, and another sweep of the corridor to ensure no hidden elements were missed, he retrieved the wooden chair wedged in Room A's entrance. He placed it on the track of Room B's first door. Screwdriver in hand, he cautiously stepped inside, eyes and ears peeled, ready to bolt at any second. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

No hidden arrows or poison shot from the walls. Li Ang smoothly stepped onto the footprint pattern.

"And then?"

Li Ang maintained his standing position, looking around for a moment, then rubbed his chin uncertainly. Do I need to perform a specific action to proceed?

Before he could attempt a Thomas spin on the spot, the door behind him slammed shut.

The seemingly sturdy wooden chair didn't last half a second.

CRACK! It was crushed into two pieces, which fell on either side of the door.

"?!"

Li Ang was startled. Then, red light flooded the narrow space, bathing everything in a blood-like crimson.

After the red light flashed three times, the door in front of him slowly opened, revealing another room.

Room B was the same size as Room A, except there was no spring bed or washbasin.

On the bare ceramic floor lay an envelope, a kerosene lamp, and a box of matches.

The red light gradually dimmed, replaced by white light from Room B's ceiling.

Li Ang stood still, observing for a moment, then tiptoed forward and picked up the envelope from the floor.

He opened the envelope with practiced ease, took out the letter, and unfolded it. This one was much shorter and had no stains.

"Congratulations, Morgan, you've successfully pushed past your limits and reached the second stage!

Just kidding.

Although you're as foolish and clumsy as a gorilla, if you spend enough time, you should be able to solve the puzzle on the door, right?

Since that's the case, I don't mind giving you a hint:

Don't talk. Listen carefully."

Listen to what?

Doubt rose in Li Ang's heart. Then he heard a sound from above the room's ceiling.

CREAK.

First, the sound of a door opening, then two sets of footsteps.

Instantly, the image of a man in leather shoes and a woman in cotton slippers formed in Li Ang's mind. They opened a door, walked into a room, and stood in its center.

The woman spoke first, "Dear, just now..."

"Sorry, it was my fault." The man's tone was somewhat gloomy. "I shouldn't have lost my temper with you both. I lost control. The experiment hasn't progressed, and the only remaining samples were destroyed by last night's damned weather..."

"It's okay," the woman comforted him gently. "You're so smart; you'll always find a way to solve it, won't you? When all this is over, you can play baseball with her on the grass for an afternoon, just like before. Then you can lie on the roof and teach her to recognize the stars."

The man was silent for a moment, then sighed heavily. "Maybe..."

"It will get better."

"Ah, the water in the kitchen is boiling," the woman said softly. "I'll go get some hot water."

"I'll come with you," the man said, following the woman towards the door.

Li Ang, still processing the information, sensed things were taking a bad turn and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Hey! Help! There's someone locked up down here! Hello! Is anyone there?!"

He ran to the wall and pounded on it, but he couldn't stop the sound of a door closing from above.

BANG.

Everything returned to silence.

"They just left?"

Li Ang looked at the corner of the ceiling, utterly puzzled. What's going on? Is this some kind of shady inn run by a couple? Do they specialize in imprisoning people and enjoy torturing unlucky souls?