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Zhang Yi was going crazy. He wasn’t the “Demon”?
Yet he had killed the man with glasses!
The man with glasses was an NPC; Zhang Yi knew that. Killing him wasn’t out of hatred, but because Zhang Yi had sensed that the man was trying to pass coded clues to the “Escaper.” That was why he struck first.
Zhang Yi had been trapped in the city for a long time. He understood the rules of the Lord God system well: no attacking NPCs, no killing teammates, and no suicide. These three rules were ironclad, and Zhang Yi had personally seen what happened to people who broke them. The punishments were worse than death:
Participants who attacked NPCs were mutilated into living husks, those who killed teammates were eternally tortured by their victims’ vengeful spirits, and those who committed suicide were forced to relive their deaths endlessly without ever escaping…
A shiver ran down Zhang Yi’s spine. He was terrified—so terrified that he had to write this fear into his diary. Thinking this, he hurried up the stairs to the second floor of the villa. He moved so quickly that he forgot to hide his footsteps, startling the other NPCs. Fearing the “Demon” was on the prowl, they all slammed their doors shut.
Lin Kuo, hiding behind a column, watched Zhang Yi return to the room where the schoolbag was kept. Then Lin quickly slipped into the living room. On the coffee table sat a block of wood.
Wood?
Lin thought back to the third clue about the Demon. It lined up perfectly with Zhang Yi’s real name: “Zhou Mu” (Mu meaning wood). But this also raised suspicion—by Zhang Yi’s usual habits, he would have tried to redirect this clue toward someone else, yet he hadn’t. Why?
Before Lin could think further, he heard footsteps again. He rushed back to his room and collapsed on the bed, positioning himself as if he’d fainted. Seconds later, Zhang Yi opened the door.
The room was unlit, shadows dim. Lin Kuo cracked his eyes open just enough to watch Zhang Yi.
Clearly panicked, Zhang Yi didn’t notice Lin. He paced the room in agitation, then turned his back and pulled another wooden block from his pocket. This one had etched markings. Fit together with the earlier piece, it formed the blueprint of a room.
So the fourth Demon clue, to appear at midnight tonight, would be located in a specific room on the villa’s second floor. Each clue foreshadowed the next clue’s location. Zhang Yi had discovered this pattern when he fished the drowned rabbit out of the courtyard pond. While everyone else crowded around the entrance, he’d been the first to reach into the water.
Beneath the rabbit, red words had been scrawled at the bottom of the pond: “Study.” The moment a second person looked in, the writing vanished.
Zhang Yi was sharp. He had instantly grasped that only the first person to see a Demon clue could learn where the next one would appear. Any attempt by others to peek at that “preview” would erase it.
If Zhang Yi hadn’t been so rattled, he might have noticed the faint glow dimming in the carvings on the block—evidence that Lin Kuo was straining to see it clearly.
But Zhang Yi gave him no chance. He hurled the wooden piece out the window, where it hit the courtyard wall with a dull thud.
Zhang Yi reassured himself: even his own name, “Zhou,” had a “wood” radical. If Lin Kuo really was the Escaper and he had just murdered an NPC, there’s no way he’d still be standing here unharmed.
This thought calmed him. Turning to the bed where Lin “lay unconscious,” Zhang Yi decided that since midnight had passed, killing was off-limits for now.
Still, he pulled out his spring-loaded knife, ready to stab Lin. At the last second, reason prevailed. It wasn’t time yet. Even though something about Lin felt wrong, Zhang Yi needed him alive to divert suspicion.
If Lin truly was the Escaper, Zhang Yi wasn’t worried. Staying close meant he could eliminate him anytime.
Zhang Yi pocketed the knife and sat down on the spot Lin had slept the previous night. “Damn, this is hard as a rock. How the hell did Sheng Kuo manage to sleep here…?”
Lin, eyes half-shut, committed Zhang Yi’s every move to memory—everything except exactly what Zhang Yi had thrown away outside.
Still, Zhang Yi had, for once, granted him a rare moment of peace. Lin’s mind began to race again, recalling something Long-Haired Guy #1 had said the previous day: ‘Three days to wash, five days to bathe.’ Could “3” and “5” be numbers for the lock’s code?
Lin doubted it was that simple.
There were 11 captives in the villa. Excluding the two participants, nine NPCs remained. If each NPC represented two numbers, the lock’s code would be 18 digits long.
Even if he learned all the digits, the permutations would number in the thousands. Lin was sure of one thing: if this was really a three-star dungeon, the solution wouldn’t rely on blind guessing.
Maybe the code was nine digits? After all, the number of NPCs couldn’t be random. In past dungeons, the seemingly minor details often held the key to breaking free.
He thought of the NPCs:
Focusing first on the man with glasses, since they’d shared a room for two nights: the man was obsessed with astronomy, as his introduction had claimed, and his name was Liu Yuanque—literally “Round-and-Missing.” His very life revolved around the moon.
Ironically, Liu Yuanque died, and that same night, the moon finally rose full in the sky. So his code digit might be 0.
Lin mentally jotted that down, then turned to Liu’s wife, Pillow Woman. He remembered her first words when they met: “If I don’t have this pillow, I can’t sleep at all!” Her clue must relate to her pillow.
Pillow. Perhaps 1?
Next, the short-haired man and the six long-haired men. Lin had nicknamed them based on appearances: one short-haired, six long-haired, all acquainted with each other. Maybe their numbers were 1 and 6.
That gave: 0, 1, 1, 6.
Only 24 possible permutations of four numbers. He could try them all. But failure was costly: three wrong entries meant a three-day lockout. Zhang Yi was no fool; Lin suspected he’d find him within that first cooldown period.
No, the villa’s lock wouldn’t be solved this way. The system never relied on luck. The NPCs’ clues weren’t just numbers—they also revealed the order.
Which meant Liu Yuanque’s clue wasn’t simply “0,” Pillow Woman’s wasn’t just “1,” and the men’s numbers weren’t as straightforward as “1” and “6.”
Lin rubbed his temples in frustration. Three days into this dungeon, and he’d gotten nowhere.
And he dared dream of making it to the S Zone?
Sheng Wen would laugh at him.
Lin felt useless. Even if he joined Sheng Wen in an “S-rank dungeon,” he’d only drag him down.
That thought made him quietly sad.
The sadness festered, spiraling until dawn was near. He finally dozed off—only to wake in alarm at 4:48 a.m. when a rooster crowed.
Startled, Zhang Yi instinctively reached for his spring knife. “What the hell… scared by a chicken? This bird crows every morning. Once I get out, I’m killing it.”
Lin rubbed his forehead silently.
“Since you’re awake, let me take the bed,” Zhang Yi said, already stretching out. “Sleeping on the floor is hell. Can’t believe you managed it.”
He flopped onto the mattress with a sigh of relief. “Damn, that’s better. Sheng Kuo, scoot over, will you?”
Lin hated being so close. He rolled off the bed and began thinking. The sadness from last night was gone; his mind was whirring again. He rubbed his neck, then his shoulder where Zhang Yi had hit him last night, and asked casually, “Did you hit me yesterday?”
Zhang Yi shot him a look. “Looking for trouble? Blaming your stiff neck on me?”
Lin stared but didn’t reply. Zhang Yi must have known where the Demon clue was, so he’d knocked out Pillow Woman and the Short-Haired Man, then planted the “stiff neck” excuse in their minds.
When Zhang Yi dozed off, Lin moved to the window.
The moon had already set. Morning light tinged the sky. The rooster perched on the wall, crowing again. Lin counted silently: ten seconds. The bird crowed a second round. Another ten seconds. A third round.
The bird always crowed exactly three times. A perfect illustration of the verse: “Five watches, four drumbeats, three rooster calls.”
Lin froze.
That verse—he’d quoted it before, on the first day here, joking about the group of men: “Seven scholars, six madmen.”
Now he recalled the full doggerel:
Nineteen moons, eight parts round; seven scholars, six madmen; five watches, four drums, three rooster calls; arms around two moons, one pillow to sleep.
Lin’s heart thundered.
The lock code was 1, 0, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Lin rushed to the door.
Zhang Yi snapped awake. “Where are you going?”
“Cooking,” Lin said.
“Oh. Call me when it’s ready,” Zhang Yi yawned.
“Keep dreaming.”
“Come on, Sheng Kuo, after two nights together you’re this cold?”
Lin ignored him and hurried downstairs. Zhang Yi watched him enter the kitchen before lying back down.
From the kitchen doorway, Lin looked toward the villa’s main entrance. The keypad displayed: [Beep beep beep—Incorrect password. 14 hours until next attempt.]
So the next chance would be around 7 p.m. tonight.
With the password now clear, Lin’s spirits soared. Maybe he really could stand shoulder to shoulder with Sheng Wen.
Feeling buoyant, he cooked a fine meal and called everyone to eat.
After breakfast, they examined the third Demon clue in the living room. The wooden block Zhang Yi had left there was now blank.
The Short-Haired Man picked it up. “Doesn’t this point to Sheng Kuo again?”
Lin hadn’t expected this to blow back on him. His face darkened. “What’s that got to do with me?”
“‘Wood,’” Short-Haired Guy reasoned. “The Demon is like a block of wood. Personality-wise, that’s only you.”
“…” Lin wanted to curse.
Zhang Yi even looked relieved. He hadn’t expected the clue to incriminate Lin anyway.
Others chimed in, agreeing.
“Care to explain?” the short-haired man asked.
Lin shot back, “Spit out the breakfast I cooked.”
“Don’t be childish.”
The long-haired men wisely stayed silent rather than return their food. Pillow Woman chewed her toothpick. “Sheng Kuo’s cooking isn’t bad. Almost as good as mine.”
Zhang Yi scoffed. “You serious, lady? I’ve been sparing your feelings, and now you’re bragging?”
Lin held his tongue. In a few hours, he’d be out of here. No point wasting words.
Tension built as evening approached.
Finally, it was time to attempt the code. Excitement rippled through the group. Even without Lin prompting them, the NPCs gathered at the main door.
“Escaper, did you find the password?” Pillow Woman asked eagerly.
She was baiting him.
Lin didn’t move. The Short-Haired Man smirked. “Looks like this year’s Escaper isn’t up to it. Should I try?”
“You know the password?” Lin asked calmly.
He shook his head.
“Then what, are you the Demon, trying to sniff out my clues?”
The man flushed. “Fine, I won’t touch it.”
Long-Haired Guy #1 said, “If we don’t try, won’t the Demon try? Let him input it. Why not us?”
Lin said nothing, but he noticed Zhang Yi staring at the man.
Classic dead-man-walking behavior.
“Forget it,” Short-Haired Guy said. “Without the correct password, this lock is the Demon’s best weapon. We’re paired up in rooms—whoever leaves tonight is clearly a participant.”
Everyone agreed and dispersed.
Lin watched Zhang Yi carefully. Zhang Yi seemed convinced Long-Haired Guy #1 was the Escaper. He led a few men upstairs to the third-floor study.
Lin seized the moment to send Pillow Woman and Short-Haired Guy away, then returned alone to the door.
He keyed in: 1, 0, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Beep.
Incorrect password. Two attempts remaining.
Lin frowned. Could he have been too excited and entered it wrong?
He tried again, slow and careful, digit by digit.
Beep.
Incorrect password. One attempt remaining.
His expression darkened.
Thinking quickly, he typed: 0, 1, 1, 6.
Beep.
Incorrect password. Lock disabled for three days.
And then the mechanical voice rang out:
“Participant violation detected. Punishment will be enacted in 12 hours.
Three incorrect password entries recorded. Three Escaper clues provided:
1: Zhou
2: 16
3: 162.”
The excitement doesn't stop here! If you enjoyed this, you’ll adore I Became a Magical Girl, and I'm Unexpectedly Strong?. Start reading now!
Read : I Became a Magical Girl, and I'm Unexpectedly Strong?
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