48: The second parchment

"crucifix usage count - 1. Current available uses: 2."

A notification sounded in Song Yang's mind.

Because he didn't know how long the crucifix's expulsion effect would last, he didn't dwell on it.

Seeing that there were no rats left in the room, he immediately walked in and took down the parchment floating in the air.

"[Hint]"

"Third: Silence is golden."

"Fourth: One hand alone cannot clap."

There were only two short hints on the parchment, nothing else.

"What do these two sentences mean?"

"Can't they just give some simple and clear hints?"

Looking at the content on the parchment, Song Yang scratched his scalp.

He hated hints that were like riddles the most.

When the others saw Song Yang enter the room, they also walked in.

Everyone gathered around, looking at the parchment in Song Yang's hand, and fell into deep thought.

"Silence is golden... Does this mean we shouldn't speak?"

The assistant looked at the third hint and asked, very confused.

"I don't think it means we shouldn't speak."

"It means we should keep quiet!"

Yuan Hao shook his head, a glint flashing in his eyes.

"That's right, I think so too."

"Besides rats, there must be other dangers in this castle."

"If we make too much noise, it might attract other terrifying things!"

As an employee of the escape room, Qin Yao nodded at this point, agreeing with Yuan Hao's statement.

"Then what does the fourth one mean?"

"One hand alone cannot clap... Does it mean we need to unite to clear the level?"

Dai Xiaomei looked at the fourth hint, her tone very uncertain.

"Anyway, let's get out of here first."

Song Yang put away the parchment and signaled everyone to leave quickly.

The crucifix only said it could repel the rat swarm, but it didn't specify for how long.

Now that they were all in the room, if the rats ran back, everyone would probably be wiped out.

"That's right, let's leave first!"

Yuan Hao nodded in agreement.

Soon, everyone quickly retreated from the room.

"Should we check the other rooms?"

"Maybe there will be some props or other parchments inside."

There were a total of three rooms in the corridor, located at the front, middle, and back.

Ye Kexin looked at Room Number Two and spoke to everyone.

"Look!"

"We can't miss anything!"

"We have to look, even if it costs us our lives!"

It must be said that Yuan Hao was indeed a high-level player of escape rooms.

With just one death, he had deduced how to clear the level.

In an escape room of this level, not a single detail could be overlooked.

Perhaps the key to clearing the level was hidden in one of the rooms.

Hearing Yuan Hao's resolute tone, everyone present, except Song Yang, felt a chill in their hearts.

Vaguely, they all seemed to have guessed their fate.

This was only the third floor!

It seemed that to successfully clear the level, everyone would have to die at least once!

"Is this castle so abnormal?"

"No wonder it quickly became popular on TikTok..."

Dai Xiaomei murmured, a bitter smile appearing on her face.

She had thought that being the first to arrive at the Haunted House would give her an advantage and a lot of traffic.

She didn't expect that she was still too naive.

Putting everything else aside, in this castle, whoever challenged it first would be the first to make a fool of themselves!

With death occurring so frequently, and in such terrifying ways, who could endure it?!

Perhaps she was gradually getting used to the terrifying atmosphere, but Dai Xiaomei actually felt a strange sense of excitement and thrill.

So even when she heard Yuan Hao say to 'fill it with lives', she didn't show much resistance, but only a bitter smile.

The others were similar to Dai Xiaomei at this time, all experiencing fear mixed with excitement and thrill.

In today's society, the pace of life is extremely fast.

Haunted Houses and escape rooms are popular among young people for a reason.

Besides the immersive realism, more importantly, they can bring intense stimulation and tension!

In short, it is possible to vent inner negative emotions through fear and excitement.

The mottled and eerie architecture, narrow and dark passages, unsettling dangers, dead silent and terrifying atmosphere, brain-burning hints for clearing the level... Devils Castle pushed these factors to the extreme.

The 100% immersive puzzle-solving escape was simply irresistible.

At this moment, everyone was both afraid of the unknown dangers and eager to solve the puzzles and clear the level.

"Xiaoxin, are you cold?"

Just as everyone silently obeyed Yuan Hao and walked towards Room Number Two, at the very back of the team, Qin Yao suddenly touched her arm and asked, somewhat suspiciously.

"Oh, it does feel a bit cold."

Ye Kexin felt it and nodded.

"Not good!"

Hearing their conversation, Yuan Hao, who was in front, suddenly stopped and exclaimed in a low voice.

"What's not good?"

Song Yang was startled, thinking something else had appeared.

He looked around, and after finding nothing, he turned to Yuan Hao and asked with a frown.

"We need to speed up!"

Yuan Hao's expression was extremely grave, as if he had thought of something.

"Xiaoxin and Sister Qin feel cold because we've delayed too long. It's probably almost night outside the castle."

...Outside.

As time passed, outside the Devils Castle, besides Song Yang and his group, the last batch of players finally came out.

This was a team of three.

Unlike the previous players, these three almost had an undeniable look of excitement and thrill on their faces, but also a lingering confusion.

"This escape room is absolutely amazing! So 'the key is by your side' actually referred to that NPC!"

"But didn't we finally escape the castle?"

"Why did we end up back at the starting point?"

One of them spoke, his tone full of confusion and bewilderment.

"I think the problem should be with the last hint!"

"Death is also liberation... What exactly does this mean?"

"Could it be that to clear the castle, you need to reach a certain number of deaths?"

Another person said.

"Compared to the castle itself, I'm more interested in how the owner of this store achieved such realistic effects!"

"You don't know, when that vampire bit my neck, I literally peed myself from fright."

"The feeling was exactly like the real thing!"

The last person spoke, still seeming to have some lingering fear, his tone tinged with dread.

Clearly, these three were probably high-level escape room players.

Perhaps, their experience was even higher than Yuan Hao's.

From their conversation, it could be heard that they had successfully exited the castle.

But in the end, they returned to the starting point and did not successfully clear the level.

"Anyway, this Haunted House will definitely become popular!"

"And it will be hugely popular!"

"Come again tomorrow!"

"I refuse to believe I can't clear it!"