The third 'single-plank bridge' was more difficult to traverse than the second. In addition to wire fences blocking the path, sharp, blade-shaped pendulums swung back and forth from the ceiling, obstructing the way forward. Caleb had to maintain his balance while also being wary of these pendulum attacks. However, as his heart rate steadily increased, his control over his body reached an astonishing level. Therefore, the time he spent crossing the third 'single-plank bridge' was actually less than that for the second bridge.
— Perfect body balance has increased your Cautious Stance proficiency by 50.
— Your Cautious Stance has leveled up to Level 1.
(Cautious Stance LV1: Hearing +20%, Vision +20%. When hiding, Disguise +10%, 20% chance of being ignored when interacting with a target non-frontally, Footstep Sound reduced by 10%, Trace Duration reduced by 10%, Speed -40%.)
Upon reaching the third platform, Caleb also received a notification that his Cautious Stance had leveled up. The buffs from this stance upgrade slightly increased his movement speed while in Cautious Stance.
'Huh?' As he bent down to pick up the box on the ground, Caleb immediately noticed something strange about it. 'It seems a bit heavier than the previous two boxes.'
An ordinary person might find it hard to notice this difference without comparing the two boxes in their hands. But with his enhanced senses, Caleb detected the anomaly as soon as the box entered his hand. He opened the wooden box; the Winding Key and the red velvet lining inside both appeared normal.
'The weight seems to be concentrated at the bottom of the box?' Caleb flipped the box over to examine it, and the bottom also appeared fine. But when he tore open the red velvet lining with his hand, he noticed a large 'X' drawn on the bottom of the box with a marker.
'No one can survive, follow the direction of your heart to search, X is the hope of life!' He immediately recalled the sentence handwritten on that strange slip of paper, tucked among the 100 'quotes'. That sentence carried a certain hint, somewhat like a clue left by someone involved in the design of the death game.
Now that a mysterious X appeared inside the box, did it mean that the so-called 'clue to life' was hidden within this box?
Caleb tapped the inside of the box twice with his hand, and the crisp sound characteristic of a hollow object echoed back. 'Is there something inside?' He pressed the bottom of the box with his finger, and with only a slight effort, he pushed through it.
After clearing away the box fragments, the bottom became a bare, square frame. The frame had a dull sheen, and its material appeared to be some special alloy, feeling quite sturdy to the touch.
— Discovering item…
— You have obtained [Lightweight Alloy Frame].
[Lightweight Alloy Frame]
[Type: Uncommon Item]
[Effect: Unknown, needs identification.]
[Weight: 3]
[Can be taken out of the scene: No]
[Note: It's often the inconspicuous little gadgets that save a life.]
'The description doesn't even specify how to use it?' Caleb repeatedly checked the item information on both sides, unable to understand what this thing had to do with the 'hope of life'. 'I'll take it for now.' The game system wouldn't set up irrelevant items; not knowing how to use it just meant it wasn't time to use it yet.
He held the metal frame in his hand. Before acquiring a bag or other inventory items, objects picked up in the scene could only be carried by players in their hands or stored in their clothes pockets.
Because beyond the third platform, there was only a bare wall, no path, and no door. Whether it was to continue symbolically 'saving' Black Mike or to muddle through the level to the next scene, Caleb had only one choice: to return the way he came. He then re-embarked on the 'single-plank bridge,' walking back towards the 'Cold-Blooded Headshot Maniac' device.
Behind the surveillance cameras, in a dark room, in front of several monitors. The scarred man in a black and red cloak frowned, staring at the surveillance footage. In the footage, Caleb, after easily obtaining 3 'Winding Keys,' returned the way he came, and had now crossed two 'single-plank bridges,' returning to the vicinity of the death device. The man's eyes showed deep surprise, as if he found Caleb's excellent physical balance unbelievable.
Just then, he suddenly noticed several blurry dark figures flash across the surveillance video in the bottom right corner. The scarred man seemed to realize something, his expression becoming serious, and he muttered, "Darn it, they're here so fast." He quickly turned on the other two closed surveillance videos, then stared intently at those two video feeds, a hint of anxiety in his eyes.
Before long, in one of the surveillance screens, behind several stacked wooden boxes, two figures wearing Pig Head Masks and black and red cloaks slowly emerged. At the same time, in another surveillance screen, several figures in similar attire also appeared. They walked slowly towards the surveillance cameras, as if performing some ritual, silent and solemn.
Caleb successfully crossed all the 'single-plank bridges' and returned to the vicinity of the death device. By this time, Black Mike's right-hand joint had been shattered, the roller was sending his head to the judgment position, and the bloody spiked baseball bat was almost fully charged. Mike's head hung low, motionless, either already dead or unconscious in a deep coma.
Caleb accurately inserted the 3 Winding Keys into the 3 slots on the gear assembly, then rotated them half a turn one by one. The gear assembly slowly stopped with a series of clicks, the spiked baseball bat finally ceased charging, and the entire death device appeared to have stopped operating.
Then, the strange close-up perspective reappeared, and the screen began to rotate continuously, and Caleb once again saw the yellowish memory scene.
"Hey, Mike, you're fired." Outside the stadium, a tall, middle-aged man coldly said to Black Mike: "My baseball club doesn't welcome you."
"Just give me one more chance, I promise I won't make the same mistake again." Mike had a cynical expression, and his tone sounded insincere.
"Bats are for games, not for smashing other people's heads… Besides, I've given you many chances before." The middle-aged man sternly said, "I will never allow a violent person to ruin my team."
...
The scene switched, Black Mike was sitting in front of a computer. A video was playing on the computer monitor. In the video, a muscular blonde teenager was beating another thin and weak teenager.
"Isn't this kid the old man's son? He actually made it to the trending news? Campus bullying? Hypocritical old man, what more do you have to say? Your own son is also a violent person, hahaha…"
A vengeful smile appeared at the corner of Mike's mouth as he scrolled the page down to the comment section. He noticed several popular comments that attracted a large number of replies from netizens.
[His parents should bear primary responsibility for this! This is a failure of family education!]
The moment he saw this comment, Mike felt that the commenter had accurately expressed what he was thinking inside.
"Yes, yes, if a child isn't educated well, the parents should bear the primary responsibility." A hint of cruelty flashed across his evil face. "Then the sins committed by the son should be repaid by the father… That is only right and proper."
...
The scene switched once again, becoming a video recording perspective. In the video, a tall middle-aged man was walking towards them from not far away.
"Look, everyone, come and see, that man is the father of the campus bully." Mike's voice became a narration, introducing: "Parents who raise such a little beast must themselves be morally corrupt individuals. We should give such people a proper lesson to make them remember."
At this moment, as Mike approached the middle-aged man, the other party also noticed Mike.
"It's you again? I don't want to see you, get out of my sight quickly!" The middle-aged man appeared very angry, waving his fists and yelling gruffly at Mike.
"Hey, wait… Did you eat gunpowder today? I'm here on behalf of the vast number of netizens to seek justice for the victim…" Mike said shamelessly.
"Seeking justice? What justice?" The middle-aged man looked confused and noticed the video camera in Mike's hand, immediately reaching out angrily to try and press down the lens. "What are you filming? Put that thing down quickly!"
"Don't you dare lay a hand on me, if you break this thing, you can't afford to pay for it." In the lens, Mike shouted while raising an iron baseball bat.
"What do you want to do? Don't come any closer, if you come any closer I'll call the police!" The middle-aged man's face showed alertness, his voice rising a few octaves.
"Call the police? Hmph, calling the police won't work either. A cunning scoundrel like you, when you make a mistake, you should be punished with violence!" Saying that, the baseball bat had already swung towards the middle-aged man's head. Mike swung the bat while cursing. "I'm doing this to uphold justice, and to vent the anger of the teenager who was bullied by your son."
"I represent the will of all netizens." Mike committed violence while letting out a somewhat crazed laugh.
"This, is the sanction of justice!"