In addition to each person receiving an S-rank card, the four Guardians promised before entering the room that if anyone could clear the four-in-one room, they would also receive a team revival card.
Xiao Lou remembered this very clearly. After his teammates finished drawing their cards, he immediately stepped forward and asked the four Guardians, "Where are the team revival cards we agreed on?"
With a flick of her finger, Hearts Sister presented Xiao Lou with a card.
The teammates gathered around to examine it closely. This card was clearly different from the cards they had drawn. The cards they usually drew had markings of four suits on the back: hearts, spade, plum blossom, and diamonds. But the back of this card had the same engraved pattern as the cover of the contract book, as if it were a miniature version of the contract book.
The front of the card had several lines of small, blood-red text written on it.
[Team Card: Nirvana]
Rarity: S
Description: A fixed reward for perfectly completing the four-in-one hidden room.
Effect: This team card is shared by everyone on the contract book. When anyone dies in the normal secret room and is eliminated and sent to the Nightmare Secret Room, they can choose to use or not use this card. If the card is used, the player immediately revives and returns to their teammates. If not used, the player continues into the Nightmare Secret Room. Players eliminated in the Nightmare Secret Room are permanently removed from the game.
Limited edition card, destroyed after being used once.
Just as everyone finished reading the description of the card, it suddenly disappeared in front of them. Xiao Lou's contract book lit up with a soft red light. He opened the book and found that the card had appeared on the last page of the contract book.
It's not in anyone's card holder, but in the contract book, which fits the "team-shared card" concept. In future escape rooms, it should be activated immediately whenever a team member dies.
Unfortunately, it can only be used once.
Although this card gave everyone an extra life, Xiao Lou hoped that it would never be used.
He put away the contract book and looked at Hearts Sister, saying, "I remember, we arrested Zhao Sen at the end, triggering a hidden ending that mentioned an extra reward? Was there another reward card?"
Hearts Sister smiled slightly and said, "Yes, there is. You can check the contract book."
Catching Zhao Sen wasn't the objective of this escape room game. Yu Hanjiang simply wanted to prevent Zhao Sen from escaping justice, so he dealt with this murderer from Red Heart 2 as a side effect. (Hearing "hearts") When Guardian spoke, Xiao Lou opened the contract book and, sure enough, found a brand new card on the last page.
[Team Brand: Voice-Activated Headset]
Rarity: S
Description: A fixed reward for triggering the hidden mission in the linked escape room.
Usage effect: After use, you will receive a pocket-sized wireless voice headset equal to the number of people on the contract book. Wear it in your ear and press to start a voice call. Teammates on the contract book can stay in communication at any time within a 10-kilometer range.
Note: Thunderstorm weather, underwater, underground and other environments will not affect the headphone signal.
However, the signal will disappear once the distance exceeds 10 kilometers.
Upon seeing the card, Ye Qi excitedly exclaimed, "Is this an upgraded version of my eavesdropping device? My eavesdropping device only has a range of 500 meters, and it can only produce three units, which need to be worn together to make calls. The number of voice headsets is equal to the number of people on the contract book, which means our entire team can wear the miniature headsets simultaneously and establish a team voice channel at any time?"
Xiao Lou really likes this card. In a modern-themed escape room, everyone can use WeChat groups on their phones to solve communication problems. But if the phones are confiscated, or if they encounter an escape room where phones cannot be used, this "team voice headset" that is not limited by environmental conditions can be of great help to them.
At this point, all the rewards for the tenth stage have been claimed.
Everyone received a card; some were very useful, while others were quite strange, but they were all S-level cards, worthy of their fear and anxiety over the past few days.
Xiao Lou put away the card holder and said, " Now that we've cleared all the A-grade secret rooms, can we challenge the S-level secret chamber next?"
The four Guardians exchanged glances.
Ace of Spades said calmly, " The difficulty of an S-level secret chamber is a level higher than that of an A-grade secret room. I suggest you don't attempt it lightly. Now that you have so many powerful cards, wouldn't it be better to stay in this world?"
Plum Blossom Youth nodded in agreement, then looked at Shao Qingge and said, "Especially CEO Shao, I remember you still have billions of gold coins in your account, plus this time you received the priceless Sapphire Necklace as a reward. With your abilities, you can live a very comfortable life in this world. Owning your own villa, buying a few sports cars you like, and sleeping in every day without having to go to work—isn't that a good life?"
Shao Qingge chuckled and said, "That sounds like the life I dream of."
Plum Blossom Youth was about to speak when Shao Qingge abruptly changed the subject, calmly saying, "Unfortunately, it's all fake. My identity is fake, the parents you arranged for me are fake too. Today I'm still rich, but who knows if you might suddenly bankrupt me and turn me into a beggar tomorrow if you're unhappy? Card World is a world controlled by you, and I dislike being a pawn on a chessboard the most."
Shao Qingge's words terrified his teammates, but he did tell the truth.
Staying in this world, with so many cards and so much money, their team certainly won't have a bad life, but no one knows what awaits them in the next moment. And what will the Weekly Secret Chamber bring them each week?
What kind of challenges will we arrange?
Ultimately, the rules of this world are set by the Guardians; they are merely pawns in the game.
The game's rules dictate that clearing all the escape rooms will allow them to return, so naturally they should strive to return to the normal world. Besides, many of them have family ties they can't let go of and unfulfilled wishes in the real world; they can't simply stay here carefree.
The little girl from Diamonds gave a cold smile and said, "Since you are all so persistent, as Guardians, we have no obligation to continue persuading you to give up. We will respect the choice of each Challenger."
Hearts Sister smiled and said, "Just a friendly reminder, the key to how smoothly you solved the cases in the previous Heart Rooms was that the identities we assigned to you each time were helpful in solving the cases. For example, Yu Hanjiang, Red Heart 4 is a train conductor, Red Heart 8 is the prefect, and the ninth level and tenth stage are police officers. You can use the convenience of your identities and positions to collect clues and even arrest the murderer."
She paused, looked at Yu Hanjiang, her smile still gentle, but her gaze instantly turned cold: "But what if I no longer arrange a favorable identity for you, but instead use that identity to hinder you?"
Ask yourself honestly, the tenth stage If Yu Hanjiang hadn't been a policeman, could they have solved the case so easily and dismantled the massive organ transplant organization? Probably not. Guardian was right. The cases in the ninth and tenth stages were quite complex. Yu Hanjiang's identity as a police officer helped him a lot; he could access the files of every suspect at any time and compare fingerprints and DNA...
This not only saved everyone a lot of time, but also greatly facilitated the process of collecting clues.
If he were just an ordinary citizen, he would have no choice but to sneak into the Criminal Police Detachment at night to look for files, and he might get arrested himself if he wasn't careful.
Thinking of this, Xiao Lou hurriedly asked Red Heart A, "You mean, in an S-level locked room mystery, we won't be set up as Criminal Police Officers and Forensic Doctors to facilitate solving the case anymore?"
hearts Guardian's lips curled slightly as he said, "Otherwise, how could it be worthy of an S-rank difficulty level?"
The teammates looked at each other in bewilderment.
Ace of Spades coldly said, "Since you're not afraid of death and want to continue to the S-level secret chamber, then please draw your cards."
Yu Hanjiang said calmly, "Wait a moment, let's go back and discuss it properly before making a decision."
Xiao Lou nodded in agreement and said, "That's right. It's a matter of life and death. We need to think it over carefully. Let's go back to the main city first."
The four Guardians exchanged a glance and vanished from everyone's sight in an instant.
Just moments ago, Personal Space was shrouded in thick fog, with cards plastered on the walls. But in the blink of an eye, they were back in the Moon City villa, all eight of them gathered in the familiar living room.
It was already dark, and warm lights shone in the distance.
After leaving Personal Space, everyone returned to normal. Old Mo was no longer a 66-year-old man with white hair, Ye Qi was no longer a 7-year-old child, and Qu Wanyue inexplicably became pregnant. Now, the unborn baby in her womb has also been removed.
It all felt like a distant memory, and everyone fell silent for a moment.
After a moment, Yu Hanjiang said in a low voice, "Everyone, please share your thoughts. Do you still want to continue?"
Old Mo scratched his hair, which had turned back to black, and said with a wry smile, "I know that I can't possibly pass the S-level level on my own. Thank you all for taking care of me during this time. However, my daughter is still waiting for me in the real world. Her mother passed away a long time ago. If I don't go back, my daughter will have no one to take care of her... So, I have to go back even if it costs me my life."
Old Mo's words made the atmosphere in the living room unusually heavy.
After so much time has passed, everyone has even gotten used to the tense and exciting pace of Card World, and thought that some things would gradually fade away. But the truth is that the blood ties that are thicker than water are rooted in the bones and can never be forgotten.
Qu Wanyue looked somber. She lowered her head, gently crossed her hands, and whispered, " Long Sen and I were in a car accident on our way to the wedding. My parents and friends, his parents and relatives were all waiting for us to get married in the hotel's grand hall. I don't want them to see the two corpses of the bride and groom. They definitely couldn't bear such a blow."
Long Sen held Qu Wanyue's shoulders tightly, offering her silent comfort.
A wedding turned into a funeral, and the bright red "double happiness" character was stained with blood. Such a tragedy will be a heartache that the family will never be able to resolve. How could they bear to abandon their family and enjoy life in this world?
Liu Qiao looked very serious. She said, "No matter what, I have to go back. I have to find a way to save my sister."
Ye Qi's gaze was resolute: "I have to go back. I'm my parents' only son. They've scrimped and saved all these years to support my music education, and almost all their money has gone towards me. Besides, I've made it to the finals of a singing competition, and my parents have already bought plane tickets to watch me compete. I don't want them to go to the competition in high spirits only to find a corpse!"
Recalling the scene of his accident in real life, Ye Qi clenched his fist tightly.
Shao Qingge gently clenched his fist and joked, "If I go back with you, your dream will come true soon. The organizer of the singing competition and the owner of the record company are my good buddies."
Ye Qi was stunned for a moment, then said with a wry smile, " CEO Shao, we are discussing something seriously, don't joke around. It's no fun going through the back door with your buddy, I have to win the championship based on my own strength."
Shao Qingge smiled slightly, withdrew his hand, and looked at Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou: "We're just waiting for your opinions."
The teammates all turned their attention to the two.
Having come this far, everyone is actually quite clear that in this group
Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou are the two strongest members of the team, especially in Hearts Pass. Without them, they simply couldn't have overcome crisis after crisis. If Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou are unwilling to return, then the remaining six members have even less confidence to make it to the end.
There was a hint of expectation, even pleading, in his teammates' eyes.
Xiao Lou's heart skipped a beat.
Everyone has a reason to go back, and so does he.
He has never been in a relationship. His parents know his sexual orientation, yet they have been tolerant and understanding—they are the best parents in the world. He is not yet thirty in the real world, and his parents are only in their fifties, still young. How could he bear to let them suffer the pain of losing their son?
Xiao Lou turned around and met Yu Hanjiang's gaze.
Unlike the expectant looks in his teammates' eyes, Yu Hanjiang's eyes remained deep and calm, only softening slightly when they met Xiao Lou's gaze. He said softly, "Going back, isn't that what brought us together in the first place?"
Thinking back to when we first came to Moon City, eight complete strangers were able to sign a contract with Xiao Lou... all for the sake of going back.
Yu Hanjiang said, "So, no matter how difficult things get in the future, let's not forget why we came together in the first place. Xiao Lou and I will naturally go back. It's either death or going back, those are the only two choices. None of us have any reason to stay in this world."
Yu Hanjiang's resolute words immediately put his teammates at ease.
What I fear most is not how strong the enemy is, but that my teammates are not mentally strong enough and give up at the crucial moment.
Since we all share the same goal, there's nothing to be afraid of.
Ye Qi's eyes lit up with excitement: "That's great! Everyone stay focused on our goals. No matter how difficult things get, at least we'll have seven people by our side to face it together. There's nothing to be afraid of."
Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou exchanged a glance.
Xiao Lou sensed his meaning and smiled, saying, "It's not just seven people."
Ye Qi was taken aback: "Huh?"
Yu Hanjiang said, "It's time to join them. Everyone get ready, I'll take you to see Ninth Brother."
******