Chapter Sixty-Four: The Sealed Room with No Escape

Before entering this hunting ground, Fang Nian had done quite a bit of homework. While team hunts usually divide participants into four fixed professions—Warrior, Story Curator, Mechanic, Codebreaker—and a leader responsible for major decisions and guiding the team, this does not mean all hunting teams are limited to just five people. In some large-scale hunting competitions, teams numbering in the dozens or even hundreds are not uncommon.

Beyond the four professions and the captain, there is also a fifth role. As the name suggests, this hunter possesses no specialized abilities; they are somewhat proficient in many areas, but never as skilled as those with fixed professions. Their purpose is to provide non-essential assistance in particular situations.

Originally, the idea behind establishing this profession was to use its versatility to bolster the team’s overall strength. However, later organizers realized that this fifth role was rather superfluous in the hunting grounds. In the presence of specialists, the fifth person often had no place to shine, their existence barely registering during each hunt, leaving little room for contribution.

Over time, this fifth role gradually became known as the team’s loafer, jokingly referred to as the "housekeeper." Their greatest function was to take care of miscellaneous tasks no one else wanted to do in the hunting grounds.

On their first collaboration, Guo Ji had Fang Nian assume the fifth role. Although there was a hint of disdain in this arrangement, Fang Nian himself did not mind. He was indeed inexperienced, and tagging along was perfectly acceptable.

Why bother carrying the team when one could win lying down? So he nodded and agreed.

Seeing Fang Nian had no objections, the others dropped the matter and began gathering intelligence, searching the room or carriage they currently occupied.

After about fifteen minutes of searching, Jin Jin Hui finally tapped the last command on her watch’s three-dimensional projection. A scroll of electronic data appeared before Fang Nian and the others.

Fang Nian approached curiously, surprised to find that in just a few minutes, Jin Jin Hui had linked clues from their current room with the story background they’d received upon entry, weaving it all into a coherent narrative.

He couldn’t help but marvel at the work of the Story Curator. Though he too had unlocked this profession, his skills paled in comparison to Jin Jin Hui’s; the gap was not insignificant.

He was, without question, a novice.

As Jin Jin Hui finished drafting the initial storyline, the group gathered around her. Pointing at the scroll, Jin Jin Hui began her explanation.

---

“The story background was laid out in the manual when we entered, so everyone should be clear. This world is a collapsed wasteland, where fewer than one percent of humanity survived the natural disasters. This apocalypse train is the sole independent space allowing us to stay alive; its body shields us from the deadly climate outside.”

As she spoke, Jin Jin Hui gestured toward a large oil painting hanging high in the room. The painting depicted a slightly overweight middle-aged man, his features refined, with a hint of arrogance between his brows.

“That man in the painting is Blair, the developer of this apocalypse train, or you might call him the conductor. He was the first to discover a pocket of space that still exists on Earth, and humanity can only survive within this moving gap.”

At this point, Jin Jin Hui pointed to a diary on the table beside Guo Ji.

“This diary was left behind by Blair before his death, recording everything from discovering the pocket space to constructing the apocalypse train, including the challenges he encountered and how he overcame them.”

Suddenly, Jin Jin Hui shifted her tone.

“However, the last two pages of the diary were torn out by someone. We don't know what they contained. Based on my experience, this is likely a deliberate design by the creator. Finding the missing content will probably be key to clearing this stage.”

The group was a bit disappointed, but nodded in agreement. This method was indeed a common trick among game designers.

After Jin Jin Hui outlined the general direction of the narrative, Guo Ji called over Xiao Xueluan and pointed around the room.

“Xueluan, have you discovered anything?”

Xiao Xueluan also activated the three-dimensional projection on his watch. Unlike Jin Jin Hui, his display was not text-based, but a nearly scale model of the room’s structure.

What surprised Fang Nian even more was that this model not only accurately simulated the scene in their current carriage, but also depicted the interior of the carriage walls and the exterior environment. The three-dimensional image clearly showed the mechanical structures of certain mechanisms within the room.

Gazing at his creation, Xiao Xueluan let out a long sigh.

“Regrettably, based on the frequency and degree of the carriage's swaying, I deduce that we are sitting in the very last carriage. According to Jin Hui's earlier conjecture about the storyline, if we want to clear this stage, we must move forward to the carriages ahead in search of answers. In other words, we have a long journey ahead.”

Everyone nodded; this was indeed the proper way to approach the hunt.

---

“The crucial point is, after my observations, our current carriage is actually a locked room. Both doors, front and back, are tightly sealed—one is welded shut, utterly inaccessible, while the other requires a four-digit code to open.”

Everyone expected this; they were all well-acquainted with escape room scenarios, whether it was a timed bomb strapped to their bodies, zombies chasing them from behind, or even illusions crafted to confuse them.

But why would such a seemingly ordinary locked room pose such a challenge for Xiao Xueluan?

Guo Ji’s expression grew serious as he asked, “Xueluan, we’re all experienced here. If you've found something, just say it straight.”

Xiao Xueluan nodded, pointing to the unremarkable three-dimensional projection.

“You all know that a typical locked room is composed of mechanical devices and hidden codes. A skilled Mechanic can often deduce the code from the structure of the mechanisms.”

“These devices are usually designed with collisions or gears, and they're often concealed within walls or compartments.”

Here, Xiao Xueluan’s expression turned grave, his tone suspicious.

“But the structure of this carriage is very peculiar. Though there must be hidden mechanisms or secret doors, what shocked me is that there’s almost nowhere in this carriage to hide mechanical components.”

“In other words, this room is just a locked room. From a mechanical perspective, it seems the designer never intended for us to escape. This locked room has no exit.”

At these words, everyone was stunned.