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墨書 Inktalez
Zhong Kui's Diary
"That's really the case. Damn, I don't even know if this is poisonous. If only Qingcheng were here, at least she could use a spell to disinfect it." I couldn't help but miss Xiao Qingcheng.
"You mean the person who came in with you?" Xu Wuji squinted and asked.
I was about to answer when a thought suddenly flashed through my mind, and I slapped my forehead: "Right, I've completely forgotten about this. Where is Qingcheng? Where did they go? Why weren't they transferred to this area?"
Xu Wuji looked at me in surprise, not understanding what I was thinking.
"Old Xu, think about it. Why did we get transferred to the Third Area when we rotated that Copper Door in the First and Second Areas, but now that we're in the Third Area, no matter how we rotate this Copper Door, it just stays in place?" I was a bit incoherent because I didn't even know what I was thinking; I was just going with a vague idea.
"Uh-huh." Xu Wuji still didn't understand my point, but out of politeness, he responded with a sound of acknowledgment.
"The designer of this Ancient Prison, Liu An, since he divided the underground into four areas, each area must have its purpose. The first area is the entrance; let's not worry about that for now. The second and third areas are circular passages, which should be meant to confuse or trap intruders. Especially the third area, where giant rats can continuously emerge from the Copper Pillar; from this perspective, this area should be used to hunt down those intruders." I looked up and smiled at Xu Wuji: "Just like you, who wasn't eaten by those rats."
Xu Wuji's expression turned a bit grim, and he fell silent.
I continued to smile and said, "There must be some mystery we haven't deciphered regarding the Copper Doors in the first and second areas. The mystery I'm referring to is the angle at which the Copper Door rotates. By using a certain switch, we can choose to rotate it ninety degrees, one hundred eighty degrees, or two hundred seventy degrees, essentially deciding which area to go to. However, unfortunately, as for this area designed to hunt intruders, Liu An has directly blocked our escape route; no matter how we activate the Portal, the Copper Door remains stationary. And Youdi and Xiao Qingcheng must know the secret of the Copper Door because they directly entered the fourth area."
"Uh-huh. And then?"
"Let's not worry about that for now; we only need to consider one question: when we activate mechanisms in our area, doesn't the Copper Door remain stationary? Of course, one possibility is that it truly hasn't moved; another possibility is that it has rotated three hundred sixty degrees and appears not to have moved at all. Alright, all of that was nonsense; I've finally figured out what I want. What would happen if we just sat here in front of this Copper Door waiting for people from other areas to rotate it? No matter what happens, there is only one Copper Door; if they rotate it ninety degrees over there, we will also rotate ninety degrees over here—it can't rotate an additional one hundred eighty degrees. In that case, we can be transferred to other areas through this Copper Door. I believe Xiao Qingcheng and Youdi will come to rotate the Copper Door eventually." Thank goodness; I finally grasped that vague idea.
Fortunately, Xu Wuji understood my thoughts. Hearing me say this made his eyes light up: "Yes! Let's just sit here and wait for others to rotate the Copper Door!"
The two of us sat cross-legged facing each other. After thinking for a while and feeling quite bored, we started smoking and chatting casually, boasting about our glorious pasts—"You were so smooth back then you could walk through a field of flowers without touching a petal," while I claimed that even now I still "wave my sleeve without taking away a single cloud." At first it was fine; there were some stories involved. But later on, it turned into two old rascals showing off to each other—"Your Golden Gun Never Falls," while I claimed "I hold up a pillar."
Isn't that how men are when they boast?
"Boring!" After finishing my story about "making friends with a beautiful woman over a piece of gum and then having fun," I found it dull myself. I crumpled up my Cigarette Case and tossed it aside before pulling out another pack of cigarettes and offering one to Xu Wuji. He shook his head in refusal: "No more smoking; my voice is hoarse!"
After I lit the cigarette, I didn't smoke it; I just let it burn in the air. In fact, I wasn't trying to smoke but rather holding the cigarette butt to feel the temperature it transmitted. The slight pain helped keep my nerves excited, so that if the door suddenly opened, I could be in the best state right away.
I glanced at Xu Wuji and smiled, "Is there any chance there are other exits in the Fourth Area?"
"I'm not sure. We've been chatting here for two or three hours, and no one has opened the door!" Xu Wuji seemed a bit frustrated and couldn't help but curse, "Damn it, what if they really do take another exit as you said?"
Hearing Xu Wuji's words, I vaguely felt something was off. After thinking for a while, I still couldn't figure out what was wrong.
I mentally sorted through his words again: "We've been chatting here for two or three hours," which was correct. "They take another exit," was Xu Wuji's speculation, and that seemed fine too. Damn it, what exactly is wrong?
Wait a minute.
Damn?
I thought about it; it seemed that the phrase "Damn" didn't exist ten years ago. It should belong to internet slang that has become popular in recent years. Ten years ago, people would only add verbs like "fuck," "annoy," or "grass" before "Damn," and wouldn't use those two words as a standalone phrase.
Ten years ago, using a verb with "Damn" was meant to insult someone; generally, this kind of phrasing indicated that two groups were about to clash. Now, however, "Damn" is more commonly used among friends joking around. Clearly, when Xu Wuji said "Damn" to me earlier, he had no malicious intent; he simply used a trendy internet phrase.
How is that possible? Wasn't this guy locked up for ten years? Even if there’s Wi-Fi down here, he doesn’t have a phone to go online! Even if he had a phone, where would he charge it underground? The best counterfeit phones today can only last a month without charging; there's no way they could last ten years.
Damn, I'm getting off track. Anyway, one thing is clear: something is off with Xu Wuji.
Xu Wuji looked at me in a daze and couldn't help but remind me, "Hey, Zheng Nan, what's wrong with you?"
I shook my head and pushed those thoughts aside. It didn't matter what was off; getting out was the key. The cigarette butt was almost burning my fingers. I flicked it hard, and it arced through the air before landing in the passageway.
Watching the trajectory of the cigarette butt sparked an idea in my mind. Without caring whether Xu Wuji was suspicious or not, I said, "Old Xu, there's a question: when we open this Copper Door, does it stay still or rotate 360 degrees?"
Xu Wuji frowned and replied, "It's fifty-fifty; both are possible."
"I am now going to open this Copper Door. Just as darkness falls, we keep throwing things out. If the Copper Door doesn't move, everything I throw will appear in this passage. Conversely, if the Copper Door is rotating 360 degrees, most of the things I throw will disappear." I swallowed hard and asked hoarsely, "Do you understand what I'm saying?"
Xu Wuji's face showed a strange expression. "That's right. If it really is rotating 360 degrees, then all we need to do is jump out while the Copper Door is spinning, and we will land in another area."
Since I had thought of it, I acted immediately. I took out some snacks from my Spatial Bag—sunflower seeds, peanuts, and Spicy Dried Meat—a colorful assortment. I picked out a handful, ten in total, one pile for each of us, preparing to throw them into the two passages at Right Angle.
"Are you ready?" I nodded at Xu Wuji.
Xu Wuji nodded back, indicating he was ready.
I pulled out a dagger and inserted it into the Ring of the Copper Door, making three clockwise and three counterclockwise motions to activate the mechanism.
Suddenly, everything went dark, and a thunderous roar echoed from below, causing a tremble to resonate.
"Start!" I shouted, grabbing the snacks in front of me and throwing them towards the passage based on my memory.
Thud! Bang!
The sounds of snacks hitting the ground echoed intermittently. Before long, I had thrown all ten bags of snacks in front of me. Moments later, the tremble and thunderous roar ceased, and the flashlight's beam returned.
I looked at the passage ahead; indeed, only two bags of snacks lay on the ground—one bag of sunflower seeds and one bag of broad beans—while the other eight bags were nowhere to be seen in this passage. This meant that those snacks had been thrown into other areas.
Turning my head to look at Xu Wuji's throwing area, there was only one bag of Sweet Potato Chips and one bag of Wafer on the ground; the rest of his snacks were also missing. It was clear that this Copper Door was rotating.
I turned back to Xu Wuji and chuckled softly. "Looks like we've finally found a way out!"
A sense of intellectual superiority surged within me; how could he have spent ten years underground without realizing this trick? I figured his intelligence must be somewhat lacking. Of course, it could also be that Xu Wuji had become dull after eating rat meat—poor guy, ruined just like that.
After both of us surveyed the terrain, when I turned the Copper Door again, we would jump out from here.
I handed the flashlight to Xu Wuji, placed the dagger on the Copper Door Ring, and after drawing three circles in the clockwise direction, I began to draw circles in the opposite direction. With each circle, I loudly announced a number.
One!
Two!
Three!
As soon as I said "three," everything went dark. I didn't even have time to pull out the dagger; I just sprinted outside with all my might.
After just two steps, a question popped into my mind. Damn it, there are stone walls separating the passages of the two zones. If I just charge through like this, I'm likely to crash into a wall.
Damn, my luck can't be that bad, can it?
As fear manifested itself, I crashed into the wall with a loud bang. Stars exploded in front of my eyes, and my head rang loudly. I felt myself going dizzy and collapsing to the ground. Fortunately, when that thought crossed my mind, my arm instinctively reached out to brace myself. Otherwise, at that speed, I would have either died on impact or ended up with a serious injury.
Damn it, so close yet so far.
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