Xia Xiqing originally thought that the so-called escape room reality show was to set up a semi-open recording studio, throw the guests in it, and have a bunch of VJs follow them, and everyone would just act out the escape room step by step according to the script.
Unexpectedly, things were not what he thought. They were not even told what kind of secret room it was. They were blindfolded with a black cloth and taken to a certain place. Before leaving, the director specifically instructed, "Please don't talk before the filming starts."
He felt like he was being carried by two people for a long time, and then was arranged to sit on a chair. He thought that was the end, but he didn't expect that the other party tied him up tightly with a rope, making him unable to move. He vaguely heard the sound of metal colliding, and his wrist felt cold.
His hands were handcuffed and folded across his chest.
If it wasn't for the fact that it was a recording of a program, Xia Xiqing would really suspect that he was kidnapped.
He now understood what the director had been saying: "This show is all about realism. The staff will never interfere, so we don't know what will happen here."
Zhou Ziheng vaguely heard the footsteps of several people. His hands were tied with ropes, hanging above his knees, and his ankles were tied tightly, unable to move. Just when he was confused, the black cloth on his eyes was untied by the staff.
The sudden clarity of vision brought him a strong sense of discomfort, and Zhou Ziheng narrowed his eyes slightly. In front of him was a closed room, which was different from many escape rooms with a terrifying atmosphere. The view here was relatively bright, and the ceiling projected a dim light. However, except for the two large rows of bookshelves against the wall, many of the furniture were covered with white cloth, which looked a bit strange.
But none of this was enough to surprise him.
Because the scene before him at this moment was even more unexpected than the secret room.
Xia Xiqing, who was joking with him in the studio two hours ago, was now tied to another chair, and the two were only half a meter apart.
I don't know if it was to cater to the effect of his previous popularity on the Internet, but under the arrangement of the program team, Xia Xiqing was still wearing a white shirt with black suit pants this time, with his eyes covered with a black cloth. A strand of hair on his forehead escaped from his half-tied hair and hung on the side of his face, with the fine hair sweeping his thin and delicate jawline.
The black cloth wiped away the light in his eyes, and the small mole on the tip of his nose became more prominent, making him look helpless and well-behaved.
Although Zhou Ziheng knew very well that neither of these two words belonged to him.
The handcuffs on his wrists shone with a cold metallic luster under the dim light, and his wrist bones were slightly raised, as if they could collide with the metal and make a crisp sound. The ropes were like winding snakes, wrapped around his body, so tightly that you could almost see the traces of muscle under the fabric.
The black cloth prevented Zhou Ziheng from seeing those frivolous eyes. It seemed that this was the first time that he unscrupulously observed the man in front of him, the man who was hypocritical and cunning in his heart.
He looks a bit pitiful, Zhou Ziheng thought from the bottom of his heart, or rather, it gave people a strange desire to make him more pitiful.
I don't know why, but at this moment I suddenly understand the psychology of some people with special hobbies.
"The game officially begins." A slightly metallic voice came from above his head through a voice changer, interrupting the delusions that were growing like weeds in Zhou Ziheng's mind.
"Welcome to "A Way Out". Now, please forget your original identities. In this game, you are a player trapped in a secret room. Please note that there is not just one secret room here, but many connected rooms. This means that when you open the door of your secret room, you will enter a new secret room, where there may be people trapped like you. The person who escapes from all the secret rooms and leaves the house in the shortest time will become the winner of this game and get the highest points. The points earned by the other players are calculated according to the escape time, and one point will be reduced for every ten minutes extra."
Xia Xiqing smiled, but the reminder sound did not end.
"One thing needs to be explained in particular. The biggest difference of A Way Out is that this is not a simple reality show about escaping a room. There is a killer among the many players. Unlike ordinary players, he needs to hide his identity and has the right to "kill" players. The points of the killed players in this round will be reset to zero. The killer can only kill one player in one episode. Of course, ordinary players can also use reasoning and judgment to find out the "killer" in your mind. When all the players gather together, they can vote to "kill" him. Once the "killer" becomes the final winner, every ordinary player in the game is equivalent to death, the points of this round will be reset to zero, and the killer will get double points."
"During the game, you need to fully use your intelligence to think and reason. If you encounter a puzzle that you are helpless against, you can advance time to exchange clues, which means that your escape time will increase and your points will decrease accordingly. The player with the highest total points will become the champion of this season's program and win a mysterious grand prize."
"Each of you has no equipment to assist in decryption, only a modified cell phone. This cell phone has four functions: First, receive information from the program team. Second, advance time to purchase clues. Third, start the timer after the first player passes the level. Fourth, submit a list of suspected killers and complete the secret ballot execution. Note: Players cannot communicate with each other using their cell phones. You can only communicate through on-site dialogue if you wish. That's all for the rules."
The voice paused, followed by three ticking sounds similar to a clock countdown.
three.
two.
one.
"Now, the game begins."
Hearing these words, Xia Xiqing breathed a sigh of relief, slumped down in his chair, and tilted his head back. Zhou Ziheng watched his every move and realized that he must not know of his existence at the moment, so this kind of "peeping" seemed aboveboard.
Although in Zhou Ziheng's moral values, such behavior is not worthy of encouragement, but Xia Xiqing is an exception. He is insidious and cunning, without shame or bottom line. He has never met a similar person, so when facing him, Zhou Ziheng's usual behavior pattern will always fail uncontrollably.
Xia Xiqing tried to reach for the black cloth on his eyes, but his arms were entangled and he couldn't lift them. He tried several times but failed. He couldn't help but sigh and whispered to himself, "I can't even see. Am I going to die in the first round?"
Zhou Ziheng felt like laughing. He didn't know why, but observing Xia Xiqing seemed to have diluted the urgency of escaping the secret room.
Completely blind, unable to move his hands and feet, Xia Xiqing could only tap the ground lightly with his heels, leaning his head back, lazily leaning on the chair, not saying a word. The room was quiet, eerily quiet. Zhou Ziheng deliberately did not make a sound. He was also trapped, and helping each other was the best policy. Besides, they were still recording a program, and they couldn't keep going like this. But now he just wanted to see Xia Xiqing's joke.
Perhaps it was because he was so bad, so in Zhou Ziheng's heart, such a person deserved to be punished.
An illusion of acting on behalf of heaven.
What he could never have imagined was that the man who had been so lazy that he almost gave up struggling suddenly sat up straight and sat directly facing Zhou Ziheng, as if the pair of eyes covered by the black cloth could see through the barrier and stare at him intently.
That's right, "watching" him.
Zhou Ziheng frowned, he was sure that he didn't make any sound.
Suddenly, Xia Xiqing tilted his head and a very gentle arc appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"Help me remove the blindfold."
Impossible. He obviously can't see it.