Early the next morning, when Xu Xinghe went downstairs to the restaurant to eat the buffet breakfast, he always felt that the colleagues around him became a little strange.
He walked to the self-service drink area and wanted to have a cup of iced Americano to refresh himself, but an older colleague approached him kindly and told him to drink less beverages containing meth, and it would be better to have a cup of hot milk or hot soybean milk.
Some people came to ask him how he was doing today, and if he could go climbing the snow-capped mountains together. If not, don’t force it. Your body is the most important thing, and it’s good to rest in the room.
Even Team Leader Conrad looked at him more kindly than before.
Xu Xinghe originally thought that after Conrad got up this morning, he would probably be angry when he saw them discussing the conversation about playing cards all night in the group chat last night. till what time.
As a result, instead of being angry, the other party looked at him a little more... kindly?
Yes, it is kindness.
This made Xu Xinghe very puzzled.
After breakfast, on the way back to the house to pack his luggage, he grabbed the well-informed Ajia while there was no one around, and asked, "What's going on? Are you arranging me in private again?"
"Hey, team leader, first of all this is not called choreography." Ajia smiled coyly and moved away a little, "Secondly, I think everyone mainly wants to express their concern for you, and there is nothing malicious about it."
When Xu Xinghe heard this, his long eyebrows raised slightly: "It's fine, why do you suddenly start caring about me?"
Ajia tilted her head and looked at him: "Leader, let me ask first, did Marshal Ling have a video call with you last night?"
Xu Xinghe: "..."
He pretended to cough twice, and then looked away: "What's wrong? I'm away from home, and the cat at home will miss me, so I need to make a video every night."
Ajia had an expression of "you're lying to a ghost".
Xu Xinghe was seen as a little irritable, and he simply admitted: "So what if I made a video with him? It's just a video, what did you start posting again?"
"Actually, it's nothing, it's just some commonplace talk—" Ajia said, shrinking back again, and said in a low voice: "Some people say that you are preparing for pregnancy, and some people say that you may already be pregnant."
Xu Xinghe: "???"
He was so angry that he gritted his teeth and said, "It's outrageous, how did you connect these two things? Besides, didn't you just have a snowball fight with me yesterday afternoon? Do you think I haven't played hard enough, and want to continue to experience the feeling of being taught to be a man?"
After a pause, another thing came to mind, and he was so angry that he couldn't laugh or cry: "Besides, why does Team Leader Conrad look at me like that, as if I'm already pregnant... he also believes this? ?”
"He probably won't believe that you are pregnant, and we don't believe it either. We just think that since you are already trying to conceive, it is possible at any time..."
Xu Xinghe gritted his teeth and interrupted her: "Who said I'm trying to conceive??"
"Then why did you quit drinking suddenly?" Ajia asked.
"..." A trace of embarrassment flashed in Xu Xinghe's black eyes, but he still insisted: "It's not safe to drink too much alcohol when you're out of the house. And I quit whenever I want, why are there so many?"
Ajia blinked: "But the team leader, take a step back and say, even if you are not trying to conceive, you are indeed in a period where you may conceive at any time... Don't look at me like that, everything happens just in case. You and Marshal Ling has been married for almost three months, and they are so well matched, what if one day they suddenly become father-to-be?"
Xu Xinghe paused word by word: "No, yes, ten thousand, one!"
Ajia asked curiously: "Why are you so sure? I remember before you got married..."
Having said that, he paused for a moment, then carefully considered: "Group leader, before you got married, it's not like you didn't think about having children, right?"
Xu Xinghe was startled.
The reason why he was sure that he would not be pregnant was because he knew very well that he and Ling Changfeng had never had intercourse at all, and naturally it was impossible to successfully create a human being.
But Ajia reminded him that he had really thought about the child.
Because in his original cognition, once A and O go through the estrus period after marriage, they will naturally combine, and there is a certain possibility of giving birth to a new life.
Therefore, he who was matched by the mastermind had to consider the possibility of this aspect and make early plans for it.
Fortunately, during her first marriage, her estrus period did not come for a long time, so Mu Qingyun never touched him, and there was no way to talk about making a human.
But this time is different, not only did I go through the estrous period, but I was even given a temporary mark by Ling Changfeng...
Recalling his mood swings during the marking period, as well as his instinctive attachment to the seafood pheromone, Xu Xinghe felt a slight heat on his face.
He lowered his eyes silently, and an uncontrollable thought suddenly flashed in his mind.
If the same thing happens again...
If the temporary marks are stacked, the effect will become stronger and stronger, and the reaction will become larger and larger.
So whether it is him or Ling Changfeng, can they really spend this year in peace and stability
Really... Wouldn't there be that kind of "what if"
"Team leader? Team leader??"
A Jia's little hand waving from side to side flashed before his eyes, and Xu Xinghe suddenly came to his senses.
He looked at Ajia's approaching head and big worried eyes, and suddenly laughed.
Why did I become nervous too
Those low-probability events that currently only exist in the tea room of the ark, I don't need to start worrying about them so early. Why don't you just take a step...
He reached out and patted Ajia's head: "Come on, go back to the room and pack up, let's climb Nanjia Snow Mountain."
At eight o'clock in the morning, the sun in the far north had not yet risen, and the city was still snowing heavily.
The sky showed a dim, misty gray-blue, and everyone from the Ministry of Science and Technology boarded the hotel's shuttle bus and set off for the foot of Nanjia Mountain.
The reason why Nanjia City is named "Nanjia" is also because there is Nanjia Snow Mountain in the south.
Whenever the sun rises and sets, the gilded sunlight passes through the clouds and shines on the top of the snow-capped mountain, and the snow-covered Silver Mountain will reflect the golden glow, resplendent and brilliant.
This is the scene of the famous "Rizhao Jinshan" in the area.
Everyone came to the foot of the snow-capped mountain, carrying their own big backpacks, and went up the mountain talking and laughing.
Everyone climbed on foot in the first half of the road. When we got to the middle of the mountain, some people finally couldn't walk and chose to take the cable car up.
Xu Xinghe wanted to be lazy at first, but seeing the caring eyes of his colleagues, he joined the group that hiked to the summit without looking back.
While annoyed that he was busy working overtime and lacking exercise during this time, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and move on.
Fortunately, the scenery along the way did not disappoint everyone's hard work.
The sun is rising in the east, and the sun is shining brightly.
A group of people walk and walk, all the way is a good scenery.
In this way, the time passed quickly for three days as everyone traveled to the mountains and played in the water.
The fourth day is free time.
Xu Xinghe fell asleep in the hotel until he woke up naturally. After waking up, he moved his limbs and found that his muscles were still faintly sore.
After learning from the painful experience, he decided to exercise with Ling Changfeng after going back. As for today, he should take a good rest in the hotel.
Just thinking about it, the smartphone on his wrist suddenly rang.
Xu Xinghe glanced at Ryan's call, and clicked to answer it.
"Team leader, what are your plans for today?"
"There is no arrangement." Although Team Leader Xu was already awake, he was not in a hurry to get out of bed. He got up and leaned against the head of the bed, and skillfully made an appointment for an intelligent robot to deliver food to his door.
"Do you want to play the escape room?" Ryan said excitedly on the phone, "James just came to me and said he wanted to play the room of horror, eight people, moderate horror, and now there are three people short."
Room of horror
Xu Xinghe stretched his sore limbs and expressed his refusal: "If this is the deduction room, I will agree."
"What's wrong, team leader?" The voice on the other end of the phone paused, and asked in a low voice, "You're not afraid, are you?"
Xu Xinghe: "..."
He pretended to be relaxed and said, "Of course I'm not afraid, but why do you want to come to Nanjia to escape the secret room? Isn't it better to go back to Floating Star City?"
"It's not the same. That secret room is said to have a good reputation! It's a large real-life escape room. It's rare to have such a big secret room in a place like Floating Star City, and the price is cheap!"
"..."
"Come on, it's the last day, and we're going back to Floating Star City tomorrow, let's play together one last time, don't let the vacation go to waste!"
"Okay." Xu Xinghe thought for a while, but he didn't refuse again, "I'm going to wash up and change clothes, what time do you have an appointment?"
When Xu Xinghe and the others gathered in the lobby, they realized that Gu Nai was there.
Ryan leaned over, lowered his voice and whispered in his ear, "I'm sorry, team leader, I didn't know he would come too."
After the forum turmoil, he could feel that the two of them were avoiding suspicion intentionally or unintentionally. Even when they went to climb the snow mountain the day before yesterday, Gu Nai also excused that he was not feeling well, so he didn't go with them.
As a result, the secret room didn't communicate well this time, and they bumped into each other just like that.
"It's okay." Xu Xinghe himself acted very calmly, shook his head and said: "We are all colleagues, we can't see each other when we look up, we can't just stop talking to each other just because of a few rumors."
"Well, it's good that you don't feel embarrassed." Ryan breathed a sigh of relief, and his tone revived: "This secret room is said to be scary and exciting! There will be many NPCs pretending to be ghosts and chasing you!"
Xu Xinghe: "???"
He looked at Ryan with a ghostly expression on his face: "Didn't you say that its horror level is 'moderate'?"
"Ah?" Ryan blinked and said innocently, "Leader, what I said on the phone was 'severe terror'."
Xu Xinghe: "..."
day! Is it too late for him to quit now?
While struggling, another colleague came towards him, and when he saw Xu Xinghe, he was stunned: "Why did you call Team Leader Xu?"
Ryan asked back: "What's wrong? Our team leader can't come?"
"It's not impossible, it's inappropriate... Didn't you say that the secret room is scary? Team leader Xu has to take good care of it now!"
Xu Xinghe: "..."
Seeing how his colleague was eager to help him back to the room, he smiled stiffly and said, "Thank you for your concern. I am in good health and have nothing to support. I am going to the secret room myself."
Ryan looked at Xu Xinghe's expression, approached him and asked in a low voice: "Team leader, you're not really afraid of ghosts, are you?"
Xu Xinghe was speechless. He refused to admit that he was afraid of ghosts in front of Ling Changfeng, let alone in front of his team members.
"How is it possible?" Team leader Xu tried his best to make his voice look contemptuous, "I'm afraid I'm not bad!"
As soon as the words fell, Gu Nai, who was chatting with his colleagues in front of him, suddenly turned his head to look at him, and smiled slightly.
Xu Xinghe: "..." This person is so annoying!
After all eight people arrived, everyone set off in the direction of the horror chamber.
The car drove for a while, and finally stopped in front of a three-story building in the north of the city.
After getting off the car, Xu Xinghe asked casually: "This place seems to be quite out of the way?"
"Because it's big." James explained, "The rent is so expensive for a secret room that big in the city center."
Xu Xinghe nodded, and looked up at the store on the third floor in front of him.
Different from the common secret room in the commercial office building in the star floating city, this secret room has its own dedicated building with a large event venue, which is quite exciting.
A shop assistant with a friendly smile came over, led a group of people into the room, explained to them the general rules of the secret room, and then asked everyone to draw their own character cards. Finally, he reminded: "Electronic smartphones cannot be brought into the secret room. Please take them off and leave them to me for safekeeping. They will be returned to everyone after the end."
Xu Xinghe took off the smartphone on his left wrist, watched the staff lock them into the safe, but suddenly thought of something: "Well, if someone calls me later..." Xu Xinghe struggled, "Let it go Okay, don't hang up for me, and don't answer directly."
The staff smiled and said, "Don't worry, we won't touch your personal items."
The story background of this horror chamber took place in the Middle Ages, revolving around the evil spirits and innocent souls in the castle, as well as the boys and girls who were sacrificed.
The secret room setting is exquisite, and the horror atmosphere is well rendered. Dim flickering lights, bloodstains on the walls and floors, cobwebs everywhere, and scary music playing from time to time.
As soon as Xu Xinghe stepped here, he subconsciously followed Ryan and Ethan, comforting them: "Don't be afraid, there are no ghosts in this world."
"Huh?" Ryan held up the flashlight in one hand, and flipped through the key clues on the table with the other. Wen Yan and Ethan glanced at each other, and they both saw the inexplicable look in each other's eyes, "Leader, we are not afraid."
As soon as the words fell, a cold hand suddenly stretched out from under the table, grabbing his ankle suddenly, it was cold.
The next moment, screams resounded throughout the room.
"Ah, what the hell!"
"The team leader is picking me up!!"
After a brief commotion, everyone finally deciphered the code to leave the room from the book and entered the next room.
The light in this room became even darker, the music stopped, and the surroundings were quiet.
In the darkness, someone asked, "What do we want in this room?"
Suddenly, the bell rang.
Then, without warning, several pale-faced evil spirits crawled out from all directions, and crawled towards the crowd.
The scene suddenly became a mess.
Xu Xinghe firmly grabbed Ethan's arm, and ran with his eyes closed.
If the lights in the room could be brighter, everyone would probably notice that Team Leader Xu's face is no better than that of a ghost at the moment.
If he was given another chance to choose, Xu Xinghe thought, he would rather be rumored to be pregnant again than come to this damn secret room!
It's a pity that he has already entered the wolf's den, and it is impossible to quit halfway.
After a great escape chased by a group of ghosts, a ghost NPC who claimed to want to help them appeared and told everyone to start in groups of two to complete their respective side quests.
The task content depends on the character card drawn by each person, and the team members are also determined in the script.
Xu Xinghe was still immersed in the thrilling escape last time, his heart was beating non-stop.
Suddenly I heard a familiar voice asking: "Who is 'Richard' in the game?"
He raised his hand subconsciously: "Me, me, me!"
Gu Nai pushed his glasses and smiled lightly across from him: "Let's go to the basement as a group."
Xu Xinghe: "..."
He didn't care about embarrassment for a while, and asked in a low voice: "Can I not do this side mission?"
He doesn't want to go to the basement or something!
"Alright." Gu Nai nodded, unexpectedly easy to talk, "We only need to complete three of the four side missions, get three keys, and finally the gate of the castle will be opened. In other words, as long as the other three No one on the team will lose the chain, and we can stay where we are and reap the rewards."
"But..." Gu Nai reminded him kindly, "Even if we stay where we are, there will still be ghosts coming out to scare us. And, have you seen that big pendulum clock? Every time the minute hand points to a quarter, there will be a scene like There was a parade of ghosts just like that. So the task must not only be completed, but also as soon as possible."
Xu Xinghe hesitated for a moment, finally gritted his teeth and said, "Then let's go."
Anyway, if you go or not, you will be scared, why not do the task, and leave this ghost place as soon as possible!
On the way to the basement, Xu Xinghe asked Gu Nai: "How brave are you?"
Gu Nai smiled a bit awkwardly: "I'm not brave enough, maybe I didn't grow up like Group Xu, but I'm not afraid of ghosts."
Xu Xinghe: "..."
"How do you know there will be ghosts coming out to parade every moment? The NPC just now didn't say anything except asking us to complete the side missions."
"Before I came, I checked the reviews of this secret room on the Internet, and I accidentally saw that netizens spoiled it."
"..."
The hallway was dark, with lights flickering on and off.
Xu Xinghe was afraid that something scary would suddenly emerge from a corner, so he followed Gu Nai closely and walked softly through the corridor.
"Before coming to Nanjia, I went back to Capital University." Gu Nai didn't know if he could see his nervousness, and started to chat with him casually.
"Huh? Why did you go back?" Hearing the name of his alma mater, Xu Xinghe really raised his head, and immediately realized: "By the way, you haven't graduated from graduate school yet, and you still need to continue your studies. How long have you been practicing in Ark?"
Gu Nai looked forward intently, his voice seemed to be softer than before: "I'm leaving soon."
After a pause, he said in a very soft voice: "So go back and take a look at the end."
Xu Xinghe didn't hear his muttering clearly, but just asked: "What do you want to do after graduation? Are you considering working in Ark?"
Gu Nai turned to look at him, smiled and said, "I don't think about it."
Seeing Xu Xinghe like this, he couldn't help but have some embarrassing associations.
After thinking about it, he still opened his mouth and said, "Then what, in fact, you don't have to hide from me."
With such a beginning, Xu Xinghe simply opened the mouth: "None of us need to pay for some gossip, as long as we have a clear conscience, there is no need to avoid it."
Gu Nai smiled, "I'm not avoiding you. On the day you went to climb the snow mountain, I really had something to do, so I asked for leave."
Hearing what he said, Xu Xinghe heaved a sigh of relief, and asked casually, "Apart from traveling, what else is there to do besides playing?"
Gu Nai smiled but did not answer.
The two walked to the basement while talking.
Pushing open the rusty door, the inside is filled with smoke, and the sound of the music box echoes in the empty room.
"Why is there still smoke in this basement?" Xu Xinghe asked quietly.
"It may be convenient for the ghost to rush out suddenly to scare people." Gu Nai smiled, "Mist is a good barrier, you know, most of the fear comes from the unknown, if you know the ghost's next move, you won't be afraid .”
Xu Xinghe: "..."
Fuck! That said, I feel even more panicked.
He silently moved closer to Gu Nai.
Gu Nai noticed this move, smiled and comforted him and said, "I'm just kidding, there are no ghosts here, so it's not scary."
Xu Xinghe expressed 10,000 unbelief.
However, he still cared about his side quest, and asked with trembling teeth, "How do we get the key? It doesn't look like there is much to solve the puzzle."
Gu Nai was silent for a moment, then slowly said: "We don't need to take the key."
Xu Xinghe was taken aback: "Huh?"
"Our mission is different from others. Remember what was written in the script? We are the assistants of the Earl. You will find that we are actually with the evil spirits in the castle when you go to the next room."
Xu Xinghe was stunned, and blinked at the weird music from the music box.
"So, our task is to find the lock from the basement, and then go through the secret room first, and put the lock on the gate of the castle. In this way, the remaining six people can be used as sacrifices and locked in the castle forever."
Xu Xinghe nodded, and gradually accepted the setting: "It's quite complicated. In other words, our role has changed from prey to hunter?"
"Um."
"Thinking about it like this, I don't seem to be afraid anymore." Xu Xinghe said, "I hope the ghosts in the castle can distinguish the enemy from us, and stop rushing out suddenly to scare our own people."
Gu Nai smiled: "A hunter also has things to worry about, such as what to do if the prey escapes."
Xu Xinghe asked: "Is this what you saw on the Internet?"
Gu Nai shook his head: "No, online reviews won't be written in such detail, otherwise this spoiler would be a bit wicked."
"I also think, how do you know the follow-up plot?"
Gu Nai smiled: "Because I introduced this place."
Xu Xinghe casually found a box and sat down: "Why, do you have relatives working here?"
"Roughly the same."
"No, is it true or not?"
"Fake."
"..."
Xu Xinghe felt that something was wrong with Gu Nai. But before he had time to ask in detail, he suddenly felt a little weak in his body.
The music box stopped, and the surrounding smoke gradually dissipated.
"You..." Xu Xinghe wanted to get up, but suddenly his feet went limp, and he fell back to his seat.
Before falling down, he saw Gu Nai standing opposite him, looking down at him.
Under the dimly flickering light in the basement, the black eyes behind the lens were indifferent.
The scene in front of him gradually darkened, Xu Xinghe leaned over and fell into a coma...