Chapter 107: The Right Way to Open a Door

Chapter 107: Chapter 107: The Right Way to Open a DoorHis eyebrows slightly knitted, "We assumed that there must be a switch, a gate valve, or at least something akin to a key that is critical to opening the main gate—without it, it’s impossible to open."

"But this information was conveyed by Lin Pei."

"What do you mean? He deliberately misled us?" Gu Yu stopped what she was doing.

"Not necessarily, he might also think that what he is looking for is a ’key.’ We think he is looking for a ’key,’ so we also follow suit, but leaving the replica might not necessarily require opening the main gate."

"You mean there’s another way to escape the replica?" Gu Yu pondered for a moment, "That can’t be right. If there really was another way, why would Lin Pei bother to help us distract the Alien away from the gate?"

"When he killed the Alien, he didn’t seem to be pretending," Shen Yi added.

Xu Huo said, "Lin Pei learned of a way to leave the town through some unknown channel, but his method might not be correct."

All present were taken aback, then Shen Yi slapped his forehead, "Right! We’ve been assuming all along that he definitely knows how to get out, trying to beat him to it, without considering that he might be mistaken!"

"So foolish of us! We completely trusted that scoundrel Lin Pei—if he had that ability, he wouldn’t still be unable to find a way out by now." Gu Yu laughed along, then continued, "I think our initial thought makes sense, the main gate is connected to electric wires, there must be a control for the gate."

"Not necessarily," Xu Huo said, "If there was a gate valve, even if not in an obvious place, it should have been discovered by now."

"Although the town is enclosed, people come and go; there’s no need to make the gate valve extremely hidden."

"The key might be nowhere to be found simply because the main gate doesn’t have a ’key’ at all, just like the rooms here."

"Do you mean the gate should be easy to open?" Ke Liang asked doubtfully, "But we’ve tried everything just now and couldn’t open the gate."

"Ding! Ding!"

"It’s nine o’clock! Nine o’clock! It’s the perfect time to learn; only children who learn something new every day are good children."

"Today’s question is, which hour does Master Niese cherish most among the twelve hours?"

Electronic sound came from next door, and as soon as Xu Huo heard it, he immediately left Master Niese’s residence and entered the adjacent building.

Gu Yu and the others followed him, not understanding what he was doing.

"What is he doing?" Shen Xin asked instinctively but was stopped by Gu Yu with a gesture.

The group arrived in front of the clock that had just chimed, and Xu Huo stepped forward to knock on the glass door of the clock, "I didn’t hear the question clearly, say it again."

"Today’s question is, which hour does Master Niese cherish most among the twelve hours?"

Xu Huo watched the hands on the clock face, one hand slipping into his pocket—gemstone arm, Magnifying Glass, candy, strawberry little mirror...

"Midnight, Master Niese cherishes midnight the most."

"Doo-doo! Correct answer!"

"The riddle solver has given the correct answer; Master Niese decides to reward you with a strawberry-shaped hair clip."

Xu Huo took the hair clip ejected by the clock, turned to Gu Yu and the others, and said, "Every night at midnight, the second hand on top of the town hall clock tower glows. At that time, a beam of light will reflect on the main gate. I’ve noticed this, and it doesn’t happen at any other time."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Shen Yi didn’t understand.

"If the town’s main gate doesn’t need a key, then how would it open and close?" Xu Huo asked.

"A trap!" Shen Xin’s eyes lit up, "It operates through automatic on-and-off gate valves; no one needs to control it—when it’s time, it will automatically close or open. The main gate of the town operates on the same principle!"

"Exactly," Xu Huo nodded, "The main gate isn’t controlled by anyone; there must be a time it automatically opens and closes. Midnight is a special time; perhaps the gate opens then."

"So you’re saying we just need to wait in front of the main gate until midnight?" Gu Yu couldn’t believe it was that easy.

"Try every once in a while for 24 hours, and we’ll find out. If our deduction is wrong, then we’ll think of another strategy," Xu Huo said.

His composed and steadfast assurance acted like a calming pill, instilling tremendous confidence in Gu Yu and Ke Liang and the rest.

"So which door should we choose?" Wang Chaoqing asked with a beaming smile, "How about we draw lots?"

"Normally, both doors should be the same," Xu Huo said. "But we’ve already tried the east door a few times, we can exclude some time, let’s go to the east door first."

"Then it’s settled, we’ll head to the east door!"

"Should we not bother looking for Lin Pei?" Shen Xin hesitated.

"The town is so big, where on earth would we go looking for him? Instead of wasting energy on searching, we’d better figure out how to get out sooner," Shen Yi said. "We just need to be a bit more cautious."

The small truck hit the road again, but this time, unlike when they arrived, there was a noticeable easing in everyone’s expressions, and Gu Yu even started to hum a song.

"Aren’t you a movie star? You can sing too?" Shen Yi asked with a laugh.

"A movie, drama, and singing triple-threat, you’re kidding," Gu Yu cleared her throat and began to sing a tune she wrote herself, with Shen Yi and Ke Liang clapping along.

Xu Huo wiped his sword with a pleased expression, seemingly infected by the joy around him.

Nobody could last a day without food, so they picked up some eats on the way and also brought along some water. It was nearly midnight by the time they arrived at the east door.

"After getting out, I’m going to eat hot pot non-stop for three days," Shen Yi said, chewing on chocolate. "Even thinking about the taste makes my mouth water."

"Me too, me too," Shen Xin nodded vigorously, "I’ve never been hungry this long in my life, I could eat a whole cow!"

"Then you two come with me to Jing City, I’ll treat you to some authentic delicacies," Gu Yu declared boldly.

The siblings laughed, "Aren’t you too busy, big star?"

"No matter how busy, friends come first," Gu Yu glanced at Xu Huo, "If you come, I’ll definitely keep you company personally. I’ll take care of your accommodation and everything, don’t worry about the money."

Her real intentions weren’t in her words, as Shen Xin nudged her brother’s arm and snickered.

Shen Yi and Ke Liang, envious of Xu Huo’s good fortune with women, the former asked, "Brother Xu, we’re all planning to head to Jing City after getting out, aren’t you going?"

"I don’t have any plans for it at the moment," Xu Huo said leisurely after finishing his biscuit. Seeing that Gu Yu had melted her chocolate without eating it, he reached out his hand, "If you can’t finish it, give it to me."

Gu Yu smacked his palm fiercely with her fingertips, shifted her stance and turned away from him, stuffing the chocolate into her mouth.

"One does not know the true value of happiness," Wang Chaoqing smacked his lips on the side, then leaned towards Gu Yu, "Miss Gu, do you think I have a future?"

Gu Yu turned to size him up and actually thought he had potential; his current special shadow appeared weak, but his potential was enormous.

She was about to speak when Xu Huo suddenly placed his hand on Wang Chaoqing’s shoulder and said with a smile, "Follow me."

Wang Chaoqing’s brows drooped, "Brother, there’s no future in a small place; I want to make big money."

"Don’t worry, I’ll introduce you to a place where you can make big money," Xu Huo patted him on the shoulder.

Wang Chaoqing was angry but dared not speak out. He looked at Gu Yu with his eyes, only to see her interest had faded and the hope for a change dwindled instantly. He moved back to his original spot and became still.

It quickly got dark, and the group gathered some dry branches to start a fire, then turned off their flashlights.

They waited until past eleven o’clock at night.

"It’s almost midnight," Ke Liang swallowed nervously.

Xu Huo’s watch was synchronized with the big clock, and when the second hand hit twelve, he nodded to his left and right, then pushed forward on the door together with Ke Liang and Gu Yu.

They exerted their strength, but to their surprise, the door at this moment was completely different from before—it gave way with a light push, then slowly lifted:

"The door’s open!"