Chapter 137: Bamboo Forest Maze Upgrade! Can Humans Really Clear It?

Chapter 137: Bamboo Forest Maze Upgrade! Can Humans Really Clear It?

Time passed, and before Zhang Lin knew it, two days had gone by.

During these two days, the most powerful brain had been promoting the Bamboo Forest Maze—Bagua Array—every day. As a result, the attention surrounding the Bagua Array online not only didn't decrease but grew even more. Everyone was curious whether Liyuan Farm could truly create such a legendary Bagua Array.

One morning, as soon as Zhang Lin arrived at the farm, Wang Jingjing, the accountant, approached him with two documents for his signature. "Mr. Zhang, this is last month's settlement statement, and the other is the document for the 10 million yuan prize money to be deposited into the notary account. You need to sign these."

Zhang Lin took the documents and reviewed them.

The settlement statement required a significant payment of over 15 million yuan. This included the material costs for the restaurant last month, the self-service barbecue costs at the two camping sites, the daily cleaning and disinfection of tents, bed sheets, and blankets... in short, a myriad of costs and expenses, including the water channel project and other small projects, added up to quite a sum.

The 10 million yuan for the Bamboo Forest Maze—Bagua Array prize was straightforward.

After reviewing the documents, he signed them and returned them to Wang Jingjing.

"Mr. Zhang, I'll head to the bank to handle the transactions," Wang Jingjing said, taking back the documents and leaving the office.

Zhang Lin drank his special medicinal wine and went to plant trees for his exercise. When he returned to the office, a series of bank transfer notifications started coming in.

"Account ending in... Balance: 75,541,655.55 yuan."

"Zhang Lin, missed me?" A laugh echoed from outside the office.

The voice brought him a pleasant surprise—it was Chen Xin, his senior brother.

Chen Xin had promised to come to the farm, and Zhang Lin had been eagerly awaiting his arrival. He hadn't expected Chen Xin to show up so quietly.

As Chen Xin entered the office, he was followed by a young woman.

She resembled Lin Shijie a bit, and both had high beauty standards. However, this girl had an even better figure, looking more like someone who regularly worked out.

Initially, Zhang Lin thought Chen Xin had moved on too quickly, going from pursuing his sister to his younger sister. Now, he understood Chen Xin better.

"Xiao Wan, this is the junior brother I mentioned, Zhang Lin," Chen Xin introduced her.

"Mr. Zhang, hello," Lin Wan greeted him gently, shaking his hand.

"Senior Brother, please have a seat!" Zhang Lin smiled and invited them to sit at the tea table.

Since Zhong miaoying was busy and not around, he personally brewed tea and poured a cup for each of them. "Senior Brother, are you starting work at the farm now?"

Chen Xin nodded. "Yes, I'll be starting at the farm. Xiao Wan will also open a flower shop in Youcheng. With the farm's development trend, I should be settling in Youcheng!"

"Welcome, Senior Brother!" Zhang Lin said with a smile.

"Zhang Lin, how about lunch together? I'll treat you, consider it as you inviting me!" Chen Xin invited him after taking a sip of tea.

"Senior Brother, I can't really make it for lunch today," Zhang Lin shook his head. "The wedding I promised to attend was not originally today, but they suddenly changed the date, and it just happens to be today that you arrived."

"Can they really change the wedding date at the last minute?" Chen Xin asked, surprised.

Zhang Lin explained, "Most people wouldn't, but the bride's family is very superstitious about birth dates. The person they consulted got the timing wrong, so they had to recalculate and change the date."

Chen Xin asked in shock, "What if they get it wrong again?"

"I don't know," Zhang Lin shrugged. "Uncle Dagen's family is in a bit of a bind because of the bride's family. They had to find a new banquet hall, and things like home renovations and hardware purchases had to be rescheduled according to feng shui."

It was a tough situation, but Zhang Hong liked the bride, so he had to follow her family's demands. According to his mother, Zhang Hong's family had to buy a house just like the bride's family did for the wedding.

In a relationship, the one who loves deeply often has no say.

"Then let's make it dinner. I'll treat you then," Chen Xin said with a smile.

"Sure, I'll have Senior Sister Lin accompany you for lunch," Zhang Lin said, taking out his phone to call Lin Shijie.

When the call connected, Lin Shijie's voice came through. "Mr. Zhang, what do you need?"

Zhang Lin smiled. "Senior Sister, Senior Brother Chen is back, and he has his sister with him. I have something to attend to at noon, so I was wondering if you could join them for lunch."

"Got it, I'll finish up here," Lin Shijie said and hung up.

Noon

Zhang Lin took a taxi to the Zhongmin Grand Hotel in Youcheng. He had promised to provide a car for Zhang Hong's wedding, and the car had been taken away the previous night.

Entering the hotel and following the signs, he quickly saw Uncle Dagen welcoming guests outside a wedding banquet hall.

Seeing him arrive, Zhang Dagun greeted him with a broad smile, "Xiaolin, you're here! Your mother and the Zhang Zhao couple have already gone in. I'll take you inside!"

"Thanks, Uncle Dagun!" Zhang Lin said, handing over a red envelope to Uncle Dagun.

The envelope didn't contain much, just 1000 yuan.

It wasn't that he couldn't afford more; it was just that such red envelopes were about reciprocity. Whatever amount he gave, they would have to return the same amount when he got married.

Giving too much would only make them uncomfortable.

Zhang Lin's timing was perfect; the wedding ceremony was just about to start. However, as he entered, he immediately drew the attention of the villagers, who all turned to look at him.

"It's Zhang Lin!"

"He's really made it big!"

"Not really, he doesn't even have a shred of conscience. We're neighbors, yet he wouldn't even give us a spot for planting sweet potatoes."

"I didn't get one either. He must still hold a grudge against me for not lending his father money back then. But did he ever think if I had the money at the time?"

"..."

Hearing the murmurs around him, Zhang Lin decided that when he got married, he wouldn't invite these so-called villagers. He would only invite people like Uncle Dagun, Uncle Er, and Uncle Shuisheng.

He wasn't close to these villagers and had no real connection with them. They were the kind who only showed up when he was successful and treated him like a pariah when he was down.

Following Uncle Dagun, Zhang Lin found that his mother's table was already full, so he had to sit at another table filled with villagers.

As soon as he sat down, everyone at the table looked at him.

"Xiaolin, it's been a while. I used to carry you when you were little. Do you remember?"

"Yeah, Xiaolin, you stole peaches from my garden in elementary school, and I never said a word."

"Do you remember when your cousin took you to school in middle school? Can you ask him to help with planting sweet potatoes?"

"Now that you've made it, don't forget your fellow villagers!"

"..."

Zhang Lin found this meal extremely unpleasant but had to endure it for Uncle Dagun's sake.

Honestly, he couldn't understand how people he hadn't seen or spoken to in over a decade could so naturally use childhood memories to draw closer, even trying to morally bind him.

He found such behavior deeply repulsive.

So, once the ceremony was over and the meal was almost finished, he left without paying any attention to the villagers.

He knew they would likely gossip about him behind his back, saying all sorts of bad things.

But he didn't care; it didn't bother him. They were the ones who would tire themselves out from talking.

Back at the farm, Zhang Lin called Lin Mengyao and asked her to handle Chen Xin's onboarding.

That night, he had dinner with Chen Xin, welcoming him officially to Liyuan Farm.

...

Time passed, and four days went by in a flash.

During these four days, the show "Super Brain" continued to promote the Bamboo Forest Maze and the Eight Trigrams Array, but the only footage available was of the construction barriers around the maze's perimeter, offering no insight into what was happening inside.

This only fueled everyone's curiosity about the Bamboo Forest Maze and the Eight Trigrams Array.

Finally, Zhang Lin received another game notification:

"Congratulations, the Bamboo Forest Maze has successfully upgraded to the Eight Trigrams Array. Information is being transmitted!"

After a week, the Bamboo Forest Maze was finally upgraded.

With the notification, Zhang Lin's mind received new information about the Eight Trigrams Array, as if it had been imprinted there, giving him a thorough understanding of the entire layout.

He quickly left the office center, hopped on his electric scooter, and headed for the Bamboo Forest Maze.

At the same time, the construction team began to withdraw, drawing the attention of many tourists who quickly took out their phones to capture the scene.

Although the Bamboo Forest Maze wasn't open, its high online buzz meant that visitors to Liyuan Farm often glanced at it.

Seeing the construction team leave, the tourists deduced the reason.

Zhang Lin rode his scooter to the Bamboo Forest Maze, and as he arrived, he noticed that the entrance had changed.

The stone tablet that once read "Bamboo Forest Maze" now bore the inscription "Bamboo Forest Maze - Eight Trigrams Array," and it had a more Daoist, grayish hue.

The entrance and the surrounding walls were adorned with Eight Trigrams symbols, adding a sense of depth and mystery, making it clear that this maze was no ordinary place.

Zhang Lin immediately entered the Bamboo Forest Maze.

Since the maze's properties had no effect on him, he couldn't feel the disorienting scenery or the confusing paths around him.

However, he noticed that the internal layout had completely changed compared to before. The flowers and plants seemed to be the same, but their arrangement was entirely different. Previously, they were planted directly in the ground, but now they were placed on flower stands.

Moreover, there were uniform walls of vines everywhere, making it difficult to distinguish between paths that had been walked and those that hadn't. If the maze had the additional properties of increasing confusion and reducing investigative intelligence, anyone would be thoroughly disoriented.

Zhang Lin walked deeper into the maze. After a while, he looked around and then up at the sky, muttering to himself: "Qian—Dui—Qian—Li, corresponding to North, Dui—Kun."

In other words, 1—2—1—8, corresponding to 1—8!

The 8s and 1s canceled each other out, leaving 2—1, which was Dui—Qian—Kun.

This meant the direction between the West and Northwest. Indeed, there was a left-turning path in that direction, and he walked straight into it.

Zhang Lin found a few more correct paths this way, but his face was full of shock. The Bagua Array actually required finding the correct path like this.

However, one still needed to know the numbers used to set up the array. With 64 combinations, each with so many numbers, finding the correct path without knowing them would be extremely difficult. One needed a deep understanding of the Bagua diagram and the numbers derived from the I Ching.

Zhang Lin could find the correct paths so easily because the properties of increased confusion and reduced intelligence didn't affect him, and he had the relevant information from the game system in his mind. This information was about the maze, and he knew the variables, so he could find the correct paths.

But if he didn't know, could anyone really get out of this maze? Even Sun Xuan, the grandson of the scientific young dragon from Long, would have been unable to escape.

Next, he approached a wall of vines. The base of the vines was made of plastic mud. Zhang Lin pressed a stone nearby, and the wall of vines split in two, opening a path.

He could see that the plastic mud base had a mechanism with wheels.

He walked through the gap, which was a shortcut for quick passage. This was a backdoor that the person who set up the array used to move around freely.

With the information in his mind, Zhang Lin's understanding of the Bagua Array was so thorough that it could be said he set it up himself, since no one knew about the game system.

Using this method, he arrived at an area surrounded by walls of vines. This area was likely near a resting zone, and there was a device shaped like a Bagua diagram inside.

He pressed a button on the Bagua diagram device, and when he stepped out, he saw that the wall of vines and the flower stands were moving. Clearly, they were equipped with wheels.

As they moved, the paths changed. A path that had been to the left now led to the right.

The Bagua diagram device controlled several areas, and when these areas changed, the entire layout of the region was different. This was one of the variables in the Bagua Array, and there were several control points.

If these control points were managed by staff, they could easily disrupt anyone inside the maze.

Thus, the legends about the Bagua Array were likely true.

For example, Sun Bin used the terrain of mountains and forests to set up a Bagua Array. If the area was large enough, it could easily trap an entire army. If it was equipped with attacks and traps, it could easily destroy an army.

The prerequisite was having enough time to set it up or no one being able to break the array.

With the Bamboo Forest Maze upgrade complete, it validated the power of Daoist culture. It was clear that the ancestors were quite skilled.

Previously, the Daoists had given him books on Daoism, and he could invite them to see the maze. They would surely be very happy.

After all, he understood that the Daoists had sent him the books on the Bagua diagram and the I Ching to verify something.

While Zhang Lin was studying the Bamboo Forest Maze, in Shanghai, Chu Heng was methodically holding a meeting with the production team for the second season, which was about to start filming, and everything needed to be arranged.

Just as the meeting ended, his assistant rushed in: "Mr. Chu, the Bamboo Forest Maze at Lishan Farm has been upgraded, and the construction team has already left."

"Really?" Chu Heng's face lit up with excitement.

This was the moment he had been waiting for.

Not only him, but when the news of the construction team's departure at the Bamboo Forest Maze was posted online, many people who were following the story quickly learned about it.

Now they could find out what kind of Bagua Array Lishan Farm had set up.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end