Chapter 139: A Stunning Display, All Under Control!

Chapter 139: A Stunning Display, All Under Control!

In the first secret room, everyone was desperately searching for clues. As the temperature in the sauna room gradually rose, the group became increasingly anxious.

Now that they were all ordinary people, they couldn't withstand the high temperatures!

"What's the temperature now?"

"It's already over 60 degrees..."

Upon hearing this, the group's faces grew even more distressed.

They searched frantically, almost turning the sauna room upside down, but found nothing.

When the sauna room temperature exceeded 70 degrees, a prompt appeared in their left eyes:

[Sacrifice three teammates to proceed to the next stage!]



The group's expressions changed at this prompt.

They looked at their teammates beside them, their faces filled with uncertainty.

Only Zhao Zheng remained calm among them.

He had already recognized the origin of this sauna room and knew the escape method.

The reason he hadn't taken action was that Zhao Zheng wanted to observe the others' performance first.

At this moment—

Suddenly, Wang Fei found something under a cabinet and shouted, "I found a card!"

Hearing this, the group gathered around, and they noticed words on the card.

"Rock Peak Vanishes, Truly No Home?"

Someone read the card's content aloud, "What does this mean?"

"It's like a riddle," Chen Kai said, "It might be related to the exit key!"

The group immediately began to ponder.

Then, the lights in the sauna room suddenly turned red, and a large amount of steam filled the room.

The group instantly felt an intense mugginess.

Although the sauna room was hot before, it was a dry heat with little moisture in the air, so it didn't feel overly hot. But with the increase in steam, it was a completely different story.

At this moment, the group felt an overwhelming sense of suffocation.

A sense of deadly suffocation began to envelop them!

"What is it? What's the answer to the riddle?"

Jiang Hebin was in a panic, his face filled with fear.

He was terrified of death.

The others were also anxious, but no one could answer Jiang Hebin's question.

The two disjointed sentences left the group clueless about which direction to guess or how to solve the riddle.

Suddenly, Zhou Junjie took down a knife hanging on the wall and pointed it at himself.

"Junjie, what are you doing?" Chen Kai exclaimed in shock.

Zhou Junjie's expression was calm as he said, "I'm keeping my promise and sacrificing myself."

"Don't be foolish!" Chen Kai quickly responded, "There's still time, it's not necessary!"

Zhou Junjie shook his head. "We're running out of time. If we don't pass this stage, we'll all die here."

Hearing the last sentence, the others who had intended to stop him found themselves unable to speak.

Fear of death was only natural.

Even Zhou Junjie himself didn't want to die here.

"Good brother, you go first, I'll join you soon!" Wang Fei cheered from the side.

The group was speechless but also touched by this guy's words...

Now, with two volunteers for sacrifice, they only needed one more to pass the stage.

Just as Zhou Junjie was about to take action—

Suddenly, two voices spoke almost simultaneously.

"It's a rock!"

"It must be a rock!"

The first voice, spoken with certainty, belonged to Zhao Zheng.

The second, with a hint of uncertainty, was Song Haitang's!

Zhao Zheng already knew everything about this secret room, so he was sure.

What surprised him was that Song Haitang could also figure out the riddle's answer.

No wonder she was a top student!

The two of them immediately drew everyone's attention.

Zhao Zheng said to Song Haitang, "Haitang, share your thoughts."

With the urgency of the situation, Song Haitang didn't hesitate. She explained, "I think it's a character puzzle with missing radicals. 'Rock Peak Vanishes' minus the mountain radical becomes 'stone,' and 'Truly No Home' minus the top radical becomes 'head.'"

The group understood.

Everyone's gaze shifted to the areas with rocks.

"So, the key is hidden among these rocks?"

"Based on the riddle's clue, it should be!"

"Don't just stand there, start searching!"

The group rushed towards the piles of rocks and began their search.

There were three sets of rocks in the sauna room: on the left, right, and in the middle.

The rocks on the left and right were for decoration.

The rocks in the middle, near the stove, were used to generate steam and increase the temperature.

At this moment, the rocks in the stove were blackened and undoubtedly scorching hot.

Everyone instinctively assumed the key wouldn't be in the stove.

...

The temperature in the sauna room had soared to over 80 degrees.

With the added steam, the room felt incredibly stuffy.

Everyone's faces were flushed, and they were drenched in sweat.

But at this moment, no one had the mind to care about themselves; they just wanted to find the key quickly.

Yet, they couldn't seem to find it...

"It's not here! Where is the key?"

Wang Yuqing was in tears, her anxiety reaching a peak. But at that moment, Zhao Zheng finally took action. He grabbed a nearby towel, wrapped it around his hand, and began rummaging through the stove.

In no time, he found a magnet.

The next moment, Zhao Zheng, with the magnet in hand, approached the glass door.

The door was made of tempered glass, unbreakable by force. Behind it, there was a lock with an iron shackle.

Zhao Zheng pressed the magnet against the door, and its powerful magnetic force instantly attracted the iron shackle on the other side.

Then, as Zhao Zheng moved the magnet, the iron shackle outside the door also followed, sliding along...

Everyone was overjoyed at this sight.

"Clang!"

As Zhao Zheng pulled away the magnet, the iron shackle on the other side fell to the ground.

With the shackle gone, the lock was easily opened.

The escape route was now revealed to everyone.

"Great, the door's open!"

"Damn, Zhao, you're the man!"

"Using a magnet to remove the shackle, how did you think of that? You're incredible!"

"Zhao, you're amazing!"

Zhao Zheng smiled at the excited crowd and said, "Save the praise for later. Let's get out of here quickly! Unless you all want to keep steaming for a bit longer!"

Of course, no one wanted to continue the sauna session.

In just that short time, everyone was drenched in sweat.

It could even be said that after this Spirit Realm experience, many of them would likely develop a psychological fear of saunas and avoid similar places in the future.

Next, the group followed the exit, leaving the sauna room one by one.

...

In the viewing hall.

Everyone had witnessed Zhao Zheng, Jiang Hebin, and the others' actions and heard their words clearly.

When they were desperately searching for the key, everyone in the hall held their breath, worried for them.

It wasn't until Zhao Zheng stepped up and swiftly resolved the problem, freeing his teammates, that the crowd in the hall finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, voices began to murmur:

"They finally made it through safely!"

"Yeah! Seeing their performance, I thought we'd have to sacrifice a few to pass this stage."

"Fortunately, that young man Zhao Zheng did well and found a way to get through."

"No wonder he was chosen as captain; this kid indeed has some extraordinary qualities."

"I heard that Zhao Zheng and Song Haitang always achieve godlike performances, and it's not just because of Song Haitang's talent. Zhao Zheng's intelligence and their teamwork are what lead to perfect task evaluations... Seems the rumors are true!"

"So, while Song Haitang is important, Zhao Zheng's role is also significant?"

"Yeah! This kid is far more than what people say online; he's not just a pretty boy..."

Zhao Zheng's actions had indeed changed everyone's perception of him.

Song President frowned slightly, listening to the murmurs.

He couldn't help but question himself, "Could my judgment be wrong?"

Just then, the screen in the hall switched to a scene of an icy, snowy landscape.

Zhao Zheng and his team had arrived at this location.

The crowd in the hall was surprised by this development.

"What's going on? Why didn't the captain forfeit?"

"Is Zhao Zheng planning to continue?"

"Didn't anyone tell them that once the stage starts, they can't forfeit midway?"

"This kid is just being reckless!"

"Maybe he's confident in his abilities and thinks he can still win the championship this time?"

"But you can't joke with Song Haitang's life!"

"You're wrong there. Every level of the Spirit Realm is filled with danger."

"Enough arguing, they've started..."

...

The second stage of the escape room was set in an icy, snowy landscape.

Zhao Zheng immediately recognized the familiar environment.

The rest of the team began to explore their surroundings.

"Be careful of the ground!" Zhao Zheng suddenly warned. "We're walking on an ice layer, and beneath it is a fast-flowing river. If anyone falls in, it's certain death."

Upon hearing this, the team members quickly looked down.

Indeed, they all saw the rushing water beneath the ice layer.

"Everyone, be cautious and avoid stepping on the ice surface forcefully," Zhao Zheng instructed again.

The team nodded in agreement and proceeded with caution.

After witnessing Zhao Zheng's performance in the first stage, the team members now had great respect for their captain.

Moreover, when they had first entered, everyone had been scanning the surroundings, but only Zhao Zheng had noticed the river beneath the ice layer...

His observational skills were truly exceptional.

He surpassed them all!

"Let's split up and search. Report anything you find," Zhao Zheng instructed.

Then, he added, "If you discover anything unusual, inform me immediately. Don't touch it without caution."

The temperature here is very low. We were all sweating in the sauna room just now, and we need to leave here as soon as possible!

He made a lot of sense.

The team members all agreed! At this moment, everyone was already feeling the chill.

Especially since the sweat had soaked their clothes, and the cold wind made it even more unbearable.

The Spirit Realm's escape room is really putting us through a lot.

"I found a fishing pole, but there's no hook."

"There's a door over here; it should be the exit, but it's locked and needs a key to open."

"There's a gap in the ice here, and it seems like there's something inside."

"I found a down jacket..."

...

Everyone reported their findings.

Zhao Zheng immediately walked toward Wang Fei.

Wang Fei had found the gap in the ice.

Seeing this, the others also moved closer.

When the team members reached Wang Fei's location, they indeed saw a circular gap in the ice, as if it had been dug out by someone.

Additionally, inside the gap, there was a piece of metal hanging from the water grass, not carried away by the water flow.

"Judging by the shape, it looks like... a key... achoo!" Jiang Hebin said, sneezing.

At this moment, everyone was getting colder, and some were shivering from the cold.

Even Song Haitang's face had turned pale from the cold.

Seeing this, Zhao Zheng didn't hesitate and said, "Zhang Chenggang, give me your fishing pole."

Zhang Chenggang immediately handed the fishing pole to Zhao Zheng.

Everyone noticed that although the fishing pole had a line, there was no hook at the end.

"How do we get the key without a hook?" Wang Fei asked.

Zhao Zheng said, "We're missing something else. Everyone, search more carefully."

The team members started searching again.

"Brother Zhao, this down jacket... you should put it on first!" Wang Yuqing said.

She was the one who had found the down jacket.

Zhao Zheng took the down jacket without hesitation but didn't put it on. Instead, he kept feeling it with his hands.

Soon, he seemed to find something and, with some effort, tore open the jacket.

"Rip!"

A tear appeared in the lining of the down jacket.

Then, a magnet fell out and landed on the ice.

In fact, Zhao Zheng had known all along.

The magnet was inside the down jacket.

However, he didn't want to say it directly to avoid revealing his secret of knowing everything in advance.

"Got it, you don't need to search anymore."

Zhao Zheng called out and then tied the magnet to the fishing line.

He didn't throw away the torn down jacket but handed it to Song Haitang.

"Haitang, put it on!"

Although Zhao Zheng spoke in a commanding tone, Song Haitang's face showed a look of gratitude.

For Zhao Zheng to still think of her and worry about her catching a cold in such an environment, it was clear that he cared for her.

The girl obediently took the down jacket and put it on.

The others didn't say anything.

...

In the screening hall.

Seeing Zhao Zheng's impressive performance, everyone's eyes lit up.

President Song, however, was closely watching his daughter's expression.

Seeing his daughter's touched look, he knew his plans wouldn't work.

This kid from the Zhao family was too good.

Even at such a critical moment, he still remembered to take care of Song Haitang...

Given his understanding of his daughter, he feared she was already completely devoted to this kid from the Zhao family.

...

"Brother Zhao, you're amazing, you even found this!"

Wang Yuqing couldn't help but praise Zhao Zheng when she saw him tie the magnet to the fishing line.

She had the down jacket in her hands earlier and checked its pockets but never imagined the magnet was hidden in the lining.

"This isn't much, just be more observant."

Zhao Zheng replied casually and picked up the fishing pole.

The magnet was already tied to the fishing line.

He carefully lowered the magnet into the gap, then slowly let it down into the river, moving it closer to the key.

After a moment,

Under his control, the magnet successfully attracted the key.

"It's stuck, pull it up quickly." Yu Zhong couldn't help but say.

Jiang Hebin immediately scolded, "Yu Zhong, shut up, don't interfere with Brother Zhao."

Yu Zhong immediately shut his mouth.

Zhao Zheng wasn't disturbed and continued at his own pace, carefully lifting the fishing pole.

He knew everything about this place and was well aware that there was more to the key than met the eye!

Things weren't as simple as they seemed...

---

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end