Chapter 19
Chapter 19
"Hmm... this trick might work on overly compassionate female players", Feng Bu Jue muttered, lowering his newspaper and glancing at the monkey in its cage. "If necessary, I wouldn't hesitate to do this in real life either... but this is just a game." He tossed the newspaper aside, clearly uninterested in its contents. "Still, since they gave me the precise weight, I suppose that counts as a hint."
He approached the machine, crouching close to examine it. After circling it twice and pounding its exterior with his fist, he kicked it hard. The casing wasn't just thin sheet metal—it was thick, reinforced steel, bolted tightly at the seams. No way to pry it open by hand, and impossible to move alone.
The machine’s surface had no visible gaps. The two scales were firmly fixed. With less than three minutes left, finding a flaw in the machine itself seemed futile.
Feng Bu Jue tugged at the monkey’s steel cage—welded shut. He scanned the empty room. Four bare walls, nothing else.
Back at the center, he picked up the doll and sat on the tiny wooden stool, his knees nearly touching his chin in the cramped posture.
"To clear this room without killing the monkey... besides this chair and doll at 7.5 kilograms, I need another 7.5 kilograms." He propped his elbow on his knee, fingers tapping his temple. "That Walkman barely weighs two pounds, and the syringe’s even lighter. We can’t remove our clothes or shoes—system restrictions. I miss that stone from earlier. It would’ve added a pound or two." He smirked. "So... in this barren room, only one movable object remains." He looked up at the ceiling light.
A suspended fluorescent tube, one meter long, encased in plastic and hanging by two wires. Though the ceiling was lower than outside, the tube still hovered just out of reach—about a foot above his fingertips when he stood on tiptoe atop the stool.
Time ticked—73 seconds left.
After measuring the distance, he glanced at the countdown, then grinned. "Challenging right from the start... Perfect."
He eyed the doll, seemingly struck by an idea. Snatching it up, he stripped off its black blazer, then stood on the stool again. Holding one sleeve, he flung the jacket upward. Though child-sized, the blazer cleared the tube. Grasping both dangling sleeves, he yanked hard. One wire snapped. The light fixture swung down on one side, dangling like a sausage from a single wire.
Now within reach, Feng Bu Jue grabbed the plastic-encased tube. Darkness swallowed the room, but the swaying light was easy to locate. He tore the remaining wire, clutching the full meter-long tube.
He’d been mentally timing himself—35 seconds left. The machine still roared. Instead of rushing toward it, he carefully stepped down, feeling for the doll, memorizing its position before inching toward the machine, counting his steps.
At the machine, he tilted his head, sliding the tube into the circular opening. Gears crushed it, glass shards spraying harmlessly—he’d anticipated this.
After three-quarters of the tube vanished inside, he turned, retracing his steps in the dark. Ten strides brought him to the doll. Time was tight. He snatched it and the stool, sprinting back.
The stool’s backrest was slightly wider than the opening—something he’d noted earlier. But he’d planned ahead. As the machine devoured the doll, he slammed the stool against the floor, bending the seatboard. Now compacted, it slid effortlessly into the machine.
Five seconds left. The stool vanished. Three seconds later, the machine’s roar ceased. Darkness hid the countdown timer and scales. Had he met the 15-kilogram requirement, or had time expired?
The silence stretched. Feng Bu Jue’s heart sank. Was the tube too light? In reality, such a fixture might weigh less than 7.5 kilograms, but this one felt heavier—surely game-designed. Had he miscalculated? Was killing the monkey the only escape?
A sharp click shattered his doubts. The exit door opened, its light spilling in ten seconds later.
The game continued.
(End of Chapter)
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