Sealed Pod

As Player 2 spoke, he stood up and took two steps back, putting distance between himself and the others while watching them warily.

Ren Yi instinctively looked at Player 5's hand. As expected, she was also clutching a key.

Presumably, because she had stood up earlier, she was closer to the keys and managed to act a step faster than the people on either side of her, successfully snagging one.

However, since Ren Yi had a key and Player 5 had also grabbed one, poor Player 4 was left behind, becoming the first person to end up without a key.

As for the other person who didn't get a key...

Ren Yi looked at the circle opposite him. It was the only female player there, Player 11.

He had noticed earlier that she seemed to be staring at the area to his left—where Players 12 and 2 were sitting. Something had distracted her, making her reaction a half-beat too slow.

By the time she snapped out of it, the keys were already gone.

"Then I'll take my leave first."

Player 2, who had already backed away quite a distance, dropped those words and turned toward the dim corridor without waiting for a reaction. His figure quickly vanished into the darkness.

"You, stop right there!" Player 5, the female teacher, trembled with rage as she shouted at Player 2's back. Under the stunned gazes of the group, she quickly followed after him.

Only a few people remained in the banquet hall, looking at each other in an awkward silence.

"Sister," Player 6 suddenly spoke up, addressing Player 11 in a gentle tone.

"If all else fails, you can stay with me. We're both girls, so it'll be more convenient and we can look out for each other."

However, Player 11 shook her head and rejected the offer without a second thought.

"I truly appreciate the kindness, but I'll pass."

She paused, then suddenly turned her gaze to Lord Cha, Player 12, and spoke calmly.

"That kid just now was right. It's best if our living arrangements aren't influenced by any subjective factors. This situation can be considered a form of random allocation."

"I originally intended to take the key near Mr. 12, but he beat me to it."

"Why don't we just follow the principle of proximity? Whoever grabbed a key will stay with the person next to them who didn't get one."

"This way, we can avoid any unpleasantness over keys in the coming days, and it fits the principle of randomness."

Having said that, she looked at Lord Cha and gave a slight nod. "Mr. 12, what do you think?"

"Hmm? Me?" Lord Cha, who had been enjoying the drama and was suddenly pulled into the conversation, blinked for half a second. He feigned hesitation for a moment before nodding politely.

"Of course. It would be my honor. No problem."

He was joking, of course. He was an Anomaly; what did he have to fear?

Meanwhile, Ren Yi blinked.

With things put this way, wasn't he being backed into a corner?

Player 11 said that those sitting next to someone who grabbed a key should stay together to maintain the "random" principle.

And Player 4, who didn't get a key, was sitting right next to him.

Player 5 had already left with Player 2, and Player 6 had expressed her willingness to stay with other female players. The only ones left without keys were Player 4 and Player 11.

Since Player 11 had chosen Lord Cha, Player 4 naturally had to stay with him.

Ren Yi looked up and saw Player 4 sitting next to him, flashing a stiff, awkward smile. His eyes were filled with a mix of sycophancy and trepidation.

In response, Ren Yi immediately broke into an even more exaggerated smile, meeting Player 4's gaze with a hint of amusement in his eyes.

It seemed his luck today was quite good.

Outside the window, only about a third of the sun remained above the horizon. Time was running out, and Ren Yi could already feel the suppressive force within his body loosening slightly.

There was no more time for chatter. Ren Yi chose a corridor and walked in, gesturing for Player 4 to follow.

There were five corridors around the banquet hall. Assuming there were ten rooms in total, no one entered the one Player 2 and Player 5 took since it was already at capacity. Player 1, Player 11, and Lord Cha's groups took the nearest one.

For some reason, Player 6 chose to follow behind Player 7, Zhang Qiuqiu. Consequently, Lu Zihan had no choice but to come to Ren Yi's side.

The corridor was lined with windows, and the walls were decorated with classical oil paintings and colorful flower sculptures.

Ren Yi observed the layout as he walked, but he couldn't find any good places to hide things.

At the end of the corridor were two rooms, one on the left and one on the right. Ren Yi casually turned a handle and found that the door wasn't locked.

The moment it opened, Ren Yi was genuinely stunned by the sight inside.

What on earth is this?

The room was large, but it didn't contain the European-style luxury furniture Ren Yi had expected. The walls were painted a stark, sterile white, and a bright incandescent lamp hung high above.

In the center of the room sat a white, boxy, capsule-like object the size of a bus. It had sharp, well-defined edges, and its surface was etched with dense patterns and covered in various buttons and indicator lights. It exuded a cold, high-tech feel that was completely at odds with the manor's vintage style.

Is the art style a bit off here?

Ren Yi couldn't help but look back at Player 4, who also wore a look of complete bewilderment.

Alright, so it seemed this wasn't a common item from their world either.

"What is this thing?" Ren Yi asked, feeling safe to do so.

"Is this... the room?" Player 4 was also dazed. He instinctively reached out to touch the pod, his fingertips meeting a cold, hard surface. "This is too weird. Why does it look like a space capsule?"

Ren Yi stood in silence, his gaze sweeping over the various devices on the sealed pod.

There was a thick rubber seal around the edge of the door, with a label next to it that read "Airtightness Test Passed." In the corner, there was an emergency oxygen port and even a simple defensive alarm. Every defensive measure was present and accounted for.

It was sealed tight, as if guarding against some kind of monster.

He didn't even have to guess who the "monster" was.

Alright then, so this is a Professional Anti-Anomaly Safety Pod?

What exactly did the seniors from the Board Game Club do to make the world's will design the rooms like this?

With this level of sealing, forget an Anomaly—not even a mosquito could probably get in. He wondered what they had gone through in the past.

But with the predecessors over-exploiting the rules like this, those who followed were really going to suffer.