"You have to be careful," Ren Yi reminded him. "We have physical forms now, but they're only slightly tougher than normal. If we run into some high-fantasy world with battle qi or cultivators, we might be outmatched."
"Then you can just go up and insult them, wait for them to talk back..."
"You're just going in circles now!"
While they were bickering, Old Lu's rule... was actually quite powerful, Ren Yi thought. He felt a hint of envy.
As the two little Anomalies were noisily arguing, Lu Zihan's uncle, Lu Zi, pushed open the door and walked in.
"Alright, little ones." A weary but gentle smile played on his face. "Get ready to enter. You'll have an hour of prep time once you're inside, and the world rules will provide hints. As for specific tactics... you can discuss those once you're in."
He pulled back a cloth, revealing a mirror as tall as a man.
Under Lu Zi's direction, Ren Yi and Lu Zihan stepped through the mirror. After a momentary blur, they found themselves standing inside a room.
The room was long and narrow, roughly the size of two basketball courts joined end-to-end. Sculptures and oil paintings were displayed along the walls, making it look like an exhibition gallery.
"So the mirror is the entrance to the Instance..." Ren Yi looked around.
Did that mean Cubs were attracted to mirrors because they instinctively wanted to enter an Instance to work?
Before they could get a better look, a series of prompts appeared before their eyes.
【Welcome to the "Escape Room" Instance. The difficulty of this Instance has been temporarily reduced to Newbie level.】
【The nature of this Instance is "Pasture Hunting." No special objectives, no Auxiliary Rules.】
【Restriction Rule: For the first twenty minutes before the Instance begins, you must remain in the designated position and cannot move independently.】
【Your basic mission is to ensure that no Participant escapes.】
【Number of Participants: 10】
【Instance Start Countdown: 00:59:59】
"Why is there a Restriction Rule?" Lu Zihan grumbled, holding his head steady with one hand.
"It's likely resistance from the target world's rules," Ren Yi replied. "Since it's called 'Escape Room,' the Participants must be given time to solve the puzzles."
"Come on, let's see what this Instance has in store."
The parents had left them entirely to their own devices, telling them nothing about the Instance layout or information about the Pasture world.
The two of them released their senses, and invisible ripples swept through the entire space like a tide. Under the perception of an Anomaly, every detail became crystal clear.
It was a simple linear maze consisting of five identical small rooms. Each room contained various mechanisms and setups designed to distract the Participants or stall for time.
Generally speaking, the first room held a clue pointing to a key in the third room, which could then be used to open the door in the fifth room and escape.
The partitions between the rooms were heavy iron-barred gates. When the two of them touched one, another rule surfaced in their minds: 【Must wait 10 minutes after initial closing before destruction is possible.】
However...
"I recall you can teleport, right?" Ren Yi looked at Lu Zihan.
Lu Zihan nodded. "Yeah, as long as someone contradicts me."
Ren Yi nodded back. "Is that teleportation passive or active? If someone talks back, do you have to chop them immediately?"
Lu Zihan shook his head. "No, I can delay it, but the person who contradicted me must stay within a fifty-meter radius. If they talk back from outside fifty meters, or if they escape that range, I'll lose the lock on them."
Ren Yi did the math; that was roughly the length of one room. Lu Zihan could hit someone in the second room while standing in the first, but anything beyond that was out of reach.
"What about you?" Lu Zihan asked. "I can bypass these restrictions, but what are you going to do?"
"My True Form can shapeshift to slip through. Besides, if my plan works, we might not even need these gates."
Ren Yi replied as he looked at the gaps between the bars of the security gate, which were wide enough to fit an entire arm through.
"Then what's the point of this gate?" Lu Zihan stared at the practically non-existent bars and asked a soul-searching question after a moment of silence.
"Who knows? Maybe it's just to fool people," Ren Yi shrugged. "Perhaps it's just to make the Participants 'feel' like they're in an escape room?"
Time passed quietly, and half an hour had already gone by. The two of them briefly discussed their plan and returned to the designated restriction position—a display pedestal in Room 1.
"So I have to stand here for twenty minutes like a statue?" Lu Zihan glared at the pedestal, his tone full of reluctance.
"It's a safe zone; it ensures you're invincible while you're up there," Ren Yi said with a laugh, patting his shoulder. "Plus, its main purpose is to terrify the Participants the moment they enter. Besides, can't we still chat on the Anomaly Web?"
"That's not fair," Lu Zihan said, clutching his head. "Why is there a spot for me but not for you? How come you don't have to be a statue?"
"Don't worry, I'll be your accessory," Ren Yi responded. Then, under Lu Zihan's puzzled gaze, he reverted to his True Form.
A massive, distorted white cloud gathered and shrank in the air, shifting from a semi-gaseous state into a solid object.
Ultimately, Ren Yi transformed into a white jade pendant about half the size of a palm, hanging from Lu Zihan's wrist.
A simple line-drawn mouth appeared on the surface of the jade, saying with a grin, "I'll stay like this for now. A portable accessory for your intimate companionship."
Over the past few days, besides working hard to sculpt his humanoid form, Ren Yi had discovered some of his "racial traits," and shapeshifting was one of them.
However, he could only transform into simple objects for now; he was still a long way from having the special ability to "disguise himself as another person."
The two bickered for a while longer until the countdown entered its final minute.
Lu Zihan took a deep breath as his body began to swell and mutate. He revealed his blue-black steel skin, a three-meter-tall oppressive frame, hideous bone blades at his elbows, and that signature fully enclosed angular mask.
He struck what he thought was a majestic pose on the display pedestal, the jade pendant on his wrist swaying gently.
They began communicating through the Anomaly Web.
【Lu Zihan: How's this pose?】
【Ren Yi: Don't talk. Stay cold. You're the Instance Boss now; show some class.】
As the countdown hit zero, the two felt a strange restriction descend upon them, locking their movements in place.
But it didn't matter. Ren Yi didn't need to move; in fact, he didn't plan on moving much until the entire Instance was over.
Immediately after, a flash of light pulsed, and ten people in various outfits appeared in the room.
There were seven men and three women in total. They wore modern clothing, yet every one of them was in tatters, gaunt and sallow-faced as if they had just crawled out of ruins, their bodies covered in ingrained dirt and sweat.
Ren Yi and Lu Zihan's gazes instantly locked onto three of them.
They exchanged messages on the Anomaly Web.
【Lu Zihan: They have guns, Stool. Holy crap, it’s my first time seeing a machine gun. So cool!】
【Ren Yi: Don't get excited. It won't kill you.】
Despite his words, Ren Yi couldn't help but feel a bit concerned. The True Forms of these "Cubs" were still flesh and blood. While Lu Zihan wouldn't be killed by a gun, the wounds from a machine gun would be enough to hinder him for quite a while.
Those three wore matching camouflage combat uniforms and were clearly well-trained. The middle-aged man leading them carried a heavy light machine gun on his back, while the other two had bulges at their waists, obviously holstering pistols.
Upon waking, they quickly gathered together, their eyes warily scanning the other seven people and the silent steel monster on the display pedestal nearby.
"Aaaaah!"
A piercing scream shattered the silence. The other seven Participants had woken up; several of the more timid ones shrieked at the sight of Lu Zihan, scrambling and crawling into the corners. They only stopped trembling when they realized the three-meter-tall monster statue remained motionless.
Rate on N.U.
