Having clarified the consequences of violating the rules, Yue Shi took a deep breath. His third eye opened on his forehead as he prepared to walk toward the office.
The second hand jumped to an even number. He took his first step, and the lights flickered on.
His step length was normal. In his vision, some of the floor tiles appeared slightly darker—these were likely the so-called "living bricks."
His foot landed on a living brick. The lights stayed on. The seconds on his phone shifted from even to odd, which should have caused the lights to go out, but they didn't. At the exact moment his foot landed, the second count was treated as minus one, flipping from odd back to even. However, the lights didn't react in real-time; there was a delay of a fraction of a second...
Yue Shi felt like he was being run in circles by the logic. He immediately took a second step, with a step length one-third of the previous one.
Piu. He was back at the starting landing.
...
In truth, Yue Shi wasn't much for using his brain; he preferred brute force.
It was just that when one's power was great enough and the information gathered was sufficient, brute force could be converted into intelligence—a sort of 'omniscience through omnipotence.'
The nine rules in the corridor were indeed difficult, but they only hindered Yue Shi for a short while. After being sent back to the landing several times, he adapted to the rhythm.
But it certainly wasted time.
After a chaotic struggle, Yue Shi finally stood before the Director's Office door and pushed it open with both hands simultaneously.
The door opened.
He didn't enter immediately, because what lay behind the door wasn't an office at all!
He saw a mountainside shrouded in mist. Countless monks sat on the ground, their bodies highly decomposed and emitting a powerful stench; some had even turned into skeletons.
Yet these dead monks were still moving, beating their wooden fish in a steady rhythm while murmuring sutras. Their voices layered over one another, converging into a grand and sinister sound:
“Lay down the butcher's knife, and...”
With a loud thud, Yue Shi slammed the door shut. One look at the scene inside told him something was wrong, and he had no intention of listening to that bizarre nonsense.
After closing the door, he noticed another slip of paper stuck to the wall beside the door frame.
《Precautions for Preparing to Enter the Office》
【1. Push open the office door. If you find that the interior is not a normal office, please exit immediately. Do not walk inside, do not look inside; exit and close the door, wait three seconds, then push the door open again. If it is still not a normal office, please repeat this step.】
【2. If it is still not a normal office after three attempts, please ██ (redacted, illegible). Do not ██, you may ██.】
【3. Upon entering the office, if you find the Director is absent and there is only a black Guanyin statue, please exit immediately. Do not look into the statue's eyes, do not count how many hands the statue has, and do not attempt to confirm the material of the statue. After exiting, please return to the landing.】
【4. If the Director is present but does not recognize you, please sit down and wait for the Director to speak first. Do not speak before the Director does. Once the Director speaks, you may only answer "Yes" or "No." Do not take the initiative to ask questions, do not explain, and do not attempt to prove who you are.】
【5. If the Director is present and recognizes you, you may converse with the Director normally.】
【6. The Director may offer you a glass of water. Do not drink it.】
【7. The Director may ask you for the time. You may answer this question, but do not look at any clocks or watches.】
【8. If the Director stands up, you must also stand up. If the Director sits down, you must also sit down. If the Director walks toward the door, you must remain where you are; do not follow, do not ask where the Director is going, and do not attempt to stop the Director from leaving.】
【9. If you see multiple Directors in the office, do not show any sign of abnormality; you may communicate with each Director normally.】
【10. Do not stay here for too long.】
Yue Shi was utterly speechless. He hadn't expected another heap of nonsense to be waiting for him here.
He pushed the office door open again and saw the mountainside and the dead monks once more.
Bang. He slammed it shut.
He pushed the door open yet again.
This time, it was a normal office, identical to the previous layout. Everything looked normal, but the Director wasn't there.
The absence of the Director was the biggest problem.
Yue Shi glanced down at his phone: 9:36:42.
Six seconds left.
He had failed to see the Director in this iteration after all.
3, 2, 1...
Everything went black.
...
Iteration 33.
Yue Shi didn't speak to anyone in the lobby; his figure vanished on the spot.
In the lobby, the staff watched his disappearing back with varying expressions.
“He's certainly energetic,” the receptionist said in a lazy voice.
“How long do you think he can last?” the archivist said, pushing the keyboard into the drawer and leaning back in the chair with legs crossed.
“How many more loops until he breaks?”
“Among the transmigrators who have come to Amber City, the record is over three thousand iterations before they completely lost their minds.”
“Yue Shi might not last that long. He was already pretty crazy to begin with.”
“Hahaha, we're all crazier than him now. Anyway, we can't die. No matter how much trouble we cause, everything resets when the loop restarts. Might as well go all out.”
They discussed it with laughs and jokes, like they were discussing a TV show they were currently following. Their expressions were all unhinged; they clearly weren't normal people.
Ling Xun didn't join the discussion. He simply took a deep drag of his cigarette, smoke billowing from his nose and blurring his expression.
...
In the top-floor corridor, Yue Shi was walking down the hallway that was becoming increasingly familiar.
He no longer needed to look down at the tiles; his body knew how to take every step better than his conscious mind did.
He passed the archives without looking at the sign. He passed the equipment room and looked at the sign. He passed the meeting room and lightened his footsteps. His movements were fluid and seamless, every step landing exactly on the boundaries permitted by the rules.
When he reached the office door, he glanced at his watch: 9:32:22.
Over four minutes left—much faster than the last iteration.
He reached out with both hands and pushed the door open.
Behind the door were the mountainside and the monk corpses.
Without hesitation, he closed the door, waited a moment, then pushed it again. Still the mountainside and the monk corpses.
He closed the door, waited again, and pushed it again. He still didn't see the real office.
Once more, and then again, he pushed the door.
...
After repeating the process many times...
Finally, what lay behind the door was no longer the mountainside and monks, but an office.
Inside the office, a swivel chair was facing away from him, and several documents were spread across the desk.
Yue Shi stood at the door, surveying the room.
Returning to a familiar place, it seemed nothing had changed.
The person in the swivel chair never turned around; he couldn't tell if it was actually the Director.
Yue Shi didn't go in to check directly. It wasn't that he didn't want to, but he knew that even if he went in now, there was no time left.
His phone showed it was already 9:36:40.
Yue Shi stared at the swivel chair and said softly, “Director Tang, I hope you've been well. I'll be earlier next time.”
The chair didn't turn. The office was as silent as a painting.
Yue Shi stood at the door, waiting for the final seconds to tick away.
Everything went black.
Rate on N.U.
