mtl008 Chapter 4676 Desperate Escape (48)
Chapter 4676 Desperate Escape (48)
Chapter 4676 A Desperate Escape (Forty-Eight)
“Yes, it said there would be execution, but it didn’t say death was certain,” Schiller said. “That’s a narrative trick.”
"Don't forget, there were never any puzzles that meant certain death in the previous levels, and there was no elimination of the last group. Why is it that in the lantern level, the last group is suddenly eliminated?"
“Oh, I see.” Bruce quickly realized, “The so-called elimination of the last group is just a smokescreen. It’s actually to lock the last group outside and let them go through the cult plot.”
The final group's storyline might involve some mishap in the execution agency, or some internal sabotage that results in the release of the last two members, who then accidentally stumble into a cult's hideout and are forced to complete a separate mission.
This isn't without its consequences. First, if the game were to actually start, the group that would be preyed upon the most would likely have sacrificed a significant number of parts and suffered severe injuries. Second, the cultists wouldn't be easy to deal with either; they would either have to break through by force or solve puzzles. Moreover, the last group might not even be able to complete the game; they could only experience some extra story content.
If that group clears the level, they can return here through a certain passage to give the current players a hint, so that they don't do the fake level's tasks, but go back to correct the mechanisms and find the real way to clear the level.
Of course, if they fail, then Bruce and Schiller's group might have to make some sacrifices in order to complete the game by taking the cult route.
“That’s interesting,” Schiller commented. “Normally, by this point, the lagging groups are basically incapacitated. This kind of single-line mission can give those who can’t complete the game a bit of a gaming experience. The game designers really want good reviews.”
Schiller believes that this design is not entirely for enriching the level content, but mainly for reducing the frustration of the lagging group.
In such high-difficulty dungeons, many people will inevitably suffer and be unable to complete them. In this situation, these groups will certainly feel that the game is too difficult and uninteresting.
The way to alleviate this sense of frustration is to give these lagging groups some sense of purpose. Either let them find alternative routes to clear the game, or let them make sacrifices to help others. This way, their deaths won't be meaningless, and it will provide some psychological comfort, reducing the likelihood of them leaving negative reviews.
However, this group of players is clearly a prime example of "the process was completely wrong, but the result was completely right".
The lantern room had a three-round tie, meaning no one was eliminated. This means the side quest might not be unlocked, since no one stayed to complete the cultist storyline.
But Anato used a mechanism to slap the lantern, breaking it and causing the organizers to scatter in disarray. Stark crashed into a trapdoor in the courtyard, leaving Batman and the others stranded, forcing them to search for the cult's hideout.
Normally, you can't get in without going through the cutscene, but the lantern was accidentally knocked away, revealing the staff entrance. Everyone went inside for a look, and Batman also went through the staff entrance to the cult's hideout, found a clue, and returned to warn them.
If I had to pinpoint a reason why the whole process went off-track like this, the biggest contributor was the agent. It was he who disrupted the game, giving Anatoly the opportunity to break the lantern and open the staff entrance; it was also he who held back the staff entrance, causing the organizers to scatter and escape, allowing him to rush into the checkpoint and block the group outside. Forget about whether the program was running correctly or not, just tell me if it even started running.
Of course, the fact that each of these people has their own quirks is also a significant factor. When Anatoly takes action, the others immediately follow suit. They also demonstrate remarkable teamwork in other areas; for example, when Bruce and Schiller failed to return after completing the mission, no one was in a hurry and had no intention of exploring the mechanisms.
Anyway, things returned to normal in a bizarre way. Schiller and Bruce uncovered the cult's plot and found the correct way to complete the game. Now the biggest problem is: how to break the curse?
Now we know that the second-to-last level and the last level are actually the same level, the real final level, which is the level to break through the cultists' fake barriers and find the correct path.
This level will be incredibly difficult, and the way you complete it might even determine the ending of the story. So how exactly do you solve this fake level and find the correct path to survival?
“We need to find out what the cultists changed first,” Bruce said. “Now the chains are running downwards. If the exit is upwards, then that’s the most important change. The original chains were probably upwards, and the blades probably weren’t there either, because that was just too bloody and violent.”
“I think we should think about what the company originally designed the way to complete the game. It should be similar to their original style. It may require someone to make sacrifices, but it is not mandatory. There should be both infighting and cooperation among players.”
"Does the barrier over the courtyard exist?" Bruce asked himself, then answered, "I think it does. After all, it's a large-scale project; they couldn't have tampered with it like that. In other words, only a hand could reach out anyway, so what's the point of reaching out and grabbing the chain?"
“Could it be that the lowest-ranking people climb up by stepping on each other’s hands?” Schiller suggested, but quickly dismissed the idea. “That’s too simplistic. If it were Anatoli, he could climb up by himself without anyone holding onto the chains. If someone is a skilled rope climber, then such cooperation is pointless.”
“For cooperation to be meaningful, holding the chain is a necessary link. But what requires so many people to hold the chain?” Bruce frowned in thought, then stopped and uttered a single word, “Electricity.”
"The human body has a high resistance, which can be used to distribute the current. The reason why it is an iron chain, rather than a hemp rope, is probably for conducting electricity."
Schiller realized what was going on: "So the original idea was that the chains were electrified. The people at the bottom could climb the chains, but they couldn't withstand the electric shock; the others couldn't climb the chains, but they could share the current. In that case, enough people would need to hold onto the chains so that the people at the bottom could get up and open the escape route so that everyone could climb up."
"That's right, it's another classic good-versus-evil game—whether the person above will deliberately let go and electrocute the person on the chain, or whether the person below will save others after climbing up. But no matter what choice you make, there's no mandatory sacrifice; at worst, you just can't pass the test."
“If that’s the case, there’s no need to move the chains,” Schiller said. “The winch, like the blades, doesn’t really need to exist. If it was added later, it could actually be sabotaged.”
“But we can’t go back now,” Bruce said. “Why is that? Is it because after choosing the cultist level, we can no longer complete the levels normally?”
"That might be the case. After all, we didn't get the clues about the cultists through normal means. Under normal circumstances, it would be much faster, and the last group might even have reached the bottom. Instead, we've already fallen into the trap, and the clues to get through are only just coming in."
"So, do we need to complete this level?" Bruce looked at the guillotine again. "It seems that completing the flesh sacrifice is the only way now."
“There’s no need,” Schiller said. “Haven’t the lessons learned before made you give up on being Batman?”
Bruce paused slightly, but Schiller had already sat back down in his chair and said, "We just need to wait here for someone to come and rescue us."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Anatoly, who was in the courtyard, stood up and said, "Knowing Azhi as I do, 36 minutes is the limit of his madness. Add in the puzzle-solving, and it won't exceed 50 minutes. But it's been an hour now, so he must be trapped."
Lucifer was puzzled. He said, "36 minutes? How can it be exactly 36 minutes?"
“Don’t ask, I don’t want to talk about it,” Anatoly said. “It wasn’t a pleasant experience.”
“Then I have no choice but to listen.” Lucifer immediately laughed.
“Let’s get down to business first, I’ll talk to you when we get back.” Anatoly glanced at the courtyard and said loudly to the others, “When the key fell, I observed the pattern of the bounce. Normally, as long as I throw an object of a certain mass in a certain direction at a designated time and location, the blade and the courtyard wall will help me reflect it precisely into the gaps in other layers. We can use this method to pass objects.”
The others were basically completely confused. Wait, is this right? Wasn't this supposed to be about psychological games? Why is it suddenly about math and physics?
"So how should we throw it?" Thor asked.
“I don’t know, I’m not good at math,” Anatoly said. “But I think you should be able to figure it out. The movement of the blade is regular, it shouldn’t be difficult.”
Some people are still expressing their doubts, while others have already begun to consider the feasibility. The former are mostly people who are not good at math and physics, while the latter have a certain foundation in mechanics.
Although it sounds a bit far-fetched, it's not entirely impossible. They had seen the key bouncing around before, and if it could bounce in perfectly, they might actually be able to send items down.
But the question remained: what was the point of passing the items? The liberal arts students began to discuss this. Anatoly quickly revealed the answer: "Find a way to jam the winch below. The people on the second floor should be able to do that."
The second floor was where Harley and Pamela were located. Directly below the opening where they were extending their arms was the winch. As mentioned before, the winch wasn't fixed to the ground floor floor, but rather to the side of the ground floor ceiling, which is the side of the second-floor floor, not far from the opening.
“I’ll throw this thing down,” Anatoly said, waving the iron bar with the chain attached in front of the cave entrance. “Together with the one you’re wearing, it should be able to be lowered to the winch and lock the mechanism.”
Loki, on the third floor, estimated the distance for them and nodded, saying, "Indeed, two chains and an iron rod would be enough. However..."
He looked at Harley, clearly a little reluctant, because if it required two people to complete the task, not to mention whether the other one could be thrown off, Harley would definitely have to take off the one she was wearing.
Harley had already started bending her collarbone. Pamela tried to stop her, but Harley was so excited that Pamela couldn't hold her down. Pamela was also afraid that the struggle would worsen the injury, so she could only shout while not daring to look.
Harley didn't care about that. Like Schiller, she pulled off the collarbone ring with a quick snap, believing that a short, sharp pain was better than a long, drawn-out one. The excessive release of adrenaline and dopamine meant she barely felt any pain, and she quickly exclaimed excitedly, "Okay, okay, that's enough! Let's begin!"
The science students, of course, didn't falter either. Eric, Loki, and Pamela calculated a possible route, but because there were too many variables, they still felt it was unreliable.
As expected, Anatoli's throw failed. However, the rebound patterns of the first two steps were similar to their calculations, proving that predicting the trajectory through calculation is indeed possible, though it requires more precise execution and greater rigor.
Next, it was Eric's turn to remove the collarbone ring, which was below Anatoly's. Eric was truly ruthless; without a word, he broke the collarbone. Charles remained expressionless but said nothing.
He'd improved this time too, bouncing right up to Harley's hole. Harley was about to reach out and grab it, but Pamela swiftly pulled her back, otherwise she'd lost her arm.
Now, only the Loki Group possesses the iron rod; they are the last hope.