mtl008 Chapter 4648 Desperate Escape (2)
Chapter 4648 Desperate Escape (2)
Chapter 4648 A Desperate Escape (Part 20)
“The key question is, are all these fully automated mechanisms?” Harley asked in a low voice. “Is no one controlling them from behind the scenes?”
“I think it’s unlikely,” Pamela said. “For one thing, take that blood donation room. If the mechanism is designed to work the way it should, everyone will pass through there. If we just lingered there, wouldn’t we run into the people in the next line?”
“No, that’s easy to solve,” Harley said. “We might not be heading to the same room.”
"How can blood be put into the same scale?"
"There's no need to put them all on the same scale. Just record who donated how much blood, and then add water. Otherwise, why make the basin opaque?"
“Oh, now that you mention it,” Pamela said. “There was some pale pink liquid under that machine, it looked like blood diluted with water. Could it be that the basin contained only water besides the blood I donated?”
“Probably. But I don’t think the level designers would tamper with the numbers, because that wouldn’t be fun,” Harley said. “They might just have divided it into different rooms and replaced the amount of blood donated in other rooms with water added to the basin.”
“I think I understand,” Pamela said. “The scales were already down before we arrived. Even if they were filled with water that replaced blood, we wouldn’t know because we didn’t see the blood being poured in. But if we donated blood ourselves, we would see the blood being added to the scales, and we would naturally think that the liquid that was down the scales was also blood. And the blood we donated would be weighed and then added to the scales as water in another room.”
Pamela adjusted her posture; she was starting to pant. Lifting the ceiling was still quite heavy for them, and it was somewhat strenuous, but she didn't stop thinking and continued analyzing.
"But if that's the case, with ten groups of contestants, are they going to build ten rooms? Wouldn't that be a bit too... exhaustive?"
Pamela thought for a long time but couldn't come up with a suitable word, so she could only use a somewhat inappropriate one. What she actually wanted to say was something like "lacking in exquisite beauty".
“Indeed, it would be too crude to build a room for every group. But actually, we just need to make sure that the time between two groups reaching a certain room is long enough.”
After a moment's thought, Pamela said, "Oh, I see. The first and last place can definitely go into the same room because it's almost impossible for them to meet."
“That’s right. The first and second place winners and the last and second to last place winners can go into the same room. Those who are close to each other can be separated into two rooms. That way, only three rooms are needed, which can accommodate even ten groups of contestants.”
"But we still can't rule out the possibility that someone will stubbornly stay there. Although it's unlikely that the first and last place will meet, it's still possible that those who are close in between will meet."
"Why do you think the passageway leading to that room is designed to be vertical?" Harley asked.
Pamela considered one possibility, but she still said, "No way?"
"That's right. The vertical shape of the passage is designed to utilize gravity. Even if you climb to the top of the passage, you will fall back to the starting point if you are hit, unlike a horizontal passage where you can back up step by step. This allows for better control over the time it takes for people to climb up."
"Although I have overestimated the level designer's malice as much as possible, I still have to say that this is really too unethical."
Pamela could already imagine that if the group in front of them in the same room refused to leave, they might trigger some kind of trap when she and Harley reached the top of the passage. To avoid the trap, they would have to go down, and that would mean falling back into the room. Because in those vertical passages, it would be very difficult to secure themselves. To prevent any further traps, the safest way was to go back first.
And once they fall back down, they'll have to find a way to climb back up. If this process repeats several times, they'll probably run out of energy to climb. Even if they still have some energy left, they'll become increasingly slow.
In a horizontal passage, even running back wouldn't expend much energy, and you could quickly return. Moreover, being on solid ground allows for more flexibility, potentially allowing you to dodge traps. However, in a vertical passage, simply bracing yourself against the wall won't suffice.
“Then why not just put a lid on?” Pamela asked, puzzled. “Don’t open it until the people in front have moved on… Oh, I see, that would make us think the road is blocked, right?”
“That’s right. Although the mechanism is quite ingenious, the guidance is still quite clear,” Harley said. “Although there’s more than one way to solve the puzzle, the correct solution is given as a hint. It’s unlikely that you’ll see a passage but find it’s a dead end. That would destroy all the guidance rules that were designed beforehand, and it would be a complete disaster.”
“No wonder. Although the puzzles are quite challenging, I actually find them quite fun,” Pamela said. “I wish I could get through this level, otherwise it would be a waste to have such a good level.”
"Ha." Harley sneered, "I'm afraid the real level designer won't let his creativity go to waste. Who knows how many unlucky souls will line up here in the future, and they might even have to pay extra to get in."
Pamela laughed and said, "That sounds like a doctor's style."
“There’s a good chance it’s him,” Harley said, squinting. “This style of setting traps by exploiting people’s inertia and creating difficulties by manipulating their emotions sounds very much like his work.”
“He better not be waiting at the finish line,” Pamela said. “We two are probably among the more mentally healthy and have a good relationship among the participants. If we had encountered a few stubborn guys, they would have been furious to see their good friend being tortured like this.”
“He’s not afraid. If you take the initiative to cause trouble for him, he’ll be overjoyed. Because that way he can get you involved and use your anger to help him complete his plan.”
Why do I feel that this is his goal?
"Hard to say," Harley shook her head.
“If I had superpowers, I’d tear this place down right now,” Eric said. He adjusted his posture and looked at Charles with some concern, saying, “You should rest for a while.”
Charles shook his head and said, "I'm fine. Does your wound still hurt?"
“It would be strange if it didn’t hurt,” Eric said. “Don’t let me find out who designed this piece of crap…”
“The level design is quite good,” Charles said. “You can’t ignore objective facts just because we are players and we are suffering. In fact, it’s one of the most ingenious levels I’ve ever played.”
Eric was clearly annoyed and didn't want to talk. But Charles still said, "We suspected before that the players might not have gone to the same blood donation room. But we didn't see any traces left by the previous group. Don't you think there's something wrong?"
Eric looked at him, and Charles said, "Those at the front of the line are all smart people. They must be able to guess how the game works and know that others will come later. Why wouldn't they try to leave some information?"
"Just like we did?" Eric asked.
Charles nodded. When he and Eric left the room, they carved some words on the floor. There was no plan to communicate; they mainly left their identities so that others would know who they were.
However, they weren't the first to arrive. The first group to arrive probably thought the same thing: they left their identification information to let the others know who they were, so that if there were similar checkpoints in the future, they would have more information to deduce.
“There are two possibilities,” Charles said. “Either they left a message, but it was erased, and the message we left might also be erased. Or they felt that their identities wouldn’t be of any use to this collaborative plan, so they didn’t leave one.”
"Like those supervillains?"
“You’re a supervillain in other people’s eyes too,” Charles said. “I’ll keep both of our identities because even if only mine is kept, people will still guess that you’re involved.”
Eric was speechless. But he quickly added, "But they know that even without your superpowers, you can still influence me."
"That's why I chose to keep mine. Otherwise, it might destroy the confidence of the people who come after me, and the plan would be completely ruined."
Which scenario is more likely?
"To be honest, I think it's the former. Because when we arrived, there was blood in the scales. This proves that the first team had already donated blood. With evidence of doing good deeds, even the Joker could easily keep his identity, right? Besides, a madman like the Joker with an insatiable desire to perform might also be hoping to run into Batman. Would he pass up the opportunity to greet Batman? If he came, he might carve a smiley face on every brick."
Eric nodded, agreeing with Charles's point. He said, "Then it's possible it was erased. Was there supernatural interference involved?"
“I don’t think so, otherwise there would be no need to use electricity,” Charles said. “Generally, in these kinds of dungeons, you can only choose one of the technology or magic paths. If you have both, there will be a very obvious stylistic expression, such as magical steampunk-style decorations, otherwise it would be too unfair to the players.”
Eric recalled the dungeons he had run. In fact, it wasn't just duo dungeons; any dungeon with elements of reasoning and puzzle-solving would basically tell you the approximate storyline and era as soon as you entered. Just like a mystery novel, it would directly tell you the historical background information you needed based on the era in which it was written.
The era in which the story takes place is a crucial factor in reasoning. A mystery story set in the 1920s is certainly different from one set in the 2020s. The availability of mobile phones, the existence of modern investigative techniques, and even whether the detective has prior experience with the internet can all be decisive factors in the reasoning process.
In 1920, it was understandable that there were no surveillance cameras, no telephones, and no long-distance communication in a short period of time. But to say that it wouldn't work in modern times is a bit far-fetched.
Therefore, copies containing elements of mystery will use decorations and details to indicate the era in which they were set and whether supernatural forces were involved. This is all for the sake of fairness in the mystery, just as the murderer in a detective novel cannot be a background character who only appears at the end, nor can they be twins.
This instance initially presents a medieval dungeon style, but before even passing the first level, traps reveal that the area is electrified, meaning the setting isn't truly medieval. Similarly, electrified mechanisms indicate that the design is futuristic and lacks magical elements; otherwise, there would likely have been magical mechanisms to establish the background.
“If there’s no magic to erase everything, then it must have been cleaned by hand,” Charles deduced. “If the group ahead left any traces, they were probably erased or covered up. It’s a pity we were in such a hurry; if we had looked more closely, we might have found something.”
“Although the previous level seems to have no time limit, there’s probably no benefit to prolonging it,” Eric said. “I suspect that if it drags on for too long, there might be some hidden side effects, and it might even affect the people who come after you, just to prevent you from checking it carefully.”
“They’re just feeling guilty,” Charles sighed. “But that also proves that their cover-up of the evidence wasn’t perfect. Perhaps there will be other checkpoints like this later, and we can try to investigate them more thoroughly.”