Chapter 35

Shen Junyi wasn’t the only one thinking about forming an alliance. On the way to the Haunted Vine Chamber, Zhao Yu received alliance invitations from both Xia Yuan and Zheng Wanyi.

Neither would back down, so they ended up forming a three-person alliance.

The Haunted Vine Chamber was a famous escape room in Chongqing, spanning half the size of an amusement park. It contained many different themed rooms with realistic props and interlocking puzzles, offering players an immersive experience that had long been highly praised.

The production team had chosen this location for filming. They dropped the guests into different rooms—each time a puzzle was solved, the guest would randomly receive some props and resources.

The guests were separated with no means of communication, making their three-person alliance feel pointless.

The escape room’s structure was a labyrinth of rooms and corridors, layers of corners and dark passages. Tense and silent, no one knew where anyone else was.

Zhao Yu’s room had bloodstains painted on all four walls. Shelves displayed tools that looked like they were for murder and dismemberment. A dim red light flickered overhead, creating a terrifying atmosphere.

But her only worry was whether she’d be stuck there until filming ended.

The bloodstains and dismemberment tools weren’t scary. What was scary was being a bad student with zero logic skills—if she couldn’t even get out of the first room for the whole episode, that would be mortifying.

Fortunately, the production team didn’t make the first challenge too hard. The clues were fairly obvious. After half an hour of poking around, Zhao Yu finally unlocked the first code using the numbers circled in red on a calendar’s pages.

Stepping out, she found herself in a dim corridor. A backpack was waiting by the door. She opened it and found a name card that read “Stage Dry Ice Effect.”

So this was her reward for this round.

Slinging the backpack over her shoulder, Zhao Yu continued on, looking left and right, touching things here and there—she didn’t seem scared at all.

The director’s team watched her feed from the cameraman, disappointed. “Why is she so calm? Her room was the scariest of all the guests’.”

A staff member quietly reminded them, “Zhao Yu had a nickname in the Korean industry—Zhao the Bold.”

Director’s team: “…………”

Miscalculation!

When the environment couldn’t scare the player, clearing the game became ridiculously easy.

As Zhao Yu crouched at the end of the corridor, studying the code on an iron door, a female ghost in red suddenly lunged from the dark passage on the other side. They were separated only by the iron gate. The ghost came on too strong and slammed her whole body into the door.

Zhao Yu finally flinched, leaning back—but that was it. After a moment, she asked, a little amusedly, the ghost who was rubbing her head on the other side: “Are you okay? Not hurt?”

The ghost: “…………Fine, fine. Sorry to bother you.”

Zhao Yu went back to studying the code.

The ghost crouched across from her, staring, her bloodied hair spread across the floor—an extremely eerie scene. After ten minutes, Zhao Yu still hadn’t found the clue. She looked up, rubbed her stiff neck, and asked the ghost, who was sitting hugging her knees, “Aren’t you going to scare anyone else?”

The ghost: “…My work area is right here.”

Zhao Yu smiled at her. “Can you tell me the code to this door?”

Even in the dim light, her smile lit up the whole frame—her radiant charm was irresistible even to ghosts. The ghost stared at her for a few seconds, then blurted out: “729134!”

Zhao Yu winked at her. “Thanks.”

Director’s team: “???”

That’s allowed???

The door opened successfully, and Zhao Yu received another prop. The ghost leaned against the wall to let her pass. Zhao Yu took two steps, then turned back with a smile. “Hey, do you have any favorite celebrities? I can get you an autographed photo.”

The ghost, with her pale face covered in fake blood, lit up with excitement. “Really?! Anyone?”

Zhao Yu nodded. “Mm-hmm.”

The ghost: “I like Huo Xi! Is that okay?!”

Zhao Yu paused. “Huo Xi, huh…” Seeing the ghost’s nervous, expectant expression, she smiled. “I don’t know him, but I’ll ask someone to help. Don’t worry.”

The ghost was ecstatic. “Thank you so much!” She enthusiastically pointed ahead. “Go straight, take the second left—there’s a room covered in spider webs. That’s where the most props are!”

Zhao Yu: “Got it.”

Director’s team: “?”

This was definitely not going as planned.

Zhao Yu made it to the spider-web room without any trouble. The walls were indeed covered in thick webbing, with realistic fake spiders crawling around as if they were real.

At the center of the web hung a massive black-and-red spider. Its swollen abdomen pulsed slightly—likely a ventilation system making it appear to breathe.

Zhao Yu circled it, then, to the director’s team’s utter astonishment, reached out and touched the spider’s belly.

The moment her fingers brushed its spiky fuzz, the animatronic spider “came alive.” Its eyes glowed red, its eight legs twitched, and it made a hissing sound.

Anyone else would have run away screaming.

But Zhao Yu didn’t flinch. She grabbed the giant spider and yanked it out of the webs. Squeezing its swollen abdomen, she pulled out the key to the door.

The director’s team was stunned, watching her unlock the door with the key and walk into a room packed with props.

The director asked, incredulously, “Is there really nothing she’s afraid of?”

The low-level assistant who’d recommended Zhao Yu spoke up. “There is!”

The director perked up. “What?”

The assistant: “She’s afraid of flopping!”

The director: “…………”

That was going to be hard to orchestrate on the show.

There were too many props in the room for Zhao Yu to take them all—her backpack was nearly full. She only picked what she needed, which gave her enough stage resources plus some defensive items so others couldn’t steal from her. Now all she had to do was find a comfortable room and wait.

Slinging her small backpack over her shoulder, Zhao Yu cheerfully headed out—only to run straight into Shen Junyi as soon as she stepped through the door.

He had a black bag slung diagonally across his body, looking like a truant delinquent. Compared to Zhao Yu’s bulging backpack, clearly stuffed with props, Shen Junyi’s bag looked depressingly flat.

Their eyes met, and Zhao Yu bolted.

Shen Junyi was quick. He grabbed her wrist with a triumphant laugh: “Ha! Caught you! Looks like you’ve got a lot in there—hand it all over!”

He was like a school bully demanding protection money.

Zhao Yu struggled but couldn’t break free. She grabbed her backpack zipper, took a deep breath, and turned around with a deadly glare. “Let go!”

Startled by her ferocity, Shen Junyi actually released her.

Zhao Yu coolly adjusted her collar, which he’d pulled askew, radiating a “don’t mess with me” energy.

Shen Junyi stepped back, then back again, touching his face and hair awkwardly. “I—I have a prop! Forced Exchange!”

He pulled a name card from his pocket that read “Forcibly exchange one item with the opponent,” and slapped it onto Zhao Yu’s shoulder. His smug expression returned. “Activated!”

Zhao Yu: “…………”

The PA system echoed the director’s voice: “Forced Exchange activated. Please swap one item.”

Shen Junyi let out two gleeful laughs, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. “Let me see what goodies you’ve got in there!”

Zhao Yu dropped her backpack on the ground expressionlessly. Shen Junyi unzipped it, exclaiming and rummaging through it with delight, eventually pulling out her “Stage Backup Dancers” card. He tucked it happily into his own bag and shoved a useless little prop into hers.

He slung his bag back on, turned his cap around so the brim faced forward, and said, “This is what happens when you don’t ally with me.”

Zhao Yu: “Oh.”

She reached into her pocket, pulled out a prop card, and slapped it onto his shoulder without expression.

Shen Junyi blinked. “What’s that?”

Zhao Yu replied flatly: “Seize and Plunder. From now on, everything in your bag belongs to me.”

Shen Junyi: “???”

The director’s voice came again: “Seize and Plunder activated. Please hand over all resources immediately.”

Shen Junyi’s eyes went wide as saucers.

Zhao Yu mimicked his sinister grin from the elevator that morning. But before she could fully enjoy it, Shen Junyi lunged at her.

She let out her first scream since entering the escape room.

His forward rush was too fast and too fierce—she had no time to dodge. She felt his whole body press down on her, his lean arms wrapping around her head and back.

Her face was pressed against his chest as she screamed and cursed: “Shen Junyi, what are you doing! Can’t take a loss so you’re just stealing?! I—!”

She didn’t finish. His momentum was too strong—the moment he grabbed her, they both lost their balance and fell to the ground.

He held her protectively in his embrace; only her elbow scraped the floor. The next second, a huge blood-soaked spider web, crawling with fake spiders, dropped from above, wrapping them both up.

The smell of fake blood mixed with the thick scent of his masculinity filled her senses.

Trapped together in the web, bodies pressed close, the pectoral muscles she’d only lightly touched last episode were now pressed right against her face—she could almost feel his muscles twitch.

Zhao Yu couldn’t make a sound. Her head spun as if flooded with blood, her entire body burning, about to explode.

Then his voice came from above, disgusted: “What is this! So sticky! Gross.” He pulled his hand away from the back of her head and poked her. “Didn’t get hurt, did you?”

Zhao Yu couldn’t speak—only pant and let her heart race.

He braced himself on the floor, lifting up slightly, and looked down. “Scared?”

His cap brim dipped down, casting his bright eyes in shadow—giving her a reassuring, heart-stopping tenderness.

Zhao Yu didn’t answer. She scrambled out of his embrace and frantically tried to pull the web off herself. It was soaked in fake blood, all sticky red, splattering everywhere.

Shen Junyi quickly stopped her. “Don’t move, don’t move! The more you pull, the tighter it gets!”

Zhao Yu, hair a mess, her voice no longer as fierce as before, took two deep breaths and asked, “Then what do we do?”

Shen Junyi thought for a moment, then slowly stood up, pushing the spider web up with his head. At 185 cm, he easily lifted it.

Zhao Yu was finally free. She stood up and helped pull the web off him. They were both covered in red dye; there were even two fake spiders dangling from her hair. They looked like they’d just survived a bloody massacre.

Shen Junyi wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, smacked his lips, and said, “It’s sweet.”

Zhao Yu: “…………”

She took out some wet wipes she’d grabbed from the front desk earlier, handed him two, wiped her own face and hands, then silently picked up her bag and walked over to peel the “Seize and Plunder” card off his shoulder.

Shen Junyi, who was wiping his face with a tissue, tilted his head. “What are you doing?”

Zhao Yu folded the card and tucked it back into her pocket without looking up. “Canceling the prop. I don’t want your stuff.”

She turned and walked away.

Shen Junyi called after her, “Hey, hey! You’re leaving? We finally met up—let’s ally! You won’t lose out with me!”

Zhao Yu didn’t look back. She raised her hands to retie her messy ponytail.

Her hair swayed gently in the air, leaving him only her cool, aloof silhouette. “No.”