CH 73

​After getting out of the train, Wen Lang took out a small megaphone and shouted to the newcomer's train compartment, "Those with the black leaflet, yes, you guys. Get off the train and follow me. Now, go through the faregate. Come, come, there is not much time, follow me!" The loudspeaker emits an electric sound, so when Wen Lang said the instructions, it gave people a feeling that he is a tour guide who is leading the visitors to a scenic spot. To be honest, they felt like denying that they know him.

The junior team inside the compartment beside is led down by a tall man who looked like the team leader. Qin Tan walked out of the platform first, followed by the junior team. After going out of the station, the junior team’s leader walked up to Qin Tan to say hello.

Lou Fan ignored the people and started to observe the situation around him. This is an amusement park that seems to have been abandoned for a long time. The small carousel not far away is rusted and its original appearance cannot be seen anymore. The iron fence surrounding the amusement facilities is broken into pieces and thrown to the ground in a mess. All in all, it's a small, deserted amusement park in the middle of nowhere.

In the middle of the park, there is a railway track that the original track cannot be seen clearly due to being unused for a long time. The train they were riding seemed to be integrated with this park. After everyone left the station, it drove away along this track.

Turning around, they can see a huge building that is out of tune with the style here in front of them. It is about 3 or 4 stories high, and on the top door there are 2 big characters with colorful lights: 迷宫 (Maze). 2 wooden doors are wide open, and the one on the right has a sign that read ‘Entrance’.

"Where the hell is this place?" An indifferent female voice asked. A woman is looking at everyone with suspicious eyes, "Who are you? What are you guys planning to do here?"

The woman has delicate makeup on her face and is wearing a beige professional suit. She looks capable and calm, she should be a senior white-collar worker.

Wen Lang put away the megaphone and walked over to the newcomers, starting to recite the basic knowledge he had memorized early in the morning. It doesn’t matter if the newcomers believe it or not, it’s not his business anymore after he finished talking. They couldn't blame him if they courted death themselves. After the series of explanations, Wen Lang clapped his hands and concluded, "That's it. It’s up to you to believe it or not. If you believe it, just follow us and don't talk nonsense. If you don't believe it, then just stay where you are and don't make trouble. We won’t help if you get beaten up from that."

The intermediate team consists of 6 people, the junior team consists of 5 people, and the newcomer team consists of 6 people.

When Lou Fan walked over to Qin Tan’s side, Qin Tan had just finished talking with the team leader of the junior team. The junior team this time is a Level 1 team. Adding the people from the newcomer team, he felt that this task should not be too difficult.

The newcomers stood on the spot, looking apprehensive. The woman who took the lead strode over, her high heels striding steadily on the dirt-covered ground. At first glance, she can see the leaders standing together. Hence, she walked over and nodded slightly to them. Her voice cold as she said, "My name is Zhuo Lan, what are we going to do now?"

Qin Tan frowned and replied, "My name is Qin Tan, the team leader of the intermediate team. All of you wait here first and keep quiet."

Hearing that, Zhuo Lan frowned in dissatisfaction. She is about to speak again, but got stopped by Wen Lang, "I say, this young lady, our team leader is busy now. Can you put away the momentum of a company's top management staff and stay obedient? And you guys?" He raised his eyebrows and pointed at himself, "... are under my supervision."

Zhuo Lan didn't even look at Wen Lang. She remained standing beside Qin Tan, her presence could not be ignored.

Qin Tan turned his head to look at Lou Fan and introduced, "This is the temporary team leader of the junior team, Song Ye."

Lou Fan nodded as a greeting. Then he raised his chin in the direction of the maze and said, "That's our mission this time. I have looked around, but it is just a dilapidated amusement park, nothing of value."

"What is the junior team's mission?" Lou Fan asked.

Song Ye pursed his lips, "Go through the maze."

Lou Fan is surprised for a moment before asking, "Don’t tell me the newcomer team also has the same mission?"

Wen Lang nodded, "It's the same."

Isn’t the task a bit too easy this time? The task content of the 3 teams is the same, which is almost never heard of. This caused the intermediate team to feel a little confused.

"Shuyang," Lou Fan called out to Chen Shuyang. Still staring at the huge maze in front of him, he instructed, "analyze the location first and envision what's inside. Wen Lang and, uh, Zhuo Lan? You guys take out the food from the backpack and divide them among the team."

Anticipating the situation in the maze, Qin Tan’s team brought the food for the newcomer team as well. Although it is just compressed food, it’s still a bit cumbersome, so they simply divide the food out and let them carry their own food.

Zhuo Lan’s job has always been instructing others. Except for the general manager of the company, no one can instruct her to do things. Right now, being instructed by a fair-skinned young man with a naive temperament, she suddenly felt an uncomfortable tightness in her chest. She is about to refute when that gaze lightly brushed over her. Her words stuck in her throat, and she couldn't say anything.

Wen Lang called the newcomer team to come over, everyone picked up a simple backpack and he distributed food to them.

On the other side, Chen Shuyang and Lou Fan analyzed the situation of the maze. According to experience, there are only 2 situations that they might encounter in the maze. One is trap type (hidden traps) and the other is pursuit type (by NPC). Anyway, the probability of encountering a supernatural situation is very small.

"Then, if the 2 situations appear together, what's the solution?" Qin Tan's voice sounded above the heads of the two who are squatting on the ground.

Lou Fan looked up at Qin Tan and helplessly answered, "Then, we can only depend on our luck to survive."

"Alright then, that’s about it." Lou Fan stood up on his knees and patted the dirt on his trouser legs. Throwing the backpack over his shoulders, he said, "It’s the first time that there’s a time restriction[1], so let's go in early."

The time is now 7.00 am on 20th February, and the group of people is standing at the entrance of the maze.

Song Ye is followed by 4 team members of Level 1. They are all randomly picked to form a team. As the temporarily selected team leader, his job is basically conveying the instructions from the intermediate team. He had too little experience, so being obedient is the right way. He heard it just now that all teams, even the newcomer team, have the same mission which is going through the maze. Everyone has to enter the maze and can only go back to Lazuli after exiting the maze. Staying where they are right now will only be a dead end.

Zhuo Lan's expression is dark, but she couldn't find anything wrong with the situation. People distributed food to them and didn’t ask them to charge forward. It’s just that she is not allowed to participate in the leadership. She doesn’t understand the situation at all, so it makes sense that she is not qualified to lead. But she just felt uncomfortable all over her body. This feeling of being out of control is horrible and it made her feel very insecure. All she did was accept a flyer and slept on the high-speed train. How can she arrive at such an inexplicable place?

"The miss over there, I advise you to take off your high heels. If you twist your feet while running, it will be fatal." Wen Lang turned his head to remind the woman kindly.

When Zhuo Lan came back to her senses, she realized that he was advising her. She looked down at her feet, it was a pair of stilettos with 10 centimeters heels. Needless to say what would happen if she twisted her feet. Zhuo Lan took off her shoes and stepped on the ground with her bare feet. Then she rolled up her wide-leg pants and tied a knot.

Standing at the front, Qin Tan said loudly, "We are going in now. Everyone be careful, you are responsible for your own safety. If you don't obey our instructions, you are on your own."

…

The maze is literally what it’s called - a maze, there are many forks in the path. There is a tip on how to get through a maze on the Internet. When you encounter a fork in the road, turn left, and then turn left at the next fork. Every time you encounter a fork, turn in the same direction. When you encounter a dead-end, return to the fork and go to the next fork. If you keep walking like this, you will definitely find an exit.

Lou Fan doesn't know if this tip is true or not. Anyway, Chen Shuyang said so, so they will be following this plan. There is no other way after all.

Upon entering the maze, they can see that there is a long alley, with high walls on both sides. The walls are smooth, and it is almost impossible to climb up. They walked along the path and came across the first fork in the road.

It is a crossroads.

The maze is very big, and the road inside is very wide. Everyone will inevitably crowd together. The intersection is normal, with bare walls and empty roads. Qin Tan took the lead and turned left first. Lou Fan stared in the other 2 directions for a few seconds, and he didn't recover until Chen Shuyang patted him.

"Brother Lou, what's wrong?" Chen Shuyang followed Lou Fan’s gaze but saw nothing there.

Lou Fan shook his head. Seeing Wen Lang walking in front with newcomers following behind, and the Level 1 team also crowded together, Lou Fan stepped up to follow, "Let's go, follow the people in front."

Nie Feng walked slowly at the end of the crowd, with his hands on the back of his head, as if he is as leisurely as taking a walk after dinner.

After walking for about 10 minutes, Furball came out from Lou Fan’s pocket and chirped. Lou Fan thought it is asking for food and is about to say something when he heard a small sound by his ear. Before he could say 'be careful', the path at a meter ahead suddenly sank.

It’s a trap!

Lou Fan's figure flashed, and he immediately grabbed the person in front of him who is about to fall.

"Help!"

"AHH!"

3 screams sounded one after another, followed by a long echo. The rest of the people who were caught by other people, all had lingering fears and scrambled to stay away from that trap.

"Brother Lou, are you guys all right? What should we do now?" Wen Lang pulled away the person in front of him and looked at Lou Fan who is standing on the opposite side. Then, he turned to Qin Tan, "Brother Qin, it's too far away to get to the other side."

The trap was only 2 or 3 meters wide at the beginning. But at this moment, it is 5 or 6 meters away, it is impossible to jump to the other side.

"Let's go forward separately, remember to pay attention to safety." Lou Fan said helplessly. Looking at the 3 team members on the opposite side, he is a little worried.

Qin Tan worriedly said, "Be vigilant, maybe we will meet you guys again later."

On the opposite, there are Qin Tan, Wen Lang, and Jiang Dong. There are also 2 people from the Level 1 team and 3 people from the newcomer team (8 ppl in total).

On this side, there are Lou Fan, Chen Shuyang, and Nie Feng. Then, there are Zhuo Lan from the newcomer team and 2 people from the Level 1 team (6 ppl in total).

Knowing that Shuyang is on his side makes Lou Fan more relieved. Qin Tan's hands are black (unlucky), and Wen Lang and Jiang Dong's hands are not too white either, which is a bit worrying.

Wen Lang also reminded with a worried look, "Brother Lou and Shuyang, you two be careful. We will look for you when we find a way."

"Alright now, you should take care of yourself instead. Don't you know how much you weigh (in terms of strength)?" Jiang Dong rolled his eyes at Wen Lang. On the opposite side, there’s a lucky king who had an explosive strength, and a walking encyclopedia. Their side here is the ones who should be worried.

Wen Lang: "You look down on me?"

"Oh, I even look down on myself."

Wen Lang: …I had a feeling that something is wrong but don’t know what.

Lou Fan walked back to the previous fork with the group. This time, he is more cautious. Furball called out before, he is now sure that it is actually cautioning him of dangers. At this moment, Furball is standing on his shoulder. Shrinking into a ball, it looked like a decorative adornment on his shoulders.

When they came to a fork in the road, Lou Fan stopped walking. He stared at the fork in the road, with a bit of seriousness in his eyes.