Matthew Atkinson & Natalie Russell
Fifth Layer of the Supernatural Realm
In the first escape room, almost everyone was desperately searching for clues.
As the sauna temperature gradually rose, everyone became increasingly anxious.
They were just ordinary people now, and they simply couldn't withstand the high temperatures.
"What's the temperature now?"
"It's already over 60 degrees Celsius..."
Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions grew even more anxious.
Everyone searched desperately, turning the sauna room upside down, but found nothing.
When the temperature in the sauna exceeded 70 degrees Celsius, a warning popped up in everyone's left eye:
[Sacrifice three teammates to advance to the next room.]
Upon hearing this, everyone's expression changed.
Everyone looked at their teammates with puzzled expressions.
Of all the people present, Matthew remained the most composed.
Because he had already recognized this sauna room, and he also knew how to escape.
The reason he didn't take action was that Matthew planned to observe his teammates' behavior first.
At this moment.
Suddenly, Sam Harris found something under the cabinet and shouted.
"I found cards."
Upon hearing this, everyone gathered around and discovered riddles on the cards.
"4-I turn but never move an inch; Without me, locks will never flinch. I open paths I do not take. And secrets keep for safety's sake."
"2-Chaos first, then I appear; Dictate the place or sequence here. In food, in court, in rank, in queue. Restore me when I'm gone from you."
"5-No legs to walk, yet I'm on the ground; A hiss is my voice, but I make no sound. Coiled in repose, I shed my past. Strike without arms, yet I'm holding fast."
"3-I have no voice, but call the hour; I have no feet, but run with power. I've watched all day but never see. Unwound, your plans wait for me."
"1-I'm made of many threads in one, I'm climbed when something must be done. I hang a swing or hold a boat, I'm strong enough to keep afloat."
Someone read aloud what was written on the cards, then said. "What does this mean?"
"They are riddles," Denis Read said. "It might be related to the escape method."
Everyone immediately began to think.
At this moment, the lights inside the sauna suddenly turned red. Furthermore, a large amount of water vapor rushed into the sauna room.
Immediately, everyone felt the intense heat.
Previously, although the sauna temperature was high, it wasn't particularly hot because it was a dry sauna with little moisture in the air. However, with more water vapor, the story is entirely different.
At this moment, everyone felt extremely uncomfortable.
A suffocating sense of death began to envelop everyone.
"What is it? What are the riddles' answers?"
Filip Walker paced anxiously, his face filled with fear. He was afraid of dying.
The others were anxious as well,
Then Denis Read said, "The key. That's the answer to one of them. Order and Snake are the answers to the other two. And the last two must be Clock and Rope. But I don't know what those answers mean. If we had the key, couldn't we open the door already?"
Suddenly, Bobby Burns took the knife off the wall and pointed the blade at himself.
"Bobby, what are you doing?" Denis Read exclaimed in surprise.
Bobby Burns remained calm and said, "I will fulfill my promise and sacrifice myself."
"Don't be foolish." Denis Read quickly said, "There's still time, there's no need for this."
Bobby Burns shook his head. "It's too late. If we don't get through this soon, we'll all die here."
Upon hearing that last sentence, the others who wanted to stop him suddenly fell silent.
Fear of death. It was human nature.
Even Bobby Burns himself didn't want to die here.
"Good, you go first, I'll come and join you right away." Sam Harris chimed in from the side.
While everyone was speechless, they were also deeply moved by these guys.
Two people have already volunteered to sacrifice themselves. If just one more person volunteered, they could pass the test.
Just as Bobby Burns was about to make his move.
Suddenly, two voices rang out almost simultaneously.
"It's Rocks"
"It should be Rocks."
The answer, delivered with confidence, came from Matthew.
The following answer, with an uncertain tone, belonged to Natalie.
Matthew already knew everything about this escape room, so he was pretty sure.
To his surprise, Natalie was also able to figure out the answer.
No wonder she's a top student.
The two of them attracted everyone's attention.
Matthew said to Natalie, "Natalie, tell me your thoughts."
Time was of the essence, and Natalie didn't mince words. She immediately said, "The riddles weren't challenging to answer, and many of the answers were meaningless on their own or things that are not found here. Therefore, these riddles must point to something else. And when we arrange the answers according to the numbers on the cards, the answers are Rope, Order, Clock, Key, and Snake. This is another puzzle. When we take the first letters of the answers, the real answer is R.O.C.K.S."
Everyone suddenly realized.
Then, everyone's eyes turned to the area around them, where there were rocks.
"So, the key is hidden in these piles of rocks?"
"Based on the clue in the answer, it should be like this."
"Don't just stand there, hurry up and look."
Everyone rushed to the piles of stones on both sides and began searching.
There are three stones in the sauna: one on the left, one on the right, and one in the middle.
The piles of stones on the left and right sides are used for decoration.
The stones in the middle of the room were in the stove, used to evaporate water vapor and raise the temperature.
At this moment, the stones in the central stove had been burned black and must have been extremely hot to the touch.
Everyone instinctively assumed that the key couldn't possibly be in the stove.
...
At this time, the temperature inside the sauna soared to over 80 degrees Celsius.
The air was thick with moisture, making it extremely hot and humid.
Everyone's face was flushed red from the steam, and they were covered in sweat.
But no one was paying attention to themselves at that moment; they just wanted to find the key as quickly as possible.
But they just couldn't find it...
"No. No... Where is the key?" Zoe Chapman cried anxiously.
Matthew finally made his move.
He grabbed a towel from the side, wrapped it around his hand, and then started rummaging through the stove.
Soon, he found a magnet.
The next moment, he took the magnet and went to the glass door.
The glass door was made of tempered glass; it couldn't be broken.
Behind the glass door, there was a sliding lock, and the bolt was made of pure iron.
Matthew pressed the magnet against the glass door, and the powerful magnetic force immediately attracted the iron bolt on the outside.
Then, Matthew dragged the magnet, and the iron bolt on the outside of the door moved along with it.
Seeing this, everyone was overjoyed.
-Clang
When Matthew removed the magnet, the iron bolt on the outside of the door fell directly to the ground.
Once the iron bolt was removed, the lock could be opened.
An escape route was revealed to everyone.
"Great, the door is open."
"Holy crap. Matthew, you're amazing."
"Using a magnet to remove the iron lock bolt, Matthew, how did you come up with that? That's amazing."
"Matthew is awesome."
Everyone was so excited that they were incoherent and overjoyed.
Seeing this, Matthew laughed and said, "You can flatter me later; hurry up and leave. Unless you want to stay around for a while longer."
Of course, nobody wanted to stay here any longer.
In just that short time, everyone was soaked in sweat.
It could even be said that after this layer, many of them would likely develop a psychological aversion to saunas and would never go to similar places again.
Then, everyone followed the exit route and left the sauna.
...
Inside the spectator hall, everyone witnessed Matthew, Filip Walker, and others' actions.
Everyone could hear what they were saying clearly.
When they couldn't find the key no matter what, everyone in the theater was on edge.
It wasn't until Matthew stepped forward and quickly resolved the problem, rescuing the team members, that everyone in the theater breathed a sigh of relief.
Then discussions arose.
"They've finally made it safely."
"Yes. Judging from their performance, I thought they'd have to sacrifice a few people to get through this."
"Fortunately, that young man named Matthew performed well and found a way to pass the test."
"No wonder he was chosen as captain. This kid does have some exceptional qualities."
"I'd heard before that Matthew and Natalie were able to achieve SSS-grade results every time, not only because of Natalie's talent and ability, but also because of Matthew's brain. The two of them worked together to achieve perfect mission evaluations... It seems the rumors are true."
"So, while Natalie is certainly important, Matthew is also quite crucial?"
"Yeah. Anyway, this kid is nothing like what's said online, just a pretty boy..."
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.136: Second Escape Room
Ch.137: The Champion Team
Ch.138: Unknown Levels (End of the 5th Layer)