Deng Puyue paused for a moment, then exclaimed happily, "Yes, yes, that's it! Are there many more confessions?"
Shan Yu smiled and said, "Yes, Rousseau and Tolstoy both wrote autobiographical memoirs, but Augustine's *Confessions* is an important work in the history of philosophy. It roughly analyzes his inner struggles and the transformation of his thoughts..."
Wen Zheng rummaged through the bookshelf, found the book of confessions, took it down, and flipped through it.
The book showed signs of having been turned.
"Ah." Deng Puyue was completely bewildered: "What did you take?"
"Oh, a sewing kit." Shan Yu shook it. "Found it in the next room. Don't you guys think it's out of place with the male lead?"
The three of them were taken aback, then they understood.
The room contained almost everything that boys would like and use; there was not a trace of femininity in it.
The only exception is the sewing box. Although there is no rule prohibiting boys from using it, it does indeed symbolize "mother" and "woman".
Shan Yu added, "In the diary just now, there was also a page that mentioned his mother mending his torn clothes, so this shouldn't belong to the male protagonist. I brought it over."
This was a crucial clue, and the comments section on Shan Yu's side was immediately filled with praise. Moreover, his analysis was clear, concise, and logical, and both Wen Zheng and Deng Puyue agreed with his point of view.
Unfortunately, the sewing box was quite ordinary, and the other three people checked it but couldn't find the mechanism.
Wen Zheng said, "Judging from the placement of the books, these similar rooms are the male protagonist's bedrooms at different points in time. But there shouldn't be only one bedroom on the second floor. The room hidden in the maze should be the female protagonist's room. Finding items like the sewing box and figuring out the maze's floor plan will lead to progress."
“Go find your own way out.” Wen Zheng looked at the three of them: “Take out paper and pen and draw down the routes you’ve taken. If you reach a dead end, go back to the corridor the way you came.”
None of the three objected. They each tore a few sheets of paper from the male protagonist's notebook on his desk and then divided up his ballpoint pen.
The king took the pen and kept clicking and clicking the cap on it until he finally stopped, seemingly still wanting more.
They went their separate ways.
After Wen Zheng parted ways with the three, he habitually turned on the bullet comments, which were filled with topics he couldn't understand.
He had gotten used to it, recording the map while observing the rooms he entered for clues, and occasionally explaining a few words to the audience.
The maze was beyond his expectations; he walked through forty rooms before encountering a dead end for the first time. He also encountered three or four forks in the road, and the center of the maze remained completely clueless.
"..." Wen Zheng sighed and said to the live chat with his hands empty, "I'm not good at this."
-I feel sorry for Z, and by the way, Yu Ge next door has already received the tricolor sewing kit.
- I strongly recommend that Z-level players focus on using the Lucky Jade or the Lucky King skill and follow any path that requires luck.
-What about Shan Yu? How's the journey going?
I checked out his livestream; besides the sewing kit, he also had a key. It seemed pretty complicated.
-Oh my god! A key! There's something as important as a key!?
- Ugh, that key's mechanism is so complicated. The neighbors are going crazy with joy. Another wave of divine status is secured. I doubt our ranking will surpass theirs today.
- ? ? ? No way, even Z Da's walking is a sight to behold, I'm giving a reward to Z Da who can move!
-I'm giving a reward for Z's photos!
-I'm giving a reward for Z's big toe!
-z, you've already posted your picture, when are you going to change your character's appearance? I'm looking at you with a hundred deep-sea torpedoes, all I can think about...
-z, is your surname Zhang?
Wen Zheng: "?"
Wen Zheng: "My surname is not Zhang."
The live chat erupted in cheers, with many saying that Z-da had finally responded, and then they started going on and on about him changing his character's appearance. They said if he didn't change it, they'd stop calling him Z-da and start calling him Lao Zhang.
Wen Zheng: "..."
Exhausted, Wen Zheng opened another door that yielded no results, and drew a line against the door panel: "Stop messing around."
After a while, seeing that the comments were getting even more outrageous and ridiculous, Wen Zheng had to say with a headache, "Z is the first letter of my name, not my surname."
Holy crap!? Did we uncover some new information?! Z, could you please tell us what BKC actually means?!
-A person wrote a petition in blood asking for help from bkc!
Count me in!
I'd rather know which character is "z".
-Holy crap, longtime fans have been guessing this for ages! Xiaoyu let slip a few times in the past, calling someone "Zhang Ge" or something similar to "Zhang Da," though she was rather vague back then. There are even forum posts analyzing whether it's Zhang, Zhang Zhenzheng, or Zhang Da...
Wen Zheng was so impressed by this group of Sherlock Holmes that he almost wanted to hand over the game to them.
Many people who watch live streams are just casual gamers, either because they don't have the time or energy, or because they're afraid or not good at it. But how come their brains work so fast when they're just watching the drama unfold?
"Stop!" Wen Zheng made a fist with one hand, looking diagonally upwards.
The comments section was unusually quiet for a moment, with many people typing ellipses to indicate they were shut up, or typing an "x" to represent that they had put on tape.
Wen Zheng smiled at them and said, "Good boy/girl."
-Ah, I'm dead.
I'm good! I'm really good!
-I never want to drastically change my image again. I can't even stand it without changing it, but if I do change it, how will I survive?
(Nodding frantically with tape on his face)
-…………
After Wen Zheng finished recording all the forks in the road, he had almost single-handedly completed half of the map. Just as he was about to turn around and return to the starting room, the earth suddenly began to rumble and shake.
Has someone figured out the core issue?
The chandelier above his head swayed from side to side, and debris fell from the ceiling. Wen Zheng ran back quickly. He had just arrived at the initial room when Shan Yu and Da Wang ran in together!
"Where's Xiaoyu?" Wen Zheng took a large workbook from the male protagonist's desk to shield himself from the falling dust. Seeing that neither of them had met, he immediately ran in the direction Deng Puyue had gone.
"We have to deliver the key to him!" Shan Yu caught up and shouted, "It's been driving for a long time, it must be crucial! Why didn't Xiao Yu come back to find us after seeing the core mechanism?"
"He's just being a jerk." Wen Zheng was impatient and didn't want to hear Shan Yu accuse Deng Puyue, so he had to shut her up first.
The king followed them without saying a word, still clutching his ballpoint pen.
After running quickly through several rooms, the first fork in the road appeared before me.
"Which way to go?" The earthquake made everyone anxious. Even though there was no countdown button hanging, they still felt tense, as if they would be buried if they delayed any longer.
"This way." Without a word, the king pointed to the left door and rushed in first. Wen Zheng quickly followed, while Shan Yu asked as they ran, "Why that way?"
The king did not answer, focusing only on running.
Not long after, Deng Puyue's voice drifted over from afar: "Mama! Ahhhhhh—"
The three of them turned a corner and were surprised to see Deng Puyue running sideways through four identical, straight doors, with the graceful figure of the zombie boss chasing after her...
"Holy crap! Holy crap! Brother Zheng, save me! Save me!" Deng Puyue suddenly yelled, leading the boss around in circles, then back to the door: "Female ghost! Female ghost!! It's a female ghost!!"
Wen Zheng realized what was happening and rushed after the boss, leaving behind the words, "Go to the central room and put the key there!"
That boss looked so familiar—beige cardigan, black long skirt—wasn't that the baby-faced woman from outside?! Why did she become the boss?
Outside the main room was a corridor-like passageway, forming the shape of the Chinese character "口" (kou). Deng Puyue ran around the corridor frantically, tears streaming down her face, shouting, "Brother Zheng, Brother Zheng, come quick! She's too damn fast, I can't shake her off!"
The female zombie is agile, much faster than a typical boss. The area outside is a maze; if you accidentally wander into a dead end, it's a literal dead end.
If it were Wen Zheng, he could still put up a fight with his skills, but Deng Puyue just wanted to look up to the sky and howl, "I can't run anymore—"
"Get out of the way!" Wen Zheng ran from the direction they were facing, leaped high, and was about to kick the female zombie in the face... but he missed.
It turned out that the moment Deng Puyue stepped aside, the female zombie also moved aside, her movements as quick as a gentle cotton-padded jacket.
"Holy crap!?" Deng Puyue went crazy: "Did she turn on auto-follow!?!"
Hearing the sound of the falling object, he gasped in shock and chased after the person, shouting, "Why did I only chase you? What did you take?"
"A red ribbon! A red string? A red ribbon? Gift wrapping? I have no idea!"
At that moment, Shan Yu passed through them and rushed into the core room in the center of the maze. The King paused, but then heard Shan Yu call out to him, "Little Z can handle that over there, come with me!"
The king's eyes darkened, but he did not refute him and slipped into the room.
The two outside were still in the marathon. Deng Puyue raised her left hand and swayed it from side to side, the red ribbon fluttering in the wind.
Wen Zheng shouted as he chased after him, "Throw it away!"
"I've tried! It didn't work! It's still chasing me!"
"Then give it to me!"
"Okay, okay, I'll just let go like this and you can catch me—"
As the red ribbon flew, Wen Zheng caught it without hesitation. The expected transfer of the boss's aggro did not occur. Deng Puyue stared at him resentfully as he ran around in a circle again.
Wen Zheng: "..."
"Damn it!" Wen Zheng was completely enraged. He raised his hand and summoned his measuring ruler. As Deng Puyue ran towards him again, he shouted, "Squat down!"
Deng Puyue rolled away, clutching his head, and Wen Zheng stepped on his back to deliver a flying kick. This time, the female zombie was hit squarely and sent flying backward. Wen Zheng raised his ruler, about to strike her down, when suddenly the ground tilted, and the whole world swayed to the left!
"What's going on!?"
With no obstacles on the walls or the floor, Wen Zheng couldn't grab onto anything and kept sliding to one side. Deng Puyue fared even worse; she hadn't gotten up from rolling on the ground earlier, and now she was rolling off to the other side again.
The zombie boss roared and slid in place like it was skating, which was a bit funny.
Suddenly, Shan Yu shouted from the central room, "Don't be afraid! We're activating a mechanism! The ball maze!"
Wen Zheng leaped up the wall, grabbed the ceiling light, and stomped the zombie down, shouting, "How long!"
"Let's go as fast as we can!"
…………
Inside the room, a tabletop-sized ball maze was embedded in the floor. Shan Yu and Da Wang stood facing each other, balancing their bodies while gripping the handles and pulling to one side.
The king focused intently on the small red ball in the maze, not sparing a glance at the person opposite him.
A marble maze is a common puzzle game board, usually made into a small toy the size of a palm. By controlling the balance in your hand, you make the marble roll or stop until it rolls into the small pit in the center, which completes one round.
However, the ball bearing disc in this copy is embedded in the ground and cannot be lifted or moved.
How do you tilt the balance disc to move the balls?