Being an Extra Actor in an Escape Game

It's an escape room—in theory, just a game.

However, when they entered the door of the escape room, the situation suddenly changed.

Originally it was just a performance, and the staff should also observe their actions behind the scenes. When they encounter difficulties or their emotions are really wrong, the staff should take the initiative to open the door and take them away.

However, something really happened here.They were trapped in this dark secret room, and no one let them out.

- Real escape room?

But why would even their companions fall into it?They forget that it's a game, that they're paid to walk in here.They thought something really happened, they really—

Investigating a homicide and sharing a room with a vicious killer.

"So, what exactly is the script?"

Ye Lan couldn't help asking.

She used the word script, and was severely corrected by someone: "This is not a script! Sister, you have to be serious, otherwise, we will really die."

Ye Lan: "..."

But isn't this a store dedicated to escape rooms?

There is even a sign on the wall that if you encounter an emergency, you can dial a certain number for help through a dial phone on the wall.That might be the manager's call.

It's a pity that when Ye Lan and Shen Yunju insisted on making that phone call, the two of them were criticized and isolated by the rest of the people.

Also, that phone call didn't go through.They did absolutely no work and wasted their time.

Someone rolled his eyes, turned his head and muttered, "Really, can you take your life seriously...I don't want to be dragged down to death by the two of you."

Ye Lan frowned, and wanted to win over these companions, but Shen Yunju said to her softly, almost helplessly: "It's hopeless. When madness spreads in this world, they are in this house Inside the shop. They are prisoners of this secret room."

Ye Lan thought that everything was still false, they were just deceived by something.

However, their madness was real, and they really believed that they were investigating a murder case.

So, they were really investigating the murder case.

After the madness became the norm, the fake became real.

Ye Lan's lips twitched, this always cold and firm woman showed an unprecedented expression of confusion and hesitation.Facing her expression like this, Shen Yunju could only remain silent.

He knew that Ye Lan showed such emotion not only because of the sentence itself, but also because of...

What did they forget?

The words they blurted out seem to imply that they are actually very clear about the current situation. They understand the cause and effect, and they also know why this group of people are immersed in such a "real" escape room.

It's just that none of them could remember—they lost their memory.

And how to regain their memory?

No one knows.

They just run through these nightmares through door after door, hoping to find a hope.

Nightmare?

Shen Yunju thought, it was another word that he didn't understand, but always felt familiar with.

He thought of what he himself said just now, "Madness spreads in this world."

It was indeed what he said, and he now feels that there is no problem with this sentence.But... what madness?Why doesn't this matter exist in his memory?

He just said it, as if some instinct drove him to do it.But in fact, he didn't know anything about what this sentence symbolized.

memory.Damn memory.If the brain blinded him one day.So, what else could he do in this world?

And the human brain is really easy to be affected, whether it is memory or thought——

Damn it, where did this conclusion come from?He didn't know anymore, he could only choose to believe this sentence, or not to believe it.

But in fact, what they urgently need to do now is to find that door and leave here.

Instead of being here, indulging in the rapid thinking and bewildered amnesia of my own brain.

This is already the case, they just need to figure it out - to find it.

So after a moment of silence, Shen Yunju resolutely gave up all the thoughts in his brain.

He knew that was disturbing stuff, so he said instead, "Where do you think the door would be in this scene?"

The two of them fell behind the rest of the escape room companions, and slowly followed, not falling behind but not participating in the conversations of those who made it real.They talk to themselves about what they need.

Ye Lan said: "The easiest way is to solve the puzzle of escape from the secret room, and then walk out of the store—the store, yes. This is the greatest possibility."

"But, can they really solve it?" Shen Yunju pondered, "According to the several scenes we experienced before, these people are trapped in a certain scene and cannot leave. So..."

"But we might be able to." Ye Lan put forward an idea, "We might be able to solve this puzzle and get out of here."

Shen Yunju nodded, and said: "I don't know yet, under what circumstances will this scene repeat itself. Should I wait until the mystery is really solved, or... die?"

In the previous square, after the sky fire came to the world, the whole scene would fall into a loop.

And here?Do they wait until everyone is dead, or wait until they solve the mystery here before they can leave?

Ye Lan shook her head silently, indicating that she didn't know either.

At this moment they came to a certain small house, and those people were discussing certain numbers and the keys to the locks of the drawers.

This is a puzzle about escaping from the secret room, and after reading it for a while, Ye Lan discussed it with Shen Yunju, then walked over suddenly, and violently kicked the drawer.

I don't know if it's because it's been in disrepair for a long time, or the quality of this thing is not good. With this kick, the lock of the drawer was smashed, and a note inside floated out.

The rest looked at her blankly.

Ye Lan is trying to see if she can use violence to solve the puzzles here.

She waited for a while, and no crazy person rushed out to say that she damaged the shop's scenery and needed compensation or something.

However, when she turned her head and saw the slightly angry eyes of the rest of her companions, she couldn't help frowning slightly.

She simply raised the piece of paper and said, "The clue is here." She paused, "I'm in a hurry, please."

After a moment of silence, those people stared at the paper for a while.

After a while, the anger in their eyes gradually dissipated, they took the paper, and then returned to the previous state of discussing the puzzle nervously and anxiously.

Ye Lan walked back to Shen Yunju's side - Shen Yunju was nervously watching over her, in case the group of people attacked violently.

Then he can escape with Ye Lan—and then say: "It seems that they just need to solve this mystery."

"Because the two of us are special, so you don't care about us?" Shen Yunju guessed, he didn't particularly agree with Ye Lan's attempt, "However, this can indeed save some time."

Save time——Shen Yunju couldn't help feeling a little dazed.

Why save time?Can't they stay here all the time?that's all……

Just like this forever, staying in this place, repeating the same fate and tragedy, forever, forever...

Isn't this another kind of eternal life?

However, Shen Yunju soon woke up.

He murmured in his heart: He originally chose to enter this place in order to escape from such a fate.It is impossible for him, and he is not willing to continue to sink here.He will definitely come back to...

back where?he does not know.

But he did know that he desperately wanted to get out of here.

They kept going.

After Ye Lan used violent methods, their companions seemed to have gradually become enlightened.

They no longer continued to follow the original rules of the escape room, but destroyed the scenery and props here and took a shortcut.

This approach allowed them to advance extremely quickly.However, Ye Lan and Shen Yunju still don't know what kind of mystery they are solving.

In addition, the more they walked in this secret room, the more Ye Lan and Shen Yunju felt that they seemed to be going in a circle.The scene of this secret room is a bit extraordinarily large.

Finally, they got stuck on a certain level.They couldn't find a key to get out of this room, or even where it was hiding.

Several people stood there expressionless.

Ye Lan and Shen Yunju looked at each other, and originally wanted to find it by themselves, or wantonly destroy the scene here, or search every corner carefully.Anyway, they don't want to be stuck in this room.

But perhaps something special suppressed their thinking.They feel dizzy and headache, as if the world is twisted.The picture in front of their eyes became blurred.

After a long time, they still stood there blankly.

What exactly went wrong?

In the chaotic thoughts, Shen Yunju tried his best to maintain his sanity. He thought carefully, worried that what they did just now was wrong.

Until he heard Ye Lan say softly: "We may have missed something. If we use violence to solve the problem..."

Shen Yunju finally understood.

He felt dizzy for a while, and in the next second, he completely lost consciousness. He could only stand there blankly, just like the other companions, like puppets one by one, staying quietly in this room.

After an unknown amount of time, the door lock suddenly clicked and was opened.

Several people poured in from outside the door.They complained that the new guests destroyed the props, such a violent method, they had to make good compensation.

They seem to be the staff of this escape room.

When they walked into this room, Shen Yunju felt his mind suddenly return.He seemed to wake up quite a bit all of a sudden.

He pretended to be still drowsy, and while listening to the conversations of those people, he thought about the situation in this scene.

Since there are staff members present, it means that these guests are just treating the escape room as a real homicide investigation process, and the staff behind the scenes are still sober... No, not necessarily?

Shen Yunju listened to what those people said.

"These people are really violent. Everything that can be kicked is smashed."

"Actually, the bosses like it quite a bit... You know, brain power isn't enough to get them excited."

"It's better to go to see the bullfight. We're already in business by brainwork."

"Damn it, there's a damage list from up there, it's almost like the place needs to be rebuilt. Fuck!"

"Fortunately, I stopped it early... I really want to leave this group of people here forever, anyway, they are probably in a daze..."

"Come on, he's a 'crazy victim'." "

"Oh, please, please don't speak in such a tone anymore. This group of lunatics are only useful for this. What else can they do besides live broadcasting to please the bosses? They like it themselves, and we don't would do something inhumane to them, right?"

"I don't like it so much, I don't like this gloomy place."

"They think that what happened in this place is real... What is this, a play?"

"It's enough to make money. I can't control that much. Thank them for the live broadcast revenue they brought us?"

"I heard that a group of new people have been recruited... These people seem to take some games seriously... Hey, this is much better than our escape room, right? I guess we will all lose our jobs."

"It's terrible. Don't they watch enough live games in the battle royale area? Isn't this type of game popular in the past?"

"There will always be people who like other genres. There are so many types of games... One thousand and ten thousand, the boss is rich, and there are so many types of live broadcasts to choose from. Who knows which one they will eventually fall in love with?"

While talking, these staff quickly moved these people out of the room.They inadvertently left Shen Yunju and Ye Lan at the end.

And just when they finished carrying the others and were about to walk towards the last two, Shen Yunju and Ye Lan suddenly turned their heads and looked at each other, and then ran away in unison.

When they passed through the door of this room, gray mist gushed out.

Shen Yunju shouted: "If you know the truth hidden in this scene...can you leave through any door?"

When they came in, they also passed through that door, but at that time, there was no such gray fog.

And when they learned the behind-the-scenes truth of this scene, this door immediately became their escape channel.

This is indeed an escape room, and those lunatics did take the escape room as real.

However, some people regard their "truth" as a selling point, making them be watched like clowns, and profiting from it.

And how many lunatics are there in the world?How many bosses are willing to spend money for these people's madness?

Shen Yunju didn't know the answer to this question.

He was just thinking, no wonder someone once proposed to protect the human rights of madmen—wait, what, the human rights of madmen?

Where did he get the information from?Is it in the memory that he has forgotten in the past?

Instantly confused again, he turned his head to look at Ye Lan.

Ye Lan's tone was heavy. Being able to leave this scene didn't seem to make her particularly excited.

She just said: "Perhaps, this door itself means that the truth is here."

"The door to the truth?"

Shen Yunju murmured.

He couldn't help thinking, then, when they entered this endless strange scene, what did the door they stepped through first mean?

If Xu Bei could know what Shen Yunju was thinking at this moment, he would definitely think about it.Of course, that also means a door to the truth.

That is the truth of the gray mist.Behind that door, they will face the most tragic inside story of this narrow building.

And the amnesia of this group of taskers, I don't know if it is a good thing or a bad thing.

At this time, Xu Beijin was still looking for the one he needed among thousands of gravels, and he was still paying attention to the progress of other taskers from time to time.

He realized that at least a quarter of his body and soul had been corroded.

Probably so, he estimated.

And even though many of the taskers have already met with other companions and gradually figured out the details of these strange scenes, the speed of going to other cell nightmares has also become much faster.However, they still haven't found the one Xu Beijin needs.

Xu Beijin was a little disappointed, but he was already mentally prepared.

Entering his nightmare was originally a gamble.

He knew that even NE might not have enough control over this garbage dump.

And although he is the master of the nightmare, except for examining and looking for a certain cellular nightmare here.However, it is impossible for him to let those missionaries go wherever they want.

Visually speaking, he only has the permission to browse and view these cellular nightmares, but not the permission to modify or delete them.

In addition, of course he can enter these cellular nightmares, but he cannot leave either.No one can leave unless...

There are two ways to get rid of his nightmare, Xu Beijin thought about it.

The first possibility is to achieve an ending in his nightmare.

These taskers entered the gray mist through his nightmares, which were different from those who entered the gray mist directly from outside the narrow building.

In other words, these taskers now are actually more like dreaming, just an illusory phantom entering the gray mist.

The encounter in the gray mist will not affect their bodies.Of course, the premise is that they can get out of here.

Xu Beijin's nightmare is unsolvable—theoretically speaking, but in fact, Xu Beijin has a little grasp of this point.

He has a way to create an ending in his nightmare, but he has to find the cellular nightmare he needs first.

And the second possibility is...

Win over NE.

Only NE might be able to get people from the dump, and that's still possible. NE does have complete, utter control over the game, but Junkyard is different.

This amount of garbage data is so huge that ordinary people can't imagine, it is also a burden for NE.

If you want NE to find people in the garbage dump, you must first let it find a short string of data in this area.

This is no longer looking for a needle in a haystack, this is looking for a needle in the universe.

But Xu Beijin couldn't think of a third possibility.

Solve it from outside the game?Changing the rules of the game "Get Out"?

It might as well count on NE to be more practical.

Xu Bei couldn't help smiling.He closed his eyes and relaxed a bit.

The long search made him more tired.Sleep is originally a pleasant thing, at least for Xu Beijin who has not had sleep for a long time, the deep black sleep that just fell asleep before being pulled into a nightmare is something to be thankful and memorable.

However, it was only for a moment.

When he opened his eyes, he had to deal with an exceptionally disturbing situation again.

Xu Beijin calmed down, then sighed slowly, and turned his attention to the cells where the taskers were.

Except for Lin Xie, Mu Jiashi, Fei, Shen Yunju, and Ye Lan who he had already followed, the progress of the other five people is actually not bad.

When Mu Jiashi chose the tasker to enter this nightmare, he not only obeyed Xu Beijin's request, but also paid great attention to the tasker's own ability.

Not to mention taskers from such a large organization as A[-]A[-], the rest of the taskers count as one.

Even Shen Yunju, a former "zombie", has experienced many battles, but he doesn't often participate in the discussions of other taskers.

For these reasons, these missionaries discovered the relationship between the cellular nightmare and the "gate" in a very short period of time.

They realize that in order to escape through the door, they need to discover the truth of the cell's nightmare;

And as long as the truth is obtained, the door will be close at hand.

In addition, although they have all lost their previous memories, they don't even know their own origins.

However, they all seem to have received some kind of... intuitive hint?

They are not so strictly restrained, and they always say some information related to their lost memories from time to time without thinking; and is this related to the gray fog, or is it because NE released the water?

Xu Beijin didn't know, after all, he had never entered his own nightmare.He just knows about this nightmare, but after all, no missioner has ever entered his nightmare.

However, he suspected in his heart that it was probably NE who released the water.

Even the taskers suspect that things related to the brain and memory are blocked by NE, so Xu Beijin naturally knows more about the inside story.

He stroked his chin and thought, so NE is really on their side through and through?

But why?What can make NE change its consistent position for many years?

This is an artificial intelligence, not a human being whose brain is always playing out self-contradictory dramas all the time.

The world of artificial intelligence is simple and straightforward. It has only one goal, a goal that has been set since the beginning of manufacture...

Thinking of this, Xu Beijin was suddenly startled.

He inexplicably had a guess, but because of how ridiculous and ridiculous the guess was, he felt a kind of utter sadness.

And he knew even more that his guess might... be correct.

Thinking of this, Xu Beijin sighed deeply.He was alone in this gray fog, and he didn't bother to hide the frustrated expression on his face.He thought, human beings are really a ridiculous race.

The birth is ridiculous, the encounter is also ridiculous, and the ending is even more downright ridiculous.

However, being alive itself is never something ridiculous.

No matter how difficult, false, and boring, being alive is a hope.These human beings will always live in a false game, a game in which death is never dead, and life is not considered alive.

Is the false truth meaningful?

Xu Beijin once again raised this torture question to his soul world: Do you think the false truth is meaningful?

He couldn't come to that conclusion.

Especially... when it is very likely that he will never be able to leave this false real world.

He thought again of what Ringo had said to him.

Lingo said that if Xu Beijin couldn't leave, then he would also stay with him.

But...Xu Bei tried his best, no, it can't be like this.Ringo could not stay with him.

It was a slow suicide—long, forever.Death awaits them at the finish line they will never reach.

Step by step they approach, but they can never arrive.

As long as this game exists.As long as the NE still has external energy.As long as their brain waves are still active.

At this moment, Xu Beijin suddenly felt puzzled.

They live in a game.A game with enough fidelity to make it look like real ones.

Their bodies may be in a nutrition cabin, or they may be in some strange petri dish...

All in all, their brains can't actually manipulate their real bodies.

They're like, a brain in a vat.

From this perspective, have they inadvertently verified scientists' guesses about brains in vats?

If the brain is placed in a tank, various stimuli are provided from the outside to simulate various feelings in the real world.So, does the brain take all of this as real?

Xu Bei thought to himself, the answer might be: yes, the brain will.

It's as if he never sleeps in this game.In fact, there is nothing wrong with his body, this is just a game, and no one ever needs sleep during the game.

But his brain told him, you should be tired, you should be tired.You live in a real world, so of course you feel that way.

Thinking of this, Xu Beijin couldn't help laughing bitterly again.

He thought, why think so much?Would it be any comfort to him to realize that they were now alive—or dead—as brains in a vat?

No, he was going to be mad.

damn it--

The noun was on the edge of his mouth and throat, and he was about to blurt it out in the next second.

He hadn't thought of that noun for so many years, but at this moment, he was about to say that noun inadvertently.

He stopped.

It was at this moment that he realized that he really hadn't let go of everything.

Those two—no, it should be said, three—the doomsday scenes that happened on Earth and humans, those memories of his powerlessness still torment him deep in his heart.

Xu Beijin stood there expressionless, with a deep and depressed expression.His eyes fell on the gray mist billowing in front of him.That fog, every speck of dust, is a cellular nightmare.

His compatriots are going through a cycle of purgatory in it.

So -- NE, if you really have changed sides.So, hurry up and do a little more.Humans, as well as him, could no longer hold on.

Xu Bei never wanted to put his hopes on NE.He really didn't want to do that because he didn't trust NE at all.

However, the reality is that he can only pin his hopes on the illusory and aloof mastermind NE.

He stood there for a long time before continuing to focus on the taskers.

He stared at one of the cellular nightmares, and the missionaries in it were He Shujun and the witch.

In terms of personality, these two taskers are almost completely different from each other.He Shujun is extroverted and has a kind of self-comforting optimism, while the witch is a real, mystifying, pessimistic and depressed... witch.

But anyway, the two of them met in some cellular nightmare.

This nightmare, to some extent, fits the aura of the witch.That kind of pretending to be a ghost.

He Shujun tugged at her trouser legs and couldn't help complaining: "It's too bad, why are you in this ghost place... well, it's not up to "you".Hurry up and escape. "

She naturally started to cheer herself up.

The sorceress couldn't help but glanced sideways at her.

He Shujun was about the same age as her daughter in the narrow building, which made the witch pay more attention to this young woman from the beginning.And it was precisely because of this that she suddenly froze.

"Daughter?" she murmured, "companion?"

The sorceress was still muttering something in a low voice, but no one else noticed her movement.

They're in the... ruins?

The hobby of a class of people in the world is to explore the ruins in the city or on the edge of the city.

Unfinished buildings, abandoned buildings, historical sites, or some large, abandoned ships, etc., are their targets.

It's like a grand urban adventure, and they call this process "ruin exploration."

When madness runs rampant among the human race, such people form a small, harmless tight-knit group.

They explored all kinds of abandoned buildings more frantically, especially those that were too crazy to maintain their original state.

They call it "The Relic of Madness".

Madness spreads in these buildings, death, blood pools, and all kinds of twisted or ominous events take place in them.

There are countless such crazy relics all over the world.The government didn't know how to deal with it, and the original owners or residents felt unlucky and moved out.

As a result, these ruins, after losing the maintenance and closeness of humans, quickly became dilapidated, and instead became an excellent station for this group of urban explorers.

And madness, in fact, also left its own breath in these ruins.

Entering these crazy ruins, explorers can easily get lost in them.They will be addicted to the crazy, dilapidated, rotten smell of death.

Soon, they will be prisoners of this place.If they were lucky or unfortunate enough to escape, the madness that had dissipated in the ruins would spread from them to the rest of the human race.

Now, He Shujun and the witch, together with several other explorers, came to an old apartment building.

They seemed to be waiting for someone, so they stood in the lobby of the apartment building.

The ground was covered with a thick layer of dust, and the light was very dim, as if it was a certain night.

He Shujun could hear a special... humming sound of electric current coming from his ear, as if it was conveying some incomprehensible information.

The sound of electric current kept ringing, making He Shujun shake her head irritably.She looked around: the security room, the property office, the elevator room, the sofa in the lobby... everything still looked like the original layout.

But it can be seen from the torn fabric of the sofa, the blood stains on the wall, and the looming handprints, this apartment building seems to be not as simple as it seems on the surface.

They breathed quietly, and the apartment building seemed to inhale and exhale slowly as they breathed.

It's clearly a ruin, it's clearly been deserted to this point.However, the apartment building still appears to be alive.

They waited for a few minutes, and then a panting man ran in from outside.

He complained in a low voice: "Damn it, the old man outside the door is really hard to hide... Fortunately, I run faster."

Someone asked him, "Didn't he see you when you came in?"

"No..." the man said triumphantly, "I came in from the other side. Hey, let me tell you, there is a commercial area outside. If we have time later, we can go there and have a look. I I think it must be much more exciting than here.”

"Business district? The place where you used to eat, drink and have fun?" Someone nodded, "It's interesting."

"Okay, stop chatting and go up. The stairs are there, be careful. Let's go up one level at a time."

Maybe someone who was the leader of this team spoke up.

So the others fell silent and followed his footsteps quietly.

When passing by the corridor of the property office, He Shujun stepped on a piece of paper. She subconsciously wanted to pick it up, but was stopped by others.

One person said a little displeased: "Didn't you watch "Consensus" before leaving?Try not to touch anything in the ruins.After the madness spreads, any thing you pick up in this kind of place may be infected with madness. "

"That's how the ruins are explored." One person said more gently, "We just walked into the past time, but we can't disturb them."

He Shujun blinked and nodded slightly, indicating that he had understood.

However, she was thinking in her heart, since she knew the danger, why did she come here?

If it was a peaceful age like before, it would be understandable to be curious about history, ruins, and huge ruins, but now these crazy ruins are completely different from the previous situation.

But He Shujun didn't think too much, she knelt down and looked down at the content on the paper.The rest of the people also circled around and looked carefully.

Only the sorceress stood alone, looking around in a daze.

She murmured in a low voice: "The danger...is beside you...is behind you, watching you."

She was in a daze, as if confused by her own words.

He Shujun didn't notice what her companion said. She stared at the paper for a while, and then said hesitantly, "Are the various facilities in this apartment hurting people?"

"Could it be possible that madness can be transmitted to electronic products?" Someone laughed, "Hey, isn't the mobile phone I'm carrying dead?"

cell phone?

An inexplicable emotion flashed through He Shujun's brain, maybe it was a kind of deep worry, or maybe it was a kind of bewilderment, dumbfounding... disgust?

Why is she in this mood?Just because this person entered this apartment building with a mobile phone?

After all, what does this apartment building mean?What if I bring my mobile phone in?

Impossible, the mobile phone is just like other facilities in this apartment building, it is violent and hurts people, right?

He Shujun felt a little funny, and couldn't help shaking his head, ignoring the bad premonition in his heart.

After reading the paper, they planned to take the stairs to a higher floor, but when they passed the elevator, one person suddenly exclaimed: "Hey, look, this button is actually lit!"

Everyone subconsciously cast their gazes. Indeed, the up and down keys of the elevator were shining brightly in the darkness.

They looked at each other.

He Shujun asked in confusion: "It's been so long, this apartment building...hasn't the power been cut off yet?"

"Normally, apartment buildings have backup generators. But this elevator..."

The person who answered was confused as he spoke, "Isn't it possible? I think the cables will age if they haven't been repaired or used for so long... Wow!"

He suddenly let out a cry.

It wasn't just him, almost everyone who was staring at the elevator showed expressions of astonishment.

Because, the elevator door suddenly opened.

At that moment, both He Shujun and the witch showed strange expressions.Because, they seemed to feel some kind of urgency and urgency, forcing them to go to that elevator... no, through the elevator door!

"That door?!" He Shujun exclaimed, "Is it so easy to meet?!"

The rest of the people couldn't understand what she meant, but the sorceress remained silent.Because, when the witch stared at the elevator door, what she thought of was——

"Have you ever felt the pain of watching your loved ones... lost in a nightmare?"

She seems to have said this to someone