He Yuxin was amused and irritated by Su Yan’s words.
She proudly shook her shoulder, dislodging Su Yan’s hand, “There’s a hierarchy, you foot-washing maid, you need to know your place.”
Well, well, well, she just pulled a “well, well, well” on her.
Su Yan looked at this ungrateful woman in disbelief, remained silent for a moment, then said with profound sorrow, “Can your drama be as scarce as your money? Is it that hard to say ‘Thank you, Dad’?”
While the two were bickering, the others weren’t idle.
Having determined that the painting likely had a problem, Feng Di, being a woman of action, immediately began to dismantle it.
These paintings were framed with glass, and she wiggled the glass, discovering that it could indeed be removed.
“Feel the bear, see if there are any bumps or anything.”
Su Yan directed from a distance.
Since this bear was different from the others, the problem was very likely with it.
Feng Di felt the teddy bear in the painting as instructed, then said in surprise, “There’s definitely a bump! What do I do now? Should I just use my hand to pry it off?”
Su Yan hesitated, then nodded, “Pry it off. Anyway, we don’t have to pay if we break it.”
Hearing this, Feng Di immediately started prying with enthusiasm.
In no time, the once cute little bear was disfigured.
“Ah!”
Feng Di tore open the paper, and after seeing the content behind it, she couldn’t help but let out a small scream, stumbling backward.
Su Yan quickly supported her, simultaneously widening her eyes at the peeled-off spot.
The chubby belly of the little bear was actually a huge eye!
No wonder it looked so three-dimensional.
The eye was incredibly realistic, with clearly visible red veins.
The group gasped in unison.
He Yuxin, who had been full of vigor and claimed she wouldn’t be scared, retreated three steps backward.
Her voice trembled slightly, “This… this eye isn’t real, is it?”
Perhaps because she often wrote about such content, Su Yan wasn’t very scared.
Come to think of it… this eyeball looked a bit like the eyeball gummies she had eaten before?
That candy also looked like eyeballs, perfect for scaring people.
Thinking of the sweet and sour taste of that candy, Su Yan couldn’t help but swallow.
The sound of her swallowing was extremely abrupt in the otherwise quiet environment.
Her three roommates looked at her with strange eyes, all stepping back in unison.
Su Yan coughed, touched the eye with her hand, then calmly changed the subject, “Cough, it’s fake, not a human eye. It should be made of glass.”
After she finished speaking, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Wu Xiaoxiao also calmed down a bit and bravely reached out to touch it.
It felt cool and smooth, indeed the touch of glass.
Since it wasn’t real, the few of them were naturally less scared.
Besides He Yuxin, who still dared not touch the eyeball, Feng Di also curiously reached out to touch it.
She said in a new tone, “This thing is so realistic, it even has red veins! It really gave me a fright just now!”
Wu Xiaoxiao was a bit confused, “What’s the purpose of this eye? Is it just to scare us?”
Feng Di said enthusiastically, “Should we smash and dismantle this eye too? Should I go find tools now? It might be a bit difficult to dismantle glass with bare hands.”
Su Yan shook her head, speechless, “Please, stop talking. Do you think we’re a demolition crew? Is tearing everything down the solution to every problem we encounter?”
Feng Di was utterly bewildered, “What? We’re not a demolition crew?”
He Yuxin on the side burst out laughing, “Just talk, don’t say ‘we’ and ‘us,’ can a princess like me be part of a demolition crew?”
Su Yan ignored the two of them acting crazy; she was still pondering what kind of clue this eyeball could be.
She walked halfway around the eyeball, then stopped at one position.
In this position, the eyeball was staring directly at her, giving off an eerie feeling.
Su Yan suddenly had an idea.
She followed the angle of the eyeball’s gaze, and her line of sight fell onto another painting.
This eye was actually looking at that painting!
So that’s it. Understanding flashed in Su Yan’s eyes, and she walked toward that painting.
Although the others didn’t understand what Su Yan was doing, they followed her closely.
***
The painting that the eye was looking at depicted children playing on a carousel.
The overall scene was very dreamlike, adorned with various colorful bubbles.
Compared to the cartoonish figures in the background, these bubbles were painted unusually realistically.
Su Yan raised an eyebrow, opened the glass cover, and poked the bubbles with her finger.
When she poked the largest bubble in the middle, her finger actually went right through.
There was a hole behind this bubble!
The other three watched in astonishment as the hole was poked, unable to help but exclaim, “This is too subtle! Yan Yan, how did you know there was a hole here?”
In their eyes, Su Yan had just walked over, casually poked the painting, and then the clue appeared.
It all seemed as magical as a trick, catching them completely off guard.
If it weren’t for Feng Di choosing this place, and no guides being found online, she would have suspected that Su Yan had played this escape room before.
Su Yan just smiled and said nothing.
It was like magic; if you explained the principle, it wouldn’t be fun anymore.
She was now maintaining the mystique of a master; maybe she could extort a few more bubble teas when they got out.
Her thoughts returned to the hole.
What was the purpose of this hole now that it had been uncovered?
He Yuxin suddenly asked, “Could this hole be related to this thing?” What she held in her hand was precisely the horn from the unicorn pillow they had found earlier.
Su Yan’s eyes lit up, “Bring it over and try.”
She aimed the conical horn at the hole and put it in; it fit perfectly.
But after it was inserted, they waited for a while, and nothing in the room changed.
“Could we have guessed wrong?”
He Yuxin said disappointedly.
Su Yan shook her head, took out the horn, turned it around, and put it in with the pointed end facing out.
The moment she fit it in perfectly, the pointed part suddenly emitted a purple beam of light.
“It worked!”
The four didn’t bother to cheer, quickly looking towards where the purple beam pointed.
However, puzzlingly, it was just a plain wall with no anomalies.
Feng Di, disbelieving, walked over and touched the wall; it was smooth, with no signs of hiding anything.
“What’s going on?”
She stomped her foot, looking somewhat discouraged at Su Yan.
They usually only knew Su Yan had good grades, and only in moments like this did they realize that her good academic performance wasn’t just due to diligence and hard work, but also because her mind was sharp!
When they first came in, she had thought they would all work together to clear this escape room.
But in the end, almost all the clues were discovered under Su Yan’s guidance; the difference was too huge!
Su Yan narrowed her eyes and thought, “This purple beam should be a UV light. The purpose of such things in escape rooms… is usually to reveal invisible writing.”
The other three nodded in sudden realization, “So that’s it! UV light has such a purpose!”
Su Yan smiled and nodded, “When I write novels, I often use this method to hide clues.”
She recalled a plot where the victim wanted to give clues they knew before dying, but feared being discovered by the murderer.
To find a way for this character to hide clues that wouldn’t be easily found, Su Yan racked her brains.
After searching for a long time, she finally learned online that fluorescent substances glow under UV light. Only then could her plot proceed smoothly.
“But there’s no hidden writing illuminated on this wall?”
He Yuxin asked, puzzled.
Su Yan carefully looked around.
Next to the purple light spot projected on the wall was a mirror. Su Yan’s eyes lit up, “It’s not here, but that doesn’t mean it’s not somewhere else! We can slowly test it out.”
This time, Wu Xiaoxiao was the first to understand her meaning, “Are you saying, use that mirror to reflect the UV light and shine it on other walls, to see if anything changes?”
Su Yan smiled and nodded, “Not bad, Xiaoxiao, you’ve truly inherited my teachings! If the enemy doesn’t move, I do. Since the source of this purple light can’t be moved, we’ll just have to use other means.”
Although Feng Di was still a bit unclear about what Su Yan and Wu Xiaoxiao were talking about, it didn’t stop her from understanding one sentence—this mirror was useful and should be taken down.
Within a few seconds, Feng Di had already hardcore-ly removed the mirror from the wall, “Here, use it!” Su Yan nodded, took the mirror, and began to use it to reflect the UV light, scanning it across the walls one by one.
“Here it is!”
Seeing the blood-red text, Su Yan raised an eyebrow; this color was definitely not a good sign.
After seeing the seemingly blood-dripping writing, the most timid He Yuxin screamed, “Ah! Why does this writing seem to be flowing?”
Su Yan helplessly comforted her, “Yuxin, look closely again, those are just some red fluorescent pigments, don’t be scared.”
After saying that, she revealed the words one by one—
“Understand the clues you obtained using my horn well! Not all clues are useful!”
At first glance, no one understood. After a moment of silence, Feng Di said blankly, “This sentence is spoken from the perspective of the unicorn pillow?”
Exactly!
“The clues you obtained using my horn,” this “my” was indeed referring to the unicorn pillow!
The originally cute unicorn pillow actually seemed a bit terrifying.
Su Yan turned to look at the unicorn pillow placed in the corner, thinking that she had indeed been a bit rough just now, and now felt a bit guilty reading that sentence.
He Yuxin mumbled to herself, “Your horn wasn’t taken off by me, I even spoke up for you just now. If you have grievances, complain; if you have enemies, seek revenge. Don’t come looking for me in the middle of the night!”