Goodness!
Jin Li, what a feat.
But… can this really work? That lock looks incredibly sturdy, there’s no way it’ll open.
4 Jia *
Just as Xia Mengxi was thinking that Li Siqi probably wouldn’t be able to unlock it, the lock clicked open.
“How about that? Impressive, right?”
“Absolutely!”
She really opened it! The astonished Xia Mengxi instantly gave the girl before her a big thumbs-up.
Next, the two of them untied the iron chain that was wrapped around the door handle and, the moment they pushed open the door, a cloud of dust billowed out to greet them.
“Cough! Ugh!”
Both of them waved their hands, trying to scatter the dust. Then, clutching the oil lamp, they walked inside.
Because the oil lamp’s light was so dim, to get a better sense of the whole space, they once again turned on the mobile phone flashlight. Under the beam of the mobile phone flashlight, a big tree appeared right before their eyes.
“A tree? Who would plant a tree in a place like this?”
Li Siqi walked up to the big display platform where the big tree stood, her face full of suspicion. She climbed up and, as she reached out to touch the tree, she said again, “Uh, it’s fake.”
Of course it’s fake!
Xia Mengxi couldn’t help but complain inwardly. How could a big tree grow so lush in such a sealed room, with no one to take care of it? No matter how you think about it, it’s impossible.
What was even more baffling was, why would the people who used to be here go to so much trouble to make a fake tree and leave it in this place?
Trying to find a clue, Xia Mengxi carefully searched the Second Floor, but unfortunately, aside from this big tree and a few scattered benches, there was nothing else.
With that, Xia Mengxi was left full of doubts. But just as she circled the big tree model and heard a strange noise, she turned her head to see Li Siqi holding a chisel and tapping at the trunk of the model. Startled, she quickly called out,
“Li Siqi, what are you doing!”
“Huh? Nothing, I was just wondering if there might be something hidden inside this tree model, so I tried to pry it open.”
“Did you not consider whether there might be a trigger mechanism in there? What if you accidentally set off something dangerous? We could be done for!”
Li Siqi thought for a moment, then sheepishly put away the chisel and stopped what she was doing.
“I don’t think so… who would be bored enough to hide a trigger mechanism inside a fake tree like this?”
“Logically, there shouldn’t be anything, but what if there is?”
If it were before, Xia Mengxi might have agreed with Li Siqi’s line of thought, but after seeing Li Siqi personally trigger a mechanism and open the Qinmi Passage in this area, she realized the Underground Prison was far from simple.
So, to be safe, it was best to explore using normal methods. After all, who knew what kind of people used to work here, and what kind of secrets they hid.
“All right, aside from this tree, there’s nothing else here. Should we keep looking around, or…”
“Don’t bother, there’s nothing left to investigate here. Let’s go upstairs and take a look.”
Their goal was to find a way out, not to spend all their time investigating the Underground Prison. They really didn’t have time to go poking around everywhere.
So, the two of them left the Display Room on the Second Floor and continued up the spiral Stone Staircase.
Before long, they reached the Locked Door on the Third Floor.
“Well then, I’m going to start now!”
“Okay, go ahead.”
Facing the locked iron chain, they used the same method as they had in the Display Room on the Second Floor, and once again, with Li Siqi’s forceful lockpicking, they managed to get it open.
But what they didn’t expect was that, just like on the Second Floor, this sealed room on the Third Floor also had a big tree model and several messy benches scattered around.
Seeing this, their doubts grew even deeper.
“Mengxi, don’t you think… doesn’t this kind of look like a lecture hall?”
“Huh? Why’s that?”
Li Siqi hobbled over and lined up several benches in front of the big tree model’s display platform, then climbed up onto the display platform again.
“See? Doesn’t this look like a podium and the audience seats?”
Xia Mengxi sat on one of the benches, trying to picture the original scene here as Li Siqi described it, replaying it in her mind.
In that instant, she really did get the feeling of an audience gathered for a lecture.
“So that’s it…”
A lecture hall built in a secret area of the Underground Prison—was there some special meaning to it?
Could it be, like the rumors say, that they brainwashed the prisoners? That’s… terrifying, the more you think about it!
All along, Xia Mengxi had never wanted to get too involved with this Underground Prison built under the School. After all, it had nothing to do with her, and she had no intention of getting mixed up in anything big.
But at this moment, her curiosity about everything here was stronger than ever. Still, guided by reason, she quickly pulled back.
“Li Siqi, let’s not get involved in this. Curiosity killed the cat—”
“No way! We can’t just leave it! We have to do something!”
In contrast to Xia Mengxi, Li Siqi was busy taking pictures and even said she wanted to make this public.
Seeing this, Xia Mengxi hurriedly tried to stop her.
“Think about it—even if the School can build such a huge underground space, it means these people are really something. Do you think ordinary people like us could stand up to people like that?”
Maybe she had hit on some sensitive subject, because Li Siqi’s emotions suddenly became very intense. She glared at Xia Mengxi and said,
“So we just let them do whatever they want? Huh? If no one stands up, won’t they become even more arrogant?”
Xia Mengxi was startled by her outburst, but from Li Siqi’s current expression, she could tell the other girl must have her reasons.
Li Siqi quickly turned away, realizing she had lost control of herself, and hurriedly apologized to Xia Mengxi.
“Sorry, Mengxi, I didn’t mean to yell at you…”
“It’s fine.”
Xia Mengxi shook her head, then got up and stood in front of Li Siqi, giving her a gentle smile.
“If you don’t mind, would you like to tell me about it? Maybe I can’t help you much, but at least I can be someone you talk to.”
Li Siqi was silent for a moment, looking at Xia Mengxi as if through her, she saw someone else.
“I appreciate it, but it’s better this way. Sometimes, knowing too much isn’t a good thing.”
Seeing that Li Siqi didn’t want to talk, Xia Mengxi didn’t ask any further.
They hadn’t known each other long, so it was only natural there wasn’t much trust yet. Maybe in the future, as they grew closer, the other girl would tell her.
“All right, do you want to rest for a bit? You’ve twisted your foot, it’s not good to move around too much.”
“No need, I’d rather get out of here as soon as possible, so let’s keep investigating.”