“Alright, where do I pay?” Yi Xing asked with full confidence, as he hadn’t touched the money on him yet. He figured that no matter the cost, being inside a building was much safer than being on the street.
The receptionist quickly stepped aside, allowing the three to enter: “Please come in, esteemed guests.”
“Okay, okay, we’ll go pay right away.”
He agreed readily on the surface, but upon entering the Painting Store, he found only the boss there. He immediately didn’t want to pay the 7 money. He turned back and whispered his plan to the two behind him.
“Sister Na, can you help me and Tian Liang Ge hold off this boss? Let us find a chance to slip inside.”
Xie Na confidently thumped her chest and agreed. As a professional host, chatting with people was no problem for her at all. She walked towards the boss, stood in front of him, and started making small talk, using her body to block his line of sight.
The two understood implicitly and tiptoed further into the Painting Store. Upon reaching the designated spot, there were simply too many paintings hanging on the wall. They exchanged glances, understanding each other’s thoughts. One started looking from left to right, and the other from right to left, saving both time and effort.
Yi Xing was the first to arrive at the leftmost painting, his eyes scanning rapidly. Initially, he couldn’t find the right direction; the elements and information on a single painting were simply too much. Then he had a thought: if it needed to include both color and sequence, then only the poems on the paintings could describe these. Once he locked onto his target, his speed increased by countless times.
Soon, he discovered the first poem about sequence and quickly told Tian Liang on the other side about the key point.
“Tian Liang Ge, I’ve found a clue. I have a poem here that says, ‘Spring colors fill the garden, but a branch of red apricot blossoms peeks over the wall.’ This means red is the first. Now we just need to find similar poems.”
“OK OK.”
With one example, the remaining three poems were also found: “In the second month of spring in Jiangnan, the east wind turns the green screen,” “A waterfall plunges three thousand feet, as if the Milky Way has fallen from the ninth heaven,” and “In April, the south wind is strong, the barley is yellow, and the date blossoms have not yet fallen, while the paulownia trees cast long shadows.”
Combining them, the final sequence obtained was Red 6, Green 5, Silver 9, and Yellow 8. Without daring to delay further, Yi Xing, still inside the Painting Store, eagerly dialed Yi Yang Qianxi’s number.
“Qian Xi, have you reached the Government Office Secret Chamber yet?”
“I have. Have you found a clue?”
“Yes, the sequence is Red, Green, Silver, Yellow, and the numbers are 6598.”
Yi Yang Qianxi, having received the correct sequence, was incredibly excited, his voice rising several octaves. He hung up the phone and spoke to the two people confined by the fence.
“The password is 6598.”
“6598, is that right? I understand.” Bai Mofei nodded, then turned and leaned against the safe, rotating the numbers he had. With a “click,” the door opened. He retrieved the key needed later from inside, and the mechanism for the fence also opened.
He and Lu Yingying walked out from inside, cupped their hands towards the three people nearby, and said, “There’s another strange item in there. I don’t know if it’s what you need.”
Wang Junkai stepped forward, took out the phone from inside, and placed it on the device next to him. Its screen displayed ‘Victory Coins x2.’ This good news was also sent to everyone else’s phones.
【Through the efforts of Yi Xing, Tian Liang, Yi Yang Qianxi, Wang Junkai, and others, Mission Two was successfully completed. All surviving team members’ Victory Coins have doubled, increasing from 50 per second to 100 per second.】
The three people at the Painting Store learned that the mission was successful, so they continued to act separately. Yi Xing wandered and arrived near the detention room. He waved and greeted the people inside, then walked over and casually picked up a bottle of milk to drink. He needed to replenish his energy.
While drinking the milk, he chatted with the people inside: “Dou Xiao Ge, why were you caught so quickly again? I remember during the last recording, you also ended up in here before even completing Mission One. What happened?”
“It’s not my fault. There was water on the ground, and it was too slippery. I didn’t dare to run at full speed; I was afraid of falling and getting injured. When the ground is dry next time, I’ll show you an ‘Acceleration King’ performance.” Dou Xiao defended himself, insisting it couldn’t possibly be his fault.
“Alright, I’ll be waiting for your ‘Acceleration King’ performance,” Yi Xing responded with a smile. He had almost finished his milk and casually tossed the bottle into the nearby trash can. However, he didn’t leave immediately; he still had some questions that hadn’t been answered.
He walked over to Ju Jingyi’s side and, while the people around them were busy chatting with each other, asked, “How were you caught?”
“How should I put this? You’re not allowed to laugh at me, okay? You know I got three numbers from you, right? I went in and told those two, but they still insisted on writing them down on paper…”
She recounted the entire process. This time, she had been careless and secretly vowed to be more careful next time!
“I knew it! When I suddenly received the notification that you were eliminated, I was stunned. I was still wondering if the Hunters had leveled up and could search through things to catch you. It’s okay, I’ll stay with you next time.”
Yi Xing gently comforted her. He had intended to reach out and pat her head, but then he remembered that their relationship wasn’t suitable for such an intimate gesture. His hand froze awkwardly in mid-air, and he quickly shook it twice to ease the atmosphere.
Seeing that they had chatted enough and his doubts were resolved, he was about to leave the detention room when a girl carrying a lottery tube walked over from not far away. He stopped, curious to see what would happen next.
He clearly remembered this girl as the one who was promoting milk on the street. At that time, she had asked him for 10 money to invest, saying all future profits would be his. Since he was busy with the mission, he hadn’t paid attention to her. What was she up to now?
“Da Zhang Wei, do you know what these slips are for?” Huang Qishan asked the person next to her.
“Mom, I don’t know either. Maybe they contain items that can revive people.”
“Really? Then I’ll draw one and see.”
Respect for elders is a traditional virtue, especially in the entertainment industry, where this so-called virtue is fully embodied. Since Huang Qishan had spoken, how could anyone else dare to say no? They all echoed her sentiments.
“Okay, Huang Ma, please draw. How many do you need to draw in total?” Shen Mengchen asked the person holding the lottery tube.
“Three.”
“Come on, Huang Ma, draw three.”
Huang Qishan drew three in one go. The first slip had Yi Xing’s name on it. The remaining two were Chen Ou and Wang Likun.