Frightening Joke: Above the Mist
Chapter 300 Up and Down

Chapter 300: Chapter 300 Up and Down

On the ceiling, a red infrared lamp tube had gone dark; Qi Nian had smashed it in half with something unknown.

"As long as we break an infrared lamp tube, a pit will appear on the corresponding ground, and we can escape from here! Qi Nian must have already escaped safely." Song Que said, picking up a book to throw it up.

"Bang—"

A crisp sound echoed on the ceiling; a lamp tube was hit, but it did not break.

"How can this be?"

Song Que stared blankly at the lamp tube that was still glowing and heating.

"There is a layer of transparent thick shell protecting the lamp tube; it can’t be broken at all! How exactly did Qi Nian break it?"

Song Que’s mood grew increasingly impatient.

At the same time, he realized there might be a pitfall in the method of breaking the lamps.

If these lamp tubes were so easily broken, then the scorching heat wouldn’t be a test at all, nor pose any real threat.

Qi Nian... must have used some special method to break it.

"Four bulbs..."

At this moment, Liu Ruonan’s trembling voice sounded.

Then, without hesitation, she picked up the book that had fallen on the floor, moved a few steps towards Bai Yanliang, and threw it at the lamp tube overhead!

"Snap—"

It broke!

For some reason, the lamp tube was shattered by Liu Ruonan!

Just then, a pit suddenly appeared under her feet!

"Ah!"

Liu Ruonan’s expression changed, and in her panic, she grabbed Bai Yanliang.

She fell rapidly into the pit, and the force unexpectedly pulled Bai Yanliang down with her!

Song Que’s expression changed sharply: "Hey!"

He punched the ground furiously and said, "Damn it! How did that woman manage to smash the lamp tube? Four bulbs, what four bulbs?"

"Bai Yanliang was dragged down by her; what should we do now?"

Song Que found it hard to stay calm; the scorching heat made him sweat profusely, irritable, and exhausted rapidly.

Xu Zhifei ignored his incessant muttering; she looked up, squinting. These scorching lights were very harmful to her eyes, but she had to stare at them to find clues.

Currently, at least two things can be proven.

First, not all lamp tubes can be broken; likely, only four can be shattered.

Second, every time a lamp tube is shattered, a pit will open on the corresponding ground, big enough for at least two people to fall into.

So... what needs to be considered now is how to find the only two that can be shattered among all the lamps on the ceiling.

Maybe Qi Nian shattered the lamp tube by coincidence, but how did Liu Ruonan do it?

She must have discovered something...

Xu Zhifei calmly looked at the ceiling; the scorching light made an unnatural redness appear on her pale face.

These lamp tubes, whether in shape, size, or brightness, looked almost the same.

Xu Zhifei carefully examined the two shattered lamp tubes and found that one was slightly in the middle and the other slightly to the west; at first glance, there was no apparent connection.

The same was true for Song Que; although the increasingly close scorching lights made him irritable, he was unwilling to give up. He didn’t want to be trapped here with Xu Zhifei and roasted alive.

But the lamps on the ceiling showed no differences or clues; how to locate the remaining two that can be shattered?

"Huff..."

"Huff..."

The lights were fiery; the whole hall seemed like a steamer, suffocatingly hot.

Sweat dripped from his forehead to the corner of his eye and then fell to the ground, evaporating in moments.

Xu Zhifei’s calm emotion also showed fluctuation; the intensity of the heat had caused her skin to start burning, she and Song Que... could last at most three more minutes.

After three minutes, they wouldn’t die immediately, but would surely lose the ability to move and be roasted to death.

It must... they must find the last two breakable lamp tubes within three minutes.

At this moment, Song Que was finally rattled by the suffocating heat and threat of death; he shouted furiously, "Enough!"

Then, Song Que began throwing books at the ceiling without stopping.

Was he planning to smash all the lamp tubes?

"Stay calm." Xu Zhifei’s voice was weak, "Even if you unintentionally break a lamp, the pit will only appear on the corresponding ground underneath it, and if you’re not on that ground, you can’t escape..."

Though Song Que seemed frantic, he still retained a bit of rationality. He snapped, "I just want to smash! Until I find the third breakable lamp! Whether we can escape doesn’t matter; once there are three breakable lamps, a triangle will form on the ceiling. It’s hard to find a pattern in a line segment, but with a triangle, the chance of finding a pattern increases! Anyway, a pit can accommodate two people, that’s enough!"

Song Que’s sweat was splattering, and under the scorching heat, his skin was turning very red.

Xu Zhifei also felt a sting in her skin, but it was precisely at this moment that her gaze inadvertently swept over the ground.

That glance brought Xu Zhifei to a sudden realization!

So... that’s how it is...

Why did they need to observe the broken lamp tubes to find the pattern?

Since the pit will only appear directly below the breakable lamps, it means... that part of the floor itself has an issue!

The place where Qi Nian fell before was... here.

Xu Zhifei gazed intently at a piece of the floor ahead.

The spot where Bai Yanliang and that girl fell was... here.

Also, why did Liu Ruonan inexplicably say, "Four bulbs?"

She must have discovered the distribution pattern of the correct lamps, and that pattern... was hidden on the floor.

Just as Xu Zhifei’s thoughts were becoming clearer, she suddenly swayed and almost fell.

So hot...

Xu Zhifei’s face had never been this red before; not even half of the three minutes had passed, so why had it suddenly become so hot...

Her gaze turned to Song Que, who was still relentlessly trying to smash lamp tubes, though he hadn’t shattered another one yet.

Yet, at this moment, Xu Zhifei noticed...

"Song... Song Que..." Xu Zhifei’s voice grew weaker, "Stop smashing..."

"Why!" Song Que’s composure was nearly gone; he glared at the ceiling intensely, his unusually bright eyes close to being burned.

"...You... smashing incorrectly... will speed up... descending speed..." Xu Zhifei struggled to stand, speaking arduously. Not just the increasingly high temperature, but the diminishing oxygen, was apparent.

Due to the lack of oxygen, Xu Zhifei clearly felt her body weakening, her thinking and reactions slowing down.

But fortunately, her words managed to persuade Song Que.

He weakly stopped his book-throwing actions, grabbing his hair, breathing heavily.

Xu Zhifei’s vision started to blur; heat waves kept crashing in, and she could feel... her life slipping away.

In her daze, she saw the crisscrossing lines engraved on the floor.

"Song... Que... smash... the third floorboard... to your left... cough cough..." After a violent cough, Xu Zhifei’s vision completely blurred, but she still murmured, "Corresponds... to the lamp... above..."

Song Que’s eyes suddenly lit up; he instinctively followed Xu Zhifei’s suggestion, immediately picked up a book, and rushed over to smash that lamp.

"Snap—"

The lamp shattered, and the floor opened!

Joy surged in Song Que’s heart, a wave of intense gratitude flashed, but as he fell into the pit, he inadvertently saw... Xu Zhifei had passed out!

Her body couldn’t hold on!