Ye Tiancheng himself was also unsure about the proposal.
He couldn't be certain if venturing into other locations would lead to new unforeseen circumstances, trapping them and wasting their time.
However, such matters were indeed difficult to predict.
It was also uncertain what new discoveries they might make if they went elsewhere.
The biggest issue with the proposal was that Ye Tiancheng couldn't guarantee that the places they visited would be valuable or worthwhile, or if they would simply be a waste of time.
Ultimately, it all came down to whether it was worth it.
After Ye Tiancheng made the suggestion, Nie Chongyang, Liang Ping, and the little fox were all hesitant, unable to make up their minds.
However, given that they had no better immediate options, the four of them gathered in the car, discussing and assessing which locations might hold potential for exploration.
They had decided to do so after careful consideration.
The current situation made them realize that facing setbacks in their actions, like today, might not be a one-time occurrence.
Therefore, in such circumstances, they had to consider this possibility and utilize this time effectively. They couldn't afford to be idle. Ye Tiancheng's primary objective remained escaping this peculiar place.
However, such discussions were proving to be not very useful. They had too few clues and were unable to deduce a reasonable course of action.
They couldn't find any solid basis to support their conclusions.
Eventually, with no other recourse, they decided to pick a place and test the waters, hoping to gather more information before making a final decision.
Just as they were preparing to draw lots, Ye Tiancheng had a sudden flash of inspiration.
He remembered something very important.
Ye Tiancheng suddenly said to the other three, "I've just realized something very important. I know where we should go. As for our plan to explore the university, perhaps it would be safer to postpone it until tomorrow morning."
"This place is quite far away. If the university has fixed entry and exit times, and we sneak in at noon, but can't leave at night, we could easily fall into unknown dangers. The risk is high. But if we come early tomorrow morning, unlike today when we spent so much time just observing."
"This way, it will be very convenient to get in, and we can leave the school by noon. If we confirm that students or teachers normally enter and exit the school at noon, then this arrangement would be very suitable."
Upon hearing Ye Tiancheng's explanation, Nie Chongyang considered it and said, "That makes a lot of sense. I hadn't thought of that before. We also need to consider the issue of nightfall. We must return to a safe place promptly. Ye Tiancheng, you're right."
"But you said you know where we should go. Where do you mean?"
After Nie Chongyang finished speaking, Ye Tiancheng explained, "It's like this. Before, we knew too little about this place. We didn't even know that this merged city was called Xiao Jing City."
"But today, due to our unexpected discovery, we've learned a lot about this spatial city."
"And just now, I suddenly realized that we overlooked something. If this city is filled with restrictions, and workplaces also have their own rules, even places for recreation like parks, cinemas, and squares might have their own rules."
"In that case, even the shady hotel where we stayed, if it's a shady hotel, does it also have a set of rules that only exist within the hotel?"
After hearing Ye Tiancheng's speculation and explanation, the other three were stunned.
They hadn't thought of this yet, but after Ye Tiancheng brought it up and they considered it, they realized it made a lot of sense.
The little fox immediately said, "So, Big Brother, when you say you know where we should go, does that mean we should go back now?"
Nie Chongyang also said, "I never expected the hotel owner to have so many hidden intentions. Did he deliberately not inform us of the hotel's rules?"
"If we weren't capable and cautious, and hadn't made it through last night, wouldn't we be in trouble now?"
Liang Ping nodded with lingering fear, adding to Nie Chongyang's words, "I'm afraid so."
All of them felt a sense of dread.
Realizing this, Ye Tiancheng immediately turned the car around and headed back to the shady hotel.
On the way back, they discussed the hotel's situation.
The little fox said, "I noticed that in the Xiao Jing City Citizen's Handbook, it mentions that places with rules cannot intentionally withhold those rules from citizens."
"They can tell lies or place the rules in conspicuous places, but they cannot make it impossible for citizens to find the rulebook."
The hotel owner was clearly very cunning, not having proactively disclosed this to them. And Ye Tiancheng and the others hadn't noticed it before because their IDs were problematic, thus they hadn't discovered the rules. This allowed the hotel owner's little trick to succeed.
Fortunately, they were lucky and capable, and nothing serious happened. They truly managed to survive their first night at the hotel.
However, thinking about it now, and understanding these things, the hotel's rulebook should be in a place they could easily notice, they just hadn't paid attention before because they didn't know about these matters.
Liang Ping said, "I imagine a rulebook like that would be near the front desk. Usually, things like this are placed in such locations."
The little fox asked, "Is it similar to⦠the travel brochures placed at the front desk or in the lobby of hotels or inns near scenic spots?"
Liang Ping nodded, indicating that was indeed what he meant.
When they checked in before, they hadn't paid much attention to that aspect and hadn't carefully observed the front desk, so they didn't know if such a thing was actually there.
And Ye Tiancheng, although he went to the front desk with the hotel owner this morning, his attention was mostly focused on the receipts and a woman in a qipao at that time.
Therefore, he hadn't noticed this, and it hadn't triggered any relevant memories.
Ye Tiancheng said, "Anyway, when we get back, we'll just look around more. It can't be impossible to find, even if the location is a bit unexpected, we'll still find it."
Even after returning, there were still some troublesome aspects.
The Citizen's Handbook stated that the rules might not be accurate; they could be misleading or even intentionally designed to trick people into making mistakes. Even if they obtained the document and studied it, they couldn't blindly follow the rules.
The little fox shrugged, "I think it might be in a cabinet. The rule about not being allowed out at night is also in the Citizen's Handbook, but based on our previous experiences, I think this point will also have misleading elements."
"Because after actually experiencing it, I lean towards the belief that not only can we not go out, but we can't even open doors or windows."
"If it only says 'cannot go out,' some people might think they'll be fine as long as they don't leave. In this situation, if someone knocks on the door, what reason would they use to persuade them? They might very well open the door."
"Although whether this person is 'human' remains to be determined."
Nie Chongyang also nodded in agreement, saying, "If we hadn't been cautious and had adamantly refused to open the door yesterday, or if we had opened the window to look after discovering the abnormality outside, who knows what would have happened."
Like the stones hitting the windowpane last night, deliberately luring those wandering on the streets, whether human or ghost, to look out their windows β the unknown entity undoubtedly had malicious intentions.
This proved that if the other party had succeeded, it would have been nothing good for the four of them.
Moreover, they now knew that there might also be ordinary humans who were lured here. No one could say what price these ordinary humans, unable to leave this place, would have to pay to survive.
Perhaps to survive, they would actively harm others. That was also possible.
After all, wasn't the hotel owner a living example?
Human hearts are always unfathomable.
Some people fear ghosts and gods their entire lives but may never encounter them once, yet they never fear humans but may encounter harm from them many times.
Especially for survival.
It's hard to say what people will do to survive, and one cannot demand that everyone maintain high moral standards and never harm others when facing such situations.
Ye Tiancheng and the others could understand, but they couldn't afford to be unprepared.
From now on, even if they encountered ordinary humans here, they would help if they could, but with human hearts being so unpredictable, they couldn't truly entrust their backs to these ordinary people.
Upon returning to the hotel, as Ye Tiancheng and the others entered the lobby, they saw the hotel employee at the front desk.
The hotel owner wasn't always at the front desk.
As soon as the hotel employee saw Ye Tiancheng and the others, he displayed a very standard smile and said to them, "You're back? Why aren't you out enjoying yourselves so early?"
They hadn't paid much attention to this employee before and didn't know if he was an ordinary human.
Ye Tiancheng glanced at the hotel employee and simply nodded slightly, then said, "Just went out for breakfast, but something came up, so the plan changed."
The hotel employee smiled and said, "Guests, our hotel also offers breakfast and lunch services. If you need anything, you can also order meals at our hotel."
"There's still over an hour until lunchtime. Would you like to book lunch?"
Ye Tiancheng and the others certainly didn't need it.
What a joke. They would have to be out of their minds to consume any food from this space if they had a choice.
After consuming it for a long time, it was hard to say if they would still be human.