Chapter 2 The Hollow Support

After pressing the button, the force of the catapult launched the candle into the hollow support. In that instant, there was a "chih" sound from inside the iron bar, followed by two "clangs," and the key really did fall out of the support.

Feng Bujue put away the catapult and looked into the hollow support from one end. He found that the iron bar had been completely blocked in the middle; not a single ray of light could pass through. This was probably because the candle was now stuck in the position where the key had been.

He bent down, picked up the key from the ground, opened the menu, and looked at the item description:

[Name: Key to Cell Zero]

[Type: Story-Related]

[Quality: Normal]

[Function: Disappears immediately upon use, after which the door to Cell Zero can be freely opened or closed.]

[Can be taken out of this script: No]

[Note: Why isn't this item classified as a consumable? I think you know the answer.]

"The notes are getting more and more brazen now," Feng Bujue said, looking at the key. "Does it mean you don't need to write it if the player knows? Will there be a note in the future that says 'You know,' and I have to figure it out myself?"

Feng Bujue grumbled as he walked to the door. He inserted the key into the lock and turned it clockwise. With a "click," the lock opened, and the iron door slid open a fraction of an inch into the cell. Feng Bujue took advantage of this momentum and pulled the door open.

He glanced back at the room, wanting to make sure there was nothing else he could use. Finally, his gaze settled on the hollow support. Even though this thing would revert to its old, rusty state after the fifteen-minute skill duration expired, its hardness was still about the same as a pipe wrench, even in that state; this was based on experimental evidence. Therefore, Feng Bujue decided to take the hollow iron bar, blocked by the candle in the middle, with him.

[Name: Hollow Support]

[Type: Weapon]

[Quality: Normal]

[Attack Power: Weak]

[Attribute: None]

[Special Effect: None]

[Note: An iron bar removed from the bed frame.]

When viewed from the game menu, there was also a restriction box on this item. If he focused on it for a few seconds, a text box would pop up, which read: [This item is under the effect of a skill; the quality will change after the time limit is reached. System Reminder: Be sure to understand the situation before trading this item.]

"Hmm… they've thought of everything," Feng Bujue said, understanding the meaning of this prompt.

In a game like Thriller Paradise, there was definitely more than one skill that could change the properties of an item. Not to mention the quality, there were probably skills that could change the attributes, appearance, and special effects of items as well. To prevent people from using these skills to scam others by temporarily changing items and then selling them, the system meticulously set up reminder text on these changeable items.

"A two-meter-long iron bar will definitely come in handy somewhere, like for poking things or pole-vaulting…" Feng Bujue said to himself. "Even if it's useless, it's not bad as a weapon to hit people with. An inch longer, an inch stronger." What he said was true, but we all know that another reason this guy was carrying this stick was to imitate a certain monkey and show off a bit.

Feng Bujue walked out of the cell, and as he crossed the doorway, a system prompt rang out: [Current task completed, main task updated]

The [Escape the Room] task in the taskbar was checked off, and the next task appeared: [Explore the Second Basement Level and Open the Door to the Upper Level]

"So, this is the second basement level…" Feng Bujue muttered. "Speaking of which… just getting out of this starting room was already so difficult… It was really exhausting. Now, to break through an entire floor, the amount of puzzle-solving…" A look of excitement appeared on his face. "This is definitely going to be deadly!"

Both the tone of his voice and the expression on his face showed that this weirdo was quite happy, but what he said meant something else…

After leaving the cell, Feng Bujue twirled the stick as he walked down the corridor, making "huo huo" sounds. His behavior was like that of a bear cub on a spring outing, completely devoid of any sense of tension.

The corridor after leaving the room had no doors on either side, and the corridor was empty, with nothing but lighting equipment above. Of course, Feng Bujue already knew this when he looked out of the room just now.

After about fifty meters, he saw the doors to other cells.

There were a total of six cells in front of him, three on the left and three on the right. The iron doors were painted with numbers, which Cell Zero did not have. The left side was one, three, and five, and the right side was two, four, and six. Between the doors of cells two and four, there was a plastic trash can less than a meter high, the kind with an opening at the top. Although he didn't know if there was anything inside, at least there was no strange stench coming from the trash can.

Looking ahead, he could see the stairs leading to the upper level not far away.

Feng Bujue didn't rush to try to open those doors, nor did he peer into the rooms through the iron windows. After seeing the doors, he stopped his meaningless stick-twirling and held the iron bar diagonally in his hand, without letting either end touch the ground, and tiptoed closer. As he approached the doors, he also bent down and quickly sneaked past them.

What was in the cells was currently uncertain. Peering inside through the iron windows, or being seen by the people or things in the rooms, might trigger some strange flag, so Feng Bujue decided to sneak past quietly and see what the situation was at the stairs.

He successfully passed through the area with the six doors and arrived at the bottom of the stairs. After walking up the stone steps and turning back once, Feng Bujue saw a classic black iron barred gate. Through the bars, he could directly see the corridor on the upper level. The layout of the first basement floor was almost the same as the floor below, but the stairs leading from the first basement floor to the ground floor should be at the other end, above Cell Zero.

Feng Bujue stepped forward and tugged at the iron bars a few times, but it wouldn't open. At this moment, an idea came to him, and he took out the [Endless Grenade Magazine] from his bag.

The [Endless Grenade Magazine] was classified as a "tool," but unlike a tool like a flashlight, the grenade magazine only generated consumables, rather than relying on the support of consumables to operate, so it was not prohibited by the system.

Feng Bujue tried to attach a grenade to the lock, hoping to blow it up directly. As a result, he found that the grenade could not be taken out…

"The grenade magazine can be used, but the items generated inside can't be used?" Feng Bujue muttered.

He guessed correctly. Although the grenade magazine was not prohibited, the items generated inside were inherently "consumables," which were bound to be restricted by the system, making it impossible to take them out.

"Okay…" Feng Bujue shrugged and left the door.

He didn't have high expectations for this brute-force method anyway… When he was at a loss in Cell Zero, he had considered using a grenade, but he quickly dismissed the idea. If he used a Mark II grenade in that small space, his 26% survival points would definitely be wiped out…

"So, the way to open this barred gate and enter the first basement floor must be in these six cells," Feng Bujue said, walking back down the stairs and looking at the puzzle area in front of him.

He walked to the wall, gently put down the iron bar, and then interlaced his fingers and stretched his arms out with his palms facing outward. Then, he held his hands above his head in the same position, as if warming up for some physical activity.

"Where should I start…" he muttered, already at the door of cell number six. He cautiously approached, keeping a step's distance, and moved his face to the iron window.

The light in the corridor basically illuminated the environment inside the room. The layout of the cell was basically the same as Cell Zero. The bed and plastic bucket were the same, but whether there was a small wooden cabinet could not be confirmed, because that corner was next to the door, in a blind spot.

"Hmm… no one here…" Feng Bujue didn't see anyone in the room. He tried to push the door, but it wouldn't open.

Afterward, he peered through the iron windows of the other five doors, five, four, three, two, and one, and the situation was exactly the same.

Then, Feng Bujue came to the trash can, took out the [Eighteen Bronze Men's Folding Stool (No. 5)], sat down, and prepared to thoroughly inspect the trash can.

Feng Bujue's clothing came with gloves, and this part of the clothing, like the face, could be displayed as needed. From the beginning of this script, Feng Bujue had been keeping his hands bare, and he was still doing so now.

There were bloody bandages, plastic plates with food residue, and some plastic plates with feces on them in the trash can… Obviously, after the prisoners finished eating, they developed another use for the plates.

Feng Bujue originally wanted to use his hands to rummage through it, but after he sat down and took a closer look… there was no way; he had to dump it out.

He first took the iron bar and then dumped the contents of the trash can on the ground. Then, he sat down on the folding chair, rested the iron bar on his shoulder, and used the lower end of the iron bar to start poking and searching through the garbage on the ground. After all, this thing wasn't his equipment, so it didn't matter if it got dirty.

Feng Bujue searched and pondered, "Strange… every room's shit bucket has a smell, and judging from the stuff on these plastic plates, it hasn't been long since they were used. Why is no one in the rooms?" He paused for a moment and muttered, "Could it be that they were all taken away at the same time not long ago?"

After searching for a long time, Feng Bujue only found dirty bandages and plastic plates. After dumping everything out, he realized that there wasn't much mush and liquid in the trash can, so it didn't smell too bad, but it still looked pretty disgusting.

Just as he was about to shift his attention, he suddenly saw something special. At least in this trash can, this item was unique.

[Name: Carved Dentures]

[Type: Story-Related]

[Quality: Normal]

[Function: Unknown]

[Can be taken out of this script: Yes]

[Note: Some information is engraved on the inside of the teeth.]

Feng Bujue picked up the dentures and casually grabbed a relatively clean bandage to wipe them. Then, he turned them over and examined them carefully, and sure enough, he saw a clue about the puzzle.