Chapter 505: Chapter 505: Furnace (10)_1 Chapter 505: Chapter 505: Furnace (10)_1 He pushed harder, and the heavy metal door opened a crack just wide enough for a person to slip through, and Fu Qian immediately squeezed out.
What appeared before him was another passageway; aside from being slightly more spacious, it wasn’t much different from the previous one.
Not far ahead, above a stone platform that had been built, a large red exclamation mark had been sprayed on with red paint.
The exclamation mark pointed to a small cassette tape on the platform—it was obviously left there for him.
Further on, the passageway took a sharp ninety-degree turn, and the red paint on the wall sprayed out an arrow pointing in the direction he was to head down from the corner.
What’s that smell?
As he surveyed his surroundings, Fu Qian sniffed the air.
It wasn’t an illusion; a somewhat irritating odor permeated the air.
Although he couldn’t immediately identify it, there was no doubt that Fu Qian smelled danger.
In thought, Fu Qian turned his head to glance at the door behind him.
Sure enough, next to the hole his hand had just reached through, there was a smaller hole.
A short piece of wire protruded from the small hole, and it was clear that the key had been hanging on it just moments ago.
Fu Qian bent down to take a closer look, and from this side, he could already see the blades silently spinning inside the hole.
Brother Vertical Saw indeed hadn’t been bluffing him; for the most part, there was enough threat to sever a hand.
And touching it carelessly would no doubt cause the blades to lose balance, retracting the piece of wire holding the key and letting the key fall to the ground.
“Surprising.”
As he observed, Fu Qian switched the cassette and pressed the play button, and a familiar hoarse male voice immediately came through.
“It looks like you’ve actually passed the first test. I was worried that the rest of my arrangements wouldn’t come into play. I hope you relied on being calm and collected, hahaha…”
As he said ‘calm,’ his tone clearly stressed the word, filled with a mocking undertone.
“Anyway, congratulations to you. I hope you still have the energy and strength to complete the ensuing game, given that you don’t have much time left.”
Clearly, in his estimation, he hadn’t expected Fu Qian to have solved the first puzzle in just three minutes.
And even if he had completed it, he likely would have had to shed some blood.
“You are a reader, and in your limited life, you’ve read a vast number of books.”
“Your bag always contains a book you’re in the middle of reading; each one provides you with different insights, and you revel in this clash of thought, viewing entertainments of your peers as a waste of life.”
“But is that really the case? What you’re obsessed with, is it the thoughts of the sages or the sense of superiority reading brings?”
“Books act as a marker, separating you from others, telling you they are inferior, while the book is your shield and crown, making you stand out.”
“Of course, you’ll deny this point, so now you have the chance to prove what books truly mean to you.”
Nowadays, even pretending to be a reader isn’t allowed?
Fu Qian frowned deeply as he listened to this segment of the recording.
Most young people read books, especially classics, just to tick off an achievement, right? And now that’s a sin?
With their underdeveloped wisdom, how much empathy can they truly feel from ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’?
Brother Vertical Saw, were you deeply hurt by a top student or something?
Despite the snark, Fu Qian had already followed the arrow’s instruction, turning the corner.
The next instant, he understood the source of that strange scent.
Behind the corner, a pool of spring water was rippling, with the footpath completely submerged.
And that pungent smell was emanating from the yellow-green liquid.
“See that window? Your escape route is now right in front of your eyes, only covered by corrosive liquid.”
Window?
Fu Qian looked up and saw at the end of the corridor there was another door, next to which was an old-fashioned password keypad.
Above the door, high up, there was a small window about forty centimeters in diameter, with nothing obstructing it.
Clearly, the path to survival mentioned was to cross the corrosive liquid right in front of them and climb through that small window to escape to freedom.
“And the things to help you are right at hand, I hope you make good use of them.”
The things at hand Fu Qian had noticed earlier were a stack of thick wrapped books, located near the corner.
“The liquid isn’t very deep, and these books are sturdy enough to pave a path for you. However, their number is limited, so you need to consider carefully and choose the appropriate way to distribute them.”
“Reading is like opening a window to the world; I like this saying. I hope they can guide you, hehehehe….”
The recording ended with another series of laughter.
Just as expected.
As soon as Fu Qian saw the scene before him, he guessed he would have to use the books as stepping-stones to pave his way across, as there was clearly nothing else movable here.
Even with Fu Qian’s analytical ability, he could ascertain at a glance that there were enough books for him to reach the door.
The problem was the window was a good three and a half meters above the ground; it was impossible to reach it with a jump from the floor.
So, emphasizing the rational distribution was the key?
Fu Qian mumbled to himself.
To reach the window, the method was also quite obvious, which was to stack the books high enough to make an adequate step.
With his current physique, the books seemed just enough in his estimation.
But the question was, if he kept all the books till the end, how would he manage the first part of the path?
The only way was to pave the path first, then, as he progressed, retrieve the books from the liquid in reverse order to accumulate them all under the window.
That meant he would have to put his hands into the corrosive liquid.
Fu Qian squatted down and stretched out a finger, pressing lightly on the surface of the liquid.
The pain unique to chemical burns came instantly; a single touch was enough to corrode the outer layer of skin.
Was he going to have to sacrifice a hand?
Fu Qian exhaled. It wasn’t an unacceptable trade-off, as it was better than losing the function of his foot.
He could still manage to climb through the window with one arm to support him.
After quickly grasping Brother Vertical Saw’s intention, Fu Qian did not rush into action.
Considering his fast pace in the previous tasks, he should still have some time to spare.
Although this method could almost surely see him pass the test without any traps, injury was inevitable.
Given the special nature of the current mission, Fu Qian wanted to avoid bodily harm as much as possible.
Pain or a useless hand was one thing, but if there were any special criteria that might lead to a sanity loss, that would be a huge setback.
His fingers caressed the hard cover of the book, and Fu Qian casually opened the top one.
It was evident that, although old, the books had been well-maintained, including the ones below.
Of course, there were no spells inside that could make him fly.
Fu Qian closed the book and opened another.
Somewhat curious, he immediately turned the book in another direction.
While they were neatly arranged, the two books, one on top of the other, were facing opposite directions.