Li Zi'ang strained to pry at the floorboard, but it was as if it were glued down. He couldn't budge it an inch, no matter how hard he tried.
If one person's strength wasn't enough, then more should be.
The people in his team surrounded the floorboard and heaved together.
Their faces turned red, veins bulging on their necks, but the wooden plank remained stubbornly in place.
"Something's not right. If this plank can't move, how did he disappear just now? Did I imagine it?"
Ning Wei's cool, clear voice cut through the air, "You didn't imagine it. This plank has a mechanism. I saw him press with his thumb just now. The mechanism is probably hidden in his hand, so you didn't notice."
"Are you sure?" The man sounded skeptical.
Ning Wei rolled her eyes. No wonder they were having such a hard time at the station. Not one of them was smart.
Ning Wei didn't answer. The man felt a little embarrassed.
But now wasn't the time to vent his frustration. Since this plank wouldn't budge, they would look elsewhere.
After all, they planned to turn the whole place upside down.
Ning Wei's team also dispersed, but they didn't go alone. They went in pairs.
Ning Wei and Li Ye approached the black curtain. She grabbed it and pulled with all her might, but it didn't move on the first try.
Li Ye silently reached out, and together they pulled. With a rustle, the curtain, like a black waterfall, fell steadily to the ground, forming a long pile.
The two marine creatures had emerged from behind it during their previous performances, so Ning Wei wanted to see what was special behind it.
However, when the curtain was pulled aside, Ning Wei was greatly disappointed.
Behind it was just a table and a stool. On the table lay the clothes Zhang Haiyang had worn at the beginning.
Beside it was a large iron door. The sea lions and sea elephants probably came out from here.
Ning Wei searched the clothes and pants, but couldn't find a key.
The large iron door was incredibly sturdy. Even Li Ye was at a loss. It seemed they could only leave this wretched place if they found a key.
Everyone gathered around. They had noticed the black curtain earlier, but Ning Wei had beaten them to unveiling its mystery.
Everything they saw was a disappointment. It was another large iron door, with no apparent way out.
Ning Wei went to look at the door they had originally entered through. She ran her hand over it, finding it to be the same material as the large iron door behind the black curtain.
Bending down and looking closely, she finally found the keyhole, aided by the light.
As the first inheritor of the Lock King, what lock in this world could she not open?
Ning Wei produced a thin piece of wire from somewhere and gently inserted it into the keyhole, beginning her experiment.
"Be careful. Don't break it off inside. If you do, even if we find the key, we won't be able to open it," said Li Zi'ang. Since he wasn't intentionally trying to cause trouble, no one argued with him.
Tang Tang, Ning Wei's biggest fan, naturally stepped up to defend her friend and captain.
"Ning Wei is an excellent lockpicker. No matter where we were locked in before, she could always open the door and get us out."
Hearing this, everyone's eyes lit up, and they looked to Ning Wei as their hope.
Ning Wei had thought the same, but after fiddling with the wire in the keyhole for a long time, she heard no sound. This meant her lockpicking skills were useless against this door.
She suddenly felt very embarrassed, especially since Tang Tang had already boasted about her.
She fumbled with the wire for several minutes, her confidence waning with each passing moment.
But in this awkward situation, with everyone watching her, failing would be incredibly humiliating.
Just then, Zhang Haiyang's voice suddenly echoed, "Stop wasting your efforts. If this door could be opened with just a piece of wire, how could my scientific experiments have lasted so many years?"
Everyone turned to look around and finally spotted a fist-sized loudspeaker at the highest point of the room. A red light blinked beside it, indicating that their every move was being monitored by Zhang Haiyang.
He had also inadvertently revealed the timeframe of his cruel games, further darkening their perception of him.
However, his words now served as a way for Ning Wei to save face.
She expressionlessly withdrew the wire and turned to the others, "He's right. I can't open this door."
"It's okay. We were just trying anyway. If it opened, great. If not, we'll just look for the key," Bai Xue was the first to speak, indirectly representing their team.
After Bai Xue spoke, the others began to comfort Ning Wei.
Ning Wei had felt quite embarrassed, but with everyone's understanding gazes and words, she gradually relaxed.
After Zhang Haiyang finished speaking, he resumed his silent observation.
Since the shortcut didn't work, they had no choice but to resign themselves to searching everywhere.
Everyone scattered, still in pairs, each responsible for a different area.
They even searched under the audience seats, except for the area around the human skewer.
Li Zi'ang glanced at his watch. It was already two in the afternoon.
They had gotten up in a hurry that morning and hadn't had time to eat. Now, with their high tension, they felt even hungrier.
If they couldn't find the key, would they be trapped in this place, trapped until they died, or starved to death?
Li Zi'ang had to admit he was a little at a loss.
He suffered from mild claustrophobia, and enclosed spaces made him mentally tense.
Bai Yang, being the last to enter and a woman, couldn't participate in the key search and leaned weakly against the wall.
Li Zi'ang looked around. Everyone was engrossed in their search and didn't notice his actions.
Everyone was trying their best, but Li Zi'ang saw no hope.
After searching everywhere, they found nothing.
Tired and hungry, everyone collapsed onto the performance stage.
"Will we be stuck here forever?" someone spoke up.
"Don't say that. We need to cheer ourselves up!" Bai Xue acted as their confidante.
Whenever someone showed signs of despair, she would step forward to comfort them.
In this situation, if they truly broke down emotionally, there would be no hope left.
There was only one place left to check, and no one dared to go near it.
"Could the key be hidden there?" Bai Yang, though unable to move, was still thinking. She silently pointed the way for everyone.
She was pointing to the human skewer and the area around it, which everyone had automatically ignored.
"Who wants to go?" Li Zi'ang asked, looking around.
Everyone glanced at each other, and no one spoke.
Just as Ning Wei was about to step forward, Tang Tang suddenly stood up.