On the other side of the corridor, in the “Sender’s” room.
Old Lü was already beaten black and blue, blood streaming from both nostrils, and one of his fingers had been snapped.
“St-stop… please…” Old Lü begged, “If you kill me, no one will deliver your letters… spare me…”
“You old dog!!” Ah Mu grabbed the few remaining strands of Old Lü’s hair and snarled, “Haven’t I treated you well?! Huh?! I gave you the ‘Path,’ I gave you my ‘trust’! And you fucking dare to shred my key?!”
“I’m truly sorry…” Old Lü forced a pained smile. “I only realized after delivering the box that I still had the key… I wanted to send it right away, but the countdown was down to three seconds. If I hadn’t thrown the key into the shredder, I would’ve died…”
“You think I’d believe that?!” Ah Mu yanked his hair and slammed his head against the wall.
The impact struck his brow, and blood gushed from his eyebrow.
“Oww… please, no more…” Old Lü clutched his forehead, wailing on the floor. “You’ll really kill me at this rate…”
Ah Mu took a deep breath and slowly released his grip.
“You old dog… lucky for you, I never fully trusted you.” He stood up slowly and pulled out a letter from his chest pocket.
“Wh—” Old Lü froze at the sight of the letter. “You didn’t put it in the box?!”
“Your little tricks are child’s play to me.” Ah Mu crouched beside him with a furious grin. “Listen, old dog, I’ll give you one last chance. If this letter doesn’t reach the other side, I don’t care about ‘sanctions’ or not—I’ll rush out into the hallway, gouge out your eyes, and crush your throat. Understood?”
Old Lü trembled and nodded.
Ah Mu absolutely meant it.
He was a true desperado—even if the game was lost, he’d never let Old Lü go.
“Kid Qi… this old man can only help you this much,” Old Lü muttered under his breath.
—
On the other side, Jiang Ruoxue was stalling for time, clutching the box.
She had run out of options.
That young man had proven unexpectedly sharp.
It was only a matter of time before he cracked the double-locked box. All she could do now was delay, hoping her team could secure victory with the extra time.
As the seconds ticked down—only ten left—Jiang Ruoxue knocked on Lin Qin’s door.
Lin Qin seemed surprised to receive a “reply.”
She had just sent out the locked box, hoping Qi Xia would have the tools to open it. But now, not only was the box still intact, it had been returned with two locks.
“Take it! No time!” Jiang Ruoxue urged.
Afraid the “traitor” might die before delivering the letter, Lin Qin quickly took the box.
Her eyes widened as she saw the two locks.
“So that’s it… he had a second lock? I get it now!”
She pulled out her golden key and removed the golden lock, leaving only the silver one.
“Quick!” Lin Qin handed the box back. “Return it to the ‘Recipient’!”
Jiang Ruoxue clenched her teeth—this was bad.
This woman had unraveled the tactic in seconds. She was no ordinary player.
“Hey… let me join you,” Jiang Ruoxue said awkwardly. “If we work together, you might still win.”
Lin Qin studied her face, then smiled faintly. “Odd. If you truly wanted to cooperate, Qi Xia wouldn’t have come up with this plan.”
“Qi Xia…?”
“At this point, even without your help, we won’t lose.” Lin Qin gave an apologetic smile. “Sorry, not this time.”
Jiang Ruoxue stared, lost in thought.
“Ruoxue, all you can do now is stall.” Lin Qin slowly closed the door. “Forgive me.”
Once in the hallway, Jiang Ruoxue’s expression shifted. She walked to the center, murmuring under her breath.
“So he’s Qi Xia… how convenient.”
A few seconds later, she nodded as if responding to someone unseen.
“Yes, I can die. But what about the next step?”
“Fine,” she said. “Should I leave him a little surprise?”
“Understood.”
Clutching the iron box, she stepped forward and stopped at Qi Xia’s door.
She closed her eyes briefly and knocked.
When Qi Xia opened the door, his gaze immediately fell on the box. He smiled in satisfaction.
Only one silver lock remained.
This team was made of “premium parts”—no way they’d assemble an “inferior fighter.”
“So, handing it over now? Or do you need more time to stall?” he asked.
Jiang Ruoxue opened her eyes—just as a deafening bell tolled in the distance.
**DONG!!!**
Qi Xia stiffened, a bad feeling rising in his chest. He glanced around but found nothing amiss.
“I’ll give it to you now,” she said. “You know this won’t open the door immediately, right?”
“Of course.” Qi Xia took the box cautiously, still eyeing her. “Old Lü must’ve delivered the letter long ago. The fact that we haven’t lost yet means the ‘Recipient’ can’t act on it right away.”
“Show me what you’ve got,” she challenged.
Qi Xia frowned. “Seeing my move might cost you your life.”
“Doesn’t matter,” she replied with a smile. “Who loses is still up in the air.”
“Fair enough.”
He took out his silver key and unlocked the final lock.
After scanning the letter, his expression remained neutral. He then walked to the large microwave and studied the touchscreen display.
Four blank spaces awaited input—whether numbers, letters, or characters was unclear.
He turned back to the encrypted letter.
Now, to crack the code.
Unfolding it, he revealed a single line of letters:
**MLGDRZDQVXL**
No other clues.
Even Jiang Ruoxue seemed puzzled by the cipher.
“Every game has a ‘way out,'” Qi Xia muttered. “An overly complex cipher would erase that path, so the solution can’t be too difficult.”
“Among the simple cipher methods I know, only one doesn’t involve numbers.”
“The Caesar Cipher.”
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