The entire venue was abuzz with constant chatter and discussion.
Some people had seen Bai Youwei's notice and knew about the matter, while others were unaware and quietly inquired about the news from those around them.
"Professor Song's information network is really well-informed," Bai Youwei whispered to Shen Mo. "I just posted the notice yesterday, and he already knows about it today."
Sitting next to Shen Mo, Shen Fei heard her voice and immediately said with pride, "Every exchange in the exchange area, every piece of transaction information, is compiled into a document by a dedicated person and submitted to Professor Song's research lab before 9 p.m. every night."
Bai Youwei gave him a strange look, took Shen Mo's hand, and frowned. "Why does your cousin always interrupt? I wasn't even talking to him."
Shen Fei: "…"
Shen Mo smiled and said, "He's just enthusiastic."
Bai Youwei curled her lip. "Boys shouldn't be too enthusiastic; it can easily make them seem gossipy."
Shen Fei: "……….."
At this moment, a commotion arose at another table.
The bald, burly man whom Shen Fei had introduced earlier loudly exclaimed:
"Du Lai! You're the only one who came out of the Hide-and-Seek game. Tell everyone what Hide-and-Seek is all about!"
"That's right," the skinny young man beside the bald man echoed. "We need to know what it's like inside before we can make a decision."
They seemed to have developed an interest in the game; otherwise, there was no need to inquire about the specific details inside.
Du Lai raised his eyelids and said casually, "Sigh… I've said it almost a hundred times already. Aren't you tired of hearing it? Hide-and-Seek is just Hide-and-Seek. There's a giant stuffed cat in the game that sleeps during the day and kills people at night. The players' task is to find a place to hide! If the cat finds you, you die!"
"How do you clear the game?" the skinny man asked him. "The supervisor should have told you the conditions for clearing the game when they announced the rules, right?"
Du Lai smiled. "The conditions for clearing the game are… kill the cat, or kill Mary."
"Mary? Who is Mary?"
"Mary is the cat's owner. Only when the cat dies, or the cat's owner dies, can the Hide-and-Seek game end."
As he spoke, Du Lai sighed softly, "We couldn't handle either the cat or Mary. We wanted to take advantage of the cat napping during the day to attack Mary, but we accidentally woke the cat, and everyone died as a result. I was also seriously injured and had to use a puzzle to leave the game. So, I don't know how to clear it."
After he finished speaking, the surrounding chatter grew even louder.
Everyone discussed how to kill the cat or Mary.
Shen Fei also asked Shen Mo with great interest, "Mary is obviously easier to deal with, but Mary and the cat are inseparable. Brother, what do you think we should do?"
"There are many methods, but they may not be applicable," Shen Mo said calmly. "It's hard to judge without seeing the actual situation."
Someone suggested using the daytime to build a large trap to trap the stuffed cat.
Someone suggested finding a way to separate the cat and Mary, and then concentrating their efforts to attack Mary.
Others pointed out that the cat must have a weakness, perhaps in its whiskers or tail.
All sorts of whimsical ideas, or wild fantasies, were being proposed.
Footsteps approached.
Yu Yaqing, who had been guarding the door, strode into the banquet hall, stopped in front of Chu Huaijin and Professor Song, gave a salute, and said decisively:
"Game Number 24 is moving towards this location. Requesting instructions, sir, should we arrange an emergency evacuation?"
Compared to the dreaded Number 21, Number 24 was a game with no presence at all.
Since its existence, no one had ever triggered it, so that people in the city would subconsciously ignore it, remembering only the other 23 games.