Chapter Sixty-Seven: Vigilance

Ning Shuyi held up four fingers to Huo Yan, who shook his head, flashed an open palm, and then pointed at Ning Shuyi’s phone, signaling her to notify the other colleagues on standby.

Ning Shuyi immediately finished editing the message she had been preparing, added Huo Yan’s headcount estimate, and sent it out.

The two of them had originally planned to wait in the corridor, holding their position until reinforcements arrived before going inside. After all, the numbers inside were not in their favor, and there were only two of them. Ning Shuyi was well aware that her strengths did not lie in physical confrontation.

In a corridor with only one exit, all they had to do was guard the door, preventing those five from escaping. Once their colleagues arrived, it would be like catching fish in a barrel; even if their targets sprouted wings, they wouldn’t be able to escape from this windowless corridor.

Just as she was feeling confident about the plan, someone strolled out leisurely from the door inside.

Ning Shuyi hurried forward with Huo Yan, moving toward the door to intercept the newcomer.

The young man who emerged was in his early twenties, with hair dyed a color somewhere between yellow and green—neither quite one nor the other—and a cigarette dangling from his fingers, exuding a careless, slouching air.

He looked up and was startled to see two unfamiliar faces in the corridor. His brow creased as he sized them up with a sideways glance. “What’re you doing here? Who are you looking for?”

“Hello, is this the ‘Truth or Dare Adventure Club’?” Since someone had come out, Ning Shuyi and Huo Yan could hardly keep standing there suspiciously, so she approached with a casual air.

“What are you doing here? Who let you in?” The young man was taken aback to hear Ning Shuyi mention the club’s name, which hadn’t even been posted outside. He seemed a bit wary, but didn’t dare be too unfriendly, so his tone softened slightly.

“We’re friends of Zhang Jiawen,” Ning Shuyi said with a warm smile, edging closer to the club’s door. “We went out together before, and she told us this place was a lot of fun. She comes here all the time and said she’d bring us someday. We were supposed to come together today, but she drank too much last night and woke up with a headache, so she just gave us the address and told us to come ahead.”

The young man seemed uncertain, but hearing the name Zhang Jiawen, he appeared somewhat convinced and didn’t get in their way. Instead, he looked Ning Shuyi up and down, then glanced at Huo Yan behind her, as if trying to guess whether they were the target players they were expecting.

When they reached the club entrance, several sofas were visible inside, and four people were sitting there. They must have been smoking and chatting, but fell silent when they heard voices in the corridor. Now, seeing two unfamiliar faces at the door, a square-faced man frowned.

“What’s wrong with you, Old Loach? You just let anyone in?” he scolded the young man with the dyed hair, looking clearly displeased.

“Fourth Brother, these two say they’re friends of Zhang Jiawen. Apparently, she was supposed to come today but got wasted last night,” the young man explained quickly.

The square-faced man's impatience subsided a little as his gaze swept over Ning Shuyi and Huo Yan, and he adopted a tone of feigned cordiality. “Sorry, friends, but this is a members-only club. Only members are admitted, and outsiders must be brought in by a regular. You’re friends of Jiawen? Sorry to make you come all this way for nothing. Next time, let Jiawen bring you along—then I’ll treat you to bubble tea! But today, we can’t have you stay. It’s against the rules since Jiawen didn’t come, and as you can see, there’s no one here at this hour—just the two of you. Even if I let you in, it wouldn’t be any fun. Please, head back. Old Loach, show these friends to the elevator! This floor is a maze—don’t let them get lost.”

The young man immediately responded, evidently taking orders from the square-faced man, who seemed to be the one in charge. He gestured for Ning Shuyi and Huo Yan to follow him out.

Huo Yan nodded and shot Ning Shuyi a look. She didn’t argue, and together they exchanged farewells with the square-faced man before following the young man out.

As they left, Huo Yan quickly sized up the four people in the room.

The young man led them to the junction of the Y-shaped corridor. Ning Shuyi pointed toward the elevator and said, “The elevator’s straight that way, isn’t it?”

“In that case, we can find our way. Thank you for showing us this far—no need to trouble you further, it’s a straight shot from here.”

The young man hesitated. Although he had been told to escort them all the way to the elevator, seeing that they clearly knew their way, he shrugged off the responsibility and turned back.

To avoid arousing suspicion, Ning Shuyi and Huo Yan continued walking a few steps further, and once they were sure they were out of sight, Ning Shuyi quickly sent a signal to the others.

She had thought her earlier message would have brought the team up by now, but no one had arrived to back them up.

Huo Yan gently tapped Ning Shuyi’s shoulder, leaned in, and whispered, “If it’s taking this long, something’s probably gone wrong. You check out the elevators—I’ll go back and keep watch so no one escapes.”

Ning Shuyi nodded and continued alone toward the elevator, while Huo Yan slipped away silently, his footsteps as light as a cat’s.

Ning Shuyi reached the elevator lobby and saw both elevators: one was on the basement level, the other on the fifth floor. Both showed upward arrows, but the numbers flickered without either cab moving.

She realized Huo Yan was probably right—the problem must be with the elevators. She quickly tried calling her colleagues, but none of their phones connected.

The building’s elevators were old and lacked signal coverage. Ning Shuyi tried several numbers, all with the same result—no connection. Most likely, the team was trapped in the elevator.

This was a real headache—who could have foreseen something like this? Ning Shuyi felt almost like crying. Her colleagues must have been stuck for a while already; according to the plan, she and Huo Yan would go up first as scouts, while the others would follow a few minutes later, waiting one floor below for the signal—ready to rush up the stairs at any moment.