Chapter 176 | The Alliance Hired Me to Play Final Boss

After fiddling around for a full ten minutes with no results, Ren Yi finally gave up. He stood up, patted the dust off his hands, and retreated back into the corridor.

He walked along the hallway until he reached a window. Looking out, he was momentarily stunned.

The sun outside was already sinking toward the west. The light had softened, taking on a faint orange hue. It was clearly approaching evening.

"Is the length of 'one day' in this Instance completely abnormal?"

In Ren Yi's perception of time, only half a day had passed at most. How was it already almost dark?

He didn't know if there was a penalty for being late to the meeting. Since time was passing so quickly, he didn't dare delay any longer. He immediately turned and hurried back toward the banquet hall.

When he arrived, he found that he was actually quite early, though the hall was not yet full.

Clearly, many people were still stuck in their sleep pods or the maze-like corridors, not realizing how fast time was moving.

At the moment, only seven people were present: Player 2, Player 3 (Ren Yi), Player 6, Player 7 (Zhang Qiuqiu), Player 10, Player 11, and Player 12 (Lord Cha).

Ren Yi leaned back in his chair, quietly observing those present. His gaze happened to meet Zhang Qiuqiu's.

Ren Yi hesitated, unsure of how to react.

【Class Monitor, what role are you playing now?】 he couldn't help but ask in the group chat.

【Ren Yi, your nose is black,】 Lord Cha replied.

Huh?

Ren Yi couldn't resist touching his nose.

Looking down, he saw traces of blackish-gray powder on his hand.

When did I get that on me?

Silence hung over the table for a moment before Player 6, the girl in the tracksuit, finally spoke up. She scanned the room with a look of urgency and anxiety.

"Should we go look for the others? If they get lost in the maze and miss the roundtable meeting, there might be a penalty."

However, no one seconded her proposal. The banquet hall remained silent.

Everyone knew how difficult the second floor's maze was—crisscrossing paths that made it incredibly easy to get lost.

Moreover, time was running out. If they went out to find others and failed to return on time, who knew what would happen?

Under these circumstances, no one was willing to take the risk.

Ren Yi sent a message to Lu Zihan in the group chat.

【Old Lu, get back to the banquet hall now. Time is almost up. If you're any later, you won't make it.】

Before long, Lu Zihan replied with a tone of frustration and helplessness.

【Don't even get me started. I'm lost. No matter which way I go, I keep circling back to a room with only one door. I can't get out! I'm going crazy!】

【What's in that room? Is there a demon statue? If it's the dead-end room I encountered, I think I remember the way. I can tell you how to get out.】

A few seconds later, Lu Zihan's reply came: 【No demon statue. There's only a charcoal brazier in the room.】

"A charcoal brazier?" Ren Yi paused, his fingers lightly tapping the table as his mind raced.

Suddenly, he had a vague suspicion about the location of the key.

At that moment, Ren Yi instinctively looked toward the banquet hall's windows.

The sun outside had completely dipped. The sunlight turned a deep yellow, growing softer and softer, signaling the end of the day.

The instant the sunlight turned fully golden-brown, he felt a flicker in his surroundings. A faint white light flashed, and several figures instantly appeared in the previously empty seats—it was the people who hadn't returned yet.

Everyone was present.

Oho, so they just get teleported back when time is up? If I'd known that, I wouldn't have bothered rushing. What a waste of effort.

He was about to say something, but before he could open his mouth, that familiar feeling of being forcibly "silenced" by the rules descended again.

The Silence Rule was active. The roundtable speaking phase had officially begun.

The curtains in the banquet hall drew shut on their own, cutting off all light from the outside. The surroundings plunged into total darkness.

Just then, a floating ball of yellow flame appeared in front of Zhang Qiuqiu, identical to the candlelight from yesterday's speaking phase.

Zhang Qiuqiu was startled for a moment but quickly reacted, remembering yesterday's voting method. She instinctively raised her hand, and as expected, the yellow flame followed her gesture, moving slowly.

Zhang Qiuqiu took a deep breath and guided the yellow flame to her right—in front of Player 6, the girl in the tracksuit.

This was a unique mechanic for the "Leader": they could choose to start from either side and proceed in order.

The reason she chose to start with Player 6 was even more important.

Today, the prime suspect was Ren Yi.

As the Leader, Zhang Qiuqiu had to superficially ensure that the most suspicious party spoke as early as possible to prevent them from leading the narrative later.

Player 6, chosen by the flame, immediately stood up.

However, she didn't look at Ren Yi first. Instead, she scanned the room with a grim expression and asked loudly.

"Everyone is here. I have one question."

"Did anyone find the key?"

Naturally, no one answered. After her words fell, the banquet hall lapsed into silence once more. No one spoke, but everyone's expressions were equally grim.

In that silence, Player 6 got her answer.

"The situation is looking bad, everyone," Player 6 said after a pause.

"It seems today's rules favored the Anomaly side. We are in a very dangerous position today."

"It looks like the key isn't something easily found. Daytime here is abnormal, lasting half a day at most. If we don't have a clue by tomorrow, we might have to prepare for another day without a key."