15:01.
The number on the digital timer glowed red above them.
Only fifteen minutes remained.
Lillian stood beside the metal table, staring at the three cards they had arranged.
Seven.
Nine.
One.
The screen still displayed the clue they had been trying to solve.
«Three numbers are correct.
Two numbers are in the wrong position.
The remaining numbers do not belong.
Find the three-number code.»
No door had opened.
No congratulations had appeared.
They were still trapped in the same room.
Chloe looked at the timer, then at Lillian.
“Fifteen minutes.”
“I can see that.”
“I just wanted to make sure you knew.”
Lillian gave her a small smile.
“I know.”
Ethan crossed his arms.
“So, what’s the plan?”
Lillian looked down at the cards.
“We need to stop thinking about the numbers alone.”
Nina nodded.
“Because every clue we’ve found has connected back to the symbols.”
“Exactly.”
Lillian picked up the cards with the moon, crown, eye and key symbols.
She placed them beside the numbers.
Moon — 7
Crown — 9
Eye — 1
Key — 3
Chloe stared at the arrangement.
“Seven, nine, one, three.”
“Right.”
“But we’ve already used those numbers.”
“We used them separately,” Lillian said.
“Not together.”
Ethan leaned closer.
“What do you mean?”
Lillian pointed toward the floor.
“The scratches.”
Everyone looked down.
There were three faint scratches beneath the table.
One was directly beneath the first position.
Another beneath the second.
The last beneath the third.
Nina crouched beside them.
“They’re not scratches.”
Lillian looked at her.
“What?”
Nina brushed her fingers over the floor.
“They’re arrows.”
Lillian immediately crouched beside her.
Sure enough, what had looked like scratches were tiny arrows carved into the wooden floor.
The first pointed left.
The second pointed backward.
The third pointed right.
Lillian’s eyes brightened.
“Good catch.”
Nina smiled slightly.
“I’m learning.”
Chloe grinned.
“Look at Nina!”
Nina rolled her eyes.
“Don’t start.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You were about to.”
Ethan laughed.
The live comments began moving rapidly.
@DramaWatcher88: Nina and Lillian are becoming such a good team!
@LilyMoon: I love how everyone is contributing now.
@TruthSeeker22: Group B actually looks like a real team.
@EthanWuFan: Ethan laughing?
We don’t see this side of him often.
@ChloeBubbles: Chloe is making this escape room ten times funnier 😂
Lillian turned the first card around.
There was another arrow.
She turned the second.
Another.
Then the third.
The arrows matched the directions carved into the floor.
“That’s it.”
Ethan immediately understood.
“The cards tell us how to arrange the numbers.”
Lillian nodded.
She moved the cards.
7 — 1 — 9
The screen flashed.
INCORRECT.
Chloe groaned.
“Again?”
Lillian didn’t move.
“Not exactly.”
“What do you mean?”
“Look at the response.”
The screen changed.
«TWO NUMBERS ARE CORRECT.
ONE NUMBER IS IN THE WRONG POSITION.»
Nina’s eyes widened.
“So two of the numbers belong in the code.”
“Yes.”
Ethan pointed toward the fourth symbol.
“The key is three.”
Lillian looked at him.
“Which means three might not belong.”
“Exactly.”
Lillian picked up the key card.
She turned it over.
Nothing.
Then she looked at the three doors.
Moon.
Crown.
Eye.
She suddenly frowned.
“Wait.”
“What?” Chloe asked.
“The key.”
She looked at the symbol again.
“We assumed the key represented three because that’s what we found in the first room.”
Ethan nodded.
“It did.”
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean three belongs in this code.”
Nina looked at the screen.
“The clue says the remaining numbers do not belong.”
Lillian smiled.
“Exactly.”
She removed the key card.
Only three symbols remained.
Moon.
Crown.
Eye.
Seven.
Nine. This chapter was copied from novelping.com without permission.
One.
Chloe stared at them.
“So the answer is one of the six possible arrangements.”
“Not six,” Lillian said.
She pointed at the arrows.
“Three.”
The room became silent.
Lillian arranged the three cards according to the directions.
9 — 1 — 7
She entered the code.
BEEP.
Everyone froze.
The screen flashed green.
«CORRECT.»
Chloe screamed.
“YES!”
She threw her arms around Lillian.
“We did it!”
Lillian laughed as Chloe nearly knocked her off balance.
Nina smiled.
Ethan shook his head.
“Congratulations.”
A loud mechanical sound came from the wall.
CLANK!
The section behind the mirror began moving.
But instead of opening a door, a large panel slid downward.
Behind it was another puzzle.
Chloe’s smile disappeared.
“Wait.”
Everyone stared.
Three large mechanical locks had appeared.
Above them was a message.
«FINAL STAGE.»
Chloe pointed at it.
“Final?”
Lillian nodded.
The timer changed.
14:18.
The voice from the speaker returned.
“Congratulations, contestants.
You have reached the final stage.”
The four exchanged looks.
The director’s voice continued.
“You have fourteen minutes and eighteen seconds to escape.”
Chloe swallowed.
“And if we don’t?”
There was a brief silence.
Then the speaker answered.
“Your time ends.”
Chloe stared at the speaker.
“That wasn’t reassuring.”
Ethan laughed.
“Just solve it.”
Lillian stepped forward.
The final room was much larger than the previous one.
Three locked doors stood at the opposite end.
Above each door was one of the symbols they had already encountered.
Moon.
Crown.
Eye.
In front of the doors were three separate platforms.
Each platform contained a different puzzle.
The first had a chessboard.
The second had six numbered tiles.
The third had a series of mirrors.
Lillian’s expression became serious.
“We have to solve all three.”
Nina looked at the timer.
“Fourteen minutes.”
“We don’t have time to solve them one by one.”
Ethan looked at her.
“So?”
Lillian turned toward the others.
“We split up.”
Chloe’s eyes widened.
“Split up?”
“Yes.”
Lillian pointed toward the chessboard.
“Nina, take the chessboard.”
Nina nodded.
Then Lillian pointed toward the numbered tiles.
“Ethan, take that one.”
Ethan smiled.
“And you?”
Lillian looked toward the mirrors.
“I’ll handle this.”
Chloe raised her hand.
“What am I doing?”
Lillian glanced at her.
“You’re helping whoever gets stuck.”
Chloe nodded seriously.
“Understood.”
Then she immediately added, “I’m basically the emotional support member.”
Nina laughed.
“That’s accurate.”
The four rushed to their positions.
The cameras moved closer.
The live comments exploded.
@DramaWatcher88: FINAL STAGE!!!
@LilyMoon: They only have fourteen minutes!
@TruthSeeker22: This is actually getting intense.
@NinaSupporter: Nina got the chessboard!
@EthanWuFan: Ethan better not mess this up 😂
@ChloeBubbles: Emotional support Chloe 😂
Group A
At the same time, Group A was facing their own final challenge.
They had also reached the last section.
The difference was that their room contained four separate stations.
Lucas studied the first.
Marcus examined the second.
Daniel immediately went toward the third.
Serena stood in the middle, looking around.
“What should I do?”
Lucas looked at her.
“Stay with us.”
Serena nodded.
“Okay.”
Marcus suddenly found a clue.
“Wait.
There’s something here.”
Daniel moved toward him.
The two began working together.
Serena looked at the numbers on the wall.
For several seconds, she remained quiet.
Then she pointed.
“That number appears twice.”
Daniel turned.
“Where?”
She showed him.
He studied it carefully.
“You’re right.”
Lucas smiled.
“Good observation.”
Serena smiled.
“Maybe I can help.”
Marcus handed her a few cards.
“Try matching these.”
She nodded. New chapters come out on g.com first.
For once, she wasn’t simply standing behind the boys.
She began trying to fit the cards together.
The comments noticed.
@SerenaForever: Serena is finally helping!
@SerenaHater99: At least she’s actually contributing now.
@TruthSeeker22: Okay, I’ll admit she’s not completely useless 😂
@DramaWatcher88: Both teams are taking the final stage seriously.
Group B
“Seven!”
Nina’s voice suddenly rang through the room.
Lillian looked toward her.
“What?”
“The knight moves in an L shape.”
Lillian immediately understood.
“The chessboard!”
Nina moved the knight across the board.
One square.
Then two.
She followed the pattern.
A small light turned on.
CLICK.
“First lock!”
Ethan looked over.
“Good!”
Lillian returned her attention to the mirrors.
She adjusted one.
Nothing.
Another.
Still nothing.
She looked at the reflections.
Three mirrors showed the same image.
But one showed something slightly different.
Lillian moved closer.
There was a number hidden in the reflection.
9.
She adjusted the mirror.
A beam of light struck the wall.
Another number appeared.
1.
She moved the final mirror.
7.
The three numbers formed:
917
Lillian entered them into the lock.
CLICK.
“Second lock!”
Chloe cheered.
“Two!”
Ethan looked down at the numbered tiles.
He had arranged six tiles in different combinations.
“Seven, nine, one…”
He stopped.
His eyes narrowed.
“Wait.”
He looked at the symbols.
Then the tiles.
Then the numbers.
“The third lock isn’t asking for a code.”
Lillian turned.
“What is it asking for?”
Ethan pressed one tile.
Nothing happened.
He pressed another.
CLICK.
A small light appeared.
He smiled.
“It wants the numbers in the order the symbols appeared.”
Lillian’s eyes widened.
“Moon, crown, eye.”
“Seven, nine, one.”
He pressed the tiles.
7 — 9 — 1
The third lock turned green.
All three doors unlocked simultaneously.
For one second, everyone stood still.
Then Chloe screamed.
“WE DID IT!”
The final doors swung open.
A loud bell rang through the villa.
DING!
DING!
DING!
The timer stopped.
11:46.
They had escaped with eleven minutes and forty-six seconds still remaining.
The cameras zoomed in as the four laughed and celebrated.
Nina hugged Chloe.
Chloe immediately pulled Lillian into the hug.
Ethan stood beside them, smiling.
For the first time since the challenge began, they weren’t four celebrities competing together.
They looked like four friends who had actually enjoyed solving something difficult together.
The director’s voice came through the speakers.
“Group B has successfully completed the escape room.”
The live comments exploded.
@LilyMoon: THEY DID IT!!!
@DramaWatcher88: GROUP B WON!!!
@TruthSeeker22: I honestly didn’t expect this group to work so well.
@NinaSupporter: Nina and Lillian carried that chess clue together!
@EthanWuFan: Ethan actually helped with the final lock!
@ChloeBubbles: CHLOE’S SCREAM 😂
@SerenaHater99: Okay, Group B deserved that win.
But another comment appeared.
@SerenaForever: Group A hasn’t finished yet.
Don’t celebrate too early.
Lillian’s smile slowly faded.
She looked toward the large screen showing the other team’s progress.
Group A was still inside their final stage.
The timer above them read:
10:57.
Lucas was working frantically.
Marcus was searching through the clues.
Daniel was studying the final mechanism.
And Serena was standing beside them.
The director’s voice came through again.
“Group A has ten minutes and fifty-seven seconds remaining.”
Chloe looked at Lillian.
“Should we wait for them?”
Lillian nodded.
“Of course.”
Nina crossed her arms.
“After all, we know how stressful that room is.”
Ethan smiled.
“You’re getting soft.”
Nina glanced at him.
“Don’t ruin the moment.”
Lillian laughed.
The cameras remained focused on the four members of Group B.
They had won their challenge.
But the reality show wasn’t over yet.
Because the other team was still fighting against the clock.
And they had less than eleven minutes left.
Group B escaped!
But don’t celebrate too loudly yet.
Group A is still fighting the clock, and Serena is just standing there…