Group B had already escaped.
They were now seated in the observation area outside the escape rooms, watching the large monitor mounted on the wall.
On the screen, Group A was still inside.
Their timer continued to count down.
15:01
Lucas, Marcus, Daniel, and Serena stood around a large table covered with numbers and mathematical symbols.
The atmosphere inside their room was completely different from the relaxed mood outside.
“They’ve reached the final challenge,” Chloe said, leaning forward.
Nina nodded.
“Looks difficult.”
Ethan folded his arms, watching the screen.
Lillian sat quietly beside Chloe, her eyes fixed on the monitor.
A new sequence appeared on the screen.
2, 6, 12, 20, 30, ?
Lucas stared at it.
Marcus rubbed his chin.
Daniel stepped closer to the table.
Serena looked at the numbers for several seconds before turning toward the others.
“What are we supposed to do with this?”
Marcus gave a small laugh.
“Apparently, we’re supposed to find the missing number.”
Serena looked helplessly at the sequence.
“I don’t understand it.”
“It’s okay,” Lucas said.
“We’ll figure it out.”
He and Daniel immediately began studying the numbers.
Outside, Chloe glanced at Lillian.
“Do you understand it?”
Lillian didn’t answer immediately.
Her eyes moved from one number to the next.
Two.
Six.
Twelve.
Twenty.
Thirty.
Then she smiled slightly.
“This is the answer.”
Everyone around her turned.
Ethan raised an eyebrow.
“What answer?”
Lillian pointed at the screen.
“Forty-two.”
Chloe stared at her.
“Really?”
Nina looked surprised.
“You already know?”
Ethan leaned forward.
“How?”
Lillian looked at them calmly.
“It’s the pattern.”
“But they haven’t even figured it out yet,” Chloe said.
Lillian shrugged.
“They will.”
Nina continued staring at her.
“You’re that sure?”
Lillian nodded.
“We’ll see once they solve it.”
She turned her attention back to the screen, completely unconcerned.
Chloe slowly looked back at the monitor.
“Okay…”
She folded her arms.
“Now I want to see if you’re actually right.”
The livestream comments immediately exploded.
«[Live Comment — StarryEyes99]: WAIT!
LILLIAN JUST SAID 42?!
[Live Comment — DramaQueen21]: How did she get that so fast?
[Live Comment — HonestViewer]: Let’s wait.
Maybe she’s guessing.
[Live Comment — NoFilterGirl]: If they’re about to put 42, I’m screaming.
[Live Comment — SerenaForever]: Group A is still solving it themselves.
[Live Comment — WatchingClosely]: Lillian looks WAY too confident.»
Inside the room, Daniel finally began writing on the board.
“Look at the numbers individually.”
Lucas moved closer.
Daniel wrote:
2 = 1 × 2
6 = 2 × 3
12 = 3 × 4
20 = 4 × 5
30 = 5 × 6
Marcus’s eyes widened.
“Oh.”
Lucas immediately understood.
“The next one is six times seven.”
Daniel nodded.
“Exactly.”
Marcus smiled.
“Forty-two.”
Serena looked between them.
“So that’s the answer?”
Lucas nodded.
“We think so.”
Daniel studied the sequence one more time.
“Everything matches.”
Outside, Chloe suddenly grabbed Lillian’s arm.
“They got it!”
Lillian smiled.
“I told you.”
“But they haven’t entered it yet,” Chloe said.
“I know.”
Everyone watched the screen.
Lucas walked toward the keypad.
The room became completely silent.
He entered the first number.
4
Then the second.
2
For a moment, nothing happened.
The entire group waited.
Then—
BEEP.
The screen flashed.
CORRECT
The room erupted.
Marcus threw his hands into the air.
“Yes!”
Lucas laughed in relief.
Daniel smiled.
Even Serena clapped excitedly.
Outside, Chloe jumped to her feet.
“IT’S FORTY-TWO!”
Nina stared at Lillian.
“You actually knew.”
Ethan shook his head with a small laugh.
“You didn’t even hesitate.”
Lillian simply smiled.
“I told you we’d see.”
Chloe looked at her suspiciously.
“Who are you?”
Lillian laughed.
“I’m Lillian.”
“You’re hiding something.”
“Maybe.”
Nina laughed.
“You really are strange.” The source of this chapter is g.com.
Lillian turned toward her.
“Strange?”
“In a good way.”
For a moment, Lillian looked surprised.
Then she smiled.
“Thank you.”
On the monitor, Group A finally celebrated their success.
The timer stopped.
The screen displayed:
GROUP A — COMPLETED
The livestream comments flooded the screen.
«[Live Comment — FashionLover]: LILLIAN SAID 42 BEFORE THEY EVEN SOLVED IT!!!
[Live Comment — StarryEyes99]: GIRL HOW?!
😭
[Live Comment — NoFilterGirl]: Okay, I admit it.
That was impressive.
[Live Comment — DramaAddict]: She didn’t even calculate it.
She just looked at it!
[Live Comment — WatchingClosely]: Everyone underestimated Lillian.
[Live Comment — SerenaForever]: Group A still solved it though!
[Live Comment — HonestViewer]: Yes, but Lillian predicting the answer was crazy.
[Live Comment — NinaStan]: Nina’s face 😂😂😂
[Live Comment — RealityFan]: This group is getting more interesting every episode.»
Chloe dropped back onto the sofa.
“I can’t believe you.”
Lillian looked at her.
“Why?”
“Because you said it so casually!”
Ethan smiled.
“You sounded like you already knew what was going to happen.”
Lillian shrugged.
“It was just mathematics.”
Daniel’s voice suddenly came through the speakers from the monitor.
“Wait.”
Everyone outside looked at the screen.
Daniel was staring toward the camera.
“Did someone outside already say forty-two?”
The others in Group A turned toward him.
Marcus laughed.
“Apparently Lillian did.”
Lucas looked genuinely surprised.
“Before we solved it?”
Marcus nodded.
“That’s what they said.”
Lucas glanced toward the camera.
Lillian gave a small wave.
Lucas laughed.
“Impressive.”
Daniel smiled.
Serena looked at Lillian for a moment before turning back toward the others.
Chloe nudged Lillian playfully.
“You’ve officially made yourself suspicious.”
Lillian laughed.
“I’ll survive.”
The director’s voice finally came through the speakers.
“Congratulations to both groups.
The escape-room challenge is officially complete.”
The eight celebrities relaxed.
After nearly an hour of puzzles, clues, traps, and pressure, it was finally over.
And although Group B had escaped first, the final mathematical puzzle had given everyone something else to talk about.
Because Lillian had looked at the numbers once— and already known the answer.
Forty-two.
Lillian really looked at the numbers once and casually dropped the answer while everyone else was still trying to figure it out.
But was anyone else surprised by her anymore?
See you in Chapter 23!