Chapter 18: Let's explore the areas ahead later!

“If the thing inside is harmful to me, I have to find a way to stop it from coming out. But before that, I need to find information to know what it is; it might not be exactly what I suspect,” Rahman analyzed calmly.

After all, if he were to rush in blindly, how would that be any different from checking a bush with his face? Who knew if a pack of thugs was lying in ambush inside?

Therefore, Rahman's goal was very clear. Weren't there an employee lounge and a资料室 (records room) on the map? Perhaps the clues he needed were in there.

With that thought, he headed to the second floor.

Walking left on the third floor leads to a storage room, but there is another rather eerie place on the third floor: the area to the right after going upstairs. Many people had seen this area, but the vast majority of the Chosen ones did not dare to explore it.

This was because the area emitted a faint, dark red light, which emanated from the sign above the door. Even without cameras, everyone could see two words written in dark red light: 【DANGER】. Moreover, it wasn't just one room; every door in this row seemed to be marked with "Danger."

As is well known, places where chemical experiments or toxic substances are kept are often marked with the words "Danger." The things inside might be useful, but in this eerie world, they could also hide immense peril.

A brave individual had just taken a single step into the right-hand area when an inexplicable pressure emerged, making one's heart race with anxiety. It was as if an illusory voice echoed in one's ears: *“The area ahead... come back to explore it another time.”*

Then, those brave souls all withdrew their feet and headed downstairs. After all, the third floor was filled with eeriness, making one want to leave immediately.

The second floor also had two directions. To the left were the exhibition rooms, dining hall, and monitoring room, which many Chosen ones were familiar with. According to the map, the right side contained the power distribution room, the employee lounge, and the records room.

Zhang Yangqing entered the power distribution room and took a look around, but he didn't seem to find anything strange. It was all just circuit breakers, electricity meters, and similar items. The instruments showed that the temperature was normal. On this sweltering night, to ensure the wax figures didn't melt, the constant temperature system had to be running. Some more diligent Chosen ones even carefully checked the wiring for any issues. If the constant temperature system failed, they would be finished.

After finishing the inspection, the Chosen ones walked out. This place required an access card; without one, entry was impossible. Therefore, as long as there were no issues inside, the Chosen ones didn't need to worry about failing the level due to temperature.

Next was the employee lounge, the place where the wax museum staff rested. But when the Chosen ones arrived and prepared to open the door, they suddenly recoiled several steps, their expressions tense. They had discovered that an eye seemed to be blinking and staring at them through the peephole of the employee lounge door.

After two rounds of tempering, the Chosen ones knew there was definitely something eerie inside. Since everyone knew it was eerie, who would actually open the door and walk in? If there weren't a map in the exhibition room, no one would want to go in. Now, no one wanted to enter that nest of eeriness.

Just as the Chosen ones were preparing to leave, a note slid through the gap under the door. Then, the entity inside tapped lightly on the door twice, seemingly wanting the Chosen ones to look at the note.

While the other Chosen ones were still hesitating, Zhang Yangqing had already picked it up to read. It said: 【I am an employee here. Because I was framed, I accidentally ate something and turned into this strange shape, and I cannot speak. Please believe me.】

Aside from the access card held by the security guard role played by the Chosen ones, no one else could open these access-controlled doors, even from the inside. This design was certainly meant to keep something locked in. In other words, the entity inside could not get out.

Thinking of this, many Chosen ones cautiously picked up notes to see what was written on them. After all, in the world of Rule-Based Urban Legends, the more information one knows, the better. As for whether the information was false, that was for the Chosen ones to judge for themselves.

Rahman thought to himself: *Rule 2 says there is only one person in the wax museum; if someone calls you, please ignore them and distance yourself as quickly as possible! But this guy didn't call me; he just handed me a note. That shouldn't count as breaking the rule, right?*

The meticulous Rahman also thought of another point: the kowtowing entity he had encountered last time also seemed unable to speak and appeared quite weak. Meanwhile, the female ghost and the little ghost seemed able to speak and appeared quite strong. Could this be the "weakling" type that cannot speak?

Thus, Rahman had a bold hypothesis: the types that cannot speak all seem to want to get out, while those that can speak don't seem so keen on leaving.

So, Rahman tested the waters: "Can you hear me speaking?"

A note was quickly passed from inside, containing a single word: 【Yes】.

After thinking for a moment, Rahman continued: "What is your purpose, or what benefits can you offer me?"

He didn't waste words and went straight to the point; an entity wouldn't approach him without a purpose. There had to be some clue; he would see what it said first.

This time, there were more words, so the note was passed after a slight pause.

【Every day at 4:30, a wax figure emitting a chilling aura will descend from the third floor. He can turn ordinary wax figures into special ones and will kill all living things. If you want to stay alive, do as I say. However, I also have one requirement: you must let me out first.】

Seeing this, Rahman had a doubt. Why did the ordinary wax figures all want to get out, while the special wax figure didn't seem to want to? Was leaving the only way for an ordinary wax figure to be restored?

However, the chilling wax figure mentioned should be the thing locked in area 3-2. Rahman had passed that place and felt an incomparable chill. There didn't seem to be an access control set up outside that area; if the entity inside possessed intelligence, it could enter and exit freely. Should he find a way to seal that place?

But he couldn't fully trust this entity. It did want to get out, but Rahman remained vigilant, planning to find more clues in the records room and the monitoring room first. So, he gave the entity in the employee lounge a perfunctory response, saying he would come back later, and then left the area.

In this stage, everyone's questions were different, but the core was always: "What is your requirement?", "What do I need to do?", "How do I survive?", or "What do you know?". It was a continuous process of extracting intelligence to confirm whether this entity was good or bad.

Basically, no one dared to open the door. Outside, many people were organizing data based on the information from the various screens and beginning to analyze it.

Only Zhang Yangqing directly opened the door and strolled in with swagger, leaving the entity completely stunned at the doorway. Even the entity couldn't imagine someone more "eerie" than herself. Who was the entity here, and who was scaring whom?

Zhang Yangqing wandered over to the sofa and sat down directly. As expected of an employee lounge, the sofa was made of real leather and was very comfortable to sit on—unlike that rotten stool in the security room that made his butt ache.

At this moment, Zhang Yangqing leaned back on the sofa, legs crossed, arms folded across his chest. He had a tall, upright posture, a serious expression, and an air of heroic elegance. His eyes were sharp and spirited, his nose high and straight, his thin lips tightly set, and his entire face possessed an extraordinary dignity. At a glance, he looked like a domineering CEO listening to an employee.

"Speak. How are you going to win my trust? I'm listening."