Yi Xing, who had been called out, looked to his left, then to his right, pointing a finger at himself as if asking, "Are you calling me?"
The leading foreigner nodded and said loudly in his broken Chinese, "Mei chuo, wo jiao de jiu shi ni!" (That's right, I'm calling you!)
He curiously went over, pulled out a chair, and sat down. Since they wouldn't let him see the Hunters anyway, what was wrong with enjoying himself? He picked up the wine bottle on the table, clinked it with the other two, and took a big gulp. The moment it entered his mouth, he felt the taste was a bit off. This wasn't wine at all; it was clearly water!
But then again, if it really were wine, what if these two NPCs got drunk here? Who would advance the plot? Would they have to arrange more foreigners to take turns, immediately replacing anyone who couldn't continue? That would be too expensive.
"Do you have any clues on you to give me?"
"Nian qing ren, zhe li de hua zhuang ke shi fei chang you ming de, ni yao bu yao qu kan yi kan?" (Young man, the Painting Store here is very famous, would you like to go take a look?)
Hearing such standard Mandarin made Yi Xing break out in a sweat. He carefully deciphered the meaning of the sentence, extracting the important keywords.
"Are you talking about makeup?"
"Yes, makeup!"
"Okay, thank you, I understand."
Yi Xing, who had received incorrect information from the foreigner, left contentedly. As he walked, he was still thinking about what 'makeup' represented, opening the map in his hand to check. There was no information about that word on it.
It wasn't until he saw a certain Painting Store that he completely understood what the other person had meant. It turned out they were telling him there was information inside the Painting Store. Coincidentally, his current location wasn't far from the Painting Store. He closed the map and quickened his pace towards it.
Soon, he stood at the entrance of the Painting Store. A receptionist walked towards him, smiling so warmly that he seemed exceptionally enthusiastic. He bowed slightly and made an ingratiating gesture, saying,
"Esteemed guest, you've certainly come at the right time today! Our Painting Store is officially opening today, and there are many wonderful paintings waiting for you to appreciate."
"Is that so? Then I must take a good look."
Yi Xing had already lifted his foot, ready to enter the Painting Store to see what secrets were hidden inside, but he was stopped by someone next to him.
"Esteemed guest, don't be in such a hurry! It's not the official opening time yet. Would you mind waiting outside for a little while longer? It won't take you too long."
"Alright, then I'll come back later."
"Okay, esteemed guest, take care!"
He turned and left, as if having made a certain decision, never looking back. Based on what the receptionist said and the information he had received, he quickly realized the Painting Store would be the next important location. To enter, he would have to wait for the mission to be released. Before that, he still had to complete the task of cracking the safe.
As he walked, his phone rang. He picked it up and saw it was a call from Jia Nailiang. He immediately answered. There were only two possibilities for someone calling him at this time.
The first was that they had learned some information and were calling to tell him, as his reliable image had gradually become deeply ingrained in everyone's hearts. The second was that they didn't know what to do and were calling him to ask what to do next. He just didn't know if the other party was the first or second type.
"Yi Xing, Xiao Yuan was eliminated just now, you know that, right?"
"I know, I received the message here."
"When he was eliminated, he gave me a piece of information: a red 6. You should have arranged for someone to rendezvous at the Government Office Secret Chamber, right?" Jia Nailiang's last sentence was a declarative statement. He believed the other party must have arranged everything. All was ready, only the clue was missing.
"You really understand me, Xiao Liang Ge. Xiao Ju is over there; you can just contact her directly. I have a clue here, a silver 9, and we only need the last two numbers to avoid further risks."
"OK, I understand. I'll contact her."
A beeping sound. The call ended. Yi Xing hadn't even put his phone back yet when another call came in. The caller ID showed Luo Jin's name. He quickly answered.
"Hello, Luo Jin Ge, have you gotten one of the clues?"
"Uh, yes, how did you know?" Luo Jin hadn't reacted yet. He hadn't said anything, and the other party already knew his intention.
"Xiao Liang Ge just called too; he's like you and also got a clue. May I ask, is the color you obtained between silver and red?"
"No."
"Then that's good, because I already have a silver 9 and a red 6 here. Fortunately, yours isn't one of those two, so the hard work wasn't in vain!" Yi Xing explained the current situation and why he asked about the color to the person on the other end of the phone.
"The information I got is a yellow 8."
"Okay, I understand. That's a huge help, Luo Jin Ge. If you get any new clues over there, remember to tell me!"
"No problem."
Yi Xing hung up the phone again, rubbing his hands with some excitement. The completion of the mission was within sight. As for why he told the other side the numbers he had already found, it was entirely to prevent them from wasting time and effort repeatedly acquiring the same numbers, which would be a net loss.
He then called Ju Jingyi and synchronized all the current information with her: a red 6, a yellow 8, and a silver 9. Only after ensuring she had remembered them did he confidently attend to his own matters, glancing at the remaining time of 55 minutes, which should be enough.
At the Government Office Secret Chamber, Ju Jingyi, having received the information from Yi Xing, quickly relayed the password to Bai Mofei and Lu Yingying inside the room. Under her watchful eye, Lu Yingying opened a book on the table, found a blank page, picked up a brush nearby, and recorded it. This left Ju Jingyi standing there stunned.
She never imagined seeing such a casual recording method. Weren't these two, dressed all in black, here to steal something? Yet they would leave evidence for the owner. She secretly complained, wondering if they were too careless or what.
Just then, a Hunter walked in. At this moment, Ju Jingyi was standing next to Lu Yingying, watching her write, with no extra energy to pay attention to her surroundings. By the time the Hunter truly stepped into the room, it was too late for her to hide. The other party's hands were already on her shoulders, making her one of the eliminated. The current remaining number of participants was 11.
Yi Xing, hearing his phone ring, thought someone else was calling to report news and was happy. However, he saw that it wasn't a call but a notification from the production team, and it was a notification that Ju Jingyi had been captured. His smile instantly froze on his face. He silently put his phone away and walked towards the Government Office Secret Chamber. He was one of only two people present who knew the three specific pieces of information, so he had to go quickly to take over the position. Someone had to be stationed there.
His steps became heavy and hurried, his heart filled with regret and self-reproach. If only he had stayed with her in the Government Office Secret Chamber. With two people together, they could have looked out for each other, and she wouldn't have been eliminated. He had failed in his duty to protect her!
As he was about to reach his destination, he noticed a Hunter walking out from inside straight ahead. It seemed to be the Hunter who had captured Ju Jingyi. He found cover to hide himself. As the Hunter left, he looked at the number on his back, which was the last missing clue: a green 5.