Everyone was exhausted after a whole night of work. After cleaning up the construction site, they returned to the third floor.
On the other side of the third floor, the six people controlled by Xiao Lou with Ring also heard the commotion outside. However, they were tied to the corner and could not see what was happening outside. They only heard a loud "boom," and the construction site was lit up with flashes of light from an explosion. Gunshots rang out incessantly, clearly indicating that a fierce battle was taking place outside.
The six men had been starving for days and were terrified by the commotion outside, fearing that the people outside would storm into the construction site and kill them all.
A girl cried and complained, "I knew I shouldn't have listened to you guys. I saw that they were outnumbered and came in to steal their supplies, and look what happened, we all got caught!"
Another girl also looked regretful: "This isn't the real world. Don't think that six against two is a guaranteed win."
"Yeah, who knew that guy had such a strong card in his hand..."
"It's all because of someone's bad idea. Maybe if we hadn't tried to rob them in the first place, and had negotiated properly, we could have gotten some food."
The middle-aged man who had initially suggested that everyone go in and rob the goods was now furious and roared, "Shut up, all of you! Save your energy! There are still two days left. If we don't starve to death, we can clear the level. When we run into those four guys later, I'll settle the score with them!"
The women, bound together, sneered, "You? Do you think you can settle accounts with them?"
The middle-aged man was furious. He swore a few times and then fell silent.
These six ragtag individuals, a hastily assembled team, saw that Xiao Lou and Ye Qi were outnumbered and decided to rob them, only to be outmaneuvered by Xiao Lou. They were kept locked up on the third floor without food or water, experiencing firsthand what Ye Qi went through during her final days in the Nightmare Secret Room.
The other Challengers were taken back to the third floor in the northeast corner by Xiao Lou and put to bed in separate rooms.
Last night's resounding victory relieved everyone, so they slept particularly soundly, not waking up until noon.
A group of people orderly went to Ye Qi to get food.
The newly joined thief, who had been starving for several days, was so moved by the amount of food he received that he almost cried.
The young man couldn't help but say, "I wish I hadn't been so stupid as to go to jail. This is the first time I've ever been to jail in my life!"
Bearded Uncle laughed and said, "You guys have quite a lot of experience, eating prison food for two days in Card World... How was it?"
The boy said dejectedly, "Don't even mention it! The prison food here is awful. Every meal is just vegetables, radishes, and white rice, like feeding rabbits. We only lasted three days before all the guards ran away, and we were locked in our cell, staring at the iron bars, almost going crazy with anxiety..."
Another person said, "That's right. Back then, I really wanted to cry when I saw the iron bars on the bars. I thought I was going to starve to death."
Several girls nearby were chuckling. These two quirky guys were lucky this time, managing to clear the game while lying down.
The man who joined yesterday afternoon said, "You guys are lucky; at least you get vegetables and radishes to eat in the jail. My girlfriend and I were robbed and couldn't afford our rent, so we had to sleep on the streets. My girlfriend was even stabbed by a bastard who robbed us at knifepoint. I really thought I was going to die..."
The girl who arrived at the Construction Site yesterday with her injuries felt much better after taking medicine and resting overnight. Hearing this, she turned pale and said, "Thank you all for taking us in. Otherwise, even if I didn't starve to death, I probably would have died from an infected wound."
The girl who threw the shot put cheerfully raised her glass and said, "We should thank Brother Xiao, Old Han, Young Master Qin, and Xiao Ye. If it weren't for the four of them leading and organizing the team, I really don't know how we would have gotten through this."
Bearded Uncle also raised a bottle of pineapple beer and said, "Let's toast the four of you!"
Others followed suit, holding up cans of cola, orange juice, and mineral water, their eyes filled with sincere gratitude: "Thank you, Brother Xiao!" "Thank you all, it's so great to have an organization like this!"
Xiao Lou felt a warmth in his heart and smiled, saying, "You're welcome. We're just trying to pass the level."
He glanced at his three companions, who then raised their drinks in unison, and the group clinked glasses together.
Although this lunch wasn't as lavish as the chicken, duck, fish, and meat dishes served in restaurants, everyone was very satisfied to be able to eat whatever canned meat, snacks, and different flavors of instant noodles they wanted.
After lunch, Xiao Lou gathered everyone together and said, "I suspect the biggest challenge in this locked room is that the owner of Shanshui B&B and the Freelancers from the mysterious organization will team up to steal all our supplies, then lure in the criminals and wipe us out."
Yu Hanjiang agreed in a low voice: " We've already dealt with two bosses in the C-level secret chamber, so the chances of another boss appearing are slim."
Liu Tong's identity was exposed, and he committed suicide by poisoning himself. The prison leader, Scarface, had his neck twisted by the Zombie Leader.
Both bosses have been dealt with, so the rest shouldn't be too difficult.
The difficulty of the escape rooms increases progressively. Spade 3 secret room was already difficult enough; if it weren't for Xiao Lou and his team organizing things, this group of Challengers might have been wiped out. After last night's battle, today has been very quiet. If everyone stays at the Construction Site, the chances of clearing the game directly are extremely high.
Xiao Lou suggested, "Staying here might allow us to clear the level directly, but this batch of supplies is too wasteful. Why don't we find a way to sell the excess supplies and get some gold coins to take out?"
From the outset, the Challengers knew that a Financial Crisis was imminent and that money would become increasingly worthless. Therefore, most Challengers spent almost all their money on the first day, and their stockpiled supplies were enough to open a business.
convenience store.
Now that the escape room is about to end, and they can't take the leftover food with them, selling it for money is the best way to deal with it.
One cautious girl worried, "But if we take a large amount of food to sell, the city is very unsafe right now. What if we get robbed?"
The girl next to her nodded in agreement: "I heard there are still some radicals in the city who are fighting, smashing, and looting everywhere. If we go there to set up a stall, the chances of us getting robbed are very high."
Xiao Lou also considered this point, and after scanning everyone with his gaze, he said, "Everyone, think of a solution."
The Challengers lowered their heads, deep in thought.
Just then, Ye Qi suddenly had a brilliant idea: "We can take a small amount of supplies and go to those safe neighborhoods to sell them door-to-door!"
Everyone was stunned for a moment, then turned to look at him in unison.
Ye Qi said excitedly, "When I was in college, I used to sell snacks in the dormitories. Knocking on doors to sell snacks was obviously annoying, and some upperclassmen would even give me a few dirty looks. But now it's the world of Financial Crisis. We can go door-to-door to sell food, and at prices lower than the market price. This is a lifesaver!"
After thinking about it carefully, Xiao Lou felt that Ye Qi's words made sense, so he nodded: "That's a good idea."
Ye Qi's eyes lit up after receiving Professor Xiao's affirmation, and she continued proudly, "We only put a small amount of food in our backpacks to sell each time, so we won't attract the attention of those robbers. We work in groups so we can look out for each other."
Shao Qingge stroked his chin and smiled, "This method is troublesome, but it's barely usable."
Xiao Lou looked at Yu Hanjiang, who nodded. Xiao Lou then smiled and said, "Let's do it this way. We have 16 people here, which will be divided into four groups. We'll go door-to-door in those residential areas to sell our goods. Don't bring too many supplies each time; sell as much as you can."
Xiao Lou looked at Shao Qingge and asked, "What's a reasonable price to set?"
Shao Qingge thought for a moment and said, " The market price of Financial Crisis doubles every day. Today is the sixth day, and it has already increased 64 times. Many residents cannot afford this price. I estimate that the citizens do not have much savings left. Let's sell it at ten times the price."
Ye Qi grabbed a pen and paper and quickly started doing the math: "A box of instant noodles costs 2,000 gold coins, so ten times that is 20,000 gold coins. We still have 10 boxes left..." He kept calculating, and then his eyes lit up: "If we sell all the remaining supplies, we can make over a million gold coins!"
Other Challengers couldn't help but get excited: "My god, you can actually make money in the Financial Crisis's secret room?" "I thought starting with 100,000 coins wouldn't be enough, and I'd starve to death..." "Following a pro is amazing, you can even make money!"
Everyone sighed in amazement.
Bearded Uncle asked pointedly, "How should the final profit be calculated?"
Everyone thought that since the four of them had contributed the most, they should get a 20/80 or 30/70 split. In any case, it would be quite good if the others could earn some pocket money.
Unexpectedly, Xiao Lou smiled slightly and said, "Let's sell them in groups, and then the group members can split the proceeds equally."
He didn't want to be greedy for these petty gains. They'd already doubled their previous accommodation fees, and besides, CEO Shao had made over a million dollars shorting stocks—far more than they'd made selling off these household items. With CEO Shao around, they wouldn't be short of money in the future; there was no need to argue about a 40/60 split over such small amounts as milk and bread—that would seem too stingy.
Everyone was somewhat incredulous.
Xiao Lou said decisively, "We'll now divide into groups. Each group needs to have escape and protection cards. One person out of the four will not carry any supplies and will only be responsible for scouting the area to see if it's safe. After confirming the safety of the neighborhood, the other three will go door-to-door to sell the goods. The money earned by each group will be split equally among the four people. What do you all think?"
The Challengers had no objections whatsoever and all said they would follow Brother Xiao's arrangements.
The 16 Challengers were divided into four groups: A, B, C, and D. Xiao Lou and his three friends each led a group, carrying some supplies in their backpacks, and headed to the city.
Yu Hanjiang's Group A took the lead. He found a nice neighborhood and, after scouting it with a teleportation card, discovered that the neighborhood was very quiet, with residents staying at home and no signs of robbers. He then sent a message to the others.
Group A goes to Building 1, Group B goes to Building 2...
Sixteen people quickly infiltrated the residential building and began their "door-to-door food sales" work.
Ye Qi's Group D is progressing the fastest.
The boy was handsome with delicate features and didn't seem aggressive. He had a particularly sweet tongue and a youthful, energetic smile. He could easily call out "Uncle" or "Auntie" when he knocked on doors.
The residents have been so frightened these past few days that they've been hiding at home, afraid to come out, like birds startled by the mere twang of a bow.
Seeing Ye Qi, a seemingly harmless teenager, through the peephole, would naturally lower the citizens' guard. Adding to this, Ye Qi took out food and said with a smile, "Aunties, do you need anything to eat? I have extra milk and bread here, which I can sell to you at a low price."
The citizens realized he was a reseller and peeked through the crack in the door to ask, "How much?"
Ye Qi carefully slipped a list of food prices through the crack in the door, and the other person then slipped gold coins out through the crack. Ye Qi then slipped milk and biscuits back in. It's no wonder the citizens were so wary; daring to open the door in this environment was already quite bold...
Fortunately, after Ye Qi sold his first item, the neighbors who heard the commotion next door opened their doors to buy from him.
Compared to today's prices, which are 64 times higher, this little boy is selling for only 10 times the price—he's practically an angel!
Ye Qi was quickly surrounded by a group of middle-aged women: "Do you still have instant noodles?"
"I'd like to buy chocolate, do you have any?" "Young man, give me a carton of milk!"
Ye Qi called over his team members, and the supplies were sold out instantly.
***
Yu Hanjiang's group is also making good progress.
He didn't go door-to-door to sell himself because he knew his expression was too serious, and people would think he was there to rob someone if he knocked. So he simply handed over the sales task to the girl in his group, and he was only responsible for scouting and protection.
The girls' soft voices and gentle manners quickly dispelled the residents' wariness, and they sold everything in their bags.
The teams led by Shao Qingge and Xiao Lou also went very smoothly.
The neighborhood has a very nice environment, and the residents are quite well-behaved. There was no looting. Everyone carefully took money to buy food and then quickly went home and closed the door.
The first time I sold supplies, I could say I returned with a full load.
With their confidence boosted, the group began selling food to the surrounding neighborhoods, package by package. With Yu Hanjiang, a professional investigator, he dealt with the scattered and small-scale robbers in the area, allowing the Challengers to proceed without hindrance.
By the time it was getting dark, half of the materials at the Construction Site had already been sold.
Of course, they also encountered some homeless children who hadn't eaten for days, and the kind-hearted girl shared some food with them for free. There were also people eyeing their travel bags, trying to snatch them, but Captain Yu chased them away.
After a long day of work, everyone returned to the Construction Site as it got dark.
***
On the seventh day, prices continued to soar.
The Challengers went out early in the morning with supplies to sell. They visited several neighborhoods, and some residents already knew them. They were spreading rumors that " the outsiders have food, and it's very cheap."
Most citizens have some savings and inventory at home, so they won't directly rob or assault people.
Some elderly people, having heard from their neighbors that the outsider would sell food, spontaneously organized themselves, prepared their money, and planned to secretly go and buy some cheap things.
Ye Qi simply set up a temporary market in the community and started a street stall business.
Other Challengers followed suit, and by the afternoon, the supplies were almost sold out.
At dusk, everyone returned to the construction site to take stock of their harvest.
Ye Qi's group sold the most, with each person receiving 150,000 gold coins; the other three groups each earned between 100,000 and 120,000. Plus, Xiao Lou brought back the safe belonging to the Shanshui B&B owner, and everyone got their accommodation fees back, meaning the initial 100,000 gold coins for Spade 3 Secret Room remained untouched, and they actually made a profit in the end.
Everyone looked at the gleaming gold coins in their hands, somewhat incredulous.
Everyone was worried that they wouldn't survive in the escape room, but now, not only have they survived, they've even made money.
****