The Lantern Festival fireworks lasted for a long time, until the early hours of the morning when the lantern market closed and the surrounding tourists gradually dispersed.
A familiar notification popped up in the floating window—Congratulations to Xiao Lou! The Contract Book team has perfectly cleared [ Lantern Festival ], collecting a total of 300 riddles and achieving an S grade. The escape room is about to close; please leave as soon as possible. Countdown: 5, 4, 3...
Xiao Lou took one last look at the ancient lantern market and pressed the "Leave" option.
Soon, the scene changed, and everyone returned to Personal Space. Ye Qi exclaimed excitedly, "We actually guessed 300 riddles correctly! Let me count, I think I got about 50?"
Liu Qiao said, "I guessed 45."
Qu Wanyue also gave a number: "I also have 45."
Shao Qingge exclaimed, "It seems Professor Xiao guessed 160 correctly? That's more than all three of them combined!"
Ye Qi recalled that when he took a math exam in high school, he scored 45 points, while the top student scored 145 points... His score was not even a fraction of the top student's score!
Everyone turned to look at Xiao Lou.
Xiao Lou, who was being watched, was a little embarrassed and explained, "I usually like to play puzzle games, so I know the techniques for these kinds of games. I've seen many of the puzzles before, so I can guess them faster."
Ye Qi laughed and said, " Professor Xiao, don't be modest. You didn't just say you were a little faster, you practically killed him in seconds!"
Liu Qiao said, "We're not comparing ourselves to top students, but to ordinary people. I'm already quite satisfied with being able to guess more than forty riddles correctly."
Qu Wanyue nodded: "Me too."
Xiao Lou didn't dwell on this with his teammates. He turned to look at the sofa, where the adorable little girl Diamond A, with two ponytails, was indeed sitting, resting her chin on her hands and smiling at them.
Xiao Lou asked gently, " Diamond A, was our perfect S-rank completion because we collected all the puzzles in the Lantern Market?"
The little girl nodded: "Five streets, a total of 300 riddles. You guys are really amazing, you didn't miss a single one. It would be a shame not to give you an S rating. Now, you can collect your rewards."
Everyone was quite happy to hear this, especially the four "deliverymen" who ran errands the whole time without using their brains too much—it feels so good to have someone help you win effortlessly. If future escape rooms could also involve running errands and winning effortlessly with Xiao Lou, that would be awesome.
Two glittering treasure chests appeared in the middle of the arena. Diamond A said, "There are two treasure chests as a reward for this level. The fixed reward is a lantern card for each person. You can find your card holder."
When everyone opened their card holders, they found that each of them had an extra new card.
[Prop Card: Palace Lantern]
Rarity: A
Description: Fixed reward for clearing the Diamond 8 escape room " Lantern Festival "
Effects of use: The purpose of a lantern is, of course, to provide illumination. One lantern can illuminate an area of 100 square meters. At night, the light from a lantern can also deter wild animals within a 100-square-meter radius, preventing them from approaching.
Restriction: Once the candle inside the lantern burns out, the lantern will go out, and the card will become unusable. The candle will refresh when you enter the next room.
Upon seeing this card, Ye Qi couldn't help but wonder, "I remember drawing a lot of [ luminous pearls ] when stepping on squares in the Ludo level of Plum Blossom 4. They're for lighting, right?" To confirm, he found the [ luminous pearl ] card in his card holder and said, " Luminous pearls have no cooldown and can provide continuous lighting, but the range is relatively small, a 10-meter fan-shaped area in front?"
Diamond A nodded and said, "That's right. The luminous pearl is suitable for narrow passages such as mazes and corridors, providing 10-meter fan-shaped illumination. The lantern is suitable for more open fields, covering an area of 100 square meters, and can also scare away wild animals. You can use the two cards as needed."
Mo Xuemin pondered: "So, does this mean there will be many escape rooms with nighttime views in the future?"
Diamond A laughed and said, "You can think of it this way. I'm giving you so many lighting cards, so they won't go to waste."
Yu Hanjiang carefully put away the newly acquired lantern plaque.
Actually, it's not easy to get a perfect pass in the [ Lantern Festival ] escape room. After all, there are five streets in the lantern market, with 300 lantern riddles hidden inside. You might miss a few, or encounter some puzzles that you can't solve, or not be able to find all the lantern riddles.
They were able to complete the game perfectly and get an S-level rating, mainly because Xiao Lou is quite skilled and particularly good at puzzle games.
Ye Qi, Liu Qiao, and Qu Wanyue also helped a lot, each guessing 40 to 50 correctly. The other four "deliverymen" were also very active in running errands. It can be said that this escape room achieved an S rating through the joint efforts of everyone under Xiao Lou's leadership. Everyone deserves credit.
Looking at the two treasure chests on the ground, Xiao Lou asked, "Who wants to enter the raffle?"
The teammates all shouted in unison, " Professor Xiao, go ahead and draw!"
Yu Hanjiang also looked at Xiao Lou and whispered, "You go ahead and draw the ticket. You deserve the most credit for this secret room."
Seeing everyone staring at him, Xiao Lou had no choice but to stop refusing and put his hand into the first treasure chest.
—Congratulations to Xiao Lou for obtaining the S-level tool card [Lantern Tree]!
This card surprised Xiao Lou. He opened it and examined it closely, finding that the card's skill was quite interesting.
[Tool Card: Lantern Tree]
Rarity: S
Description: Achieving a perfect clear of Diamond 8's secret room with an S-rank rating grants a 50% chance to draw from the Diamond 8 limited-time gacha pool.
Rate of obtaining
Additional Skill 1: Thousands of Lights
Using the skill, place the lantern tree in the designated location. Hundreds of beautiful lanterns will instantly appear on the lantern tree, illuminating the surrounding area with dazzling lights, making the scene within a 1-kilometer radius as bright as day. Within a 1-kilometer radius, all hostile targets will be irresistibly attracted to the lantern tree and will quickly gather around it within 30 seconds.
The skill has a 24-hour cooldown in the secret room.
Additional Skill 2: Lantern Festival Wishes
Legend has it that if you make a wish to the lantern tree outside the stone bridge on Lantern Festival day, your wish will definitely come true. After placing the lantern tree, the summoner can make a wish under the tree. The wish options are: increase the attack power of the entire team by 50%; increase the defense power by 50%; increase the movement speed by 100%; or make the entire team invisible for 30 seconds. After making your wish, the lantern tree will immediately grant your wish.
The skill has a 24-hour cooldown.
Note: The Lantern Tree can be used in Diamonds, Spade, and Plum Blossom Secret Chamber, but is disabled in the main city and Heart Room.
Xiao Lou summoned the Lantern Tree, and his teammates were deeply moved as they looked at the tree covered with lanterns.
—This is practically a perfect replica of the tree from the Lantern Festival, with all sorts of lanterns hanging from its branches. It's spectacular.
Ye Qi couldn't help but exclaim, "This tree is so beautiful! Judging from the description, the Lantern Tree's first skill is basically a group taunt that pulls monsters within a 1-kilometer radius, right?"
Xiao Ye often plays online games, so she understands the skills very easily.
Shao Qingge didn't understand and looked at him in confusion: "What does 'group mockery' mean?"
Ye Qi explained, "In other words, once this tree is placed, all monsters within a 1-kilometer radius will be forcibly pulled to its base, just like a tank taunting and pulling mobs in a game. For example, if you put this tree in the wild, all the wolves, snakes, and Hunters around will come running!"
Shao Qingge: "..."
That tree is indeed very powerful.
Xiao Lou added, "This [Lantern Tree] is a very strong support card. The two skills are interconnected. It can not only pull monsters over a large area, but also bring over small monsters so that teammates can increase their attack power and wipe out the entire team."
Liu Qiao tilted his head and thought for a moment, then said, "Or, we could place the [Lantern Tree] far away and pull all the monsters within a kilometer radius there. Then, with the help of [ Tao Yuanming ]'s The Peach Blossom Spring group teleportation, wouldn't we be able to escape unscathed?"
Ye Qi nodded excitedly: "That's right, this card truly lives up to its S-rank status, it's really useful!"
Everyone was delighted that Xiao Lou drew such a powerful card. [Lantern Tree] is a versatile support card, useful for luring monsters to attack, using it to escape, or combining it with Ye Qi's instrument crowd control cards for board control. Moreover, its second skill, Wish, can enhance the overall team's strength or grant group invisibility, essentially giving everyone an extra Invisibility Cloak.
With this card, the team's survivability will be greatly enhanced.
Xiao Lou carefully put the card away and said, "Who will draw the next card?"
Everyone chimed in, "You go first!"
Xiao Lou: "...Should I have both treasure chests drained?"
Yu Hanjiang looked at him and said softly, "Go ahead, don't be shy."
Xiao Lou could only smile and take another step forward, reaching into the second golden treasure chest.
—Congratulations to Xiao Lou for obtaining an S -grade Summon Card!
This card startled Xiao Lou.
He really does have a knack for summoning cards. He drew a bunch of Li Qingzhao and Historical Figure Summon cards before, and now the Diamond 8... S-grade Summon Card has come looking for him too?
[Summoning Card: S-grade Summon Card ]
Rarity: S
Description: When you achieve a perfect clear with an S rating, you have a chance to obtain it from the limited-time gacha pool.
S-grade Summon Card is a famous lyricist from the Southern Song Dynasty. His lyrics are mostly powerful and bold, describing his patriotic fervor and expressing his grief and indignation at his unfulfilled ambitions. Occasionally, he also wrote delicate and beautiful works. Countless famous works have been passed down to this day.
Additional Skill 1: Breaking the Formation
Drunk, I pick up my sword by lamplight; in my dreams, I hear bugles echoing through the camps. My horse, Lu Bu's Red Hare, flies swiftly; my bowstring twangs like thunder!
The S-grade Summon Card describes a grand and majestic frontier battlefield.
After using the "Break Formation" skill, the S-grade Summon Card can summon ten archers, riding warhorses and wielding longbows, to fire ten consecutive shots at enemies within a 500-meter range. The bowstrings of the cavalrymen sound like thunder when they draw their bows. The S-grade Summon Card's Break Formation attack can not only deal massive damage to the targets it hits, but also destroy their defenses, such as bulletproof vests, cloaks, armor, and protective shields, which will be immediately damaged after being hit by the arrows.
Summon archers has an 8-hour cooldown.
Additional Skill 2: Jade Table
I searched for him a thousand times in the crowd, but suddenly when I turned around, there he was, in the dim light.
The S-grade Summon Card vividly depicts the splendor and liveliness of the Lantern Festival. During the bustling festival, he searched for a long time in the crowd, only to turn around and find that the person he was looking for was standing alone in the shadow of the lanterns.
After using the skill, you can immediately lock onto the location of a teammate, turn around, and find them in the crowd.
Xiao Lou summoned the S-grade Summon Card to show his teammates.
Ye Qi couldn't help but exclaim, " Professor Xiao, are you really not a history professor? Historical Figure Summon, Li Qingzhao, Character Card, Qin Guan, S-grade Summon Card... If you summoned all these famous figures, you could open a history museum!"
Xiao Lou rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on. He blamed himself for spending all his time studying poetry and riddles in high school; he never expected it would come in handy in Card World.
.
The S-grade Summon Card I drew this time is an extremely powerful AoE attack card.
Skill 1's Breaking Formation attack can not only summon archers to shoot arrows over a wide area, but also break through the opponent's defenses, such as umbrella shields, bulletproof vests, and protective suits. Xiao Lou previously drew an S-grade defense card [Light Feather Robe], which can withstand fatal damage. Once he encounters an S-grade Summon Card and gets shot with an arrow, this card becomes useless.
The S-grade Summon Card is probably the strongest card for area-of-effect attacks right now.
Pairing it with Historical Figure Summon has a surprising effect, because Historical Figure Summon's "Eternal Heroes" can reset the character card's skill. When Historical Figure Summon and S-grade Summon Card appear together, the S-grade Summon Card can unleash two waves of "Breakthrough" in a row, firing twenty arrows in quick succession. In team battles, this could probably wipe out a large number of the opponent!
Yu Hanjiang was also very happy for Xiao Lou when he saw this card.
Actually, he had always been worried about Xiao Lou's ability to protect himself. Xiao Lou's physical strength was relatively weak, and he relied entirely on his cards to fight. The cards Xiao Lou had drawn before, such as Character Card, Qin Guan, and Li Qingzhao, were all strange control and teleportation skills. His younger brother Xiao Yu, whom he drew in Red Heart 8, could act as his bodyguard; and the S-grade Summon Card, which he drew in Diamond 8, could unleash area-of-effect attacks. In this way, even if Xiao Lou was alone at times, he wouldn't have to worry too much.
Of course, Yu Hanjiang will try his best to avoid leaving Xiao Lou alone. He will stay close to Xiao Lou to protect him. But what if the team members are forcibly separated when the escape room starts?
The second skill of the S-grade Summon Card is very useful.
After searching high and low, I suddenly turned around and was able to pinpoint the location of a teammate in an instant.
In this way, Xiao Lou can reunite with Yu Hanjiang immediately, no matter what the circumstances.
Thinking of this, Yu Hanjiang said, "Keep this card safe; it's the strongest attack card in your deck."
Xiao Lou was also very happy to have drawn the S-grade Summon Card, which is good for breaking through enemy formations and attacking multiple enemies. He put the S-grade Summon Card and the Historical Figure Summon together and said with a smile, " Diamond Secret Room is still easier. It can be completed in a few hours and the rewards are so generous."
Everyone: "..."
If you think diamonds are easy, it's because you're quick-witted!
If it were CEO Shao and Captain Yu entering the Diamond Secret Room and seeing 300 riddles, they'd probably cry.
Yu Hanjiang and Shao Qingge exchanged a glance, then looked away with mutual disdain. Yu Hanjiang said calmly, "Let's go back to the main city."
When everyone returned to the main city, it was nighttime in Moon City, and it was already dark.
After a long day, we couldn't keep working non-stop. Everyone gathered for dinner, and Xiao Lou suggested that we rest for the night to recharge and prepare for the next challenge the next morning.
The next level is the Spade Secret Room, and survival rooms are very physically demanding!
******