Card Room

Chapter 126 - World Weekly: Endless Seas 01

After the 10 second countdown, Xiao Lou finally had his vision restored. The time in the secret room was late at night and he was at a dock.

Not far away was a luxury cruise ship with bright lights. There was a large number of challengers lining up at the dock and the crowd was bustling. Obviously, everyone’s teams had been split up. Xiao Lou didn’t know the people in line in front and behind him.

Xiao Lou searched the crowd for his teammates. Soon, he met a pair of deep eyes. Yu Hanjiang had just looked back. Since the two people opened Qin Guan’s heart channel before entering the secret room, Xiao Lou immediately spoke in Group Leader Yu’s mind. “Find your place on board first and then meet on the deck.”

Xiao Lou replied, “Okay, I’ll see Group Leader Yu later.”

The crew of the cruise ship were checking the equipment. A moment later, the boarding channel opened and two crew members in formal clothing checked the tickets at the entrance. “Please show your identity card and ticket. We need to check your information!”

Xiao Lou opened his card pack and found that a ferry ticket had appeared in it.

[Royal Caribbean Luxury Cruise Ship Ticket]

Passenger Name: Xiao Lou

Sailing time: July 15th, 24:00]

Sailing Route: City of the Moon Dock – City of the Sun Dock]

Seat: 3rd floor – No. 309]

Xiao Lou took this card out of his card pack as well as his identity card.

The people started to slowly move forward. It was probably because they lost their teammates but most of the challengers were silent. The entire dock was very quiet. The girl standing in front of Xiao Lou was looking back and forth from time to time to find her teammates. The man behind Xiao Lou had probably participated in the World Weekly more than once. He looked very calm.

Endless Sea required surviving for seven days. This was usually a Spades secret room. Xiao Lou wasn’t good at pure survival rooms but there was Yu Hanjiang. He wasn’t worried about clearing the instance.

After following the crowd for 10 minutes, Xiao Lou saw the red carpet boarding channel. A security guard crew member wearing white gloves smiled at him. “Sir, please show your ticket and ID card.”

Xiao Lou politely handed him the two cards. The man carefully checked it and made a ‘please’ gesture. “Your cabin is on the third floor. Please come over here and turn left up the stairs.”

Xiao Lou used the ferry ticket to find the location. Cabin 309 on the 3rd floor was just around the corner. He pushed open the door and went in, only to encounter a familiar pair of eyes. Yu Hanjiang was staying with him!

Yu Hanjiang saw Xiao Lou push open the door to come in and a trace of gentleness appeared in his eyes. “It seems this trip has double cabins and we are staying in one.”

Xiao Lou sighed with relief and smiled. “Great!”

Yu Hanjiang looked at his smiling face and couldn’t help whispering, “You are very happy?”

Xiao Lou’s ears were hot. He was in a really good mood the moment he pushed open the door and saw Yu Hanjiang. He always felt that it was very safe staying around this man. Due to the obvious emotions he showed, Xiao Lou coughed awkwardly and spoke in a perfunctory manner. “It is better to live with teammates than strangers. Isn’t Group Leader Yu happy that we are arranged together?”

Yu Hanjiang’s mouth curved gently. “First rest. Wait until we get on the ship and then find other people.”

Xiao Lou sat down opposite him and looked around.

The conditions of a luxury cruise ship were very good. It was equivalent to a five-star hotel at sea.

The double room Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang were assigned to was a balcony room. The cabin had two beds side by side and the white and blue room was clean and tidy. The room had a French window. Pushing open the window revealed a small balcony with two wicker chairs and a small wooden table. Passengers could sit here to drink coffee. The sea breeze was blowing toward them as they saw the sea and enjoyed the leisurely time at sea.

Xiao Lou pushed open the floor to ceiling window and stood on the balcony to look out. In the middle of the night, distant lights shone on the sparkling sea while above him was the bright starry sky. He could see a huge moon and the sound of waves ‘crashing’ reached his ears. If this wasn’t a secret room then it would be a very relaxed and comfortable journey on the luxury cruise ship.

Yu Hanjiang also went out onto the balcony. The sea breeze was somewhat cold at night. Seeing that Professor Xiao’s hair was blown, Yu Hanjiang spoke with worry. “Go back in. Be careful of catching a cold.”

Xiao Lou nodded, went back to his room to sit down and closed the window. Yu Hanjiang handed Xiao Lou a map. “I just found it in the drawer of the bedside table. It has the distribution of the entire cruise ship.”

Xiao Lou accepted the map and took a closer look.

The luxury cruise ship was seven storeys high. The first floor was the cheapest inner cabin with now windows, the second floor was a sea view room with windows but they couldn’t be opened while the third and fourth floors had sliding type windows with a separate balcony. The fifth floor was luxury suites.

The sixth floor was a dining centre with four restaurants with different themes: barbecue: hotpot, Chinese and Western. There was also a free cafeteria. The seventh floor was the entertainment centre with various cruise entertainment such as sea parachuting, a music themed bar, a sea view cafe, a 4D cinema, a theatre, a cocktail venue party, a shopping mall etc.

In addition to marking the location of each entertainment venue, this map also showed the time of some performances.

For example, the theatre’s plays would be performed at 9 a.m. and 14:00 p.m. The band performance in the music bar would start at 22:00 p.m. and end at 3:00 a.m. Every day, free movies would be played at 10:00 a.m., 15:00 p.m. and 20:00 p.m.

The map contained a hint: For passengers who want to participate in recreational activities for free, please go to the booking centre on the third floor of the cruise ship and make an appointment in advance with your ticket and ID card. The captain’s restaurant, the sea parachute, the sea voyage and coffee store are all fee-based services. Please consult on the price.”

After seeing this, Xiao Lou touched his chin and said, “Such a large cruise ship, isn’t 500 challengers too few?”

Yu Hanjiang said, “Usually, a luxury cruise ship carries more than 1,500 passengers. I observed that the number of rooms on this cruise ship can accommodate at least 1,000 tourists. The challengers were pulled in and everyone’s rooms should be the same on the basis of fairness.”

Xiao Lou frowned at the cruise ships’ map. “In other words, the 500 challengers live in the third and fourth floor balcony rooms? The cabins on the first floor, the sea view rooms on the second floor and the suites on the fifth floor should have a high number of free people staying in them?”

Yu Hanjiang nodded. “There is a possibility. There were more than 500 people who just lined up.”

Xiao Lou took a deep breath. “So many free people are arranged to travel with us. Once something happens, the situation will become more chaotic. Moreover, we can’t be sure if there are any hunters among the free people...”

Just then, a broadcast rang out in the cabins. “Dear passengers, the Royal Caribbean 0783 cruise ship will soon set off. Please return to the cabin as soon as possible. The time is now 00:00 a.m. I wish you a happy journey!”

There was a long siren and the cruise ship gradually sailed out of the dock. All challengers had a hint appear on their floating boxes at the same time.

[Welcome to the World Weekly secret room: Endless Sea, first day 00:00.]

[Number of challengers remaining in the secret room: 500]

All the challengers had boarded. Ahead of them was the endless sea and no one knew what would happen next. Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang glanced at each other and got up to go out. The two people found that the cabins next door also had many people leaving. They headed directly to the top deck of the cruise ship and saw Old Mo and Long Sen instantly.

Old Mo was truly an experienced senior. In this situation, he knew that he should first go to the deck. Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang quickly walked to the two people and whispered, “Where are you staying?”

Old Mo replied, “I’m staying with Little Long in Room 407 on the fourth floor.”

Long Sen told them, “Just now when I was in line, I saw Yue Yue and Little Liu walking together. The two girls might’ve been arranged in the same room. I told them to meet at the deck and they will come soon.”

They were people around them taking photos with their phones and some beautiful girls talking selfies. Those with a phone were clearly the indigenous people of the Card World. After challengers entered the secret rooms, their possessions would be removed. They couldn’t bring their phones into this world to keep in contact with each other.

After a moment, Liu Qiao and Qu Wanyue came. Qu Wanyue told them, “We are staying in Room 377 on the third floor. I found that many challengers are walking to the deck. It should be that all the teams were scattered.”

Soon, Shao Qingge and Ye Qi also arrived.

Ye Qi spoke excitedly, “We are in room 479 on the 4th floor.”

Yu Hanjiang frowned and thought about it. The eight people were staying in 309 and 377 on the third floor and 407 and 479 on the fourth floor. They were far away from each other. The secret room world deliberately broke up the team members, increasing the difficulty of communication.

Fortunately, Xiao Lou had the Qin Guan card and they could always establish communication channels.

Yu Hanjiang thought about it and spoke in a low voice, “309 and 407 are upstairs and downstairs. 377 and 479 are also upstairs and downstairs. Our four rooms are like a ‘trapezoid’. The rooms on the same floor are far away from each other while the distance between the upper and lower floors are very close. Therefore, communication channels should be established between teams on the same floor. If something happens then we can directly climb the stairs to find people.”

Xiao Lou gave a Qin Guan card to Shao Qingge living on the fourth floor. “Mr Shao, please establish a contact channel with Old Mo.”

Downstairs, Xiao Lou and Liu Qiao established a channel.

There were some challenger teams who gradually gathered in one place. Yu Hanjiang was worried about the inconvenience of talking and simply took everyone back to Room 309. The eight people in one room were really crowded. They had to have three people sitting on a bed while Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou stood on the balcony to talk.

Yu Hanjiang took out the map of the cruise ship and had everyone examine it carefully. He pointed to the map. “The cruise ship will be at sea for seven days and there might be many dangers such as severe food and water shortages or encountering pirates. The most serious thing is the cruise ship hitting a reef or iceberg, leading to it sinking.”

Ye Qi’s eyes widened. “Isn’t this the same as Titanic? I remember watching the movie where a cruise ship hit an iceberg, causing a shipwreck and killing many people!”

Yu Hanjiang told them, “This is the worst outcome and we need to be prepared in advance.”

He pointed to the tail of the cruise ship. “This should be the location of the escape boat. Long and Yue, the two of you should use the chameleon card while most tourists are on the deck to go there and confirm the specific location and quantity of the escape boat.”

Yu Hanjiang continued, “The negative floor should be the materials storage area. After confirming the position of the escape boat, you can check the warehouses on these floors to see if there are enough fresh water and food resources on board.”

Long Sen and Qu Wanyue immediately nodded. “Understood!”

Yu Hanjiang looked at Ye Qi. “Little Qi, you put on the invisibility cloak and go to the cockpit, the cabin where the crew rests and the service centre on the third floor. Please a bug at these locations. Liu Qiao, go with him and cover him.”

The two of them nodded. “Okay!”

Yu Hanjiang told them, “Go and pay attention to safety.”

Late at night, Yu Hanjiang arranged for the four person investigation team to take the lead.

Long Sen and Qu Wanyue relied on the advantages of the chameleon card to blend in with the carpet of the cabin. They quickly crawled to the stern and the minus one and two floors of the ship. They confirmed the information that Yu Hanjiang wanted. Ye Qi put on the invisibility cloak and moved quickly with the teleportation card with Liu Qiao. The two people quickly placed the bugs.

Yu Hanjiang looked up and asked, “How is the situation?”

Ye Qi told them, “Everything is fine in the captain’s cabin. The captain is confirming the route. I took a look. The seven days is almost all at sea. There are no nearby docks to stop the ship.”

“The ship has more than 300 crew members. Many people on the ship are lining up to book tomorrow’s theatre and free 4D movie.”

Long Sen reported, “The stern of the ship has 15 electric escape boats with fuel tanks. Each one can accommodate around 20 people.”

Xiao Lou carefully calculated. “The number of escape boats can take 500 challengers but this ship doesn’t only have challengers. Once something happens to the ship, everyone will be fighting for their lives and there definitely wouldn’t be enough escape boats.”

Yu Hanjiang glanced at Xiao Lou. “Professor Xiao, let me borrow the feather pen.”

Xiao Lou immediately took out the contract book and handed him the feather pen. Yu Hanjiang quickly marked everyone’s rooms on the map and sketched out a path. “I will now confirm the location of the escape boat and the best movement route. In case of an accident, everyone will immediately evacuate along this route.”

He drew an arrow, stating, “Liu Qiao is the fastest and the closest one to the stern. Once Professor Xiao tells you to evacuate, you should immediately fly to the stern and grab an escape boat first.”

He used the pen to point to a position. “Long and Yue will use the long jump card to jump straight to the stern from the bend here. Meet with Liu Qiao as soon as possible. Ye Qi will use the teleport card to meet Old Mo and take Shao Qingge and Old Mo to the stern of the boat. I will go downstairs with Professor Xiao. Everyone should remember their course of action and meet at the stern as soon as possible.”

He drew the best path according to each person’s different cards. If the cruise ship encountered an accident and they needed to abandon the cruise ship to escape, the eight people could use their own abilities to come to the stern from different locations.

Looking at Yu Hanjiang’s calm expression and listening to his decisive voice, Old Mo couldn’t help feeling that a strong command would make people more confident. He believed that no matter what happened next, their team wouldn’t be destroyed as badly as last week.