"Alright, give me the length of a song!"
A song!
Seeing that there were less than 4 minutes left, I hoped He Xin's song wouldn't be too long.
When the lizard people heard the situation outside the door, they were momentarily unsure what was happening. However, they knew we still had a chance to get out. Thus, all these lizard people, like me, waited by the door. If the door opened, we would rush out in one go.
3 minutes and 45 seconds.
3 minutes and 20 seconds.
2 minutes and 59 seconds.
Time kept slipping away. The closer it got to zero, the more nervous we became. But I didn't rush. I waited until the last minute. It wasn't me urging, but the high school girl: "Big Sister, do you really have a plan? There's only a minute left!"
"Almost done, don't rush, give me time for another cup of milk tea!"
"Uh, Big Sister, you're really relaxed about this!"
He Xin's personality was like this; the more tense she was, the more she liked to joke. However, I noticed that the lizard people around us at that moment looked awkward and bewildered.
It wasn't until the last 20 seconds that the alarm finally sounded: "Successfully opened the fingerprint re-input function. You can now re-implant your fingerprint!"
"Dad, hurry! There are only 20 seconds left!"
I immediately became vigilant and pressed my sacred thumb down. The machine quickly responded and recorded my fingerprint. I was truly afraid it would ask for facial recognition, blinking, opening my mouth, shaking my head, or something similar. If that happened, our group would really be knocked out here.
As we came out, everyone was gasping for breath. Seeing me with several lizard people trailing behind, He Xin's face immediately showed an expression of "What the heck, is this a movie? A sci-fi film?" After I finished catching my breath, I started to explain.
Once she understood the situation, He Xin's face showed a look of "So that's how it is."
"What do we do now? Do we want to escape from here?" He Xin asked, noticing that my mood had improved.
"Don't rush. First, you need to tell me how you got here."
"I received the coordinates sent by Officer Lu. Then, hey, you might think I was also kidnapped, but I'm fine!"
When I was observing the video at the time, I hadn't paid attention to whether He Xin was in it. Anyway, I saw Liu Yuning, Gao Mingqiang, and even Xiao Yuande. Now I remembered, that's right, He Xin wasn't in it either! How could I have been so confused?
"Fortunately, I went home that day. I wasn't feeling well!"
I tapped her nimble little head: "Your luck is good enough to buy a lottery ticket!"
"Stop talking, Dad, let's go!"
"We can't go," I told her about the trials of the Valley of Lost. She again showed a "So troublesome" expression, but for everyone's sake, we had to press on.
These lizard people were a bit of a bother now, and we could only let them follow. Along the way, the high school girl quickly became familiar with He Xin, and they started chatting.
After we came out of the mall, several lizard people actually got on the motorcycles they saw on the road. The scene was truly terrifying. Anyone watching from the sidelines would have thought they were filming a Hollywood blockbuster.
I also got on a motorcycle and headed towards the mountain. Along the way, a player's voice was heard from somewhere: "Good job, kid. It seems you've passed Jing Zijin's trial. Now, please head to the third trial venue, the True Water Swimming Pool!"
It was a woman's voice, likely Zheng Ni, the girl in camouflage. If I guessed correctly, Jing Zijin was regretting it now and didn't dare to speak.
"Zheng Ni, just you wait, I'll find you soon!"
I shouted, twisted the throttle, and sped off. He Xin was right behind me, and she hadn't expected me to accelerate so suddenly. She let out a cry and tightly held onto my waist!
We quickly rode along the mountain road to the entrance of a swimming pool in the Valley of Lost. By then, the lizard people had also found their way there, but I didn't let them in. I said to He Xin, "Let's just the two of us go in, as too many people will just be troublesome!"
"Okay, you guys wait here nicely!" He Xin instructed the lizard people. It was unclear if it was because of the high school girl, but these lizard people seemed to obey He Xin.
We entered through an entrance on the side of the swimming pool. It turned out that this was the only door that was open.
Once inside, we cautiously kept watch. He Xin had a gun in her hand, but she hadn't been smart enough to bring an extra one, so only she could use it.
The two of us walked through the corridor into a hall of the swimming pool, and we saw quite a few swimming pools appear before our eyes. Seeing this clean water, we had no idea what Zheng Ni was up to.
When we stood near the changing rooms, Zheng Ni's voice appeared: "Alright, I see you've entered. According to the rules of the third trial, the two of you should go into the changing rooms first and change into your swimsuits!"
What, are we going to swim here? I was quite puzzled at the time, but now we had no choice but to follow the instructions. I noticed that on the wall not far away, there seemed to be many cameras hidden with tranquilizer needles. It was estimated that if we disobeyed Zheng Ni's instructions, those needles would be fired at us.
Plus, we couldn't contact the outside world, so we had to endure it. I believed we could overcome these difficulties.
He Xin and I exchanged glances. Her determined eyes met mine, and she nodded at me, but the next sentence she spoke almost made me fall head over heels: "Dad, I like pink swimsuits!"
I was shocked by her, but quickly responded, "As long as you like it, the key is whether they have it here!"
We went into the changing room. We didn't know until we got there, and were surprised to find countless swimsuits of various colors and styles distributed inside, many of them very sexy and revealing. He Xin, in front of me, had no qualms and started changing. I coughed and only dared to turn my back to her, picking up a men's swimsuit to change into.
Actually, I didn't have high requirements for this. As long as it was comfortable and suited me, it was fine. Soon, I changed into a pair of blue-black swim trunks. I didn't need anything else for my upper body; it was much simpler for men when swimming.
At this moment, I looked at He Xin. She was trying them on one by one. Didn't she say she liked pink just now? Why was she trying on red, green, and blue now? It was like the primary colors were all here.
I really couldn't understand what girls were thinking. At a time like this, how could she be in the mood?