Being stared at by those eyeballs of various sizes in jars, Chen Zhuo couldn't help but swallow nervously.
Even though he had already experienced four dungeons and could be considered someone who had seen quite a lot, Chen Zhuo was still quite frightened and felt utterly creeped out.
If the two girls beside him hadn't both appeared extremely calm, Chen Zhuo would probably have screamed out loud already.
A person's courage changes according to the atmosphere around them.
So, although this bizarre scene was extremely terrifying, it still didn't scare Chen Zhuo out of his wits.
He mustered his courage and asked in a trembling voice.
"What are all these things..."
"I don't know either, but let's just research them."
Li Nian had already removed those white jade-like gloves, and she gently tapped on the jar with her finger.
Then, an eyeball miraculously disappeared from the jar and appeared between Li Nian's fingers.This eyeball seemed somewhat panicked after leaving the jar, rotating rapidly.
But being pinched by Li Nian's fingers, it couldn't move much either.
Li Nian watched this "struggling" scene with great interest.
"Looks really fascinating. This thing seems like some kind of 'surveillance device'."
"Truth Corporation really is an extremely sinister company."
As she spoke, Li Nian "stuffed" the eyeball back into the jar.
This operation flowed smoothly without the slightest hesitation.
Chen Zhuo looked at Li Nian with eyes full of admiration, as if he were seeing a brave warrior catching cockroaches barehanded.
Lin Yu remained quite calm.
"Surveillance devices? They're not exactly discreet."
"How did you reach that conclusion?"
Li Nian casually replied: "I guessed... well, that's not the main point. The main point is the door to the next carriage."
She shone her flashlight on the door before the three of them.
The sealed carriage door had excellent airtightness without the slightest gap, looking like it could serve as an outer hatch for a submarine or spacecraft without any issues.
The black one-way glass reflected the three blurry silhouettes like a mirror, making it impossible to see inside the next carriage.
Beside the door was a touch terminal for password input, with what appeared to be a card reading area below the terminal.
However...
The password input keyboard wasn't the traditional nine-key layout, but rather a 4×4 sixteen-key keyboard.
The sixteen keys were printed with different emoticons expressing various emotions like happiness, anger, sorrow, and joy.
Li Nian picked up the identity card they had confiscated from the tall thin man and swiped it.
"Beep—"
The terminal flashed green, seemingly indicating approval.
But the door didn't open.
"Respected C-2 level employee, Punkdo Von Valetti, your access request has been submitted. To enter the forward area, please input the current four-digit dynamic password."
A gentle electronic prompt sounded.
"Oh, looks like we've reached the puzzle-solving part. I thought this dungeon was pure slaughter," Li Nian said with some regret. "Choosing any four from sixteen numbers... if we have to try them one by one, how many attempts would that take..."
"If these symbols can't be selected repeatedly, it's over forty thousand combinations. If repetition is allowed... probably close to seventy thousand possibilities."
Lin Yu quickly did mental calculations and reached a conclusion.
Of course, he had actually calculated the exact possibilities—43,680 combinations without repetition, requiring factorial calculation.
With repetition, it would be 16 to the fourth power—65,536 combinations.
In any case, neither should be something you can randomly guess correctly...
Even with luck-based buffs, it would be difficult to guess correctly directly.
Chen Zhuo looked at the password and thoughtfully said: "I've seen in spy movies that you can use tape to test for fingerprints to determine frequently used buttons..."
"The prompt said this is a dynamic password," Lin Yu reminded him. "Although we don't know how long one cycle is, this method probably won't work."
Li Nian looked around: "Could there be some hint? Let's search his body first to see if he has any receivers or similar devices... if not, we'll wake him up and interrogate him."
Li Nian proposed a relatively practical plan.
But Lin Yu still felt this wouldn't be very efficient.
Meanwhile, Li Nian had already started acting, beginning to search the tall thin man's body.
"Times like these really make me miss those puzzle-solving experts in the organization... Unfortunately, teaming up with them would be completely detrimental to this little fatty who hasn't undergone promotion..."
Li Nian said with emotion.
After all, if a Third Tier player teamed up with Chen Zhuo who hadn't undergone promotion—or even experienced a promotion dungeon—the dungeon difficulty would absolutely be hell-level for Chen Zhuo.
Even a passing dog could probably bite him to death in two mouthfuls.
Chen Zhuo also sighed: "It is a bit unfortunate. I also know a very smart guy who's great at solving puzzles, but he seems to have many restrictions and can't team up with me."
Li Nian nodded: "People skilled at puzzle-solving are truly rare... I previously met a very interesting newcomer who was excellent at solving puzzles. Others were also very interested in him and even sent me to evaluate him. Unfortunately, he didn't seem interested in joining us... and I haven't been able to contact him much recently."
Lin Yu listened from the side, subtly sweating.
He had a feeling...
The two people Chen Zhuo and Li Nian were talking about might actually be the same person.
Originally planning to lie low using the "Zhu Ming" identity, Lin Yu now decided to quickly get this door open.
Of course, it would be best to consider the personas of "Zhu Ming" and "Xia Yue" and choose a method that wasn't too abrupt...
As Lin Yu pondered, inspiration suddenly struck him, and he thought of a certain approach.
Although it might not work...
It was worth a try!
"I actually have a method I want to try. That guy who traded me the [Fear Torch] also gave me an extra gift."
Saying this, Lin Yu took out from his chest...
The identity card belonging to "Vale Valetti."
Lin Yu swiped this identity card again in the card reading area below.
"Beep—"
"Respected B-3 level Independent Researcher, Vale Valetti, welcome to the forward area."
Two green lights lit up, and the password door before them opened directly.
"Indeed, this card's privileges don't require a password."
Lin Yu breathed a sigh of relief.
After all, although Vale Valetti had a naive personality, within Truth Corporation he was absolutely someone with boundless prospects and significant privileges.
The reason this field team leader's C-2 level required a password was because his privileges needed to "request access" to enter.
Vale Valetti with higher privileges likely didn't need to apply!
Of course, the luckiest thing was still...
"Vale Valetti" as an independent researcher who had perished in the snowy mountains years ago—his identity card privileges actually hadn't been deactivated yet.
Did Truth Corporation think he wasn't dead? Or was it normal for an outsourced independent researcher to not return to the company for ten years without any news?
Lin Yu had no way of knowing.
Simultaneously, he noticed another detail—he hadn't realized it when Li Nian picked up the tall thin man's identity card earlier, but after hearing the announcement again, Lin Yu noticed.
Not just him—even Li Nian beside him, and even Chen Zhuo had noticed.
"Hey, these two people share the same surname?"
"Both are Valetti. Could there be some connection between them?"