Chapter 53: The Supporting Female Character’s Reversal in the Transmigration Story (4)

Each group, including the host, consisted of five people, but only three could participate in the challenge; the remaining two had to wait in the studio. In Li Wen’s team were Zhou Yuchen, Liu Feifei, Liu Yushao, and Bao Zhong, with only Liu Yushao and Bao Zhong being men. This time, both men stepped forward without hesitation, while the third spot, after some discussion, was taken by Zhou Yuchen.

The three entered the stone slab chamber, wandered around inside for a bit, glanced into the pitch-black void beneath the other side of the slab, then stood at their designated positions. The challenge began, and the stone slab started to tilt.

The first task was to climb from the first step to the second stone step on the upper side of the slab. This had to be done after each question was answered. In truth, the questions themselves were not the hardest part of the stone slab chamber; the real challenge lay in crossing the slab as it became increasingly slanted. Of course, the questions were only considered easy for Mu Yin.

The slab was waxed and extremely smooth, and everyone had to wear nylon stockings and slippery gloves, making it easy to slide off. Nevertheless, the first step was generally manageable for everyone.

On the second step, three questions had to be answered; on the third, two; and for the final stage, the fourth step, one question. The questions themselves were not difficult, but the last stage was the most challenging: they had to retrieve an answer ball from the other side while the slab was tilted at nearly fifty or sixty degrees, then return to the second step on their side to place the ball in the answer slot. Moreover, the final question was the trickiest and easy to get wrong. If they didn’t know the answer, they could only rely on teammates to eliminate wrong options.

Ultimately, only one member of Li Wen’s team passed the final stage and obtained a key. The team with the most keys would win. There was a cash prize for this competition, and the prize pool rolled over if the ultimate pass was not achieved. At present, the jackpot had accumulated to two million yuan.

Next was Liu Tao’s team, which included Mu Yin. “So, who’s going for our group?” Liu Tao asked his teammates.

“I will,” Mu Yin volunteered immediately.

“You’re truly as capable as any man, but this stage is pretty tough. Perhaps one of us should go instead,” Liu Tao suggested, as the only woman on the team, Mu Yin was often looked after.

“No need. I can answer all the questions at the fastest speed, and I guarantee the slab’s tilt won’t even reach forty-five degrees in the final stage,” Mu Yin boasted confidently.

“That’s a bit arrogant,” remarked not only her own teammates, but even Liu Feifei from Li Wen’s team couldn’t help commenting on Mu Yin’s self-assurance.

“Whether it’s arrogance or not, we’ll see after the contest,” Mu Yin replied with confidence. She had already memorized all the questions and answers—even though only seven would be selected out of over a thousand.

In the end, Chen Peng, Qi Zhen, and Mu Yin took the stage. Upon entering the stone slab chamber, Mu Yin lived up to her bold words, blitzing through the questions at nearly one per second, except for the time it took for the questions to be displayed.

As for the tilting slab, for Mu Yin—who had experience with real parkour—it was as if she were walking on level ground. She moved with ease from one side to the other. Observing her, the guests and the audience in the studio couldn’t help but wonder if they were watching the same game as before.

When the three returned with three keys in hand, everyone still felt as if it wasn’t real; the final angle truly hadn’t exceeded forty-five degrees.

“How did you manage that?” Li Wen couldn’t help but ask.

“Well, before the college entrance exams, I reviewed a lot of textbooks. Before coming to the competition, I watched your previous episodes and looked up all the related topics, so I remembered everything,” Mu Yin replied.

“You have a photographic memory?” Liu Yushao ventured incredulously.

“Yes,” Mu Yin nodded. And with that, everyone was at a loss. If she had a photographic memory, then all the advance information about the questions made the challenge pointless for the others.

This scene led viewers, when the episode aired, to speculate that the show must have leaked the questions to them in advance. Perhaps there were a lot, but no matter how many there were, a “cheat” like Mu Yin with her perfect memory would always have the upper hand, explaining the others’ dejection.

The show paused for a moment, then decided to expand the question bank. This time, no one was allowed a preview, but except for Mu Yin, no one else could memorize them all anyway.

Mu Yin, for her part, didn’t mind. As long as the questions remained within these familiar topics—place names, fruits, celebrities, scenic sites, classical poetry, or songs—it was all fine by her.

After that, the next few escape rooms were not played one-on-one; instead, two teams entered different chambers simultaneously to save time. Mu Yin decided to participate in every chamber, and her teammates had no objections, trusting her abilities.

Their second challenge was the Statue Chamber. In this one, they were tied to pillars, and strips of cloth began binding them from the feet up, gradually wrapping them until their heads were encased, turning them into mummies, then locking them inside statues.

Mu Yin answered quickly as before, but this time, each person took a turn. By the time they cleared the challenge, they were only half-mummified. In the next three rooms, Mu Yin participated in the Cliff Chamber. This chamber was set on a cliff; stone blocks would slowly jut out from the wall behind, gradually forcing the players off. They had to answer questions while dodging the blocks.

If all ten blocks emerged, there was nothing left to do but fall. This was the final and most difficult challenge, including not only image-association word guessing, but also three-dimensional rotating characters for contestants to identify.

Guessing these 3D, rotating characters sounded easy, but it was actually very hard, especially with a time limit. Even Mu Yin made mistakes a few times. Another type of question required contestants to combine radicals and a picture to form a word; this couldn’t be solved by memory alone.

This stage saw both teams participating, nearly all members on each side, and it was practically a battle of mutual defeat. Mu Yin ultimately relied on her formidable physical strength to hang on until the end—literally; she cleared the stage while barely clinging to a single foothold.

The most exasperating aspect of the show’s games was that the reading time for each question counted toward the total game time, and reading the questions often took several seconds, wasting precious time.

After clearing all the challenges, Mu Yin and her team earned the opportunity for the ultimate grand challenge. If they succeeded, they would win the cash prize.