Chapter 604: Hope and Despair

Book Chapter 604: The More Hope, the Deeper the Despair (Update 2)

Xiao Yu lay on the metal floor, panting heavily. Lin

He was pondering a question.

In a life spanning just a few decades, must one always take shortcuts?

Why tempt fate? Why risk it all?

Not only did his bicycle not transform into a motorcycle,

he nearly ended up losing the bicycle altogether!

Xiao Yu was feeling quite frustrated.

It felt like playing a game where he was the skilled operator.

Using every trick, every flashy maneuver, riding high on momentum.

It was as if he were wielding a kitchen knife to hack at electric wires, sparks and lightning flying everywhere.

But then… he encountered a pay-to-win player!

Even though the guy was low-level, he had the cash to back it up.

It was like Batman facing Superman – a cash-powered ability, if you will.

Facing what was dubbed the ‘Anxiety Formula’, Xiao Yu found it far more terrifying than its movie portrayal.

It was the deluxe version – more load, more intensity without extra cost.

How could anyone create something so surreal?

But that wasn’t the point.

There was one key factor… You needed money!

With enough cash, you could hire help, build it, and make anything happen.

Ever seen those stunning golden masks from the Sanxingdui relics?

Even local masters can hammer out a little piece – what can’t humans achieve?

Of course, passion projects like this always come at a price…

So, how much would it cost to build 570 of these ‘Anxiety Formula’ projects?

Xiao Yu’s head was spinning – it would cost at least tens of millions, maybe even hundreds of millions!

What kind of person would spend such a fortune on such a gigantic toy?

“When you think about it, you’re the real main character here!”

Xiao Yu muttered sarcastically, “This is one flashy setup!”

After a brief rest, he sat up.

He scanned the room.

It was identical to the one he’d woken up in.

Truly, it was the same in every detail.

Yet, under the scrutiny of the Falcon’s Eye, Xiao Yu noticed a few ‘details’.

For instance,

he spotted as many as eight hidden surveillance cameras.

They were positioned in the eight corners of the cube-shaped room.

Was this the so-called 360-degree, no blind spot surveillance?

Suddenly,

Xiao Yu turned his head and looked at a metal wall to his left.

Buzz!

A metal door on the wall automatically slid open.

Five seconds later, it closed on its own.

Just as Xiao Yu was about to investigate, the door opened again and a man climbed in.

The newcomer was a young man, about twenty-seven or twenty-eight, his face stricken with terror.

When he saw Xiao Yu, he froze for a moment, then screamed and tried to retreat into the back room.

Is this guy completely out of his mind? Xiao Yu mentally cursed.

He stepped forward and, in a single swift motion, grabbed the young man and pulled him into the room.

The whole thing took less than a second.

Click… the metal door closed.

Had Xiao Yu not pulled the young man in,

the metal door might have sliced him in half!

“Who are you? Don’t touch me…”

The young man, terrified, curled up in a corner of the room, rolling and cowering.

“Hm?” Xiao Yu furrowed his brow.

Why was this guy so terrified?

His panicked demeanor was genuine, not an act.

It was as though he believed he was facing a man-eating monster and he, a helpless prey.

Sweat beaded on the young man’s forehead, a clear sign of his inner anxiety and fear.

“Don’t be afraid, I’m a cop.”

Xiao Yu said coldly, “I’m not going to hurt you.”

But sadly, the young man seemed unable to take in any of this.

He huddled in the corner, his face a mask of terror and distrust.

“Are you crazy?”

Xiao Yu fixed the young man with a steely gaze. “I told you, I’m not going to hurt you.”

“But words alone aren’t enough,”

After a long silence, the young man’s agitation seemed to ease slightly as he stared intently at Xiao Yu. “I saw with my own eyes, in one room, a man… devouring another man!”

Xiao Yu: …

Devouring people? What on earth is going on?

Then it hit him… the suspect Yuan Junda, previously tracked by National Security.

Yuan Junda had once confessed that after being locked in the Anxiety Formula room, he barely had any food.

He had to search room after room, or else he’d starve to death.

The thought of starving to death sent a chill down Xiao Yu’s spine.

Was this the epitome of human selfishness and ugliness?

It was survival of the fittest, laid bare on the edge of life and death!

“Tell me, who are you?”

Xiao Yu asked coldly, “Why were you locked here? How many days has it been?”

“My name is Sun Wang, I’m a programmer,”

the young man mumbled. “I don’t even know how I got caught. That night, I left work late for a takeout, and suddenly… I blacked out. When I woke up, I found myself here… It must have been three days!”

Three days… Xiao Yu narrowed his eyes.

That meant everyone was locked in for different periods!

Just how many people were trapped in this Anxiety Formula labyrinth?

Xiao Yu’s mind raced with calculations.

Typically, a Rubik’s Cube starts as a simple three-by-three puzzle,

composed of 26 small cubes connected by a three-dimensional cross-axis.

It includes six center pieces that remain fixed.

Then there are the 12 edge pieces and 8 corner pieces.

Could that account for 26 rooms?

Certainly, if you include the central ‘axis connector’.

That makes 27 rooms.

A virtual cube took shape in Xiao Yu’s mind.

The complete cube was divided into 27 smaller cubes, each representing one room.

From the experience of just being locked in the Anxiety Formula room,

each room would rotate, misalign, and jumble up, leaving its captives utterly disoriented.

The sheer scale of this Anxiety Formula left Xiao Yu gasping.

What kind of engineering feat was this?

The intricate mechanisms alone were beyond what most could ever dream of constructing.

Even with money, could an ordinary person build something like this?

It wasn’t just about mechanics, technology, or calculations…

It also involved architecture, physics, and design…

And the most unscientific aspect of all,

spending an astronomical amount of money, manpower, and resources to create this contraption.

Besides a lethal game of hide and seek, what purpose did it serve?

Was it simply for crime – murder, incarceration?

Surely there was something more demented at play.

Xiao Yu couldn’t wrap his head around it – now was not the time for questions.

The real challenge was figuring out how to escape this Anxiety Formula labyrinth.

“There’s no way out,”

Sun Wang, huddled in the corner, seemed to guess what Xiao Yu was thinking, and with a forlorn expression, he said, “I searched for three days and couldn’t find any way to escape. I nearly died too. This place is riddled with traps – all sorts, and if you’re not careful, you’ll die. Even if you avoid the traps, you could easily starve or dehydrate!”

Is that so… Xiao Yu remained calm.

In any game, fairness is key.

Even the best cheaters can only fake it for so long.

The creators of the Anxiety Formula would surely leave a sliver of hope to ensure fairness.

It was like a cat playing with a mouse.

Giving hope only to deepen the despair.

Isn’t that right?

Wen

Xue