The anti-fans on the other side once suspected they had run into allies.

Every time the Niangao went up against the anti-fans, they acted like a group of master-level haters. It wasn't that they had no confidence in Xi Nian, but that the show was too insane. If they boasted now, what would they do if they were mocked by all the anti-fans later? It didn't matter if they were mocked, but implicating Zai Zai would be bad.

#Buddha'sLightShines,KeepALowProfile#

#SafeAndSound,NoFightingNoSnatching#

The Niangao's Buddhist-like attitude drove away many anti-fans. On the other hand, the topic surrounding Qiao Zhi was gaining more and more heat from the flame wars. This was normal; this girl had more negative material and points for criticism than Xi Nian, and her appeal to the public was abysmally bad. Not flaming her would be a disservice to one's ancestors.

Just as Bai Yicheng's fans were caught in the middle watching the drama unfold, Escape Room: Decode began to air. The show consistently followed the style of its previous seasons, with a strange and eerie opening sequence that was extremely good at creating suspense. When the terrifying BGM started, the timid ones had already shivered.

Mommy, I'm scared, hold me tight!

The camera started by introducing the three special guests. As they got out of the car one by one, the audience was slightly stunned. It was undeniable that Qiao Zhi, the flower vase, was good-looking, and Bai Yicheng was not bad either.

Then there was Xi Nian.

No matter how many times they saw this man, it seemed no one could go against their conscience and say he wasn't handsome. The camera also seemed to favor him, giving him a close-up from time to time. A passerby couldn't help but praise in the comment section: [I never looked closely before, but compared to others in a crowd, Xi Nian has such an advantage.]

There were quite a few in the entertainment circle who hated flower-vase artists: [Hehe, so having a pretty face is all that matters, huh?]

The filming locations the production team found were always in the desolate countryside. Qiao Zhi was famous on variety shows for being a drama queen. But because she was pretty, many male stars fell for her act. When she saw the haunted school in front of them, she rubbed her arms and looked pitiful. "Is the production team going to dump our bodies in the wilderness?"

Most netizens thought she was being pretentious and were already roasting her in the bullet comment section. Just then, Xi Nian casually said, "You're not valuable. What's the benefit of killing you?"

The post-production team aptly added a special effect of a knife stabbing a heart next to Qiao Zhi.

Pfft—!

The audience couldn't help but laugh out loud. Xi Nian was so damn venomous.

When the guests entered the escape room, there was indeed a team-up segment, just as the rumors online said. They followed the clues to find a container for drawing lots and then drew their teams. Xi Nian and Qiao Zhi, the two novice players, were unlucky enough to be paired up.

The bullet comments were all pessimistic: [It's over, these two are done for, death is guaranteed.]

[Looks like the one most likely to survive is Bai Yicheng. Xi Nian is so unlucky, getting paired with Qiao Zhi.]

[Maybe he's secretly overjoyed. All men like beautiful women, and Qiao Zhi knows how to act cute and flirt with men. Later in the escape room, Xi Nian will probably be more than willing to be the hero saving the damsel.]

Hero saving the damsel? Not happening.

Xi Nian was a selfish man focused on his career; he clearly wouldn't have such noble sentiments. When he was teamed up with a dead weight like Qiao Zhi, he was inwardly against it. So while the other teams were cheering each other on, these two had the following conversation.

Qiao Zhi, on the verge of tears, said, "Is it my imagination, or do you seem a little reluctant?"

Xi Nian seriously corrected her, "It's not your imagination."

He was genuinely reluctant.

Netizens were about to diss Qiao Zhi, but upon hearing this, they laughed so hard they couldn't even type. It had been years since they saw a guest who was so immune to beauty and so straightforward. Especially when they entered the escape room, Qiao Zhi said, "I'm so scared," and Xi Nian's "I'm not scared" was immediately hailed as the ultimate conversation ender.

[Hahahaha, I'm dying of laughter. Qiao Zhi's beauty trap isn't working.]

[I'm happy just seeing Qiao Zhi thwarted. Xi Nian is so damn interesting, hahaha.]

[Ding, the bento boxes for the newbie Team Three are now being delivered.]

However, the netizens hadn't been laughing for long when Xi Nian and Qiao Zhi's team was the first to trigger a plot point. When the door of the room behind them was banged on by a mental patient, everyone watching the screen felt their hearts tighten.

The production team was very cunning, sending out three NPCs played by real people. The other two teams were also being chased by mental patients. Teacher Min and Wang Yao were partners for many years and worked together to hide. Bai Yicheng acted like a gentleman, actively luring the attacker away to protect Kong Xi. However, when the camera turned to Xi Nian's group...

"I'll run first, you cover the rear!"

Everyone saw Xi Nian coldly and ruthlessly pry open Qiao Zhi's hand, and then with a whoosh, he ran off and disappeared. He left Qiao Zhi behind, who looked as if struck by lightning, running madly after him, her screams almost shattering the screen, followed by a series of bleeps.

"Xi Nian, you bastard! Are you even a man, ahhhh!"

The bullet comments went crazy with laughter. This team's dynamic of screwing each other over was a stark contrast to the first two teams. Especially when Qiao Zhi rushed up and shoved Xi Nian aside, the post-production effects even froze the frame and marked it with two big, red characters for "Unity," followed by a string of question marks.

#Unity???#

Netizens were laughing so hard they were pounding their keyboards, almost crying. What a pair of rare specimens these two were. Xi Nian had completely shattered Qiao Zhi's previous goddess image in minutes. Was this a horror variety show? It was clearly a comedy film.

The pair gave netizens a very goofy and unreliable feeling. In TV shows or novels, they would be the type to get killed off in minutes. So when the NPC boy asked them to solve the problem, everyone thought Xi Nian and Qiao Zhi would be eliminated.

[I'm actually a little disappointed. I quite wanted to keep watching these two clowns.]

[They're probably about to get kicked off. Too bad Kong Xi isn't here.]

[After all, they're two newbies. Without a veteran to guide them, it's hard to clear the stage.]

At this moment, the post-production deliberately showed a replay of the problem on the blackboard when everyone had first entered the room.

This Qiao Zhi girl just kept crying and shaking her head, obviously unreliable. Just as everyone was guessing whether Teacher Min and the others would suddenly appear with divine assistance, Xi Nian suddenly picked up a piece of chalk, walked to the podium, and in a few quick strokes, wrote down the problem and the correct answer on the blackboard.

The Niangao suddenly swelled with pride: Holy crap, Zai Zai, you're amazing!!!

People who turn the tide at critical moments always tend to make their favorability toward them shoot up. The netizens really hadn't expected Xi Nian to not only have carefully remembered the problem but also to have successfully solved it, which was a slap in the face for those who said he would die at the beginning.

[Xi Nian is kind of awesome. I really didn't expect him to have memorized the problem.]

[The key point is that he actually calculated the correct answer. It's been so many years since graduation (crying with laughter). I vaguely remember the last time some pretty boy came, he couldn't even do basic arithmetic.]

[Maybe Xi Nian gets to live for another ten minutes.]

There was no shortage of viewers with high IQ and EQ in front of the screen. They especially liked to solve puzzles along with the guests. When the camera vaguely panned across the head held in the mental patient's hands, some clever people had already realized something and furiously typed a line in the bullet comments.

[Holy crap, holy crap, you absolutely can't trust this NPC boy! The production team must have set a trap. The head the mental patient is holding looks exactly like the little boy!!! He's definitely not a real survivor!]

[Don't trust him, ahhh, I'm dying of anxiety!]

[The props team is truly amazing.]

After this expert analysis, the audience also realized that this was a huge trap set by the production team. While cursing the deceptive setup in their hearts, they thought these two newbies were probably doomed. Just as they were about to bet on Bai Yicheng, they heard Xi Nian on screen suddenly shout "Run!" and dash out the door.

[That scared me to death. Did Xi Nian realize something?]

[Qiao Zhi is just here for the ride, hahahahahaha.]

[Xi Nian definitely realized it. He was staring at that head for a long time just now.]

[Wuwuwu, if it were me, I'd probably be scared to death. How could I notice so much?]

The audience, who had been anxiously watching from outside the screen, finally breathed a sigh of relief, only to see Xi Nian run all the way into a dead end. Meanwhile, Qiao Zhi was held hostage by the knife-wielding mental patient, crying and endlessly cursing Xi Nian as a dog thief.

The NPC playing the mental patient was quite dedicated, saying viciously to Xi Nian, "If you dare run, I'll kill her!"

Qiao Zhi, showing no integrity, immediately reached out with an Erkang hand gesture: "Daddy, save me!"

The bullet comments died laughing: [The time to witness the father-daughter bond has come.]