Jerry Yates attempted to visualize a 3D Shogi board in his mind, only to find his brain a ss of confusion. Moreover, he believed that even with paper and pencil, it would be difficult for him to map everything out in a short ti. He sighed and gave up on maintaining his intellect, willingly acting as labor without a word, searching for Shogi pieces for Nora Scott.
However—
In less than five minutes, Nora Scott was up to mischief again.
After rummaging around and only finding two pieces, Nora Scott clapped her hands, bent down to pick up her iron hamr, and said in an extrely calm tone, "Forget it, it’s ti-consuming, let’s just smash it."
She still rembered her agreent with Pedro Langley.
Continuing to ss around like this... while not exactly exceeding the ti limit, taking more than half an hour would be quite embarrassing for her.
Why not take a shortcut for convenience?
Jerry Yates raised his head from a pile of clutter, utterly bewildered, "You can break this contraption like that?"
"Yes."
Nora Scott lazily responded.
Then, she aid at the Shogi board and swung the iron hamr hard.
"Bang—"
"Bang—"
"Bang—"
After three loud bangs, the Shogi board was forcibly smashed. She tapped around with the hamr, pried open the broken board, tossed it aside, revealing the contraption inside completely.
Jerry Yates: "..."
Show crew: "..."
Everything can be smashed.
"The first to open a contraption with brute force. I rember Rosa Sullivan was quite gentle with her inventive openings, wasn’t she?"
"Poor prop team."
"I’m really impressed. Nora Scott is fearless; she’s got the looks, the popularity — when this airs, who knows what they’ll say about her online."
"Not all negative. Just the fact that she morized all the positions of the pieces at a glance shows her capability. Besides, breaking a contraption by force — if you don’t understand its structure, even tearing down the whole wall wouldn’t help."
"Poor prop team, again. However, I must say I’ve been looking forward to her innovative way of opening the contraption from the start."
"...Be careful, the prop team might co after you."
"Shouldn’t they be after Nora Scott?"
"Nora Scott single-handedly took on so many zombies; the prop team doesn’t even have the strength to challenge her.
...
Nora Scott’s unconventional moves, not playing by the rules, not only didn’t repel the staff but instead garnered her a large fanbase.
Life is too tough; each of them is living a suppressed, exhausted life, and in this line of work, they bear a certain amount of pressure. Nora Scott’s boldness in defying conventions and opening with strength represents opening a new world for them.
—So there are operations like this?!
Thinking deeply, they envied Nora Scott’s cheating-like ability and admired her unrestrained, self-assured way of living...
...
During the show crew’s chatter, Nora Scott had already operated several complex contraptions, and when she made the final adjustnt, the vent above automatically opened.
Jerry Yates looked at Nora Scott’s daring operation in disbelief.
—This woman definitely understands chanical Techniques!
For once, he took the initiative to approach and ask, "What’s the principle behind this?"
"Don’t be fooled by appearances, just a straightforward operation principle," Nora Scott said casually.
Anyway, explaining in detail to Jerry Yates, he probably wouldn’t understand.
Jerry Yates: "..." Feeling sowhat belittled.
"Let’s go."
Nora Scott tossed the hamr aside, pulled out a makeshift usable table, placed it under the vent, and raised an eyebrow at Jerry Yates.
Jerry Yates gave her a look.
—Actively inviting him up, it felt odd sohow.
Thus, once crawling into the vent, dusted all over, Jerry Yates sowhat understood why Nora Scott let him be the first to go — she was using him as a mop.
But such remarks could only be grumbled internally, even avoiding saying it to the cara.
Otherwise, he’d be accused of being petty, narrow-minded.
The vent was relatively spacious, enough to squeeze in an average adult, though it felt a bit restrictive. However, if one wasn’t claustrophobic, this level of discomfort could be barely endured.
For a while.
He was fully inside the vent.
And just then—
"Ahhh—"
"Bang bang bang—"
"Thud thud thud—"
A cacophony suddenly erupted from all directions. Due to shoddy construction, with the slightest disturbance, all the walls were rattling, and in that initial instant, a sense of earthquake panic surged through Jerry Yates.
But in the next mont, he heard Nora Scott’s calm voice—
"The commotion from 307."
Strangely, this calm tone, composed deanor, soothed Jerry Yates’s restlessness and fear.
Quietly, he let out a breath of relief.
Unable to turn around and only able to backtrack, he simply stopped, listening closely.
There were screams, impacts, and crashing sounds, all mixed together. On closer listening, they were indeed all coming from 307.
"What happened?"
A guest on the opposite side raised their voice and shouted.
"There’s soone in 307!"
"All the noise is coming from 307!"
"Did any of you go into 307?!"
"We can’t solve the contraption! We haven’t found all the clues! We’re probably going to be wiped out!"
...
Two groups communicating across 307.
Eventually, 307 returned to calm with not a single sound. After conversing remotely for a bit longer, Anastasia suddenly rembered Nora Scott and Jerry Yates.
"Nora Scott! Jerry Yates! You guys keep smashing walls over there, what’s going on?! Is everything alright?!"
Once the question was asked, everyone else stopped speaking simultaneously, waiting for an answer from Nora Scott or Jerry Yates.
"About to enter 307." Nora Scott’s voice was steady, carrying through the door to the ears of the four guests, "Details to follow shortly."
Upon hearing Nora Scott’s words, Jerry Yates pondered for a mont, hesitant to ask, "Go in now?"
Wasn’t there soone in 307?
What if it’s a "ghost"?
Nora Scott slightly raised her head without answering and instead countered, "How about I go first and you follow behind?"
Jerry Yates: "..."
Without saying another word, Jerry Yates silently crawled through the ventilation duct.
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