ALL NOVEL My startled heart quickly calmed down. Honestly, I wasn’t scared to death or anything; it was just that a fierce-looking face suddenly popped up in front of me, which shocked me.
The damage to my image during that process… well, that’s unavoidable. It’s seriously embarrassing, but it’s not that important, so whatever.
“Okay, let’s think for a moment. I expected zombies to be behind that door from the start… and there must be a way to break through in this room! For now, while Hina-chan figures out the password for the door, I’ve found a clue: the word [RINSE] and possibly the password 7319. Of course, it could also be 00730109.”
As I explained the password deduced through my deduction, Hina also agreed that this password seemed correct.
“But the word ‘rinse’ feels a bit random. It must have some significance…”
“Hahaha! In situations like this, I think it’s better to gather more clues rather than cling to the ones we’ve already found. After all, Hina-chan was able to open that lock thanks to the password I found while reading the report, so if we check the things here, we might find something!”
“That makes sense. Alright, Mika, start checking this report. I’ll go read what’s over there.”
Thus, our clue-seeking time began again.
The report I checked detailed the results of experiments conducted on zombies. There was no need to check the entire content, as it seemed they highlighted the conclusion of each experiment in bold as if to say, “just read this part.” Honestly, this is much better than wasting time on meaningless settings.
After compiling the conclusions of each experiment:
1. Zombies do not engage in any living activities.
2. The host of the virus appears to be in a sort of stasis. Theoretically, if treatment succeeds, the host might regain consciousness.
3. The way the virus makes the host’s body move remains unknown. This is likely something that cannot be explained by modern science.
4. Zombies seem to draw energy from moisture in the air. It’s different from photosynthesis.
5. Zombies that come into contact with a certain amount of water temporarily halt their movements, which appears to be a process of converting water into energy. This process is quite quick and they won’t show this reaction again until they have used up a certain amount of energy, which has been beneficial to the military. We were able to secure test subjects thanks to this characteristic.
So, zombies stop for a bit when they touch water to regain energy?
…The more I think seriously about it, the more it seems like a downside for me. It’s just a story constructed for the theme of an escape room, so I’ll just have to accept it.
I pondered. The information that zombies halt their actions when touching water can be considered the key to passing through that hallway. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be such a detailed explanation.
Zombies. Water. RINSE. 7319.
…RINSE. Anagram?
“…Got it!”
Yeah, when it comes to English words, anagrams are the way to go. Rearranging RINSE gives SIREN. While a fire alarm is commonly referred to as a Fire Alarm, calling it a Fire Siren is not entirely wrong.
This implies a fire alarm. Furthermore, it suggests the solution is to activate the sprinkler system to incapacitate the zombies and pass through the hallway.
Using “sprinkler” as an anagram would surely result in a headache for both the creators and solvers, so they likely went with the simpler “siren” and “rinse.” After all, this is a mid-difficulty theme.
Then, 7319 or 00730109 could be the password for the door leading to the third area across the hallway.
When I shared this reasoning with Hina, her eyes sparkled as she retraced the reasoning process.
“That definitely sounds plausible. So now, let’s look for a device to execute that method. It can’t mean to use the fire suppression system included in the building’s basic design, right?”
Ah?
“Hahaha, that’s probably true. Yeah, that makes sense!”
…I can absolutely not bring myself to say that I was convinced by that sprinkler on the ceiling! The shame I feel, even when keeping it a secret, is unbearable.
Hina seemed to sense something odd from my awkward reaction, but since she quickly diverted her attention, it seemed she handled it well. After managing to somewhat recover my damaged image with a successful deduction, I definitely couldn’t just forget about that… No, I can’t let that happen.
Fortunately, the device to solve this obstacle was found inside a drawer.
The small device that looked like a matchbox was missing its battery slot. Underneath the drawer, there was a lock made of four digits, so when I input 7319, a battery came out from inside.
I wasn’t sure if I could actually use the matchbox to operate the sprinkler, but let’s think of it as just a device.
“…Oh, then how do we unlock the lock on the opposite side?”
“Is there a possibility that it’s entirely absent? There’s bound to be challenges to solve in the next area as well.”
“That may be true, but we must consider the special characteristics of this theme. We can temporarily incapacitate the zombies using the sprinkler, but that’s literally just temporary; if the second area was designed with the mechanism where zombies start moving again after a certain amount of time, then opening a locked door before those zombies rise again could itself be one challenge.”
Since I’m not particularly experienced in escape rooms, this is purely speculation, but I feel that I would have constructed it that way. There’s practically no reason to have a device like moving zombie robots otherwise.
“At that point, doesn’t it stray a bit from the concept of mid-difficulty? The staff presented a rule stating that one should not use force to suppress zombies. I see ample reason to consider dodging zombies as a workaround.”
“Not just ample reason; it’s probably a hundred percent. If that’s the case, they might treat being captured by zombies as part of the solving process and reward coins for it…”
“Coins? What does that mean?”
Seeing our Student Council President tilt her head in confusion despite doing well with the problems; isn’t that a level of cuteness that’s almost perfect crime? At this rate, I might want to kidnap her to Trinity. Honestly, wouldn’t Hina also be wary of escaping from Gehenna?
“Coins usually refer to lives in games. So when it’s three coins, it means you have three lives. Therefore, if getting caught by zombies results in losing one coin, it means you might have to return to this room and start over! If getting caught instantly results in a failed escape, then that’s just a hardcore difficulty☆”
Aside from the actual difficulty, if being caught results in an escape failure, then that somewhat deviates from the purpose of escape rooms. Experiencing trial and error, gradually solving problems, and savoring the thrill and fulfillment of escape is the very essence of escape game enjoyment.
For that reason, even high-difficulty escape rooms usually have high difficulty regarding problems or devices, but do not limit how many times you can attempt solving them.
“Hmm, it seems we lack sufficient information. Wouldn’t it be better to clearly inform us if getting caught means you have another chance?”
Hmm… It definitely feels like there’s something inexplicably unfriendly about this once we start the game.
“Hahaha! Perhaps they’re trying to maximize immersion before the first coin is used. They give a sense of urgency by making it feel like it’s the end if you get caught, including the emotion you would feel if you fail to open the door to the opposite side as part of the theme itself. Yeah, that makes sense why they wouldn’t provide detailed information!”
“Actually, this is my first time experiencing such a situation, so I’m not too sure, but hearing your words, Mika, seems to lend credibility to that idea. So, let’s return to that report I was checking earlier. Given the situation so far, it’s likely there’s a final clue there.”
After picking up the matchbox device, we closely skimmed the report Hina was reading.
“Hmm…”
“Nothing.”
“Yeah, nothing here.”
It was genuinely a report with no notable contents. Maybe we just hadn’t found a clue, but it also seemed like it might just be a simple MacGuffin.
“Mika, what do we do now? Should we just try pushing through?”
Could the first area really be ending like this? It feels rather unconvincing…
Ah, could it be?
“Hina, could it be that we’ve been thinking too far ahead?”
“Then, I suppose the locks for moving to the next area from the hallway as I mentioned earlier don’t exist?”
“No, no! That’s not it! We’re treating this lab as the first area and the hallway beyond that door as the second area. Thus, the answer to the question of moving from the second area to the third has to be in the second area!”
With the situation perfectly aligning, both Hina and I felt excitement as we realized we had tried to solve everything in this room before attempting to pass to the next area, and that must’ve been the reason for our stalling. Logically, clues helping us to move on should be in the next area, but we had ignored it and wasted time racking our brains here unnecessarily.
“So that means, we have to find the clues in the second area and open the door before the zombies start moving again. That’s what it is?”
“Yeah, that’s right!”
“…Alright, let’s go.”
Standing before the door to the hallway, I turned the matchbox device behind me. Seeing Hina nod as our eyes met, I nodded back in agreement.
Click—
I placed the battery into the matchbox device, and pressed the button in front of me.
[Fire has occurred! Fire has occurred!]
Breeeeep——!! Wooooosh—!!
A fire alarm blared from the speakers somewhere in the room, and soon after, the sound effect of water pouring from the sprinklers played.
“Don’t miss any surrounding clues. I’ll check the left side, so Mika, take the right.”
“Okay, understood!”
[You have used the sprinkler device once. Remaining uses: three.]
“Wow—oh☆ This device can actually be used multiple times! I thought it could only be used once!”
“That’s why there’s a reason this is mid-difficulty.”
[The zombies have ceased operation.]
“I’ll go in first. Mika, follow me closely.”
“Hahaha! The Student Council President’s presence is no joke!”
As we opened the door and stepped into the hallway, we saw a total of three robot zombies standing immobile. As previously agreed, we scoured the right side of the corridor as we moved forward.
Indeed, these were not actual doors leading to other labs, but I thoroughly inspected the doors that only looked convincing.
We exited lab 101. To the right were labs 103, 105, and 107, so the left side probably contained 102 to 108.
Upon reaching the hallway’s end, we confirmed that the door leading to the control room, as we had anticipated, was locked. The door across the way was labeled “Storage,” so perhaps we needed to find the clue to unlock this door from there.
“I’ve found a clue, Mika! The password is a four-digit number. I saw the number 8 on the fire hydrant and the number 4 written above one of the zombies’ bodies.”
…What? If I couldn’t find a clue on my side, would it put me in a traitor’s position?
Fortunately, I managed to find one.
“On the door to lab 103, there were five long scratches, making 5. In contrast to all the other tiles being white, there was one black tile, making 1. If you ask me, we should input them in the order we passed through!”
“…So that’s 5, 8, 4, 1.”
Clunk—
“Huh? What’s this? It won’t open?”
“I’ll try rearranging it again.”
Clunk— clunk clunk—
Hina kept changing the combinations, but the password didn’t fit. Hmm, at this rate, wouldn’t the zombies start moving again soon…?
Wait, did that one just twitch slightly? No way, it actually did twitch!
“Hina-chan, I think they’re about to start moving!”
“…Ugh, where did I go wrong? There are still combinations we haven’t tried…”
“Whoa—oh… they’re coming over here…!”
On a whim, I tried to open the door to the storage room next to me, and it opened without issue. I thought this must be the right direction, but just as I was about to call Hina, I caught sight of something I had overlooked.
“…Huh? Is there also a black tile on the ceiling?”
If that’s the case, it’s not 1 but 2…?
“Hina-chan, it’s 5842! Try that! 5842!”
“Oh? Okay, I got it. 5, 8, 4, 2…”
Click—
“Mika, it opened!”
“Then let’s hurry inside!”
Just as we succeeded in opening the door while still less than a meter from the nearest robot zombies, we managed to enter the control room and closed the door behind us.
“…Hahaha! Hahahahaha! What is this☆ Hina-chan, my heart is racing so much! What do I do? I think I got way too immersed! This was so much fun!”
“Certainly, the tension and urgency were incredible. However, it’s still not over, right? We need to send a request for assistance to complete the escape.”
“Yeah, that’s true. But with someone as clever as Hina-chan, I’m sure you’ll find a way to solve it soon~☆”
“Well, it wouldn’t be odd for you, Mika, to solve it first instead.”
As we exchanged those compliments, we ultimately burst into laughter, feeling embarrassed.
After meeting today, Hina seemed to have vibrant, lively eyes for the first time. It appears that starting off with an escape room café was a splendid choice.
As expected, the final area ended in the blink of an eye. If Hina could solve it this fast, I couldn’t help but wonder about the result if we attempted an escape room with Hanako or the Millennium genius sickly girl hacker.
Later, when we inquired with the staff, we learned that for the zombie segment, whether we fail the first attempt or get through, it’s standard practice to find clues in the storage area to deduce the password, then use the sprinkler device again to pass through. Our method of finding clues in the hallway and unlocking the door was merely a shortcut we had left in.
After hearing that we had successfully escaped in the shortest time of over 10 minutes less than the previous best record of 27 minutes, Hina appeared even happier than expected, smiling softly as she suggested trying a more difficult theme next time.
…Thank goodness Hina seems to dislike horror themes!