“We probably won’t be swimming. We’re just here to take a look,” Su Lingyan said.

Hearing this, Nathan’s expression softened somewhat. “You guests certainly have plenty of leisure. The showers and restrooms are over there. If you need anything, just come find me. I’ll get back to work now.”

Nathan was about to leave when Su Lingyan spoke.

“There’s a door over there. May I ask where it leads?”

Su Lingyan pointed toward an inconspicuous door on the other side of the pool.

Nathan glanced in that direction. “That’s the equipment room. It’s used to manage the pool. Someone comes by at regular intervals to inspect it. I ran into him yesterday. I saw him go to the shower room before he left. I’m only responsible for cleaning, so I don’t go inside. It’s usually locked. Anything else?”

“No, that’s all. Thank you.”

Nathan took his mop and went off to clean the floor.

“Any hints for your side quest?” Bai Luoyin asked after Nathan had left.

“No. After I entered the basement, the quest was completed. There haven’t been any other quests,” Su Lingyan said.

“I think I’ve figured out how this game’s quest system works. The quests it gives us are all very vague. There are no clear instructions,” Bai Luoyin said.

“Doesn’t that also mean there’s a lot of freedom? I don’t mind it,” Echo said.

“Anyway, let’s look around. There should be some clues here,” Bai Luoyin said.

“Let’s start with the shower room,” Su Lingyan said.

“Because Nathan mentioned the shower room just now? Makes sense.” Bai Luoyin nodded.

This was a private swimming pool, so there weren’t many showers, but the room itself was still fairly spacious. Immediately to the right upon entering was a row of half-length mirrors. Opposite the mirrors was a row of lockers.

Bai Luoyin noticed a safe to the left of the lockers.

“It’s a combination lock.” Bai Luoyin crouched down to take a closer look.

“Looks like we’ll have to look for some clues,” Su Lingyan said.

Echo hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“Um... didn’t we find a note in the sitting room?”

“A note?” Su Lingyan looked puzzled.

“I forgot to tell you. While you were gone, Kairo found a note in the sitting room. There were several strings of numbers written on it,” Bai Luoyin said. “But we don’t have the note with us.”

“It’s with Kairo?”

Bai Luoyin nodded.

Echo looked at Su Lingyan, then at Bai Luoyin. She then took a piece of paper out of her pocket.

“Actually, I copied them down. I was afraid we might need them.”

Echo handed the note to Bai Luoyin. The handwriting on it was delicate and neat.

“You’re so thoughtful!” Bai Luoyin said, pleasantly surprised.

Echo lowered her head somewhat bashfully and spoke in a quiet voice.

“It’s... it’s nothing. We still have to solve the puzzle.”

123698741
1456369
14789654
321456987

Su Lingyan looked at the four strings of numbers, then at the numbers arranged in a nine-grid pattern on the safe. She quickly figured out the answer.

She reached out and swiftly entered 0465 on the safe’s keypad.

Beep.

The safe opened.

“Oh, got it on the first try.” Su Lingyan opened the safe. There was only a key inside.

Going by the usual conventions, this should be the key to the equipment room.

Bai Luoyin took the key and made sure there was nothing else inside the safe.

“This place is pretty far from where we found the note. How did you figure out the puzzle?” she asked.

Su Lingyan tapped the safe.

“It’s not difficult. Arrange the numbers one through nine in a nine-grid pattern, just like the keypad on this safe. Then connect them in the order shown by the numbers. Take the first line, for example: 123698741.”

Su Lingyan’s slender finger moved across the keypad, pressing the numbers in order and tracing out a circle.

“Like this. That makes zero.”

Bai Luoyin visualized it in her mind and quickly understood what Su Lingyan meant.

“I see.”

“You’re amazing.”

Echo’s round eyes sparkled.

Su Lingyan smiled and accepted the compliment.

“Let’s see if there are any other clues. Then we can check out the equipment room. Nathan should be gone by now, right?”

They searched the shower room for a while but found no other useful clues. After confirming that Nathan had finished his work and left, they headed to the equipment room.

Su Lingyan inserted the key into the lock.

Click.

The door opened.

The equipment room was small. Inside was a screen displaying the pool’s condition, a large water filter, and several buttons for draining or pumping water.

“Nothing seems out of place,” Bai Luoyin said.

“Even if there were something wrong, I wouldn’t be able to tell. I don’t even know what the equipment room for a swimming pool is supposed to look like.” Su Lingyan shrugged.

The room was truly tiny. Once all three of them entered, there was barely any space left. So Su Lingyan and Bai Luoyin stepped outside, leaving Echo to investigate on her own.

About a minute later, Echo came out.

“There’s nothing here,” she said.

Su Lingyan and Bai Luoyin exchanged glances.

“So we came all this way for nothing?” Bai Luoyin said.

They looked at their reflections in the water and found the situation somewhat amusing.

Su Lingyan closed and locked the door.

“Not necessarily. Anyway, let’s put the key back where we found it. We might need it later... Hmm?”

“What is it?” Bai Luoyin asked.

“My reflection seemed to move just now.” Su Lingyan stared at the water. “She’s smiling.”