Chapter 25: Consider It Your Retribution

Jiang and Xie were aware of the red button's existence. Before they officially began searching the gym, they specifically checked the room to see if it contained one.

Xie Yixing pointed to the lockers, "Jiang Yunyao, look! Is that it?!"

On the reddish-brown locker, there was an inconspicuous red dot, about the size of a thumb. If one didn't look closely, it would easily be mistaken for a decoration.

Jiang Yunyao was about to speak when she suddenly heard faint footsteps outside. The sound didn't resemble that of sneakers, but rather dress shoes. If she remembered correctly, among the remaining guests, only Uncle Liu wore dress shoes.

Seeing her holding her breath and focusing, Xie Yixing subconsciously softened his own breathing. He followed her gaze, staring unblinkingly at the door. As the footsteps drew closer, Jiang Yunyao tugged on Xie Yixing's sleeve and whispered, "Let's coordinate later and take him down!"

Xie Yixing signaled his agreement with his eyes.

The two deliberately moved away from the red button, positioning themselves in such a way that the button remained exactly between them. Jiang Yunyao gave Xie Yixing a gesture, signaling that he could begin his performance.

Xie Yixing crouched down and began rummaging through the equipment in a panic, trying to find a clue while urging his companion. "Jiang Yunyao, the identity of the minions is still uncertain, we need to find the clues quickly! If we open the castle gate, we win!"

Jiang Yunyao glanced at him and said lazily, "I don't think our chances of winning are that high. How about we just stop looking and end the game?"

"End the game?! What do you mean?!" Xie Yixing stood up abruptly, a flash of anger in his eyes. "Are you really on our side? Or are you actually a minion?!"

Jiang Yunyao didn't answer him, but turned to look at the door, her gaze sharp. "Who's there?!"

"It's me! It's me!" Uncle Liu walked out from the side, his suspicious, scrutinizing gaze landing on the two of them as he tentatively asked, "What are you talking about? What minions?"

Xie Yixing walked toward Uncle Liu, "Uncle Liu, you’ve come just in time! I just discovered that Jiang Yunyao seems to be a minion!"

As a minion, Uncle Liu naturally knew which rooms were the "dark rooms." While dealing with the two, he used his peripheral vision to search for the red button. "You say Little Jiang is a minion? Do you have any evidence?"

Xie Yixing approached him slowly, continuing his accusation. "Of course I have evidence! I've been in a group with Jiang Yunyao, and I've barely seen her look for clues. She only searches perfunctorily when I urge her to! Who would believe she isn't a minion?!"

"Little Xie, what you say makes some sense." Uncle Liu turned to ask Jiang Yunyao, "Little Jiang, do you have anything to say?"

Jiang Yunyao let out a mocking laugh. "Ha! I didn't expect you to figure it out! Xie Yixing, I am indeed not on your side!"

Hearing her admit it personally, Xie Yixing found it hard to accept. "You're a minion?! You really are a minion?! Jiang Yunyao! I trusted you so much! I can't believe you're actually a minion!"

Uncle Liu hadn't taken their conversation seriously at first, but upon hearing this, he stopped looking for the button and stared at Jiang Yunyao in shock. "Little Jiang, are you really a minion?" That was impossible! There were only three minions: Xiao Nuo, Jiang Yue, and himself. How could there be another one?!

"Who told you I was a minion?" Jiang Yunyao toyed with a lock of her hair and curled her lips. "Uncle Liu, have you never wondered why there are only three minions, but five family members with normal identities?"

Guided by her words, Uncle Liu thought deeper. "Are you an undercover agent for the minion faction?"

Jiang Yunyao looked as if she were frustrated by his lack of insight. "I'm the Wizard! The very Wizard the minions are supposed to rely on! My identity is a trap the production team laid for the minion faction! If the minions accidentally eliminate me, the minion faction loses!" She spoke so convincingly that it seemed to be the absolute truth.

Uncle Liu was skeptical. "Really? Then why didn't you say so at the beginning?"

Jiang Yunyao put on an "I'm baring it all" expression. "The production team said that unless a family member with a normal identity points me out, I cannot reveal my identity to you!"

Uncle Liu continued to probe, "Do you know my identity?"

"Of course! I don't just know yours," Jiang Yunyao paused slightly and glanced at Xie Yixing behind him, "I know his, too!"

While Uncle Liu was still processing this information, he suddenly felt a chill down his spine. The next second, he was pinned firmly against the wall by Xie Yixing, his mouth covered.

Seeing the plan succeed, Jiang Yunyao dropped the act. She rummaged through the locker, pulled out a nylon rope, and skillfully tied him up. Finally, she bowed sincerely to Uncle Liu. "I'm sorry, Uncle Liu."

Xie Yixing released his grip on Uncle Liu's mouth and followed suit, offering a bow as well.

Uncle Liu’s eyes widened as he realized the sequence of events. "You teamed up to trick me?!"

To make him feel better, Jiang Yunyao comforted him, "You, a minion, kept accusing us of being minions, and more than once. Just consider this your karma!"

Uncle Liu: "..." What karma? I just accused you; I didn't tie you up!

After Lu and Lin were eliminated, many viewers flocked to Jiang and Xie's live stream. Witnessing the drama, they couldn't help but flood the chat.

"Hahaha, I'm dying. When Jiang Yunyao said she was a Wizard, I saw the look of existential crisis on Uncle Liu's face!"

"Wizard? She really came up with that on the spot!"

"Production team: When did we set a trap for the minions? Please don't pin groundless blame on us!"

"Uncle Liu, just accept your defeat! These two are capable of invisible acting; their skills are top-notch!"

"Jiang Yunyao's knot-tying technique is a bit too practiced! Have she and Little Xie really not played any strange games?"

"To the one above, here is a pack of detergent, go wash your brain!"

"Jiang Liangliang tied up Uncle Liu—that's clearly disrespecting an elder! Only you brainless followers would praise such morally corrupt people!"

"Oh my! Look at the haters go! Once you slap on the 'disrespecting elders' label, you start twisting black into white, right?"

"Is there any distinction between seniors and juniors in a game? If we listened to you haters, the minion faction would just win automatically!"

"Exactly! The minion faction is full of either the old or the young. If we don't let them win, are we not respecting the elderly and the young?!"

Jiang Yunyao only tied up Uncle Liu to delay him temporarily, so she was careful to ensure she wouldn't hurt him.

Xie Yixing took the opportunity to search for clues. He practically turned the gym upside down, and finally, through a gymnastics sequence, he retrieved a photograph.

The two huddled together to observe the picture closely. The photo showed a window with a potted plant on the sill; a key outline was drawn on the brown flowerpot. It was clearly the clue for the final key!

But then the question arose: there were so many rooms in the castle, and each room had at least two windows. Where would they find this potted plant?

Jiang Yunyao accidentally caught sight of the top left corner of the photo and hurried to point it out to Xie Yixing. "Look here, does this look like a range hood?"

Xie Yixing confirmed her observation. "That's right! This is a corner of a range hood!" When he was learning to cook from Actor Lu, he almost hit his head on the range hood; thanks to Actor Lu's warning, he hadn't! Because of that, he remembered exactly what it looked like.

The purpose of a range hood goes without saying, so the room equipped with one was...

The two looked at each other and said in unison, "The kitchen!"