18 Magic?

Being pleased with the overall situation, Tsetu Zhi and Chong Tsay began putting their brains to work.

"Everyone! Start looking around immediately. There must be a secret door somewhere in this room."

So I need all hands on deck!"

"Right!"

Instantly, as if getting orders from their generals at war, everyone scattered around hastily.

The current them didn't feel lost anymore.

They quickly separated and stood close to the walls, while others coached down on the floors, trying to find some opening or mechanism that would unlock any secret doors.

~Rustle. Rustle. Rustle.~

~Pap. Pap. Pap. Pap~

They searched and searched the back of the room, where they were currently standing, but yielded no fruits.

Seeing this, their hearts sank tremendously.

What was going on?

Why hasn't an opening been found yet?

Some looked at their watches and became flustered.

Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock.

Time was not on their sides!

The room was gigantic and would take too long for them to search thoroughly.

Sweat trickled down their bodies when they thought of the 11 P.M curfew.

Even though it was only 7:48 now, they knew very well that in such incidents, time was just a fleeting thing.

So what do they do?

Dammit!

The more they observed the time, the tenser the room became.

Many people's emotions were high as they impatiently ran through the floor and walls.

Some looked at those standing around and lashed out brutally.

Specifically, Ji Shen's group and a few other lesser geniuses became an eyesore to them.

Couldn't they see that time was no longer on their sides?

As Chong Tsay and Tsetu Zhi said, they needed all hands on deck.

So what the hell were these motherf***ers doing?

Everyone swore that once they found a way out, they wouldn't allow these good-for-nothings to pass through.

What a hateful bunch of people.

.

Looking at the illusionary room filled with black and white squares from top to bottom, Tsetu Zhi squinted his eyes and advanced right to the front of the massive room, accompanied by Chong Tsay.

He was sure he saw something odd there.

Chong Tsay also noticed something the more he advanced.

It wasn't easy to spot, but there was some glitch ahead.

What exactly were they looking at?

Everyone subconsciously paused and watched their 'leaders' calmly advance curiously.

Many couldn't help frowning since they didn't see anything ahead that would gander so much attention from their leaders.

The entire room was an empty one.

So what were their leaders looking at with so much concentration?

Could it be that they had laser focus eyes that could spot the trap doors just like that?

Their attention had now been fully drawn to the scene ahead.

After reaching the front of the room, they stopped at a particular spot before crouching down for a bit.

And not too long after, they stood up again, with their lips stretched apart from molar to molar.

Tsetu Zhi ran his hands through his hair, pushing away the few hair strands around his forehead: "It's just like we expected."

"Indeed. It's exactly like we thought."

.

The gang, who had been slowly advancing, following their leaders, we're still confused about what could've made their leaders so excited.

All they were seeing was still a plain-looking wall, alright?

Of course, the group didn't have time to properly understand the matter because, in the next moment, they witnessed something that made their jaws drop in shock.

Chong Tsay jumped to the side and somehow magically levitated from the ground.

~Thud!

--Silence--

Magic!

Everyone's lips quivered in astonishment, forming a silent -0-.

(°0°)

F***!

What the hell did they just see?

Who were they? What were they doing?

Could it be that they had crossed over to another strange world?

If not, then how could Chong Tsay levitate in a sitting position?

Be it fear, confusion, or disbelief... numerous emotions hit them all at once, making them freeze in silence.

Tsetu Zhi smiled mysteriously while placing one hand in the 'air' and shifting his entire weight on it.

Optical Illusions!

That's right.

The duo weren't magicians or anything of that sort.

The thing was that there was a small table there painted to fit the room.

Yes.

No matter what angle one stood in, the table would blend with the black & white tile walls and floors.

It was truly hard to spot.

Only now did everyone realize that this empty room wasn't as empty as they initially thought.

After getting a clear understanding of the matter, many couldn't help looking at the duo in reverence.

As expected of the people they decided to follow.

With that, everyone hurriedly surrounded the duo without disturbing the conversation between them.

How could they dare to disturb the conversation between geniuses?

Of course, knowing that they were the focus of everyone's attention, the Chong Tsay and Tsetu Zhi's ego's swelled immensely.

They only smiled broadly and became looking for clues like the protagonists that they thought they were.

"It looks like weight doesn't play any significant part or trigger any mechanism. And there's nothing around the table to open the secret doors…" Chong Tsay murmured before trying to pull the stable off the wall.

It's stuck!

The table was attached to the wall.

Tsetu Zhi stooped low again and carefully looked at the table deeply.

Soon, his eyes lit up!

That's it!

"Look! One of the table legs is slightly shorter than the rest. I think this leg holds the key to it all."

The key?

Didn't this mean that they were one step closer to getting out of here?

Everyone trembled with glee while they watched the duo do their thing.

But before they could even bask in the moment of joy, Ching Tsay's words poured cold over on them.

Chong Tsay squinted his eyes and frowned, feeling that things should not be as simple as they seemed. "Brother Tsay, this 'key' might not lead to a good ending, as we think... Because I think I see other 'keys' too."

Eh?

Everyone blinked in silence.

What did he mean?

.

Without wasting time, Chong Tsay proudly moved along the front wall and found 3 other illusionary tables on different floor squares that had one leg slightly shorter than the rest.

One should remember that the tables were attached to the walls, and even the table feet were attached to the floors... All except the table legs that are shorter than the rest.

Chong Tsay guessed that the shorter legs of the tables might be levers of some sort.

So, their success rate all depended on the million-dollar question plaguing him.

Which lever was good to pull and which wasn't?

A single misstep was all it took for failure.

So which do they choose?

Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock.

The clock was ticking.

And they had to make a decision fast!!!