Chapter 44: The Gate of the Clock

I suddenly understood: although these eight doors, although there are no signs and no room numbers, if they correspond to the same number, then, when I enter these different doors, isn't it equivalent to trying to open the secret code of the safe?

For example, the number "036", one of the doors, may be "0", after entering this door, I find the door corresponding to "3", and then, go in, to the next hall, and then find the number "6", isn't this equivalent to opening the password?

I was impressed by my amazing imagination, maybe this is a huge energy that only bursts out in desperate situations?

But now the question is, which of these eight identical doors is "0", which one is "3", and which one is "6"? I can't just define them myself, can I?

It seems that if we want to solve this problem, we still have to find some solutions from those eight gates. Perhaps, I may have overlooked some very small detail somewhere?

The devil is in the details! For me, the details mean survival, or destruction?

So, I searched carefully, one door after another. It's a bit like a classic game "Let's find the difference", I need to discern what are the subtle differences between these eight seemingly identical doors?

Although it was a bit like looking for a needle in a haystack, I found a clue that excited me.

I found that one of the eight doors that looked exactly the same was different from the other seven.

It turned out that in front of this door, there was a small piece of floor tiles, which turned out to be crimson!

However, the crimson was not bloodstains, but the natural color of the tile. Since this small patch of crimson tiles occupies a small area, and the door is not obvious among the large black tiles that resemble a sea of black tiles in this hall, I did not notice it at first.

In front of the other seven doors, there were no crimson tiles.

So, what does the door with its crimson tiles on the ground in front of it mean?

Suddenly, it occurred to me: maybe, I don't need any password at all, just keep walking through this particular door, maybe, I can get out? That crimson tile may be a special mark, does it represent a certain line that can get out of here?

So, I decided to give it a try.

I walked in through the one with crimson tiles in front of it, and to the next hall, I searched again. Soon, I found the red tiled door in front of the next one. So, I went in again.

However, I followed the same method, passed through several halls in succession, and still could not get out.

Could it be that the crimson tiles are not the mark of the escape path at all?

This time, instead of despairing, I pondered in my heart again.

No, the door with the crimson tiles is not the one that leads to the outside. That tile seems to be just a numerical marker, perhaps, this door is the starting point of these eight doors, that is, - "1"!

“1”? That's right, this crimson tiled door is the number "1"! This gate is Gate No. 1!

So, if the door with dark red tiles corresponds to the number "1", then which door represents "2"?

It's very simple, if this door is 1, then, the door next to it, naturally, is 2, and then it is 3, 4, 5, and can go up to 8.

However, the problem arises again.

The first question is, there are two doors next to Gate 1, is Gate 2 the one clockwise or counterclockwise?

However, this problem also seems to be easy to solve, and I can start by defining door 2 clockwise. If that doesn't work, I'll do the other way around and define the order of the doors counterclockwise.

The second question is that there are only eight doors here, from 1 to 8, but what about the "0"? In the number "036", both "3" and "6" can be found, but what about this "0"? Which door is "0"?

I can't find an answer to this question,

I don't know why I'm so obsessed with the number "036", but I decided to give it a try.

Perhaps, that "0" is meaningless at all, and "036" may just be "36", mathematically, they are the same.

Well, then let's treat a dead horse as a live horse doctor!

So, I first found the "3" door in clockwise order, which is the third door clockwise from the "1" door.

Passing through Gate 3, I went down the next hall and found Door 6.

However, through Gate 6, I still returned to the hall.

If it doesn't work clockwise, I'll switch to counterclockwise!

I tried the counterclockwise "36" again, but it still didn't work.

This time, I really panicked.

I should have thought that "036" wouldn't work at all! Can a number be used as a universal password everywhere?

I failed, and I started crying again.

However, there was no one else here, and even if I cried loudly, no one would know.

I was so tired from crying that I fell asleep.

"Look, what time is it?"

In a daze, I heard a voice.

I opened my eyes, and in front of me was a large blackboard.

A man, standing right behind the blackboard, with his back to me. Just now, it seems that he was speaking.

Now, what time is it?

I rubbed my eyes and looked around.

Where is this? How does this look like a classroom? Am I in class?

I was literally sitting in a classroom, in a chair behind a desk.

I looked up and saw that on top of the blackboard, on the white wall, there was a clock.

In a daze, I opened my mouth and said, "Three o'clock? Oh no, it's 3:05. ”

"Not precise enough!" The man, who had his back to me, shook his head.

I was stunned for a moment, and then rubbed my eyes again.

That's right, the hand is at 3 o'clock, and the minute hand is at the "1" position on the clock face, isn't this 3:5?

"The correct answer is: 3:06!" The man said slowly.

When I looked closely, it was clear that the minute hand had crossed the point of "1", on the first small scale between "1" and "2". "1" represents 5 points, and "2" represents 10 points, so that small scale is 6 points.

This man is probably a math teacher, he is really demanding perfection!

But when the man turned around and glared at me viciously, I screamed.

The man in front of the blackboard is none other than the shameless horror chef in the school cafeteria!

Not only is this guy now faceless, but one of his eyeballs is gone, and the other eyeball is drooping from his socket, but it is only pulled by some kind of bloody, thread-like thing, so it doesn't fall off!

Suddenly, he cracked his mouth at me. All I heard was a "click", as if something had fallen out of its mouth.

I looked down and saw that it was a row of teeth!

When I looked up again, the guy with his grinning mouth and no teeth was laughing even more wildly.

Then, his eyeball, which was still hanging on the edge of his eye socket, also "clanged" and fell to the ground.

His terrible voice echoed in the classroom.

"3:06, 3:06, 3:06!"

Yes! I was awakened, and my heart was still pounding.

Just now, I had a dream, a terrible nightmare!

I looked around, and there was still silence all around.

I'm still in the hall on the third floor, surrounded by the labyrinth of doors.

Suddenly, I thought of the dream I had just had.

Didn't I dream of the clock on the wall just now? Isn't there a "12" scale on the clock? This "12" is actually 12 o'clock, and in the 24-hour system, 12 o'clock in the evening is also called "zero o'clock".

"0" points?

That's right, "036" may represent the three numbers on the clock, corresponding to 0 o'clock, 3 o'clock and 6 o'clock respectively!

Suddenly, I understood.

In this hall, the door with its crimson tiles on the ground in front of it is not actually Gate 1!

Because, on the clock, the first digit is not "1", but "0", that is, the position where "12" is engraved. Every day of our day does not start at 1 a.m., but at 0 a.m., which is 24 o'clock the night before!

If you think of this hall as a clock face, it is clear that the "0" is the starting point, the door with the crimson tiles, and the "1" is next to the "0" point!

So, is the "1" to the left or the right of the "0"?

The answer is simple, on the right, of course, in a clockwise direction! Who has seen the clock go backwards?

Therefore, if you find the "0" point, it is easy to find the following points of 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.

"036", that is: the first time, I want to enter the door corresponding to the "0" point; The second time, I entered the third door clockwise from the "0" o'clock, which was the direction of "3" o'clock; One last time, I entered the door at "6 o'clock" again!

Thinking about this, I can't help but get excited.

Of course, this is just my assumption, and it may not be the case. But anyway, I had to give it a try.

God, bless me!

So, I first found the "0" door, which was the one with the crimson tiles.

After passing it on, I did the same and found Gate 3. After passing through Gate 3 again, we entered Gate 6.

When I walked into the last "6" door, I found that the passage behind this door seemed to be different from the passage I had just entered.

The passage seems to be particularly long, and, the further you go in, the brighter it becomes. The light didn't seem to be the dim light of the incandescent lights in the hall.

I walked to the end of the passage, and there was a red door instead of the black one before.

I pushed open the red door, and the blinding light shone through at once.

The light, it was so intense, I closed my eyes.

When I opened my eyes again, I was surprised to find myself standing in an office!

This is a very large and spacious office, and the decoration inside is particularly gorgeous.

The blinding light came in from a window directly in front of me.

The light, it, it turned out to be sunshine!

It's been a long time since I've seen the sun! I froze, and then, with joy, wanted to jump and scream.

I finally got out of that labyrinth, could it be that this is the principal's office?

However, it is still late at night, how can there be sunshine?

Could it be that the sky is already dawning?

While I was in a daze, suddenly a voice came from the room, a woman's voice······