They slowly approached the small room. Xu An reached out a hand and gently pushed the door open, which creaked with a sharp sound that seemed particularly loud in the silent environment. A thin fog filled the room, obscuring its full view.

Shen Jingqi's heart suddenly quickened, and he clutched the box in his hand tightly, as if doing so could give him a sense of safety. Xu An took a deep breath and was the first to step into the room. He turned on his flashlight, sweeping it across the room, illuminating some old equipment and filing cabinets.

"Everything seems fine," Xu An said, though there was still a hint of caution in his eyes.

Shen Jingqi also stepped into the room, placing the box in a corner and then covering it with some miscellaneous items. After completing this, he clapped his hands and said, "I hope it's safe enough here."

Xu An walked to the doorway, once again surveying the surroundings, and said, "We need to leave here soon. According to the clues in the documents, we must continue searching for the mastermind. Time is tight, and we can't linger too long."

They cautiously left the corner and headed in another direction of the laboratory. An eerie atmosphere filled the lab, with lights flickering as if countless eyes were watching them from the darkness. Shen Jingqi followed closely behind Xu An, his palms already sweating coldly.

"How many secrets do you think this laboratory hides?" Shen Jingqi asked softly, his voice tinged with a tremor.

Xu An didn't turn around and only said in a low voice, "No matter how many secrets there are, we have to uncover them. The mastermind is surely nearby, and we can't let them succeed."

During their search, they encountered more danger. The laboratory was filled with various traps and mechanisms, easily triggered if one wasn't careful. As soon as they stepped into a room, a slight 'click' was heard underfoot.

"Not good!" Xu An shouted, quickly grabbing Shen Jingqi's arm and pulling him back. At the moment they retreated, the floor beneath them suddenly collapsed, revealing a bottomless black hole. A pungent odor surged from the hole, making one feel nauseous.

Shen Jingqi looked at the black hole in fright, a chill running through him. If Xu An had reacted a bit slower, they might have fallen into that black hole by now.

"This laboratory is too dangerous; we must be more careful," Shen Jingqi said, his voice laced with fear.

Xu An nodded, his gaze becoming more determined. "The more dangerous it is, the closer we are to the truth. We cannot let these challenges scare us off."

They continued forward, encountering a corridor filled with spikes. Sharp spikes protruded from the walls, glowing with a ghostly green light, seemingly coated with poison. At the end of the corridor stood a tightly closed door, etched with strange symbols.

"How do we get past this?" Shen Jingqi asked, looking at the spikes, his heart filled with despair.

Xu An carefully observed the corridor and the symbols on the door, his mind quickly pondering a solution. Suddenly, he noticed a resemblance between the symbols on the door and those on the box.

"Perhaps these symbols are the key to unlocking the corridor mechanism," Xu An said, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

He began to carefully study the symbols on the door, gently running his fingers over them, attempting to discern a pattern. Shen Jingqi watched anxiously by his side, hands clenched into fists, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

Time ticked away, and Xu An's brow furrowed even tighter. He tried various methods, yet the corridor's mechanism remained unsolved.

"Could it be that we really can't get through?" Shen Jingqi asked, somewhat despairingly.

Xu An didn't answer him; he took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. He scrutinized the symbols on the door once more, and suddenly, his eyes lit up. He discovered a hidden pattern within the symbols; if he pressed certain spots on the wall in the order of this pattern, the mechanism might unlock.

"I've found it!" Xu An exclaimed excitedly, his voice filled with joy.

Following his hypothesis, he located the corresponding spots on the wall and pressed them in sequence. As he did so, a rumbling sound echoed through the corridor, and the spikes on the walls slowly retracted, making the passage safe.

"You're amazing!" Shen Jingqi said excitedly, his eyes filled with admiration.

They safely passed through the corridor and arrived in front of the door. Xu An examined the symbols on the door again, realizing they seemed to be a password lock. He began trying various combinations, each attempt causing his heart to race involuntarily.

Just as he was about to give up, the door gave a slight click and slowly opened. A rush of stale air hit them, the room filled with a thick layer of dust.

They cautiously entered the room, which was piled high with various files and documents. Shen Jingqi eagerly ran over and began sifting through them, his eyes full of anticipation, hoping to find clues about the mastermind from these documents.

Xu An, on the other hand, stood aside, warily observing the surroundings. He knew this room might also harbor dangers. Suddenly, he heard a faint sound of footsteps coming from the corner of the room.

"Who's there?" Xu An shouted, his hand swiftly reaching for his weapon.

The footsteps abruptly halted, plunging the room into dead silence. Shen Jingqi also stopped what he was doing, his eyes filled with fear. They huddled together tightly, warily watching the corner.

After a while, a robot emerged slowly from the corner.

On its head appeared a message, "You won't be leaving this laboratory today."

After speaking, the robot waved its hand, and the doors of the room slowly began to close.

"What do we do now?" Shen Jingqi asked anxiously.

Xu An frowned, "We can't sit here and wait to die; we need to break out quickly."

Shen Jingqi and Xu An began pushing the door while observing their surroundings. He noticed a window on one side of the room, small but big enough for them to escape through.

"There's a window over there; let's head that way!" Shen Jingqi shouted.

They started breaking toward the window. The robot noticed their intention and began moving toward them. Shen Jingqi and Xu An ran desperately, reaching the window.

They forcefully pushed open the window, then leaped out. Outside was a dark corridor; they didn't have time to think and ran toward the end of the hall.

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