Chapter 171 - 116: A Path Map? Lin Muxue is Dumbfounded

Chapter 171: Chapter 116: A Path Map? Lin Muxue is Dumbfounded

"Okay, President Zhang. I know what to do!" Zhong Miaoying immediately agreed.

After printing a few copies of the complete map for the Bamboo Maze, Zhang Lin took out his phone and called Lin Muxue. "Senior Sister Lin, I’ve printed the map. Shall we go to the Bamboo Maze?"

"I’m coming right over," Lin Muxue replied.

A moment later, Zhang Lin saw Lin Muxue arrive with the girls from the operations department, along with Lin Mengyao and Fu Yao. Even Zhong Miaoying was there.

"Uncle, Muxue said you have to do a really provocative dance," Fu Yao said with an incredulous look the moment they met.

Hearing this, Zhang Lin looked at Lin Muxue. "Senior Sister Lin, you think you’ve already got this in the bag?"

"President Zhang, give me the map to the Bamboo Maze. They’re all witnesses!" Lin Muxue held out a slender, fair hand, her attitude saying it all.

"Let’s go, then!" Zhang Lin handed a map of the Bamboo Maze to Lin Muxue with a smile, then beckoned the group to head to the maze together.

As a newcomer, Zhong Miaoying just watched this scene with curiosity.

’This boss seems like a really nice guy,’ she thought. ’He’s so down-to-earth and can take a joke.’

’She just wondered if he would really do that provocative dance Director Lin mentioned if he lost.’

’She was surprisingly looking forward to it.’

Once outside the office center, they saw Zhang Lin get on his scooter. Lin Muxue instinctively moved to join him but stopped in her tracks when she heard Zhang Lin shout, "Fu Yao, I’ll give you a ride!"

She froze.

’Oh, right. Fu Yao is here.’

’She’s the boss’s favorite.’

When Fu Yao heard her name called, her pretty face flushed with a hint of embarrassment, but she couldn’t help feeling secretly pleased.

’After all, out of so many people, Uncle was taking only her.’

Zhang Lin started the scooter and took Fu Yao towards the Bamboo Maze.

Lin Muxue and the other girls had to make their own way there.

But halfway there, Zhang Lin suddenly noticed that with Fu Yao riding behind him, curious tourists were once again pulling out their phones to film them.

’He then remembered that even though Fu Yao hadn’t been actively managing her Tiao Yin account, she was an internet celebrity now. It would be weird if she *didn’t* attract attention.’

’It really made him want to rant.’

’When he rode his scooter around the park by himself, nobody ever filmed him. But the moment he had a girl on the back, it was like he was suddenly under a damn spotlight.’

Fortunately, the ride wasn’t long, and he soon arrived at the Bamboo Maze.

After parking the scooter, he saw Chu Heng losing his temper in front of a pile of equipment. "I’m telling you, use your brains when you write these scripts! The entire internet knows that Sun Xuan beat the maze. People might not know who he is, but they know someone did it, and Li Yuan Farm has already donated the one million. Is this script meant to make our whole show look like a bunch of idiots?"

’Zhang Lin understood. After being shown up by Sun Xuan, whose identity was a sensitive matter, the entire "Strongest Brain" crew was now in a bind.’

He approached with a smile and greeted him, "Mr. Chu, still stressing about the Sun Xuan situation?"

"It’s a real headache," Chu Heng sighed. "Things would be much easier if you were willing to give me the map to the Bamboo Maze, President Zhang."

But he wasn’t holding his breath.

’After all, this attraction is how they make money. If he got the map and gave it to the contestants, it could easily get leaked. It would surely be all over the internet in no time, and the whole attraction would be ruined.’

’They would never take that risk.’

’And he couldn’t guarantee it wouldn’t get out, either.’

But hearing Chu Heng’s words, Zhang Lin took out a map of the Bamboo Maze and handed it to him. "Mr. Chu, I hope this map is helpful. Besides, we were planning to release this route to lucky tourists in three days anyway. When we do, we’ll say it was cracked by your ’Strongest Brain’ team..."

Chu Heng was clearly stunned for a moment. He only snapped out of it as he took the map, asking, "President Zhang, this... won’t it affect your attraction?"

Zhang Lin shook his head. "It might have a huge impact on other mazes, but it won’t affect this one much."

His confidence stemmed from the maze’s properties: Exploration Dumbing Down +1 and Confusion +1.

Moreover, extreme difficulty can attract countless tourists, just like the current Bamboo Maze.

But even if you gave everyone the map, it would still be very difficult. It would, however, increase the chances of success, which in turn boosts tourist participation and can still attract crowds.

Hearing this, Chu Heng was relieved. He thanked Zhang Lin, then immediately shouted to his scriptwriters, "Everyone over here for a meeting."

Zhang Lin didn’t pay any more attention to the matter.

’Three days was plenty of time for them to sort things out.’

A moment later, Lin Muxue and the other girls also arrived at the Bamboo Maze.

Their arrival immediately drew the attention of nearby tourists. Lin Muxue, Fu Yao, and Zhong Miaoying were all beautiful, and standing together with the other fashionably dressed girls from the operations department, it would have been strange if they didn’t turn heads.

"Alright, President Zhang, I’m going in. Remember, no backing out!" Lin Muxue added as a final reminder.

Zhang Lin chuckled. "Senior Sister Lin, Liu Qian sent me a pretty spicy video. I’m really looking forward to your performance!"

"If I can’t beat this thing with a complete map, I’ll perform that dance three times and post it for three days straight." Lin Muxue rolled her eyes at Zhang Lin, clearly having no doubt she would win. After all, she had been an elite graduate from a top-tier university, had a high IQ, and was extremely confident in her abilities.

And with that, she took the complete map and walked into the Bamboo Maze.

"Director Lin!" The staffer checking tickets at the entrance, though a temporary hire for the event, knew Lin Muxue’s title and was very respectful.

Lin Muxue nodded in acknowledgment and walked into the Bamboo Maze. The first thing she did was pull out the map and examine it.

"First intersection... go left," Lin Muxue murmured, walking ahead. When she reached the first fork, she followed the map’s instructions and took the path to the left.

As she walked, she looked ahead to the second turn on the map.

The second fork had many more branches—six in total. The map pointed to the second path from the center, so she walked on.

She navigated several more forks correctly, following the map each time.

’How could I possibly fail with a complete map?’ A smile touched Lin Muxue’s lips. But after passing through another fork, she froze. ’What does this part of the map mean?’

’Bottom-left, bottom-right, top-center, third-from-left, second-from-right...’

’It was a continuous series of a dozen or so forks, one right after the other. And worse, the scenery around each one was identical.’

’A grid-style maze?’

’I really have to concentrate here. Otherwise, if I make one mistake in the sequence, it’ll be a disaster. I could get lost even with the map.’

Lin Muxue saw the trap. She proceeded carefully, fork by fork. Just as she cleared the fifth one, her phone suddenly rang. The sound, shattering the silence of the maze while she was alone and completely focused, was startling.

She quickly looked at her phone. The caller ID read: President Zhang.

’What’s the boss thinking, calling me right now? Is he trying to startle me?’

’I don’t have time for this.’ She put her phone down and immediately looked back at the map. ’Now, where was I?’

’Was it bottom-left or bottom-right?’

’Wait, no.’

’The last one was bottom-left, I think!’

’So this one should be bottom-right... right?’

"..." Lin Muxue was dumbfounded.

’You’ve got to be kidding me. How could I forget just because of a phone call?’

’I think it was bottom-right.’

She immediately went that way, but when she reached the next fork, she was utterly lost. Nothing matched the map. She quickly turned to go back, only to find three identical-looking paths behind her.

’Which one did I just come from?’

’She suddenly felt like a total moron. How could her memory have gotten so bad? Was it because she’d been concentrating too hard earlier?’

’Then it hit her. President Zhang had called specifically to distract her. That bastard boss was a sore loser.’

’So devious!’

She immediately called him back. She’d be damned if she didn’t give that bastard a piece of her mind.

The call connected, and Zhang Lin’s teasing voice came through: "Hey, Senior Sister Lin, how’s it going?"

Hearing his question made her fume, but she quickly composed herself. Putting on a sweet, pleading voice, she played the sympathy card. "Boss, about that dance... could I maybe just perform it once? And only post it for one day? After all, when I tried to stop you from releasing the map, I was only thinking about what’s best for the farm!"

"Senior Sister Lin, a bet’s a bet. Can’t do it. The tourists would never agree!" Zhang Lin’s laughter echoed over the line.

Just as Lin Muxue was about to continue playing the sympathy card, she realized he had already hung up.

A moment later, her phone chimed with a WeChat notification. Zhang Lin had sent her the video of the girl in a tube top and miniskirt doing that spicy dance.

"..." Lin Muxue sighed, completely exasperated.

’This is all Liu Qian’s fault!’

’Looks like I’ll have to give her some extra responsibilities, make her work more overtime. As punishment, she won’t have any time to flirt with guys or find a boyfriend!’