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In the dim space, the stage that had been silent for countless centuries seemed like a waking giant, letting out a dull, mechanical roar.
A puzzle game.
Noah's words were like a stone cast into a pool of stagnant water, stirring up a chaotic ripple in Etienne's heart. He watched the granite tablet rise from beneath the stage, taking half a step back to take in the entire surface.
On that stone tablet was carved an eerie 3x3 matrix. Distorted musical notes, like dying insects, struggled upon the staff lines. Beneath each note, an Arabic numeral was marked in a dark red pigment that looked like congealed blood. The matrix looked completely chaotic, even featuring repeated numbers.
7↓?1↑5↑9↓3↑2↓6↑4↓
Claire's brow furrowed. "What is this?"
Etienne and Noah looked at each other and, almost in unison, uttered a single word.
"Sudoku."
Etienne's voice trembled, but his gaze sharpened. As a scientist, his brain was hardwired for logic. The puzzle acted like a magnet, pulling him out of his despair. He stepped to the tablet, brushing his fingers over the cold symbols.
"No, not exactly Sudoku," he whispered. "Look at the direction of the stems. The '↑' means that in that vertical column, no numbers can repeat. The '↓' means that in that horizontal row, no numbers can repeat. This is Umbrella's style—using a familiar rule to wrap a foreign, lethal core."
Etienne pulled out a black marker. He crouched and drew a large nine-square grid on the ancient wooden floor. His pen moved rapidly, making a scratching sound in the silence.
"First, the question mark in the first row. It cannot be 7 or 1 (horizontal). It cannot be 9 or 6 (vertical). Excluding those, the only solution is 5! And since 6 has an upward stem in that column, this 5 must be a '5↑'."
7↓5↑1↑5↑9↓3↑2↓6↑4↓
He let out a breath, sweat beading on his forehead. "Wait... No! There's an error!" He jerked his head up to Noah. "Look at the first column: 7, 5, and 2. But the '5↑' rule says no repeats in the column. There's another 5 in the first row!"
Etienne's breathing became heavy. A wrong step here could be fatal.
"The rules themselves are a trap," Noah said steadily, crouching beside him. He pointed to the '5↑' and '3↑' in the second row. "Since they share the same attribute, can't their positions be swapped?"
An astonishing light erupted in Etienne's eyes. "Right! Swapping!" He quickly corrected the grid.
7↓5↑1↑3↑9↓5↑2↓6↑4↓
"7, 3, 2 (Column 1). 1, 5, 4 (Column 3). 3, 9, 5 (Row 2). Perfect! The code is 7, 5, 1, 3, 9, 5, 2, 6, 4!" He turned to Claire. "Claire! Play the piano!"
Claire pressed the keys: Si. Sol. Do. Mi. High Do. Sol. Re. La. Fa. Disjointed, jarring notes echoed. And then... nothing. Silence returned. The spotlights continued to shine on empty seats. Etienne's smile froze, his face turning deathly pale. "How? There's no reaction..."
Noah didn't look at the piano. His gaze landed on the nine seats below, illuminated by the light. Etienne followed his gaze and snapped back to reality. "The seats! Those seats!"
He scrambled down and knelt by them. On the back of each seat was a passage of musical score from Goethe's 'Faust' and a small button.
"The numbers from the tablet aren't a melody," Etienne shouted, his genius returning. "They are positions! 1 corresponds to Do, 2 to Re, and so on. We need to press the buttons in the order of a scale from low to high!"
He mapped it out instantly in his head:
Do(1) = A3
Re(2) = C3
Mi(3) = A1
Fa(4) = C2
Sol(5) = B2 (Row 1, Column 2)
La(6) = B3 (Row 3, Column 2)
Si(7) = C1 (Row 1, Column 1)
High Do(9) = B1 (Row 2, Column 2)
Etienne walked to the seats. Click. Click. Click. He moved like a conductor, his hand pressing the final button on seat B1.
Immediately, the piano began to play automatically—Debussy's 'Clair de Lune'. The ethereal melody washed over the stage. Then, with a deep rumble, the center of the stage began to sink, and a black elevator platform rose from the ground.
Noah and Claire stepped onto the platform. On the control panel was a final 3x3 grid with Roman numerals.
"Triple encryption," Noah muttered, his brow furrowed. "What exactly is hidden down there?"
Etienne wiped the sweat from his forehead, staring into the abyss. "No matter what it is, nothing can stop me from finding them."
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