Today is a workday, and we still have pending projects to be accepted, but that doesn't affect our team building plan - to play an escape room game at four o'clock in the afternoon.
It is said that the one we chose is the most terrifying escape room in Beijing. I am very curious about how terrifying this so-called "ceiling" is. Although I have never played it before, I have seen similar variety shows on TV, so I have a general understanding - a team in a closed space, playing different roles, and completing various tasks under instructions. During the game, there will be staff members playing the role of "ghost" to scare the players. Here, the "ghost" refers to the so-called NPC (Non-Player Character, which refers to non-player-controlled characters in role-playing games). If the team completes the tasks within the specified time, they pass; if they fail to complete the tasks or violate the rules, they are eliminated.
Upon arrival at the venue, we changed into our equipment and started to draw roles after a brief introduction by the staff. The background of our story is that a high school toilet was found with a female corpse with scratches all over her face, and she had been dead for many years. Several classmates of the female corpse decided to return to the school to find out the truth. However, due to the school's restriction on outsiders entering, they had to investigate in the school at night without being discovered by the patrolling security guards.
Since we only had six players, one person was missing, which meant that one person would play two single-line tasks. The so-called single-line task means that one person goes to a certain place to complete a designated task. This is a terrifying setting because in a dark and unfamiliar environment, without the company of teammates, and being scared by NPCs, people with weak hearts can easily collapse.
I won't go into detail about the specific information of the roles and the game process, otherwise it would spoil the fun. Almost none of us had played this type of game before, but with the simple guidance from the staff, we managed to complete all the tasks and pass the game within two hours.
I was the first one to complete a single-line task after the team gathered. My task was to go from the classroom to a certain cubicle in the toilet to retrieve the murdered classmate's backpack. At this time, everyone was not yet in the game mode and was generally confused. I was clueless as well, but I had to go ahead anyway. I groped my way to the toilet in the darkness. Under the dim light, I knocked on the first and second cubicles, but no one responded. I continued knocking on the next ones, still no response. So I pushed open each cubicle one by one, feeling both excited and scared. The fear came from the unknown after opening each cubicle, as well as the suspenseful atmosphere created by horror movies over the years. When I opened the third cubicle, there was a female corpse lying on the floor. I was stunned for a moment, then leaned closer to take a look and found out it was a prop. I thought to myself, "That's it?" Then I casually pushed open the fourth cubicle, and the "female ghost" with disheveled hair, holding the backpack, suddenly reached out towards me. This sudden appearance of the female ghost startled me, and I blurted out, "Holy shit!" which echoed throughout the escape room. I quickly reached out and grabbed the backpack from her hand, then hurriedly ran back. At this time, the security guard outside started shining a flashlight and chasing after me with an electric baton. I ran around the classroom twice, getting shocked a few times on my buttocks. After shaking off the security guard, I entered the classroom and completed my single-line task.
Following the prompts, we arrived at one room after another, and the other team members took turns to complete their single-line tasks. The funniest part was when the female ghost suddenly appeared in the classroom. Due to the close distance, Horton reacted instinctively and threw a right hook, luckily not hurting her, otherwise we would have had to interrupt the game. At the end of the game, there was a four-corner game, in which four people stood at four positions and replaced another person along the wall. In the end, someone disappeared, creating a supernatural event. I was also scared by the female ghost once during the game, perhaps because she held a deep grudge against my character.
The six of us spent around three thousand on this game, which many people might consider as spending money to suffer. But I think this type of experience is quite good, it is effective in releasing stress, especially after shouting out loud. When our brains encounter fear, they release dopamine, and the release of this substance is believed to be related to excitement, just like when we enjoy roller coasters or watch horror movies. Since it can relieve stress and enhance the bond among us, the price is acceptable. The only regret is that we didn't have a video recording of our game process, otherwise it would be very interesting to see the terrified expressions of each person during their tasks.