Building My Empire in the Frozen Apocalypse (Riley Carter) novel Chapter 161

Chapter 161 Shadow Of Time

Chapter 161 Shadow Of Time

“Objective: Solve the two–tier riddle and reach the core of the tree canopy. Massive rewards await.”

“A puzzle dungeon? And ‘massive rewards?”

Riley arched an eyebrow.

Instance types like this were rare in survival games–no immediate threat to your life, just a nice change of pace.

“Let’s check it out.”

TartKing, hearing about the rewards, was already vibrating with excitement.

Riley pushed open the circular wooden door, which was carved with elaborate gear patterns.

Creeeeeak.

The hinges groaned as the door swung inward.

*

Inside was a massive circular hall with windows on all sides.

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The room was furnished entirely in wood, complete with flowerpots on the sills, rugs, partitions, and coffee tables. It looked like someone actually lived here. The only thing slightly out of place was a coat rack standing dead–center in the hall.

“Hello? Anyone home?” TartKing poked her head in and called out, but there was no reply.

The only sound was the rhythmic tick–tock of a pendulum clock on the far wall. The time was stuck at exactly 2:00 PM.

Riley walked in and took a seat at the dining table.

For some reason, the lighting inside didn’t match the outside; sunlight streamed through the windows, bathing the room in a warm

glow.

The sun cast long, lazy shadows from the candlesticks on the table.

After doing a lap around the hall, TartKing found a staircase leading to the second floor, but a wooden door blocked the landing. A massive keyhole sat right in its center.

TartKing knocked twice, but again, silence.

“The system said it’s a puzzle dungeon. We probably have to find the key ourselves,” Riley said.

“Ugh, I hate these. Too much brain work.”

The excitement TartKing had earlier drained away the moment she realized they had to actually think.

Despite the whining, she started moving, rummaging through every cupboard and drawer in the room.

Riley didn’t stay idle either.

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Half an hour later, they’d searched every possible nook and cranny. For a lock that size, the key had to be huge–there weren’t many places left to hide it.

1/3

12:22 pm P ppp.

Chapter 161 Shadow of time

The only exception was a single drawer that refused to budge. No matter how hard they pulled, it stayed shut. Riley studied the drawer Aside from a red gemstone embedded in the handle, it looked completely ordinary.

She even tried her hatchet on it, but under the “indestructible” rule of the instance, the wood didn’t even scratch.

Finally, they gave up and sat back at the table, staring at the coat rack in the middle of the room.

“That coat rack is definitely suspicious.”

“Tell me about it. But I tried moving it earlier–it’s bolted to the floor.“”

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“The more they don’t want us to move it, the more important it is. Maybe we need to hang something on it?” Riley took off her jacket and draped it over a peg.

Silence. Not a single mechanism clicked.

“Guess not.”

She took her jacket back and sat down, resting her chin on her hand as she thought.

“Wait, Riley! I found something!”

TartKing suddenly spoke up.

“What is it?”

“Look at the clock. I was staring at it for a second, and the hands… they aren’t moving.”

TartKing pointed to the wall clock.

Riley looked over and realized the discrepancy immediately.

The pendulum was swinging and making noise, but the hands were frozen.

Riley remembered that when they first walked in, it was 2:00 PM. After all that searching, it was still 2:00 PM. Because the ticking was constant, she had subconsciously assumed the clock was working fine and missed the clue.

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