Behind the stairs puzzle solution

The office's hidden VR room starts with a phone number at the train station and ends with seven symbol panels. This route is one of the three secrets required for the hidden-ending path.

Open the hidden room

1. At the office train station, use the telescope near the concrete-covered founder.
2. Find the CALL US advertisement and note the number 277-5944.
3. Return to the office desk and call that number.
4. The message points to the space behind the stairs for one minute.
5. Stand below the vending-machine stairs and wait there for about 60 seconds.
6. Enter the revealed space and interact with the VR helmet.

Solve the seven panels

Treat each panel as a fresh rule. Do not carry symbols from one panel into the next.

1. $4: leave exactly four dollar-sign cells.
2. Asterisk to caret: change every original asterisk into a caret.
3. Dollar and exclamation swap: work from the original board. Change the original dollar signs into exclamation marks and the original exclamation marks into dollar signs, then change any exclamation marks still remaining into percent signs.
4. Percent transformation: turn every occupied symbol into an exclamation mark.
5. Count equation: make the number of exclamation marks plus the number of carets equal the number of percent signs. A verified solution uses nine exclamation-or-caret cells and nine percent cells; the remaining cells may be any symbols.
6. Face: imagine rotating the design, then change the frown into a smile.
7. Caret five: place five carets. The smiley-face corner is clickable and counts as the fifth position.

The secret is complete after the seventh panel accepts the board.

Common blockers

• If the entrance does not open, wait in the space under the stairs rather than on the landing.
• On panel 3, make both replacements from the starting layout; changing an already changed cell again produces the wrong board.
• On panel 7, four visible grid positions are not enough. Use the smiley corner.

This route belongs to the paid full release and is not present in the standalone demo.