The Clay Figure Challenge

Everyone's eyes were fixed on the Clay Figure Monster.

Some were cautious, staying silent and hiding in the crowd, afraid of drawing attention. Others wanted to ask questions but were too scared of the Clay Figure Monster to speak, waiting for someone else to step forward.

"Everyone, pay close attention. From what I can tell, if we fail to meet its demands, we'll die!"

Xia Hongyao called out a warning.

Speaking up like that was dangerous. The Clay Figure Monster might decide she was violating the rules of the assessment and punish her with death.

"What the hell is this thing?"

The one who asked Xia Hongyao was a fat man with short hair, round eyes, and a pointed chin. His voice sounded as if he had phlegm stuck in his throat.

"It's Rule Pollution!"

Before Xia Hongyao could finish, the Clay Figure Monster interrupted her.

"Silence!"

The Clay Figure Monster glared at Xia Hongyao and the Fat Man. "Otherwise, I'll revoke your eligibility for the Graduation Assessment!"

Everyone's expressions tightened at those words.

They had no idea what would happen if they lost their eligibility, but it couldn't be anything good!

"Next, I'll teach you here and now how to fire a clay figure. Those who succeed will graduate!"

The Clay Figure Monster walked through the muddy Red Clay Mud Pond. Each step made a squelching sound.

"What happens if we fail?"

Xia Hongyao asked, though she could guess the answer. It was probably death.

"If you fail, you'll be remade in the kiln!"

The Clay Figure Monster snorted.

Xia Hongyao wanted to ask whether "remade in the kiln" meant they'd have to study again and make another clay figure, or whether they'd literally be shoved into a kiln and burned to death.

"Could you say a little less?"

Ma Yuan was exasperated. Was this woman all brawn and no brains?

This was a God's Taboo disaster with a pollution intensity of 5.0. Couldn't she be more careful?

"Black Shark III isn't here!"

Lin Baici scanned the crowd.

There seemed to be about 820 people present.

Jin Yingzhen had said Rule Pollution couldn't be resisted, so aside from those who'd died in the seawater, all the passengers on the G1955 Train should be here.

But Lin Baici couldn't see Black Shark III.

"Before the Rule Pollution hit, didn't that guy pull out a conch and blow a bubble around himself?"

Ma Yuan gave a bitter smile, tinged with envy. "That conch was a Nautilus, one of the few God's Taboo Objects that can let someone escape Rule Pollution!"

As expected, the core members of the Lost Coast team all had powerful gear tucked away.

"Is it expensive?"

Lin Baici raised an eyebrow.

"Definitely. Nautiluses are impossible to find on the black market, no matter how much you're willing to pay."

Xia Hongyao knew the going rate. "God Hunters often have to enter God Ruins to collect Meteorite Stones and contain God's Remains. They usually run into Rule Pollution several times. A Nautilus only protects you once, but used at the right moment, it can save your life."

"Mm."

Lin Baici glanced at Xia Hongyao and Ma Yuan.

Black Shark III probably hadn't left. He was waiting for everyone to die in the Rule Pollution, then he'd come back to loot the bodies. If Lin Baici made it through this God's Taboo Game, he'd have to face him.

If he managed to kill Black Shark III, how would they split the Nautilus?

Could he keep it all to himself?

[You haven't even finished what's in your bowl, and you're already thinking about what's in the pot?]

[Very good. Such lofty ambitions—that's the spirit of a true Hungry Person!]

The God of Gluttony praised him.

Hearing that, Lin Baici took two deep breaths and cleared his mind.

He'd worry about that after getting through this!

"Listen carefully!"

The Clay Figure Monster stopped and began explaining loudly. "Step one: collect the Mud Embryo!"

The passengers' faces were full of anxiety, worry, and tension. They stared at the Clay Figure Monster thirty-odd meters away, unsure what to do.

The Clay Figure Monster crouched and plunged both hands into the pond, brushing aside the wet, muddy red clay on top as if playing with mud.

"What do we do?"

18D looked at Lin Baici.

"Do what it says!"

Xia Hongyao crouched and grabbed a handful of mud.

Making a clay figure—

The first step was obviously to collect clay.

Most of the passengers thought the same, so they crouched down too.

Lin Baici looked around, activated Eidetic Memory, and asked the God of Gluttony in his mind, "Would I be in danger if I went over to that Clay Figure Monster?"

[What if you are in danger?]

The God of Gluttony asked in return.

Lin Baici hesitated for only two seconds before heading toward the Clay Figure Monster.

The Red Clay Mud Pond was so muddy it was like a swamp. Every time Lin Baici pulled a foot free, it took a lot of effort, and he felt as if his shoes were about to come off.

Xia Hongyao saw what Lin Baici was doing and jumped in alarm. "What are you doing?"

Ma Yuan was about to crouch when he glanced over at the sound of her voice.

"Getting closer so I can see better," Lin Baici explained.

Thirty-odd meters wasn't far, and Lin Baici could see clearly from that distance. Still, he was worried he might miss some details.

"Are you crazy?"

18D cried out in shock, then quickly clamped her mouth shut. She glanced at the Clay Figure Monster to make sure it hadn't noticed her, then relaxed and lowered her voice. "Are you tired of living? Worried the Clay Figure Monster won't come after you?"

"That distance isn't far. You won't miss anything!"

Ma Yuan thought Lin Baici was a decent guy worth befriending, so he tried to talk him out of it.

"I still want to get closer."

Lin Baici ignored his advice.

Squelch! Squelch!

Lin Baici was reminded of playing in muddy ponds as a child.

Almost all the passengers had crouched down. Those who hadn't didn't dare move, afraid of attracting the Clay Figure Monster's attention. Lin Baici was the only one walking toward it.

That made him stand out.

"Little Lin!"

Xia Hongyao didn't want anything to happen to Lin Baici, so she immediately stood and hurried after him.

"Aren't you afraid of the Clay Figure Monster?" Lin Baici asked.

"Being afraid won't help!"

Xia Hongyao looked eager to give it a try. "Besides, I'm confident I can beat this God's Taboo Game with my brains!"

"..."

Lin Baici was taken aback. His gaze instinctively drifted to Xia Hongyao's chest.

If she said she was well-endowed, he'd agree!

But brains?

Did she even have any?

Lin Baici hadn't forgotten the God of Gluttony's assessment of the high-ponytailed girl: Strength Speed Double A, Intelligence D.

"By the way, have you noticed something?"

Xia Hongyao cupped a hand over her mouth and asked quietly.

Lin Baici had used his deductions to find Octopus Ball and kill him earlier. That had convinced Xia Hongyao he was smart and made her think his opinions were worth considering.

"Do you think the Clay Figure Monster crouched down wherever it happened to be, or did it pick its spot?" Lin Baici wanted to hear what someone else thought.

"Huh?"

Xia Hongyao was startled. "Did it pick a spot? Didn't it just crouch down after saying, 'Collect the Mud Embryo'?"

"I'm not sure. That's why I want to get closer and have a look," Lin Baici explained.

Xia Hongyao furrowed her brows and considered the difference. Then it hit her with a jolt: if the Clay Figure Monster had seemed to crouch down casually but had actually chosen its spot, that meant they couldn't just collect any old patch of red clay.

Yet plenty of passengers had already crouched down and were getting ready to collect the red clay in front of them.

Lin Baici might have been overthinking it, but his meticulous way of thinking was impressive.

"No wonder you're the teammate I picked!"

Xia Hongyao was pleased with her own judgment.

Lin Baici stood a meter from the Clay Figure Monster, smiling, though his body was already tense. If it made even the slightest unexpected move, he'd summon Muscle Buddha at once.

The Clay Figure Monster's emotionless eyes stared at Lin Baici.

The scene was terrifyingly quiet,

suffocating.

The passengers stared at Lin Baici in disbelief.

Was this guy crazy?

He'd actually gone up to the Clay Figure Monster on his own?

One second!

Two seconds!

Three seconds

After a full ten seconds, the Clay Figure Monster lowered its head. "Step one: collect the Mud Embryo. First brush aside the wet sludge on top of the pond, then take the red clay underneath. It should be drier."

As it spoke, the Clay Figure Monster demonstrated.

Xia Hongyao crouched and did as instructed. Lin Baici, meanwhile, kept his eyes fixed on the Clay Figure Monster, not blinking, determined not to miss a single detail.

About sixty passengers in the crowd were careful and observant.

They guessed why Lin Baici had approached the Clay Figure Monster. Seeing that it hadn't attacked him, they worked up the courage to come closer too.

Plenty of other passengers hadn't figured that out, but they followed the crowd.

Seeing so many people approach the Clay Figure Monster, they felt they'd be at a disadvantage if they stayed back, so they hurried over as well.

Soon, more than two hundred people had gathered around the Clay Figure Monster.

"What are you all doing? You're blocking our view! Move aside!"

The Fat Man shouted.

Those people were more timid and didn't dare go near the Clay Figure Monster.

"Why aren't you collecting the Mud Embryo yet?"

Xia Hongyao dug out a lump of red clay about the size of a coconut.

Crouching beside her, Lin Baici brushed away the sludge in front of him and dug about fifteen centimeters down before uncovering the drier red clay.

Lin Baici grabbed a few handfuls of red clay and squeezed them. He studied the handprints it left behind, then stopped.

"What's wrong?" Xia Hongyao didn't understand why Lin Baici had stopped.

"I don't think this clay is sticky enough," Lin Baici said, recalling how the Clay Figure Monster had dug out the red clay.

It had dug up a few handfuls, then squeezed them. That action must have been to test the clay's stickiness and hardness, or perhaps how dry it was, before continuing.

"Not sticky enough?"

Xia Hongyao's delicate brows furrowed so deeply they could have crushed a crab. She looked at the lump of red clay in her hands. "How can you tell?"

"The handprint," Lin Baici said simply.

"You're just making that up, aren't you? You can tell how sticky the clay is from a handprint?"

Song Li challenged him.

She was barefoot in the mud, holding her beige Studded High Heels in her left hand.

The shoes were expensive, costing more than seven hundred yuan, and she couldn't bear to throw them away.

She thought Lin Baici was an honest person. He also looked strong, and she felt she'd be safer following him, so she'd come over.

"The question is, can you remember how deep a handprint the monster left when it squeezed the red clay?" Ma Yuan asked curiously.

"I think all this red clay is about the same, isn't it?" 18D said, thinking Lin Baici was overthinking things.

Lin Baici couldn't be bothered to explain. He crouched down in a different spot and dug up more red clay, but two minutes later, he stood up empty-handed again.

He wasn't satisfied.

"We can't search around like headless flies. Think about what was distinctive about the spot the Clay Figure Monster chose."

Lin Baici looked at the area around the Clay Figure Monster.

There was quite a bit of standing water. When he stepped down, his feet sank deeper than they did elsewhere.

Lin Baici began searching for a spot that fit those conditions.

There!

Lin Baici picked a puddle and crouched down. He brushed aside the Red Clay in front of him, then compared its depth to the hole the Clay Figure Monster had dug when it took the Mud Embryo. He dug down more than ten centimeters and finally found a suitable patch of Red Clay.

Ma Yuan thought Lin Baici was making a mountain out of a molehill and being far too cautious.

"All the Red Clay here will do. Do you want to take some?"

Lin Baici was asking Ma Yuan and 18D.

"Why didn't you ask me?"

Xia Hongyao was puzzled.