Details Determine Success or Failure

In the red earth mud pond, on the circular earthen platform, travelers sat or squatted, intently carving Clay Figures.

Besides the rustling sound of iron carving knives shaving the raw clay, there were also heavy breaths from some travelers due to fear, which only highlighted the terrifying silence on the platform.

Song Li raised her arm and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

Unknowingly, her inner clothing was already soaked and stuck to her body, making her very uncomfortable.

She was panicking because the Clay Figures she carved looked like they had been chewed by a dog. Not only could she not meet the requirements for the Clay Figure Monster, but she couldn't even stand to look at them herself.

"If I continue like this, I'll definitely fail!"

Song Li looked at 18D, then glanced at Ma Yuan.

Thankfully, these two people, like her, had no artistic talent and were clumsy with their hands.

When she looked at Xia Hongyao, she felt jealous.

The Clay Figure carved by this girl with a high ponytail was so lifelike.

It was a shame she couldn't have her do it for her.

Song Li looked at Lin Baici again.

Huh?

His carving wasn't great either; the hands and feet were very rough, but anyone with eyes could easily tell he was carving himself.

Why?

Song Li observed for a few minutes and understood.

Lin Baici had focused his energy mainly on the Clay Figure's clothing.

"That's right, clothes make the man, and the most important thing for a person's impression is their clothes and accessories, isn't it?"

Song Li got excited, as if she had discovered the secret to getting a perfect score.

The sports shoes on Lin Baici's feet were Anta, and he had even carved the logo.

"My beige studded high heels, they say, are either worn on women's feet or carried on men's shoulders; they're highly recognizable."

Song Li crushed the Clay Figure in her hand into a ball, kneaded it, and started carving again.

The Clay Figure Monster patrolled the area, walking on the earthen platform.

It would occasionally stand beside a traveler and look for a few moments. Although it didn't comment, it would shake its head or nod.

The Clay Figure Monster came to 18D's side and looked at the Clay Figure in his hand, shaking its head.

18D stood there seriously, not daring to look sideways.

The Clay Figure Monster then looked at Song Li and, after a few seconds, nodded before leaving.

"How was it? How was it? Did it nod or shake its head?"

Song Li asked in a low voice.

"It nodded!"

Ma Yuan was dejected. The Clay Figure Monster hadn't paid attention to him, leaving him unsure if his creation was up to par.

"Haha!"

Song Li's heart settled back into her chest.

"I'm safe!"

Song Li glanced at Lin Baici with some regret.

"If only he were my boyfriend."

"What about me?"

18D was nervous, his hands trembling.

"It shook its head!"

Ma Yuan pouted, "Carve it again!"

"Ah?"

18D's face immediately fell into a mournful expression. "I already put so much effort into it!"

"You need to carve your distinguishing features!"

Song Li, having just learned the secret, whispered it to 18D.

First, do a favor and build goodwill!

Maybe she could collect the interest and principal back someday.

"So that's how it is!"

18D suddenly understood and quickly thanked her, "Thank you, Sister Song!"

Sigh!

Sister Song is so nice, with fair skin, long legs, and a tiny waist. If she were willing to be my girlfriend, I'd sell my blood and steal electric bikes before I'd let her suffer even a little.

Lin Baici listened to their conversation, his brow furrowed.

Was his Clay Figure qualified or not?

The God of Gluttony hadn't commented or given any reminders, so it should be fine!

The Clay Figure Monster patrolled the area like an invigilator, making the travelers very nervous. The atmosphere was also very oppressive. Suddenly, a middle-aged woman screamed in terror as if she had seen a ghost.

"What's going on? What's going on? Why has my Clay Figure melted?"

Everyone looked over at the sound.

The clay material in the middle-aged woman's hands was now like ice cream left out under the scorching midday sun, rapidly melting.

Patta! Patta!

Some red mud fell to the ground, forming puddles of mud.

Everyone was startled and quickly looked at their own Clay Figures.

"Mine seems to be melting too!"

"What the hell is going on? Is the temperature too high? Or was the carving technique wrong?"

"Why is your Clay Figure okay?"

The travelers started to clamor, and many of them found that their clay materials were showing signs of melting.

At this viscosity, it was impossible to shape it any further.

"Wh-what's happening?"

The big-bellied man's Clay Figure had also become a mess. He was shocked and angry, questioning the Clay Figure Monster.

The Clay Figure Monster glanced at him.

It didn't say anything!

"Damn it, are you mute!"

The big-bellied man couldn't help but panic. If the clay material melted, it meant direct failure, no need to even take the test.

The middle-aged woman was very flustered. She looked around and saw that some people's Clay Figures hadn't melted, which confused her.

"Why hasn't your Clay Figure melted?"

She asked several people, but none of them answered. It wasn't that they wouldn't say, it was that they simply didn't know why.

The middle-aged woman saw Lin Baici. She had a deep impression of this medical student who had treated her at the station. When she discovered that the Clay Figure in his hands hadn't melted, she immediately ran over.

"Young man, why hasn't your clay material melted?"

Lin Baici looked at the aunt, who was full of anxiety and had diabetes. "Did you not follow the Clay Figure Monster's instructions?"

"I did!"

The aunt with diabetes emphasized, "One hundred and twenty times, not a single one less!"

"No, I mean, did you lift it over your head each time?"

Lin Baici explained.

"Th-this…"

The aunt with diabetes was stunned.

After about forty-something times of pounding, her arm got sore, so she got lazy and stopped lifting it over her head. "D-does it have to be lifted over your head for each pound to count?"

"It should!"

Lin Baici nodded.

Others also heard Lin Baici's words and thought his reasoning was likely correct.

"Go ask those whose clay materials melted, and you'll know?"

Xia Hongyao suggested.

The aunt with diabetes immediately called out, "When you were pounding the clay, did none of you lift it over your heads?"

Everyone looked at each other.

Soon, everyone understood. This was the reason.

"Damn it, I knew I shouldn't have been lazy!"

"Are you sure that's the reason?"

"No doubt about it!"

Those travelers whose clay materials had melted regretted it immensely. They shouldn't have cut corners earlier. The others, meanwhile, secretly rejoiced that they hadn't slacked off.

Gulp.

Song Li swallowed a mouthful of saliva, feeling a sense of lingering fear.

It was a good thing that tall young man pulled me back just now, otherwise I would have slacked off too, and then I'd be in trouble.

"What do we do now?"

The auntie with diabetes looked expectantly at Lin Baici, waiting for him to come up with an idea.

"Do I even need to ask? Hurry and get the red mud and start over!"

Ma Yuan raised his wrist and glanced at his watch: "Hurry up, there's only fifteen minutes left!"

"Right! Right! Let's do it again!"

The auntie with diabetes rushed towards the red mud pond.

The travelers whose clay figures had melted also snapped back to reality. One by one, they ran into the mud pond, grabbed red mud nearby, and then ran back, smashing it onto the stone slabs as quickly as possible.

This time, no one dared to slack off; they all held the clay figures high above their heads.

Smack! Smack! Smack!

The sounds of impact were endless.

Time ticked by, second by second, at an unhurried pace, but the travelers' nerves grew increasingly tense and anxious, especially those who hadn't yet completed the 'body shaping' step. They were sweating profusely from worry.

"Finished!"

Xia Hongyao placed the clay figure on the stone slab, crossed her arms, and observed it from left to right.

Beautiful!

As expected of my work.

"Mine should be okay, right?"

18D had also finished, but he was unsure if it was up to standard, so he looked anxious.

"It should be!"

Song Li casually replied, as if it didn't matter. Mine is fine anyway.

"There are only seven minutes left!"

Ma Yuan stood up and looked out, noticing that the travelers who had strictly followed the Clay Figure Monster's instructions for smashing the clay figures had almost all completed 'body shaping'.

Even those still carving were doing minor touch-ups on their clay figures. It's not like I have anything else to do.

"This step should be safe!"

Song Li picked up the studded high heels placed beside her and put them on.

I want to look beautiful,

So I can seduce Lin Baici and make him take care of me.

"Handsome, you..."

Just as Song Li was about to strike up a conversation, she suddenly heard a horrifying scream.

"Honey, why is your clay figure melting?"

Whoosh!

Everyone turned their heads to look.

"It's that pregnant woman!"

18D blurted out.

This pregnant woman was in the same carriage as him. Her husband had even argued with an auntie who was playing loud music on her phone, just to make her more comfortable.

In the end, he lost the argument, and it was Lin Baici who stepped in to handle the troublesome Douyin auntie.

Now, the pregnant woman was covered in mud on her legs, her loose skirt stained. She sat on the ground, cradling her belly with one hand and looking at her husband's clay figure with a face full of horror.

"What's going on?"

The pregnant woman started crying, tears and sweat mingling with the mud, turning her face into a mess.

Her husband, wearing glasses, looked flustered.

"I... I don't know!"

He tried to fix the clay figure, but the red mud was still slowly melting like wax dripping from a burning candle, and it couldn't be reattached.

A patrolling Clay Figure Monster happened to walk near him and stared at him expressionlessly.

"Why is it melting?"

The bespectacled man was completely baffled. "I held the clay figure above my head every single time I smashed it!"

The Clay Figure Monster did not answer.

"You must be mistaken!"

Ma Yuan shouted.

"No way!"

The bespectacled man shook his head vehemently. He had been an honest person since childhood. Whether it was tasks assigned by his parents, teachers, or his boss at work, he always completed them meticulously.

"What you say is useless. Your Clay Figure melted, which proves you were slacking off. Go get more red mud quickly!"

A traveler interjected.

"I wasn't slacking off!"

The man with glasses flushed red.

"Honey, don't worry about that. Hurry and get the red mud!"

The pregnant woman urged, struggling to stand up to help her husband.

"Don't move around, you might miscarry!"

The man with glasses worried.

"My life is on the line, and you're worried about a miscarriage?"

The big-bellied man grumbled impatiently. His arms were sore, and he felt like he was dying, but he had to endure it and hurry to sculpt the Clay Figure.

But when his carving knife once again touched the half-finished clay embryo, it actually began to melt. Moreover, the big-bellied man could clearly feel the clay embryo softening.

"What's going on?"

The big-bellied man broke out in a cold sweat.

Even if he didn't understand anything, he knew that in this state, the clay embryo couldn't be sculpted into anything.

The big-bellied man panicked and suddenly looked up, wanting to see the other people's clay embryos. That's when he heard the aunt with diabetes cry out in terror.

"Why is my Clay Figure melting again?"