Scoring and Review

On the earth platform, it was very quiet except for the crackling sound of burning charcoal.

The passengers had even lightened their breathing, afraid of making any noise and missing the Clay Figure Monster's instructions, so Lin Baici's voice was especially jarring.

Swish!

Everyone turned to look at Lin Baici.

Lin Baici didn't speak immediately, but stared at the Clay Figure Monster. If it made any aggressive move, he wouldn't warn everyone again.

The Clay Figure Monster turned its head to look at Lin Baici. Its eyes, formed from mud, still revealed a look of surprise.

It hadn't expected

that Lin Baici could remember every step of the Clay Figure Firing.

"It's time to Reduce Charcoal!"

Lin Baici shouted.

"But this monster... it didn't give any instructions?"

The speaker was a man in his thirties, with patchy baldness and swollen eyes.

"It deliberately left it out!"

Lin Baici explained.

He recognized this man. Back in the Waiting Hall, the God of Gluttony had commented on this drowsy, hungover man, saying he was addicted to alcohol.

Swish!

Everyone looked at the Clay Figure Monster.

The Clay Figure Monster suddenly grinned, saying nothing.

"Are you sure?"

"How can he be sure? There's no way he remembered every single step, right?"

"But he has no reason to screw us over, does he? And he helped everyone before!"

The passengers murmured, unsure of what to do, but almost no one took Lin Baici's words seriously. They waited for the Clay Figure Monster's instructions instead.

After all, making a mistake meant death.

"I've said my piece. Believe it or not, it's up to you!"

Lin Baici sighed and gave up trying to persuade them.

No wonder the God of Gluttony said the first batch had the highest survival rate. It turned out the Clay Figure Monster would deliberately omit several steps in the subsequent trials.

If the participants couldn't remember the entire process, death was the only outcome.

"Brother Lin, you can remember when to Add Charcoal, Reduce Charcoal, and use the Bellows to Raise Temperature?"

18D was curious.

"Mm!"

Lin Baici nodded.

During the Clay Figure Firing just now, he had been watching the clock and quietly noting the times, using his Eidetic Memory to memorize everything.

"So that's why you kept checking the time!"

Ma Yuan suddenly understood.

"Hiss!"

18D sucked in a breath of cold air. Wasn't this memory too terrifying?

Wait!

If Brother Lin was right, then these people...

This time, Reduce Charcoal wasn't just once, but three times. The Clay Figure Monster didn't mention it, and the passengers didn't do it, so they met a tragic end.

Just as the hungover man was about to ask the Clay Figure Monster if Lin Baici was right, his body suddenly burst into flames.

Like lamb chops in an oven, he visibly dehydrated and turned charred black.

A plume of black smoke billowed.

Ah!

The hungover man screamed. Now, even without the Clay Figure Monster's instructions, he wanted to take the charcoal out of the kiln, but it was too late.

The others saw this and scrambled to act, but they couldn't make it in time.

All the passengers participating in this trial, because they Reduced Charcoal too late, caused the clay figures in the kiln to be ruined, and the damage was reflected back on them.

These people were all set ablaze, like so many Human Torches.

The watching passengers, shocked and terrified, hastily backed away, afraid of being caught in the blaze.

Two minutes later, the ground was littered with charred corpses.

One hundred and nineteen people.

All dead.

The air stank of burning fat and muscle, a nauseating reek.

The remaining passengers stared at the horrific scene, then instinctively looked toward Lin Baici.

If these people had listened to him, they probably wouldn't have died.

"Don't just stand there! Go smear on the red clay!"

Lin Baici shouted.

Everyone scrambled into action.

The bodies sprawled across the earth platform were terrifying to behold, but the Clay Figure Monster remained calm as ever. "The rest of you, take your clay figures and wait before a kiln!"

Chaos erupted; someone even lost a shoe in the rush.

With the lesson of the last batch fresh in their minds, everyone moved quickly this time.

"Open the kiln!"

"Enter the kiln!"

"Light the fire!"

The clay figure firing began.

The monster paced idly around the earth platform, issuing orders as it went.

While following instructions, the passengers kept glancing at Lin Baici.

"Handsome guy, if it deliberately leaves out a step, you have to tell us, okay?"

"Shut up, don't distract him! Just listen to the commands!"

"Heaven help us! Heaven help us!"

The passengers were tense, like birds startled by the mere twang of a bowstring.

Fifteen minutes later.

"Time to lower the fire and reduce the charcoal—three pieces!"

Lin Baici saw the Clay Figure Monster hadn't spoken, so he quickly warned them.

This time, no one hesitated; they immediately pulled charcoal from the furnace.

The clay figure firing process took less than thirty minutes, but to the passengers, it felt as long as walking through the eighteen levels of hell.

Finally, When the Clay Figure Monster uttered the words 'Withdraw charcoal,' 'Extinguish fire,' and 'Open the kiln,' the passengers felt a sense of relief wash over them.

A few women, after the tension snapped, were so relaxed they wet their pants.

The passengers wept with joy. After retrieving their clay figures from the kilns, they rushed to Lin Baici's side to thank him.

"Handsome guy, thank you!"

"Bro, let me kowtow to you!"

"Do you have a girlfriend? I have a daughter—she's eight, in third grade, and very pretty!"

The passengers crowded around Lin Baici, not just to thank him but also to get on his good side and build rapport, hoping he'd save them first when the time came.

[That young married woman with the eight-year-old daughter—fair skin, beautiful face, plump figure—she's got some flavor. Worth considering!]

Hearing this, Lin Baici turned and glanced.

The woman was caked in mud, her face weary and disheveled; not a trace of charm was visible anymore.

[Of course, the finest milk source is still this Xia Hongyao. I suggest buying the best fruits, vegetables, and grains to feed her carefully.]

[No pain, no gain—don't be afraid of the trouble!]

[A bottle of milk a day keeps a man strong at his core!]

"Can you say something serious?"

Lin Baici wanted to know how to take down this Clay Figure Monster more than anything.

"Good. Next comes the final step: the scoring and critique round!"

The Clay Figure Monster announced loudly. "Who volunteers to go first?"

Everyone exchanged uneasy glances, wary and hesitant, before their eyes settled on Lin Baici.

Lin Baici remained unmoved.

"Since no one steps out, I'll choose myself."

The Clay Figure Monster clearly had no patience. It pointed a finger. "You, step forward!"

The unlucky soul chosen was a middle-aged man.

He immediately looked at Lin Baici in panic, pleading for help. "Handsome guy, help me?"

"Get up here now, or I'll give you a zero!"

The Clay Figure Monster urged.

The middle-aged man didn't dare delay any longer. He scurried up to the Clay Figure Monster, and when he saw it extend its hand, he tremblingly handed over the clay figure he'd fired.

"The features aren't clear, missing eyebrows and ears."

"The hands and feet are uneven in length!"

"Overfired, cracks all over the body!"

The Clay Figure Monster rattled off seven flaws in one breath, shook its head in deep disappointment, and lost all interest in further critiquing this clay figure.

"Garbage that offends the eyes. Zero points!"

With that, the Clay Figure Monster hurled the clay figure in its hand to the ground.

Bam!

The clay figure shattered, breaking into pieces.

That middle-aged man let out a miserable scream and collapsed to the ground. His body looked as if it had fallen from a skyscraper—blood sprayed everywhere, bones fractured and crushed, twisted beyond recognition.

The passengers shivered and backed away, trying to hide behind others, because the flaws the Clay Figure Monster had pointed out were also present on their own clay figures.

If they got picked, it was a dead end.

"You, come here!"

The Clay Figure Monster chose another.

"Bro, think of something fast!"

The unlucky wretch looked at Lin Baici pleadingly, treating him like a last lifeline.

[Next, you go up!]

[Remember, when this monster finishes its critique and tells you to step back, smash the clay figure in your hand immediately! Otherwise, this thing will come to life later and rip out your heart!]

"It's not over yet?"

Lin Baici was stunned. He'd thought that after the Clay Figure Monster's critique, he could clear this God's Taboo Game. He never expected he'd have to fight the clay figure he'd made.

What a scam.

No wonder a Rule Pollution with a difficulty of 5.0 had such a low survival rate.

The middle-aged man got forty points, not a pass.

When the Clay Figure Monster smashed the clay figure, this middle-aged man gritted his teeth and launched a desperate attack, but he didn't even touch the Clay Figure Monster before it slapped his head to pieces with one blow.

"Next!"

The Clay Figure Monster acted as if it had just killed a mosquito, completely unconcerned. It raised its right hand, ready to point again.

"I'll go!"

Lin Baici raised his right hand.

Swish!

Everyone looked over, faces full of shock.

"Little Lin, have you figured something out?"

Xia Hongyao's expression brightened.

Ma Yuan and 18D also looked expectant.

"I'll test it first. If I survive, you all do as I did!"

Lin Baici finished speaking and walked toward the Clay Figure Monster.

"Brother Lin, no need to risk yourself personally. Let someone else go first!"

18D lowered his voice to persuade: "The people here, to stay alive, they'll definitely be willing to try your method."

"Let me do it!"

Lin Baici smiled.

"Little Lin, I'll go!"

Xia Hongyao grabbed Lin Baici: "You've helped me so much. It's time for me to step up. After all, I'm the Leader. If the sky falls, I have to hold it up. I can't let my Team Members take the risk!"

"..."

Lin Baici was taken aback. He noticed that when Xia Hongyao said this, her expression was dead serious.

[This girl means it. What a noble soul. Look at the fragrance she's giving off—so tempting!]

[Want to eat.]

[Recommend steaming!]

The God of Gluttony's tone was thick with drooling desire.

"Don't worry, I've always had good luck!"

Xia Hongyao patted Lin Baici on the shoulder, took the clay figure, and walked toward the Clay Figure Monster.

Slap!

Lin Baici grabbed her arm.

"Don't mess around!"

Lin Baici didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but there was some emotion stirring in his heart.

This High Ponytail girl, she was someone you could count on!

"All of you, just wait here and relax!"

Under everyone's gaze, Lin Baici walked toward the Clay Figure Monster.

He showed no nervousness, no fear, and none of that desperate resolve of someone walking into certain death. Instead, his face was calm, as if what he was about to face wasn't a terrifying monster that killed without mercy, but an old, lame dog scavenging for food in a trash heap.

"What nerve!"

Ma Yuan silently praised.