Persona Mask

The three ghosts in the abandoned factory had finally all disappeared from the camera's view.

Time taken: one hour and twenty minutes.

After tossing the camera aside, Yu Xing let out a long breath. "Finally, I don't have to carry this thing around anymore. I really don't know how the protagonists in some foreign horror games manage to run around with a camera raised the whole time."

Zhao Yijiu still had the camera in his hand. "Are you sure you don't need it anymore?"

"Of course. The ghosts are all gone. I don't need to change the batteries, and there's no one left to punish me for it." Yu Xing brushed the dust off his hands and walked back from behind the desk. When he looked up, he saw a pitch-black figure standing outside the door.

He had no idea when the figure had appeared. It was quietly half-hidden behind the door, a pair of eyes peering eerily into the office. Anyone with weaker nerves would have fainted on the spot.

"Assistant Hao, you're here."

Zhao Yijiu quickly slipped his small knife into his pocket, then followed Yu Xing's gaze as if nothing had happened.

When the figure outside heard someone call him by name, he moved. A flashlight beam suddenly flared to life, shining up at his plump face from below and casting a grotesque shadow.

Normally, an "applicant"—someone who'd been tested without knowing what was going on—would have been through quite the emotional roller coaster after finally completing the test, only to encounter another ghost.

But the two people in the room were as calm as could be, silently watching Assistant Hao perform.

"...Congratulations." A few seconds later, seeing that he wasn't getting the reaction he'd hoped for, Assistant Hao gave an awkward laugh and lowered the flashlight. He stepped out from behind the door, pretending nothing had happened. "You two passed our company's recruitment test."

"Thanks. I'm so sleepy—"

"Mm."

Assistant Hao had seen plenty of newcomers angrily demanding answers when they heard those words, and others who cried tears of joy. But he'd never seen anyone like these two, who seemed to have expected this all along.

Look, the pale young man was even yawning!

Rubbing his eyes, Assistant Hao couldn't help feeling a little puzzled. Then he thought that maybe he hadn't been a newcomer tester for long and simply hadn't seen much. Just look at them: they'd taken less than an hour and a half. These two were absolute powerhouses for newcomers!

At the thought, a standard smile appeared on his face. He beckoned for them to come closer.

Zhao Yijiu casually set the camera in a cabinet, then approached with Yu Xing.

Assistant Hao studied their expressions. As a ghost, his lifelike mannerisms were rather incongruous. "Actually, your memories should have returned by now. Think about it carefully. In reality, there is no such thing as our Deduction Company."

"Mm," Zhao Yijiu replied evenly.

"Got it. Please, go on," Yu Xing said, unconcerned.

Before, his mind had indeed contained information about the Deduction Company, including how to request leave online, famous streamers, regular programs, and even the company building where the previous round of interviews had taken place. It had all seemed so convincing that no one could have found fault with it, from the company itself to its place in society.

But after Assistant Hao spoke, Yu Xing recalled that these memories had been implanted only a few hours ago. There had never been any friend recommending he apply for an interview three days earlier.

He hadn't looked up information online or weighed the company's risks, either.

Of course, Yu Xing had known all this from the start. His memories had inevitably been distorted, but he was fully aware of it, so it didn't affect him now. He believed Zhao Yijiu was the same, since he'd managed to get his hands on a sacrificial knife in advance.

"Since our company is fake, you must be wondering what force distorted your memories, and what our real purpose is." Assistant Hao paid no attention to the plainly obvious fact that neither of them was the least bit curious. This was his assignment, and he had to explain it clearly.

"Here, I'd like to formally announce once again—"

"Welcome! You've earned the right to enter the Absurd Deduction Game!"

As soon as his voice fell, Yu Xing felt a chill close in around him from every direction.

The frigid aura burrowed into him like a parasite, then gathered in his brain, as if it meant to devour his soul—assuming that people really had such a thing as a soul.

Somewhere in the haze, Yu Xing heard voices speaking inside his mind.

They were noisy. There wasn't just one voice, but many, buzzing like a hundred monks chanting all around him.

Gradually, crying and screaming rose among the voices, along with crashing sounds, hurried footsteps, cries for help, and the furious roar he knew better than anything else.

The words in that roar were... Yu Xing frowned and bit down hard on the tip of his tongue. The taste of blood spread through his mouth, forcing him to cut off the voices in his mind.

He didn't want to hear it.

He didn't want to hear what came next.

The pain brought him fully to his senses. The voices receded like a tide, until at last he heard only a mechanical voice—

"Assessing Deduction Test results."

"Assessment complete. Candidate Yu Xing meets the requirements. Qualification granted."

"Generating Persona Mask template."

It was the Deduction Game's system! A flicker of excitement appeared in Yu Xing's eyes. Everything he'd done was for this.

No one knew how long he'd waited for this moment.

But before the result appeared, his pupils contracted. He immediately covered his mouth with his right hand and swallowed the metallic taste that had abruptly surged into his throat. A sheen of cold sweat spread across his body.

Uh-oh. This was bad...

Yu Xing drew a barely perceptible breath and thought, That frigid aura seems to have triggered my physical discomfort. If I don't rest soon, the consequences could be hard to predict.

There were other people here. He didn't want to reveal too much.

The next moment, the mechanical voice sounded again. "Persona Mask template generated."

A translucent white template appeared before his eyes, linked to his consciousness. He barely needed to look at it before its contents registered in full.

[Persona Mask ?? (Unnamed)]

[Holder: Yu Xing]

[Basic Information: Male, height 185 cm, weight 130 g, age *#€*# (Error)]

[Identity: Inactive]

[Mask Ratio: Not Assessed]

[Holder Description: Let me see... There's something wrong with you. How did you get in here?]

[Personality Offering: ??? (As the first deduction has not yet been completed, the description of the original offering's abilities is temporarily hidden. The abilities are unaffected. Please discover them for yourself.)]

[Personality Assimilation Degree: ???]

[Deduction Mall: Unavailable]

[Wish List: Empty]

[Please choose a Persona Mask assessment game within three days. If you have not begun a game after 72 hours, you will be forced to enter during the final minute. Success will activate your Persona Mask. Those who fail will lose their qualification. Death is the most ideal outcome.]

Well, this was... Yu Xing looked over this string of data, which was essentially a player template, and searched his mind for a way to describe it.

Ah, there it was: "weird from top to bottom"!

The error in his basic information and the description of the holder both looked incredibly suspicious!

Yu Xing could only raise an eyebrow. At least no one else can see this.

Aside from the data, a lot of new information had automatically appeared in his mind.

To sum it up:

He had been chosen by a game called [Absurd Deduction] and was now a prospective player.

In this real, eerie, absurd game, players were known as deductionists. They had to search for answers and the truth in a series of game events, and do their best to survive.

Deductionists who survived would receive varying amounts of Deduction Points based on their game ratings. They could exchange them for anything they wanted in the mall inside their Persona Masks.

Wealth, power, health, beauty, and every other wish born in the depths of the human heart.

The game's world was attached to reality, yet separate from it. All the systems and science of the real world would be distorted and rendered ineffective in this fragmented game world, forming new and chaotic rules. The deductionists called these game worlds—[the Absurd].

Yu Xing glanced at Zhao Yijiu from the corner of his eye. Seeing that he still seemed to be processing the information, Yu Xing steadied his trembling body.

He was getting cold.

His body was a curse, forcing him to compromise and keep a low profile. Otherwise, the more attention he drew, the more likely he was to put himself in danger.

Damn it.

Yu Xing kept his expression unchanged and focused on the information in his mind again.

There were two steps to becoming a full-fledged deductionist.

He had just completed the first step: the simple Deduction Test. It assessed a person's basic qualities, such as intelligence, logic, reflexes, and courage. Those who didn't measure up... Zhang Shuya was an example.

In game terms, he'd already received an invitation code.

But he still had to do something to activate the code and enter the game.

That activation process was the assessment game mentioned at the end of the [Persona Mask] information.

The assessment game was a solo game.

That was good news for Yu Xing. A solo game meant he could act a little more freely.

"You understand everything now, right? You still have to take part in another game within three days. If you don't..." Assistant Hao watched with a smile. Only after both newcomers had finished processing the information did he sidle closer with an ominous grin. "You'll die!"

Zhao Yijiu looked at him coldly. "If you weren't so childish, you'd still be that amiable, chubby fellow."

Assistant Hao was a sort of new-player guide. Though he was a ghost, he wouldn't attack them, and Zhao Yijiu knew it perfectly well.

So this pointless little scare was completely unnecessary. If Yu Xing had... stopped pretending, Zhao Yijiu might have found it strange.

The amiable chubby ghost immediately wilted. These newcomers weren't any fun!

He sighed. "All right, all right. As long as you understand the rules. Since you're not full-fledged deductionists yet, you won't get any treatment for injuries you suffer in this test."

"By the way, there are three ways to survive this test. First, follow my initial instructions and change the batteries like good little boys until the eight hours are up. Second, gouge out your own eyes. That way, the ghosts won't hurt you, whether the camera has power or not. Third, and the hardest, is the method you used to clear the test: kill the ghosts."

"You'll get a reward for this performance once you survive and become full-fledged deductionists."

"That's all I have to say. You can head back now."

Assistant Hao had arrived full of enthusiasm and left in low spirits. He turned directly into a cloud of indistinct blood mist and vanished into thin air.