Alice's Hell (3) - Rooms

"Da, da, da..."

Inside the empty castle, the nun walked silently ahead, occasionally pointing out the rooms they passed. Apart from her voice, the only other sounds were the soft thud of the deducers' sneakers on the floor.

While Yu Xing listened to the nun's guide's introduction, she also looked at the illusory page that had appeared in her mind.

After the nun mentioned the existence of ghosts in the castle, he received a new deduction prompt.

[The "Ghostly Notice (Personal Version, Non-Shared)" scenario in this simulation has been triggered.]

This is a page of black paper with a line of large characters written in white ink on it, "Ghost Notice," followed by lines of smaller text.

[Number of monsters: 9]

[Encountered; 0]

[Resolved: 0]

[Goblin 1:???]

[Corresponding tourist:???]

[Description/Source:??? (Triggered when the corresponding solution item is found)]

[Attack Method/Special Ability:???]

[Solution:???]

[Notification Progress: 0]

[Goblin 2:???]

[Goblin 9: Alice in the Night]

[Description/Source: 1. A vengeful ghost Alice, who, for some unknown reason, is obsessed with collecting sins and taking pleasure in punishing criminals; of course, she herself is not a good person either. 2.??? 3.???]

[Attack Method/Special Ability:???]

[Solution:???]

[Notification progress: 10%]

[Collect all three types of ghost information to receive a 1000-point reward]

[Collecting all five types of ghost information will grant you a one-time-use item reward (cannot be taken out of the deduction)]

[Collecting all seven types of ghost information will grant you a one-time-use item reward (which can be used in deduction)]

[Collecting all nine types of ghost information will grant you a sacrificial reward (which can be used to perform deductions)]

The sheet of paper was very long, listing nine kinds of ghosts and monsters. Now, as Yu Xing looked at it, all he saw were large areas of question marks and rows of merciless "0". Only in the Alice column, due to past contact, was a mere 10% written.

There's an extra reward for collecting all the notification information, meaning the notification progress reaches 100%, which is quite a surprise.

Judging from Huang Bai's tone of having anticipated this, and the system's wording, Yu Xing guessed that this was probably a new addition to the Differentiation Tier deduction Yugi, and perhaps it was present in every deduction.

"This is your room."

Just then, the strategist followed the nun into a long corridor.

The corridor is circular, covered with a flat red cashmere carpet, and the doors are far apart. On the wall opposite each door hangs an oil painting, a wall lamp, and other decorations.

"There are ten rooms in total. You can choose your accommodation yourself, but once you've decided, you can't change it."

The nun blinked her dark eyes, held roses in her hands, and gave them a slight bow. "Now is your free time. After choosing your rooms, you can look at the schedule, get to know each other, or go to various parts of the castle to search for props. Here, I need to remind you, the ghosts... they began wandering the moment you entered the castle. You might have already seen them without even realizing it."

Her words made the masked psychics freeze, instinctively recalling what they had just witnessed.

There appear to be oil paintings, sculptures, medieval armor decorations, mirrors, and more...

Who could remember that?!

Yu Xing was not swayed by the nun's words, but instead noticed something else.

There are eight tourists in total, why generate ten rooms?

Judging from the nun's tone, she certainly doesn't live here. So, the butler, who is also a staff member, and the chef, whom she mentioned, probably don't live here either. What use are the two extra rooms?

Qu Xuanqing had told him that the difficulty of the Differentiation Tier deduction had increased dramatically. In that case, he now had to remember all the details that he hadn't noticed in the previous deductions.

The nun, looking at the silent tourists, said expressionlessly, "Don't forget to go to the lobby for your meal on time. I have other things to do and must leave now."

After speaking, without waiting for the tourists to react, she turned around and walked towards the other end of the corridor. Soon, her figure was hidden by the curvature of the corridor, and her back could not be seen.

"Let's choose a room first," Huai said casually, then walked towards the fourth room from the beginning. He only turned to look at the others after his hand was already on the doorknob. "No objections?"

"Then I want the fifth one!" Huang Bai skipped and hopped after him, showing a bit of a fan's attitude, though it was hard to tell how much of it was genuine.

She opened the door without any hindrance, then suddenly turned around, looked at everyone, and asked, "The older brothers and sisters who didn't introduce themselves earlier... aren't you going to say hello to everyone?"

Yu Xing; she was planning to find the Throat Cutter and take targeted precautions.

There was nothing wrong with the name of his mask, so he immediately said, "I am Xing."

A smirk played on his lips beneath the mask as he added, "I just advanced, and this is my first time entering a Differentiation Tier deduction exercise. I don't understand anything, so I didn't dare say anything before. I hope I can survive."

Did they not dare to speak? Or were they trying to gather intelligence discreetly?

Few people present clearly believed his story, but given his good attitude, they offered a few words of encouragement in a symbolic manner.

Huang Bai said, "Keep it up! Once you get through the first time, you'll have experience next time!"

The gambler, speaking with a thick Northeastern accent, patted Yu Xing on the shoulder heartily. "No experience, huh? Well, if you don't mind, you can come with me. I'm Righteous Path, I won't rip you off!"

"The Righteous Path, huh..." Yu Xing nodded in agreement. "Thank you."

This was the first time he had encountered someone on the Righteous Path. Previously, Qu Xuanqing and Zhao Mou belonged to the Mutation Path, while Lingren and Han Xinyi belonged to the Fallen Path.

He also lamented that there are so few people in this world who uphold the right path.

This is indeed his first Differentiation Tier Yugi, and it would be good to have someone act as a guide to supplement his common sense and experience on the spot. A well-known Righteous Path is undoubtedly the most suitable person among the deducers here.

The man standing nearby suddenly brightened up. "I don't have much experience either, can you mentor me, expert?"

The gambler glanced at him, stroked his chin, and said, "Okay."

Neither White Face, Throat Cutter, nor Nightmare Ghost chose to reveal their identities, expressing their stance through silence.

At this moment, the eight people have already subtly split into several small groups. Huang Bai clearly wants to follow Huai, while the gambler, the hysteriac, and Yu Xing, who has just revealed his identity, are the three who are barely certain that they will act together.

Han Xinyi Han Zhiyong were together, while White Face went about her own business alone.

After that, everyone chose their own rooms. The gambler chose the first room, followed by Yi and Huang Bai Xing, then Huai and Yu Xing. Then one room became empty, followed by Han Xinyi, Han Zhiyong, and White Face. The tenth room was also empty.

As Yu Xing was choosing a room, a sweet, soft voice suddenly broke in. Taking advantage of the moment when no one was looking, Han Xinyi leaned closer and kindly said, "Xing~ If it's your first time, I can teach you a lot~ Where do you want to stay? I'll stay next door to you. You can ask me anything you don't understand!"

Yu Xing gave her a half-smile.

Han Xinyi actually knew that he was the convener of this simulation, so she should have been able to guess that he possessed some information that others didn't. If she were to publicize this, Yu Xing would attract everyone's attention, making it inconvenient for him to do anything. However, she didn't point this out, simply because she refused to share information and planned to find an opportunity to obtain his information herself.

To be fair, her petite figure and soft voice were a good shield; if she didn't say anything, few people would associate her with the deranged killer who Throat Cutting Case.

"Of course, someone who can fool me like this can't possibly be someone who doesn't know anything, as you claim~ But I'm willing to believe you, I'll believe whatever you say." Han Xinyi even secretly took off her mask, revealing her signature sweet smile to him, her dimples becoming even deeper.

She chuckled softly, "I live next door to you, which makes it easier for you to find my weakness and kill me!"

Yu Xing didn't remove her mask, but replied gently, "You're quite generous, but there's no seat next to me."

He chose the third room, but both rooms were already occupied, so Han Xinyi said "Okay" and went into the seventh room.

Han Zhiyong, who had heard the whole thing, was speechless, a lump in his throat. "..."

He had no idea what his niece was thinking. He only had a gut feeling that if they didn't take action against Yu Xing, they might really be killed by this unfathomable young man, even if his niece was very strong.

His niece was smitten, albeit with a twisted possessiveness, but Yu Xing showed no sign of wavering. He truly didn't believe his niece could sway Yu Xing to Single Prism's side.

Han Xinyi may want to die, but he doesn't.

A murderous glint flashed in Han Zhiyong's eyes as he stared at Yu Xing, who had just entered the room, and he let out a cold laugh.

Yu Xing was not unaware of Han Zhiyong's gaze; he had a keen sense of perception and was always sensitive to such things.

He closed the door, chuckled softly, and looked around the room.

The environment was quite nice, with a medieval luxury style everywhere. There was a large, very soft bed in the middle.

There was a lamp on the bedside table and another lamp on the desk next to it; overall, the lighting was ample.

He didn't search the bedroom carefully for anything that shouldn't be there, but after closing the door, he saw a piece of paper stuck to the back of the door.

This is probably the schedule the nun had written in advance; it says:

[Breakfast: 7:00 AM]

[Lunch: 12:00 PM]

[Dinner: 6:30 PM]

[Shower time: 7 PM to 8 PM]

[Nighttime activities: 10 PM to 4 AM]

Based on the nun's hints, Yu Xing roughly went through the entire deduction process.

The five hours at noon and the six hours in the afternoon will have different "play" modes depending on Alice's different additional rules, while the night is the most dangerous but also the most rewarding time.

Having determined these things, Yu Xing turned his attention to the room.

Although the nun said that the clock in the hall was the only clock in the entire castle, there was actually an old-fashioned small clock in the room, which was now pointing to 4:20. You can imagine how big the castle is. It took them about ten minutes to walk from the first-floor hall to the third-floor room.

He kept thinking about the scarlet eye in the sky outside the castle, and he searched the room thoroughly to make sure there wasn't an eyeball like Alice's hidden in any of the handicrafts before he was satisfied.

Without Alice's gaze, Yu Xing took off her hood and mask and caught her breath.

This mask is different from the transparent masks that are usually materialized from Persona Mask; it is substantial, has weight, and has its own material.

So... it's a bit stuffy to breathe while wearing it.

Yu Xing was already physically weak, and the shortness of breath he had for more than ten minutes made him feel a little dizzy.

"Looks like I'll have to avoid wearing a mask during chases from now on..." He coughed lightly twice, tidied his hair which had been ruffled by the hood, and looked towards the only window in the room.

This window does not allow light in, as it does not face the outer railing of the castle; a faint silver reflection shines through the curtains.

Yu Xing walked to the window, holding a mask to partially cover his face, and quietly looked out. He could only see a vast, silver-gray space that he had never been before, filled with sculptures of all sizes. He leaned against the window frame and admired them for a while.

These sculptures vary in form, ranging from everyday human figures to figures resembling Olympian gods. However, without exception, they all depict a single individual; no sculpture simultaneously features two or more individuals.

Over a hundred sculptures fill the silver-gray space, and it looks quite spectacular when viewed from the third floor.

I just don't know exactly where this sculpture area is located on the first floor, or which staircase I have to go down from...

Yu Xing coughed twice more, having to admit that the structure of Alice Castle was far too complex.

Following the nun around and around, he couldn't form a mental map of the hall and rooms because there were too many missing areas.

He whispered, "We need to complete the map as soon as possible, otherwise our movements will be greatly restricted later."

Just then, a chilling aura crept up his spine, giving him a sudden feeling that he was being watched.

His eyes narrowed, and he immediately put his mask back on and pulled up his hood. His gaze swept over the sculptures below, suspecting that one of them had "come to life," and he noticed him at the third-floor window.

However, after scanning the area, he couldn't find the source of the gaze. The sculptures were some distance away from him, and their faces were already indistinct, let alone the direction of their eyes.

It could be said that as long as they don't move, it would be very difficult for Yu Xing to find the abnormal one among the sculptures... or perhaps, all the sculptures are abnormal.

"..." Yu Xing closed the window and drew the curtains, blocking the sculptures' possible gazes, but the feeling of being watched did not disappear; instead, it became even stronger, even rising to the level of a sense of crisis.

A sense of malice... has arrived.

Isn't it because of the sculpture?

Yu Xing sighed softly and took out [Sheqing Dreamscape], which had been dormant in the mask panel for several days.

As wisps of smoke rose, Yi Qing's figure materialized from them. He spun in the air, his refined voice tinged with a hint of gritted teeth. "You've finally let me out?"

"Shh..." Yu Xing put her index finger to her lips, "Look around, where are we?"

Yi Qing was taken aback, suppressing her resentment at being locked up for so many days, and looked around.

He fell silent. "Other worlds?"

"Yes, you want to visit other interesting places," Yu Xing smiled. "You can have a lot of fun now, but... we need to take care of a small problem first."

"Knock knock knock."

He had barely finished speaking when there was a knock on the door.