The Alice's Hell (4)-The Screamer

At this moment, having just parted ways with the other strategists, my first reaction upon hearing the knock on the door was that someone was looking for me.

Although the sound of the door rattling seemed abrupt in the silence, like a knock on the heart, giving a sense of emptiness, the people inside were actually not very wary.

After all... nothing serious has happened yet; in other words, they haven't been truly hardened by society.

But Yu Xing had already sensed malice, was different. He was certain that the person knocking on the door might not be human.

Yi Qing's attempt to confront him was cut off. He silently descended from the air, his feet touching the ground, and together with Yu Xing, turned their heads to look outside the door.

In those few seconds, Yu Xing's mind was once again filled with timely, almost self-aware, deductive prompts.

This is a restriction imposed on Yi Qing within Alice's Hell.

[It has been detected that the offering "Sheqing Dreamscape" held by the deducer Yu Xing contains an unexpected contracted ghost— Sheqing Ghost Yi Qing. Restrictions on Yi Qing now appropriate to the difficulty level of this deduction are being imposed.]

[Currently, all of Sheqing Ghost Yi Qing's control abilities are sealed, and her aura is suppressed to the level of the ghost being deduced in this scene. Only the abilities of Qingyan transformation and dream interference are retained as a sacrifice to compensate for the missing "Sheqing Dreamscape" ability ②.]

[Information regarding this simulation has been shared with Yiqing]

Yi Qing: "... Heh, what a heartless decision."

Yu Xing: I had expected this.

He didn't expect Yiqing to do anything when he took out the Sheqing Dreamscape; he was just using it as his only weapon for self-defense.

Yi Qing could have stayed inside the dagger and never come out, but since the last simulation ended until today, Yu Xing remembered Yi Qing's nagging and deliberately didn't take the dagger out. As a result, Yi Qing, who hates boredom the most, stayed inside the dagger for a long time. Only when he discovered Yu Xing's actions did he immediately come out to express his dissatisfaction.

As a result, before I could do anything, the system threw cold water on my enthusiasm.

However, Yi Qing had a particularly good mindset. It was a new world of deduction, and he was sure that he would see things he had never seen before.

"Knock knock knock."

The knocking continued. Yu Xing approached and touched the door, discovering a peephole. She hadn't noticed it when choosing the room, and it had been covered by a note from the nun after she entered the room.

He lifted the note and, without any hesitation, covered one eye to look outside.

Even if he pressed his eyes, which could see outside, against the cat's eyes to meet his gaze, he wouldn't be too surprised.

Fortunately, the things outside didn't do that. Through the peephole, Yu Xing could see the warm-toned corridor and walls, and then, without warning, a blood-stained face appeared in his line of sight.

It looks like a girl?

The face was magnified by the cat's eye, Yu Xing could see the other person's oval face, dark and lifeless eyes, and messy black hair.

The girl was not tall, probably only about 1.5 meters. Judging from these descriptions, she seemed to be a normal person, but... large patches of dried blood clung to her face and hair, staining her pale face with a layer of bloodstains.

Yu Xing shifted his gaze and successfully caught a glimpse of a hole the size of half a bowl above the girl's head. It looked as if a piece of her scalp had been ripped off, exposing a small amount of brain tissue to the air, making the scene incredibly impactful.

Okay, it's more appropriate to use it as a substitute.

[You have discovered the "Crying One," the ghost notification has been updated]

"Knock knock knock."

The girl ghost, referred to by the system as the Crying One, didn't notice Yu Xing looking at her through the peephole; she simply reached out and knocked on the door for the third time.

"Don't answer," Yi Qing whispered a reminder. Yu Xing simply nodded, watched the girl withdraw her hand, and then opened her mouth.

As the two lips tried to separate, Yu Xing saw that the girl's lips had been sewn together with white thread!

The reason it wasn't noticed before was because the white line had turned red from being soaked in blood, and it wasn't very noticeable under the cover of the original color of the lips. Only when it struggled to open its mouth could you see the original trace of white, pulled out from the flesh of its lips.

Yu Xing's eyes darkened, and she felt a silent sympathy for the girl's past life as a ghost.

Because its mouth was sealed, the crying creature was unable to make a sound, which was completely contrary to its name.

After knocking on the door three times without getting an answer, the girl gave up, took a few steps back, and turned to walk towards the next door.

Yu Xing then lost sight of him, and the malice that had enveloped him receded like a tide.

He faintly heard knocking coming from Huai's room next door. It seemed that the little girl was planning to knock on everyone's door. She must have already knocked on the gambler's and hysteria's doors, but without success.

He opened the ghost notification and looked at the updated content.

[Goblin 2: The Crying One]

[Corresponding tourist:???]

[Description/Origin: 1. Appears as a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl, with part of her head missing, covered in blood, and her lips sewn shut. 2. Likes to knock on people's doors; currently, no one knows the consequences of opening the door for her. (Origin analysis will be triggered when the corresponding solution item is found)]

[Attack Method/Special Ability:???]

[Solution:???]

[Notification progress: 10%]

This ghost was ranked second. To be honest, although it's unclear which ghost it corresponds to, its strength isn't very high. It's just that it looks a bit scary and can easily put pressure on the diviner.

Only a fool would open the door if the person performing the deduction could see what it looked like from inside.

There are only two possibilities: either this is the kind of ghost the nun was talking about, which isn't strong at first but gradually gets stronger, or it's the kind of ghost that's fine as long as the door isn't opened, but will definitely kill you once it is—the more severe the consequences of contact, the harder it is to trigger, which is a common mechanism in horror Yugi.

Yu Xing leaned towards the first possibility, because the ghost's name was "The Crying One," so its attack method should be related to crying. The fact that its mouth was sewn shut meant it was probably at its weakest state, and it would become stronger the longer these deducers stayed in the castle.

He turned off the ghost notification, and as he turned around, he saw Yiqing standing there, lost in thought.

"What's on your mind?"

Yi Qing glanced at him, a smile appearing on her face. She took out her fan and shook it, saying, "It's nothing, just a thought. Even after death, appearance is important. How could this young lady be so unkempt?"

Yu Xing exclaimed, "Your focus is quite unique, hmm... maybe you two aren't the same kind of ghost."

In Yi Qing's world, everyone—blue, red, black, white, and gray—regardless of strength, did indeed outwardly appear human, at least clean and presentable. Regardless of how they died, their injuries were concealed.

Moreover, a ghost is a ghost, and a person is a person.

That's... quite particular.

In many other terrifying worlds, the line between ghosts and humans is blurred, and monsters also exist, which is why there are strangely shaped, physical ghosts.

After sighing, Yu Xing pondered seriously, "However, I guess the ghosts in this simulation will all be of a rather bizarre kind. Even if they are linked to the sins of each of us, they will still generally fit the style of the castle. In that case, we can roughly guess where the ghosts will attack the simulation participants."

"Why don't you guess what your own ghost will look like?" Yi Qing floated to the desk and sat down, a hint of curiosity and amusement on his handsome face.

"How would I know?" Yu Xing didn't leave the doorway, still listening to the sounds outside, and casually replied, "I've made quite a few mistakes in the past, one after another. Who knows which one Alice's Hell will use? And even if it does, it'll be heavily modified. Knowing Alice's style, she won't let the deducers have an easy time."

The torturous drop tower with its thorns, the bizarre human head dolls, and the coffee swivel chairs that can roast people alive are proof of this.

Yi Qing laughed and said, "Oh~ Is it really okay to be so honest? Aren't you afraid others will be shocked if they hear this?"

"There's no one else here, just you, a knowledgeable and experienced photographer. What am I afraid of?" Yu Xing mocked him, listening intently.

It must be said that the rooms provided for them were very well soundproofed. Judging by the time, if the person crying out did not leave halfway, they should be in the eighth room.

With Yu Xing's exceptional hearing, he could barely hear anything anymore, which largely prevented anyone from eavesdropping.

After a while, Yi Qingming, who hadn't moved, said with certainty, "It's gone."

Just now, he didn't even look through the peephole, yet he knew that the things outside didn't look very presentable.

Yu Xing asked, "Is this... the perception ability of the Sheqing Ghost?"

"Of course, ghosts have a strong sense of perception with each other. If their strength is equal, they can easily distinguish each other's aura. Otherwise, do you think that so many kinds of ghosts in this castle wouldn't attack each other?" Yi Qing said, waving his folding fan as if it were a matter of course.

However, Yu Xing, who was leaning close to the door, twitched his ears and heard footsteps again.

"Knock knock."

His door rang again.

Fortunately, this time it wasn't someone who came back crying, but a gambler who had just come out of his room.

"Xing, are you there?"

After Yu Xing confirmed through the peephole, Yi Qing nodded, "It's a real person, you can open the door."

A wisp of green smoke drifted by, Sheqing Ghost vanished, enveloping the dagger. Yu Xing also heard a threat, not so forceful in tone. "Don't put the dagger away."

Yu Xing chuckled and tucked the sheathed dagger into his waistband.

Then he put the mask on properly and said, "I'm here. What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, I was just planning to check out the area and ask if you wanted to come along. Come on, bro?" Even through the door, the gambler's warm, friendly Northeastern accent kept creeping into Yu Xing's mind.

Yu Xing opened the door for the gambler.

He looked at the gambler, who was slightly shorter than him but much more muscular, and nodded, saying, "Come on, now?"

"Hmm, shall we go?"

Yu Xing felt that if he spoke a few more words, his accent would be affected, so he suppressed a laugh and said, "Yes, I'll listen to you, senior."

There wasn't much to pay attention to in the room, so they decided to take advantage of the time before dinner to work on the map. This idea of the gambler coincided with Yu Xing's.

So he went out, closed the door, and looked around.

It seems that no one else intends to come out now.

The gambler said, "Maybe they're afraid the person crying hasn't gone far, so they're thinking of coming out later. But if you ask me, there's no need. I've even followed ghosts before."

He pointed in the direction the crying person had left, "Let's go this way and find where the bathroom is."

"Yes, that's what I thought too," Yu Xing said. "That place shouldn't be far from our room."

When they arrived, they went up the second staircase from the first-floor lobby to the third floor. After that, there were no forks in the road; they followed a main path to the location of the ten rooms. On the way there, they passed three flower rooms, two art studios, and some other rooms whose purpose was unclear, but they had not seen a bathroom yet.

There was no private bathroom in the room, but the nun guide had written down the time for bathing on a piece of paper, which must have some significance.

Therefore, it's essential to find the "bathroom" in advance to avoid any mishaps due to not being able to wash up on time later.

"But aren't you going to call him Hysteria?" Yu Xing remembered that Hysteria had also shown goodwill towards the gamblers.

The gambler hesitated for a moment before shrugging. "... To be honest, that kid doesn't seem very reliable to me. I can help him out if he needs anything later, but for now, the two of us can go."

That was a very tactful way of putting it; it was practically saying, "I don't like him."

Yu Xing nodded and asked no more questions. The two then set off, walking along the circular corridor toward the unknown area.

The third floor seems to have a curved structure, and many places look like they were pieced together. The corridor is not completely enclosed. In some places, there is a wall connecting to the ceiling one meter above, and a half-person-high railing and empty air one meter below.

They can see from the corridor to some halls on the second floor and even the first floor, and can also see the windows or corridors on the same floor across from these halls, so they have a feeling of being able to go in all directions.

After walking for a while, the two arrived at a viewing platform. It was supported by two elevated staircases and was open on all sides. The front and back were corridors that were half a floor lower. To the left was an exterior wall of the annex building, from which one could see the windows of the five-story building. To the right was an open-air kitchen on the second floor and another corridor on the third floor, which was a little further away.

The observation deck was the most expansive view Yu Xing had ever seen. It had several lights on it, which were inexplicably brighter than other places. Meanwhile, the surrounding area was designed to be completely dark. The kitchen on the second floor was also off. It seemed that the lighting relied entirely on the light emanating from the observation deck. The observation deck looked like a bright target in the darkness, and any movement on it could be seen by people all around.

This was the only way to continue forward, so the two stepped onto it without much hesitation. Once they were up there, they discovered that the railing of the observation deck was made of crystal, which reflected the lights and made it even brighter.

The gambler exclaimed, "This structure is truly amazing! The castle itself isn't that big, but it's been transformed into a maze."

"Hmm, it's suitable for hiding items, and also for chases." Yu Xing gripped the crystal railing with both hands, and faintly smelled a scent that made him feel uncomfortable.