Alice's Hell (6) - Fifth-Floor Corridor

Although the road is somewhat long and has several side streets, the main corridor's direction is very clear.

It wasn't difficult for Yu Xing and the gambler to get here; other strategists who left a little later could also have come, and the time difference wouldn't have been too long.

Take now, for example.

As soon as the two stepped out of the bathroom, they heard several familiar voices.

"This is it. Did the person crying go into the bathroom, or went to another side passage, or another floor?"

"You can go in and take a look."

The question was asked by a lively female voice, while the answer came from a flat, indifferent male voice.

Sure enough, Yu Xing took two more steps forward and saw Huang Bai and Huai outside the door.

The four of them met face to face, which was entirely expected.

Huai glanced at the gambler and said meaningfully, "I saw Ye looking for you earlier, so I guessed you left first. I didn't expect you to actually bring this newbie with you."

"Luckily, everything's fine. At least I didn't hold you back, so you don't need to worry," the gambler replied amidst Huang Bai's curious yet amused gaze. Then he added, "There's no one crying or screaming in the bathroom, but something's a bit off. You can go take a look."

"Thanks for the reminder," Huai replied indifferently, then walked past the two of them toward the bathroom.

"Bye-bye! Oh, and the others are coming too, so watch out for the Fallen Path ~" Huang Bai waved to the two of them, winked, and then followed them into the bathroom.

At the same time, Yu Xing indeed heard the voices of other people talking in the distance.

Either the fork in the road ahead is short, allowing people to figure out the route quickly, or everyone is thinking of following the main road first. In any case, by listening to the sounds, those who come later will soon run into them.

However, the castle's structure is still unclear, the conditions of each floor are unknown, and only two of the eight deducers' corresponding ghosts have appeared. These uncertainties make him reluctant to travel with too many people right now.

Yu Xing calculated that there was still a while before dinner time, enough time for him and the gambler to explore another map.

"Senior gambler, shall we go up or down?"

At the end of another fork in the road outside the bathroom is a staircase leading to the second and fifth floors respectively. Normally, to be on the safe side, the simulator would not choose the fifth floor directly. Everyone has a preconceived notion that in a terrifying and enclosed environment, the farther away from the starting point, the higher the level of danger.

However, gamblers don't always follow the beaten path. He glanced at Yu Xing, pointed upwards, and said, "Let's go up to the fifth floor and take a look."

Yu Xing had no objections and continued to follow behind the gambler, dutifully playing the role of a clueless newbie.

The staircase was long and folded, somewhat like the structure of a real stairwell. After climbing four sets of twelve steps, they reached the ground floor.

"... It's a bit dark." Yu Xing said, taking a step back behind the gambler.

The walls on the fifth floor were a very old color, indescribable, seemingly just ordinary red stained with strange, indelible dirt, creating a bizarre effect.

After going up the stairs, there are three corridors facing different directions, opening to the left, right, and front respectively. None of them are lit; they are all pitch black, with only wall lamps in the stairwells providing illumination.

"What is that?!"

Suddenly, Yu Xing vaguely saw something standing in the middle of several corridors, very tall, seemingly human-shaped.

The gambler squinted, his muscles tensing. He had just seen the enormous Corpse Researcher at the observation deck, and the impression was so deep that he couldn't help but think of that kind of thing when he saw something big now.

A few seconds later, the gambler said, "... It doesn't seem to be moving."

Yu Xing observed for a while before confirming that the blurry shadow blocking the road was not a living thing, but just a decorative suit of armor.

However, given the uncertainty of the ghost's form, the armor may not necessarily be just armor.

"No... our night vision isn't that good. This environment is too dangerous. If there are any ghosts mixed in there, we'll have a hard time spotting them," the gambler said, sounding a little dissatisfied. "We're missing a flashlight or some other lighting tool. There weren't any in the room, otherwise I would have brought one with me."

Yu Xing then remembered her own Tears of the Underworld Candle, which at least served as a candlestick.

However... once it's lit, whether it's a red candle or a white candle, it will trigger its power, making it difficult to control.

He suggested, "Since we don't have flashlights or similar tools in our room, it means we need to find them ourselves. Maybe we can find some nearby. Let's look around. If we find them, we'll keep going; if not, we'll explore the second floor."

"Okay, let's look for it then."

Within the reach of the stairwell wall lights, several large cabinets and tables stood quietly in the corner.

Yu Xing then walked to a cabinet and pulled the drawer open from bottom to top.

The drawer was full of useless junk or empty. Since the gambler hadn't found anything, they started chatting with him while searching.

"Sigh, Xing, you're from the Mutation Path, aren't you?"

There was no one else around, so it didn't matter if the gambler asked that question.

"How did you know?" Yu Xing did not deny it.

The gambler was reaching out to touch the top of a two-meter-high cabinet, but he found nothing and instead got his hands covered in dust. "Actually, I've heard of you before," he said, "But I didn't remember you at first. Then I thought about it for a while and realized I vaguely remembered you."

Yu Xing raised an eyebrow, moved to another table, and searched. "Is this the Rookie Tournament?"

The only way he could let the Differentiation Tier deducers know was through that live broadcast, or through Zhao Mou's words; obviously, the former was more likely.

"Yeah, I didn't see it at the time, but someone from our guild went. You know Ren Yi, right? He's my good buddy. He said you did a good job." The gambler chuckled. "My buddy is usually quiet, but for him to praise someone like that means you're really good."

Ren Yi?

Yu Xing has been busy with real-world cases lately and hasn't paid much attention to the Differentiation Tier circles. There are quite a few celebrity strategists, so it would be unreasonable to expect him to remember every single one of them.

He just smiled and said, "I thought most people who watched the live stream would think I was going to be a Fallen Path."

"You've got it wrong. People on the Righteous Path are very good at judging people. They can tell whether someone has fallen or not from small details. Besides... Ren Yi told me that Qu Xuanqing, that witch, was there too, and she said you could never be on the Fallen Path."

When the gambler mentioned Qu Xuanqing, there was a clear hint of unease in his voice. "Do you have something going on with her? She seems to know you very well and is quite protective of you. Our Research Institute has been studying her for a long time, and this is the first time we've seen her be so kind to someone else."

"You... you're researching her?" Yu Xing touched a brass lock on the table, unsure of its purpose, and choked on the somewhat sensitive word. "How are you researching her?"

"Don't get me wrong, we're just studying her through videos in the video section that feature her, like we're dealing with a boss in a simulation. We're figuring out how to deal with her, how to escape, and how to kill her." The gambler, who had somehow pulled down his hood to reveal a head of medium-length brown hair, scratched his head and explained, "She's infamous. Even though she's not on the Fallen Path, she's more ruthless than those. I just can't understand why Absurd World even put her on the Mutation Path."

"In short, the Research Institute compiled a guide on 'How to Survive After Angering Qu Xuanqing,' which sold quite well..."

Yu Xing: "..."

He knew Qu Xuanqing was ruthless to others, but he never expected her to be this ruthless.

As for why Qu Xuanqing isn't on the Fallen Path —he probably knows the answer, because there are people in this world who uphold the kindness in Qu Xuanqing's heart.

Yes, he's talking about himself.

As long as he lives, Qu Xuanqing will not become a depraved person without any bottom line. Even without him, there is still Zhu Yan, Zhu Yan is a different kind of existence for Qu Xuanqing.

However, when faced with the gambler, he simply said, "I think I know Qu Xuanqing. She's a very responsible senior who taught me a lot."

Beneath the gambler's mask, his eyes widened, and a subtle twitch appeared at the corner of his eye.

... senior?

... responsible??

Are they talking about the same person?!

"So she's probably finally realized that being a lone wolf is too disadvantageous in many situations, and is preparing to cultivate trusted teammates..." The gambler frowned. "What a pity. Ren Yi said you had a lot of potential, and I was even thinking of building a good relationship with you and introducing you to another brother's guild. Now it seems... will poaching someone incur retaliation from the witch? Should I take a gamble?"

Yu Xing asked with interest, "Is she going to retaliate against you?"

The gambler sighed, "I'm betting on whether I can survive her."

That's a really good attitude.

However, since the topic of guilds had come up, and Yu Xing was also considering joining one, she took the opportunity to ask, "I remember the number one ranked guild is called Midnight, what do you think of that guild?"

Guilds are really important. For example, in a current simulation, there are fewer players on the Righteous Path than on the Mutation Path or Fallen Path. This isn't because the Righteous Path itself has fewer players, but because players on the Righteous Path like to team up to Yugi. With more players in teams, the chances of players from other paths encountering them are smaller.

Their method of forming a team is through guilds. The Research Institute is a very demanding guild, which not only accepts members who follow the Righteous Path, but also assesses their abilities. Only those who can gather intelligence and plan strategies can ultimately stay.

Besides Research Institute, there are many guilds with diverse members, which can help you find the best team to cooperate with when conducting simulations.

"Late at night? Ha, the number one guild, of course it's awesome. If you're valued, they can get you any resources." The gambler praised first, Yu Xing waited for the next twist.

Sure enough, the next second brought a twist. "But as you probably know, the resource allocation of large guilds is very strict. You might risk your life to obtain a sacrifice, only to have to hand it over after the simulation, and the guild only has to pay you points in return."

The gambler dusted off his hands and sneered, "Also, Medusa, the president of Midnight, is no pushover. People who offend her often disappear in no time. Oh, and she has a particular fondness for handsome men. If you know anything about it, you'll know that the higher-ups at Midnight are all good-looking men or women... Anyway, it's a very complex situation, with both advantages and disadvantages."

"Oh." Yu Xing's interest in the late night had largely vanished.

"Don't you believe me? If I hadn't had the foresight to join the Research Institute, Medusa might have snatched me away too! Sigh, life..."

In Yu Xing's ears, the gambler's tone gradually veered towards overestimating his own abilities.

He chose to ignore the gambler's boast. "What level is Medusa? Compared to Qu Xuanqing— "

The gambler hesitated before speaking, "Medusa is at the Despair level, just like our guild leader, the Lingren from Single Prism, and those prodigies in the Widow Investigation Team. Almost every top-ranked guild has one to three Despair-level members. As for Qu Xuanqing... she's at the Mourning level. Rumor has it she's just one step away from Despair, but she hasn't advanced yet. Facing Medusa..."

"Hiss, their styles are different. Qu Xuanqing's strength is terrifying, while Medusa knows how to leverage her power. In terms of overall strength, Qu Xuanqing will definitely be at a disadvantage."

Yu Xing nodded, not caring whether the gamblers in the darkness saw his movements.

From the gambler, he learned at least one thing.

Currently, there doesn't seem to be a truly realistic deducer in Absurd Deduction Game.

All the major guilds consider the Despair level as the ceiling for combat power, and even someone Lingren who has lived for so long hasn't been able to advance to the True level, which is a bit strange... Just how strict are the requirements for advancing to the True level?

"Speaking of which, don't even think about it. If Qu Xuanqing really wants to train you as a teammate, then you have no choice at all. Oh, by the way, you still don't know my name, do you? My name is Zeng Lai." The gambler closed the drawer, stood in front of Yu Xing, and extended a dusty hand. "You can choose not to tell me your real name, or you can tell me. The deduction system is very well-designed in terms of member protection. Killing other deducers in reality comes at a price, and there's no ability that can prevent deducers from entering the Absurd World. You can't even trap them."

"I see." Yu Xing reached out and shook hands with Zeng Lai, then casually wiped the dust off his pants before turning back to continue rummaging through the closet.

This was the fifth cabinet he had searched. It was located a little deep into the corridor, only about two meters away from the armor decorations in the middle of the corridor. If he still didn't find anything, he planned to give up and find some lighting tools elsewhere before coming back.

Perhaps this is the method Alice Castle uses to restrict those who perform calculations.

While searching, Yu Xing said, "My name also has the character 'Xing' in it, so you can call me Xing..."

"Understood, Little Xing!" Although Yu Xing didn't reveal his real name, Zeng Lai very familiarly changed his form of address, and Yu Xing could tell that Zeng Lai's attitude towards him was similar to trying to win him over.

Perhaps this is also a gesture of goodwill towards Qu Xuanqing, "his powerful backer".

Well, this is already the umpteenth time Yu Xing has benefited from using Qu Xuanqing's name.

That's great, it's great to be a kept man.

Zeng Lai was just about to chat with Yu Xing a little longer when he saw Yu Xing suddenly pause.

"What's up, bro?"

With a strange expression, Yu Xing pulled a palm-sized wooden box out of the drawer.