Alice's Hell (31) - Zeng Lai

The gambler is a well-known Righteous Path. Even if he isn't universally known within the deducer community, he's still a very distinctive individual.

The Righteous Path is called the righteous path precisely because its conduct and style bear deep moral imprints.

Those who follow the Righteous Path are always popular. In righteous groups, everyone is grateful to have another trustworthy companion. In alienated groups, everyone welcomes someone who can follow the normal deduction route. And in degenerate groups... those who follow the Fallen Path don't mind having another person who is easier to use.

However, this does not mean that people on the Righteous Path are inflexible and virtuous. No one who can survive to the Differentiation Tier by sacrificing themselves to help others is that foolish.

The so-called righteous path is simply a group that, having witnessed the evils in both theory and reality, chooses to uphold order and goodwill.

There are people Ren Yi, who are serious and a bit old-fashioned; there are people like Zeng Lai, who are unconventional yet meticulous; and of course, there are also extreme people who are "ruthless" and single-mindedly pursue justice. In short, it is not true that those who follow the Righteous Path are without evil in their hearts.

The Alice's Hell scenario is a special scenario generated specifically for the sins in the hearts of "people," which deprives Zeng Lai, who is good at plot development, of the space to use his strengths. Instead, he encounters something he doesn't want to encounter.

The one crying out.

The pale red light shone on the door surrounded by rose bushes, giving it a decadent and dangerous hue.

By the way, the novel app I've been using recently supports both Android and Apple phones!

The person crying out appeared here for some unknown reason, pounding on the door with a loud, pounding sound, causing the entire door to tremble.

"Help me!!" The piercing cries pierced Zeng Lai's eardrums, causing the veins on his forehead to throb faintly.

The expression on his face gradually disappeared; his impatience, frustration, and tension vanished. The light shone on him, highlighting the destructive nature of the fine wounds on his wheat-colored skin.

There is a peephole in the door.

Zeng Lai sighed silently and looked into the cat's eyes.

On the other side of the door, a Female Ghost covered in blood, with half her head blown off, strained to open her mouth, letting out one desperate howl after another.

Her body was contorted, with several joints showing bone misalignment. A casual glance revealed that a piece of milky-white bone had pierced the skin of her right elbow.

The person crying out still had stitches on her lips, but disregarding the pain of her lips being torn, she forced the stitches to stretch, creating an opportunity to open her mouth.

This is the ghost that corresponds to Zeng Lai, and his current situation can be described as very dangerous.

Because the one screaming was clearly not the type to attack directly? Looking at her, so pathetic, as if she might collapse at any moment, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Zeng Lai could knock her down with a single punch. She would only appear on the other side of the door? The conditions for killing were also based on the choice of the person deducing the situation by the door.

"I know you're out there... please help me!" The crying woman seemed to realize someone was watching her through the peephole. She lifted her face to meet Zeng Lai's gaze through the glass, seeing only a small, dark hole. Two streams of bloody tears flowed from her broken eye sockets, her voice tinged with pleading, "I really can't take it anymore... I don't want to die... I don't want to..."

Zeng Lai's breath hitched. Even though he knew this was the modified and distorted power that existed in Alice's Castle, he still couldn't help but feel a sharp pain and a tightness in his heart, as if someone was squeezing it.

He gritted his teeth and didn't make a sound, enduring the pain of not giving a response.

This is truly a dead end.

He still remembered what the nun, the tour guide, had said: if you encounter your corresponding ghost, you can only run away; even if you obtain the corresponding item, it won't help.

Therefore, other interpreters might be able to provide the correct response to the crying person, but he cannot? Whether he responds or not, opens the door or not, whatever he chooses is wrong.

"Ahhh!!! Help me!!!" The girl's hoarse, broken voice scraped against Zeng Lai's eardrums like a knife, piercing hole after hole in his mind. He opened his mouth and took a step back.

"Are you leaving? Wait, are you going to abandon me and leave me behind?!" The crying man's voice suddenly turned vicious. He paused, knowing he couldn't turn back now.

Because this is no longer the weak version of the Cryer with its mouth sealed; it has been approached by the "complete" Cryer who can open its mouth. For it, leaving is also a choice, a wrong choice.

A wrong choice means death.

Zeng Lai closed his eyes. He didn't believe that a Struggle Level deduction could force him to a point where he had no way out.

Something must have been overlooked; there must be a way to survive even when facing your own ghost.

"You didn't leave... you didn't leave, why didn't you open the door!? Why didn't you save me!? You wanted to kill me too, didn't you!" The woman's cries grew increasingly fierce; clearly, her patience was wearing thin.

Zeng Lai paused for a moment, then produced a talisman in his hand.

He slapped a yellow talisman onto his forehead and it began to burn.

The flames flickered, but the burning power did not harm Zeng Lai, the user; it only brought some heat.

He looked like a zombie, his body stiffening.

[Sacrifice: Corpse Control Gamble]

[Appearance: A yellow talisman pasted on the forehead of a leaping zombie dressed in Qing Dynasty official robes, as people imagine it]

[This offering has been Persona Mask? Gambler," and its fusion abilities are: ① When placed on the forehead of a zombie-like ghost, the burning talisman will cause a binding effect, the specific duration of which depends on the difficulty of the deduction and the target's level. ② When placed on your own forehead, the burning talisman will reduce the hostility of any type of ghost to near zero. During this time, you will be stiff and vulnerable, your movements will be restricted, your thinking will be scattered, and you will be unable to resist any human attacks or use other offerings. When the yellow talisman burns out, the ghost's hatred towards you will double. The burning process is irreversible and cannot be stopped.]

[Description: It's unclear which horror movie inspired its image, but it's definitely a product of a gambler's lack of imagination. Whether this talisman is useless or powerful, whether it brings life or invites disaster, depends entirely on the user's judgment.]

[Note: What's the use of such a talisman? You don't actually think humans are safer than ghosts, do you? Hahaha... What a strange idea. When you can't fight back, do you think everyone else will help you? No! They'll stab you in the back!]

This was the first time Zeng Lai had used the sacrificial item's ability, and the reason, as the system's annotation stated, was that he dared not use it in front of others during any simulation.

Once others learn that this sacrifice will cause him to fall into an irreversible state of paralysis, those with ulterior motives will surely take advantage of this and ruthlessly betray him... After all, he has offended quite a few people over the years.

Therefore, only when no one is watching, like now, can he use [Corpse Control Gamble] to buy himself some time to survive.

In this situation, the crying and banging on the other side of the door subsided. The person crying seemed to be hesitating about something, and the crying gradually quieted down, but she did not leave. She waited in place, seemingly not intending to give up easily.

The yellow talisman burns very slowly; at this rate, it should take about half an hour to burn.

Half an hour... Zeng Lai let out a soft breath, her body stiff as she leaned against the door, and slowly slid down to sit on the floor.

Speaking of offerings that can grant users half an hour of ghostly safety, they would surely inspire envy and resentment. However, due to its negative effect, Zeng Lai must endure half an hour of paralysis; if anyone were to stab him during this time, he would die.

Although no one was around today, bad news kept coming. The crying creature didn't leave immediately like many ghosts that would change targets once their hostility diminished; instead, it waited behind the door.

If he hasn't come up with a workable solution by half an hour, he will still have to face his ghost and be killed.

At this moment, he had a tiny bit of hope that Yu Xing would come to him and could help him escape this dead end.

Although this is just an absurd hope, and unlikely to happen—after all, even he himself doesn't know where this place is, so how could Yu Xing find him within forty minutes after he fell?

"Ha, what bad luck... I can't be that unlucky, can I? Did I get tricked by that guy without even realizing it? Does he think I don't know he's the brother of the woman Ren Yi killed a while ago?" With his movements restricted, Zeng Lai leaned against the door, chuckling silently.

The image of a thin young man wearing black-rimmed glasses suddenly surfaced in my memory. The young man's black hair was unkempt and always messy, and his cold eyes often held only words like "strategy guide," "information," and "research."

"Ren Yi, you have no idea, I'm going to be dragged down with you today... Damn it, becoming your brother might just be the beginning of my bad luck."

Although he was muttering to himself, Zeng Lai's eyes remained calm. When he thought of the expressionless man who was closest to him in the guild, an inappropriate smile even appeared on his lips.

If he hadn't been reminded, his brother probably wouldn't have shaved in a long time, only going to the barbershop to get his hair done when he realized his vision was obstructed. He stayed up for several nights in a row to submit his analysis report, and was eventually woken up by hunger while he was sleeping.

Zeng Lai's thoughts had been affected by the [Corpse Control Gamble], becoming somewhat scattered and inexplicably drifting towards others. He looked at the flames emanating from the yellow talisman, the bright red roses blooming around him, and the pieces of flesh strung together by the roses, feeling the pain spreading from all the small wounds on his body. He could also hear the occasional wails of the crying people around him, which were very noisy.

He murmured silently, "If I die here, you sharp-tongued and heartless fellow, you'll really have no friends left."

Two seconds later, the seemingly well-proportioned young man abruptly shook his head—a movement he could only manage with all his might while frozen. "Pah! Why is it like I'm giving my last words... What kind of flag am I setting for myself? What an idiot."

Zeng Lai was very decisive in criticizing herself.

He bit his tongue, not wanting to draw blood, and stopped when the pain helped him focus.

"Half an hour left... I absolutely have to find a loophole, so the death point in the Struggle Level simulation isn't irreversible!"

"Isn't that how high-stakes gambling works? I bet I can survive."

"That heartless bastard Ren Yi wouldn't miss me just because I'm dead."

"Damn idiot, what is he thinking about right now Ren Yi? Wouldn't it be better if I personally supervised him after I go out? Why do he have to assume he has no friends... Wait, he's losing focus again."

The effects of scattered thinking were very noticeable; it took Zeng Lai quite a while to recover and return to a state where he could think clearly.

The flames from the burning yellow talisman were a bit blinding, so he simply closed his eyes, began to clear his mind of distractions, and tried to recall why the person crying out was the reason for his "past sins."

Memories surged, Zeng Lai quickly realized that the crying out wasn't entirely his sin, but rather... his inner demons.

Zeng Lai is not very old now; five or six years ago, he was just an ordinary high school student who was still a minor.

He wasn't serious about his studies. Every day during class, he would secretly play Yugi with his deskmate under the desk, and he would often team up with guys from the next class.

He didn't like studying, but he was smart. Even without much studying, he could barely make it into the top ten in his class. He was also good at sports and was the hope of the whole class at the sports meet. He was very popular with both teachers and students.

Back then, his only joys were the daily battles of wits with his homeroom teacher, playing basketball with his classmates after school, and being teased by his buddies for receiving bottled water and confessions from female classmates on the playground, with them calling him a "dog who has to find a girlfriend first."

This kind of life, despite the pressure of the college entrance examination, is peaceful and youthful.

Until one Friday evening.

That day, he had planned to go home over the weekend. Because it was winter, it got dark early, and even though there was no evening self-study on Friday, it was already completely dark when he left school.

The school was already remote, almost like the suburbs. Since he stayed behind to do his duty for more than half an hour, there were not many people on the way to the bus stop when he came out. Only a junior girl he had seen a few times was following behind him.

He had seen her a few times because Zeng Lai would always see this junior when he went home for weekends, but they had never spoken and were not even close. They were only familiar with each other's faces. In fact, only he thought so.

The female student confessed her feelings to him on the deserted platform.

Zeng Lai really had no intention of starting a relationship early. Firstly, he wasn't interested, and secondly, he took relationships very seriously and didn't want to casually begin a relationship initiated by someone else. He rejected her as usual, thinking that as always, there would be no follow-up. However, the junior was probably more emotionally fragile and burst into tears on the spot. She didn't even take the bus when it arrived at her stop and ran towards a dark alley not far away with her backpack.

The streetlights in the alley were old and hadn't been working for almost a month. Zeng Lai was worried that the girl might be traumatized and encounter danger late at night. In fact, there had been rumors about this recently, and many students had heard about it.

So he followed them, intending to persuade the person to go home safely.

But... when he ran into the alley, he found that the person was gone.

Logically speaking, that girl was petite and shouldn't have been hard to pursue, so how did he lose sight of her so quickly?

His keen instincts made him hold his breath until he heard a cry for help. His pupils contracted, and he ran towards the source of the cry while sending a message and his location to his deskmate who was still at school, telling his deskmate to call the police if he didn't receive a message from him in five minutes.