The Long Table Session-Drawing Rewards and Taking Questions

Clearly, without his knowledge, Yu Xing did something else that he should apologize for.

Zhao Yijiu didn't expect Yu Xing to act like a human being. The confusion in his eyes flashed by, then returned to calm. He then stopped Yu Xing from feigning pitifulness. "Stop playing around, draw the reward."

He glanced at the display case at the end of the table, which was empty, but Zhao Ruru nodded. "I'll put that aside for now... let's draw the reward first. Xing, how's your luck?"

"Not bad...?" Yu Xing didn't know if he was lucky or not, just like he still didn't understand the meaning of "luck" in his Persona Mask.

He always seems to encounter unfortunate things, and then become the luckiest one among them.

"Why don't you take one? You contributed the most." Zhao Ruru's expression looked like she was about to give Yu Xing a genuinely heartfelt eye roll, but her words were quite calm. "It's in that cabinet."

The Long Table Time feature has two popular functions: one is to earn extra points for answering questions, and the other is to draw rewards based on progress ranking. Although these features cannot be used to advance the current scenario, they are likely to be helpful for later stages of the task.

Viewers of the Death Parallel Line know this, and Zhao Ruru is no exception. She even went through all the previous recordings from the past twelve months in preparation for the live stream she was going to participate in.

Yu Xing was indeed closest to the cabinet. He stood up with an "Oh," and put his hands in his warm pockets. In this serious and rigid conference room, he didn't seem as distant or unapproachable as he had been predicted to be. Instead, his puffy clothes made him seem as harmless as a little lamb.

"Here?" Yu Xing arrived at the display case and discovered that the bottom of the empty display case was actually a small transparent screen, and there was a button on the side of the display case.

After Zhao Ruru nodded, he pressed the button without any hesitation.

[Lottery in progress (rank 1 bonus)]

Pale gold text appeared on the small screen. Yu Xing waited patiently, while Zhao Yijiu and Zhao Ruru stood behind him, the latter craning her neck to look from behind.

After a while, images of three items appeared, but they were blurry and indistinct.

[Lottery Results: Choose one from True Sight Powder, Trauma Medicine, or Red Amulet]

Regardless of the number of people in each group, each group can only draw one item, and how to use it is up to the team to decide.

Zhao Ruru glanced at them. "One seems to be for seeing through illusions, one for treatment, and one for saving lives. What do you think? Which one would you choose?"

"The first one." Yu Xing answered very quickly, as if she hadn't thought about it.

Zhao Ruru also leaned towards the first option, but she wanted a reassuring reason. "Why?"

"The latter two, and the third one seems to be related to the plot in some way. It might shield us from an attack when the plot develops to a certain point, but we don't lack sacrificial offerings or items to protect ourselves," Yu Xing said. "This type of sacrificial offering is the easiest to fuse. You should have some, right?"

"Mm." Zhao Ruru nodded. She had a sacrificial offering to protect her from attacks, which was why she dared to get so close to the people in white.

Of course, she desperately hoped that there would be a sacrifice that would allow her to escape, so that she wouldn't fall into Yu Xing's hands and be ruthlessly stuffed into a coffin, leaving her in a passive position.

"I have one too," Zhao Yijiu said.

His item was a prop, or rather, it was Yu Xing exchanged for for him at the Haunted Bar using her extra ghost money from the exchange machine. He performed quite well in the subsequent deductions and hadn't needed to use it yet.

"Trauma Medicine is a healing item and not very common, but the existence of True Sight Powder means that there will be situations where it is difficult to identify the identity during the deduction. If the other party is a ghost that is good at imitating the aura of others..." Yu Xing didn't finish her sentence, but the other two knew what it meant.

If they don't have a way to deal with it, they are very likely to fall victim to the virus and be plunged into a real crisis!

Zhao Ruru even wondered if the suspicions about Yu Xing during the funeral were just a false alarm, but what if such a situation actually occurred later?

Then she's done for.

The Trauma Medicine was appealing, but the True Sight Powder could better compensate for their group's weaknesses.

"This one will do," she muttered.

Zhao Yijiu had no objections, Yu Xing mentally confirmed the decision.

[True Sight Powder has been selected]

[True Sight Powder: Item, a handful of pure white powder of unknown material. When you feel something is wrong with someone, you can throw a handful at their head. Of course, the powder cannot be retrieved once it's used up.]

[The True Sight Powder, due to its limited volume, has been divided into three equal portions and placed into the character's ghost bag.]

The system is quite considerate; it understands that the problem isn't scarcity but inequality.

What did I win?

[It's blocked too much, I can't see clearly]

[The top-ranked bonus means it won't be bad no matter how many times you draw.]

[Curious]

Now, the audience can only view the conference room through the large screen on the table. To some extent, the audience's perspective has been fixed, changing from a multi-camera view with no blind spots to a single camera.

They couldn't see what Yu Xing had drawn, so they could only futilely spam the chat with comments.

They didn't begin asking questions until the three participants turned around:

[Ruru, I've come to see you! What items did you guys draw?]

[There are no other teams here, why are you being so secretive?]

[Although I'm curious too, it's their freedom, so shut up, upstairs.]

The three ignored the audience's question about the props; it was just a casual question from the audience, not even a formal one, so they didn't need to answer it.

Yu Xing walked back to her seat, looked up at the constantly rising text, and waited for the formal question to appear.

Since asking a formal question requires a minimum of 200 points, many people were considering what questions to ask, so the initial questions were mostly casual chat.

[You can sit anywhere, just try to sit closer to the screen!]

So the two of them pulled one of their somewhat reluctant teammates to move to the very front of the long table.

[Xing, look at me! I've been supporting you since the Rookie Tournament!]

This is Yu Xing's "fan," who took advantage of the brief time they could communicate to make their presence known.

Yu Xing opened his eyes wide, which greatly reduced the oppressive feeling brought by his narrow phoenix eyes.

He gave a sweet smile, "I see you. Thank you for your support, I'm very grateful."

It's still that same person:

[Oh dear, for a moment I can't tell if that smile is just a perfunctory one or if she's deliberately playing me.]

Yu Xing: "..."

Zhao Yijiu silently maintained her icy expression, letting out a mocking laugh at Yu Xing.

"Looks like you really have been following me since the Rookie Tournament." Yu Xing wasn't bothered by the mockery at all. He scratched his slightly messy black hair, looking like a harmless young man. "But you've got it wrong. I'm just a newbie. What bad intentions could a newbie have?"

[Okay, I'll let my values follow my physical appearance and pretend I believe it.]

[Your reasoning and analytical skills are truly impressive; you have a bright future ahead!]

[Haha, Ruru, you must have been terrified! Have you recovered yet?]

[The Cold Wine looks so eerie]

[Cold Wine has such a great personality! She doesn't talk much, but she's incredibly efficient. I want a teammate like that!]

But he's ignoring us now.

Zhao Yijiu watched the comments section filled with expectations for him without saying a word, completely ignoring them.

[What are your thoughts on being ranked first in progress?]

Finally, someone asked this classic question.

Viewers of "Death Parallel Line" love to ask the first-place winner for their thoughts, then relay them to the second and third-place winners when they enter the meeting room, spreading a wave of mockery from the first-place winner.

Joking remarks like "We'll go first, the rest of you hurry up!" are not prohibited by the system. Some teams already know each other and may have animosity or friendship, making their comments particularly amusing.

I heard that the person who initially left the provocative message for the team behind was a senior member who is no longer active. At the time, that senior member was sitting at the conference room table, and with a gentle and casual tone, he said to the person who asked the question, "Are you trying to attract my hatred by asking me what I think? Hmm, it's okay, it's nothing to worry about. I just have a question... Will they be able to hear what I say an hour from now?"

"I'd rather tell them in person next time I come."

The comments section reacted for a moment, then was flooded with the word "arrogant".

Is this person implying that once they've completed the second phase of their task and returned to the meeting room, their competitors will be able to complete the first phase?

This scene was recorded in some highlight reels and can still be found today. However, the senior's figure is blurry, and only his voice can be heard. Generally, this situation means that the senior's level is at or above the Despair level, and he can request the system not to appear on screen, or even delete the cognition of deducers with lower levels than him.

Even those who watched the live stream at the time would forget who was actually on screen until their level surpassed that of the senior, at which point the cognitive interference would be removed.

In other words, among the current strategists, only Medusa, the Lingren, a few members of the Widow Investigation Team, and the despair-level guild leaders of the major guilds can probably see the full content of this screen recording.

But this predecessor deleted the footage and other people's perceptions, but not completely; the voice remained. From then on, this tradition of Death Parallel Line began.

Zhao Ruru knew about this tradition, but this time all the participants were acquaintances, and there were two groups belonging to Zhao family's allies. She couldn't bring herself to provoke them. "Thoughts? You can all see I'm just a sucker, what thoughts do I have? I don't even dare to think about them."

Wow, I haven't seen this kind of humble wording in at least three live streams.

[Don't be a coward, what about Xing?]

Yu Xing, having been called out, rested her chin on her hand and said, "Friendship first, competition second. I believe that with the strength of all the seniors and outstanding classmates, we will definitely surpass us."

[Okay, here's a more official one: Cold Wine?]

Zhao Yijiu glanced coldly at the comments section, her eyes clearly saying "boring."

His remarks ended before they even began.

Seeing that they were unwilling to provoke them, some people made a few sarcastic remarks out of resentment, but were completely ignored, so they gave up.

Zhao Ruru and Yu Xing chatted with the viewers in the live chat for a while. The viewers were very enthusiastic because the personalities in the deduction process are more or less constrained and influenced by the environment. Only during the long table time can they see the participants' most authentic selves.

[Thump] Someone asked Cold Wine a question.

Is your surname Zhao?

[Bounty of 200 points, accept?]

Suddenly, a bold, black subtitle appeared on the screen, partially obscuring the bullet comments, and remained in the center of the screen.

This is quite obvious; they are interested in the participants and are asking serious questions to elicit information.

Whether Cold Wine is surnamed Zhao or not indicates whether he can be poached by other forces. If he is a member of the Zhao family, poaching him would mean betraying the Zhao family, and no one would do such a thing.

Just like before, some people used statements that emphasized the connection between Yu Xing and the Zhao family, forcing Zhao Mou to come out and deny it.

Once they receive a positive answer, all parties will have a clear understanding of the situation and won't waste too much effort on recruiting. Conversely, if the answer is negative, they can extend an olive branch without any burden.

Zhao Yijiu was Zhao family, Zhao Mou's younger brother, so there was no point in hiding it. His expression shifted, and he was just about to accept when he heard Yu Xing laugh and say, "Refuse it."

These points are a personal reward; why can you refuse them just like that?

[Teammates, don't be so nosy. It's not like it's something that can't be said; it'll be exposed sooner or later anyway.]

Immediately, several dissatisfied comments flew across the screen.

Zhao Yijiu looked at Yu Xing, who was smiling with the corners of his mouth up, the same expression that was most often seen on his face.

Two seconds later, his tone remained completely unchanged as he said somberly, "I refuse."

The black text that had taken up almost half the screen disappeared instantly.

[Haha, she really refused]

[Teammates shouldn't be so nosy, but what if they want to?]

[It seems Cold Wine is quite obedient to Xing. He used to call her "Brother Jiu," I thought the relationship should be reversed.]

[Luckily is better suited to be the brains of a team, no doubt about it]

[So obedient? So you're a dog after all?]

[Well, I used to really like Cold Wine and planned to keep an eye on him, but if he can't even make a decision on something as small as this... he's so weak.]

[Tsk tsk tsk, resorting to personal attacks when they can't get any information, getting desperate?]

Zhao Yijiu looked at the various statements on the screen, paused on the word "obedient," and found these people very strange.

They are impetuous, superficial, and difficult to communicate with; even their attempts to set the tone and use reverse psychology are clumsy.

He hates people like that the most.

There are very few people like this in the Zhao family. When he interacts with the Zhao family, regardless of whether they look down on him as an oddball, at least normal communication is not a problem. People who are too stupid and unaware of their own stupidity, or even proud of their own cleverness, are really tiring to communicate with and can easily make him irritable.

He can't be short-tempered; it's easy for him to cause trouble.

Zhao Yijiu thought to himself, he wasn't being obedient; he was an independent individual and didn't need to listen to Yu Xing.

However, Yu Xing always makes more accurate judgments than him. Accepting Yu Xing's advice is equivalent to giving himself a better choice, so why wouldn't he accept it?

Zhao Mou remained silent, it was unclear whether he had already discerned Yu Xing's plans.

The comments section wasn't just for watching the excitement and arguing; some serious people actually understood what Yu Xing meant.

Ten seconds later.

[Thump] Someone asked Cold Wine a question.

Is your surname Zhao?

[Bounty of 600 points, accept?]

Same problem.

The bounty has been doubled.

Yu Xing reached out and rubbed her fur collar, chuckling softly, "This is acceptable."

The audience then realized what Yu Xing was thinking.

Two hundred points? Are you trying to fob off a beggar with the minimum bounty?

Want to know more information...? You'll have to pay extra!