The Reception Room on the First Floor

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Shafuri started poaching people again. It's clear that after Yu Xing demonstrated her strength, Shafuri, who already had this intention, became even more determined to recruit Yu Xing into the Midnight Guild.

She even wanted to bring Qu Xuanqing along...

Yu Xing wasn't interested in this. He was going to create his own team anyway, and he couldn't let Shafuri disrupt his plans. Refusing once or twice wouldn't make a difference, so he simply didn't intend to discuss the issue with Shafuri anymore.

Outside the door came the whispers of a patient's family member's ghost. These ghosts would utter indistinct murmurs as they passed by, as annoying as flies buzzing in one's ear. The murmurs paused slightly as they passed the door, and the door trembled gently, as if a ghost was trying to push it open.

Shafuri wisely stopped talking, and the siren swiftly grabbed the doorknob, creating the illusion that the door was locked. The patient's family members outside seemed to say something and then left regretfully.

The murmurs faded into the distance. Yu Xing reached out and opened the door. "Let's see if there are any more ghosts outside. Let's go downstairs and meet up as soon as possible."

"What about my suggestion?" Shafuri asked with her arms crossed and a smile.

"Thank you, but I refuse." Yu Xing made her refusal clear once again. Shafuri raised an eyebrow, wanting to ask why.

Yu Xing glanced at her impatiently, an expression that made Shafuri catch her breath, and she chose not to ask any further questions.

It seems that Yu Xing isn't very interested in the number one guild in this Absurdity System called Midnight. Shafuri has never been a woman who would patiently persuade someone many times; if she doesn't want to come, she doesn't have to.

She secretly rolled her eyes at Yu Xing's retreating figure, thinking to herself, "If we survive this time, we'll probably be enemies if we meet again."

It's so annoying, one enemy after another. Why can't we all stand on the same side of interests?

No one could understand Shafuri's thoughts. The siren only noticed that Shafuri had become somewhat upset after being rejected. On her way to the first floor, Shafuri looked tired and pale, and spoke less than usual.

The siren was helpless about this. She was not close to this nominal teacher. The reason was that she was on the Mutation Path, while Shafuri was on the Fallen Path. She learned deduction techniques from Shafuri. Medusa would also arrange for Shafuri to guide her through deduction, but she did not approve of Shafuri's consistent style.

In that kind of thing, it's fine to have fun to your heart's content, which is probably a matter of mutual consent and freedom. But to go too far and then torture and kill someone... Every time Siren thinks about this, she feels a chill.

Because she and Shafuri hold different views on this matter, Shafuri, aside from teaching her some things, never became closer to her. This is evidenced by Shafuri's decision to let the Dark Thief kill the Siren in the first round of the Dawn Mode. She only needed to get the Siren safely through the simulation and didn't care much about the damage the Siren suffered in the process.

In a sense, Shafuri was also responsible for building up the promising newcomer, Siren. Everyone who tried to poach her backed down because of Shafuri's threats.

This is a master and apprentice whose relationship is anything but warm.

Compared to Shafuri, Siren now prefers to stay by Yu Xing's side because Yu Xing is easygoing, even if only on the surface. Moreover, Yu Xing saved her life, saw through her soul in the Death Space, and is also a powerful figure whose background is unknown to anyone. Siren really wants to be friends with this person; he makes her feel so safe.

Hearing Yu Xing's refusal, she felt a little disappointed. If she refused to join, there wouldn't be many opportunities to meet again. She had a feeling that if she continued to follow the rules and do the deductions under Shafuri's control, she would soon be completely overtaken by Yu Xing's strength and wouldn't even have the chance to appear on the same show again.

"Why..."

As she descended the stairs and saw the rendezvous point so close at hand, the siren sighed softly.

Let's not think about that now. Surviving in this live simulation full of surprises is the most important thing.

Upon arriving at the meeting point, Shafuri stepped forward first and knocked on the door.

Zhao Mou's voice came from inside. "Who's back?"

"Me, Yu Xing, and the Siren."

Shafuri didn't lower her hand after she finished speaking, and sure enough, Zhao Mou immediately followed up with, "Sound the code we agreed on."

Did they even set a secret code?

Having lost this memory, Yu Xing harbored a slight doubt. Could it be that Han Yan had controlled her to pretend to knock on the door and be recognized, or was there a wandering ghost on the first floor that could mimic human speech to deceive people?

Thinking this, he listened as Shafuri first pretended to tap rhythmically twice, then started tapping randomly, a pattern that even Shafuri herself probably couldn't replicate a second time.

The siren whispered behind him, "The code is no code at all. Just knock randomly and it means you're one of us."

Yu Xing: "..." Quite cautious.

The next instant, the door was opened by the person inside, and a chubby face with glasses as thick as the bottom of a bottle peeked out.

The Rubik's Cube, still holding a pen unconsciously, glanced at the three people outside before stepping aside and saying somewhat apologetically, "Come in quickly."

Yu Xing followed Shafuri into the room. He heard the Rubik's Cube lock the door behind him and began to observe the interior.

Based on Yu Xing's familiarity with the map of the Fear Hospital, he remembered that this room was originally a small examination room. In the Dusk Mode, it had been transformed into a slightly spacious, dilapidated reception room, and the window at the far end, large enough for one person to pass through completely, was also not there originally.

With sofas, coffee tables, desks, even water dispensers and small beds for overnight stays, this "reception room" is better furnished than the offices on the fourth floor in terms of completeness.

However, the pervasive sense of decay, the dust and mold in the corners, and the barely noticeable specks of blood all contributed to an eerie and dangerous atmosphere in what should have been a pleasant reception room.

There were only three people in the reception room. Zhao Mou was slumped on the sofa, half-reclining, with a small circle drawn with an unknown pungent material at his feet, from which thin white mist was continuously rising.

The white mist seemed to have eyes, actively being absorbed into Zhao Mou's body, repairing his complexion, which was even paler than Shafuri's.

The sofa, which had been moved and then pushed back into place, blocked half a corner of the array, but fortunately, this did not seem to affect the array's function.

Ren Yi sat behind his desk, which was covered with handwritten draft papers of various sizes and a few file folders. He looked extremely busy, writing something on the paper with a pen. His expression... well, you couldn't tell anything from his expression; he was still expressionless.

He only glanced up briefly to indicate that he knew someone had come in, before burying himself in his calculations again.

After opening the door for Yu Xing and the others, Rubik's Cube obediently walked over to Ren Yi and sat on the chair it had moved over to watch Ren Yi write.

Zhao Mou struggled to move, and said weakly, "You took longer than I expected... Did something unexpected happen?"

Even though he was injured, he still showed a strong reluctance to be impolite and tried to sit up.

The siren quickly went over and pressed him down. "Don't move. Your wound is a penetrating wound, it's too deep. You'd better not move until this healing array wears off, otherwise the bleeding that has finally stopped will start pumping again."

Zhao Mou glanced at her and found her words a bit strange; if it was just a matter of stopping someone, there was no need to go into such detail.

She was delivering a message to someone who didn't know his situation.

Zhao Mou's heart skipped a beat, and he subconsciously looked towards the door.

"She's fine; she passed the message to me." Seeing Zhao Mou's vigilance, Yu Xing smiled approvingly to herself. Even in a relatively safe space, she remained constantly cautious—that's the quality a team's strategist should possess.

Zhao Mou, of course, had no idea that Yu Xing was secretly coveting his brain; he gave Yu Xing a questioning look.

Yu Xing: "I have amnesia. All my memories after meeting Ren Yi have disappeared, so I was a little delayed in getting to know the situation."

Zhao Mou: "?"

He looked at Yu Xing with a very strange expression. "You have this serious illness?"

"Yes, I'm sick." Yu Xing readily admitted this, walked to the other end of the sofa, and sat down without any politeness. As the sofa sank in, Zhao Mou's body stiffened abruptly, and he cursed inwardly as a "bastard."

The sofa would rub against his penetrating abdominal wound with every movement; it must hurt so much!

Yu Xing smiled broadly, "Although I lost some of my memories, I still completed the mission very well. Shouldn't you praise me?"

Pale-faced Zhao Mou gritted his teeth, feeling sorry for himself while reluctantly praising, "... You're the best."

He was certain that if he didn't give Yu Xing face, Yu Xing could go on a crazy rampage on the sofa, making him miserable.

Yu Xing was satisfied, and then asked, "Where are the others? Haven't they returned yet?"

When we say "others," there are really only three: Zhao Yijiu, Yu Jing, and the Dark Thief.

Zhao Mou said weakly, "They came back thirteen minutes ago, and Ren Yi assigned them new tasks."

Aside from Han Yan, the Pearl Seller, and Qu Xuanqing was out on the move, the remaining nine people were divided into small teams of three. The three who relied heavily on their brains and were injured stayed at the meeting room base to organize data and assign tasks. Yu Xing Group One with two ladies, while Zhao Yijiu was with Yu Jing and the two LSP Foundation members, Dark Thief.

After thinking for a moment, Yu Xing realized that this was indeed the best solution. The two ladies were master and apprentice, and Yu Jing, the Dark Thief, was from the same guild. Their group of four was already clear. Working with people they knew well would make them more adaptable to danger.

Yu Jing's strength is lower than that of Shafuri. The Dark Thief is good at stealth, and both of their characteristics are advantageous to Zhao Yijiu. Zhao Yijiu is also good at operating in the shadows. Whether it is cooperation or confrontation, he is more suitable to stay by the side of someone like the Dark Thief than Yu Xing.

Yu Xing is better at interacting with women than Zhao Yijiu. If Zhao Yijiu were assigned to the side of Shafuri and the Siren, Zhao Yijiu would be facing a powerful and terrifying woman whose every move was seductive, and a Siren with a maternal aura who had never lived in the Dragon Palace.

Zhao Yijiu couldn't handle this, and Zhao Mou wasn't at ease either. He felt that his younger brother being entangled with Shafuri was like Tang Sanzang being captured by a female demon—either he would be eaten or "eaten."

After thinking it over, Yu Xing understood that this arrangement was not only a tactical combination, but also implied that Zhao Mou was monitoring the other four.

He had also heard from the siren that Han Yan had controlled ghostly things to attack several times, and the scenes were very dangerous. Zhao Mou and Ren Yi were seriously injured, and the others didn't even have time to react.

This shows that Han Yan had a full grasp of their movements, but neither Ren Yi, nor Zhao Mou who had the ability to divine, nor even Qu Xuanqing was hiding and wandering around, were able to detect the timing of Han Yan's move in advance.

What does this mean? Does it need to be stated?

Yu Xing lowered her voice and told Zhao Mou the specific timeline and details of her amnesia, including the matter of the reporter's ID.

He only planned to tell Zhao Mou about this, Zhao Mou could look after him if he suffered amnesia again, and also help him control the situation if he obtained the fragments of the reporter's ID and caused any special circumstances. That would be enough; he didn't need to think about anything else.

After listening to Yu Xing's words, Zhao Mou rubbed his temples.

Another source of instability has emerged: reporter's ID...

A flicker of interest crossed his eyes. At this moment, the more complex the situation, the more advantageous it would be for them, because ultimately, Han Yan was the one who had laid the groundwork early on. Now, all the unstable factors would definitely have a greater impact on Han Yan than on their side.

He remembered the reporter's ID, and then mentioned Yu Xing's illness.

"So it was you who got this disease... Yours is actually the most troublesome. It doesn't have any negative effects normally, but it can suddenly flare up at unexpected times, making it impossible to guard against and extremely easy to mess up at crucial moments." Zhao Mou looked down on Yu Xing. Fortune turns around. Last time, Yu Xing enough to become Doctor, but this time he's unlucky again.

During the time Yu Xing lost her memory, the guests also tried their best to search for the scattered "notes about the cause of her illness" in the hospital, one of which was Yu Xing's mental disorder.

Together, they collected nine slips of paper. They hoped to learn about Han Yan and the missing Pearl Seller's illness from the slips, so that they could have a little more leverage the next time they encountered him.

For some reason, Zhao Mou did not have everyone gather together to claim their illnesses.

"For some reason?" Yu Xing repeated.

"Hmm..." Zhao Mou was about to speak when Ren Yi, who was behind the desk, finished processing the data in his hand and looked up, interrupting the whispered plot between Yu Xing and Zhao Mou.

With so many people standing in the same room, even the softest voices should not escape the ears of these deducers whose five senses have been enhanced. However, Zhao Mou has a special characteristic: people a meter away will not hear a word that is whispered to him.

This is a manifestation of Zhao Mou's instinct to gather intelligence over the years, as the head of a branch of the Zhao family, in his Persona Mask, resulting in the creation of a sacrifice with this passive effect.

It's a very practical skill, and it's considered a rule-based skill; no one can really do anything about it.

"Yu Xing, Shafuri, I'm done with my work. Now, please tell me about any new clues you have." Ren Yi had been analyzing all the clues he had on hand, and now he could finally begin analyzing the new clues that Yu Xing and the others had brought.

There was also a circle at his feet, and on his chest, the blood had not completely congealed. He was badly injured, but his work efficiency did not decrease at all.