The Sun Rose as Usual

The index finger turned a page, and the novel moved to another scene.

"I walked along this road for a long time, until the streetlights went out, but the sun still hadn't risen."

"I'm trapped in this place. The extra footprints on the ground are imprinted with the shape of my blood. I don't know when it started, but I've been hiding a kitchen knife in my stomach and using needle and thread to mend the cracks."

I can't find him.

"The barking of hunting dogs began behind me. I started running, frantically sprinting through the endless alleyways until I reached a dead end. I turned around and saw my own corpse."

"My stomach was ripped apart by the cleaver during the jolting. A dog barked as it approached; it was a stray. It came to my side, excitedly sniffing. Yes, it had found the food it wanted, while I hadn't."

It's snowing.

I can't find him.

"After my body decomposed, the stray dogs left satisfied, and the remaining traces were buried by the snow. I stepped over my corpse, enjoying the pleasure of treading on that pile of rotting flesh, my feet stained with blood. I walked for a long time until I reached the place where the snow had melted, a path that seemed to stretch on forever."

"I walked along this road for a long time, until the streetlights went out, but the sun still hadn't risen."

"I'm trapped in this place. The extra footprints on the ground are imprinted with the shape of my blood. I don't know when it started, but I've been hiding a kitchen knife in my stomach and using needle and thread to mend the cracks."

"I know this is the murder weapon, so I'm going to hide it."

"To the person buried in the snow just now, I was just a stray dog with bloody teeth. I bent down, chopped open his stomach with a kitchen knife, and got the food I wanted most. But I don't know how long I can last."

"The barking of hunting dogs began behind me, and I started running, until I reached a dead end."

The sun still rises as usual.

The reader let out a soft sigh. She seemed to understand the passage, yet also seemed to only vaguely grasp it. But clearly, this author had never disappointed her. She would buy this new book and take it home to find the hidden answers within.

The girl picked up the book and walked towards the bookstore's cashier. Several middle school students came in, making a ruckus, but the manager quietly stopped them and asked them to be quiet.

"Hello, I'd like to pay for this new book by Yuan Xia, <Reincarnation>."

The cashier looked up to scan the barcode, smiling as she said, "This book is selling very well. It seems young people these days really enjoy reading these kinds of exotic mystery novels."

"Maybe." The girl didn't want to attribute her liking for the book to her youth, but she didn't refute it. Only those who read it seriously would know that it wasn't about seeking novelty, but rather a resonance deep within the soul.

Just like the previous novel, which was titled "Rotten".

In early January, a cold front swept in from the bay and enveloped the Mijin City. The city was once again blanketed in snow, which fell like goose feathers, covering the sky and earth.

There were still many people on the downtown commercial street, taking advantage of the first day after the snow stopped to come out and release their frustration from being cooped up at home.

Students and working professionals are in similar situations; the heavy snow has increased the difficulty of travel, leaving them with little free time beyond their daily routines.

At lunchtime, a group of people wearing masks pushed open the door and walked out of a restaurant with good online reviews. They blended in with the crowd and did not attract much attention, but whenever someone got close, they couldn't help but sigh at how good-looking this group of people was.

Although their faces are not clearly visible, at first glance, they all appear to have upright postures and a natural air of distinction that sets them apart from the crowd.

"Great! It suits my taste perfectly. I've decided to eat here again tomorrow." Carlos's striking grey-blue hair was quite eye-catching, though he seemed completely unaware of it. With a flick of his right hand, he pulled out a rose and placed it on the restaurant's reception desk, earning a delighted smile from the hostess.

"No one will invite you tomorrow, you'll have to pay for it yourself." Yu Xing saw his antics but didn't comment. She put her hands in front of her mask and rubbed them together casually to warm them up.

"Did I ask you to invite him? Are you looking down on the financial situation of a good Magician?" Carlos's voice trembled slightly, but then he saw Qu Xuanqing, standing beside Yu Xing, and swallowed the rest of his witty remarks.

We've just met, so I'm not quite ready to be too forward yet.

Yu Xing chuckled, glanced behind her to make sure that Brother Jiu, who was not speaking, was being held by Zhao Mou with his arm around his shoulder and hadn't gotten lost, then led the group towards her home.

More than half a month has passed since the last live simulation ended. After Yu Xing successfully obtained an S-level rating, the system, as promised, raised his level from Struggling to Mourning, and all the remaining seals on the cage were also unlocked.

Aside from the in-depth assessment required when first entering the differentiation line to determine the differentiation path, there are no additional assessments required from struggling to mourning, or mourning to despair. The system will inform the person in advance with a prediction, "The next prediction is related to your level." Other than that, there is nothing special.

The Mourning level does indeed have many new privileges, including the frequency of simulations, which has been relaxed to once every two months, and can be extended even more if time-delay items are used.

Other permissions are also quite interesting. In addition to unlocking more options in the store and video area, a [System Negotiation] function has also appeared. This function seems insignificant, like the "Contact Customer Service" function in most Yugi, but it is actually very useful. This is where Han Yan and his team were able to squeeze out a bit of benefit from the fairness of the simulation.

Furthermore, during the simulation, when releasing their aura, the aura of the Mourning level will suppress the aura of the Struggle Level.

Yu Xing not only leveled up, but he, Zhao Yijiu, as well as the Siren, the Pearl Seller, the Rubik's Cube, and others, all reached the threshold of becoming celebrity predictors because of that highly-watched live stream, and are now people who can speak with their real names.

After acquiring the new items, Yu Xing didn't rush into any more simulations. Instead, he seemed to suddenly become a couch potato, resting and recuperating at home until January, when he finally struggled out of bed and began working on forming a team.

The game is absurd because it doesn't have a fixed team template, but it does have guilds. Although guilds can't allow their members to freely choose to enter a certain simulation together, they at least give the simulation participants who gather together a formal status. Therefore, many small teams take advantage of this convenience to form small guilds where there are no visible rankings.

In reality, the Widow Investigation Team was just like that; they were simply too strong, so strong that they stood out as a team.

Yu Xing entrusted Zhao Mou to find Carlos in reality. Of course, it wasn't as easy as it sounded. The deduction system even used Karma and rules to cover up the deducer's information. Even if you know the real name, you can't find the person. It is likely that in the entire real world, only the Zhao family Three Great Families, which focuses on intelligence, has the ability to find people.

After finding Carlos's information, Yu Xing didn't immediately fly over to deliver the surprise. Instead, he made a phone call first, stating that he had investigated Carlos, which earned him a furious outburst from the Magician.

Then he asked Carlos if he would like to form a team.

Carlos didn't hesitate for long. His strength in the tomb was evident to all, and Carlos also remembered that Shen from the experiencer world seemed to have mentioned that he and Yu Xing were supposed to be teammates in the future.

With a strange sense of expectation, Carlos agreed.

Yu Xing applied to the system for a guild, with a provisional quota of seven members. However, there was a slight issue when the system asked him to fill in the initial member names.

Yu Xing, Qu Xuanqing, Zhao Mou, Zhao Yijiu, Carlos —there are actually only five, but the system checked and insisted that Zhao Yijiu needed to take up two spots. Yu Xing couldn't expose the existence of the absurd, escaped ghost, as that would implicate Zhao Yijiu, who had already merged with the ghost.

So he filled in "another personality of the member Cold Wine with a split personality," and barely passed the test.

The last spot was for Yi Qing. The system said that the ghosts residing in the offerings did not count as members. Yu Xing was very stubborn and insisted on writing this name. Later, it is unclear whether the system and Yi Qing discussed it themselves, but the final result was that they agreed.

Thus, on January 2nd, "Broken Mirror" was officially established. Although Yi Qing wanted to pretend that she had suggested the name herself, Yu Xing had already heard the name from Yu Fengchen and thought it was pretty good. Perhaps if she really had to come up with a name herself, this would be it.

Yu Xing pondered the origin of the name, wondering if the broken mirror Yu Fengchen would see in the future might be a direct result of his words in the tomb.

Which is the cause, and which is the effect?

Yu Xing pondered in bed late at night without finding a solution, and was soon sealed away by the blankets.

On the morning of January 3rd, which is today, Carlos arrived in Mijin City by plane. For him, the place of residence is not a big deal. He is someone who travels between cities anyway, so he has no burden.

So... Yu Xing invited the others to have a meal together, and he paid for it.

The intention was to let everyone get to know each other, but the atmosphere at the dinner table was a little awkward.

Perhaps... it's still because of Qu Xuanqing. Although this woman is the youngest one present, her aura is too strong. Even though Yu Xing told them not to be reserved, the other three men still felt inexplicably uneasy around her.

Carlos was seeing the legendary Great Witch in person for the first time. Although Qu Xuanqing's reputation had somewhat reversed, her ruthlessness was still real. Before he could be mischievous, he had to consider whether he might break his leg.

Zhao Mou is doing well and adapts quickly. He can now joke around with Qu Xuanqing. As for Zhao Yijiu Qu Xuanqing always uses the term "little sister" to evoke unpleasant memories for him. Now, poor Brother Jiu wants to avoid Qu Xuanqing whenever he sees her.

"It's really cold here." Zhao Mou pushed up his glasses to clear the fog from the lenses, complaining a little, "Even though it's not snowing anymore, the thawing is really something an old person like me can't handle."

Zhao Yijiu, being held in his arms, probably felt too cold and replied, "Yes, your old leg pain can't be hidden anymore."

"..." Zhao Mou was just making fun of himself; it didn't mean others could say he was old. He nodded at Zhao Yijiu's head with a forced smile, "I'm only twenty-eight. Twenty-eight is the prime of life, the very age of youth. How could I have old-fashioned legs?"

"Tch." Qu Xuanqing showed no respect whatsoever.

Zhao Mou: "..."

"To be fair," Zhao Mou said, "I never intended to join this team. If Yu Xing n't threatened me with A Jiu, I wouldn't have agreed so easily."

Yu Xing, having been called upon, paused slightly, clearly displeased. "So what?"

Zhao Mou raised an eyebrow. "So you should show me some respect and stop letting your team members launch personal attacks against me."

"Oh, you could try to control your brother yourself and stop him from making personal attacks on you." A hint of a smile appeared in Yu Xing's narrow phoenix eyes. Then Carlos put his arm around his shoulder, and Carlos's blue hair brushed against the fur collar of Yu Xing's down jacket, the material of which looked no different.

"Hey, I was recovering from the pollution of the Tomb Palace when you were streaming last time, so I didn't watch. I heard you were pretty awesome, but I didn't really realize it until today. It turns out... you really have absolutely no respect for your seniors." The Magician squinted. "I feel like you have too many secrets. Why don't you tell me a little bit so I can find out who my team leader really is?"

Carlos didn't notice that Yu Xing was looking at his hair, which had become somewhat dry due to frequent dyeing. He wasn't exactly an honest man to begin with, and he secretly wanted to gather information.

Yu Xing put one hand in his pocket and pushed Carlos's head away with the other. "Want to know?"

Carlos smirked. "Stop playing dumb."

"Actually, I'm a two-hundred-year-old ghost." Yu Xing's lips curled into a smile. "I've been surviving among humans by absorbing the life force of others. Hmm? I actually said that out loud. No, you know too much."

He reached out and instantly grabbed Carlos's arm, then pulled Carlos forward without any chance to resist. A strong arm pressed against Carlos's head, causing him to lean backward.

Carlos: "Ah!"

"Childish," Zhao Yijiu scoffed.

"You can be a little childish too." Zhao Mou pushed him, but accidentally used too much force, and the Brother Jiu stumbled and was punched by Yu Xing as if it were a sneak attack.

Zhao Yijiu: "..."

Yu Xing: "... Ah, this."

Feeling extremely annoyed at being punched unjustly, Zhao Yijiu punched back, much to Yu Xing's astonishment.

"... Damn it, this is bullying." Carlos was extremely dissatisfied. Yu Xing only dodged, not confronting Zhao Yijiu head-on, but still holding him down! He struggled, "Fine, don't talk then, let go, let go. Don't let a Magician lose his elegance."

Yu Xing only let go after hearing him beg for mercy.

On the main street, a few men were playing and fooling around like children. Maybe there's not much difference between men in their twenties and teenagers.

"... Ah, I used to think," Qu Xuanqing Yu Xing indifferently, "That Yu Xing has experienced too much, so he's old-fashioned."

"Now it seems, I wasn't really old, I just had no friends."

"If he hears you say that, he'll be heartbroken." Zhao Mou, being more mature, didn't participate. He pushed up his glasses, clicked his tongue, and revealed a sly smile.

Qu Xuanqing Xianqing sneered, "He'll just take the opportunity to show how young he is. Maybe if he's even a little more shameless, he could call me 'sister,' which would be unbearable for me."

Zhao Mou thought for a moment and said, "Isn't this great? I got a younger brother for free."

Qu Xuanqing: "No."

Zhao Mou: "Hmm?"

"No, because I really can't handle it." The tall, twenty-three-year-old woman's expression was slightly complicated; she couldn't explain the reason to Zhao Mou.

Imagine that this slutty thing, who has looked just like her since she was a child, took care of her for a while, and now he's become her younger brother. Just thinking about this scene makes Qu Xuanqing feel... ashamed.

It shortens one's lifespan.

Zhao Mou keenly sensed that there was probably more to this than met the eye, so he coughed twice and changed the subject.

After walking along the road for about twenty minutes, the bustling crowd gradually thinned out, and they moved from the commercial area to the residential area. Yu Xing led them upstairs to their floor.

Before entering, Yu Xing remembered something and asked, "How are Zhang Yu and Zeng Ranran?"

Qu Xuanqing said, "They're alright. They're both very smart, and they performed well and consistently in the simulations."

Yu Xing raised an eyebrow. "Have you been following them?"

"That's not what I'm concerned about. Could it be you?" Qu Xuanqing her eyes at him. "Open the door quickly, I'm thirsty."

They act like they're not part of the group.

Yu Xing brought several people here mainly to hold a meeting. The dinner table is more relaxed, allowing everyone to get to know each other. Now, it's time to assess each other's abilities and discuss future plans.

After entering the house, the heating was turned on, and everyone took off their coats and hung them on the coat rack by the door.

Carlos looked around. The house was simply decorated, but tastefully. The modern furniture subtly created a classic, antique charm.

Upon closer inspection, even the smallest piece of furniture is quite valuable, and the smaller the decorative item, the more expensive it is likely to be. Carlos casually remarked, "I'm planning to settle down here, right? Your house is quite large; do you need a roommate?"

Yu Xing casually replied, "I don't lack roommates, but if you're looking for a place, upstairs or downstairs is fine, they're all mine."

Upon hearing this, everyone except Qu Xuanqing paused, looking at him with incredulous expressions.

"You're that rich?" Carlos asked incredulously. "Are painters this rich these days?"

"I've been a ghost for two hundred years, surely I can accumulate some wealth?" Yu Xing scoffed, and Carlos immediately shut up. He didn't want to recall the scene of being suppressed on the street just now.

The group sat down on the living room sofa. Then, Yu Xing summoned the Sheqing Dreamscape. As the azure light spread, Yi Qing's figure appeared in the air.

This time, Yi Qing chose to fully manifest. His figure appeared on everyone's retinas, and as his clothes fluttered, the crystal ornaments collided with each other, producing a crisp sound.

Outside of the deduction, Yi Qing's abilities were unrestricted. He simply materialized and, amidst the surprised, wary, or confused gazes of others, casually sat down next to Yu Xing.

"Hello everyone, my name is Yi Qing. It is a great honor to meet you all." Even though he was sunk into the soft sofa, Yi Qing remained seated upright, much like a well-mannered gentleman from ancient times. The fan in his hand was closed, and his voice was gentle.

To be fair, if Yi Qing weren't restricted by the system and were willing to cooperate, he would be the strongest Combat Power in the current Broken Mirror Squad. However, neither of these conditions is easy to meet. Just like in the last room of the Fear Hospital, he preferred to watch the show with his arms crossed rather than utter a sound.

"Wait, that sound..." Carlos frowned slightly, his lazy posture becoming more serious. He shifted his gaze slightly, his eyes landing on the pendant on Yi Qing's body, hesitant. "Why does this crystal clinking sound sound so familiar? It's like the same sound from the ghost that bothered me when I was walking with my eyes closed in the tomb."

Yi Qing: "... Oh, really?"

Yu Xing: "Hmm..."

"He's been by your side the whole time?" Carlos's gaze locked onto Yu Xing. "So it was you who was setting me up back then."

"I'm not taking the blame for this." Yu Xing let out a laugh. "Let me formally introduce him. This is the vengeful ghost, Yi Qing. I brought him out of the deduction using the convenience of the sacrifice. He wanted fun, and I wanted help; it was a win-win situation. But... I can't control what he does unless I pitifully beg him."

After saying that, Yu Xing turned to Carlos with utmost sincerity and gave him an excellent suggestion. "So you should hold him accountable. What, do you want revenge? Seriously, while he's still a physical being, beat him up."

"The Sheqing Ghost..." Carlos murmured with interest, but also with a hint of resignation, his fingers deftly twirling a coin. "Well, I'll beat him up when I'm strong enough."

"I'm really looking forward to it," Yi Qing said with a smile.

"Now that everyone knows each other, shall we get down to business?" Zhao Mou glanced at the time.

Yu Xing nodded, spread his palms, and gestured for Zhao Mou to speak.

Zhao Mou was the vice-captain of the Broken Mirror Squad. Due to various factors and Qu Xuanqing's expression of disinterest in the position, Yu Xing gave Zhao Mou the vice-captainship, which was also the vice-president of the guild.

Zhao Mou is indeed a very suitable candidate. He has connections, intelligence, and is good at scheming and planning. He is already a very good strategist.

"I have two things to discuss today. One is to define our roles within the team. This requires us to share a significant portion of the sacrificial abilities. Yu Xing should have mentioned this beforehand when he invited you to join the team." He was mainly speaking to Carlos was the only person present who was completely unfamiliar to him, someone he had never worked with before.

"Hmm." Carlos knew what was going on and responded lazily.

While it's usually difficult to get into a team for a simulation, the Absurdity System occasionally releases live streams or events that allow you to bring others along, and that's when the team's advantage becomes huge.

When teamwork and group combat are required, understanding each other's capabilities will be the foundation for tactical planning and on-the-spot responses.

Zhao Mou nodded. Since they were gathered together, they didn't need to be overly attentive; they just needed to listen. "The second thing is to discuss the event that the Absurdity System announced five days ago."

"Deduction Assessment: The Entry Ticket to the Secret Team Competition Mode."