Information Sharing

Occasionally, the Absurdity System will release some events, some with thresholds, and some even being welfare-type simulations. Death will not really erase you, but these events are relatively rare. At least, this is the first time Yu Xing has seen one since becoming a simulation participant.

Generally speaking, every event can attract the interest and attention of most of the deducers. The event that Zhao Mou is talking about now is the mysterious event that was suddenly released by the system at the end of December.

The message on the activity panel is as follows:

[Ta-da! A new event is here!]

[The event "A Death Game on One Side of the Balance Scale" will launch on January 10th. The balance scale is swaying; one side is life, the other is death. Do you know which side you're on?]

Below the ambiguous, promotional copy, the system's tone became much more honest, and it began to narrate in a serious manner.

[This event is open to all deducers at the Differentiation Tier and above. The event is divided into two phases. The first phase is an individual deduction ability assessment; only the top 100 deducers in the assessment can advance to the next phase. Note: Death during the first phase does not count as a true death. All deducers are welcome to participate! The second phase is the core event, where the 100 deducers are divided into five groups of 20 each and enter five event worlds to begin the competitive mode.]

[Core Activity: Secret Team Arena Mode: Team arena in an independent world. This will be the first time a massive simulation world covering forty players has been opened. There are five activity worlds, and the specific player distribution will be announced after the first phase. The survival rate in each world is 0%~100%. The second phase of the simulation is expected to last two months, with players taking on 50% of the role and facing the opposing 50%. The specific world setting will be kept secret for now.]

[Preliminary Activity: Deduction Ability Assessment: To identify the one hundred most suitable deducers for the second stage, the preliminary activity assesses their pure deduction abilities, including survival skills, reasoning ability, mental resilience, and logical reasoning skills. Physical fitness and combat abilities are not included. Therefore, participants will temporarily forfeit all sacrifices and physical attributes gained upon entering the absurd system. After role balancing, they will participate in the exam. The exam content and format will not be announced in advance; everything depends on the participants' adaptability!]

[Of course, all participants don't need to worry about fairness. In the preliminary activities, everyone will have the same exam format and content, with no element of luck. We wish you all a pleasant experience!]

This is all the official information released about the event so far.

Zhao Mou said, "Yu Xing has decided to participate in this event. We'll explain why later. In short, barring any unforeseen circumstances, we should all be involved. Any questions?"

No one raised any objections.

"Alright, let's put the activities aside for now and talk about the first thing: revealing everyone's ability preferences," Zhao Mou said, glancing at Yu Xing. "A normal, well-structured team needs direct combat units, communication units that can connect teammates' locations, scout units skilled in stealth and intelligence gathering, brain units that can plan tactics and coordinate orders, healing units, and a support unit that can utilize supernatural powers to complement various tactics. I know we don't have a healing unit... I had a healing sacrifice before, but I had to replace it for some necessary reasons."

"Within the remaining five basic responsibilities, I hope the five of us can find our own place."

He knew perfectly well that he already had information on these individuals, but he knew it was useless; he needed his team members to understand each other's abilities. Zhao Mou glanced at the casually sitting Yu Xing and raised an eyebrow. "Friend, you are the captain after all, why don't you start?"

"Alright." Yu Xing sat up a little straighter. "Then let's start with me. My offering inventory is currently full, and my core offering is a black orb that can revive me and provide rapid regeneration."

He himself didn't know what the unknown offering actually looked like, so he could only describe it in this way for now.

Then, he went on to describe his other offerings in detail. "The special offerings are the standard rose mask, which can conceal my appearance, and the role-playing license I obtained from the Fear Hospital. Both of these offerings can greatly enhance my tactical flexibility."

"The weapon offering, Sheqing Dreamscape a dagger. Its pure attack range is relatively short, but Yi Qing's Azure Mist can exert a supernatural energy effect, and Yi Qing herself is quite versatile..."

"I have a small-area attack and a candlestick-shaped offering Tears of the Underworld Candle the Dead' that can transform me into a zombie, but I rarely use it anymore. The Weird Doll is a offering that can be used for detection and attack, but I don't think it suits me well; the side effects are too great and it's too noisy, so it's not very useful. There's also the Rule Offering Cage; aside from the high cost of its third ability, it has a decent ability to seal doors and windows, so it's quite practical."

There were seven offerings in total. After advancing to the Mourning level, the number of offering slots increased from six to seven, which was just enough. However, Yu Xing had already considered this. "I want to leave one slot empty for future gains in the deduction, so I won't be carrying the Tears of the Underworld Candle for now."

"Isn't Weird Doll useless too? Why bring it along?" Zhao Mou asked.

"Oh, because I've always wanted to give it away." Yu Xing grinned. "I know someone here, and I don't know when I'll run into him, so I'm keeping it for now. I'll find an opportunity to slip this 'Zu'an scoundrel' to him."

Zhao Yijiu raised her eyelids slightly, noticing the excitement in his tone that suggested he was up to something.

"I see." Zhao Mou didn't press further; that wasn't what he wanted to know. He said, "Besides the offerings, could you also describe your physical condition and fighting abilities?"

He remembered that Yu Xing's health was very poor.

"Well..." Yu Xing shifted on the sofa, "At first, I was in poor health, severely anemic, and I would feel cold all over and lose my life force when I encountered offerings or ghosts. But now I've used my wish list to suppress the negative things, and so on."

"What's wrong?" Zhao Mou, who had just heard about this, was startled by Yu Xing's sudden serious tone before he could even feel happy.

"It's nothing, I just suddenly remembered that although my physique has improved a lot due to my increased strength, the most important negative status is suppressed by the system. That event... they won't take it all back, will they?"

Yu Xing didn't know if, with his current true abilities, once the system stopped helping to suppress the negative effects of the curse, he would still be able to easily become near death as before.

... It shouldn't be that bad, because he had already realized that the reason he was on the verge of death during the churning of the curse's power was because his body was getting weaker and weaker over time and couldn't withstand such powerful energy.

Now, after seeing the Ghost Tree, something inexplicable has been activated in him, and he has a better understanding of his own power. This is not something he obtained after entering the Absurd World, so it will not be changed. Presumably, his tolerance for the power of curses has returned to the state it was decades ago, and he is not as weak as he is now.

"Never mind, we'll talk about that later. As for my fighting ability, you can have some confidence in me. My muscle strength is very high; in terms of pure strength, very few people can beat me. Also, my explosiveness and speed are..."

"That's really weird," Zhao Yijiu muttered to herself.

Qu Xuanqing thought for a moment, then interjected, "Without a sword, I can't beat him with my bare hands. We've tried many times already."

Zhao Mou took notes in a notebook. Electronic devices are not reliable these days; only paper records are the most original and safest.

"By the way, recently, due to my physical condition, I've occasionally seen some psychic things and had some fleeting moments of Spiritual Sense," Yu Xing added.

"Tsk, with this strength, besides being a brain, it could also be used as a combatant." Carlos was filled with envy, jealousy, and hatred. Yu Xing was too deceptive. When he first met Yu Xing, he was deceived by the appearance of the other party wearing white furry clothes, mistakenly thinking that he was a well-behaved little brother who was still in college.

Life, it's all just lies.

"Alright, next." Zhao Mou finished taking notes, paused, then remembered he was the vice-captain. "I'll go next."

"My abilities are more support-oriented, mainly focusing on divination and prophecy. My core offering, the spirit tablet, allows me to divine the state of people, events, and things, and the answers to questions through spirit writing. Of course, only I can understand those answers, and it cannot be used in combat; it requires absolute safety and undisturbed operation. The fox staff contains half a hungry ghost. Besides releasing the hungry ghost for attack and defense, the staff itself can also strike people... It hurts quite a bit; I've tried it."

Zhao Yijiu: "..."

Unaware of his younger brother's momentary complex emotions, Zhao Mou continued, "I also have a prayer talisman, which is also an offering. It can be used in any environment with divine or Buddhist imagery. It can designate one person to receive protection, perhaps through defensive abilities or an enhancement of fortune. If it's placed directly on my forehead, I will be temporarily possessed by an unknown entity, completely plunged into the unknown. This is because the possessing entity is most likely a ghost, and its abilities and intelligence are uncontrollable. However, it won't attack my body; it will instinctively, or be forced by the situation, lead me to a safe location."

"The incense burner is a rather useless offering. Its greatest use to me is to create images of gods and Buddhas anytime, anywhere, facilitating the use of prayer talismans and also enhancing the power of the spirit medium."

After saying that, Zhao Mou tapped his glasses with one finger. "The last one is this, a sacrifice in the form of glasses. It can transform into various shapes of frames and lenses, even contact lenses. It can help me see a lot of data, including the deducer, ghosts, and NPCs. However, it will become ineffective if the opponent's strength is too much higher than mine. It is a special sacrifice that can be used continuously, just like Yu Xing's rose mask. I originally had seven sacrifices fully equipped, but later, I gave away the healing sacrifice, and gave my only weapon sacrifice, [Heartshatter], to A Jiu. Now it's called Stop Killing."

"Why don't you add some more? You're Zhao family, and your intelligence gathering ability is so strong, you shouldn't be short of points, right?" Carlos touched the earring on his earlobe, a hint of confusion appearing in his dark green eyes.

"My current abilities are all geared towards non-combat applications. I haven't found any offerings in the trading market that have a chance of fusing with the abilities I need, so I'll hold onto two positions for now and see if I can find any in the simulation." Zhao Mou smiled and ruffled the hair of the increasingly uncomfortable Zhao Yijiu.

He sighed inwardly. Things were much better now than before. A Jiu had begun to grasp the power of the vengeful spirit, unlike a year or two ago when the vengeful spirit's influence was at its worst. How could he stand by and watch A Jiu suffer so much every day without doing anything?

He spent a lot of points to exchange for items that could suppress pain and stabilize his mind. At that time A Jiu was not yet a Deducer, and if Zhao Mou wanted to use the items of the Absurdity System, the price he had to pay was far greater than others could imagine.

Even that precious healing offering was obtained after the Death Parallel Line, in order to help A Jiu escape her extremely unstable state, and was exchanged with an anonymous person on the trading market for a rather strange offering.

That anonymous person must be a powerful figure at the Despair level or even higher, because during their negotiations, the other party claimed that they could guarantee that the abilities of the two offerings would not change due to the fusion. No one on the surface has been able to do this; perhaps only those who choose to erase their own traces can.

The sacrificial offering they received in return was a rusty nail that Zhao Yijiu had used.

Zhao Mou knew that Zhao Yijiu had always felt guilty about this, or perhaps it couldn't be called guilt, but rather a complex emotion that had been building up but had not yet erupted.

"Besides the sacrificial offerings, I've also practiced some basic martial arts and maintained a consistent training regimen, so my physical fitness is quite good." He touched his eight-pack abs under his clothes and subtly pursed his lips. "Of course, compared to the rest of you, I'm probably the weakest one, but when it comes to connections and intelligence, even within the Zhao family, few can compare to my true abilities."

Zhao Mou is definitely a player who excels in only one area but not the other.

The third to reveal his ability was Carlos, Magician- like ability was equally astonishing.

His core offerings are paper dolls. As long as his mind can withstand it, he can keep folding paper dolls. The basic ability of the paper dolls is substitution, which means they can take the damage, curses, or even die in his place at a great cost. Interestingly, because this ability is so prominent, two of his offerings have become directly linked to the paper dolls, and are used entirely to enhance their power.

The magic pen can draw facial features on a folded paper doll, making the doll "alive". It can spontaneously search for objects and people, or act as an informant to stay in place and hide. It can climb up and down. The more detailed the drawing, the more flexible it is in this respect. So Carlos once wanted to learn to draw from "Painter San", but unfortunately he never had the opportunity.

The Magical Substitute is an abstract sacrifice that Carlos recently acquired. It can transform a paper doll directly controlled by Carlos into a life-size paper doll that looks exactly like a real person, granting Carlos the ability to perform magic. It can even use three other sacrifices unrelated to paper dolls.

These two capabilities and their alternatives can be used together.

This was the first time Yu Xing and the others had seen such closely linked offerings. Yu Xing immediately thought of Zheng Zhan from the Midnight Guild whom they had met in the Tomb Palace. Zheng Zhan's offerings seemed to be part of a series, and perhaps they would be somewhat similar to Carlos's.

The other three offerings include a Magician's staff, which, unlike Zhao Mou's fox staff, is a pure weapon offering. The staff can be opened from the middle to transform into two thin knives, which are straight and possess deceptive and visually misleading properties.

The Wanderer's burial goods, Carlos's find in Investigator-type deductions, can detect the aura of nearby ghosts and unusual items, and also provide guidance.

There's also a psychic bracelet, but Carlos doesn't use it much because it also requires an empty offering slot.

"I do get some training. I've also studied large-scale magic tricks, like water escapes and being run over by a truck. You can't do those without a good physique." Carlos tossed a coin he was playing with into the air, not catching it. The coin landed steadily on the coffee table between the sofas. "I don't have any other special skills, just a steady hand. But in a fight... I usually hope to kill someone with magic."

Zhao Mou quickly jotted it down, a satisfied smile playing on his lips. Carlos's abilities were even more practical than he had imagined; no wonder Yu Xing had brought Carlos along.

When it was Qu Xuanqing's turn, she said calmly, "I don't have many offerings, only three."

This surprised everyone. Even Yu Xing didn't know that Qu Xuanqing had only left three sacrifices, because when Qu Xianqing described her abilities to him, she said that she had no shortage of any type of sacrifice.

"Don't be surprised." Qu Xuanqing blinked. "The Wicked Grace is too strong. To maintain balance, the system only reserved four sacrifice slots for me."

Everyone: "..." Terrifying, just how powerful must the offerings be to make the system cut three out of the seven offering slots!

"I have a mask that allows me to change my appearance and voice, but the extent of the change in body size is limited, and I need to make some preparations myself. The other is a tracking sacrifice. As long as I have one of the things the target has used, I can track the target's location and, incidentally, know the person's vital signs. I often use this sacrifice to help me find the next person I want to kill." Qu Xuanqing did not introduce her Wicked Grace first, but instead gave a general overview of the other two sacrifices.

The only purpose of these two sacrificial offerings for Qu Xuanqing was to facilitate locking onto his killing targets.

Zhao Mou shuddered. Sure enough, this woman was not someone to mess with!

"The Wicked Grace is not this sword." Qu Xuanqing finally spoke of the terrifying sacrifice that everyone was very curious about and that was infamous among the divination practitioners. She did nothing, but a blood-red longsword was formed in her hand, and runes composed of even more intense blood color flowed slowly on the longsword.

"This sword is very powerful, with an attack range of 12.74 meters, capable of directly touching spirits, but... it's merely a small amount of energy overflowing from true Wicked Grace."

When Qu Xuanqing faced Han Yan in the Fear Hospital, she revealed the true form of Wicked Grace. Whether it was the blood sword, the painless and weak body, the vast black hair domain, or the masks with different expressions on the hair, they were all byproducts of Wicked Grace. At that time, she did not lose at all. In order to follow Yu Xing's advice and create an image for the audience that was not easily prejudiced, she came into contact with the red-clothed ghost form of Wicked Grace in advance, allowing herself to suffer many injuries at Han Yan's hands.

She finally revealed her true colors to her "teammates," and they were all shocked to hear about the true power of the Wicked Grace.

Seriously, is this even playable without being ridiculous?!

Suddenly I realize that what the system is doing isn't unacceptable; it really does affect the balance.

"There's still one more sacrificial slot, which I always..." Qu Xuanqing's voice was clear and grating, ""Before each deduction, I just buy whatever I need. If I fuse the wrong direction, I sell it and buy another one, until I have the ability I need."

"Damn it, she's so arrogant." This was a thought that was faintly echoing in the minds of others.

Fine, you're rich, so you get to decide.

Although the abilities resulting from the fusion of a sacrifice with different Persona Mask are completely different, there are still general patterns to follow. For example, a sacrifice that can instantly heal injuries, when fused with someone else, may result in the ability to restore mental strength or rationality, or it may cause severed limbs to regenerate. It is generally within this range.

The Heartshatter is a dagger. When it merges with Zhao Yijiu, it becomes a short sword, not a mask.

People like Qu Xuanqing, who have plenty of points, can be a little more unrestrained.

Her fighting ability was also recorded by Zhao Mou. She herself admitted that her feat of leaping up to the fourth floor in a few steps when she Fear Hospital was due to the Wicked Grace that made her body's reaction and control much stronger than that of an ordinary human. Without the Wicked Grace, she would never have been able to do it.

The last one is Brother Jiu; his situation is the most complicated, so it's more appropriate to put him last.

First of all, Zhao Yijiu's offerings were not complete. He relied more on his own skills and did not have much need for offerings. Apart from Stop Killing, the illusory eye that could rewind time for Zhao Yijiu himself could also rewind the time of others. However, Zhao Yijiu was not good at cooperating with others and had no opportunity to try it.

The rusty nails that were once used to pierce paper effigies at the end of the funeral street were actually coffin nails. They were very large and had their own sealing and restraining effects, especially against ghosts. They could directly shatter the souls of ghosts. At that time, Zhao Yijiu was not strong enough and could only exert a small part of the power of the coffin nails. Now, if he used them again, they would definitely be much stronger.

"There's something I have to tell you all. The Ghostification of me is the Fallen Path. Although it's still my consciousness, but..." Zhao Yijiu's mood soured as she spoke, "But that version of me is very dangerous. I might do something terrible for my own sake."

"Can different states really affect the Righteous Path and the Fallen Path?" Yu Xing looked at him in surprise.

"It affects personality." Zhao Yijiu pursed her lips. "In short, don't consider me a teammate in my Ghostification for now; it's too dangerous. I won't let myself come out in Ghostification form unless absolutely necessary or I can't control it."

"If I hadn't been forced to, how could I have allowed other thoughts to invade your mind?" Zhao Mou paused, his pen still holding the notes. He then said, feigning seriousness, "So, will you dare to act on your own again next time?"

Zhao Yijiu: "Dare."