A Mature Failure

The argument started out of nowhere, beginning with Yu Xing letting Qu Xuanqing kick open the door.

However, Zhao Mou had already explained the reasons behind Yu Xing's decision. Under Zhao Mou's reasoned and well-founded argument, those doubts and accusations were transformed into evidence of his own lack of strength.

To be honest, the chosen divination practitioners are in a somewhat awkward position in terms of ability. They are indeed among the best divination practitioners, but not all of them have gotten to where they are today by relying on methods that are almost entirely based on intelligence, like Zhao Mou, Wen Qinghuai, and Ren Yi.

There are quite a few deductions that involve sealing away the offerings and props, allowing them to start as ordinary people. The problem is that there are simply too many people involved in these deductions, making the personnel complex and complicated.

For these advanced strategists, socializing is more mentally exhausting than the actual strategizing.

The Blood Pool Middle School exams are individual exams, which allows them to focus intently on their deductions and to figure out certain patterns that are advantageous to them within the familiar system.

The Dead Silent Island simulations... included familiar friends, guilds they hadn't cooperated with before, and many more strangers they hadn't actually met in simulations. Suddenly, they all became teammates. Under these circumstances, they also had to consider various power disputes, command issues, and attitude problems, which inevitably made them exhausted. Most of the upper-level simulation participants had a high degree of alienation; it was already difficult for them to maintain themselves. Not everyone was as accustomed to interpersonal relationships as the Zhao family.

If it were a solo deduction, each person here could make the judgment that there were no ghosts behind the door after careful consideration. However, when most people gather together, they can't think things through properly, which is why it feels like all the big shots are just rubbish.

Bai Xiaobing shut up.

She suddenly realized that she could usually use her still-developing rhetoric to shift the blame onto the enemy, not because her rhetoric was particularly skillful, but because those she was guiding actually wanted her to see them being led astray.

It's nothing more than flattery and veiled fawning.

Those standing here are either of equally high status or have unfathomable backgrounds. For example, Carlos, whose behavior is very flamboyant and unconventional, was the only person the Mysterious Eye had gathered before arriving. Apart from knowing that Carlos was the winner of the Rookie Tournament in the same year as Yu Xing, they couldn't find any other information about him.

She couldn't gain anything from these people.

Actually, this wasn't hard to imagine, but today the truth was laid bare before her without any concealment.

Even her vice president, Fei Jing, didn't speak up for her, which was enough to prove that she had indeed made a mistake. But... Bai Xiaobing also knew that she had the aftereffects of being influenced by the strange fish, otherwise she wouldn't have been so irritable.

After thinking it through, Bai Xiaobing realized she had indeed misunderstood Yu Xing. Although Yu Xing clearly didn't care, Bai Xiaobing still loudly said, "I'm sorry!"

Yu Xing tilted her head in surprise.

It's quite interesting that it skips the process of her brother or Fei Jing making her apologize, being asked to repeat herself because her apology was too soft, and then loudly and defiantly apologizing again. It directly confronts the mistake so seriously.

Indeed, those who make predictions at this level all have some merit.

He chuckled inwardly. Well then... congratulations to Ms. Bai Xiaobing for escaping the fate of a strange, villainous supporting character through her own efforts.

"I said, there's no need to argue. We should cherish peace." Yu Xing nodded to Bai Xiaobing, not taking the matter to heart, and then walked listlessly to Qu Xuanqing's side.

He was observing the world behind the door.

Seeing that he didn't mind, the others quickly withdrew from the argument and began to check if they had any more wounds, but they were more concerned about Cui Hui's injuries.

Strangely enough, despite being "held" by that ghost for so long, Cui Hui had no injuries other than a pale face. This could only mean one thing: the damage inflicted by that ghost was not as simple as it appeared on the surface, but rather lurked deep within.

They currently have no way to treat this injury, which makes everyone feel slightly heavy-hearted, but also more vigilant than before.

The hushed discussion, deliberately kept to a minimum, began to buzz like mosquito wings again. Yu Xing covered the wound on her arm and did not participate in their conversation. Her thin clothes made her look very vulnerable. The bruises and abrasions were manageable, but when the salt from her clothes was extracted, the dense, tiny particles were a disaster for her wounded arm.

It's commonly known as rubbing salt into a wound.

He had to roll up his sleeves to expose the wounds to the air, which actually made him feel a little better.

Qu Xuanqing looked at her worriedly, then saw him gesture with his chin towards the outside. "What did you see?"

The iron gate opened at the foot of the mountain, and the long, winding passage allowed them to leap over unrecognizable plants and perhaps animals on the mountainside.

Outside the door, the empty and narrow alley was clearly a secluded place. Calling it part of the city was not quite accurate, since the city was still some distance away from the surrounding mountains.

The buildings on both sides were ruins, with no trace of the houses visible. They looked like abandoned sites. The alley he mentioned was just an empty passageway squeezed out by these ruins.

Qu Xuanqing said in a low voice, "This isn't even a building. On the contrary, those steel bars and bricks with no apparent purpose seem to exist specifically to cover up this place."

"Of course, as a city dweller, someone who wants to carve out such a secret room in the surrounding mountains wouldn't want others to see it; they'd need something to cover it up." Yu Xing wasn't surprised. "What's certain is that the ghost from earlier was trapped here by another wealthy person. I wonder if the person who abandoned the ghost here might be a key NPC."

"There are NPCs in this crappy place?" Zeng Lai stroked his chin. After noticing Bai Xiaobing's tendency to cling to him again after her apology, he immediately moved to listen to what Yu Xing and Qu Xuanqing were whispering about.

"Perhaps. We still don't know what form the NPCs on Dead Silent Island take. Maybe they've all turned into monsters." Wen Qinghuai walked over as well. His curly hair had grown longer and was well-groomed, much smoother and more refined than when Yu Xing first saw him. His bangs, after being trimmed, didn't look gloomy. The longer hair at the back was tied up with a hair tie, which better suited Wen Qinghuai's profession as an artist sculptor in reality.

Perhaps this is one of the advantages of having a girlfriend with good taste, Yu Xing thought wistfully.

Huang Bai clung to Wen Qinghuai's arm, smiling broadly, like a human accessory.

Even after the terrifying ghost attack in the locked room, she remained in high spirits, as if nothing in the world could pull her out of this energetic state. However, her cheerful words always sent chills down one's spine. "Even as a monster, I can communicate, hehe. Perhaps we can see some of the truly terrifying things that humans find catastrophic."

"Please, don't act so excited," Wen Qinghuai said helplessly.

After checking their own condition, the others followed one after another. Cui Hui and Wu Kaiyun still looked unwell. Yu Xing glanced at them and noticed that Wu Kaiyun's fingers were trembling abnormally, while Cui Hui's face remained pale and his expression was slightly stiff.

He turned to Qu Xuanqing and asked, "Were you touched anywhere by that ghost just now?"

"No, I only grabbed its chains. That ghost had an aura that made me feel uneasy, so I didn't touch it without a weapon," Qu Xuanqing replied.

His question wasn't asked in front of everyone, and Cui Hui and Wu Kaiyun immediately looked over. Wu Kaiyun hesitated for a moment. "Do you know... what's wrong with us?"

It was everyone's first time on Dead Silent Island, so he shouldn't have asked that question. But he had this inexplicable feeling that Yu Xing knew more than him. This was probably because he had just been rescued, so he had developed a distorted sense of trust.

Yu Xing asked gently, "Are your hands itchy?"

"Yes, my palms have been itchy..." Wu Kaiyun spread out his hands and looked at them. Apart from being red from dragging things earlier, there was nothing else unusual, but his heart was filled with intense unease.

"And me, I feel a tingling sensation all over my body," Cui Hui said weakly from behind. "Will my arms grow thinner?"

He still remembered Yu Xing's words in the corner, threatening them to cover their ears.

"Ah, this..." Yu Xing hesitated for a moment, and his hesitation made the two people, including those who were secretly listening to the topic, feel a tightness in their hearts.

He pondered for a moment, "This thing's attacks are invisible, and I do suspect it can corrupt living people. You've all probably read the Cthulhu Mythos, and you know how the monsters that emerge from living people come to be. It's not just about growing small arms; it could also grow eyes and tentacles..."

Everyone: "..."

I know Dead Silent Island is really scary, but could you please not describe it in such a terrifying way?!

Seeing Cui Hui and Wu Kaiyun's faces turn even paler with fear, Yu Xing suddenly laughed, "But we're different. We're deducers, not those unarmed investigators. If we really want to use the Cthulhu Mythos as an analogy, we're the kind of people with maxed-out knowledge of mythology. It's quite difficult to drive us crazy or turn us into monsters."

The comfort that followed the initial shock was invaluable. Wu Kaiyun felt like his heart was on a rollercoaster; even though he'd been startled, he inexplicably trusted Yu Xing even more. "... You're terrifying! You really are the legendary rookie king with a wicked sense of humor..."

Yu Xing: "A perverse sense of humor? Me? Who said that?"

Has his reputation been unknowingly tarnished to this extent?

Little did he know that in the research conducted on him by various powerful forces and numerous independent groups, he was described as having an unpredictable and Impermanence personality; his temper was described as sometimes good and sometimes bad, perhaps due to his madness; he was described as having a split personality in his treatment of others, being genuinely gentle when he was gentle and genuinely wicked when he was wicked; in short, he was probably an unpredictable person due to his high Personality Assimilation Degree.

Zhao Mou watched with interest as Yu Xing showed a "How could that be?" expression, thinking to himself, "Don't you have any idea how others perceive you?"

"Don't worry, once we gradually regain our abilities and the offerings, the hidden dangers within you can be removed. Until then, keep a calm mindset and treat yourselves as completely healthy people. However, if any abnormalities occur in you, be sure to tell everyone, and we will do our best to take care of you." The clueless Yu Xing was still comforting Wu Kaiyun and Cui Hui, almost bringing tears to the eyes of the two people whose emotions were fluctuating the most.

What's strange about him is that even though we just witnessed him disregarding everyone in the secret room and ordering Qu Xuanqing to kick down the door, when he softens his voice and speaks gently, people find him to be exceptionally sincere and reliable.

Sha blinked, observing Yu Xing's actions. If she wasn't mistaken, Yu Xing's words seemed to possess a special magic, making people feel incredibly happy and wanting to get closer. The same words spoken by someone else would definitely not have the same effect.

Even she thought Yu Xing was too kind; she wanted to be comforted even when she had nothing wrong... Following the ghost warning, is this another benefit for patients?

What kind of illness is this, and how can it be so severe?

Perhaps Yu Xing isn't actually a patient.

Sha Ping's calm expression made it impossible to tell whether she was thinking about something or just spacing out. No one knew that she had already seen through Yu Xing.

This quiet girl, seemingly as still as sand, as if she could be blown away by the wind at any moment, possesses a terrifyingly insightful soul beneath her frail appearance caused by albinism.

"Let's go." Finally, after everyone had calmed down, Sha gave the order softly.

Currently, no small group possesses leadership power that surpasses others. Sha's words are currently the most effective premise, provided that no one demonstrates a struggle for the right to speak.

They'd lingered in the secret room for so long, finding nothing but a few incomprehensible newspapers and a ghostly creature; it was time to head into the city.

The nineteen people marched "in a grand manner" from the ruins into the city. Apart from a few who seemed unable to fight (yes, that was Yu Xing), the others pulled out a steel bar from the piles of rubble on both sides to use as a makeshift weapon.

Judging from the way the fight was taking place in the street, Zhao Mou knew that these nineteen people would definitely not be able to act together in the city.

The target is too big; it's hard not to attract ghosts with this kind of setup.

Besides changing clothes, taking a shower, and getting weapons, they probably need to find a base to settle down as soon as possible, and then continue to explore the area around the base. It would be best to split into small teams and explore using their mobility advantage, just like the rare post-apocalyptic survival simulations that occasionally appear on forums.

"Hiss... Zhao Mou." Yu Xing gasped, "When you were supporting me, could you please not be distracted? You've crushed me."

There was a lot of debris on the road, Yu Xing really needed someone to help him. After politely declining Zeng Lai's invitation to carry him, the task of supporting Yu Xing fell to Zhao Mou.

Who told Zhao Yijiu to run away?

Zhao Mou was distracted and touched the wound on Yu Xing's arm. It was just a light touch, but the excessively white arm under the rolled-up sleeve seemed to be mocking Zhao Mou.

He pushed up his glasses. "Don't push your luck. You're not a glass doll. If you want to cry out in pain, wait until you're broken."

Yu Xing: "..."

"Waaaaah, you're bullying the captain."

"Come on, nobody's going to fall for that trick except for that clueless idiot A Jiu who can't tell if you're serious." Zhao Mou almost rolled his eyes at him, completely disregarding his image. "You need to be strong. You're a mature piece of trash now. You need to learn to understand your place, friend."