Thirteen: Nightmare in a Cage

[Information about this deduction game]

As usual, rows of tiny blood-red words appeared before Yu Xing.

[Small Deduction: Nightmare in a Cage]

[Type: 80% role-playing]

[Analysis: In role-playing deductions, the deducers take over existing characters in the Absurd World, inheriting their identities, relationships, and so on. In games with a 70% role-playing ratio, deducers do not inherit their characters' abilities and use their own bodies (items they carry belong to the characters). Their actions are influenced by their characters' logic.]

"Oh? That's 10% more than last time~" Yu Xing read the prompt, his heart fluttering with anticipation.

[Because the role-playing ratio has reached 70%, this deduction will include stamina and health values.]

[Stamina: The character played by the deducer has their own thoughts. Each key action consumes stamina. When stamina drops to 10 points, the deducer must stop and rest. When stamina is depleted, the deducer can only choose to sleep.]

[Health: The character played by the deducer has a limited lifespan, represented by a health value. Taking damage lowers the value. As long as it has not reached zero, the concept of "vital spots" does not apply. When health reaches zero, the deducer dies.]

[Note: In this deduction, you may not mention words related to the system or deductions, nor may you identify yourself as a player. Violators will be severely punished.]

[This deduction is a three-person game.]

[This deduction uses real-world time. Please set aside 24 hours (time flows differently in reality and in the game; the game's duration is unknown).]

"Sacrifices are disabled?" Yu Xing raised an eyebrow after reading the whole thing.

This one felt so strict. It sounded dangerous, and he liked that!

[Your items cannot be brought into this type of deduction.]

[Entering the game.]

Auroran Town was a small town nestled against the mountains. Its people were simple and good-natured, with warm, friendly dispositions and radiant smiles, as though every one of them had won the grand prize from Haishuiwei Company—though I couldn't share their joy. I wasn't simple, and I hadn't won anything.

Oh, man, you know what? Ever since I was transferred to the police station in this town, I haven't had a single peaceful day!

I don't think Auroran Town is nearly as lovely as the chief promised. Petty theft is a regular occurrence, and in the two months I've been here, there's even been a serious assault. The reason? Two men were fighting over whose wife was more attractive! Oh, you know what I mean—attractive in bed.

As a policewoman, I wanted to beat them both up and make them spend a whole month in the town hospital.

Hey, old friend, I think I've gotten off track. Sorry about that.

I asked you to come because of a wealthy family in town. Hmph, rich people are such a pain. I know I shouldn't say that, but this is giving me a headache, and I can't worry about manners right now.

I'll tell you the details in person when you get to Auroran Town. Oh, and this whole thing is really strange. I remember you said you knew people who could perform exorcisms, right? If possible, bring them along discreetly. I've been reassuring the townspeople and my subordinates that they should believe in science. If they find out I'm having doubts too, they'll laugh at me.

By your best friend, Lucia

That was the letter Yu Xing held in his hands.

He came to his senses in the darkness. When he opened his eyes, he found himself sitting on a familiar roadside bench, with the police station across the street.

A few girls in chiffon dresses sat scattered around him. Every so often, they glanced at him curiously, then looked away at their friends' teasing and burst into loud laughter.

Some of the girls—and the passersby walking in front of Yu Xing—had blonde, red, or brown hair. Men and women alike had amber eyes and sharply defined features unlike those of East Asians.

Yu Xing realized at once that the setting of Nightmare in a Cage wasn't China.

The surrounding architecture backed up his theory. He felt as though he'd arrived in an English town, with brick buildings, round turrets, and rows of townhouses. Some had protruding shutters, corner towers, recessed entrances, and broad porches.

But he couldn't tell what era it was. The various elements were mixed together, not belonging to any particular period.

—Maybe it wasn't England, but a fictional world. After all, in the Absurd World, anything was possible.

There didn't seem to be any teammates nearby, and no prompt introducing his identity had appeared yet. All he could see were two lines of translucent text in the upper-right corner of his vision.

[Stamina: 85]

[Health: 100]

These were the new stats the deduction had shown him before he entered the game.

"I haven't even done anything yet, and my stamina's already at eighty-five. Am I going to be a weakling again?"

The thought sent a shiver through Yu Xing. Even after entering a role-playing game, he still couldn't have a strong, healthy body? The heavens really did hate him!

He quickly looked down at himself and the things he had with him.

"...This formal?" Seeing that he wore a black three-piece suit and matching leather shoes, Yu Xing instinctively loosened his tie.

Then his fully recovered sense of touch made him aware of the black top hat on his head.

Using the reflection in a restaurant window, he got a good look at himself. His body was still his own, and he still had the East Asian face women envied. He wore a bowler hat and a well-fitted suit that flattered his build, his long legs crossed—otherwise known as sitting with his legs crossed.

He looked like a young, somewhat unserious gentleman.

Yu Xing didn't particularly like wearing suits. Apart from formal social occasions, he rarely wore clothes that made him feel restricted and unable to move freely.

His character, though, didn't seem all that serious either. Yu Xing's long, bony fingers pressed against a dark blue tie patterned with cartoon figures, and even his gold cufflinks looked just like the head of some pink hair dryer...

A closet case.

He ruthlessly mocked the guy, then realized he was mocking himself.

"Still a closet case," Yu Xing muttered, and checked the briefcase beside him again.

It felt very nice to the touch. Inside, he found all kinds of documents and papers, a cigarette case, an old-fashioned lighter, a letter, and a box of chocolates with pristine, elegant packaging.

A silver-mounted walking stick leaned against the briefcase.

The moment he spotted the identification papers, Yu Xing took them out and examined them closely.

At last, the introduction to his character appeared. A deduction prompt materialized before him.

[Your name is Roy, and you are a detective. You were invited to Auroran Town to help your friend Lucia, who works at the police station, solve a problem. She sent you a letter, but it didn't explain what she needed—only that she mentioned exorcism.]

[You brought two friends who can perform exorcisms to town. Feeling tired, you rested on a bench. Your friends, Masha and York, went to get iced tea and will be back soon. You're all going to visit Lucia together.]

Masha and York sounded like one man and one woman. Yu Xing guessed the three deducers in this small game probably wouldn't take long to meet, and that there wouldn't be multiple factions. Otherwise, the game's variables would multiply, making it hard to showcase the deduction's central theme.

So his two teammates should come looking for him soon.

While waiting, he opened the letter in his briefcase. It had already been opened once. It was the one Lucia had sent him.

From the letter, Yu Xing pieced together the game's background. After Lucia was transferred from another town to Auroran Town, she'd been somewhat dissatisfied with the place. Recently, there seemed to have been some supernatural disturbances, which had given her a headache. So she'd written to her old friend Roy, the detective, and asked him to bring along two friends who could perform exorcisms... exorcists?

After five minutes, just as Yu Xing was yawning from boredom, his two teammates finally came to meet him.

"Hey, Roy! We're back!" A sweet, crisp voice came from behind him. Yu Xing turned around, slightly surprised, and then had to fight back a laugh.

It wasn't anything else. His two teammates were just too bizarre.

One was a tiny girl who seemed barely five feet tall, around fourteen or fifteen, with a little baby fat on her face. Her black hair was tied into high twin tails, but she wore a sharp-looking chiffon blouse, khaki high-waisted trousers, and knee-high boots.

A huge bag, stuffed so full it looked like a pack of explosives, was slung across her back.

The other was a young man who looked under thirty. He had a handsome face, fair skin, and slightly long, wavy bangs, along with a sunny smile.

His outfit, however, was the complete opposite of his smile. He was swathed in a large black robe, its hood pulled up to cast most of his face in shadow. He was tall enough to look like a walking black ghost on the street, drawing frequent glances from passersby.

The little girl and the little ghost were both Chinese, too.

This...

Yu Xing glanced at himself again.

Were the three characters—Roy, Masha, and York—really supposed to be traveling together? Judging by their outfits, they looked like they'd come from three different eras. They were just... a treasure trove of things to complain about.

"Wow!" The little girl was probably Masha. When Yu Xing turned around, her eyes lit up, but she quickly reined herself in and expressed her happiness another way. "Roy and York are both so handsome today! As the only lady on the team, I'm so happy I could faint~"

She didn't sound like a little girl at all. She sounded like a mature woman complimenting a man—which did match her style of dress, well, from the neck down.

"You're adorable too~"

York winked at Masha, then turned to Yu Xing, who had already stood up. "Roy, are we meeting Lucia now?"

Yu Xing looked him over, recalling the last line in Lucia's letter.

—If possible, bring them along discreetly. I've been reassuring the townspeople and my subordinates that they should believe in science. If they find out I'm having doubts too, they'll laugh at me.

He shook his head and pointed at York's black robe. "That outfit's too much. Don't you want to spare Lucia's dignity? Maybe... take it off first?"

[Lucia's favorability +10 (She's grateful you're being considerate of her and trusts you more. She'll share more information with you.)]

The unexpected prompt made Yu Xing think, Oh, interesting.

There was even an NPC favorability stat. This deduction really was like a game.

York froze, looking reluctant.

"Hahahaha! I told him that when we were getting iced tea. He said dressing like this made him seem more like an exorcist. I told him he looked like a demon, so what was he going to exorcise?" The little girl laughed without restraint, delighted at his expense.

York finally nodded helplessly. "Come on~ I'm just deliberately hiding my irresistible handsomeness. You're all making me out to be the bad guy..."

With that, he lowered his hood, revealing long hair tied back in a bun.

He untied the robe. Beneath it, York wore a black suit, and his hands were empty—he wasn't carrying a bag or anything else. Draping the robe over his arm, he smiled amiably. "All right, can we go in now?"