Manager

This is something that someone who knows nothing would do. Even if Yu Xing denies it now, Calodi won't believe it.

"Of course not." Yu Xing denied it, and Calodi's expression became even more serious, his distrust and fear of Yuri intensified.

Before he could think further, Yu Xing said, "How could we have known earlier? But a day is enough time to figure out your situation."

Calodi: "..."

Although I was still confused, I inexplicably felt a sense of mockery.

"I understand now, let's go buy things." Yu Xing casually tossed the Mask Face aside, and the people around him were so frightened by the head that they backed away.

"And all you're thinking about at a time like this is buying things?" Calodi's tone finally changed. He immediately ran to pick up the head, a handful of red sand gathering in his hand, as if he wanted to do something to seal the still-talking head.

However, when he touched the Mask Face's head, he realized that the thing was already dead.

Seemingly having lost its value, it was casually tossed aside by "Yuri" and never came to life again.

"I've bought it."

Calodi turned around abruptly and saw Yu Xing carrying a large bag, from which one could vaguely make out the shapes of bread and fruit.

Calodi hesitated for two seconds. "... Where did you get the money?"

Yu Xing tilted her head to look at him. "Do I even need money in this situation? They all insist on giving it to me."

Although the vendors on both sides were wearing masks, their fear was almost palpable.

Rather than saying it was a gift, it would be more accurate to say that they dared not offend anyone and had no choice but to offer tribute.

Calodi: "... What do you want to do?"

He didn't think that after revealing his abilities, "Yuri" would obediently continue with the rest of the process and bring these things back to the hotel.

"What do you mean by 'what I want to do'?" Yu Xing naturally understood what Calodi hadn't said aloud. He smiled, "I haven't done anything at all. Look, what have I done to you along the way?"

That seems to be true.

"Let's go back to the hotel. I still want to see the rest of the people." Yu Xing shoved the portable oil lamp into Calodi's hands, carrying the things she had "bought" in one hand and lightly pulling Calodi's arm with the other. "Can we go now?"

After a couple of seconds of consideration, Calodi felt the warmth on his arm; at least from the temperature, Yuri was still alive. So he could only say, "Yes."

Under the watchful eyes of the remaining people in the market, the two walked back the way they had come.

They remained bathed in the light of the oil lamp, slowly fading into the night.

Stepping outside the market area, Yu Xing's ears instantly fell silent. The market's hustle and bustle, along with the subsequent whispers, vanished, excluded by some unseen force.

"Can you tell me now?" Calodi's voice deepened. "Your purpose... Daisy didn't give you the oil lamp willingly, did she? You forced her?"

"Hiss... That's a terrible way to put it." Yu Xing chuckled. "A lousy verb."

"Don't change the subject. Or do you think you've intimidated me so much that I shouldn't dare to talk to you and cooperate with you to do what you want from beginning to end?" Calodi's forehead veins bulged, clearly displeased.

"Don't think too much about it. If you insist on an answer, then I can only say... just consider it curiosity." Yu Xing lowered her gaze, looking at the flickering flame in the oil lamp. "I accidentally entered a cursed inn, and everything in the inn has piqued my curiosity."

"And I happen to have the ability to intervene in or break curses, so in order to get out, I began to collect all the information about this curse, hoping to solve the problem at its root, and I was also interested in the manifestations of the curse."

"So, I had two meals with you, and we ran out for a night out to see what you all looked like as ghosts in the dark. I was originally just curious about the market, but when I saw the tourists, I knew there wasn't much to see. Most of them were probably trapped somewhere else."

After listening in silence, Calodi spoke up, "Yes, there are many other cursed places like the inn."

Those who go to the market late at night to buy things are people from various cursed lands who still retain their rationality and know some inside information; they can also be called "managers."

Like Daisy, who was the manager of the inn, she could, to some extent, ignore the curse and be allowed to go out.

The other tourists at the market were the same.

These administrators are responsible for procuring daily necessities for the cursed lands, ensuring that the people living in the curse do not die. This is a job with no downsides; morally, it can save some lives, and financially, it allows them to live more comfortably.

Before the introduction of Mask Face, markets were always the favorite places for various administrators to go, where they could even exchange information about their lives and make friends.

Since there was nothing left to hide, and Calodi didn't want to witness the young man's ability to kill silently and effortlessly, he told Yu Xing about the manager.

"Until one night, the Mask Face appeared, transforming into the market killer. He killed without leaving a trace; no one could find him, except for the occasional clues left around the victims, indicating that the killer was looking for Daisy."

Calodi remained expressionless and said in a calm voice, "Since then, everyone has been wearing masks. There's more than one Daisy. No one knows which target the assassin is looking for, and no one can be sure that his target hasn't changed. So they simply stopped communicating and just quietly bought things with their own people."

"Daisy and I both knew that Mask Face was a serial killer before he entered the hotel. Daisy tested him, and sure enough, people died on the days when Mask Face didn't sleep in Daisy's room. We confirmed the killer's identity."

"Then why not kill the Mask Face during the day?" Yu Xing was still a little puzzled. "Like the owner of the meat I ate today? I saw Daisy dragging a bag containing a corpse into the kitchen with my own eyes."

"That's different. Daisy is a manager, but not the strongest. Killing a tenant requires some special steps," Calodi said helplessly. "The more people Mask Face kills, the more troublesome his abilities become. Daisy isn't confident she can take him down, so she hasn't made a move against him yet."

As Calodi spoke, he glanced sideways at Yu Xing: "Just like you Daisy never hit you either."

"Thank you for clarifying things." Yu Xing ignored the underlying blame in Calodi's words. "And what about you? Why didn't you help? You couldn't even handle two against one?"

"I—" Calodi's face went blank. The two of them had already reached the spot where they had been delivered. He scattered a handful of red sand onto the ground. "I have no offensive power, I can only draw arrays."

A red light appeared from the darkness, and Yu Xing felt the dizziness and confusion of being teleported again. However, this time he consciously blocked his senses, and his last sentence was uttered just as he was teleported:

"Who distributed these oil lamps to each administrator? Given the existence of markets, all the cursed lands should share a common origin, or at least be part of a single system. Have you considered that?"