Just Be Quiet

Regardless of the ulterior motives of the participants, at least on the surface, the three major guilds do not have any strong animosity.

There have certainly been frictions among guild members in recent years, but not to the point of going to extremes.

Since Medusa had said she would give him face, she leisurely retreated and, under the watchful eyes of others, first walked towards the townspeople who were playing in the snow not far away.

Entering the town is just the beginning; however, before that, the townspeople who can obviously provide some information cannot be overlooked, and they will definitely be squeezed dry.

Her actions served as a signal to "begin the operation," and everyone dispersed to make their own preparations.

Zhang Yu breathed a huge sigh of relief. He clung to Hua Subai's shoulder, peeked out from behind him, and said in a trembling voice, "Captain... so our team can be this arrogant?"

This might be a completely new version he's never experienced before.

Hua Subai, with her "exceptionally good personality," let him pat her, smiling and agreeing, "Yes, yes, President Yu is amazing, he didn't even flinch when facing a powerhouse like Medusa-- "

Yu Xing pushed up her glasses and retorted to Medusa and Boss Hua, "Why don't you just shut up?"

Hua Subai let out a soft, mocking laugh, then prepared to continue teasing.

However, for a fleeting moment, the words were already on his lips, but he seemed to have suddenly forgotten how to pronounce them, as if his throat was blocked, and he coughed.

He was speechless.

Although it lasted only a short time, it was enough to shock Hua Subai somewhat.

He touched his throat, keenly realizing that Yu Xing's abilities might now be heading in a direction no one had ever known before.

For example, is this... simply a banishment? Or a curse? Or a binding ability?

I don't know, I can't be sure.

Yu Xing has been missing for over a year. This period of uncertainty has been enough for him to become a figure feared by everyone. Not only has his level skyrocketed, but his methods have also become difficult to guard against.

"... Don't be so cruel to me." Hua Subai gave a bitter smile. "Being mute is too painful."

"Then don't bother me." Yu Xing shrugged. He knew his casual curses wouldn't have much effect on Hua Subai; the man was just a drama queen.

He slung his painting tube over his shoulder, turned to Zhang Yu, and said, "Go and check on those townspeople. I've heard you're good at detailed deductions; you can use this opportunity to gather information from them."

Many viewers of the live stream found this statement strange; why use the phrase "I heard" when the two people on the same team are talking about the same thing?

Zhang Yu nodded, somewhat eager to try.

Before becoming a Deducer, his favorite pastime was reading detective novels, and he was quite good at it. Later, he obtained some sacrifices and merged with Persona Mask, which gave him many highly targeted abilities.

In fact, he has made great progress and his style in deduction is gradually maturing. He shouldn't be as naive and obedient as a newcomer. However, the lineup for this deduction is too luxurious, and he doesn't dare to have any thoughts at all.

Now that he had a chance to help, Zhang Yu was both excited and relieved—at least he wouldn't be a complete slacker who got carried away by the captain.

The young man's back view exuded a sense of joy. Yu Xing glanced at him twice and walked straight into the town.

Hua Subai followed closely behind, this time refraining from saying anything like "Captain Yu is so authoritative," and appearing much more honest. "Aren't you going by yourself?"

"He's good at this, I believe he can bring me enough intelligence." Yu Xing paused for two seconds, "You insist on coming with me?"

"Isn't this a given?!" Hua Subai exclaimed, her eyes wide. "Take me under your wing! I'm a newbie."

Yu Xing: "..."

Speechless.

He got closer and closer to the town's buildings. The edges were mostly residential houses, low buildings that were very dilapidated, with pitted walls and traces of smoke and fire, and the whole place was very desolate.

But the fresh green plants on the balcony were clearly well cared for, thriving in the freezing winter and exuding a strong sense of life.

The combination of the two is contradictory and extremely bizarre.

A little dust had settled on the street. A small dog happened to walk by, not even glancing at the people gathered outside. It had something in its mouth, and as it ground its teeth, it swaggered past.

Yu Xing looked up at the sky; the sun was still shining brightly, and it hadn't turned cloudy as he approached.

The system specifically mentioned during the event promotion that Nanshui Town has no sunshine and that the people of Nanshui Town have long become strange, but so far, neither of these two key points has been reflected.

Where did the problem lie...?

The system won't lie about this.

That is, the Nanshui Town before our eyes is "lying".

"Shall we go in and take a look?"

Suddenly, a somewhat unfamiliar voice came from the space beside them. The voice was calm and steady. Yan Li seemed to have appeared out of thin air. His black clothes made him look very composed.

Yu Xing then noticed him, and after recalling the events, realized that Yan Li seemed to have been standing there just moments before.

He clearly saw the person, but if the person didn't speak, he wouldn't have the concept of "there is a person here" in his mind.

Of course, Yu Xing didn't perceive it seriously, but this also shows that Yan Li's conceptual distortion, like Medusa's powerful charm, is a passive effect that is always at work.

--Just like the Karma interference of the Tongue of Curses.

Yu Xing didn't respond directly, but instead raised an eyebrow and asked, "Are you inviting me?"

"Yes," Yan Li grabbed a handful of snow from the ground, correcting himself, "It's 'you'."

Hua Subai exclaimed in surprise, "Is there something else about me, the newbie?"

Yan Li smiled and said, "Sir, you flatter me. You look familiar, but I don't recall ever having met you before. To be honest, I consider myself to have a pretty good memory, and I haven't had this kind of ambiguous feeling in a long time."

"Maybe I just have a common face." Hua Subai smiled apologetically, making up a lie with a straight face, "I've always looked average since I was little. People often mistake me for someone else, and some people don't even want to be friends with me because I look ordinary, right A Xing?"

Yu Xing: "Get out."

Yan Li fell into a brief moment of thought, then said, "Hmm... I probably haven't met anyone with this kind of personality before, otherwise I would definitely remember them. So, what should I call them?"

"My surname is Hua, and I own a flower shop. You can call me Boss Hua if you like." Hua Subai shrugged, still trying to negotiate. "I'm A Xing's friend. I'm counting on him to help me this time. Please, please don't kill off my backer, okay?"

Yan Li: "... I will not harm you at present, please rest assured."

After saying that, he seemed to realize the conversation was absurd and decided to get back to the point. "The appearance of Nanshui Town is very deceptive. I'll go into the town first, and you can watch from here to see if there are any changes before and after I enter. But we can cooperate on such a small matter, right?"

Hua Subai indicated that he would wait for Yu Xing to make a decision.

Yu Xing nodded. He had no reason to refuse. Yan Li was doing this because he was sure that others would be afraid of what kind of plot-driven death would occur if they went directly into the town, so he took the lead.

"Then please."