Sudden Change (Two-in-One)

Not long after, the proprietress who had gone to the backyard to teach people how to make Fenglong Uniform returned with small steps.

She glanced at the group of tourists wandering around her shop, gave a curt, emotionless grin, and said in a low voice, "Those choosing Duanfang Uniform, come in."

Such a faint sound could only be heard by those with exceptional hearing, eyesight, and senses. Immediately, another half of the group moved through the wooden door behind the screen of the clothing shop into the backyard.

Yu Xing had finished examining the clothes and was leaning idly against the counter, glancing at the remaining people.

He, Zhang Yu, and Mo Zai were all there. Of the remaining dozen or so people, the only ones he had any contact with were Meng Dao and Lan Wu. For some reason, Lan Wu didn't choose the Duanfang Uniform with Medusa, but was left behind to choose the Yueyu Uniform.

Maybe it's because they are indeed very young.

Previously, Lan Wu had been standing behind Medusa. When others looked over, they could only notice the dazzling Medusa. Even though Lan Wu was also good-looking, he seemed to have vanished into thin air.

Now that Medusa had gone to the backyard, Yu Xing had the mind to pay attention to Lan Wu. He found that Lan Wu he had imagined. Upon closer inspection, he realized that Lan Wu was probably only the age of a college freshman.

Having briefly left Medusa, Lan Wu's composure faded slightly, replaced by a hint of curiosity. He looked up at the red robes hanging on the wall, lost in thought.

Yu Xing's gaze remained unreserved, causing Lan Wu quickly notice it and turn around in surprise.

"Xing..." Lan Wu seemed to consider whether to add "brother" after Xing as a sign of respect, but ultimately gave up and continued as before, "Is there something you want to tell me?"

"No, it's just because you're good-looking." Yu Xing praised him sincerely. It's no wonder that Medusa's Midnight Guild, which is full of handsome men and beautiful women, only chose Lan Wu to keep by her side. Lan Wu is the kind of person who grows more and more pleasing to the eye the more you look at him.

"..." Lan Wu seemed to have something on his mind and didn't know how to respond.

Fortunately, Yu Xing only made a fuss on a whim, and the next second Zhang Yu called out to her, so she turned her head to chat again. Lan Wu secretly breathed a sigh of relief and rubbed her temples.

In the past, some members of the guild were jealous of Medusa's overt favoritism towards him and secretly tried to kill him.

When he first joined the guild, his strength was far inferior to that of the other guild members, and he was really tormented. Every time, it was Medusa's trusted subordinates who came to his rescue and then ruthlessly killed those who had harmed him. Over time, no one had any such thoughts anymore.

But Lan Wu had already witnessed the malice of many people, and watched helplessly as those people turned into bloody corpses, displayed in his memory, gradually crushing his timidity and soft heart into dust.

Therefore, Lan Wu's heart would tremble whenever someone other than Medusa praised his good looks, fearing that the other person would target him because of his appearance and ultimately die tragically in front of him.

The Meng Dao in the corner watched this scene with a sinister gaze, its hand resting uneasily on the twin swords at its waist.

He wondered, why hadn't Yu Xing come to take revenge on him yet? Was she deliberately leaving him hanging to torment him, to make him constantly restless?!

Perhaps in his mind, killing someone meant eliminating all traces of the animal.

If it were him, he wouldn't let someone who had provoked him to kill him live and kick around. If the other party escaped the first time, he would definitely eliminate them completely the next time he saw them.

Thinking with Fallen Path, decadent mindset, the Meng Dao trembled and scared itself for a long time. Finally, the red-clad boss opened the door to the backyard again and leaned against the doorframe. "You can come in with me too."

The last group of divination practitioners left the shop.

Gao Yiling, accompanied by Little Bee and the tour guide flag, sat alone on a small stool in the shop. She had lost the smile required of a tour guide and began to stare blankly with a wooden face.

The red-clad female boss, who let the tourists enter first and then closed the door last, glanced at Gao Yiling and let out a soft, silent sigh.

"Thud."

The wooden door closed.

The backyard was even larger than the front shop, indicating that it had been prepared well in advance. Nearly forty individual long tables were placed in the open space, each with a piece of red cloth and a bamboo basket containing tools such as scissors, needles, thread, and thimbles.

When Yu Xing walked in, she immediately saw the two groups of strategists from before doing needlework with grim expressions.

Their expressions were so strange; they handled the fabric with varying degrees of skill and clumsiness, yet they were all pale and sweating profusely, as if they were enduring or on guard against some kind of pain.

Even Yan Li frowned, seemingly both dissatisfied and resentful.

Only Hua Subai remained completely calm and composed, his expression even somewhat relaxed.

"What's going on?" Mo Xiao muttered softly, "They all look like they've been bitten by fabric."

Zhang Yu: "..." You know what, that's a really vivid description.

"Look at me." The female boss in red raised her voice, beckoning the third group of tourists in Yueyu Uniform to gather around an empty table. She looked listless. "I'll only teach you once. If you can't learn it, that's your guide's problem, not mine."

Since that's what they've said, regardless of what they're thinking, everyone looks at it intently.

The female boss actually taught them how to cut and sew the Yueyu Uniform. It looked normal from every angle, but it was a bit perfunctory. The finished product came out in no time. The stitching was sloppy, and you could easily see the huge gaps at the seams of the fabric.

Moreover, the clothes were extremely ugly, a world apart from the ready-made garments displayed in the shop.

Everyone: "..."

The female boss said impatiently, "Even if I teach you carefully, you won't learn it. Just being able to make it is enough. It's just something to wear once to add to the fun; you don't need it to be that pretty."

Everyone: "..." If Gao Yiling, who was earnestly introducing the clothing, heard you say that, she'd probably be in trouble.

However, perhaps because the female boss's unique personality was more reassuring than the other abnormally enthusiastic townspeople, the deducers didn't refute her when she said that; on the contrary, they thought she was right.

Most people here have never done needlework before, so you can't really expect them to do it as well as those in the shops.

After listening to the lecture, everyone found a place and began to imitate the instructions.

Yu Xing sat in the backmost seat and unfolded the fabric to start cutting.

Without any machines and relying solely on scissors, it must have been quite challenging for the deducers. Presumably, they simply created a limited-edition burlap sack of Yueyu Uniform. As long as all the elements were present and it could be put on, the task could be considered accomplished.

However, this wasn't Yu Xing's first time doing needlework.

During his pampered childhood, he naturally had no access to such things, and later, as he wandered the world alone, he had no interest in them.

After getting to know Qu Xuanqing and Zhu Yan, he made a rag doll for the mischievous little Zhu Yan as a birthday present. Then, when Qu Xuanqing looked at him expectantly, his eyes clearly said, "I want one too."

In short, Yu Xing had some basic skills, which came in handy. She quickly followed the steps taken by the red-clad female boss and cut out the necessary fabric shapes.

Even now, he still didn't understand why the first two groups of people had those expressions of being bitten by the cloth.

This faint doubt and curiosity was answered when Yu Xing first picked up the needle and pierced the fabric.

He had no particular method and did things haphazardly. He had originally intended to sew two sleeves first and set them aside for later use. But as soon as he put the needle in, without any warning, a sharp pain, as if he had been pierced, suddenly shot through his shoulder.

Yu Xing was stunned.

His hand did not stop despite the excruciating pain; the needle, with its red thread, pierced through the wound once more, and the pain intensified, as if two tiny points on his shoulder had been pierced, one in front of the other.

There was no bleeding.

"So that's how it is." Yu Xing murmured, turning to look at the two groups of people from before.

Yan Li had chosen Duanfang Uniform, which was already stitched crookedly in some places. Upon closer inspection, although he didn't utter a sound, it seemed as if he was gritting his teeth, enduring the pain of torturing himself.

Hmm... a piece of clothing requires so many stitches, from the collar to the hem, covering the entire body; it's probably not much different from being slowly sliced to death.

Many people might want to start with the collar, but they give up and start with the part they can tolerate the most.

"Ugh, these rules are ridiculous." Yu Xing thought to himself, then playfully pricked the fabric he had cut out to make the front of his shirt with a needle. Sure enough, it felt like a sharp weapon had pierced his chest, and his heart clenched in pain.

But Yu Xing's expression didn't change. After playing with it for a bit, she continued leisurely sewing her sleeves.

A mere death by a thousand cuts.

That's all there is to it.

This was clearly torture. Yu Xing didn't care, but others did. Before long, everyone in the backyard felt the pain. After the initial gasps, there was only deathly silence, with only occasional muffled groans and trembling breaths.

They were all experienced players who had gone through many Yugi, and getting injured was commonplace for them; this was just the first time they had hurt themselves.

The task had to be completed, and since it was only pain, not a real injury, many people forced themselves to endure it with grim faces.

Besides, it's being broadcast live; we can't afford to lose face.

So the viewers in the live stream witnessed this bizarre scene: the strategists were doing needlework with contorted expressions, and the scene was eerily quiet even though there were no malevolent ghosts watching.

[What's wrong? Why aren't they saying anything?]

They were probably afraid that if they opened their mouths, they would cry out in pain.

[They don't seem to be making clothes; it's more like they have a grudge against them.]

It was a deep-seated hatred, a hatred that only grew stronger with each attempt to mend it.

[I don't understand, but they all look so tired... oh, except for a few of the ultimate bosses.]

The flower seeker had a truly expressionless face.

[Haha, those big shots are really good at enduring things, haha... Waaaaah, I suddenly feel like I'll never become one of those big shots, waaaaah!]

[Good heavens, look at Lan Wu, he's almost fainting from the pain... Wait, why did I say pain? So they're in pain?]

Lan Wu's expression was just too easy to guess.

He was covered in cold sweat and nearly collapsed onto the table, his fingers trembling as he tried to prick the needle into his collar.

Every time the needle and thread passed through him, he gritted his teeth in pain, his whole body trembling like a sieve.

He was the least capable person present and had the least experience in simulations.

Unfortunately, even Medusa couldn't shield him from this pain.

[If I remember correctly, Lan Wu is near the bottom of the list, right? Wait, what about the four or five people ranked even lower than him?]

[What a coincidence, they're all dead.]

[Two died at the Fang Mansion; the rest were those who didn't gather. Their livestream went black at 3 PM, so they probably didn't survive either.]

[So... someone this weak actually dares to participate in the event? Isn't that just asking for death?]

[I don't know what they're thinking, but Lan Wu has Medusa, so he doesn't need to worry.]

[Ha, if Medusa were truly willing to do anything for beauty, she wouldn't be the current Midnight Club President. Do you really think she's as good to Lan Wu she is to a pet or a toy?]

[Now Medusa can't help Lan Wu she? Look at his pathetic state, ha!]

[Those who were previously mentioned are just being sarcastic; Medusa wouldn't even look at you.]

In the backyard, Lan Wu's eyes were red, and Tong Kong was somewhat unfocused. He stubbornly continued to sew the collar, the pain of being beheaded and having his throat slit repeatedly overwhelming him, but even when he was about to faint from the pain, he refused to move to another place first.

"Just get through the worst pain first... then..."

Lan Wu kept telling herself to persevere.

"I can't... cause the president any more trouble..."

He knew perfectly well that even the most beautiful appearance would be rejected if someone was too useless.

"Cannot be..."

"Give up..."

Yu Xing clicked his tongue.

Lan Wu was diagonally in front of him, only one seat away, and Lan Wu looked so pitiful that Lan Wu felt a little sorry for him.

Hmm... Is it some trait of Lan Wu that makes him easily evoke pity? Yu Xing wondered, then cast a wisp of curse power over Lan Wu.

Medusa turned her head at that instant and glanced at him.

Yu Xing narrowed his eyes, a thought suddenly forming in his mind. He mouthed silently, "Do you want me to help him?"

Medusa's piercing gaze paused, then blossomed like a flower in full bloom. She nodded gently and mouthed, "Thank you, you've gone to so much trouble."

The cursed power then seeped into Lan Wu's body, and the black mist spread. Lan Wu suddenly felt the pain subside considerably, and he was covered in cold sweat, breathing out a somewhat dazed breath.

He endured past the critical point; did the threshold rise?

With a wave of her hand, Yu Xing transferred Lan Wu's pain to herself, experiencing almost twice the pain Yu Xing smiled and continued with her craft.

He exchanged a bit of pain, which he was used to, for a favor from Medusa.

I made a profit.

Yan Li, who hadn't missed any outside developments, frowned even more deeply, witnessing the scene almost unbelievably out of the corner of his eye.

He closed his eyes briefly, abruptly withdrawing his attention, focusing intently on the red cloth in front of him as if out of sight, out of mind.

Time passed slowly, and everyone was in agony.

They wished time would pass quickly so they could be free at mealtime, yet they were also afraid that time would fly by too fast and they wouldn't have time to complete their tasks, or they would be killed by the rules.

Just when everyone thought the pain would subside, the wooden door was suddenly kicked open.

With a loud bang, everyone reflexively looked up and saw a bloodied, mangled ghost rushing into the backyard like a madman, lunging at the nearest table.

The person at that table was still in pain, his head buzzing. The clothes he had only finished were snatched away. He was a beat slow to react and his eyes widened as he saw the clothes he had made being brutally torn to shreds by the bloody, monstrous figures that rushed in.

"Hey!" he cried, a voice that betrayed neither fear nor anger, "You—"

Before he could finish speaking, his body, along the tear in the unfinished garment, shattered in two with a whoosh.

Blood fell like rain, dripping onto the ground.