Tang Sirui scratched her messy hair, looking like she'd seen a ghost.
"How could that be? I'm standing right in front of you!"
"But I saw it with my own eyes..."
Liu Ruyan instinctively wanted to retort.
"Wait a minute, let's leave here first."
Elder Yue Tian raised his hand to interrupt her, his eyes fixed on the street below.
The townspeople and paper figures, who had been busy just moments before, stopped what they were doing once again.
They slowly raised their heads, and blood began to seep from their pupils.
A sense of crisis was spreading upwards along the eaves.
"Holy crap! Let's get out of here!"
Tang Sirui jumped in fright and whispered, "Their eyes are red! Those ghost messengers are coming to grab people soon!"
"Ghost?"
Yue Tian memorized the word, then with a wave of his hand, led everyone down the roof ridge and into a secluded dead-end alley.
The moment he landed, Zhao Yan's expression changed completely.
Hey! So it really is you, you little rascal!
Zhao Yan's eyes reddened, and he stepped forward to pull Tang Sirui into his arms, patting his back forcefully.
Xin An also leaned closer to look him over. "How have you been lately? You haven't gotten hurt, have you?"
"Cough cough... Thanks for your concern, I'm fine..."
Tang Sirui was deeply moved.
The next moment, Tang Sirui felt a tightness around her neck.
Zhao Yan's large, loving hands, which had just been full of kindness, suddenly gripped his neck!
"Ugh!"
Tang Sirui's eyeballs were almost squeezed out.
"Oh, really? You're doing alright?"
Zhao Yan tilted his head, gritting his teeth.
"You stole my ring that contained the Second Base's armory, how could you not be doing well?"
"Give it back now!"
After saying that, Zhao Yan slammed him to the ground and reached into his pocket.
"Cough cough cough... Spare me!"
Tang Sirui clutched her neck and coughed violently, her eyes darting away.
"Ring..."
"No, maybe... maybe I lost it on the way to the Weird Island!"
"What?! Lost it!!!"
Zhao Yan's voice cracked, and it almost echoed throughout the entire street!
"Captain! Keep your voice down!"
Shadow covered Zhao Yan's mouth with his hand and whispered, "Look at the alley entrance!"
As everyone looked, the townspeople and paper figures on the main street outside the alley turned their heads again, their eyes fixed on them.
Zhao Yan quickly covered his mouth with both hands, not daring to breathe.
The chilling gaze only dissipated after the commotion subsided.
They went on to do their own things.
After confirming it was safe, Zhao Yan released his grip and lowered his voice.
"Tell me! How did you lose something so important!"
"How did you end up like this! And why did you steal the box from Shadow!"
Faced with Zhao Yan's three probing questions, Tang Sirui's eyes darted around, and he nervously rubbed his hands together.
"Well... that..."
"Alright, I'll ask."
Elder Yue Tian stepped forward from the crowd and stood before Tang Sirui.
He looked down at him, saying, "You Magic Core, do you even remember who I am?"
Upon hearing this voice, Tang Sirui trembled and looked up.
When they saw the dark red mask clearly, their pupils suddenly contracted!
"Yue... Yue Tian! Oh no, Elder Yue Tian!"
Tang Sirui was so frightened that she immediately shrank her neck and put on a fawning smile.
"Of course I remember! I'd recognize you even if you were ashes!"
"Hehe, it seems I still have a pretty good impression of you."
Yue Tian sneered.
He stared into Tang Sirui's eyes, speaking slowly and deliberately.
"So now, I'm asking you... who exactly are you?"
Upon hearing this!
Human Heart shocked!
An answer came to them.
Elder Yue Tian was beginning to doubt the true identity of Tang Sirui before him!
Soul Return Town was already an eerie place, and then there was the Tang Clan Sirui's Tomb outside.
If the real Tang Sirui is already dead, then the one before me who possesses his memories...
The guy with his face...
What kind of monster is it?
A bead of cold sweat slid down Xin An's forehead.
The Shadow subtly created shadow threads, and Liu Ruyan secretly activated the lightning light of the Bamboo Thunder Sword.
Tang Sirui, lying on the ground, wore a shocked expression.
He glanced at the menacing crowd around him and stammered in fear.
"I..."
"I..."
"I..."
Just when everyone thought he was about to reveal his true, menacing nature!
"Whoosh!"
Tang Sirui suddenly crossed her legs, confidently pointed to the sky, and struck a JOJO pose!
He shouted in a high-pitched voice.
"Since you've asked so sincerely, I'll mercifully tell you!"
"I am a top artist from the Huaxia Second Base!"
"The Iron Wall Squad's inextinguishable firepower!"
"A heartthrob among countless young girls! Handsome and dashing! An invincible bamboo god, irresistibly charming!"
"Tang! Si! Rui! This is it!"
A long silence fell over everyone.
Liu Ruyan's face darkened.
The Shadow silently vanished.
Yue Tian's lips, hidden beneath his mask, twitched twice.
Zhao Yan helplessly rubbed his forehead and let out a long sigh.
"Alright Chief, no need to test him anymore."
"Besides Tang Sirui, that godlike genius, there's absolutely no one else who could be so abstract..."
"Such shameless carbon-based life forms."
Xin An was the first to raise both hands in agreement, covering her face in anguish as she spoke.
"That's right, as his captain, I know exactly what kind of guy he is."
"If being bizarre can be faked to this level of intellectual disability, then it's practically a work-related injury."
Seeing that the crowd was not only not impressed by his good looks, but instead looked disgusted, Tang Sirui pouted in dissatisfaction.
"Tch, a bunch of guys who don't know how to appreciate things~"
Yue Tian took half a step back.
"I've finished asking."
"Now, you can answer Captain Zhao's question."
"All right."
Tang Sirui dropped her smug expression and sighed.
"I really don't remember anything about the ring."
Let me answer your last two questions directly.
He pointed to his tattered beggar's clothes and complained pitifully.
"I didn't become a beggar willingly!"
"Snatching the box from Shadow Sister's back was out of necessity. It's entirely due to the rules of Return of Soul Return Town!"
"If you don't follow the rules, you'll be forcibly taken away by those ghost messengers at night!"
"Lock them up in a factory and make them do hard labor!"
"The night I arrived, I was already arrested and had to go through the ordeal once because I didn't follow the rules!"
"I don't want to go in there a second time!"
"Factory? What's going on?"
Zhao Yan frowned.
"It's hard to explain in a few words. Let's walk and talk. I'll take you somewhere, and you'll understand as soon as you see it."
Tang Sirui waved, signaling everyone to follow.
Zhao Yan and the others nodded in agreement.
Now that Yue Tian's probing has confirmed that the person in front of him is indeed genuine.
Following him is naturally the best option at present.
Yue Tian, who was walking at the back of the group, kept staring at Tang Sirui's back with a strange look.
"In fact, this entire Soul Return Town is a world created by the one in power here, the [Painting Saint]."
Tang Sirui led the way while explaining in a low voice.
"As for why this place is set up like an ancient market, I have no idea, and I've never seen her before."
"All I know is that no matter who it is, once they enter Soul Return Town..."
"They had to go and be assigned jobs, using their work to earn money to live on in the town."
As he spoke, Tang Sirui took out a banknote from his pocket.
"Look, this is a silver note worth one tael."
"Every night at midnight, we have to pay a head tax of five taels of silver to the patrolling ghost guards!"
"If you can't hand in the work, or if you're found not to be doing your assigned work, you'll be sent to the factory!"
"So, that's your reason for becoming a thief?"
Zhao Yan questioned him speechlessly.
Tang Sirui spread his hands, complaining indignantly, "This isn't my fault at all!"
"I also want to be a great hero, but I'm just unlucky!"
"Perfect timing, we've arrived. You'll see for yourselves!"
Everyone stopped and looked in the direction Tang Sirui was pointing.
A massive, ancient-style government office-like mansion came into view ahead.
Above the vermilion gate hangs a conspicuous plaque with gold lettering on a black background.
[Job Assignment Office].
In front of the courtyard, a townsman dressed in the attire of an ancient yamen runner was banging a broken gong and shouting.
"Work assignment! Work assignment!"
"Newcomer to town, hurry up and draw a lot!"
"Unemployed drifters will be dragged away and skinned alive by the police at night!"
In front of the paper effigy of the yamen runner, there was a fortune-telling pot filled with bamboo slips bearing various professions.
Everyone crowded closer to take a look and immediately showed expressions of confusion.
The professions depicted on the bamboo skewers were completely different from what they had imagined.
Instead...
[Hard labor]
[Vendor]
[Cigarette Carrier]
[Thief]
There are even [murderers]!
"This isn't about choosing a career at all."
Liu Ruyan muttered speechlessly, "It's clearly an NPC role-playing game!"
Shadow wholeheartedly agreed, "Yes, it is indeed different from the professions we usually see."
Tang Sirui shrugged helplessly. "Now you know why I stole Sister Shadow's things, right?"
"The profession I drew is [thief]. If I don't steal enough valuables to reach five taels of silver, I'm dead tonight."
After explaining, Tang Sirui glanced at Zhao Yan and Xin An with a gossipy look.
"By the way, Captain, why are your Sharp Blade and Iron Wall units mixed together?"
"Has the new team name been decided? What will it be called? Blade & Shield Squad?"
"Bang!"
Zhao Yan gave him a sharp rap on the head.
"You talk too much! Just tell us already, how do we draw these lots?"
Tang Sirui covered her head and pointed to the fortune-telling pot.
"You can just line up and draw lots. Life and death are predestined, and wealth and honor are determined by fate."
"I'm not going to argue with you anymore, I'm still four taels of silver short of my thieving quota for today!"
"I need to hurry and steal enough to make my money back, or I'll get caught and thrown back into that damn factory tonight! I'm outta here!"
After saying that, he didn't give anyone time to react. He slid into the crowd and disappeared in a flash.
"Hey! That brat, still so impulsive!"
"I didn't even have a chance to ask him what was going on with the graves outside!"
Zhao Yan shook his head in exasperation.
"Never mind, it's okay to ask later."
"Let's draw lots first, get some legal status, so we can operate more safely in Soul Return Town."
Everyone agreed; they were also curious.
Under the rules of this Soul Return Town, what kind of outrageous class will I draw?
At this moment, behind a tall roof, far away from the [Job Assignment Office].
Tang Sirui, who was supposed to be working on sales targets, was instead lying on the roof tiles, staring at the five members of the Sharp Blade Squad who were queuing up to draw lots.
Once it was confirmed that the five people had not caught up, the lottery process began.
Tang Sirui's lips curled upwards.
He left along the eaves, quickening his pace, and weaving left and right through the intricate alleyways.
Finally, they found themselves in the most secluded corner of Soul Return Town, in a high-class inn called [Great Xia Inn]!
He nimbly climbed through the window and entered the most luxurious [Top Tier] private room.
The private room was dimly lit.
In the center of the room sat a thin old man with a full head of white hair, his eyes covered by a thick black cloth.
At the old man's feet lay a man chained to the ground, drooling and grinning foolishly.
It was Dusk!
This so-called Tang Sirui, after climbing through the window...
In just one second.
Her messy hair transformed into dazzling blonde.
The beggar's clothes transformed into a purple suit.
A pleased smile appeared on the Clown's handsome yet wicked face.
He removed the shattered membrane from his eye and tossed it aside carelessly.
He then turned around and gave a slight bow to the blindfolded old man in a gentlemanly manner.
The performance has come to a successful conclusion.
"What a thrilling and perfect little cat-and-mouse game!"
Are you right?
"The eighth seat of the Desolate God Society, the esteemed [Sage]?"