After a game evaluation that took just over an hour, Yu Xing woke up from his bed and saw the familiar bedroom scenery. He sat up, propping himself up with his arms. Before he fell asleep, he was sitting on the edge of the bed, with his legs still bent and resting on the ground. The brief gaming experience felt like a dream, leaving him in a daze for a while.
After a moment, he shook his head and hid the feelings he couldn't share with others. He extended his hand and, with a thought, a virtual mask gradually solidified on his fingertips, eventually turning into a feather-light physical mask that he held in his hand.
The mask was entirely white, with elegant leaf-shaped hollows for the eyes, sparse and enigmatic patterns at the corners, delicate and soft in shape. There was a hint of pale red on the lip contour, which, upon closer inspection, perfectly matched Yu Xing's face shape.
The expression on the mask seemed both joyful and sad, resentful and angry, making it difficult for people to look at it for too long, as it would evoke a sense of fear from within.
This was the embodiment of the personality mask, the embodiment of the system. Deductionists would manifest it and wear it on their faces during certain types of deduction games, resulting in special effects.
Whether viewing the mask template directly in the mind or viewing it after materializing the mask, it was the same.
However, Yu Xing stared at the mask, suppressing the rising fear, and studied the several attributes that were displayed and the additional last option.
Under the identity section, there was a progress bar for junior deductionists, which Yu Xing assumed could be upgraded with enough points. He didn't know the specific use for it yet, so he continued reading.
"Mask Weight... Is this really my personality?" He squinted his eyes slightly, his expression seeming to smile and not smile, murmuring to himself, "Craziness is the best, followed by calmness. Aren't these two things contradictory? Chaos is third..."
His voice lowered, as if he had seriously contemplated it for a moment, before finally letting out a sigh of unclear meaning.
He skipped the section where the holder's description doubted the system's lack of threat, and focused his gaze on the personality offering.
【Offering】 referred to the small knife in Zhao Yijiu's hand, which possessed some powers that only specters had. It could play different roles in deductions and its form was not limited to just a weapon. It could also be a painting, a lantern, or even a cat.
A deductionist could carry up to six offerings at the same time, and the offerings were usually on the mask. They could be taken out whenever needed. If the mask was materialized, one could see the patterns on the mask symbolizing the "wearing" of the offerings.
Yu Xing knew all of this, which made him concerned about the data error that indicated he was already wearing an offering. He had never touched an offering before. However, the mask confirmed that he was indeed wearing one, with a small gray hollow compass pattern on the forehead of the materialized mask as evidence.
"The offering that was originally on me... Could it be..." His expression changed for a moment, and he instinctively covered his face with his hand. Even though there was no one else here, he didn't want anyone to see his current expression.
"Indeed, my direction is correct." He murmured with a mosquito-like voice, trying to control the corners of his mouth, but couldn't help but curl them up.
This 【Unknown Offering】 that didn't even display a name occupied one offering slot, but Yu Xing wasn't annoyed at all. On the contrary, it was definitely good news for him.
Soon, he adjusted his mood, put down his hand, and continued reading.
"Personality Deviation... Not important."
"Deduction Market... Let's take a look at this."
Yu Xing chose to enter and immediately a list of items appeared, which wasn't too extensive.
The items displayed were available for purchase by junior and intermediate deductionists, divided into three sections.
First, the system exchange page.
The items on this page were divided into two types. The first type was concepts that ordinary people couldn't control, such as wealth and health, which were priced openly and easily accessible.
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The cheapest was wealth. For example, using Chinese yuan as an example, 1 point could be exchanged for 50 yuan.
This ratio wasn't exaggerated. Yu Xing currently had a total of 233 points, which could only be exchanged for a little over 10,000 yuan.
What caught his attention was the note behind the exchange section: 【After confirming the exchange, the currency will be delivered to the deductionist in a reasonable, safe, worry-free, morally sound, and non-harmful manner that doesn't violate the legitimate interests of any innocent party】.
This was interesting. Although Yu Xing was curious about how the money would be delivered, he didn't waste any points on it.
After looking for a while, his gaze shifted to the 【Health】 section.
This... was something he urgently needed. His physical condition was deteriorating, and he had been delaying it for a long time. Finally, he had become weak enough to be put into the deduction system. Now that his goal was achieved, there was no need to delay any longer.
But when he wanted to exchange all his points, hoping for a significant improvement, he only received a cold prompt.
【Your physical problems are not naturally formed and belong to absurd comprehension. This market cannot cure them. It is recommended to make a wish in the Wish List】
"Wish List?" Yu Xing repeated softly, not in a hurry to exit the market, but instead remembering it and continuing to browse.
The second section of the system exchange page was called the 【Deductionist Case Video Viewing Rights】.
Deductionists could search for any deductionist they knew by name and spend points to purchase the deduction game videos that the other deductionists had made available for viewing. This allowed them to understand the deduction habits of others or learn deduction techniques.
Yu Xing could only buy videos from deductionists of the same level as him for now. He casually watched some "System Recommended" and "Newly Recorded" videos, with prices ranging from 10 to 30 points. The prices were higher for videos with higher ratings, with prices decreasing from A to D.
His evaluation game was S-rated, but only formal games could be recorded. In other words, starting from the next game, after the deduction was completed, Yu Xing could choose whether or not to release the deduction game video from his perspective.
"This is a good way to earn points." He was in a good mood and looked at the remaining two sections of the market.
The second section was called the 【Offering Trading Center】, where deductionists could freely trade offerings, similar to a game auction house, allowing exchanges of goods or spending points to purchase offerings.
The third section was the 【Information Trading Center】. With a flicker of interest, Yu Xing clicked on it.
"The 123rd episode analysis of the Horror Journey program's permanent MC and guest strength. The 124th episode guest predictions... What is this?" The content inside was somewhat unexpected for Yu Xing. He had never heard of this Horror Journey program before.
"The Bizarre Detective Agency is recruiting, requiring a character who has experienced deduction games three or more times in the investigator category?"
"..." The contents inside were flashy, and for the first time, Yu Xing genuinely showed a bewildered expression.
Aww, he was still a newbie, he didn't know anything!
These pieces of information required points, and they were expensive. Yu Xing rubbed his eyes in frustration, closed the market with an expressionless face.
He would have to wait until he had a better understanding of the absurd world before looking at these things.
So, the next thing was the Wish List!
【Wishes can be entered here, and the system will provide the cost of granting the wish based on its size. Once a wish is confirmed, it cannot be revoked, but it can be replaced upon completion. Current wishes: 0/3】
"So, there's something like this." Yu Xing tentatively entered -
"Make the negative states of my body disappear and restore my physical strength to the level of an ordinary person."
【Are you sure about this wish?】
"Yes."
【Evaluating】
【Confirmed】
【To make the negative states of deductionist Yu Xing disappear and restore his physical strength to the level of an ordinary person, the cost is: reaching the rank of advanced deductionist, 3000 points, and completing seven deduction tasks within two months.】
"Ah, that's not too difficult." Yu Xing breathed a sigh of relief. As long as there was a solution, even though the cost seemed a bit high, in reality, he only had to pay 3000 points. The rank and time limit were just additional conditions that didn't harm him.
It just meant that he would have to enter the game at a high frequency from now on.
Of course, Yu Xing also understood that only he could say that. If others saw the two-month deadline for seven deductions, they might have already cried for their parents.
Having solved the immediate problem, Yu Xing relaxed and clicked on the 【Deduction Game Direction Selection Market】.
This was a newly appeared option, and after clicking on it, the content in the market's information trading center seemed to be explained.
【Deduction Game Direction Selection Market】
【Introduction: In addition to participating in solo random and team random deduction games, deductionists can choose "jobs" here to obtain different benefits】
【Job List】
【Newbie Asura Arena Program: Held once a month, selecting the five most promising new players of the month as program guests to participate in cooperative/competitive deduction games (voluntary). The deduction process will be live-streamed, and viewers will pay to enter. Tips will be split 50/50 between the guests and the system.】
【Anomaly Research Project Team: This project team aims to study a recently discovered "large-scale continuous absurd world". This world has naturally formed another game system, and the human players in it are called experience testers. We are currently collecting information about this world, and submissions will receive corresponding rewards, subject to negotiation.】
...
The list had dozens of pages, with numerous options. Yu Xing even found some jobs that were suitable for newcomers like him.
When he wanted to learn more about them, he was informed that he needed to complete the mainline task first.
The mainline task was the last content on the personality mask. Yu Xing muttered, "This really feels like a game," and then clicked to take a look.
The mainline displayed several categories of deduction games, labeled as 【Helping newcomers familiarize themselves with each type of game content】.
In reality, it meant trying each game once. The difficulty was the same as formal games, but each deductionist had to complete the content on the mainline before having the freedom to choose.
After finally finishing reading everything, Yu Xing dismissed the materialized mask, stretched lazily, and stood up slowly and carefully.
Having just come out of the game, he wasn't in a hurry to start the mainline. Instead, he still had some things he wanted to confirm from the evaluation game.
For example, the person named Ning Feng whom Zheng Song called in the last phone call. Who was he?
It seemed that Ning Feng also had some understanding of unexplainable things, so what was his identity?
The absurd worlds were also connected to each other, which Yu Xing had already confirmed from the job list in the market.
So, besides being a reflection of real-life criminals, the people in the absurd world must have other existences.
However, Yu Xing's current question was whether he could confirm whether the killer personality had ever taken over Zheng Song's body and committed real crimes through the game.
He thought for a moment, left the bedroom, and walked into the study. He rummaged through a stack of A4 papers in the desk drawer.
There were several books on the desk that Yu Xing had been reading recently, and the bookshelf next to it was filled with books from various fields. Near the window, there was an easel supporting an unfinished painting, with brushes placed in a palette.
Yu Xing sat down at the desk, pushed the books aside, laid out the A4 paper, and took out a charcoal pencil from the pen holder. He started sketching with a professional technique.
The general method of sketching was to draw the overall shape first, then the proportions, and then handle the details and light and shadow in detail.
But Yu Xing didn't need to follow the steps when drawing. He had extremely strong control over the brush, so he could draw whichever part he wanted based on his mood. Soon, a portrait gradually became clear under his pen.