Yu Xing knew early on that she appeared openly to not let Yu Jiaming and Gao Changan's minds go, but she didn't expect that this Han Xinyi still wanted to be with him.

Sure enough, the members of the Prism were extremely convoluted in their thinking, and they could be called the Nine-Turn Corridor.

He coughed lightly and politely refused, "You're overthinking it. You're not my type."

"It doesn't matter, you'll fall in love sooner or later." Han Xinyi seemed to be quite persistent, holding a knife to Zhang Yu's neck, murmuring softly and persistently.

At that moment, the situation was surprisingly balanced.

Yu Jiaming and Gao Changan were getting closer, Han Xinyi was holding Zhang Yu hostage, Zhang Yu was motionless, and Yu Xing was walking casually, talking to Han Xinyi as he walked.

"What's wrong with this Zhang Yu? Is he stupid? Why didn't he run just now!" Yu Jiaming gritted his teeth in a low voice.

He looked at Zhang Yu, who was obediently caught by Han Xinyi, and found it hard to understand.

Yu Xing was sacrificing himself to buy time, and Zhang Yu was at least a grown man. Being held hostage by a young girl, shouldn't he resist at least a little!

"But I have a girlfriend." Yu Xing continued to chat with Han Xinyi, allowing the two detectives to get closer.

"Girlfriend... Can your girlfriend understand you?" Han Xinyi sighed and looked at Yu Xing with a hint of inexplicable pity in her eyes. "People like us, can your girlfriend understand? Do you want to live in a lie, be misunderstood, and doubted for the rest of your life? Yu Xing, we are the most suitable for each other. I watched your live broadcast, we are the same kind of people."

Deductionists cannot tell unrelated ordinary people about the absurd deduction, unless the ordinary person is involved in something related to the absurd.

The most common are the people involved in the deduction game, such as Yu Xing's qualification test. The abandoned factory was real, and if an ordinary person had accidentally entered and luckily not been killed by the specter, they could receive relevant information about the absurd world after surviving and find a way to the next qualification test, and choose whether to become a deductionist.

There is also a type of small environment inheritance.

For example, in reality, the Zhao family, Luo family, and Xu family, many young people in these families had already mastered some abilities brought out of the game by their elders before entering the absurd deduction game. They had been receiving some kind of eerie education from childhood to adulthood, and such people could also find a way to the qualification test.

Han Xinyi obviously regarded Yu Xing's "girlfriend" as an ordinary person. In the eyes of ordinary people, when deductionists consume real-world time in the deduction game, they are equivalent to disappearing.

For anyone, having a boyfriend who disappears from time to time, doesn't answer calls, and doesn't reply to messages, will definitely be full of doubts.

And maybe one day, the boyfriend will die.

So, if deductionists want to date or start a family, it's better to be with a companion who is also a deductionist. Although both will be unstable and uncertain about the future, at least they can understand and encourage each other.

But Yu Jiaming and Gao Changan have no connection to the absurd world. Han Xinyi spoke so openly in front of these two people and Yu Xing, although she did not directly mention the existence of the game, it was already very obvious.

Han Xinyi felt that she would kill these two people later, so she spoke without reservation. But Yu Xing had to protect the two detectives, so he interrupted her, "We are not the same kind of people. I'm a little smarter than you."

"Yes, you're the smartest!" Han Xinyi cheerfully agreed.

The next moment, she looked at Yu Jiaming and Gao Changan, who were getting closer and closer, and her lips curled up.

"Yu Xing, I didn't kill Zhang Yu immediately, so that you can watch me kill someone. You will definitely like the feeling of a young life as bright as a gem disappearing in a spray of blood."

Han Xinyi grabbed the clothes behind Zhang Yu, looking somewhat sickly.

From the moment she first saw Yu Xing, she felt that he was like a god who had come down from the sky to save her.

But unfortunately, she was a decayed, lightless worm, and the god was too distant and unattainable for her.

Moreover... this god was determined to find out the killer in the throat-slitting case.

So... dragging the god down into the abyss to make him a devil like her was her wish.

Han Xinyi pushed the knife forward, and Zhang Yu leaned back to avoid the blade.

Sensing that she was not going to waste any more time and was ready to act, Yu Jiaming shouted, "Stop! That's enough! Put down the knife and don't make any more mistakes!"

He aimed at Han Xinyi in the pouring rain, determined to take the risk of shooting if she made another move.

At that moment, Yu Jiaming suddenly felt that Zhang Yu seemed to have looked back at him.

Although he couldn't see his eyes clearly, he inexplicably felt that there was no fear in those eyes.

Just as Han Xinyi's knife was about to touch Zhang Yu's skin, Zhang Yu finally moved.Yu Xing's pupils contracted when he saw Zhang Yu grab Han Xinyi's wrist and then turn around, lifting his leg to kick forward.

"Bang!" The sound of the impact was not muffled by the heavy rain. Han Xinyi flew backward, landing on the ground, the knife flying out of her hand and embedding itself in the crevice of the broken bricks.

Her smile froze on her lips, then turned into a frown due to the intense pain in her abdomen and back, emitting a painful groan from her throat.

It seemed like something sharp had cut her back, leaving it exposed.

Why?

How could Zhang Yu have such strength and break free from the influence of mental instability?

Han Xinyi got up, ignoring the two police officers, and just stared at Zhang Yu with her beautiful big eyes.

Zhang Yu's eyes were indifferent, completely different from the mild and rigorous librarian.

Could it be... she was still in doubt when Zhang Yu spoke.

Under the familiar appearance, a female voice spoke.

"Yu Xing is right, you are not as smart as he is."

What!?

A hint of fierceness appeared in Han Xinyi's eyes because she recognized this voice.

It was the voice of the "kind" front desk female clerk from the bookstore she visited for the first time!

The female voice was very low, only she, Yu Xing, and Gao Changan heard it. After saying this, "Zhang Yu" revealed a mocking smile and suddenly ran away without any pattern. Yu Xing glanced at him and told Gao Changan to chase after him, while he himself raised his gun.

"The hostage is gone, Han Xinyi, don't resist, put your hands up!"

Han Xinyi turned her head and looked at Yu Xing.

At that moment, Yu Xing suddenly felt a chill all over his body.

...

Feeling dizzy.

The ground was hard concrete, and the air around him was damp and cold. Zhang Yu felt goosebumps all over his body, feeling cold.

He was sore all over, and as his consciousness returned, he subconsciously reached up to touch his neck. Luckily, it was intact, without any major injuries.

The next moment, a soft yet resolute female voice sounded in his ear, "Are you awake?"

Only then did Zhang Yu open his eyes and look around in confusion.

It was Ranran, sitting with her legs crossed next to him, and he—

He sat up abruptly, staring at himself.

No wounds, no restraints, completely free to move.

The only difference from before he passed out was that his outer jacket was gone, making him feel especially cold.

W-what's going on...

Zhang Yu looked at Ranran with wide eyes, a question mark after another appearing in his mind.

The memories before he passed out flooded back, the strange woman had clearly attacked him, so how was he not dead?

Not only was he not dead, but the woman was also gone, and Ranran didn't restrict his movements. Wasn't she afraid he would run away?

Ranran didn't speak, just quietly looked at him, her eyes calm and serene.

Unable to help himself, Zhang Yu asked, "Aren't you going to kill me?"

"Kill you?" Ranran repeated, "No, she knows you mistook her for the killer and couldn't be bothered to explain, so she used that as a reason to lure you here."

Although still confused, hearing Ranran explain in a normal tone, Zhang Yu breathed a sigh of relief.

Who wouldn't want the girl they liked to not be involved in something dangerous?

"Ahem, I... " Zhang Yu looked at Ranran again, trying to gauge her emotions from her expressionless face, and tentatively asked, "Can I ask you a few questions now?"

Ranran was still holding a flashlight, its light shining vaguely in the air, as if it couldn't land on anything solid.

She said, "You can."

Zhang Yu's spirits lifted, and he subconsciously sat up straight, "She... the person you mentioned... who is she exactly? Why did you deceive me into coming here? Is she the killer in the throat-slashing case? Is she the one threatening me? And where have you been recently?"

One question after another popped out, and Ranran lowered her eyelids, her eyelashes casting a shadow on her eyelids.

She organized her thoughts and answered carefully, "She is not the killer in the throat-slashing case, but a good person willing to help me."

"Zhang Yu, I want to thank you for coming, whether it was to save me or to seek answers from me. I never thought I was that important."

"She said your personality is very suitable for dealing with these... absurd things. She also said that whether it's for emotions or curiosity, you would come." Ranran pursed her lips and finally smiled a little, "Anyway, since you are willing to come, I should trust you more and tell you the truth."

"My surname is Zeng, but you usually just call me Ranran without mentioning my surname, so you must not know that the third victim in the throat-slashing case, Zeng Chaoyun, is my older brother."

Zhang Yu unexpectedly opened his mouth, but in the end, he remained silent and listened to her in silence.

"My brother and I grew up together, and we had a really good relationship. After my brother was killed, I hated the killer, but I didn't have the ability to seek revenge and could only watch as the fourth victim appeared.""Until that day, she came with another man, and they said they had roughly confirmed the murderer and knew who the next target was - yes, it's you. And to catch the murderer, they needed my cooperation."

"The first time I cooperated, I lied about being sick and let her take my place at work. They knew the murderer would approach you under the guise of reading, so she stood at the front desk, watching the murderer's every move, and took the opportunity to switch the murderer's umbrella while asking him to go back for ten dollars."

"Wait!" Upon hearing this, Zhang Yu couldn't help but interrupt Ranran, "Are you saying the murderer is... that sweet-smiling girl!?"

"It's her, her name is Han Xinyi."

"So that woman... how should I address her, the seemingly capable and kind woman who complimented my appearance, but was actually warning me that I was being targeted by the murderer?" Zhang Yu recalled, and almost understood the woman's intention in writing on the wooden frame.

"The next one is you," also a warning to him, because the moment he saw this line, the sweet-smiling girl walked in through the door!

"But..." he was puzzled by one part of Ranran's words, "Why switch the umbrella?"

"Well... I don't know if you can accept the concept of the supernatural." Ranran seemed a little hesitant, she pondered for a moment, as if considering how to say it in an acceptable way.

In the end, she gave up: "By getting Han Xinyi's umbrella, she can use some special abilities to track Han Xinyi's movements. For example, today, she found out that Han Xinyi planned to come here tonight to kill you, so she tricked you into coming first. Your phone was hacked by her accomplice, so you didn't receive the message from Han Xinyi."

Zhang Yu imagined, as an intellectual, he shouldn't believe in this kind of "witchcraft" that could predict the owner's movements by taking an item, but years of exposure to the supernatural had made him more accepting of it.

He had to ask, "So, what's the use of tricking me to come here?"

Ranran blinked, "Because on Han Xinyi's side, she also has a way to track your movements, and she saw a ghost near your house."

A... a ghost!?

Zhang Yu shrank back, and unconsciously, Ranran had become someone who could talk about these things as if they were nothing...

Ranran continued, "So you had to come out for Han Xinyi to fall for it. And, when you come out, the police will also think that the victim they saw is you."

"She wants to use your appearance to be attacked by Han Xinyi in front of the police, so she can hide her own existence, provide actual evidence to the police, and keep you from harm. Well... she took your coat with her."

Zhang Yu: I thank her, it's really cold.

To access the premium content, go to [ ℙawℝead.com ].

Also, can wearing a coat make others mistake her for me? Although I'm not tall, and she's not short, but... could it be that besides witchcraft, she can also change her appearance???

"As for myself... I did something else recently, and after coming back, I stayed at the hotel where she was, so you couldn't find me. And... after accepting a certain absurd setting, I didn't have the mood to care about your concern for a while. I'm sorry for making you worry." Ranran apologized, looked at Zhang Yu's expression, and found that he seemed to accept it, which made her feel relieved.

After a while, Zhang Yu, who had digested all the information, became entangled, "I still want to know, what is the name of that woman?"

Ranran hesitated for a moment, "I know what you're thinking, she does have the ability to change her appearance. Not only can she impersonate you, but even when she worked at the bookstore, she didn't use her original appearance. According to her, her name is..."

"Qu Xianqing."

...

A deductionist on the path of corruption may not be able to escape the bullet, but it is also easy to make the person holding the gun lose their ability to act before the bullet is fired.

Han Xinyi had obviously made up her mind to kill, and a strand of death aura spread under her feet, surging towards Yu Xing.

Yu Xing couldn't see this kind of aura, but he felt his whole body become cold, and a warning bell rang in his heart. Faced with this seemingly gentle and weak girl, he felt a sense of crisis that he had never experienced before.

Yu Xing took a step forward, drew out a portion of the power of the curse to counteract the death aura, and because he had activated the curse in his body, the unbearable pain swept over him again.

With a pale face, he had already done what he wanted the police to see.

The rest... was to give Han Xinyi the ending she deserved in the way of a deductionist.

He didn't have any flaws in his plan, so the current situation was exactly what he had guided step by step.

Yu Xing's hand reached into his pocket and touched a small, cold object - it was the prop he had been carrying with him, Alice's ruby.

Shortly after he successfully reached the differentiation level, the system had come to remind him.

【You have met the conditions to trigger this prop, and can enter the differentiation-struggle level deduction game "Alice's Hell" at any time through this prop】

【This prop is disposable and will disappear after use】[Note: Due to the special significance of Alice's Hell, when this item is triggered, in addition to the triggerer, it will also forcibly pull in the seven closest Deductionists who have not played the game within the last five days, with the highest rank being the Mourning rank.]

[Note: Alice's Hell is a comprehensive Deduction game, with a 40% emphasis on confrontation, 40% on mapping, and 20% on role-playing. Entering the Deduction does not consume real time.]

This was the last key point Yu Xing used to complete this setup.

Just as Han Xinyi revealed a sickly smile, intending to send the immobilized Yu Jiaming on his way to the netherworld, Yu Xing silently recited in his mind.

"Confirm use of the item, Alice's Ruby."

The gem in his hand began to heat up, bringing a slight warmth to Yu Xing's body, which was unbearably cold due to the turmoil of the cursed aura within him.

The next moment, a series of Deduction prompts emerged in his mind.

[The Deduction game "Alice's Hell" is about to begin.]

[Gathering Deductionists.]

[Gathering complete, to protect the triggerer, the order of summoning has been scrambled.]

[Participants list: Gambler, Evil Ghost, Xing, Throat Slasher, Desolate White, Hysteria, Locust Tree, White Face.]

Han Xinyi clearly heard these prompts too, and she abruptly turned to look at Yu Xing, her smile growing wider.

"Do you intend to kill me amidst this absurdity?"

"Excellent, you really are the same kind of person as me, I like you... Xing."