"Drip, drip, drip..."

In the empty castle, the nun walked quietly ahead, occasionally introducing the rooms they passed through. Besides the sound of her voice, the only other sound was the faint noise of the deductionists' sneakers on the floor.

Yu Xing divided his attention, listening to the nun's tour guide introduction while looking at the imaginary page in his mind.

After the nun mentioned the existence of ghosts and monsters in the castle, he received a new deduction prompt.

【The "Ghost Notification (Personal Edition, Non-Shareable)" for this deduction has been triggered】

This was a page of black letter paper, with a line of large white characters written in white ink - Ghost Notification, followed by lines of small characters.

【Ghost Type: 9】

【Encountered: 0】

【Resolved: 0】

【Ghost One: ???】

【Corresponding Visitor: ???】

【Description Source: ??? (Triggered when the corresponding resolution item is found)】

【Attack Method Special Ability: ???】

【Resolution Method: ???】

【Notification Progress: 0】

【Ghost Two: ???】

...

【Ghost Nine: Alice, the Night Wanderer】

【Description Source: 1. A malevolent ghost named Alice, who is obsessed with collecting sins and takes pleasure in punishing sinners, of course, she is not a good person herself. 2. ??? 3. ???】

【Attack Method Special Ability: ???】

【Resolution Method: ???】

【Notification Progress: 10%】

【Collecting information on three types of ghosts will earn a 1000-point reward】

【Collecting information on five types of ghosts will earn a one-time item reward (not allowed to be taken out of the deduction)】

【Collecting information on seven types of ghosts will earn a one-time item reward (allowed to be taken out of the deduction)】

【Collecting information on nine types of ghosts will earn a sacrifice reward (allowed to be taken out of the deduction)】

The long piece of paper recorded a total of nine types of ghosts. Now, when Yu Xing looked at it, besides large patches of question marks, there were only heartless "0"s. Only the column for Alice, due to previous contact, reluctantly showed 10%.

And collecting notification information, that is, reaching 100% notification progress, would actually earn additional rewards, which was a surprise.

Listening to Huang Bai's tone, which was anticipated by the system's wording, Yu Xing guessed that this should be something new added to the differentiated level deduction game, perhaps for every deduction.

"This is your room."

Just as he was thinking, the deductionists had already followed the nun to a long corridor.

The corridor was circular, with a flat red velvet carpet, and the doors were far apart. On the wall opposite each door hung paintings, wall lamps, and other decorations.

"There are a total of ten rooms here. You can choose your residence by yourself, but once it's confirmed, it cannot be changed."

The nun blinked her dark eyes, holding roses in her hands, and bowed slightly to them. "Now is the free activity time for the guests. After choosing a room, you can check the schedule and get to know each other, or go to various places in the castle to search for items. Here, I need to remind you that the ghosts... from the moment you entered the castle, they have already started wandering. Maybe, at a moment when you are not aware, you have already seen them."

Her words made the deductionists wearing masks stiffen, instinctively recalling what they had just seen.

It seemed like there were oil paintings, sculptures, medieval armor decorations, and mirrors, and so on...

Who could remember all of that!

Yu Xing was not led astray by the nun's words, but noticed something else.

There were a total of eight guests, so why were there ten rooms generated?

From the nun's tone, at least she did not live here, so the probability that the housekeeper and the chef, who were also staff members, did not live here was high. What was the purpose of the two extra rooms?

Qu Xianqing had told him that the difficulty of the differentiated level deduction had soared, so all the details that had not been noticed in the previous deductions now had to be remembered.

The nun looked at the silent guests, expressionless, and said, "Don't forget to have your meals in the hall on time. I have things to do and must leave first."

After speaking, without waiting for the guests to react, she turned and walked to the other end of the corridor, quickly disappearing from view behind the curve of the corridor.

"Let's choose our rooms first," Huai said casually, then walked towards the fourth room from the beginning, already reaching for the doorknob before turning to look at the others. "Any objections?"

"Then I want the fifth room!" Huang Bai bounced up and followed, with a somewhat fangirl attitude, but it was unclear how much of it was genuine.

She opened the door without any obstacles, then suddenly turned around and looked at everyone, asking, "The few brothers and sisters who didn't introduce themselves just now... don't you want to say hello to everyone?"

Yu Xing understood. She was planning to identify the throat-cutter and take targeted precautions.

There was nothing he couldn't say about his masked name, so he said, "I'm Xing."The corner of his mouth under the mask hooked up, and he added, "I just got promoted and entered the first level of deduction. I don't know anything, so I didn't dare to speak before, I hope I can survive."

Didn't dare to speak? Or wanted to collect information without attracting attention?

Obviously, few people present believed his words, but because of his good attitude, they encouraged him symbolically.

Huang Bai said, "Come on, hang in there for the first time, and you'll have experience next time!"

The gambler also spoke with a northeastern accent and patted Yu Xing's shoulder generously, "No experience? If you don't mind, you can follow me. I'm on the right track and won't let you down!"

The right track... Yu Xing nodded in agreement, "Thank you."

This was the first time he had encountered someone on the right track. Previously, whether it was Qu Xianqing or Zhao Mou, they belonged to the deviant line, while performers and Han Xinyi were all on the fallen line.

He had always lamented that there were too few people in the world who adhered to the right path.

And now, it was indeed his first time in the level of deduction game. It would be good to have someone to provide him with knowledge and experience on the spot. A more famous person on the right track was undoubtedly the most suitable person among the deductionists here.

The nearby mesmerizing eyes lit up, "I don't have much experience either, can the big shot guide me?"

The gambler glanced at him, stroked his chin, "Sure."

White Face, Throat Cutter, and Evil Ghost did not choose to reveal their identities, indicating their attitude through silence.

At this point, the eight people had already formed several small groups. Huang Bai obviously wanted to follow Huai, the gambler, mesmerizer, and Yu Xing, the three of them could be considered to have confirmed that they would act together.

Han Xinyi and Han Zhiyong were together, while White Face went alone.

After that, everyone chose their rooms. The gambler chose the first room, followed by the mesmerizer and Yu Xing, then Huai, Huang Bai, and an empty room, followed by Han Xinyi, Han Zhiyong, White Face, and the tenth room was also empty.

When Yu Xing was choosing a room, a sweet voice suddenly interrupted. Han Xinyi took a few steps closer while no one was paying attention and kindly said, "Xing~ for the first time, I can teach you a lot~ Where do you want to stay? I'll stay next to you, and you can ask me anything you don't understand!"

Yu Xing looked at her with a smile that wasn't a smile.

Han Xinyi actually knew that the convener of this deduction was him, so she should be able to think that he held some information that others didn't have. If this point was publicized, Yu Xing would attract everyone's attention, making it inconvenient for him to do anything. But she didn't point it out, just holding a refusal to share information and planning to find a chance to get his information on her own.

To be honest, her petite figure and soft voice were a good protective shell. If she didn't say it, few people would associate her with the perverted murderer of the throat-cutting case.

"Of course, you who can play me around must not be as clueless as you say. But I'm willing to believe you. I believe everything you say." Han Xinyi even took off her mask quietly, revealing a signature sweet smile, her dimples becoming even deeper.

She chuckled softly, "I'll live next to you, so it's convenient for you to find my weakness and kill me!"

Yu Xing didn't take off his mask, just replied in a gentle voice, "You're quite generous, but there's no room next to me."

He chose the third room, and Han Xinyi said "okay" and entered the seventh room.

Han Zhiyong, who had been listening the whole time, was at a loss for words, "..."

He had no idea what his niece was thinking, but he had a gut feeling that if they didn't target Yu Xing, they might really be killed by this inscrutable young man, even though his niece was very strong.

His niece had a change of heart, although it was a twisted possessiveness, but Yu Xing showed no signs of wavering. He really didn't think his niece could pull Yu Xing to their side.

A murderous intent flashed in Han Zhiyong's eyes as he stared at Yu Xing, who had entered the room, and he sneered.

...

Yu Xing couldn't help but feel Han Zhiyong's gaze. He had a strong sense of perception and was always sensitive to it.

He closed the door, chuckled lightly, and looked around the room.

The environment was not bad, with a luxurious medieval style everywhere, and a large, soft-looking bed in the middle.

There was a lamp on the bedside, and a lamp on the desk, overall, the lighting was sufficient.

He didn't carefully search the bedroom for anything that shouldn't be there, but after closing the door, he saw a piece of paper stuck to the back of the door.

This was probably the schedule that the nun had prepared in advance, and it said:

【Breakfast: 7:00 am】

【Lunch: 12:00 pm】

【Dinner: 6:30 pm】

【Bathing time: 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm】

【Night activities: 10:00 pm - 4:00 am】

Combining the nun's tips, Yu Xing roughly went through the entire deduction process.Five hours at noon, six hours in the afternoon, each period would have different "amusement" modes due to Alice's various additional rules, while the evening was the most dangerous yet the most rewarding time.

Having confirmed these details, Yu Xing turned his attention to the room.

Although the nun had said that the hall's grandfather clock was the only timepiece in the entire castle, there was actually an ancient small clock in the room. The hands now pointed to four twenty. One could imagine how vast the castle was; they had spent about ten minutes just walking from the first-floor hall to the third-floor room.

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He was mindful of the crimson eyes in the sky outside the castle and deliberately searched the room to ensure that no eyeballs of the same kind as Alice's were hidden in any of the artifacts before he could rest easy.

Without Alice's gaze upon him, Yu Xing took off his hood and mask to catch his breath.

This mask was different from the transparent masks that materialized with his usual personas; it was tangible, had weight, and its own material.

Therefore... it was somewhat suffocating to breathe while wearing it.

Yu Xing, who was already physically weak, felt a bit dizzy after breathing poorly for over ten minutes.

"It seems I must avoid wearing the mask during chase battles in the future..." He coughed lightly twice, straightened his hair that had been tousled by the hood, and looked towards the room's only window.

This window did not serve the purpose of letting in light, as it did not face the direction of the outer railing of the castle. Behind the curtain, a faint silver reflection could be seen.

Yu Xing walked to the window, holding the mask loosely in front of his face, and quietly looked out. He could only see a vast silvery-gray space that he had not passed before, filled with sculptures of various sizes. He leaned against the window frame and admired them for a while.

These sculptures were of diverse forms, some depicting everyday human figures, others resembling the deities of Olympus, but without exception, they were all carvings of individual entities; not a single sculpture featured two or more figures together.

Hundreds of sculptures filled the silvery-gray space, and from the third floor, looking down, the sight was quite spectacular.

It was just unclear where exactly this sculpture field was located on the first floor, and from which floor's staircase one would have to descend...

Yu Xing coughed again and had to admit that the structure of Alice's castle was too complex.

Following the nun around in circles, he had not been able to form a mental map from the hall to the room because too many areas were missing.

He whispered, "I need to complete the map quickly, or else my movements will be greatly limited later on."

Just then, a chill crept up his spine, giving him the sudden feeling of being watched.

His eyes hardened, and he quickly put the mask back on and pulled up his hood, his gaze sweeping over the sculptures below, suspecting that one of them had "come to life" and noticed him at the third-floor window.

However, after scanning the area, he could not find the source of the gaze. The sculptures were too far away to make out their faces, let alone the direction of their eyes.

It could be said that as long as they did not move, it would be very difficult for Yu Xing to identify the abnormal one among them... or perhaps, all the sculptures were abnormal.

"..." Yu Xing closed the window and drew the curtains, blocking any potential gaze from the sculptures, but the feeling of being watched did not disappear. Instead, it intensified, even escalating to a sense of crisis.

A malice... was approaching.

Was it not because of the sculptures?

Yu Xing sighed softly and took out the 【Green-Capturing Dream】 that had been dormant in the mask panel for several days.

Green smoke rose, and Yi Qing's figure materialized from the smoke first. He turned in the void, his refined voice tinged with a hint of grinding teeth: "You finally decided to let me out?"

"Shh..." Yu Xing put his index finger to his lips, "Look around, where are we?"

Yi Qing paused, suppressing the grievances of being confined for many days, and surveyed the surroundings.

He calmed down: "Another world?"

"Yes, the interesting places you wanted to visit." Yu Xing smiled, "You can have a good time now, but... we need to deal with a little trouble first."

"Thump thump thump."

His words had just ended when the room door was knocked.