The taste was initially very light, but from the moment Yu Xing captured it, his attention became more focused, and the taste became stronger.

It was a bit pungent, mixed with the smell of preservatives, air fresheners, and other chemical agents. For Yu Xing, it was even somewhat familiar.

His eyebrows furrowed under the mask. "Do you smell it?"

"What smell?" The gambler paused at the words, trying to sniff. "I don't smell anything."

"No, there is." Yu Xing relaxed his brows and looked around.

From the observation deck, the outlines of all the surrounding buildings could barely be seen. A nerve in his brain was stirred by this smell. "It's the smell of a potion."

As soon as he finished speaking, a harsh scraping sound suddenly came from the third-floor corridor on the right side of the observation deck, at the other end of the kitchen.

The gambler immediately reacted by crouching down, concealing his body behind the railing, and peering through the gap in the railing towards the source of the sound. This did not completely hide his figure, but it was not entirely useless.

Glancing at his temporary companion, Yu Xing was surprised to find that his reaction was not slower than his own. He had already hidden in the corner of the observation deck that was least likely to be seen from both sides, with only one eye showing behind the crescent-shaped hollow of the mask, reflecting a faint golden light in the glow of the lamp.

"Squeak—" Another unpleasant scraping sound drew the gambler's attention, and this time he also smelled the potion that Yu Xing had mentioned, giving him the feeling of being in a chemical laboratory.

The scraping sound was rhythmic, as if a hard metal was moving forward, scraping against the wall with each step.

Yu Xing covered his throat uncomfortably. Smelling this scent, he probably knew who the corresponding ghost walking on the third-floor corridor across from him was.

It was very likely to be his own.

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, a huge figure slowly emerged from the shadows on the opposite side.

The third floor was an overall arched structure, with walls appearing and disappearing from time to time. At this moment, the observation deck could reflect the outline of a semicircular corridor, half of which was covered by a half-height railing, making it convenient for visitors to view the kitchen on the second floor from the third floor.

Something emerged from the shadow behind the wall and moved towards the dimly lit area. The process was quite shocking, at least causing the gambler to mutter "tsk tsk" under his breath, and Yu Xing also raised his eyebrows.

What first appeared in their sight was a large, indistinct pipe, its color unclear, hanging in the air at a slight angle, moving slightly like a living creature.

The outer side of the pipe was covered with sharp metal teeth, and the scraping sound was presumably caused by the teeth rubbing against the wall.

Next, a muscular zombie, over two meters tall, wearing a white coat, walked out in a halting manner. Its appearance was extremely ugly, with disproportionate body proportions, exaggerated shoulder blades, extremely thick limbs, and muscles crisscrossing. Many blood vessels extended outside the skin, and with each step, the movement of its blood vessels and tendons could be seen.

The metallic pipe was attached to the back of the large zombie, making its already massive body appear even larger.

Yu Xing estimated that the zombie's arm was probably as thick as his waist. This thing was different from the wailer; it was full of intimidation and extreme danger. A slap from it could easily crush someone's brain.

[You have discovered the "Resentful Zombie Researcher," and the ghost notification has been updated.]

Resentful Zombie Researcher...

Yu Xing sneered, confirming his guess.

This was indeed the ghost corresponding to him. The old-fashioned white coat on the large zombie was exactly what the performers in the research institute wore when they were constantly pointing and gesturing outside his container.

The pipe was used to deliver the huge breath of air that transformed his body, and the smell of the potion was what he constantly smelled when he was immersed in the glass container. He was enveloped in that light red chemical liquid, and apart from being taken out for slicing, blood drawing, and physical examinations, he had never left the embrace of this liquid.

No wonder it smelled familiar... Even though many years had passed, the smell easily evoked Yu Xing's memory.

"I smell it..." as the two deductionists observed in secret, the Resentful Zombie Researcher suddenly opened its mouth, its voice muffled and deep, with a built-in echo.

The gambler was startled. "Damn, such a fierce thing, does it still have consciousness? Who the hell created such a thing? This is too twisted!"

It was unclear whether he was referring to the Resentful Zombie Researcher's formidable appearance or the person it corresponded to, but Yu Xing touched his nose as if he had been reprimanded.

The next moment, the Resentful Zombie Researcher turned its head straight towards the observation deck and roared, "I smell it! The smell of the test subjects! Two of them!"

This time, Yu Xing finally saw its face, which he had not carefully observed before.

This face... was very unique.

Bald on top, covered with tumors, with only black holes where its eyes used to be, as if they had been gouged out by someone. Below the eyes, there were no longer any traces of a human face, and the nose and ears were completely absent, replaced by chunks of flesh that connected to other parts of the face.

It had no lips, only sharp teeth, stained with blood and bits of flesh, as if it had just eaten something.

Its neck was also thick, swollen to a diameter almost the same as its head. Overall, it was a very deformed and strong zombie. Not to mention Yu Xing's inability to resist it in this deduction, even if other deductionists had props, they might not dare to stand in front of it.

Yu Xing fell silent for a moment, then stood up to face the "gaze" of the Resentful Zombie Researcher.

After a faint smile from the gambler, he looked at Yu Xing with a strange look. "Oh? You've got some guts, buddy."

The next moment, Yu Xing staggered forward, suddenly feeling dizzy and his vision darkening.-Just now, I hid too quickly, and now that I've gotten up, I've forgotten that I'm anemic.

The grudge corpse is still howling, smelling the two test subjects made it excited, but it didn't react to Yu Xing standing up.

As the dizziness faded, Yu Xing shook his head and raised his voice to shout at it, "I'm here!"

"Test subjects, the test subjects have escaped, I need to catch them..." The grudge corpse researcher ignored him, his voice lowered as if muttering to himself.

Then, it shook the pipes attached to its body, and its sharp teeth struck the ground, causing a few pieces of debris to fly.

After "looking" in the direction of the observation deck for a while, it began to run with heavy steps, as if it intended to catch someone.

"Oh my?" The gambler looked in the direction it was heading and quickly pulled Yu Xing down from the observation deck. "Is it coming over here? Do the specters in the castle know the way?"

"Probably... they don't know. Otherwise, we would easily be seen by the specters wandering in distant places. They know the way, and it would be easy for them to chase us. And we don't even know where they might come from." Yu Xing shook his head, looking at the gambler. "They probably need to find their way just like us. And just now, I tested it out, the grudge corpse researcher has no vision or hearing, probably only relying on its sense of smell to act. The so-called countermeasure props might be something that can mask its sense of smell."

"Very likely. Good job, you handled it well. As a newcomer, you have great potential!" The gambler patted Yu Xing's shoulder happily, not looking too panicked. Even if Yu Xing hadn't said anything, the gambler had already reached the same conclusion from Yu Xing's actions and the grudge corpse's reaction.

"Your approach is in line with my taste. I wonder if you've seen my live broadcast. I like to take risks just like you!"

Yu Xing: "Haha, your unique deduction style, I like it too~"

He really hadn't seen it, not only had he not seen it, he hadn't even heard of the gambler's name.

But he wasn't taking risks, he was just relying on the complex terrain of the castle to conduct a relatively safe verification.

He didn't know where the grudge corpse research institute had run off to. After Yu Xing finished dealing with the gambler, he continued walking forward with the gambler, while taking a glance at the specter notification letter.

【Specter Four: Grudge Corpse Researcher】

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

【Corresponding Visitor: Xing】

【Description Source: 1. A strong and deformed corpse, full of resentment, wearing a uniform from a certain research institute, with attack pipes attached to its body. 2. Views living people as test subjects, extremely brutal, and no one has seen its attack pattern. 3. Originates from Xing's past, when Xing was used as an experimental subject by the researcher, accumulated resentment in his heart, killed the researcher in retaliation, and his disdain for the institute caused the grudge corpse to lose its vision, feeling ashamed of the researchers' evaluation of him, causing the grudge corpse to lose its hearing. In addition, due to Xing's curiosity about the things at the other end of the pipes, the grudge corpse gained a special ability. (As Xing is the corresponding deductionist of the grudge corpse researcher, the source analysis has been directly provided)】

【Special Ability Attack Method: ???】

【Solution: ???】

【Notification Progress: 50%】

This specter was ranked fourth, and Yu Xing didn't know what standard it was based on, but thanks to the personal version of the specter notification letter, a lot of information was directly open to him.

But... the clarity of this analysis was beyond Yu Xing's expectations, it was very incisive.

If others could find out the source analysis by obtaining the corresponding props, it seemed a bit unfavorable for him. He believed that the other seven people would think the same.

To keep the secret in his own hands and not be discovered by others, he had to obtain his own corresponding props. But the props were useless in his hands, so even if he obtained the props, the deductionist's disadvantage against the specter would not be alleviated in the slightest.

He had thought before that if one person obtained the props, they could pass the props to someone else, wouldn't that mean that two people had collected information about the specter? If a team appeared in the castle at this moment, they could use this to gain points.

Now he knew that passing the props to someone else was also a courageous act, because the things he had done, or the things he didn't want to mention deep in his heart, would be completely exposed to others, and many of them were things that even the closest teammates couldn't know.

Alice's hellish intentions were as naked and treacherous as ever, forcing the deductionist to make choices and take responsibility for what they had done.

In that case, everyone would have to face complex choices.

Yu Xing suppressed his thoughts and continued to do what he had originally intended to do, walking with the gambler for another six or seven minutes, during which they didn't encounter any more specters.

He noted the roads they passed along the way, combined with the occasional views of other floors, and drew a three-dimensional map in his mind.

The map was based on the third floor, with the other floors as auxiliary, and was successfully established.

Just then, the gambler patted him on the back. "What are you thinking, little buddy? Look ahead, the bathroom, and the stairs!"

Yu Xing raised an eyebrow and looked ahead.

The path they had taken wasn't just a straight corridor all the way. They had passed several small forks, all deciding to continue along the main corridor.

Ahead, the main corridor truly forked for the first time, splitting into two equally wide corridors.

There was a sign in the middle of the corridor, with the sign on the right corridor reading "Bathroom," and the sign on the left reading "Up to the fifth floor" and "Down to the second floor."

The two looked at each other, and Yu Xing said, "Shall we go to the bathroom first to take a look? Is it dangerous?"

"Let's go in and take a look. I bet there's no mortal danger. You've got to have guts," the gambler said, waving his hand and heading towards the corridor leading to the bathroom. Yu Xing looked at his back, his eyes slightly narrowed, and then followed.The bathroom style matched the rest of the castle perfectly, exuding a thick medieval classic vibe.

There was a fork in the path outside, with separate facilities for men and women. Yu Xing followed the gambler into the men's bathroom and immediately saw the central bathing pool.

The pool was circular, with a diameter of four meters, making it a moderately sized basin. White towels were neatly arranged around the edge.

It wasn't bath time, so there was no water, which made the luxury of the entire pool even more striking.

The bottom of the pool was actually inlaid with gems, both red and blue, which made Yu Xing seriously doubt whether the small red gemstone he had found was really that important. Was it worth Alice, with her immense wealth, remembering it for so long?

Next to the pool, there was a wooden bathtub, similar in shape to the one Yu Xing had seen in the Bloody Mary room on the second floor of the Green-Capturing bar. It could only accommodate one or two people.

Looking further to the side, there were rows of wooden cabinets, probably for storing the clothes that visitors had changed out of. Yu Xing casually opened one that was ajar and peeked inside. He didn't see any clothes, just a pool of bloodstains.

"There's blood."

Yu Xing called the gambler over to look, but the gambler, standing by another open cabinet, spread his hands: "I know, there's some here too."

After another round, the gambler tapped his fingers on his trousers: "The cabinets that can be opened all have blood, and there are exactly eight cabinets that can't be opened."

What did that mean...

Yu Xing didn't know the purpose of the blood in the cabinets, perhaps it was hinting at something, but with so little information, he couldn't be sure.

Moreover, perhaps because the bathroom was closely associated with water, and water was yin, just standing there, both of them felt a chill in the air, as if an intuition was urging them not to stay too long.

"Let's go," said the gambler.

Yu Xing nodded, and just as they stepped out of the bathroom, they were met with the voices of other Deductionists.