The road, although long and with several small side paths, was very clear in its main direction.

It wasn't difficult for Yu Xing and the gambler to walk here, and the other deductionists who left a little later could naturally come as well, and it wouldn't be too long before they met.

Just like now.

As soon as the two of them left the bathroom, they heard several familiar voices.

"Here it is. Did the crying person go into the bathroom or take another side path, or perhaps another floor?"

"You can go in and take a look."

The question came from a lively female voice, and the answer was from a plain male voice.

Sure enough, Yu Xing took two steps forward and saw Huang Bai and Huai outside the door.

The four of them met as expected.

Huai looked at the gambler and hinted, "I saw Yǐ looking for you just now, and I guessed that you had left first. I didn't expect you to bring this new half-person with you."

"Xing is doing fine, at least he's not dragging us down. You don't need to worry," the gambler replied to Huang Bai's curious and nosy gaze, then said, "There's no crying person in the bathroom, but there's something unusual. You can go take a look too."

"Thanks for the reminder," Huai replied indifferently, then walked past the two of them and headed towards the bathroom.

"Goodbye. Oh, by the way, the others are coming too, so be careful of the fallen line among them," Huang Bai waved to the two of them, winked, and then followed into the bathroom.

At the same time, Yu Xing indeed heard the voices of others in the distance.

Either the side paths ahead were not long, allowing people to figure out the details shortly after entering, or everyone wanted to walk along the main path first. In any case, judging by the voices, the later arrivals would soon meet them.

However, the structure of the castle was still unclear, and the situation on each floor had not been figured out. Only two of the eight deductionists' corresponding specters had appeared, and many uncertainties made him not want to walk with too many people right now.

Yu Xing calculated that there was still quite some time before dinner, enough for him and the gambler to open up another map.

"Gambler, should we go up or down?"

At the end of the other side path outside the bathroom was a staircase, leading to the second and fifth floors respectively. Normally, deductionists would not directly choose the fifth floor for safety reasons. Everyone had an inherent concept that the farther away from the starting point in a terrifying and enclosed environment, the higher the danger.

However, the gambler was not one to follow the usual path. He looked at Yu Xing and pointed upwards, "Let's go, let's take a look on the fifth floor."

Yu Xing had no objections and followed behind the gambler, dutifully playing the role of a new and indecisive rookie.

The staircase was long and folding, somewhat similar to the structure of a real hallway. After climbing four sets of twelve steps, they reached the fifth floor.

"...It's a bit dark," Yu Xing said as he stepped back behind the gambler.

The walls of the fifth floor were of a very old color, indescribable, as if ordinary red had been stained with an indelible strange mark, creating a peculiar effect.

After going up the stairs, there were three corridors leading in different directions, to the left, right, and front. None of them had any lights, and it was pitch black, illuminated only by the wall lights on the staircase.

"What's that!"

Suddenly, Yu Xing vaguely saw something standing in the middle of each of the corridors, very tall and seemingly humanoid.

The gambler squinted and looked, his muscles tensing up. Having just seen the large-bodied researcher of the vengeful corpse at the observation deck, the impression was too deep, and now he couldn't help but think in that direction.

A few seconds later, the gambler said, "...It doesn't seem to move."

Yu Xing also observed for a while before confirming that the blurry figure blocking the middle of the path was not a living thing, just a decorative suit of armor.

But in the uncertain form of the specter, the armor might not necessarily be just armor.

"No... our night vision ability isn't that strong, and this environment is too dangerous. If there's a specter mixed in, we'll have a hard time finding it," the gambler said, sounding a bit dissatisfied. "We're lacking a flashlight or other lighting tools. There's none in the room, otherwise I would have brought it out."

Yu Xing did remember his own Mourning Candle, which was at least a candlestick.

But... if it were lit, whether it was a red or white candle, it would trigger its ability, which was not easy to control.

He suggested, "Since there are no flashlights or tools in our room, it means we need to find them ourselves. There might be some nearby. Let's look for them. If we find them, we'll continue walking. If not, we'll go explore the second floor."

"Okay, let's look for them."

In the range covered by the wall lights on the staircase, there were several large cabinets and tables standing quietly in the corners.

Yu Xing walked up to one of the cabinets and pulled open a drawer from bottom to top.

The drawer was full of useless odds and ends, or it was empty. The gambler didn't find anything either and started chatting with him as he searched.

"Hey, Xing, you're from the Differentiation line, right?"

There was no one else around, so it didn't matter that the gambler asked this question.

"How did you know?" Yu Xing didn't deny it.

The gambler leaned over and reached for the top of a two-meter-tall cabinet, but didn't find anything and instead got a handful of dust. "I heard about you. I didn't remember at first, but after thinking about it for a while, I realized I had an impression."

Yu Xing raised an eyebrow and switched to searching another table. "Was it from the Newcomer's Competition?"

The only way he could have let a Differentiation-level deductionist know was through that live broadcast, or through Zhao Mou's mouth. Obviously, the former was more likely.

"Yeah~ I didn't watch it at the time, but someone from our guild went. Ren Yi, do you know him? He's my good buddy. He said you did well," the gambler chuckled, "My buddy is a man of few words. If he praises someone, it means you're really good."

Ren Yi?Yu Xing has been busy with real-life cases recently and hasn't paid much attention to the circle of deductionists. The celebrity deductionists talk a lot, and it would be impossible for him to have an impression of each one.

He just smiled and said, "I thought most people who watched the live broadcast would think I'm a fallen line."

"You're wrong. The people on the right path are very accurate in judging others. Whether someone has fallen or not can be seen from small details. And... Ren Yi told me that the witch Qu Xianqing was there at the time, and she said you could never be a fallen line."

When the gambler mentioned Qu Xianqing, there was a hint of complexity in his expression. "Do you have a relationship with her? She seems to know you very well and is quite protective of you. Our research institute has been studying her for a long time, and it's the first time I've seen her being nice to someone."

"You... you're studying her?" Yu Xing found a copper lock on the table, not knowing what it was for, and was a little sensitive to this word. "How are you studying her?"

"Don't get me wrong, we only have videos of her in the video area and study her like a boss in the deduction, such as how to deal with her, escape methods, and killing methods." The gambler had already taken off his hat at some point, revealing medium-length brown hair. He scratched his head and explained, "She has a notorious reputation, although she's not a fallen line, she's even more cruel than a fallen line. I can't figure out why she was assigned to the alienation line in the absurd world."

"Anyway, the institute has compiled a guide on 'How to Survive Provoking Qu Xianqing,' and it's selling well..."

Yu Xing: "..."

He knew that Qu Xianqing was very cruel to others, but he didn't expect her to be this cruel.

As for why Qu Xianqing wasn't a fallen line - he probably knew the answer, because there are people in this world who support the kindness in Qu Xianqing's heart.

Hmm, he's talking about himself.

As long as he's alive, Qu Xianqing won't become a completely ruthless fallen line. Even if he's gone, there's still Zhu Yan, who is a different kind of presence for Qu Xianqing.

But in the face of the gambler, he just said, "I know Qu Xianqing, she's a very responsible senior who has taught me a lot."

The gambler's eyes twitched under his mask.

...Senior?

...Responsible??

Is he talking about the same person!?

"Then she may have finally realized that the Lone Wolf is at a disadvantage in many situations and is preparing to cultivate trusted teammates..." The gambler frowned, "It's a pity. Originally, Ren Yi said you have a lot of potential, and I wanted to build a good relationship with you and introduce you to another guild of my brother's. But now... will the guild be hit by the witch's retaliation? How about I make a bet?"

Yu Xing was interested, "Bet on whether she will retaliate against you?"

The gambler sighed, "Bet on whether I can survive in her hands."

What a mindset.

However, since the topic of the guild was brought up, Yu Xing happened to be considering joining a guild, so he took the opportunity to ask, "I remember the top-ranked guild is called Midnight. How is this guild?"

The guild is really important. For example, in the current deduction game, the number of people on the right path is fewer than those on the alienation and fallen lines, not because there are fewer people on the right path, but because the people on the right path like to team up to play games. The more people in the team, the less likely other deductionists from different lines will encounter them.

And the way they team up is through the guild. The research institute requires a high-level guild, not only accepting the right path, but also assessing abilities, and only those who can collect intelligence and strategize can stay.

In addition to the research institute, there are many guilds with various members, and they can get the best lineup to cooperate during the deduction.

"Midnight? Well, of course, the top guild is awesome. If you are valued, they can provide you with any resources." The gambler praised at first, and Yu Xing waited for the turning point.

Sure enough, the turning point came next: "But you should also consider that the resource allocation of a big guild is very strict. You might fight to get a sacrifice, and after the deduction, you have to hand it over, and the guild only pays points."

The gambler brushed off the dust on his hands and sneered, "Also, the guild leader of Midnight, Medusa, is not a good person. Those who offend her often disappear not long after. And she especially likes good-looking men. If you have some understanding, you'll know that the high-level members of Midnight are all handsome men or beautiful women... anyway, there are pros and cons."

"Oh." Yu Xing's interest in Midnight diminished by half.

"Don't doubt it. If I hadn't had the foresight to join the research institute early, I might have been taken away by Medusa! Ah, life..."

In Yu Xing's ears, the gambler's tone gradually became more arrogant.

When you're just trying to make great content at bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

He chose to ignore the gambler's self-praise: "What level is Medusa? Compared to Qu Xianqing—"

The gambler pondered and said, "Medusa is a Despair level, just like our guild leader, Single Prism, and the monsters in the Unclaimed Investigation Team. In the top-ranked guilds, there are almost one to three Despair levels, and as for Qu Xianqing... she's at the Mourning level. There are rumors outside that she's just one step away from the Despair level, but she hasn't been promoted yet, and compared to Medusa..."

"Hiss, their styles are different. Qu Xianqing's personal strength is too terrifying, while Medusa is very good at taking advantage of situations. In terms of overall strength, Qu Xianqing will definitely suffer."

Yu Xing nodded, regardless of whether the gambler in the dark saw his movement.

From the gambler, he at least learned one thing.

In the current absurd deduction game, there doesn't seem to be any real-level deductionists yet.All the major guilds consider the Despair level as the ceiling of combat power, and even a Performer who has lived for so long has not been able to advance to the True level, which is a bit strange... Just how stringent are the requirements to advance to the True level?

"Look, you might as well stop thinking about it. If Qu Xianqing really treats you as a teammate to cultivate, then you have no choice. Oh right, you don't know my name yet, I'm Zeng Lai." The gambler closed the drawer, stood in front of Yu Xing, and extended a dusty hand, "You can choose not to tell me your real name, or you can tell me. The Deduction system is very thorough in protecting its members. Wanting to kill another Deductionist in reality comes with a price, and there's no ability that can restrict a Deductionist from entering the absurd world, they can't be trapped."

"I see." Yu Xing shook hands with Zeng Lai, then nonchalantly wiped the dust on his pants and turned back to continue searching through the cabinet.

This was the fifth cabinet he was searching, located slightly deeper into the corridor, only a little more than two meters away from the armor decoration in the middle of the hallway. If he still found nothing, he planned to give up for now and come back after finding some lighting tools elsewhere.

Perhaps, this was one of the means by which Alice's castle limited the Deductionists.

While searching, Yu Xing said, "My name also contains the character 'Xing', you can just call me Xing..."

"Got it, Little Xing!" Although Yu Xing didn't reveal his real name, Zeng Lai very familiarly switched to a new nickname, and Yu Xing could tell that Zeng Lai's attitude was akin to courting favor.

Perhaps this was also a gesture of goodwill towards the "backer" behind him, Qu Xianqing.

Hmm, this was already who knows how many times Yu Xing had benefited from using Qu Xianqing's name.

It's great, living off a woman is really great.

Just as Zeng Lai was about to chat with Yu Xing some more, he saw Yu Xing's body stiffen.

"What's wrong, bro?"

Yu Xing pulled out a palm-sized wooden box from the drawer with a peculiar expression on his face.