absurd deduction game.

At this point, it was not far from midnight.

Hearing Yu Xing's explanation and finding it very reasonable, Zhao Yijiu gave up the idea of ​​accompanying him. After all, even without him, Qu Xianqing was an extremely experienced... even more reliable strategist than him.

He simply told Zhao Mou about it.

Zhao Mou didn't offer any opinion after hearing this, but sighed with some concern. He wasn't even sure if he was worried about Yu Xing or about the other people who had unfortunately ended up in the same instance as Yu Xing.

Forget it, let's rely on Qu Xianqing.

Let him handle the real-world matters; they each have their own responsibilities.

So, twenty minutes after registering, when the phone screen showed midnight, Yu Xing, whose hunger had become so intense that he started grinding his teeth, suddenly felt dizzy and his vision went black. The familiar dizziness and tearing sensation appeared around him. He tried to relax his roots and spread his branches and leaves to make sure he touched the ground steadily.

Having been transported from reality to the instance, he temporarily retracted all his tentacles to prevent them from being shattered by the spatial distortion.

The senses that had spread out to all corners of the world retreated back to the core (the human body). Yu Xing adjusted to the cramped feeling for a while and opened his eyes amidst a swaying motion.

[You have entered the instance: Yorickf's Investigation Notes]

The system had clearly been watching him, but there was nothing in this instance that the system wanted him to do, so the extremely human-like female voice did not appear. All that rang in Yu Xing's mind was a cold, electronic voice.

A gust of damp wind swept over her face. Yu Xing touched her stomach, the symbol of her appetite, trying her best to suppress the urge to eat recklessly.

The sound of the coachman puffing on his cigarette came from the front of the carriage, and the horse's hooves clattered as it carried Yu Xing, bumping along the small road outside the town.

He wore a long brown trench coat and a pair of short boots, lacking the overly formal gentlemanly air, but rather quite suitable for action and combat.

The interior of the carriage was neither too big nor too small. A dark red leather briefcase lay across his side. The light outside the window was dim, and the afterglow of dusk was about to disappear behind the distant mountains, so it looked like night was about to fall.

Yu Xing peeked out slightly.

He smelled the fragrance of the soil. This place should be in the suburbs outside the town. There were very sparse detached houses on both sides of the road, but there were large areas of farmland and fruit trees. Further away, there seemed to be a farm. Yu Xing saw a white sheep that was grazing with its head down raise its head and make eye contact with him.

Although the distance was far, his eyesight was far beyond that of ordinary people. He noticed that the sheep's dark eyes were devoid of joy or sorrow, revealing a numbness that was both perplexing and terrifying. The sheep mechanically chewed on the grass. After a while, the sheep twitched its ears and lowered its head.

This scene passed quickly.

The silhouette of a small town appeared ahead. The town was built on a wide plain, so it was difficult to see the whole picture at a glance. You could only see the buildings of various sizes in front of the town, which were quite beautiful and exquisite. With just one glance, you could tell that this place called Yolikev was very prosperous and wealthy.

For a moment, Yu Xing was in a daze and remembered a somewhat similar instance she had experienced before.

He remembered that the instance was called "Nightmare in a Cage". He played the role of a detective who was invited by his female police officer friend to "investigate a case and exorcise demons at the same time". He brought two exorcist companions and went to the richest man's house in town.

The town's setting was quite similar to Yorickf, also in a British style, and the residents walking around all had faces that matched that style. Of course, the basic settings of the two instances were actually quite different; he was just moved by the scenery.

Yu Xing met Luo Jue, a young girl from the Luo family, in that dungeon, and also met Ning Feng from the Experience Master system for the first time. The doll she received as a reward from the dungeon was later given to Yu Fengchen... I think it was given to him.
As a tree, a tree that would wither if it didn't absorb nutrients, he could think now, but only to a limited extent, and his memory had declined significantly.

The system notification appeared in his mind at the right time, drawing his attention back.

Welcome! There is no mandatory identity or background to assume in this simulation. You are simply an investigator dispatched by the "Utopia" organization to the designated work location at a specified time. Aside from the investigator profession, you can also assume any identity you can control.

Strange things have been happening in the town of Yolikev lately. Nine days ago, the Ideal Nation dispatched a team of fifty investigators to investigate, but they quickly received reports of losses. The organization's management realized that the situation in Yolikev was beyond their expectations, so they sent reinforcements, and you are one of them.

Main Quest: Survive for nine days.

Side Quest: Investigate several strange events in the town of Yolikev (?/?)

[Please note that this simulation features a leaderboard. Fifty investigators will accumulate points based on the number of side quests they complete and their shared quests. At midnight each day, the investigator ranked last on the leaderboard will be devoured by an indescribable terror within the town.]

[Once the nine-day survival period is achieved, the Ideal Nation organization will provide rewards and support to the investigators with the highest contribution values. The current leaderboard has been completely reset.]

[Mission Guide: Please open your briefcase, read the mission assignment letter from Utopia, and proceed to the church in Yolikev Town before 8 PM tonight to meet with the other investigators and collect the investigator-standard equipment for this mission.]

[It is now 7:30 PM. Because you were delayed on your way here, you are now one of the last two investigators who have not yet gone to the church (please go directly to the church after entering the town; this rule also applies to those who arrive first. This simulation is fair and impartial).] Yu Xing silently finished reading.

It sounds like the era in which this simulation takes place is quite backward, with no telephone communication—at least no mobile phones, and even the organization has to rely on letters to assign tasks.

Moreover, as can be seen from the mission description, the investigators of the ideal country should usually be scattered all over the world, so even if they receive the same mission, they will only come separately until they go to the church to meet.

He simply stopped thinking about anything else, turned around and opened his briefcase, finding only some simple changes of clothes inside, along with a rather exquisite dark red letter.

There wasn't a single item related to the investigator's work; it seems we'll have to collect them all tonight.

He opened the envelope and looked at the beautiful cursive printed text inside.

The unfamiliar alphabetic script exuded the scent of ink, but the contents of the letter were completely unreadable. Fortunately, after a brief moment of confusion, the system translated the following text into Chinese.

To the Investigator:

We have already contacted you before and confirmed your interest in participating in the investigation in Yolikev Town. Therefore, we are sending you this letter again today to explain the start time and location of the mission and to briefly describe the problems encountered there…”

"The town of Yolikev worships the 'Mother Goddess of Harvest,' a very common and widespread belief. According to reports, this belief has not yet shown signs of corruption or distortion. However, it is worth noting that intelligence indicates a cult is emerging in the town. These cult members believe in primitiveness, bloodshed, and desire, and secretly hold evil gatherings and operate a black market in the town. This may be one of the reasons for the terrorist incidents in Yolikev. Be wary of brainwashing when you come into contact with cult members."

"In addition, aside from the influence of Tantric Buddhism, no fewer than twenty strange creatures have appeared in the town of Yolikev itself. These creatures are more active at night, but the possibility of them causing trouble during the day cannot be ruled out. We need you to contact, analyze, and record them as much as possible to contribute to the valuable database of the Ideal State, but this does not mean that we want you to pay the price with your life."

"besides……"

"...In conclusion, the town of Yolikev may seem peaceful, but it is actually extremely dangerous. Please pay close attention to your safety during the operation and prioritize survival. Best wishes for a successful investigation."

"The Republic"

After reading the letter, the town was already close at hand. The carriage swayed and moved forward a little further before coming to a stop.

The driver puffed on his cigarette and said into the carriage, "We've arrived, sir."

Yu Xing, carrying the resealed briefcase, nimbly jumped off the carriage and turned to look at the driver as Ma Anbu snorted.

Although a coachman who owns his own carriage does hard work at the bottom of society, his income is far more considerable than that of a human-powered coachman. He wears decent linen clothes and his attitude when talking to customers is not so humble.

Seeing Yu Xing look over, the coachman, whose face was covered with several old scars, smiled and adjusted his hat: "Is there anything else, sir? If you want to book a carriage to leave, I'm afraid it's not convenient for me unless you can offer three times the price."

Yu Xing glanced at the system time again, and saliva welled up in her mouth.

Hmm... there's still some left over.

His gaze became somewhat aggressive, and seeing that he remained silent, the coachman's expression paused and also became somewhat strange.

The driver flashed an even more exaggerated smile: "Sir?"

“You smell…delicious.” Yu Xing looked at the driver, whom he hadn’t been able to hear breathing or heartbeat since he got in the car, licked his lips, and the scarlet on his tongue was imprinted in the driver’s dark eyes.

He didn't know if other strategists had encountered this, but he realized from the beginning that the coachman wasn't alive.

Suppressing his appetite for the coachman along the way took a lot of effort, since he still needed the coachman to get him to his destination. With the movement of the wind, the smell of the rotting corpse on the coachman kept creeping into his tongue, mixed with decadent and ugly desires, and the karma of having taken so many lives.

Perfect as an appetizer.

Although the system says that you must go straight to the church after entering the town, he is not yet within the boundaries of Yolikev town, is he?

A seemingly intangible branch suddenly pierced through the driver's feet. The driver's expression changed, and he lunged to the side in a posture remarkably similar to that of a dog. The whites of his eyes were instantly covered in pure black, and his exposed hands revealed mouths filled with yellow grime and teeth.

[Side Quest Triggered: You encountered and exposed the Demon (Low Level)] (End of Chapter)