absurd deduction game.

A smoker is a monster that has been transformed by a "mosquito".

It changed its habit of feeding on blood and instead targeted the more nutritious human brain, but the feeding process is still the same in general—absorbing with its mouthparts and then storing it in its body.

Yu Xing stood downstairs at the apartment building, watching the figure sway behind the shattered window on the second floor. A few seconds later, the dismembered corpse of a monster was thrown out of the window and landed right in front of him.

The mosquito's abdomen was bulging, storing the undigested brain matter it had previously absorbed. The wicked smell mixed with the monstrous, mutated flesh made Yu Xing's mouth water.

If he were a person, he would definitely find this thing disgusting and ugly.

But he was just a tree.

Tree doesn't understand human aesthetics. He only knows that everything is the same after it's converted into nutrients. The only difference is the level of nutrition. This monster... oh, the system says it's called a Devourer. This Devourer's nutrition is slightly higher than that of the Demon Coachman, but lower than most of the food he just hunted. It's probably because its monsterization is more complete, but its strength is too weak.

Yu Xing's eyes twitched. She noticed that the commotion had attracted many neighbors who were quietly peeking out of their windows to observe. Even the possibility of danger couldn't stop the human tendency to gossip.

He paused for two seconds, then, under the cover of darkness, let the tentacles emerge from the ground, pulling the mosquito's head and corpse into nothingness.

He certainly doesn't rely on his humanoid mouth for food; his tentacles will envelop the food and break it down directly.

The ghostly energy and filthy blood that kept flowing back from the tentacles made the tree feel satisfied. Yu Xing checked his condition. In the past two or three hours, he had eaten four or five meals. The feeling of being so hungry that his heart was burning had subsided, and what he felt in its place was the dissatisfaction of not being able to eat his fill.

If all the food was of the same quality as the addict, he'd probably have to eat another fifty or so before his hungry tongue would finally stop...

That's too slow.

Yu Xing thought he needed to eat something high-quality, like the invisible nightmare that had lured him into a deep sleep right now inside the apartment building in front of him.

He looked up and saw Qu Xianqing still talking to the strange girl on the second floor. She was probably fulfilling her duties as an investigator by comforting the victim and confirming that the victim had not been infected and would not be transformed into another strange thing due to contact with the user.

Never mind then, he can do it himself.

Yu Xing took a few steps forward to the main entrance of the apartment. Knowing that no one would answer, she knocked on the door in a mock manner and then pulled the doorknob.

The door was locked from the inside, but it was useless to Yu Xing. His tentacles had already entered the door and destroyed the lock. He pushed the door open with a gentle push, which, in the eyes of the neighbors who couldn't help but watch the drama unfold, meant that he had already obtained permission from the homeowner to enter.

Yu Xing walked in leisurely, closed the door behind him, and after cutting off outside prying eyes, he began to observe the interior furnishings of the apartment.

This area is a wealthy neighborhood in Yolikev.

This building stands out for its opulence, with valuable artworks hanging on both sides of the entrance hallway. Despite her distorted perception, Yu Xing still instinctively knows how to judge the quality of these paintings.

The old palace-style wall lamps, now extinguished, swayed precariously. A few steps further in, the living room's furnishings revealed an intricate and exquisite style, reflecting the maximalism that is so popular in this era. The limitation imposed on the homeowner was probably not financial resources, but rather the size of the apartment.

A metal candlestick sits on the table near the entrance.

Yu Xing used one tentacle to roll up the candlestick, and then used another tentacle to strike a match, lighting the three white candles on the candlestick one by one, using this limited light source to survey the surroundings.

Given his night vision, he certainly didn't need that small candle.

But for some reason, it seems that only by doing this can it feel ritualistic enough. Yu Xing's perception has become distorted, and he is already willful. Rather than following the established procedures, he prefers to follow his own feelings.

For example, when you find an unconscious maid lying on the carpet next to the sofa, bring the candlestick close to the maid's face, just like in a TV drama, for a close-up.

The maid's deep blue eyes were unfocused, shrouded in a deathly gray. Her face was contorted in shock and horror, as if she had seen something unbelievable and terrifying. Her mouth was wide open, as if she had swallowed a scream that hadn't yet escaped her lips. Her neatly tied chestnut curly hair was disheveled as it fell onto the carpet, blooming into a beautiful yet desolate rose along with her black skirt.

She is dead.

This discovery surprised Yu Xing. What he sensed outside the apartment was a nightmare monster that could prevent people from waking up. This monster could control the minds of everyone within a certain range at the same time, plunging them into a dreamlike state.

Generally speaking, such nightmare monsters feed on the emotions in human dreams. To ensure sustainable development, they won't kill a person all at once. This maid, however, was clearly terrified... she died of fright.

Could it be that he was too timid and couldn't handle the nightmares, which led to this unexpected death?
Yu Xing tilted his head and came to this conclusion for the time being, because he could still hear the uneasy and slow breathing of people from other parts of the apartment.

This indicates that most of the people caught up in the dream are still alive.

He walked further in and successfully saw the second and third servants. The maid was dressed in a simple black and white dress, while the male servant was dressed in bright colors, as black and white were not allowed to be worn by men, which symbolized nobility and independence.

It seems that their clothing culture was similar to that of England at the same time.

The two servants, a man and a woman, were a little luckier; although they fell in a rather unseemly manner, their chests were still heaving.

Suddenly, Yu Xing heard sobbing and footsteps coming from upstairs.

The faint shadows of Qu Xianqing and the unfamiliar girl were cast on the wall by the light of the candlestick. They were walking down the stairs and were about to come into Yu Xing's sight.

……

"Oh my God!" Felia followed the brave and beautiful female investigator, walking cautiously up the stairs.

She was still wearing the nightgown stained with the blood of the addict, her face was covered in blood, and her hair was wet and sticky, making her look disheveled.

But she didn't have time to shower and change. Always mindful of her appearance, she knew something must have happened downstairs when she realized that her cries for help hadn't attracted the attention of her parents and servants. She was extremely anxious and begged Qu Xianqing to take her down to check.

As she turned the corner, she saw a glimmer of light beside the sofa.

Felia wiped the blood from around her eyes and looked closely. She saw... she saw a strange man.

That person also had an East Asian appearance—in fact, most of the investigators who came to their town this time were from the East—wearing a long coat, one hand in her pocket, and holding her family's candlestick in the other.

In the candlelight, the face appeared pale and sculpted, with slightly long black hair and wispy bangs that partially obscured the forehead, matching Philia's imagination of a mysterious big shot from the East.

When those long, narrow phoenix eyes looked over, they inexplicably evoked a sense of inhumanity, instantly reminding Felia of the insect-like gaze Uncle Smith had given her. But the man downstairs was different; the inhuman feeling was fleeting, replaced by an air of elite elegance and gentlemanliness.

Hmm, the way he held the candlestick in one hand was just like a butler who had been trained for many years, but his demeanor was more like that of a person in a superior position.

Felia guessed that this must be a colleague of the female investigator in front of her.

She had no interest in appreciating beauty at all; she only had a first impression of the man downstairs before her attention was drawn to the maid lying on the ground.

"No!" she cried out and ran downstairs. When she saw the maid's terrified expression as she lay dead with her eyes wide open, Felia also showed the same terrified expression.

Her eyes bulged violently, and her voice cracked with terror: "Sir, where are my parents? Are they still alive?!"

"Your father is alright for now, but your mother..." Yu Xing calmly answered, quickly retracting the tentacles and switching to holding the candlestick in her right hand, turning her head to meet Qu Xianqing's gaze, who was still on the stairs.

While foraging for food, the woman repeatedly emphasized that he should pretend to be a human in front of strangers—he was annoyed by her nagging, but since he couldn't drain Little Ququ's blood, he had no choice but to comply.

Upon hearing that her father was still alive but her mother seemed to be in trouble, Felia immediately ran towards the deeper rooms.

To be fair, she was quite bold. She dared to run around without even knowing what was happening downstairs. Perhaps it was the attitude of the two investigators that gave her confidence.

She quickly arrived at the living room.

Felia was still a young girl, and under her parents' strict upbringing, she went to bed much earlier than them. However, she knew that after her parents said goodnight to her, they would stay in the living room for a while before going upstairs to sleep in the master bedroom.

So she found her family members precisely. She saw her father sitting on the sofa in the living room, his brows furrowed, as if he were trapped in a nightmare and could not wake up, while her mother was as quiet as a doll... a doll that had not breathed and whose expression was ferocious and fearful.

"Oh no... Mom! Mom!"

Felia rushed over, timidly touching her mother who had spoken to her so gently not long ago. She raised her hand in disbelief and tentatively checked her mother's breathing with her trembling fingers.

Gone.

How could this be?
how so!
"Mom!!!" The girl let out a terrible scream, then collapsed onto her mother's body and wept bitterly, her voice carrying through the apartment to the neighbors' ears.

Qu Xianqing silently approached Yu Xing's side: "What happened?"

“A nightmare,” Yu Xing said. “I can smell its aroma; it’s a delicious meal.”

"However, the situation was different from what I expected. There were twelve people in the apartment, including this girl. Apart from the master family of three, there were six maids and three male servants. Of them, only the mistress and one maid were dead."

These servants each had their own roles: some served personally, some did laundry and cooking, and others did manual labor and tended horses. In short, wealthy people who wanted to maintain a respectable image would always hire a large number of servants.

In any case, he felt that it was normal for no one to die. Nightmare creatures hunt for a long time, and they would only leave their prey when it had been tortured to the point of losing all emotion, leaving the prey to fend for itself.

"The owner of this house is the wealthy banker Defit Claude, who holds a prestigious position in the town and is a major supporter of the Church of the Harvest Mother, frequently providing the church with funds. Given that something has happened to his family, we should logically report it to the Church of the Harvest Mother." Qu Xianqing had already figured out their modus operandi while hunting monsters, based on the pamphlets. They, as investigators, had a cooperative relationship with the church, and in any emergency, they needed to inform the church.

There are two types of monsters in Yolikev Town now. One type is pure monsters, which roam in hidden corners. They kill people directly, either for food or out of cruel instinct.

Another type affects humans. For example, in the case of addicts, a small source of infection or parasite may infect a human, turning the human into a monster and creating a deformed, hybrid monstrous creature.

Most of the monsters they encountered tonight were the former, because the former's aura was more obvious, while the latter generally had the ability to hide themselves and could not be detected unless they got close enough. And it was precisely the latter that posed the greatest threat to the town.

The Church of the Mother Goddess also has many priests who are skilled in mystical arts. They are responsible for the town's safety before the investigators arrive. Even when the investigators arrive, they will not shirk their responsibilities. If the investigators find a case difficult to handle (that is, a case where the strategist feels that their abilities are not up to par), or if someone is injured and needs treatment, they can report it to the church and let them handle it.

Yu Xing thought for a moment. He could eat, but he didn't need to cover for the injuries or deaths of such important figures. So he nodded and said, "I'll deal with the nightmare. You go and notify the priest to come and treat the victims."

Qu Xianqing glanced in the direction where the girl was crying, and asked with some doubt, "This girl's name is Felia Claude. Can you handle her if I leave?"

Yu Xing: "Just knock them out, that'll do."

Qu Xianqing: "...Good idea, but you're even more of a beast."

Yu Xing retorted with dissatisfaction, "I am a plant."

"Okay, okay..." Qu Xianqing looked at Yu Xing, who called himself a plant, and couldn't help but touch his pectoral muscles. "Plant pectoral muscles are so developed, it really amused me."

“That’s tree bark,” Yu Xing said seriously, while retorting, “I’m your brother, you can only call yourself your sister or daughter.”

Qu Xianqing: "..." Do you want to hear what you're saying?

She rolled her eyes and left. Yu Xing sensed that the nightmare was still in the dreams of those who were sleeping. So she quietly walked up behind the crying Felia, gently knocked her unconscious, and then stuck the ethereal tentacles into the big banker's brain.

His tentacles now have no physical form and cannot physically damage anything, but they can serve as a bridge for him to enter other people's dreams—this can only be done when nightmares or other ghosts are present, because Yu Xing is essentially establishing a connection with ghosts.

Yu Xing's spirit sank into the tentacles, and he quickly entered a dark dream. (End of Chapter)