absurd deduction game.

Normally, a salesperson should politely leave after receiving a clear refusal from a customer.

On the surface, Yu Xing treats the shop assistants like normal people.

So after replying, he stopped looking at the other person and naturally turned back, turning his back to the shop assistant again.

He slightly raised the book in his hand, as if preparing to continue reading the difficult content he had just read.

Throughout the entire turn, his body language was relaxed and natural, without revealing any wariness or hostility.

However, just as he completely turned away, his gaze leaving the shop assistant, his body posture revealing an unguarded back, and even the position of the book in his hands not yet adjusted to the optimal reading angle—

That extremely brief moment, the moment when human attention is most likely to falter.

He heard it.

That wasn't footsteps.

Or rather, not entirely.

It's a slightly softer, stickier friction sound.

It was as if feet wearing soft-soled shoes were moving across the smooth wooden floor in an illogical, almost gliding manner.

The sound was so faint that it almost blended into the ticking of the clock and Qu Xianqing's nearly stagnant breathing in the distance.

And, nearby.

The thing approached his back with a ghostly speed far exceeding normal walking speed!
Facing the shadows, Yu Xing calmly smiled.

Just before the sticky, rubbing sound was almost touching his back, Yu Xing suddenly turned around again!

The shop assistant, who was just standing half a meter away with a smile, is now right in front of me.

No, not within arm's reach.

She was standing almost right next to him!

That pale face with a standardized smile was less than ten centimeters away from his own; he could even see his own suddenly cold face reflected in the other's pupils.

The shop assistant's right hand, which had been hanging down naturally, had somehow been raised and was now gripping a gleaming, exquisitely designed paper cutter in a reverse grip!

The blade was aimed directly at his back, poised to strike. The movement and angle were precise, ruthless, and without the slightest hesitation. The target was extremely clear—it was aimed at his heart!

The shop assistant still wore that perfectly nauseating smile, his eyes vacant, as if he were not conducting a bloody murder, but simply doing a normal job, like wiping an inkwell.

Time seemed to freeze the instant before the knife tip touched the clothing.

The empty, standard smile on the shop assistant's face remained unchanged under Yu Xing's icy gaze as she suddenly turned around, like a fixed pattern burned onto a mask.

His reverse grip on the paper cutter carried a resolute, inhuman ruthlessness as he continued to stab towards Yu Xing's back, moving so fast that only a cold metallic glint remained.

There were no shouts, no roars, only the faint sound of the wind stirred up by the action itself.

Yu Xing reacted even faster.

As he turned, his left hand parried upwards with unparalleled precision, the outside of his forearm slamming heavily into the shop assistant's wrist holding the knife!

click!
A soft, yet teeth-grinding cracking sound rang out.

The shop assistant's wrist bent at an abnormal angle, and the paper cutter flew out of his hand, tracing a brief arc in the air before landing on the floor a short distance away with a soft "ding".

However, the shop assistant did not stop at all, and even asked with a smile, "Sir, what are you doing?"

He seemed oblivious to the pain, his twisted arm still pushing forward with tremendous force, while his free left hand gripped Yu Xing's chest like an iron clamp, his fingers bent into claws, his nails gleaming an unhealthy bluish-gray under the light, his target still the heart!
Yu Xing curled her lips, and with her left hand, which had successfully blocked the attack, she pressed down and grabbed the opponent's broken wrist. Her body slid half a step to the side and back like a fish, easily avoiding the heart-piercing claw.

At the same time, he clenched his right fist and casually punched it.

puff!
A muffled thud, like a heavy object striking tattered leather.

The shop assistant's forward momentum abruptly halted, and for the first time, a crack appeared in his signature smile—his mouth remained upturned, but the expression on his entire face instantly stiffened and froze.

His empty eyes looked down incredulously—or perhaps this feeling was just an illusion.

There was no blood splattering.

Only a thick, nauseating stench of decay, like a coffin sealed for a thousand years suddenly opened, burst forth from the spot where he had been beaten.

His clothes collapsed inward at the chest, and the flesh beneath his skin seemed to be drained and annihilated by some force in an instant.

The shop assistant emitted a low, suppressed "hoarse" sound from his throat, no longer human language, but filled with pure, command-driven madness. He opened his mouth as if to make a sound, but in the end only a wisp of black smoke carrying the stench of corpses escaped.

Then, the last faint light in his eyes went out completely, and he fell straight backward like a puppet stripped of all its support.

boom.

The sound of the body hitting the floor seemed particularly heavy in the quiet bookstore.

Yu Xing slowly withdrew his fist, and the fine black mist swirling around his fingertips quietly dissipated.

"...So weak."

He stared expressionlessly at the body on the ground, which was rapidly losing its last bit of "life" and emitting a strong stench of decay.

The eerie smile on the shop assistant's face remained frozen, forming the most terrifying footnote to the deathly silence.

This is the "corpse heart".

Although it's unclear why this shop assistant evaded the Church of Mother Goddess's detection, it's obvious that in terms of monster strength, Corpse Heart is even inferior to a Devourer.

The problem lies in the difficulty of being easily identified when mixed in with a crowd. If recognized, even an ordinary adult male with a weapon could probably handle the situation.

Of course, this condition is still somewhat harsh. Most residents of Yolikev do not carry weapons at all times, especially the ladies who value elegance. If they encounter a zombie, they will definitely suffer.

No wonder so many people have died from the new monster in just two days.

Almost at the same moment the shop assistant collapsed—

laugh!
A very faint sound, like a sharp blade cutting through some kind of obstruction, came from the central area of ​​the bookstore. Yu Xing slowly looked up and saw that Qu Xianqing had appeared like a ghost behind another "salesperson" who was trying to pounce on her from behind the bookshelves. The salesperson also appeared out of nowhere, and was pale-faced with empty eyes.

The blood sword formed by [Evil Grace] only made a light slash, and a thin line of blood, as thin as a hair, flashed and disappeared on the "clerk's" neck.

The "clerk's" forward lunge froze instantly, and then he collapsed to the ground without a sound. His head and body were connected by only a layer of skin and flesh, but not much blood flowed out; only the same putrid smell permeated the air.

Easy to kill, so easy to kill.

On the other side, near the philosophy bookshelf.

The actor appeared to be being hugged from behind by a "corpse heart" dressed as a shop assistant, but with a much larger build, whose large, fan-like hand was viciously choking his throat.

He didn't turn around, but simply raised his right hand casually, his index and middle fingers together, and gently poked backward as if touching water.

The fingertip touched the center of the massive "corpse heart" between the eyebrows.

There was no sound, no light.

The massive "corpse heart" stopped moving instantly, its arm that was gripping the actor's neck fell limply to the ground, and its huge body swayed before collapsing softly to the ground as if all its bones had been removed. There was only a tiny, almost invisible red dot between its eyebrows, but its entire torso seemed to have been completely disintegrated by some force in an instant, becoming like an empty shell.

The entire battle, from Yu Xing being attacked to the elimination of the three "Corpse Hearts," lasted only a dozen seconds.

The bookstore fell silent once more.

This time, however, the silence was not a false tranquility, but a thick stench of blood and decay, a deathly atmosphere. Three corpses, each in a different position, lay in various places, their faces bearing that unsettling, frozen emptiness or smile.

Yu Xing stepped out of the narrow passage, his gaze meeting that of Qu Xianqing and the performer.

The latter spoke first, his tone tinged with a hint of mockery: "The church is really too constrained, allowing such a monster to delay for so long."

The corpses here are immune to the detection of the holy symbol.

Therefore, the church could not take immediate action, because the image of the Church of Mother Goddess has always been based on love and compassion, and it is not very intimidating. If it forcibly takes action against the "residents" whose test results are normal, the people's hearts will be greatly disappointed.

At that time, those who already wanted to build other orthodox churches in the town would have even more excuses.

But no matter what, the Corpse Heart is really weak. It's a waste to allocate a portion of combat personnel just for something like this.

Yu Xing paused for two seconds, then pondered, "You can't say that, can you? The Corpse Hearts of Lighthouse Bookstore are special after all. Didn't you notice? When the church people came to contact them before, they remained normal and didn't launch an attack or expose themselves. After we arrived, they only held back for a while before they couldn't hold back anymore."

Qu Xianqing: "Does that mean they know how to distinguish?"

Monsters generally attack indiscriminately. The only difference is that they will actively avoid opponents with strong auras, fearing that they will become prey.

However, according to church intelligence, neither the frogmen nor the corpse hearts brought by the Chaos Rain possessed this consciousness; they treated everyone equally.

But the few corpses in the Lighthouse Bookstore seem to only target non-church members.

Perhaps they possess implanted cognitive instructions that circumvent the Church?

Furthermore, they are not naturally occurring pollutants, but rather carefully manufactured "weapons."

"The 'lighthouse' not only guides the way," the actor said, gently nudging the burly shopkeeper's corpse at his feet with his toe, his tone tinged with sarcasm, "it's also responsible for cleaning up 'unwelcome moths'."

Qu Xianqing snorted coldly: "If you replace 'lighthouse' with 'secret religion,' the sentence will make more sense."

Yu Xing ignored their words. He walked to the bookstore entrance and looked through the glass door at the still quiet night outside, as well as the faint figures of the church surveillance team at the entrance of the alley in the distance.

He raised his hand, making a pre-arranged gesture that signified "the internal threat has been eliminated, and we can proceed with the search."

Deacon Herbert immediately emerged from the shadows, nodded emphatically toward the bookstore, then waved and led four church guards, like black arrows, swiftly and silently across the street toward the door of the Lighthouse Bookstore.

The investigators have made progress; now it's their turn to thoroughly search Lighthouse Bookstore!

Putting aside other matters, the priests are generally experienced in the organization of searches. Having fought against the cultists for a long time, they are very familiar with their style of doing things and can find clues faster than the investigators.

squeak-

The bookstore's wooden door was pushed open from the outside, and Deacon Herbert, along with four church guards, quickly rushed in.

They were well-trained and immediately formed a defensive formation. Their sharp eyes swept across the entire bookstore space. When they saw the three strangely shaped corpses lying on the ground and the strong smell of decay and blood in the air, everyone's expression instantly turned serious.

“Investigator, sir, madam.” Deacon Herbert nodded to Yu Xing and the other two, his tone tinged with lingering fear and relief. “It’s good that you’re all alright. Are these… all ’Corpse Hearts’?”

His gaze fell on the nearest employee's body, and the frozen smile made him frown.

“And these are specially treated ‘corpse hearts’,” Yu Xing confirmed calmly. “We speculate that these corpse hearts are immune to your holy emblem detection and have been implanted with a way to evade the knowledge of church personnel. Therefore, the Lighthouse is indeed not an ordinary bookstore; it is very likely one of the dens of the esoteric sect.”

Deacon Herbert's eyes suddenly sharpened like an eagle's.

Without asking any further questions, he immediately turned and gave orders to the guards: "Search thoroughly! Bookshelves, tables, chairs, floors, ceilings—don't overlook any suspicious traces! Be careful, there might be hidden traps or more lurking enemies!"

"Yes!" the guards responded in a deep voice and immediately dispersed. They were clearly very experienced in this kind of mission, working in pairs, one holding a shield on guard while the other began a detailed inspection.

The initial search focused on open areas. Guards tapped the back panels of bookshelves with their sword sheaths to check for hollow compartments; they moved heavy desks and armchairs to examine the floor for signs of trapdoors; they even climbed ladders to inspect the structure of the ceilings and chandeliers.

However, aside from shelves full of books and ordinary furniture, there was nothing to see; the place was as clean as it appeared, just a tasteful bookstore.

"Sir, nothing was found in the public areas," a guard reported in a low voice.

Deacon Herbert frowned and looked at Yu Xing: "It seems the secret is even deeper."

He looked around, his gaze then falling on the innermost part of the bookstore and the wooden staircase leading to the second floor.

Then, his experience led him to make the judgment: "Focus on checking behind the service desk and on the second floor."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a guard who was inspecting the service desk suddenly exclaimed, "Sir! We've found something here!"

The crowd immediately gathered around.

The guard moved a heavy wooden box behind the service counter that looked like a decoration, revealing an extremely fine crack in the wall behind it that was almost blended into the wallpaper pattern.

It would be impossible to find unless you deliberately search for it.

"It's a secret door!" (End of Chapter)