absurd deduction game.

People of different faiths in Yin-Yang City should be in an adversarial relationship, as can be seen from the attitude of the gods themselves.

The system must have incorporated this setting into the simulated exam, which explains why Ms. Wu reacted so strongly after discovering that Yu Xing was using the Ghostly Aura ability.

However, Yu Xing did not show any panic when she heard Miss Wu's words.

report?

He slightly curled the corners of his lips, and his tendrils continued to explore and dart through the fabric without pausing.

Regardless of the source of his power, because of the ticket, he is a genuine member of the Thousand Knots faction—even the faction buff can give him a 30% damage reduction, so even if he is reported, it will not do him any harm.

"found it."

He muttered to himself.

A tentacle suddenly solidified, violently ripping away two stacks of fabric, revealing a recessed area on the wall behind them.

It was a shrine.

Miss Wu was unable to stop him in time. Her face twitched slightly, as if she wanted to put on an angry expression one moment and couldn't help but reveal that eerie smile the next, which was extremely creepy.

Yu Xing ignored her for the time being.

He approached the shrine and looked up slightly to gaze at it.

The shrine was small, about half a person's height, and completely black, like an old piece of wood that had been smoked for many years.

The edges of the niche are carved with dense patterns, with intertwined snakes coiling and devouring each other, making it impossible to distinguish their heads and tails.

Inside the niche stands a wooden statue of a deity.

Human body, snake tail.

The upper body of the statue is dressed in an ancient-style robe with smooth folds, a slender waist, and hands folded in front of the chest, with an elegant and dignified posture. However, the face is blurred, with only two shallow pits in the place where the eyes are, as if it is staring at the person who comes with those non-existent eyes.

From the neck down, the statue's body gradually merges into a huge snake tail, which extends from the hem of the robe and coils around the bottom of the shrine. The scales are carved with extreme detail, each one slightly raised, and in the dim light, they gleam with the matte sheen of the wood itself.

The tail tapers towards the end, eventually forming a loop with the tip pointing high, tied with a blood-red thread.

……silk?
Yu Xing's gaze fell upon it.

The red was so vibrant it was almost blinding, as if it had just been drawn from a blood vessel. The silk threads drooped from the tip of the tail, slid down along the edge of the shrine, and then extended along the ground.

It clung to the cement floor, bypassed scattered scraps of cloth, and rolled spools of thread, winding its way forward until finally... it wrapped itself around the base of the mannequin.

Then, following the metal rod upwards, circle by circle, it cut into the extremely tiny gap between the mannequin and the semi-finished human skin.

A faint, almost imperceptible energy flowed through the silk threads, like an invisible pulse, pulse after pulse, passing from the statue to the human figure and back again.

Before this, Yu Xing had carefully observed the entire room, yet she hadn't seen the wire at all.

It seems that it would not have been in anyone's knowledge before the shrine was discovered.

Yu Xing withdrew his gaze, already understanding the situation.

The source of that eerie power on the mannequin that can make people lose consciousness is here. Miss Wu must have borrowed this power from Qianjie to develop her garment manufacturing business.

He said that the two ready-made clothes he saw outside the tailor shop were not outstanding at all, just rather elegant. Both the material and the design were very mediocre, so how could they be so popular with people on the whole street?
Although she was the only tailor on this street, there was more than one clothing store selling ready-made clothes.

However, if the power of knots is incorporated into the clothing making process, making buyers feel that the clothes she makes are perfect, then it is normal for her current reputation to exist.

Qianjie must have permitted this for there to be a connection of energy between the statue and the human platform.

It's hard to say whether this is good or bad. In this bizarre world, a slight alteration of aesthetic perceptions won't necessarily harm anyone.

But this was just the Ms. Wu of the past.

Yu Xing glanced at the woman standing next to her out of the corner of her eye.

Ms. Wu is acting very strangely today.

The narrator mentioned that she usually looked tired and didn't like to smile, but the Miss Wu he met always had that strange smile on her face, almost without stopping.

Differences in personality often represent a misalignment of identity, and clearly, all of this is inextricably linked to the fabric she is currently wearing, which she claims to be a lost item.

As Yu Xing was thinking, that familiar feeling of her perception being subtly altered surged up again.

It was as if something deep within his mind had gently stirred, trying to erase certain thoughts and replace them with something else.

He immediately stopped thinking.

Yu Xing pulled himself out of his thoughts, put his hands together in front of the statue, bowed slightly, and paid his respects.

His movements were natural, and his posture was devout, like that of a true believer.

Then he turned to look at Miss Wu and smiled:
"We are all believers of the Serpent-Eyed God, so why does Miss Wu want to hide the shrine? Does she think the shrine is not worthy of being displayed in the open?"

He paused, his tone carrying just the right amount of confusion:
"Isn't this extremely disrespectful to the gods?"

Miss Wu's expression changed.

The eerie smile remained on her face, but something in her eyes flickered violently. She opened her mouth, about to say something—

"Miss Wu?"

A voice came from outside.

She was very young and lively, with the crispness unique to young girls; she was the customer who had just mentioned wanting to have clothes custom-made.

The guest knocked on the wooden wall beside the curtain and asked again:
Are you inside? I want to make clothes!

Miss Wu shifted her gaze from Yu Xing's face to the direction of the curtain, the gloom in her eyes fading slightly.

She took a deep breath, regained her weary yet elegant demeanor, and said to Yu Xing:

"You dare to worship the idol? It seems I misunderstood you. In that case, we have nothing more to talk about. I need to attend to my guests."

His tone was cold, and his intention to get rid of him was undisguised.

"Please leave. Otherwise—"

She paused, then her smile deepened:
"I'm going to file a complaint against your logistics company."

A hint of mockery flashed in Yu Xing's eyes.

He raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, put on a somewhat apologetic smile, and said, "Okay, okay, Miss Wu, don't be angry, I'll leave now."

He turned around, lifted the curtain, and stepped outside.

I bumped into someone right in front of me.

To be precise, it was a human figure.

It's one of those three placed at the store entrance—an empty, cheap plastic mannequin without any clothes on.

The model's pale, plastic body hid outside the curtain, her stiff posture slightly distorted, her faceless face directly facing Yu Xing.

On that blank face, a slit appeared where her lips should have been. From within the slit came a young, lively, and clear voice unique to a young girl:

"Are you the one disturbing Miss Wu's business? You're so annoying."

It was quite unsettling to hear the mannequin make such a sound; the artificial feeling was overwhelming, and its empty, slightly sunken eyes stared at Yu Xing.

Yu Xing thought that there were no guests at all.

The mannequin in the tailor shop must be following Miss Wu's orders. It seems that Miss Wu couldn't answer his question, so she had the mannequin make a noise to urge him to leave.

In a daze, Yu Xing seemed to see a pair of normal eyes appear on the model's face, and even wink at him.

With a soft "pfft".

A sharp pain shot through him, accompanied by a rapid spray of warm liquid. Yu Xing looked down.

The mannequin plunged a knife into his heart.

The blade pierced precisely between his ribs, at a tricky angle and with ruthless force. He didn't even see how the knife appeared; he only saw the mannequin's pale arm still resting on his chest, as if it had just completed a perfectly natural movement.

Blood gushed from the wound, soaking through the white shirt.

Yu Xing heard Miss Wu's voice behind her, soft and gentle with a smile:
"I already told you, the mannequins haven't been behaving well lately. Why didn't you remove their limbs when you came in?"

If the model's limbs had been removed beforehand, this situation wouldn't have occurred.

Yu Xing clicked her tongue twice in her mind.

It seems that after he discovered that she had hidden the Thousand Knots Shrine, this Miss Wu was determined to keep him here. She stopped pretending and didn't care at all whether the logistics company would find the fabric for her.

This means that keeping him alive is a higher priority than finding the fabric, so...

Yu Xing already has a complete answer to this question about the order.

The system also appeared at this time.

[You have suffered a fatal injury. It has been detected that tourist Yu Xing has a way to avoid this fatal injury, but in the simulation exam, the outcome is temporarily considered death.]

It was just a stab wound to the heart. Yu Xing had once had five bloody holes pierced in the head by Yi Qing and it didn't matter to her. This kind of injury would heal itself quickly.

But clearly, the system doesn't want him to play like that.

After the system announced that Yu Xing had died and the account had been settled, her vision blurred for a moment, and several scenes flashed through her mind—

He saw himself fall to the ground, and Miss Wu and the moving mannequin carried him to the inner room.

Then, Ms. Wu took out a pair of tailor's scissors, peeled off his skin, and set it aside for later use.

His body was a bloody mess, lying there on the floor, unattended. Miss Wu hummed an elegant lullaby contentedly and began making the unfinished yellow dress made of withered leaves. After completing the basic pattern, she took the dress off the mannequin and put Yu Xing's skin on it.

These images flashed by like a revolving lantern. Yu Xing did not feel any pain in them, as if he were watching a movie. When his consciousness cleared again, he was back to the perspective of the person on the central platform.

The scene that followed was exactly the same as the first death. Miss Wu held the yellow, withered-leaf-colored dress, admiring Yu Xing's human skin, and then said, "Thank you for the protection of the Serpent-Eyed God."

The difference was that she avoided looking at the shrine on the wall when she said this.

[Number of deaths: 2]

[You failed the mock exam. A story rewind is imminent. Please prepare yourself, Yu Xing.]

……

When Yu Xing opened her eyes again, she was standing outside the tailor shop once more.

After the last rollback, the gray tones faded and the colors became more vivid. This time, not only colors, but also sounds, smells, and temperatures all rushed in.

I heard a jumble of footsteps behind me.

Two boys with dyed yellow hair walked past him, laughing and joking. One of them was holding half a fried dough stick in his hand, biting into it as he walked, while the other carried a faded backpack with a crooked plush charm hanging from the zipper.

They walked so close that their shoulders bumped lightly against Yu Xing's.

"Fuck me."

The blond guy who was eating a fried dough stick looked back, mumbled something indistinctly, then tugged at his companion's sleeve, and the two of them quickened their pace and ran away.

A card drifted down from the direction they were running and landed lightly at Yu Xing's feet.

Yu Xing bent down and picked it up.

It was a student ID card, the plastic cover worn and frayed, the edges curled up, clearly having been casually stuffed into the owner's pocket and crumpled for a long time.

The cover is printed with the words "Seventh Middle School" and the school emblem is a simple circular pattern with a crooked silhouette of the teaching building inside.

Turning to the inside page, a one-inch photo was pasted on it—it was the same blond guy who had been biting a fried dough stick earlier. In the photo, his hair was black and slightly long, his expression was stiff, and his eyes showed the perfunctory attitude of someone being photographed.

Name: Chen Yang

Sex: Male
Grade: Senior 2 (3)

Student number: 1998022417
Below the photo is a steel stamp, the lines of which are blurry and indistinct, with only the words "Seventh Middle School" vaguely discernible.

Wow, he's a vibrant high school boy.

Looking at this student ID, you, a corporate slave who has lost your passion for work, can't help but feel a surge of nostalgia. Ah, what a wonderful youth! You really wish you could go back then; you would definitely study hard then—you think this, even though most people have had the same thought.

Is this another scene outside Wenming Street, at the Seventh Middle School?
Yu Xing held the student ID card, her thoughts drifting away for a moment.

As we all know, supernatural events are common in specific environments such as schools and hospitals. Yu Xing didn't know if this was information from the system telling him that there was such a place in the real Yin-Yang City, or if this school was strongly related to his mock exam instance and that he would encounter these two students again later.

Since it's unclear for now, let's just leave it at that.

Yu Xing put her student ID in her pocket, then took a few steps forward, bent down to pick up the tomato that had rolled on the ground, and handed it to the old lady who was about to bend down.

"what?"

The old lady looked up, her wrinkles forming a kind smile. She squinted at Yu Xing and thought this handsome young man in a suit had a promising future. She immediately smiled broadly, revealing a mouthful of white false teeth: "Thank you, young man, you are a very handsome young man."

Her voice was hoarse, but it carried a warm feeling.

Yu Xing smiled but didn't say anything. The old lady didn't seem inclined to chat much either. She put the tomatoes in her basket and then set off again, leaning on her cane.

Yu Xing raised her eyes and looked at the three mannequins at the entrance of the tailor shop.

The model in the middle is wearing a floral dress, the one on the right is wearing a plain skirt, and the one on the left is completely naked—the very same person who stabbed him earlier.

Its pale plastic body stood stiffly, its face, devoid of features, facing the street, showing no sign of life.

Yu Xing didn't actually need to take action against the model. He already knew how to resolve the situation, but having suffered a minor loss, it wouldn't be in Yu Xing's character not to seek revenge.

The ethereal tentacles silently emerged from the ground and smashed the model into pieces with tremendous force.

Yu Xing thought for a moment, then flattened the other two mannequins as well.

Hmph, just a small favor. (End of Chapter)