Relax, I'm not some troublemaker from a role-playing game.

"Wait, how did you just do that?"

Bai Xi stared in astonishment at the piece of firewood in Jiang Lingyi's hand, and almost instinctively looked up, asking Jiang Lingyi a question that seemed to defy explanation.

"It's just a simple stunt."

Jiang Lingyi remained calm as she answered Bai Xidao:

"I've studied some yoga, so I'm flexible enough. So, I took advantage of the gap when no one was looking..."

She made a gesture: "Then you just crawled in like that, and then crawled out again."

"Taking the charcoal is even simpler; it's just a matter of judgment. Just be careful not to burn your hands in the fire, and when the fire isn't looking, sneakily take the charcoal from the very edge."

"Well, you said you only need a fire source, right? The flame might be a little small, but it should work, right?"

Jiang Lingyi said nonchalantly, and handed the charcoal to Bai Xi.

The flames burning upwards radiated heat, making Bai Xi's palms feel slightly hot—but only slightly.

It definitely won't cause burns.

He carefully protected the charcoal. Fortunately, the beer hall was in a mess, and it seemed no one had noticed Jiang Lingyi's little action.

"This thing does actually work..."

Bai Xi thought for a while, but after glancing at Jiang Lingyi, he suddenly had a thought and asked:

"But, was it entirely due to your flexibility that you went in so easily just now?"

"It's also important that there's nothing blocking the way..."

In an instant, Jiang Lingyi's face darkened.

He subconsciously raised his foot, gathering his strength, ready to kick Bai Xi, whose pupils suddenly contracted.

"Damn it! No! I wasn't praising you, I was praising your skill at squeezing into gaps! Don't kick me! Someone'll die! I only have eight health points left, this could really kill me!"

Jiang Lingyi endured for a long time before barely suppressing the urge to kick Bai Xi to death. She sat on a bench in the beer hall. After a long while, she said to Bai Xi with a melancholy expression:

"Sometimes I worry about you."

"Huh? What's wrong?"

"I'm just worried about your emotional intelligence..."

Jiang Lingyi sighed and looked at Bai Xi, saying, "Besides me, which other woman can tolerate you talking like that and not kick you to death?"

Bai Xi subconsciously wanted to reply with another sentence, but a strange sense of danger rose in his heart.

It was as if, if he didn't swallow his words, Jiang Lingyi might retract her previous statement and kick him to death again...

So Bai Xi readily agreed to give up, turned to look at the flames in front of him, and murmured an incantation.

As Bai Xi chanted the incantation, the scene on the flames gradually changed.

As if crossing a blizzard, a heartwarming scene of a bakery slowly emerged from the flames before my eyes.

Through the firelight of the bakery oven, one can observe the environment and conditions of the bakery as if spying on it. And in the firelight of the bakery oven, an extremely miniature Bai Xi's face is revealed.

only……

"Why is the image quality so blurry?"

Jiang Lingyi walked over and glanced at it, then couldn't help but retort, "Did you take this picture with the keyhole?"

In the flames, the scene of the bakery oven across the street had almost turned into a pixelated image, covered with heavy mosaics.

It's like cybernetic amber; you have to concentrate to see even the smallest details.

"What can I do?!"

Bai Xi said bitterly, "The flame is so small! The resolution is so low, I'm desperate too!"

"If you replaced the display with a 4K screen, wouldn't this candlelight communication technique be much clearer?"

"That means there's no other way."

Jiang Lingyi pursed her lips and said. Bai Xi's eyes twitched, but she didn't say anything in the end, just quietly watching the scene in the flames.

A moment later, the image in the flame crackled. At the cost of even greater blurriness, Bai Xi extended the candlelight communication to another bakery.

Then came the third, the fourth...

He looked like an old man checking security cameras. Except this camera was made with a keyhole.

After extending the view to countless bakeries, Bai Xi blew hard on the flames a few times, making them burn more vigorously and allowing for a slightly clearer view.

Then, I saw a figure in a black robe hurrying in on one of the screens.

In an instant, Bai Xi cut off all other images, leaving only this one. In the image, a hunched figure in black robes hurried into a bakery, placed one million marks on the counter, and stretched out his hand to the shopkeeper…

"Found it."

Bai Xi spoke almost immediately, but couldn't help but frown.

So, what are the opponent's winning rules?

Is it possible that winning simply means buying bread? That would be far too easy...

"He bought bread at this bakery, which is probably not much different from my previous guess... Wait, wait a minute?"

Bai Xi said in a low voice, but suddenly his eyes widened slightly as he looked at the scene on the screen and was stunned.

He saw the hunched figure in the black robe suddenly raise his head, his gaze fixed on something behind the shop assistant—

Bai Xi knew what he was looking at.

He was looking at the oven behind the shop assistant, or rather, at the tiny projection of Bai Xi in the flames of the oven.

He strained to open his eyes wide, staring at the scene in the flames, and in a daze, he saw the ghoul's repulsive, dog-like appearance.

You glimpsed that being, and it is now watching you. You see that ugly face, like a dog's, but you can't see its repulsive expression.

[SC test, 0/1d6]

[Sanity test = 16/84, extremely difficult to succeed, deduct 0 points from Sanity]

Bai Xi was only in a daze for a moment before he came back to his senses, only to see the ghoul in the picture shaking its head slightly at him.

He brought his ear close to the flame and heard the crackling of the fire, along with the sounds coming from the other side.

"Sorry... I won't buy it."

"Hmm? A guest?"

"I'm leaving now."

He hurriedly picked up the Mark and headed outside. But then, he suddenly turned back and gazed once more at the flames in the oven.

Then, a smile appeared on his face. He walked straight out the door and headed in a certain direction. Bai Xi carefully observed that direction and finally noticed something.

This is exactly the direction the beer hall is heading.

"What's going on now?"

Jiang Lingyi looked at Bai Xi and asked this question. Bai Xi simply stood up silently and looked outside.

"Hmm... to be honest, it looks a little strange."

Bai Xi frowned and said, "He didn't leave; instead, he came towards us on his own initiative."

"However, since the guest has come, even though I don't know what he's thinking, we still have to do everything we can."

As he spoke, he gazed out at the biting wind and murmured as if in a dream:

"Get ready to welcome him."