The sky was gloomy, there was no daylight, and layers of gray clouds spread evenly in the air, making everything fall to a lifeless tone.

When Yu Xing opened his eyes from his sleep, he saw such a strange scene.

The streets and alleys in front of me are simple and old, narrow and cramped, the shops on both sides are full of white money, the plaques are written in black ink with "funeral services", "shroud hearse" and other words with strong direction, some shops are hung with black and white portraits at the door, and the white faces of old or green show a dignified smile, looking straight at him.

He was sitting at the mouth of the alley, and the sound of suona faintly came from the end of the alley, accompanied by a group of out-of-tune howls, lingering on his neckline with the cold wind.

It seems that Yu Xing came to a funeral alley somewhere.

But......

The decoration style of this alley is inevitably a little too retro, like the street scene of twenty or thirty years ago.

He looked down at himself, the warm down jacket had disappeared, replaced by a pure white gown, the caftan was old, the cuffs and other places that were easy to wear were washed and faded, revealing a more weak color than pure white, which was not easy to see if you didn't look carefully.

The lower body is white pants and a pair of simple flat cloth shoes, like the long shirt, it looks like it has been worn for a long time, washed, scrubbed, sewn and mended.

Except for this miserable white outfit, he didn't bring in any of his belongings, only a small red cloth bag hanging around his waist.

Zhao Yijiu and Zhao Ruru were not in Yu Xing's line of sight, he observed himself in the faint sound of funerals in the distance, and looked around, but did not find his teammates, but saw a small stool set up at the door of the nearest store, on which sat an old man, wearing a vest and wide pants.

Is it an NPC?

Seeing Yu Xing wake up, the old man looked at him with a pipe, shook his head, and sighed in an old tone: "I can't go back, young man, I can't go back." ”

Yu Xing was not in a hurry, and asked with a smile: "Old man, what did you say?" ”

"I said, if you enter this ghost alley, you will die, and you will never be able to go back to the world! Lad, you look back. ”

Yu Xing looked over his head cooperatively, only to see that the exit of the alley that was supposed to lead to other roads was blocked by a wall at this time, and there was not a single gap.

In other words, he was trapped, and there was no other way out unless he went to the end of the street.

But that's not bad news for him, the rules of the Death Parallel are to complete the mission in stages, and he has to find the mission objective in the scene and then move on to the next stage.

This alley has always been the scene of the first stage, cutting off a path for him, but instead eliminating the option of wasting time for him, he just needs to walk along the way and find what needs him to do.

Yu Xing got up from the ground and patted the cobwebs on the corner of the wall, looking polite and casual: "Don't worry, old man, I want to ask, apart from me, have you seen anyone else strayed into here?" ”

Two beads hung from the palm-sized pouch around his waist, which collided with each other as he bent his legs to get up, making a soft noise.

The old man glanced at him more, his eyes lingered on the small bag for a moment, and he only saw the word "ghost" that was embroidered properly.

"It turned out to be the little guy who was entangled, cough cough cough ......" The old man choked on his cigarette, covered his chest and coughed, and after a while, he continued, "Two or three people of your age have already come, haven't they found a way out, cough cough cough...... If you delay for two more days, you'll die. You might as well stay here with me, old man, and I'll bring you something to eat." ”

With Yu Xing's sobriety, the barrage in his live broadcast room was also active, and he had been discussing the atmosphere of the scene setting up before, at this time, when he heard the old man's words, he was happy to watch the excitement, and people who didn't observe carefully at all spoke one after another:

[Is this a hint?] This old man definitely knows a lot, talk to him! ]

[Fortunately, I was calm, I was startled when I followed his gaze to see the old man, this old man is too distorted]

[No, the old man obviously wants to keep Xing, but fortunately, he can't go to Zhao Ruru and Leng Jiu? ] ]

[Accompany the elderly, eat something, get clues, Meizizi]

"It seems that someone has indeed been here recently, thank you for the reminder." Yu Xing didn't seem to hear the old man's dissuasion, and it was even more impossible for him to see what the barrage was saying, his eyes slid over a circle of black strangulation marks around the old man's neck, and then moved away quietly.

"You're going to be hungry when you go in." The old man also had a pair of cloth shoes on his feet, and the soles of the shoes rubbed a few times on the dusty ground, seeing that Yu Xing did not intend to stay, and said, "There is no good ending for those who are entangled...... Let's eat before we hit the road. ”

Yu Xing smiled gratefully, like a descendant who was rejecting the kindness of his elders: "No, I'm not hungry." ”

The old man stared at him for a long time, spat out his pipe, and sat on a stool humming a tune-out tune, as if he did not intend to deal with him any more.

"Then I will leave, I have something to do here, and I will burn you some good cigarettes another day." Bowing slightly towards the old man, Yu Xing looked at the funeral shop in the alley with no end in sight, and walked a few steps forward.

[He refused??] ]

[Such a good opportunity to find out the news, it's a pity to miss it like this, although it doesn't seem necessary now, but maybe it will slow down the progress]

[Oh my God, upstairs shut up, can't you see that the old man is weird?] ]

[The handsome guy is at the scene, and he can see it much clearer than you guys who don't use your brains, of course he doesn't agree, of course he has his considerations, this is a parallel line of death, it's not one of those unpopular small live broadcasts, I beg you to use your brains to watch it, don't lower the barrage IQ, okay? ] ]

[Didn't you hear?] Fortunately, what he said was "I will burn some for you another day", and he made a point, he felt that the old man was a dead man]

[I seem to see strangulation marks on the old man's neck]

[Really?] ]

Yu Xing's white cloth shoes stepped on the dusty stone brick road without making a sound, but after walking more than ten steps, he seemed to hear an old sigh.

Looking back, the old man was gone, leaving only an empty small stool with a layer of dust that had accumulated for a long time.

Next to the stool was a cloth shoe, a drop of dried blood solidifying on the toe.

"......" Yu Xing's eyes moved, he was really right, this old man had already died, if he agreed to stay with him, maybe he wouldn't even be able to hold on to the old man's mouth for two or three days, and if he forcibly escaped without using sacrifices, I am afraid that it would be a dead word directly.

As for eating, the food in the ghost's mouth, I don't think it's going to be a normal thing.

This deduction is different from all the deduction atmosphere he has experienced before, it is plain, but it seems that a crisis will come inadvertently.

At that moment, he quickened his pace and walked in the direction where the suona came.

The road was full of wreaths and flower baskets, and I don't know who died, but I actually reported the funeral on the funeral street, and the flower baskets received one after another, connecting the whole street.

The mourning is sonorous, not as sad as in this world, but revealing an indescribable weirdness in it.

Yu Xing listened carefully, and even heard a touch of happiness and hatred in the music.

The appearance of the old man is not just a trap, he asked Yu Xing not to enter this street, and to some extent also represents a position, that is, the old man ghost and something on the street are opposites.

He also said that Yu Xing was "haunted by ghosts" and did not know what that meant.

Yu Xing secretly remembered the information revealed in the old man's words, and carefully observed the shop behind the wreath, trying to find traces of living people, at least Zhao Yijiu and Zhao Ruru should not be too far away from him.

However, except for the old man and ghost at the mouth of the alley, there was no shopkeeper who appeared, and they were all unattended.

From time to time, the corners of the shroud stretch out from each shop, swaying with the wind, and if you are not careful, you will see a living person hanging on a beam and swinging.

The shelves in the shop are full of paper money, golden paper folded ingots, and white paper flowers dressed in strings, and next to the shelves, the paper man with a big face painted with inferior paint stares at it with big eyes, standing there stiffly, staring blankly outside.

There were still coffins next to some paper figures, Yu Xing didn't enter the store to check, just walked along the alley, closer to the end of the alley, those cries and mournings gradually became clear, he paid attention to the surrounding shops, and listened to some words by the way.

"Woo woo woo ......"

"You died so miserably...... Hahaha......"

"Boss Liu, we all welcome you......"

"You're finally down, my son and I are waiting for you!"

"Woo woo woo ......"

A sentence of crying and mourning sounds really sincere, and it is not an exaggeration to describe it with the word "cry", but I just carefully corrected that line, how to listen to and feel that the mourners are looking forward to it for a long time and gloating.

Yu Xing listened to it for a long time, and couldn't help but want to tease: "Yo, it seems to be quite happy?" ”

"Woo, Liu—"

At the moment when he muttered, the crying was quiet, and the suona stopped suddenly, as if he heard his voice, Qi Qi was dead.

Yu Xing was a little surprised.

Wouldn't it, from such a distance, he could be heard if he said something softly?

He couldn't help but concentrate his attention, listening carefully to the movement at the end of the alley, a series of footsteps from far and near, hurried, Yu Xing only felt a great malice rushing towards him, his expression narrowed, and quickly hid behind the wreath.

The footsteps were getting closer and closer, Yu Xing was still standing in place and didn't move, he felt that he should be able to guarantee that he would not be discovered by what came with his skills, but a helpless and eager voice suddenly sounded in his ears: "Why don't you know how to hide, come in!" ”

Then, a thin arm stretched out from behind the wreath, grabbed Yu Xing's arm, and pulled him to the coffin shop next to him with Yu Xing's slightly surprised expression.

The soft long hair poked Yu Xing's neck, and he looked up to see a tired but faintly beautiful face.

This is a young woman, twenty-three or four, wearing the same white robe as him, looking like a mourner, and wearing light makeup, but the makeup is a little off, her face is not so clean, and her temperament looks like a real world person.

She quickly pulled Yu Xing to squat down behind the counter, and raised her index finger to "shhh": "Don't make a sound, don't show your head, it's coming." ”

"Who?" Yu Xing obediently hid his figure, and when he looked into the store again, he was suddenly a little surprised.

There were not only two people in the coffin shop, he and the woman, behind a few coffins, there were many pale people, they were also wearing white shirts, some were old, some looked like teenagers, some were lying on their stomachs and some were half-kneeling, they were stunned to cover themselves tightly, no wonder he didn't see anyone outside the shop.

One of the thin middle-aged men emphasized: "It's a paper man, the paper man is coming!" Don't talk! ”

Everyone else nodded, as if they were afraid that Yu Xing would make a move and kill everyone.

Yu was fortunate to know, so he stopped asking for the time being, and quietly listened to the footsteps and stopped outside the coffin shop, and his thoughts flowed in his head.

Among so many people, none of them are the deducers who participated in the live broadcast, not to mention that he couldn't meet his teammates when he came in, but met other teams first.

So...... These people are all NPCs that are automatically generated by deduction? It's like Zhou Qinghai who was tied up by Carlos from the town to the village in the coffin village with a bewildered face?

It should be.

He came to a conclusion, and heard a very unpleasant sound outside.

"Who is it?" The shrill voice was neither male nor female, with excitement and coldness, "I heard someone talking, who is here?" ”

The woman who pulled him into the coffin shop looked ugly, squatted in place and curled herself into a ball, a drop of cold sweat oozing from her forehead.

Looking at this woman's reaction, Yu Xing knew that it was the paper man in these mouths who were talking outside.

Footsteps lingered nearby, and for a moment it seemed like they didn't want to go.

Speaking of, What does a paper figure that can talk and walk look like?

Yu Xing took advantage of the fact that the woman's attention was not on him, and secretly poked out a little gaze and looked towards the entrance of the shop.

- He saw a miserable white paper head.

It's really a paper figure, a life-size paper figure.

The paper figures had their backs to him at this time, their colorful clothes bright and shabby, but a little more vivid than their group of real people in white robes.

Its limbs were stiff, and every time it moved, it seemed like it was about to fall apart, and its body was similar to that of a human, but it was not so natural, enough to see that the workmanship was rough.

It turned its head.

Yu Xing adjusted the angle and caught a glimpse of the paper man's face.

The white pulp was pasted together, the face was flat, the facial features were painted in ink, it had no hair, its eyes were narrow, its mouth was red, and its cheeks were dotted with two particularly joyful blushes.

The mouth opened a slit, and the voice of neither man nor woman leaked out of the slit: "Are you here to attend Boss Liu's funeral?" Woowoo...... There are still people attending Boss Liu's funeral, who is it? Come out soon...... Shall I take you there, and we will attend the funeral together? ”

The people who were hiding were trembling, and they didn't dare to come out.

No one can be found, the paper man's expression has not changed, it is the same exaggerated laughter, but its tone gradually became irritable, and the tone became higher and higher: "Come out quickly!" Come out of here! Let's go to the funeral together! ”

The shrill sound echoed in the ears of everyone in the coffin shop, and some almost cried, and were immediately covered by the person next to them.

The paper man kept walking around the street, his eyes staring fiercely at each nearby shop, as if searching for his prey.

But it didn't enter the store to search, otherwise, Yu Xing and the people in the coffin shop would have been exposed.

After about five or six minutes, the paper man reluctantly left, and his footsteps disappeared in the direction of the alley.

It wasn't until the suona and crying sound sounded again that the people in the coffin shop breathed a sigh of relief, and the woman sat back and wiped her face without any image, and suddenly, the face that was already taking off her makeup was even more spent.

Yu Xing looked at the miserable little flower face indescribably, and had an urge to remind him.

Noticing that Yu Xing was staring at her face, the woman was stunned for a moment, and then became embarrassed: "Handsome guy, if you want to tease me, go out of this alley?" ”

Yu Xing: "......"

He smiled politely: "I'm sorry, I didn't plan to do this." I mean, how can there be so many people here? ”

A small coffin shop, counting Yu Xing himself, actually stuffed seven or eight people, plus the area occupied by the coffin, it was already very crowded here.

And Yu Xing glanced around, but he didn't see Zhao Yijiu and Zhao Ruru - he had prepared for this before he came in, otherwise it would definitely be Zhao Yijiu who fished him in.

"Phew, speaking of this-" The thin middle-aged man just now snorted angrily, "It's not that paper man yet, at first we didn't know that we would be heard talking on the street, and it was discovered, so we had to be trapped in the store in order to avoid it." Later, more and more people came in, and in order to prevent accidents, we quietly gathered everyone and hid together. ”

After the middle-aged man spoke, the others also talked to Yu Xing.

"yes, it's dangerous!"

"Who says it's not, my husband and I are really unreasonable, when we first strayed into this hellish place, we were all scared to death!"

"I'm dying of hunger, thanks to Sister Xue, if it weren't for her, I wouldn't be alive now."

"Yes, yes, it's really a shame for the snow girl, and my medicine was also given by her!"

In the midst of the noise, Yu Xing sorted out what they wanted to express.

The seven or eight people present were all residents of the neighborhood.

At some point, they may be on their way home, they may be out playing, they step into a strange alley, and their eyes are dark, and when they wake up, they are here.

The original clothes were gone, replaced by a white shirt for funeral, and all the belongings were missing.

The entrance of the alley was blocked by the wall, and there were paper people guarding the alleys, no one dared to go over, and there was a bold one who found a knife to cut the paper man, but he was almost twisted off by the paper man, and the knife was broken.

After two or three days in this funeral alley, there was nothing to eat or drink, and many people were almost unconscious.

Zhou Xue - that is, the woman who pulled Yu Xing into the coffin shop, she was later, originally followed the tour group to sightseeing in the ancient town, but got lost halfway, and then entered this alley in a daze, and met this room of people when she was hiding from the paper man.

The only good news is probably that Zhou Xue, as a tourist, brought a backpack of food, water, and medicine when she came in, and she was kind and willing to share, so she could save the lives of the people who fell in at the beginning.

But now, the supplies are gone.

Frightened by the paper man again, Zhou Xue looked tired: "That's the way it is, handsome guy, you are also unlucky to get home, huh...... Don't be too desperate, since you've come in, adjust your mood by yourself, instead of despairing, it's better to work hard to find a way. ”

Yu Xing nodded in agreement: "You're right. Do you guys have any ideas for going out these days? ”

"It's just the alley, though we don't know if there's such a way out...... But you can't give up hope, don't you? Zhou Xue was a little depressed, but she glanced at other people who were more decadent than her, these people were injured and disabled, and obviously needed mental support.

She paused and said, "I originally wanted to take a look at the alley while I still have the strength, but the more I go there, the stronger the paper man's perception seems to be, and it comes out with a little movement, I tried twice without success, and I don't dare to go again for the time being, it's too scary." ”

Yu Xing saw that she didn't seem to be in a state, and seemed to remember the experience of hiding from the paper figure at close range, so he comforted her and asked, "Everyone in the alley is here?" ”

"I guess, I've seen everything." Zhou Xue said.

Hearing her answer, Yu Xing's eyes narrowed slightly.

Strange, aren't Zhao Yijiu and Zhao Ruru here? It is not possible, team deduction, in a stage, the team should not be directly separated.

He thought for a moment and said two nonsense words: "But before I came, I met an old man, and he said that two young people had come in. ”

Zhou Xue's eyes widened a little: "Huh? ”

She recalled carefully and shook her head: "I didn't meet, when I came in, there were seven people in front, I took them to hide, and you were the last." ”

A sadness welled up in her heart: "This ghost alley goes straight to the end, there is no other route, I have groped for the end of the alley, and I haven't seen anyone, if there are really two people, I'm afraid it's already ......."

"No, I shouldn't be dead." Yu Xing wanted to say that she hadn't seen her before because Zhao Yijiu and Zhao Ruru hadn't come in yet.

And now, these two people may be at the end of the alley when they enter the deduction, that is, there is definitely a safe area at the end of the alley, and there is a plot.

"They're my friends, and I've got to go find them." Yu Xing got up after speaking, and seemed to be going out of the coffin shop.

Zhou Xue hurriedly grabbed him: "That...... Are you sure you're going to go to your friends alone? The paper figure is over there! Aren't you afraid? And...... Can you find a way out? ”

She is usually not small, but when she gets closer to the paper man, she will be scared and pouted, so she can only say that when the ghosts in the entertainment products are scary, she will not face half the excitement of the real ghosts.

This young man looks about the same age as her, and he dares to walk alone?

Yu Xing gently pulled Zhou Xue's paw off his arm and promised, "I believe I can get out, but my friends are very important to me, and I must find them first to feel at ease." ”

He looked at the ordinary people who didn't dare to interject, and said to Zhou Xue: "I'll go find someone, you continue to hide with them, don't let them get hurt again." ”

In the corner stood a man who planned to be a hard paper man at the beginning, and he was now wrapped in the gauze brought by Zhou Xue around his neck, looking pitiful.

The others were also physically exhausted, and they were all in a kind of hunger and weakness.

Zhou Xue could only say: "...... Okay, then you be careful. ”