"Are you sure this will work?"
Xiao Chu Sheng... no, to be precise, Xiao Yui!
Bai Yuze had transformed Xiao Chu Sheng into the likeness of Yui Yuigahama. It had to be said, Xiao Chu Sheng's transformation ability was quite remarkable; outwardly, there was no difference. As long as he didn't speak, he wouldn't be exposed.
"It's a package. How do you feel now?"
"I feel like I've become a girl."
"Nonsense! I mean, do you feel any discomfort in your movements?"
"No, not at all."
Bai Yuze nodded, then tore off a piece of cloth to wrap the surgical knife.
"Take it. Strange Objects will be injured if they are exposed to the Town-Suppression Strange Object for a long time. You just came out of the basement. If you die again, I won't rescue you."
Xiao Yui took the surgical knife...
Clang!
The door was pushed open. It was the Front Desk, who shouted excitedly.
"I finally got it open!"
"You found the key?"
"No, I kicked the door open."
Bai Yuze: ...
Bai Yuze said the Front Desk was quite a character.
"You kicked it open? Wait... the door? Kicked open?"
Bai Yuze was stunned. If the Front Desk had used brute force to kick the door open, then why hadn't he heard any noise?
If there was something wrong with his ears, why hadn't Yukino and Xiao Chu Sheng, who were present, reacted at all?
Were their ears all broken? Obviously not possible. Then, something was affecting their senses or...
"The plan has changed. I have a new idea."
— — — — — —
Bai Yuze and his group were heading towards their final destination. There was nothing blocking their way, and the silence was somewhat terrifying.
"By the way, why did they follow?"
The Front Desk was a bit confused. He hadn't had time to fix the door he had just kicked open before Bai Yuze dragged him into this inexplicable mission.
"It's just a convenient thing. More people, more strength."
Bai Yuze stepped on the stairs. He didn't know why each of his steps was so heavy and powerful.
"Let me make it clear first, I am ultimately just an observer. Unless the other party violates the rules, I cannot protect you."
"I know..."
Rumble!
The surroundings gradually began to shake. This time, it didn't end quickly but was a prolonged tremor with a very loud sound. The stairs couldn't withstand this force and began to crack. The best option right now was to leave the stairs and go to a safe place.
"Everyone, don't move. This is an illusion."
Bai Yuze shouted, but he grabbed the Front Desk and ran down the stairs.
The others behind him tried to follow, but Bai Yuze blocked them on the stairs.
"Bai Jun, what are you doing?"
Yukinoshita Yukino showed a puzzled expression, but Bai Yuze just sneered.
"Well played. I almost believed it."
Bai Yuze held the knife in his hand. If anyone on the stairs dared to take a step down, he would point the knife at them.
"Bai Jun, stop messing around. This is not the time for jokes."
Yukinoshita Yukino on the stairs was anxious. The cracks in the stairs were getting bigger and bigger. If they didn't leave, all life on the stairs would be buried by the falling stones.
"Do I have to point it out? Alright, first, please answer me one question: How did you and Tuanzi know that the Strange Object was blocking the door for me and the Front Desk?"
"Of course, we heard your voices, and that's why we came to save you. Is there a problem with that?"
The cracks in the stairs were getting bigger and bigger, yet Yukino, like an NPC, quietly answered Bai Yuze's questions, showing no trace of her previous anxiety.
"Is that so? Then why didn't you come earlier or later, but only when we were about to fall into despair? What do you think?"
Bai Yuze's question was directed both at the "Yukinoshita Yukino" on the stairs and at the Front Desk beside him.
The Front Desk thought for a moment and then replied.
"Although I don't want to admit it, coming to save us at our moment of danger would make us trust the person in front of us more, especially if it's a familiar companion..."
The higher the devil, the higher the magic. Many kidnapping and abduction cases have occurred in the world, during which some people would come to help the victims, allowing them to escape danger. In dangerous situations, victims would instinctively trust those who extended a helping hand.
Some criminals staged group crimes. They would first arrange for one accomplice to commit a robbery, then another accomplice would come out to stop it. This way, the accomplice who stopped the other would gain the victim's trust, thereby achieving a different effect.
"Front Desk, do you remember if you brought your key when you went out?"
"Of course, I've never made a mistake, but no matter how I searched, I couldn't find it."
"Heh heh, in an illusion, how could you find it?"
"Illusion...? So that's it."
The Front Desk looked at Bruce, who was staring at him on the stairs. Since encountering the Strange Object, he hadn't properly observed Bruce. Now, upon closer inspection, he could indeed see the difference.
Bruce was essentially human. How could a human control his tail to wag? And at a time like this? Even if he could control his tail, shouldn't he be running down the stairs with his tail between his legs?
"What do you say? Does the one on the stairs have any other ideas?"
When did Bai Yuze see through the illusion? This was all thanks to the Front Desk's exasperated door-kicking. The sound insulation of the private house was already ridiculously poor, so why didn't Bai Yuze hear the Front Desk's door-kicking sound?
The most direct problem was that no one on the stairs intended to force their way down. People's survival instincts would temporarily grant them the attribute bonuses of fearlessness and indomitability.
Although Bai Yuze was holding a kitchen knife, he couldn't achieve a one-hit kill. Being buried by the stair rubble would truly be a death from which there was no return, yet none of the guys on the stairs had such an idea.
If Bruce and Xiao Chu Sheng were Strange Objects who weren't afraid of death, that would be understandable, but Yukino standing still and answering questions like an NPC was a bit unreasonable.
Furthermore, those familiar with Yukino knew that in such a dangerous situation, with Bai Yuze blocking them and not letting them come down, if Yukino could refrain from being sharp-tongued, there must be a problem.
"An illusion? Was Yang Peng behind this? What was his objective?"
"I think he wants to get his hands on the Town-Suppression Strange Object we have. The only winning factor for both sides is the Town-Suppression Strange Object. Whichever side has more Town-Suppression Strange Objects has a greater chance of winning."
Bai Yuze felt a bit distressed. The Town-Suppression Strange Object he had painstakingly collected were suddenly two less. This Yang Peng was not an ordinary sly one.
Rumble, the stairs collapsed. Bai Yuze quickly retreated to prevent being affected, while the illusions were trapped by Bai Yuze on the stairs, and even when the stairs collapsed, they did not come down from the stairs...