Chapter 41: The Deal with I’s Mother (1)

(You activated the mind-reading ability of the mask, but it still didn't work.
You realize that it's because you asked the wrong question.)

(Woman: I don't believe you.
How do you know where my body is?)

(You take the woman's withered corpse out of your kangaroo pants.)

(The woman's face changes dramatically.)

(Woman: Give me back my body, and I can tell you a secret.)

(You: What secret?)

(Woman: I can tell you the dean's weakness.
I can tell you how to kill him.)

(You activate the mind-reading again and ask if the woman is lying.)

(The mask tells you that the woman is not telling the truth.)

(You: I know his weakness.
I don't need that information.)

(Woman: What do you need then?)

(You think for a moment and point to the doll on the woman's knee.)

(The woman is shocked.)

(Woman: That's a keepsake from my daughter.
I can't give it to you.)

(You: Everything has a price.)

(Woman: Let me think about it.)

(The woman holds the doll and looks at it for a while.)

(Woman: I agree to trade with you.)

(You: Okay.)

(You place the woman's body on the floor.)

(The woman gets off the chair and hands the doll to you.)

(You are examining the doll when suddenly you hear a grating sound.)

(You look up.)

(The woman opens her mouth and devours her own body.)

(She turns completely black, with only her eyes flickering with red light.)

(She transforms into a creature covered in black fur, resembling a larger version of Petz.)

(Woman: Give me back the doll!)

(The woman lunges at you.)

(You immediately swallow a red pill and put on the elephant mask.)

(You are no match for the woman.)

(She tears you in half.)

(Your vision turns blood red.)

(You are dead.)

(The deduction ends!)

Gu Yi sat on the toilet and rubbed his stomach.

This was probably the most brutal death he had experienced in his deductions.
After the woman turned into a monster, she tore him apart like tearing a chicken leg.

Transforming into a monster and wearing the elephant mask was the strongest form Gu Yi could achieve at the moment, but it still wasn't enough to defeat the woman.

“I had a feeling that something was off with this woman.”

Gu Yi regretfully slapped his thigh.

Since this woman was so unreasonable, he had no choice but to resort to some unscrupulous means.

(Backtracking begins!)

(You stand in front of the secret room's door.)

(You put on Toto's handmade mask and approach the woman.)

(The woman looks up as soon as she sees you.)

(Woman: Who are you? Why do you have my daughter's mask? What do you want?)

(You: I'm here to negotiate with you.)

(Woman: Negotiate? What kind of negotiation?)

(You: I can give you your body.)

(You take the woman's corpse out of your kangaroo pants.)

(As soon as the woman sees her own corpse, she gets excited, and you quickly hide the body.)

(Woman: Give it to me!)

(You: I will give it to you, but you must give me the doll you have in your hands.
It's a fair trade.)

(Woman: Give me the body first, and then I'll give you the doll.)

(You: No, you give me the doll first, and then I'll give you the body.)

(Woman: You have no right to bargain with me.
If you don't give it to me, I can kill you and still get my body back.)

(You: If you dare to kill me, I will smash the mask on my face first.)

(You take out a hammer from your kangaroo pants and place it on the mask.)

(The woman screams.)

(Woman: You can't do that!)

(You grin.)

(Just as you deduced, “I” didn't actually die, so if you smash the mask, the real “I” will also cease to exist.)

(Woman: Please don't do something so extreme.
There's still hope for my daughter's survival.
Please don't harm her.)

(You: Then follow my demands.
Give me the doll first.)

(The woman compromises.)

(She looks at the doll in her hands and uses her own hair to hand it to you.)

(As soon as she loses the doll, the woman's face visibly withers.)

(You inspect the doll but don't find anything special on it.
However, behind the doll, you see a zipper.)

(You unzip it and find a red access card inside.)

(Woman: You…
give me my body quickly.)

(You: Give it to you? Hmph, give it to you and let you kill me? Dream on!)

(You keep the doll, leave the secret room, and exit the office.)

(The woman's heart-wrenching screams echo throughout the office.)

(You leave the room with the doll in your hands.)

(Your vision turns blood red.)

(You take off the mask.)

(The mask is shedding tears of blood, and you notice that the same words are written all over the mask.)

(“Good deeds are rewarded, and evil deeds have consequences..”)

(“Good deeds are rewarded, and evil deeds have consequences.”)

(“Good deeds are rewarded, and evil deeds have consequences.”)

(Your heart starts beating rapidly, just like the feeling you had when you picked up the woman's corpse in the third-floor office.)

(You: Why are you punishing me instead of punishing your good mother? Wasn't she the one who committed the evil first? If I don't deceive her, she will kill me!)

(“Good deeds are rewarded, and evil deeds have consequences.”)

(“Evil deeds have consequences…”)

(“Consequences…”)

(Your sanity collapses.)

(You completely transform into a monster.)

(You die.)

(Deduction over!)

“Damn it, whose side is Toto really on?”

Gu Yi opened his eyes again and cursed under his breath.

The mental shock he experienced during the deduction was too great, and it deepened his contamination in reality.
He noticed black hairs had started to grow on his left wrist.

Reluctantly shaking his head, Gu Yi closed his eyes again and contemplated his next move.

(Deduction begins!)

(You sit on the toilet, reflecting on the lessons from before.)

(Obviously, this time, you were punished by “I” for not keeping your promise and transformed into a monster.)

(This so-called Toto seems to have a kind of obsessive-compulsive disorder.)

(She established this rule with blood-red text, seemingly cursing the dean, but in reality, it restricts your actions.)

(If you keep doing evil, betray promises, and refuse to save lives, the difficulty of the scenario will increase significantly, and it may even trigger an instant death flag.)

(You furrow your brow and ponder.)

(You think that you might not have triggered the “evil deeds have consequences” rule.)

(But this rule subtly influences the difficulty of your progress and wouldn't immediately result in instant death.)

(You believe that the true reason for your brutal death is that you didn't adhere to the Pig Head's principles, and your behavior didn't meet the standards of a merchant.)

(The Pig Head mask represents a merchant in the dungeon world.)

(The shop owner in the small shop is your best example.)