INSIDER Chapter 78

During the daytime, the danger level in the forest was significantly lower than at night. The group was noticeably less rushed and desperate to hide than before.

However, this did not mean there was no danger during the day.

Although the multi-armed skeletons were trapped by the river, they still remembered the two monsters they encountered in the previous grid that Yuan Kejie and the skeletons had defeated. They had no idea how many more of these monsters there might be. In the previous grid, the monsters were afraid of light and didn’t dare to act during the day, but due to the different difficulty levels, Lu Chu couldn’t guarantee they would also fear light in this grid.

Lu Chu voiced his thoughts, and Song Gui, while staying vigilant, agreed, “I thought about that too. If the difficulty is the same, the conclusions we drew in the previous grid can be directly applied. But in this double-skeleton difficulty, anything can happen.”

Yuan Kejie sincerely lamented, “If we get through this grid safely, any future difficulties and challenges should be a breeze, given that this is hell difficulty.”

“Not necessarily,” Luo Qi poured cold water on her optimism. “There are several other grids with similar difficulty, and the situations could be entirely different. The experiences and conclusions from this grid might be completely useless.”

Yuan Kejie sighed, “You’re right…” She understood this all too well.

Seeing Yuan Kejie’s low spirits, Lu Chu smiled and said, “If we get through this grid safely, I just hope we never have to see Song Gui roll the dice again.”

Yuan Kejie instantly became indignant, “Agreed!”

Luo Qi gave Song Gui a sidelong glance, “I think that’s doable.”

Even Qian Zhen voiced his agreement with a low “Hmm.”

Song Gui immediately put on a woeful expression, “You guys are too heartless. Lu Xiaochu, you’ve changed… We’re comrades, and that was just an accident, an accident.”

Then, Song Gui turned to 7 with a grateful look, “Brother Qi is still the best. When everyone else turned against me, you didn’t kick me when I was down. You stood firmly on the side of justice.”

7, who had been keeping watch and not participating in the conversation, glanced at Song Gui and then said calmly, “I listen to Lu Chu.”

Song Gui: “…”

Song Gui was at a loss for words, feeling complex emotions. The “non” attribute wasn’t his fault; it was innate…

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Afterward, the group didn’t let their guard down for a moment.

Strangely, nothing unexpected or difficult to handle happened throughout the day until the afternoon. Occasionally, a wild beast would appear, which 7, Luo Qi, or Qian Zhen would quickly deal with.

Time passed smoothly, almost suspiciously so.

This made Lu Chu even more uneasy.

But overthinking was useless. Lu Chu set aside his worries, trusting that the bridge would straighten itself when it came. They just needed to be ready for any battle.

The eerie peace lasted until dusk.

Seeing the orange setting sun and the gradually darkening landscape, the group knew the tower was about to appear.

They climbed nearby trees to gain a better view and then looked around, holding their breath in anticipation.

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Meanwhile, a large mass of multi-armed monsters, submerged in the river, had been merging together over the course of a night and day. They formed a giant, soft, ball-like mass, with countless arms extending outward, floating in the turbulent water, swaying in the direction of the current, densely packed and terrifying. Upon closer inspection, one could distinguish the outlines of different torsos fused together into this flesh ball, like conjoined twins. As more multi-armed monsters jumped into the river, the flesh ball grew larger, with more entangled arms, until it was big enough to emerge above the water’s surface.

At this moment, tens of thousands of arms began to cheer.

They extended, trembled, and tore at each other, as if experiencing a new life. Some arms even excitedly pulled nearby arms out of the flesh ball, causing them to drift downstream in the swift current, disappearing from sight.

After the excitement, countless arms began to carry the giant flesh ball slowly towards the shore—the very shore where Lu Chu and the others had landed.

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On the other side, the group continued to wait expectantly.

With no immediate danger, they took positions in the trees, each responsible for watching different directions, ready to rush towards the tower as soon as it appeared. Entering the tower would mean safety.

To be quicker and prepared for any danger, they remained motionless in the trees, briefly conserving their energy.

“Over here!” Luo Qi suddenly shouted.

The others immediately looked in Luo Qi’s direction and saw a pitch-black, towering structure silently appearing in the direction they had come from.

As soon as they confirmed the tower’s location, the group simultaneously jumped down from the trees and sprinted towards the tower.

Judging by the distance, the tower wasn’t far. They shouldn’t have to cross the river trapping the multi-armed monsters, making it much safer. But for some reason, Lu Chu felt even more uneasy.

This unease was soon proven valid.

As they got closer to the tower, Lu Chu smelled a mix of river water and rot. With countless speculations in mind, he shouted, “Watch out!”

Simultaneously, a massive flesh ball, large enough to block out the sky, rolled towards them.

The gigantic mass moved unimpeded by its size. Tens of thousands of arms on its surface cleared the path by sweeping away trees, while others supported it from beneath, moving it forward at a terrifying speed. It quickly bypassed the tower and charged towards Lu Chu’s group.

Upon hearing Lu Chu’s warning, though unaware of the exact danger, the others immediately went into battle mode until they saw the approaching flesh ball.

Yuan Kejie couldn’t help but exclaim, “Oh my…”

Luo Qi frowned, “That’s disgusting.”

As the flesh ball neared, the sound of trees being crushed grew louder, and the ground beneath them trembled increasingly. Song Gui turned to Lu Chu, “Change formation.”

Lu Chu responded, “Okay.”

The six of them instantly split into two teams, spreading out to the sides. Song Gui, Luo Qi, and Qian Zhen formed one team, while Lu Chu, 7, and Yuan Kejie formed the other, sprinting towards the tower left behind by the flesh ball.