That fleeting thought vanished too quickly for Lu Chu to grasp.
Unable to recall it, he decided to stop trying and instead asked the doctor, “Who discovered that the detective was food poisoned by that spicy dish?”
The other, usually silent doctor replied in a hoarse voice, “It was me.”
Hearing this, Lu Chu’s eyes moved slightly. He turned to look at Seven before saying to the doctors, “Take us to see the body.”
“Alright, follow me.” The doctor quickly nodded and turned to lead them towards the detective’s residence.
Lu Chu and Seven followed closely behind him, with the police officer and the other doctor bringing up the rear.
Before long, they reached the corridor leading to the detective’s room. From a distance, Lu Chu could see the detective lying on the floor. A one-meter radius around his body was cordoned off, and a few scattered passengers stood around, watching.
When the onlookers saw the captain leading a group towards them, they immediately stepped aside to make way and began asking questions:
“Captain Shen, another murder? When can we return?”
“Yes, every night I sleep with the door barricaded…”
“You can sleep? I haven’t slept at all…”
Seven raised his hand, signaling for calm. “The weather is bad and the navigation system is down. It’s not safe to return now. But if the equipment isn’t fixed in four days, we’ll head back anyway.”
Once the crowd quieted down, the doctor said, “Please step aside. We need to conduct a more thorough examination of the body. It might be bloody.”
Hearing this, the passengers hurriedly retreated to their rooms, shutting their doors tightly.
The detective’s residence was in the VIP area, with excellent conditions and spacious rooms. However, he hadn’t even made it to his room for a moment of relaxation before suddenly dying.
Lu Chu and the others crouched down to examine the body.
Lu Chu suddenly remembered something and said, “By the way, there were no strips of cloth with words on them on today’s victims.”
The doctor speculated, “Maybe there was nothing left to say?”
While they were pondering the case, Ailey, who also lived in the VIP area, arrived cheerfully in high heels, having somehow heard the news.
Seeing this, Lu Chu asked curiously, “Ailey, what are you doing here?”
Ailey blinked playfully, “I’m here to see Chu.”
Lu Chu persuaded her, “We’re investigating a case. Please return to your room for now, Ailey.”
“No,” Ailey squinted her beautiful blue eyes and tried to cling to Lu Chu’s arm, but Seven blocked her view, forcing her to stand back with a playful laugh. “Listen, Chu, I can help.”
The police officer sneered, “What can you do? You probably don’t even know what’s going on.”
Ailey gave him a sidelong glance, “Of course I know. I heard about it and came to find Chu.”
The police officer asked, “Then tell us, what clues or insights do you have?”
Ailey brushed her wavy blonde hair, revealing a faint dimple, and said with a smile, “The detective’s residence is in the VIP area. We paid a high price to stay here, and the service we receive is top-notch. The crew confirms our preferences and health conditions in advance to provide the best service. Am I right, dear Captain?”
She paused, turning her gaze to Seven, who responded indifferently, “We strive to offer the most sincere service to our passengers.”
Ailey’s smile took on a strange edge.
The doctor guessed, “Could it be the chef’s doing?”
Lu Chu pondered, “That’s possible. As the head chef, they must know each guest’s dining preferences and allergies to make their cruise enjoyable. The detective died from an allergic reaction masked by spicy food, which points to the chef.”
Seven ordered a crew member, “Bring the head chef from the VIP restaurant here.”
Soon, a slightly plump white chef was escorted in. He was still wearing his white chef’s uniform, with short, curly brown hair tucked under his chef’s hat. He hurried over, a few strands of hair escaping the hat.
The head chef bowed to Seven, “Captain Shen.”
Seven nodded, “Did you prepare the lunch we had today?”
The chef answered, “Yes.”
Lu Chu asked, “Did anyone else handle it?”
“Some steps were done by my assistants.”
Lu Chu continued, “Do you know what the detective was allergic to?”
“Yes,” the chef nodded. “We have records of all passengers’ food allergies. As chefs, we can’t afford to be careless in this regard.”
The doctor was surprised, “Then why did the detective die from an allergy? Didn’t you check the food?”
The chef nodded, “We did, but the allergen was masked by the spicy flavor, so I didn’t detect anything unusual.”
Lu Chu’s gaze sharpened, and he said firmly, “You’re lying.”
The chef was startled and immediately defended himself, “I’m telling the truth! You’re accusing me without evidence!”
“There’s evidence,” Lu Chu said, staring at him. “First, we only mentioned the detective died from a food allergy, not what specific food caused it. You could have claimed he ate something else, but you directly identified the spicy dish. Second, chefs have exceptional taste. Most can identify 90% of the ingredients in a dish, especially those on a luxury cruise.”
The chef broke into a cold sweat as Lu Chu turned to the quiet doctor, “The same applies to you. Without proper equipment, you identified the cause of death too quickly. If I’m not mistaken,” Lu Chu’s eyes scanned both the chef and the silent doctor, “you two are pawns.”
The other doctor and the police officer were shocked.
The silent doctor admitted it without resistance and was promptly restrained. The chef struggled briefly before suddenly stopping, as if terrified, and submitted to being tied up.
Thus, they had caught three pawns— the woman from room 136, the doctor, and the chef.
The police officer was sweating profusely, “Anyone on this ship could be a victim or a pawn. How can we make it to the return trip?”
The other doctor, recalling the detective’s words, felt a chill run down his spine.
When asked about the “big cat,” both the pawn doctor and chef remained tight-lipped. They had no choice but to lock them up together for now.
The police officer sighed and squatted in defeat, “What do we do now?”
Lu Chu said, “The killer strikes at midnight when we’re asleep. This time, I’ll stay up all night. We’ll wait for the ‘big cat’ to appear.”
.
For the next two nights, Lu Chu followed his plan, staying up both nights.
Unexpectedly, despite his vigilance, the killer seemed aware and didn’t strike. Seven stayed with him throughout, showing no signs of fatigue, unlike the increasingly exhausted Lu Chu.
Seeing Lu Chu’s state, Seven frowned slightly, feeling a pang of pity. He picked Lu Chu up and carried him to the lounge, gently placing him on the soft bed and covering him with a warm blanket. “Sleep.”
Exhausted, Lu Chu quickly fell asleep.
.
The next day, Lu Chu woke to find out there were four more dead— the doctor, the chef, the woman from room 136, and Ailey.
The cause of death was suicide.
Lu Chu could foresee the deaths of the doctor, the chef, and the woman, but Ailey’s sudden suicide left him confused.
Could Ailey also be…a pawn?
This raised more questions: why did people die whenever he slept; why couldn’t he detect any trace of the “big cat” on the dead crew; and who was Ms. He looking at?
Suddenly, Lu Chu recalled Seven’s statement that he wouldn’t allow a second pawn near the big cat.
Lu Chu remembered that when Ms. He committed suicide by jumping into the sea, she first leapt from her window to the deck and then into the water, dragging her injured body.
To save time, Lu Chu had wanted to jump down too, but Seven stopped him, only sending crew members to intercept her, ultimately failing to prevent her suicide. Despite the ship’s height, both he and Seven could have jumped without much harm and stopped her.
This made Lu Chu reconsider the known clues and events, applying them to Seven.
This might explain why he couldn’t smell the “big cat” on the bodies— because Seven was always with him, any scent would be masked by Lu Chu’s own. And at the crime scenes, Seven’s presence would cover any residual scent on the victims.
No.
That couldn’t be right.
Lu Chu knew Seven wouldn’t hide his true identity from him. In a previous game, Seven had openly declared himself the serial killer.
This time, Lu Chu still believed Seven wasn’t hiding his identity.
Seven had once told him, “From life to death, trust no one, not even yourself, but you can trust me.”
Wait.
Not even…trust yourself?
