INSIDER Chapter 140

Watching 7 pry up the floorboards with bare hands, Wang Heng stood nearby, dumbfounded. So many supernatural events happening around him in one night made him feel like he was dreaming. If it really were a dream, he’d be glad to wake up and find that all the terrifying things were just illusions.

On the other side, Lu Chu looked at the floorboard that 7 had lifted and smiled warmly. He sensed the information being conveyed to him by the skull and reached under the floorboards to feel around. Soon, he pulled out a piece of jawbone.

The others looked at the jawbone in surprise. It turned out they could really find it, proving that this spiritual medium was indeed useful.

Lu Chu compared the jawbone with the skull he held, finding that the size was perfect, fitting seamlessly. He thought he would need something to stick the jawbone back in place, but to his surprise, it adhered automatically as soon as it touched the skull, becoming inseparable.

With the spiritual medium complete, Lu Chu closed his eyes and touched the skull’s head, feeling the information it transmitted to him. 7 watched him silently.

A moment later, Lu Chu opened his eyes and walked toward the bed.

Initially, he could only sense the presence of the red-haired female ghost near the bed through smell. Now, with the complete spiritual medium, he vaguely saw the red-haired woman lying on the bed.

Sensing Lu Chu’s gaze, the ghost turned her head to look at him, cracking a grotesque smile that stretched to her ears.

She floated up, speaking in a gentle, gracious tone, “Child, what you hold is mine.”

Lu Chu looked at the others, realizing they hadn’t heard the woman speak.

7 noticed the anomaly and cast a questioning glance at Lu Chu. Lu Chu shook his head, “It’s fine, don’t worry.”

Then, turning to the ghost woman, Lu Chu respectfully asked, “Are you saying that this spiritual medium belongs to you?”

Seeing Lu Chu suddenly start talking to himself, Wang Heng was puzzled, “What’s he doing…?”

7’s cold eyes fixed on him, “Shut up.”

Remembering how 7 had just pried up the floorboards with his bare hands, Wang Heng wisely shut his mouth.

Meanwhile, Lu Chu’s conversation with the ghost woman continued, undisturbed by Wang Heng. The ghost woman smiled again, her deformed mouth looking even more horrific, yet her voice remained gentle and kind, “Polite child, I appreciate you. The skull in your hand indeed belongs to me.”

Hearing her confirmation, Lu Chu looked at her beautiful, smooth hair and suddenly recalled a saying he had heard before: “Born with red hair, exceptionally powerful.”

If this skull truly belonged to the woman, she might have been a powerful witch with a strong energy field during her lifetime.

“Child, you surprise me,” the woman said. “I intended only to guide you in finding a way out, but you have a talent for communicating with spirits, able to use the medium I once did. This means you can leave here more quickly.”

Lu Chu, skilled in sensing people’s emotions, felt from her tone and demeanor that she was telling the truth.

So, he politely asked, “May I ask how we can leave…?”

Before Lu Chu could finish, the red-haired ghost woman suddenly screamed in terror, “It’s coming! It’s coming! I must leave here, leave!”

Lu Chu was shocked, “Who is ‘it’?”

The ghost woman had no time to say more, only warning Lu Chu, “You may use the spiritual medium as you wish, but remember, child, not every ghost speaks the truth. Don’t be deceived by them!”

With that, she vanished on the spot.

Seeing Lu Chu’s grave expression and that he had stopped talking to the air, Yuan Kejie cautiously asked, “Are you done talking to ‘it’?”

“Not yet,” Lu Chu shook his head, “There was an emergency, so the lady left before finishing. We need to be careful.”

Yuan Kejie asked in confusion, “Careful of what?”

“Boom—Boom—Boom—”

At this moment, heavy footsteps approached the room, getting closer.

Lu Chu made a quick decision, “Hide!”

Ruo Qi immediately turned off her phone’s light, using her small size to hide in a bedside cabinet. Yuan Kejie pulled the still-confused Wang Heng under the bed. Lu Chu and 7 hid in a dusty wardrobe.

“Boom—Boom—Boom—”

The heavy footsteps grew closer until the source entered the room.

From the heavy sound, it seemed like “it” was dragging a heavy body, moving very slowly, with a laborious pace.

Lu Chu tried to use the skull to sense the intruder’s identity and appearance but failed. Apparently, the being outside wasn’t a “spirit.”

If so, why was the ghostly witch so afraid of it?

Perhaps the intruder was the one who destroyed the witch’s magical item and caused this mansion’s current eerie state?

These thoughts swirled in Lu Chu’s mind, making him deeply pensive. Beside him, 7 suddenly reached out and pulled Lu Chu into his embrace.

Startled, Lu Chu was about to cry out when 7 silenced him with a kiss.

Meanwhile, the creature outside slowly circled the room before dragging its heavy body out.

After a long time, ensuring it wouldn’t return, everyone emerged from their hiding spots.

Lu Chu touched his flushed ears.

Ruo Qi turned on the light, and they all looked around.

The floorboards, already old and dusty, had accumulated layers of stubborn grime over the years. When they entered, their light footsteps didn’t leave any marks. However, now the floor was covered with indistinguishable footprints and heavy dragging marks.

Yuan Kejie’s expression grew serious, “What kind of creature is this? I feel like ‘it’ might physically attack us.”

Wang Heng was confused, “Physically attack?”

Yuan Kejie explained, “Ghosts use magical attacks; other creatures that can touch physical objects, like zombies, use physical attacks.”

Wang Heng, enlightened, exclaimed, “Wow, Yuan Kejie, you know a lot about this. You don’t seem like a woman at all.”

Yuan Kejie: “…”

Forget it, don’t get angry, Yuan Kejie told herself. Wang Heng is a teammate, so I can’t hit him. He’s already silly; hitting him more would just slow us down further.

As they examined the marks on the floor, speculating about the intruder’s identity, they heard hurried footsteps approaching from outside.

They immediately prepared themselves, but Lu Chu reassured them, “It’s fine, it’s Song Gui and the others.”

Lu Chu, sensitive to sounds and auras, quickly recognized Qian Zhen and Song Gui’s footsteps.

Yuan Kejie and the others relaxed.

Sure enough, moments later, Song Gui and Qian Zhen entered, dragging along Sun Haoran, followed by the equally puzzled Wang Yiming and Li Yiming.

Seeing this, Lu Chu smiled, “Revealed your true colors?”

Song Gui nodded, raising an eyebrow with a grin, “This guy was clearly toying with us. His arrogance made it obvious. We hadn’t been on the third floor long when he suddenly asked me about my experience with task scenarios. I figured it was best to deal with him first.”

Lu Chu looked at Sun Haoran, “What’s your identity?”

Pinned down by Song Gui and Qian Zhen, Sun Haoran looked up, scanning Lu Chu from head to toe before giving a wicked smile, “Lu Chu, I’m here specifically for you.”

Lu Chu frowned, “What do you mean?”

Sun Haoran didn’t answer, instead eyeing the skull in Lu Chu’s arms with a tone of admiration and sighing, “Lu Chu, you’re different. In this game, I’ve never seen a player use that spiritual medium.”

With that, he looked back at Lu Chu, licking his lower lip with a bright, teasing gaze, “Dear, you might need a black mirror; it can help you summon the shadow of death.”

The next moment, Song Gui and Qian Zhen felt a tremendous pressure on Sun Haoran’s arms. In an instant, 7 kicked Sun Haoran to the center of the room.

7 walked steadily to the dazed Sun Haoran, grabbing him by the collar and lifting him.

Sun Haoran’s feet left the ground, blood trickling from his mouth, but he seemed indifferent. After a chuckle, he fixed his gaze on Lu Chu behind 7.

“Bang!”

Sun Haoran was thrown again, landing near the bed. 7’s punch to his abdomen left him writhing in pain. Then, 7 smashed his head into the rotten floorboards.

Finally, the taunting and talking ceased as Sun Haoran’s head sank into the floorboards.

7 stepped on his chest, pressing down on his heart, and spoke in a deep voice, “Stop with the disgusting look and tone.”