Lu Chu looked up.
Standing on top of the still twitching monster, 7 faced the setting sun and looked down at him. 7’s angular face was splattered with blood, and in the crimson light of the sunset, his eyes seemed to flash with a dangerous red glow.
7 leaped down from the monster, landing lightly in front of Lu Chu.
He wanted to reach out to Lu Chu but, noticing the filth and blood on himself, lowered his hand, simply gazing at Lu Chu.
“Lu Chu,” 7 called his name.
Lu Chu, still in a daze, responded, “Hmm?”
“Never lose your will to fight, even if,” 7 paused, staring intently at Lu Chu, reflecting his bewildered face in his eyes, then continued, “even if you think I might be dead.”
Lu Chu understood that he was referring to his own frozen reaction when he thought 7 had been engulfed by the giant ball.
At that moment, besides despair, he couldn’t feel anything else. Even when faced with imminent danger, he was just a bit stunned.
During the seemingly brief period when 7 was swallowed by the giant ball and the centipede monster attacked him, countless thoughts flashed through Lu Chu’s mind. Those memories, though recent, felt long-buried—his dark world as a child, the obedient and occasionally playful Radish, his parents who had lovingly taught him and then passed away, and the serene little town.
Lu Chu seemed to be separated from the outside chaos by a wall, lost in long memories until they settled on his first encounter with 7—
He had sensed someone following him but wasn’t afraid. He stopped at his doorstep, his gaze unfocused, smiling as he spoke to the air, “Do you want to come in?”
Then the tall, handsome, silent man emerged from the shadows, exuding a palpable sharpness and solitude.
Everything began at that moment.
Lu Chu, in a trance, realized that since his parents’ death, he had strived to live well for two reasons: he had promised his parents he would live well, and because Radish was still by his side.
Later, after understanding that his world was an illusion and Radish was forever buried in that endless cycle of death, he broke free from his original world, entered the “game,” and struggled through various challenges, initially just to seek the truth.
Now, looking at the invincible man before him, Lu Chu realized that 7 had gradually become more important to him than the “truth.”
His parents were gone, Radish was buried.
As long as Lu Chu lived, he could think of no one else besides 7 who could share his trials, earn his trust, and love him.
No one else…could make him want to face death together.
A faint light gathered in Lu Chu’s eyes as he took a step forward and embraced the blood-soaked man tightly, smiling, “I’m just glad you’re safe.”
The sudden hug caught 7 off guard, making the ruthless fighter momentarily uncertain. Then his stern face softened.
Unable to return the hug due to the blood on his hands, 7 looked down at Lu Chu’s hair and said, “I can easily kill those monsters.”
Lu Chu nodded, “I know.”
Lu Chu had not fully grasped the extent of 7’s abilities granted by the countless “games” until that moment. He realized this man was immensely powerful. No monster in the “game” could threaten him; he could come and go freely, protecting Lu Chu and the others with ease.
Yet he had held back.
Lu Chu released him, took a step back, and said, “I understand now. You wanted to train us, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” 7 confirmed.
Simply being protected and hiding behind others would only make them weaker. The right way to protect someone was to let them experience battles and grow stronger within one’s protective wings.
“Thank you,” Lu Chu said sincerely, smiling gently, “I will grow strong enough to not need your protection.”
7 repeated his earlier words, “Even if I might die, you must not lose your will to fight.”
Lu Chu still smiled beautifully, “That I can’t promise.”
7 frowned.
Lu Chu extended his hand and solemnly said, “Please, grant me the right to live and die alongside you.”
———
Inside the tower.
Song Gui and the others were in a state of agitation.
Logically, after Song Gui and Qian Zhen entered the tower, Lu Chu and Qi Li, who were not far behind, should have quickly followed. But more than ten minutes had passed without any sign of them.
Once inside the tower, no one was allowed to leave. Though worried, they could do nothing. Song Gui blamed himself, “I shouldn’t have come in so quickly. I should have waited and come in with them.”
A hint of worry appeared on Qian Zhen’s usually resolute face.
Typically, Yuan Kejie would seize the chance to criticize Song Gui, but in a real crisis, she comforted him instead, knowing that the team needed mutual trust and reliance, not blame.
Even Luo Qi, who often targeted Song Gui, remained silent, unable to offer comforting words.
At that moment, a line of words appeared on the table in the middle of the tower: The tower will be sealed in twenty minutes.
This meant that if Lu Chu and 7 didn’t enter the tower within twenty minutes, they would be forever barred from entering.
Upon seeing the words, Song Gui rushed to the wall, searching for a hidden door.
Yuan Kejie frowned, “It’s useless. I checked earlier. It’s just a wall with no passages.”
Qian Zhen stared at the wall they had entered through and said, “They will be fine.”
Luo Qi raised an eyebrow, “Why are you so sure?”
Qian Zhen met her gaze and replied firmly, “That man is incredibly strong.”
The man named Qi Li was powerful beyond comprehension.
“Tick-tock—tick-tock—”
Time passed, and just when the tension was about to become unbearable, the wall shifted.
In the next second, 7, covered in blood, and Lu Chu, stained with 7’s blood, appeared inside the tower.
“Sorry,” Lu Chu apologized to Song Gui and the others with a gentle smile, “to keep you waiting.”
