INSIDER Chapter 81

Song Gui believed that if he hadn’t entered the tower so quickly to support them, he could have at least helped when danger arose. This self-reflection lingered because he knew that in their team, no one could afford to fall behind.

Seeing Song Gui’s self-reproach, Lu Chu reassured him, “We’re fine. Your support was very effective.”

“What exactly happened out there?” Yuan Kejie asked with concern. “You took a while to get in, and we were worried something happened to you two.”

Lu Chu explained, “As we were nearing the tower, Qi Li and I encountered a centipede-like monster. It was quite a tough fight, so it took us a bit more time to deal with it.”

Although Lu Chu summed it up in a single sentence, judging by their delayed arrival and the blood on 7, the others knew it must have been an extremely intense battle. They were just glad both of them returned safely.

Ruo Qi leaned on the wall with her shovel, eyeing Lu Chu and Qi Li. “As long as you’re okay.”

Yuan Kejie handed them a cloth. “Here, use this to clean up a bit.”

Lu Chu realized how disheveled they must look, especially 7, and thanked her. He took the cloth and began to gently wipe the dirt off 7’s face. “We can look for a place to clean up properly once we enter the next grid. For now, let’s just wipe off the worst of it.”

7 watched Lu Chu’s movements intently.

Yuan Kejie and the others didn’t notice anything unusual about their interaction, but Song Gui observed Lu Chu’s hand wiping 7’s face with a thoughtful expression.

Lu Chu and 7 quickly cleaned themselves up, and then the group found their places and gathered around the table again.

Yuan Kejie looked at the dice. “So, who’s rolling this time?”

Ruo Qi remarked, “The last six grids are interesting.”

“Indeed,” Song Gui noted, resting his chin on his hand. “Four of the grids have danger symbols, one is blank, and the last has a heart symbol.”

In the previous roll, Song Gui had rolled a five, which had a difficulty level marked by two skulls, while six had one skull.

Now, on the third roll, one is marked by a single skull, followed by “fangs,” a blank grid, “claws,” a “bomb,” and finally, the “heart.”

Yuan Kejie asked, “Is there a big difference between one skull and two?”

Song Gui smiled and asked her, “How many of those monsters do you think you could handle?”

“One… maybe?” Yuan Kejie responded hesitantly.

“One skull likely means the difficulty is halved,” Song Gui explained. “But those creatures are strong, numerous, and have strange bodies. We couldn’t fight back at all; we could only run. Halving the difficulty won’t make it much easier.”

Qian Zhen agreed, “I feel the same.”

Seeing Yuan Kejie still confused, Song Gui elaborated, “When your strength matches the difficulty, you’ll notice the difference. But when the gap is too big, there’s no comparison. It’s like someone terrible at English taking an exam; to them, the difficulty of different levels is indistinguishable because they can’t handle either.”

Yuan Kejie was silent for a moment. “I think I get it, but you’ve deeply hurt me.”

She remembered the fear of English exams and felt exactly like the person who couldn’t see the difference between levels.

Ruo Qi, unfamiliar with the exams, scoffed, “It’s because you’re not smart enough.”

Yuan Kejie sighed, feeling down.

Meanwhile, Lu Chu glanced at 7. It was true that they couldn’t handle the monsters, but 7 alone could.

This realization didn’t ease Lu Chu’s mind. Instead, he felt urgency and determination to grow stronger.

“So, who’s rolling this time?” Yuan Kejie looked around. “We should be careful. Rolling a six would let us avoid some tough fights, and it’s the safest—the heart symbol must mean something good.”

“I’ve rolled already,” Ruo Qi said.

“I did too,” Song Gui added. “And I doubt you want me to roll again.”

Qian Zhen shook his head, “I’m not particularly lucky.”

Yuan Kejie said, “I’m not lucky either. We should be careful this time and aim for the heart.”

She turned to Lu Chu, her eyes sparkling. “Lu Chu, how about you roll?”

“Me?” Lu Chu asked.

“Yes,” Yuan Kejie affirmed. “My intuition says you’re lucky.”

Lu Chu laughed. “I’ve never had much luck.”

“I think Yuan Kejie has a point,” Song Gui said. “Why not give it a try? We won’t blame you if it’s not a six.”

“I agree,” Ruo Qi said. “It can’t be worse than Song Gui.”

Song Gui shrugged. “I agree.”

Lu Chu glanced at 7, who nodded. “Alright, I’ll roll.”

Song Gui encouraged, “Go for it, Lu Chu.”

“Face the storm, young man!” Yuan Kejie cheered.

Lu Chu shook the dice in his hands and casually threw them.

Everyone watched intently.

The dice rolled quickly at first, then slowed, circled a bit, and finally stopped at six.

Lu Chu instinctively looked at 7, who had a hint of a smile in his eyes.

Song Gui clapped. “Perfect.”

“Impressive,” Yuan Kejie said.

Ruo Qi and Qian Zhen relaxed a bit.

At that moment, the walls of the tower disappeared, revealing the phrase on the table—“Enjoy the day.” The tower vanished, and they found themselves in a town similar to the first grid. The town was desolate, the streetlights rusty.

Even though the heart symbol indicated something good, they remained cautious. Complacency could be fatal.

Having abandoned most of their supplies earlier, they had only their weapons and some compressed biscuits. They exchanged glances, understanding each other’s thoughts.

Song Gui and the others looked at Lu Chu.

Lu Chu closed his eyes, listening and sniffing the air. After a moment, he opened his eyes. “I don’t sense any danger, but we should still be careful.”

“Alright,” Song Gui said. “Let’s find a safe spot first.”

Since Lu Chu didn’t sense danger in any house, they chose the nearest one.

The house was empty but tidy. They spread out, finding some food and useful tools.

Yuan Kejie, excited by the small gadgets she found, shared her haul with the group. “These are all very useful.”

Knowing her expertise in survival skills, they let her be.

After searching the house, they decided to let Qian Zhen and Yuan Kejie guard it while the others scouted for more supplies.

Their search was fruitful, bringing back tools and food.

Lu Chu found some clothes, necessary after their river crossing and battle. Especially 7, whose clothes were stained with blood. Clean clothes would help their next move.

Lu Chu had guessed their sizes accurately, earning Yuan Kejie’s praise. However, she lamented, “Too bad there’s no water for a proper bath.”

Although a full bath wasn’t possible, Qian Zhen found several water cooler jugs. They could use these to wipe off the grime.

After cleaning up, they felt refreshed.

That night, they took turns keeping watch in pairs.

The next morning, they gathered for a brief discussion.

Song Gui suggested, “Since the tower’s position isn’t fixed, we don’t need to guard its last location. Given the low danger here, we should stay in the house and go out in the evening.”

Lu Chu nodded. “I agree.”

Everyone else concurred.

When evening came, they packed their supplies and opened the door.

The tower appeared right in their yard, its door facing them, just a few steps away.

Qian Zhen was speechless.

Ruo Qi raised an eyebrow. “What did we achieve today?”

Yuan Kejie, with a grand gesture, said, “Thank the lucky charm!”

Song Gui wiped his face. “I surrender.”