INSIDER Chapter 115

Dai Chenggong clicked his tongue twice and said, “What a miserable death. Who could have done it?”

Song Gui crossed his arms and smiled, “It’s obviously an enemy.”

“Tsk—” Luo Qi sneered, “No need to state the obvious. Anyone with eyes can see that.”

Lu Chu looked around, “Let’s move the car to the side of the road first, so our vehicle can pass. Stay alert; the killer might be nearby.”

“Okay,” Dai Chenggong nodded and told his two teammates, “Come on, let’s push the car together.”

It didn’t take long. The group of men easily pushed the sedan to the side of the road, then returned to their own cars and continued driving toward the city.

Back in the tank, Lu Chu informed the others of the situation.

Yuan Kejie was puzzled, “Was the dead person just that middle-aged man in his thirties or forties? What about the others?”

The dead man was found here, and his teammates shouldn’t be far. If the killer harbored hatred toward him, then the flamboyant woman would likely also be a target. Where was she now? The killer probably wasn’t alone, or else how could they have killed the man so brutally while he was in a group of six?

As she thought about it, she voiced her speculation.

Lu Chu, after hearing her concerns, shook his head, “What if the killer was one of the six?”

Yuan Kejie was enlightened, “That’s possible too. If that’s the case, then one or two people could have done it, catching him off guard from within.”

Dai Chenggong commented, “But this has nothing to do with us, right? Whoever killed him, for whatever reason, as long as it wasn’t another player and doesn’t bother us, it’s none of our business.”

Yuan Kejie retorted, “You’re always talking too much.”

“…”

Dai Chenggong was speechless and turned to his teammates, “Do I talk too much?”

Lu Chu leaned on 7’s side, looking at the instrument in front of them, “Are there any living people nearby?”

“Yes,” 7 replied, “They’re all in the houses with closed doors.”

This meant it was impossible to distinguish whether they were ordinary residents hiding to survive the purge day or hunters lying in wait.

However, as Dai Chenggong said, as long as those people didn’t provoke them, they wouldn’t engage for now.

The keyword here was “for now.” If they later found out those people were their targets, they would strike first.

.

Before long, the off-road vehicle and the armored tank entered the city.

The city’s tall buildings were numerous. To ensure safety on purge day, the buildings were constructed with reinforced walls and windows. The walls contained iron plates, and the windows were made of tempered glass with iron bars that could be locked from inside.

At the moment, the city’s greenery was well-maintained, and the clean, spacious streets were empty, resembling a ghost town. Every tall building had all its iron-barred windows closed tightly. Looking up at the towering buildings, they seemed like colossal fortresses.

Lu Chu asked Dai Chenggong, “Did the cleaner tell you any specific features of ‘Zhang Xin,’ like a photo or description of his appearance?”

Dai Chenggong shook his head, “No, he just told me there’s an NPC named ‘Zhang Xin’ living in the city center, and finding him might be the key to leaving this world.”

Lu Chu asked again, “Where in the city center?”

The entire bustling area could be considered the city center. Finding this person without knowing his appearance would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.

“He did mention this,” Dai Chenggong nodded, “Mingde Street, Ming’an Community, Building A, Unit 302.”

Yuan Kejie was a bit angry, “Why didn’t you say this earlier?”

Dai Chenggong quickly raised his hands in surrender, “Even if we know the address, we don’t know where Ming’an Community is… I almost forgot about it myself…”

Hearing his explanation, Yuan Kejie didn’t seem convinced but didn’t say more, just snorting coldly at him.

After listening to Dai Chenggong, Lu Chu took out the walkie-talkie and conveyed the information to Song Gui’s group, “Zhang Xin lives in Mingde Street, Ming’an Community, Building A, Unit 302.”

Song Gui raised an eyebrow, “Did Dai Chenggong just say that?”

“Yes.”

Luo Qi, who also heard it, immediately questioned through the walkie-talkie, “Why didn’t he say it earlier?” Dai Chenggong had to explain again, stating he really didn’t mean to withhold the information.

Lu Chu took the walkie-talkie and asked Song Gui, “Can you confirm the address?”

Before Song Gui could answer, 7 spoke up, “I can.”

Everyone looked at him.

7 explained concisely, “GPS positioning system.”

Everyone: “…”

Dai Chenggong scratched his head awkwardly, “Haha… I forgot we have GPS…”

Yuan Kejie: “Like an idiot.”

The people on the other end of the walkie-talkie, including Song Gui, heard the conversation. Song Gui calmly said, “The GPS system in the off-road vehicle can also be used.”

Yuan Kejie looked at Dai Chenggong, “Isn’t the off-road vehicle yours?”

Next, Luo Qi’s disdainful and mocking voice came through the walkie-talkie, mixed with static, “Forgot, my foot. Are you trying to fool us?”

Dai Chenggong quickly said, “I wouldn’t dare… Our lives are in your hands…”

Regardless of whether Lu Chu and the others believed Dai Chenggong, they used the vehicle’s navigation system to quickly locate Mingde Street and Ming’an Community.

Once they arrived, everyone got out to discuss their next steps.

“Strange…” Yuan Kejie said as soon as she got out and looked at Building A.

Song Gui asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Look,” Yuan Kejie pointed at the entrance of Building A, “the door to the building is open.”

Lu Chu and the others looked at Building A—indeed, the entrance to Unit 1 was open.

On purge day, people would typically stay inside and use the most secure equipment to prevent intruders. Hence, besides the iron-barred windows, the entrance doors of buildings were usually locked with multiple layers of iron doors. The fact that this unit’s door was open suggested two possibilities: someone had broken in, or someone had come out and left it open.

Either way, it indicated that the area wasn’t safe.

Yuan Kejie cautioned, “We need to leave some people down here to watch the vehicles and our weapons, in case there are hidden people around trying to steal our crucial assets.”

“Agreed,” Song Gui said, “our weapons and vehicles are key to our victory.”

They divided the tasks. Lu Chu, Yuan Kejie, Luo Qi, and two of Dai Chenggong’s teammates stayed to guard the vehicles and weapons, while the others went into the building to search.

Among them, only 7 knew how to drive the armored vehicle. Along the way, Lu Chu had stayed close, learning from 7. Even Yuan Kejie picked up some basic skills. Given the danger of the search inside, 7’s strength was indispensable, so Lu Chu and Yuan Kejie stayed behind to guard the vehicles.

With the tasks divided, 7’s team cautiously entered the building with their weapons, while Lu Chu, Yuan Kejie, and a man named Zhang Liang guarded the armored vehicle. Luo Qi and another man, Liu Zebing, watched the off-road vehicle.

302 was on the third floor, and the elevator was out of order. 7’s team quickly climbed the stairs to the third floor.

Soon, 7’s voice came through the walkie-talkie, “The door to 302 is open, and no one is inside.”

Lu Chu realized that this NPC was not content with the status quo.

“Boom—bang!”

Just as Lu Chu was about to tell 7’s team to retreat, they were suddenly attacked. The off-road vehicle shook, almost flipping over.

7’s urgent voice came through, “What happened?”

“We’re under attack!” Lu Chu said, checking the surveillance. He spotted another armored vehicle similar to theirs near the entrance of the community. Before he could think further, the enemy fired again.

7 immediately said, “Wait for me.”

However, there wasn’t just one enemy tank. Another appeared from the road behind Building A, continuously firing at the entrance of Unit 1, preventing 7’s team from safely exiting the building.

Lu Chu struggled to operate the tank, fending off the attacking vehicle. While their situation was manageable, Luo Qi’s position was dire. The off-road vehicle’s windows were shattered. Luo Qi and Liu Zebing, having abandoned the vehicle, hid on either side, guns in hand, looking for a chance to retaliate but unable to damage the tank.

Following 7’s instructions, Lu Chu aimed the tank’s cannon and fired at the enemy. The hostile tank retaliated immediately.

Suddenly, Yuan Kejie screamed, “Watch out!”

An enemy soldier popped out of their tank, throwing a bundle of dynamite towards Lu Chu.

With a deafening explosion, the tank was severely damaged and toppled, but the enemy tank was also destroyed by Lu Chu’s counterattack.

Lu Chu, Yuan Kejie, and Zhang Liang struggled out of the wreckage. Luo Qi covered them as they regrouped. Lu Chu was injured in several places, looking battered. Yuan Kejie’s injuries were worse; shrapnel from the tank had pierced her heart.

“Ugh… Damn, this hurts…” Yuan Kejie was drenched in sweat, trembling from pain, and couldn’t help but cry out.

Forcing a smile, she said, “I’m done for… You guys should go on without me…”

Lu Chu and Luo Qi both frowned.

Lu Chu helped her up, “Hang in there.”

Yuan Kejie wiped the sweat from her forehead, struggling to breathe. She pushed Lu Chu away, collapsing on the ground, blood seeping from her mouth, “KiKi, Little Chu, go. Leave me.”

“We’ve come this far on this path… We can’t stop, can’t retreat, can’t go back, and we can’t… all die here.”

“I’m counting on you to win and revive us all.”