INSIDER Chapter 123

Qian Zhen was dumbfounded: “Wha… what?”

Song Gui immediately burst into laughter, bending over and slapping his knee in amusement.

Luo Qi seemed to partially understand, looking blankly at Yuan Kejie, who patted her back. “Don’t worry, kids don’t need to know too much.”

After some playful banter, Qian Zhen finally understood the relationship between Lu Chu and Qi Li. Initially shocked, he then offered his sincerest blessings and confessed that he had a very impressive boyfriend.

Song Gui laughed again upon hearing this.

“Alright, let’s get back on track,” Song Gui wiped tears of laughter from his eyes. “We need to discuss serious matters. So, what’s the plan? Any ideas?”

Yuan Kejie shook her head. “None at all. Honestly, the two most pressing issues we’re facing can’t be resolved quickly. We’ll have to take it one step at a time.”

Song Gui tapped his fingers on the table. “Let’s tackle one problem first: how do we re-enter the ’rounds’ we’ve already been through?”

This issue wasn’t relevant to everyone; it primarily concerned Lu Chu and Song Gui.

The reason was clear—

For them, Lu Chu was the crucial “player within the round.” Based on this, Song Gui had already entered the world of “City of Senselessness” and discovered another “Lu Chu,” learning Lu Chu’s true identity. Lu Chu, as a player, had left the “City of Senselessness,” which meant he had already entered his own world and couldn’t choose that world again according to the rules.

Thus, neither of them could enter the “City of Senselessness” round anymore.

On the other hand, Luo Qi, Yuan Kejie, and Qian Zhen had not entered the “City of Senselessness” world. They wouldn’t need to go there specifically to bring back the target, so they didn’t violate the rule that “each player can only enter the same round once.”

Even Qi Li had the ability to freely traverse any round at will.

So, the problem was limited to Song Gui and Lu Chu.

If Song Gui was restricted, the others could still continue on their way home. However, if Lu Chu was restricted, it meant their hope was restricted too.

Lu Chu understood this reasoning and couldn’t reveal his identity yet. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Yuan Kejie and the others, but because they didn’t know the road ahead, and there was an enemy “Eliminator” watching from the shadows. Lu Chu didn’t know how much the “Eliminator” knew about him. No matter what, the fewer people who knew his true identity, the safer he was. Once they found a solution to the problem Song Gui had raised, he would naturally tell the others.

Song Gui also understood this, so he never mentioned it.

After discussing for a while without any conclusion, the time on Lu Chu’s bracelet was about to run out.

Lu Chu looked at Song Gui. “Shall we do another multiplayer mission?”

Song Gui shook his head. “No suitable ones for now. I need to be more cautious. Last time, Yuan Kejie died unexpectedly… fortunately, it was a revivable mission. Next time, we might not be so lucky.”

“Alright, I understand,” Lu Chu nodded. “I’ll head back to my room and accept the next solo mission.”

Even though they knew other ways to return to the real world, they couldn’t slack off when it came to completing missions. If there really was no way to re-enter a round once completed, they would have to try Song Gui’s initial “24-hour” method.

No matter what, they had to take the risk.

“Be careful,” Song Gui reminded.

Yuan Kejie and the others also bid him farewell.

…

Lu Chu returned to his white space as his time ended, looking at the thirteen floating rectangular screens. Without hesitation, he began selecting a suitable solo mission.

At times like this, Lu Chu often thought that if he had trouble making decisions, it would be quite troublesome.

Soon, one mission caught his eye—

**”Requirement: Survive

Clue: Jiangshi Game

Hint: The first person it kills will become its slave.”**

Jiangshi?

Lu Chu had heard legends and stories about them as a child. It was said that Jiangshi were malevolent spirits that became the servants of the tiger that killed them, often luring their loved ones to be eaten by the tiger.

Based on his understanding of Jiangshi, Lu Chu pondered for a moment and chose this mission.

After choosing the mission, he walked into the suddenly appearing door. After experiencing the sudden weightlessness and disorientation, he gradually blended into his new surroundings.

Seeing where he was, Lu Chu’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.

He appeared to be on the deck of a ship, gently rocking with the waves of a vast blue sea. The dark blue sky had a bright full moon and scattered stars, and behind him was a brightly lit luxurious cabin.

In front of him was a man with both legs irregularly sawed off, sitting at the edge of the deck, leaning against the railing. The man seemed to have had his legs sawed off alive, his head covered in cold sweat from the pain, lips pale and tightly closed, enduring immense agony. His severed legs were neatly placed on either side of his body, with warm blood splattered everywhere.

One of the severed legs had a sharp, blood-stained long knife embedded in it, presumably the tool used to slowly saw off the man’s legs.

“Lu Chu… kill… kill me…” the man, enduring the pain, opened his bloodshot eyes and looked at Lu Chu, speaking each word with immense effort, his eyes filled with torment and hatred for his killer.

Lu Chu frowned upon hearing this, feeling compassion. It seemed the man was in such unbearable pain that he was asking Lu Chu to end his suffering.

Seeing the sympathetic look on Lu Chu’s face, the man struggled and trembled even more, using his last bit of strength to point at Lu Chu, despairing: “You… kill me…”

At that moment, a man and a woman ran out of the cabin, apparently friends of Lu Chu in this mission.

Seeing the scene, they gasped. The blonde foreign woman said in horror, “This is already the third one…”

The dying man, hearing this, did not lower his hand pointing at Lu Chu, weakly repeating, “Kill… kill me…”

The three others, unable to bear it, turned away.

The woman covered her face. “He’s in too much pain. He must want you to give him a quick death.”

Lu Chu closed his eyes, removing the sympathy from his gaze, and finally pulled the knife out of the severed leg to give the man a merciful death. The feeling of the knife penetrating flesh made Lu Chu’s body shudder, and the man, previously in extreme pain, finally breathed his last.

After finishing, Lu Chu took a deep breath and turned to look at the cabin behind him.

The cabin, seen from the outside, was brightly lit and luxurious, but now it was shrouded in a shadow of death.

“Chu,” the foreign woman said, “let’s go back inside. This place is too scary…”

Lu Chu nodded and followed the three into the cabin.

Upon entering the luxurious ship, they first saw a grand and ornate hall. Dozens of people in suits and dresses, elegantly dressed, chatted and laughed or danced gracefully in the ballroom. Waiters in tuxedos weaved through the crowd with silver trays, and a classical band played soothing music on the steps. These people seemed unaware of what had happened outside, as if even in the apocalypse, they would live in decadent indulgence. The foreign woman couldn’t stand it any longer. She walked to the side, picked up a wine glass, and smashed it against the iron wall. The sound of shattering glass was particularly jarring against the classical music. The dancers and conversationalists stopped, even the band paused, and everyone turned to look at the blonde woman.

A man who knew the woman asked, “Ellie, what’s wrong?”

“Ellie,” the foreign woman, said excitedly, “another person just died on the deck. That’s the third one on this trip!”

Her words caused an uproar. People started panicking and discussing loudly.

“What, another death?! Wasn’t the previous case solved? Wasn’t it a crime of passion? The killer committed suicide!”

“Oh my God, is this ship cursed…”

“It must be those dirty peasants! I told you we shouldn’t have brought them…”

“Where’s the captain! I want to see the captain!”

“…”

Amid the noisy shouts, these people, losing their proud etiquette, became chaotic. Some went to the deck, saw the dead man, and came back covering their mouths.

In the panic, the waiters hurried away to find the captain.

Before long, a tall, handsome man in a captain’s uniform, with deep features, came out.

The man spoke steadily, calming the crowd: “I am Shen Mingyi, the captain of this ship. I am aware of what has happened. We will find the culprit as quickly as possible. Please stay calm. Additionally, the killer might be among us. I must ask you to stop all entertainment and return to your rooms to protect your lives.”

The others were startled upon hearing that the killer might be among them. Fearful, they quickly obeyed the captain and rushed back to their rooms.

Soon, the once lively and splendid hall became deserted.

Lu Chu bid farewell to Ellie and stayed in the hall.

After ensuring everyone had left, the captain instructed his bodyguards to seal off the crime scene and then strode toward Lu Chu.

Lu Chu smiled: “Good evening, Captain Shen.”

He ruffled Lu Chu’s soft hair: “You’re my captain.”