INSIDER Chapter 30

On the road leaving the village, He Mingde asked Lu Chu, “How did you come to the conclusion that ‘Lin Lin died long ago’?”

Just moments ago, after Lu Chu had asked Wei Rong this question, surprisingly, she didn’t go crazy but quieted down. A moment later, tears streamed down her dirty cheeks.

“Dead…” she murmured, “she’s dead…”

It was as if she was in a trance or had suddenly become clear-headed. She silently shed tears, repeatedly saying, “Dead, dead.”

Having gotten the answer he wanted, Lu Chu knew Wei Rong couldn’t take any more stimulation and told the others, “Let’s go to A City.”

After delivering another meal to Wei Rong, the five of them drove a minivan towards A City.

In the car, Li Jiapeng kept glancing at Lu Chu, wanting to ask something but hesitating. Finally, He Mingde asked the question everyone was thinking.

Lu Chu smiled, “Do you doubt me?”

He Mingde nodded directly, “A little.”

Li Jiapeng, surprised by his straightforwardness, exclaimed, “Mingde?!”

“Calm down, you all think everyone’s fake, everyone’s a ghost now,” Song Gui teased.

Lu Chu said, “I’ve already told you, it’s not just us who want to know the truth. It does too, which is why we are safe for now.”

“But who knows, when the truth comes out, it might kill us to keep it a secret. Or maybe halfway through, it gets bored and decides killing us is more fun,” He Mingde retorted.

Lu Chu nodded in agreement, “What you say makes sense,” then with a gentle smile, he continued, “But what can we do? Just sitting around clueless won’t save us. We have to keep investigating. There might be a chance of survival.”

Song Gui, ever the instigator, suggested, “Since we have some distance to A City, let’s take a vote.”

Everyone asked, “Vote on what?”

Song Gui grinned mischievously, “On who’s the ghost, of course.”

Li Jiapeng shuddered, “Let’s not…”

Song Gui raised an eyebrow, “Scared?”

Li Jiapeng gave a wry smile, glancing at Lu Chu, “A little.”

Song Gui followed his gaze to Lu Chu, who chuckled, “You suspect me too.”

Song Gui shrugged, “Anything’s possible.” He added, “Come on, let’s vote. It might pique its interest.”

He Mingde took a deep breath, “Why would we want its interest?”

Song Gui shrugged, “Who knows.”

In the end, they decided to each name the person they suspected.

“Okay, on three. Ready?”

“Three—

Two—

One—”

He Mingde: “Lu Chu.”

Li Jiapeng: “Lu Chu.”

Song Gui: “Yang Cheng.”

Lu Chu: “Yang Cheng.”

Qi Li, who was driving and looking straight ahead, said flatly, “Yang Cheng.” It felt like he was putting a period at the end of the vote.

Hearing he had two votes, Lu Chu sighed, “You should at least trust Aunt Wang a bit. I’m not ‘a stranger to the village’.”

Li Jiapeng and He Mingde’s suspicion of Lu Chu stemmed from his composed behavior. From the moment they encountered the horrific scenes, Lu Chu remained unnervingly calm and even talked to the insane Wei Rong naturally. His every move was convincing, but that made them more suspicious.

Lu Chu didn’t have much to say in his defense. He was playing his role, but survival was his only goal in this “game.”

He Mingde, not responding to Lu Chu, questioned the three who voted for Yang Cheng, “You can’t just blame Cheng Zi because he’s gone.”

Lu Chu said, “I’m not blaming anyone.”

He Mingde looked at the three who chose Yang Cheng with skepticism, “Then what’s your basis? You can’t just guess.”

Song Gui: “Personality.”

Lu Chu: “Smell.”

Qi Li: “Intuition.”

Lu Chu couldn’t help but laugh at Qi Li’s “intuition.”

He Mingde and Li Jiapeng gave Qi Li puzzled looks and then asked Song Gui, “What personality?”

Song Gui: “Who knows.”

He Mingde frowned, “Don’t joke around. Is this really the time for jokes?”

“I’m not joking. I just think it’s him,” Song Gui stretched in the cramped space and asked Lu Chu, “What about you? What’s with the smell?”

Lu Chu gave him a deep look.

Since entering this “game,” Song Gui had always acted indifferent and pushed Lu Chu to take the lead. It was hard to believe he had noticed nothing. He remembered Song Gui could stay in the illusion for a long time, indicating he had survived numerous “games.” Surviving these varied yet equally dangerous games couldn’t be just luck.

Song Gui was a smart man, a deeply disguised one. Though he seemed carefree, no one knew what he was really thinking.

As for why Song Gui hadn’t offered any constructive opinions in this game but instead kept pushing Lu Chu forward, Lu Chu suspected he was observing him, determining if he was worth cooperating with.

After all, no one wanted a useless teammate.

Lu Chu didn’t reveal his thoughts and said, “My sense of touch, hearing, and smell are much more sensitive than most people’s.”

Li Jiapeng asked, “And? How does that make you suspect Cheng Zi?”

“The day Yang Cheng had his accident, we were together in that room,” Lu Chu paused, “The smell of blood was very strong. At first, I didn’t pay attention, but after a while, amidst the pungent scent of blood, there was a faint smell. I had smelled it on Yang Cheng before. It wasn’t soap or any external fragrance, but a unique scent of Yang Cheng himself. At the time, I didn’t think much of it. After all, it was his death scene, so it made sense for his scent to be there. Until last night, when we examined the village chief’s body.”

Li Jiapeng shuddered, “Did you smell it too?”

Lu Chu nodded, “I was wondering how to tell you. The village chief’s body was rotting, the smell of decay overpowering all other scents. But the longer we stayed, the stronger Yang Cheng’s scent became, more distinct. That scent—”

Li Jiapeng was about to ask something when Lu Chu suddenly said, “Just like now.”

Li Jiapeng almost jumped, “What did you say?!”

“That scent, it’s just like in the car now.”

In an instant, the moving van fell into a deathly silence.