INSIDER Chapter 41

After finishing the meal, there were only a few minutes left on Lu Chu’s wristband.

Lu Chu stood up and politely bid farewell to Song Gui, who complained that he was too formal. Lu Chu smiled and then went to the other stores on the street.

Lu Chu had previously asked Song Gui if he could return to his room and then come back out if there was still time left on the wristband. Song Gui confirmed that it was possible and explained that once the door to the illusion opened, the countdown on the wristband for free activity time began. The time wouldn’t stop, and during this period, they could freely travel between the room and the illusion.

Deciding to follow Song Gui’s advice, Lu Chu planned to put some things in his room. This illusion happened to be a very life-like street, and the large supermarket had all sorts of daily necessities. After some consideration, Lu Chu added a mattress, a set of bedding, a table and chair to his room. He also got some paper and pens from the stationery store to record things. There were still other things he needed to add to make the vast space feel more lived-in, but there was little time left on his wristband, so he had to wait for the next opportunity.

Returning to his room, Lu Chu didn’t rest much and prepared to start the next task.

Although 7 had told him to choose a solo task next, he hadn’t specified which one, and Lu Chu hadn’t had time to ask. This worried Lu Chu about whether they would meet again.

But then he remembered the note 7 had given him that read, “From life to death, I will find you.” For some reason, this reassured him.

He believed that 7 would find him, so he just needed to choose any solo task.

Lu Chu decided to pick a task that felt right because there was no danger rating for these tasks. Each person could only do each task once, and while different people could do tasks others had done before, under the “rules,” players couldn’t discuss any details of the tasks they had completed.

This made every task unfamiliar and new to him, with a potentially equal level of danger.

So, he walked around the thirteen floating square screens and selected one that seemed appealing:

“Requirement: Escape

Clue: Your thirteen days of captivity

Hint: Kill him”

It seemed concise and to the point with a clear objective.

Without hesitation, Lu Chu chose and clicked to enter.

A door slowly appeared before him. Lu Chu walked through it and immediately felt a wave of dizziness.

When Lu Chu regained his senses, he realized he was inside a burlap sack, being carried on someone’s shoulder. His stomach was pressed against the person’s shoulder, making him feel uncomfortable and nauseous from the swaying motion.

After being carried for an unknown length of time, he was placed on the ground. He leaned against a wall, took a deep breath, and tried to rub his stomach but found his hands were tied behind him.

Moreover, he realized his head felt heavy and drowsy as if he had been drugged or was drunk. His eyelids kept drooping, and despite trying to stay awake, he eventually fell asleep. When Lu Chu woke up again, he found himself in a dark basement with about a dozen other young people, both men and women, all huddled together, looking pale and haggard.

“Excuse me,” Lu Chu quietly asked the man next to him, “where are we?”

The man looked at Lu Chu in fear, “I… I don’t know. I was here when I woke up…”

“What about them?” Lu Chu asked, pointing to the others.

The man replied shakily, “I think… they’re also… everyone is very scared…”

Seeing that the man was too frightened to provide more information, Lu Chu stopped pressing him and began to observe the basement.

The basement was spacious, with a slightly damp dirt floor, making sitting uncomfortable. There were old-fashioned light bulbs on the walls, casting a dim, eerie light. One wall had a door, which was locked. Next to this door was a staircase leading upwards, but Lu Chu found that door locked too.

Without a sense of direction in the basement, Lu Chu couldn’t tell north from south or find any useful clues, so he decided to wait and see, while trying to decode the task hint.

“Requirement: Escape

Clue: Your thirteen days of captivity

Hint: Kill him”

It was clear he was currently being held captive, and the task was to escape. The hint suggested killing “him,” which presumably referred to the kidnapper.

What caught Lu Chu’s attention was the specific mention of “thirteen days.” Did it mean he could only find the opportunity to kill the kidnapper and escape after being held for thirteen days?

As Lu Chu was deep in thought, the basement door creaked open.

Everyone’s attention was drawn to the top of the stairs.

The bright light outside made it hard to see the newcomer’s face immediately. As the person walked down the stairs, they became visible.

Surprisingly, the person looked quite handsome, with an eerie grayish pallor, bloodshot eyes, and a strange, unsettling smile.

He walked down step by step, scanning the room until his gaze landed on Lu Chu.

Then he bent down, placing his hand on the wall behind Lu Chu, staring at him with bloodshot eyes, and said in a deep voice, “I’m here.”

Lu Chu was stunned. He instinctively reached out to touch the man’s pale face, his fingers brushing over his eyebrow bone, “7?”

Despite the change in demeanor and the slight gauntness, 7’s appearance hadn’t changed much.

“It’s me.” 7 said, looking straight at Lu Chu. “See, I found you again.”