Chu Xuan — a professional soldier, holding the rank of colonel.
Yujin, when he first entered the Lord God Space, had his limbs, sight, hearing, and tongue stripped away.
Chu Xuan, on the other hand, was born without emotions.
No sense of pain, touch, smell, or taste.
His emotions never fluctuated — a pure, living machine.
Every move he made was based on one principle: maximize profit.
He never considered others' feelings.
He'd even sacrifice himself as a piece on the chessboard if it served the plan.
To Yujin, the most frustrating thing about Colonel Chu wasn't his intelligence — it was his complete lack of empathy.
Even something like Siri, the voice assistant — if you told her you didn't want to live anymore, she'd at least try to comfort you, saying the world is still beautiful.
But Chu Xuan?
He'd probably just pull out his gun and end your suffering before you could even regret it.
That was Chu Xuan.
Yujin walked up to him.
Chu Xuan flinched slightly, not daring to meet his eyes.
"Alright, stop pretending," Yujin said calmly. "From the moment you opened your eyes, you've been faking it. A 'lazy freeloader'? Please. Only they would believe that."
The rest of the Central Continent team turned to look at Chu Xuan, puzzled.
They didn't understand why Yujin was paying so much attention to such an ordinary-looking newcomer.
"You acted pretty well," Yujin continued, a smirk on his face. "But you overlooked one crucial detail."
"A real jobless slacker wouldn't have neatly trimmed nails, no nose hair showing, a spotless white shirt, and a clean haircut short enough to make people think you're gay."
"The most important thing is…"
Yujin kicked the toe of Chu Xuan's polished shoe.
"Those are issued boots, aren't they? Freshly polished. Too neat to be a freeloader's."
Chu Xuan suddenly smiled.
Not because he found it funny — but because he realized that, in this situation, a normal person being exposed would probably give an awkward laugh.
He lifted his head and adjusted his glasses.
Sunlight reflected off the lenses, hiding his eyes — and his expression.
In that moment, he seemed like a completely different person.
Every movement exuded the air of a disciplined soldier.
"My name wasn't a lie," Chu Xuan said evenly. "I really am a soldier. As for where I serve — that's classified."
Yujin patted him on the shoulder and grinned.
"Now that's more like it."
Chu Xuan didn't respond.
He was already silently running calculations in his mind.
It wasn't surprising that he couldn't fool Yujin.
Because Yujin had already read the script.
And Chu Xuan — he treated everyone like fools.
He believed that, in this world filled with danger and horror, no one would have the time or focus to pay attention to him.
He wanted to pretend to be a cripple, quietly observing his teammates from the shadows.
But soon, he realized he had underestimated the captain of the Central Continent team.
While Chu Xuan was calculating, Yujin was studying as well.
The so-called "script-reading" Chu Xuan was like someone shooting first, then setting up the target afterward to make it look like a perfect hit — a setup that matched his own intricate schemes.
But this was, in truth, a problem with him as a character.
Yes, according to the setting, Chu Xuan's intelligence was supposed to be extremely high.
Yet when you strip away all the surface layers, his so-called genius was really just the product of a sleepless old eunuch-like author pulling his hair out at midnight, trying to write something that looked clever.
Yujin didn't know if this Chu Xuan was meant to be genuinely super-intelligent according to the story's rules, or if he was simply a literal "genius" because the narrative said so.
He had to figure that out.
Because if Chu Xuan's intelligence came only from "story logic," then everyone around him would automatically become dumber — victims of the author's limited imagination.
To make Chu Xuan look smart, everyone else had to act stupid.
What else could the writer do?
Could a web novelist really portray the full depth of a character with an IQ of 220?
That would be asking too much.
Just as Yujin was thinking about this, Zhan Lan suddenly let out a startled cry, breaking everyone's confusion.
"Look! The mission on our watches just updated!"
Yujin raised his wristwatch — and then slammed his fist down on the table next to Chu Xuan!
The heavy table cracked, leaving a deep dent where his fist landed.
Chu Xuan calmly adjusted his glasses, analyzing the extent of the table's damage and calculating Yujin's physical strength based on the impact.
Then, he too looked at his reincarnation watch.
[You are students of Windsor College, and residents of Ghostface Town.]
[Find and capture the Ghostface Killer. Each successful capture earns 200 reward points. Capture ten, and receive one C-rank side story.]
Just reading that much, Yujin could already tell — this horror movie mission was basically a free gift.
The worst part was the blood-red words scrolling across the screen below.
[Team Battle Begins]
[The North Polar Team will be free to act in ten minutes]
[This team battle uses a points system. Both teams have an equal number of players. A kill adds one point, death subtracts one point. When the story ends and we return, the point difference will be calculated. The difference multiplied by two thousand will become the team's reward or penalty points]
[If a team member doesn't have enough reward points to cover the penalty, they must repay the debt before the next cycle. Otherwise, they will be erased]
[Killing an enemy team member without an activated gene lock grants two thousand reward points and one C-level side story]
[Killing an enemy team member with an activated gene lock grants seven thousand reward points and one B-level side story]
After reading the rules, the people from Central Continent team were no longer as calm as when they first realized this was Scream. Their expressions turned serious.
The four newcomers looked a bit dazed. Student Li Shuaixi asked the person next to him, Zhang Jie, "W-what… what's going on? Is… is this team battle really that terrifying?"
"It's more than terrifying." Zhang Jie clenched his fists. "Eight crazy AIs from the Arctic Circle. Do you even understand how impossible it is to cross the bridge?"
Li Shuaixi swallowed hard. "Then… isn't that basically a death sentence?"
Huang Mao, a streetwise guy, slammed his hand on the table. "Can't we just not participate in this game?"
Yujin smiled. "In society, when you say, 'I'll never dare again,' do you think the other person will stop hitting you in the face?"
"Damn!"
****
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