After returning to the hotel, Tang Ci immediately retrieved the information from his laptop, conducted a detailed investigation into Luo Yan's background, and sent the compiled information to Lu Jiuchuan.
Lu Jiuchuan replied, " Luo Yan is just a senior member of the Hunter Alliance, not even a core member. I have no clue who the real boss is. This person is very well hidden. He not only knows a lot about Challenger, but also has a lot of influence in Card World. He is also very rich. He is indeed not easy to deal with."
Tang Ci said, "Back in Plum Blossom J, we encountered ten times more Hunters. This time, you signed on to Xiao Lou's contract book. Are you worried that if we continue to sign your book, Plum Blossom J will become a hunting game again?"
Lu Jiuchuan did indeed have this in mind.
Advanced secret chambers are custom-designed for each team and will not be repeated. Therefore, previous strategies and experience are useless; subsequent S-level secret chambers will definitely have entirely new backgrounds and settings. His contract book depicted heavy casualties, as if he were plagued by misfortune. With Xiao Lou's book, the later secret chambers might have different settings depending on the owner of the contract book.
Of course, before entering the S-level secret chamber, all of this is still unknown.
If they encounter ten times the number of Hunters again, like last time, they'll have no choice but to fight them head-on.
Lu Jiuchuan instructed, "These past few days, please organize everyone's cards and prepare some supplies. I won't be able to contact you for the next two days. The person I need to contact is likely a high-ranking member of the Hunter Alliance, and contacting him rashly might expose you. Also, make sure to protect Ye Qi. He's already shown his face today, and someone might try to assassinate him."
Tang Ci replied, "Understood. I have already hacked into the hotel's surveillance system. If any suspicious persons appear, I will notify Ye Qi and the others to prepare accordingly. Don't worry."
After the conversation ended, Tang Ci added everyone to a group chat.
As a top hacker, he naturally made thorough counter-surveillance preparations. This time, the chat group used a small software he developed himself, so there was no need to worry about being monitored.
Tang Ci typed a message: "This hotel is safe for now. Before Saturday, everyone should try not to go out and eat at the hotel restaurant. Mr. Old Gui and Hua Ying still have some matters to attend to. At midnight on Saturday, we will be forcibly transported to the Weekly Secret Chamber. In the next few days, everyone should conserve their energy and prepare for a tough battle."
Old Mo sent a message: " Weekly Routine is still uncertain in terms of type. If it's spade or plum blossom, it'll be another tough battle."
Do you still remember spade? Weekly Routine [ Endless Sea ]: They were abandoned on a ship and encountered shipwreck, capsizing, hunger, scorching sun, sharks, and hunters. After a few days, they were almost skin and bones.
Although Weekly Secret Chamber's mortality rate is controlled at around 20%, and their team's strength shouldn't lead to elimination, they still can't let their guard down. After seeing this, Xiao Lou replied, "Everyone, report all the cards you currently have so Mr. Tang can compile the statistics."
Tang Ci shared the same idea, saying, "Statistical cards are also convenient for arranging tactics in emergencies."
Most of the B and C cards you got early on are now obsolete. For example, cards like [Universal Key] and [ Nine Palaces Grid ] have a limited number of uses and will automatically be destroyed once they're used up.
A and S cards have fewer restrictions, and everyone has a few. Everyone took turns sending screenshots of their cards to Director Tang for statistics.
Ye Qi's cards are mainly musical instruments, including flute, erhu, guzheng, piano, and suona. Most of them have control functions, and they are very comprehensive in terms of single control and group control. He also has a copy of the Insect King card by Shao Qingge, as well as a Teleportation Card with excellent movement ability.
Liu Qiao has the Lightness Skill Card [ Light as a Swallow ], and [ Twin ] which allows her to disguise herself as any person or animal. The other cards are fairy tale cards such as Little Red Riding Hood, Poison Queen, Thumbelina, Mermaid Princess, and Ugly Duckling.
Old Mo's hand is full of renovation and furniture-related cards; Longqu Couple's [ Chameleon ] is a very strong scouting card, and the rest are sports and dance-related, which can be used for offense, defense, and escape. CEO Shao's cards are expensive to use, but the [ Rich and Willful ] card's ability to copy cards makes it the strongest S card, with infinite possibilities.
Yu Hanjiang has a handgun and a military knife weapon plaque. Xiao Lou's art style is the strangest, a whole bunch of ancient character cards...
Everyone had a general idea of their teammates' cards, but they were very curious about the cards of Tang Ci and others.
Amidst everyone's anticipation, Tang Ci also showed everyone a screenshot of his card.
Data Master, Mechanical Ant, Drone Array, Mechanical Centipede, Mechanical Spider, Mechanical Snake, Healing Robot...
Looking at the huge number of intelligent machines, Ye Qi was dumbfounded: "So many machines?"
Tang Ci said, "Some of these are cards that I researched myself."
Xiao Lou already knew that Director Tang was a research fanatic who had become a top hacker in this world, but seeing so many intelligent mechanical cards in person, he couldn't help but admire him.
Old Gui's cards are related to pens, ink, paper, and inkstones. Everyone has seen his pen that can make things float in the air before.
Chu Huaying possesses a melee weapon called the Blood Spider, which is why she's known as the Spider Queen. It's said that this dagger is incredibly sharp, cutting through iron like mud. With each kill, a red line appears on the weapon; now, the blood-red lines on her dagger have become a dense spiderweb, terrifying her teammates.
Chu Huaying said, "You don't need to be afraid. I only killed Hunters. None of them were innocent."
Mr. Old Gui joked, " Hua Ying is a hunter because she killed too many Hunters."
She's the number one wanted person on the Assassins' League's bounty list; killing her will bring a huge reward.
Chu Huaying often cooperated with Lu Jiuchuan in the Weekly Secret Chamber, pretending that he couldn't defeat her and was stabbed, leaving a spider mark. This way, he could explain himself when the mission failed. But while he could get away with it once or twice, doing it repeatedly would definitely arouse the organization's suspicion.
This is also why Chu Huaying cannot appear in public. She is the number one person on Hunter's bounty list, and if she shows her face, she will definitely be hunted down. So she disappeared immediately after signing the contract book with Xiao Lou.
Regarding Ninth Brother's card, Tang Ci said, "Ninth Brother went on a special mission, changing his appearance and concealing his identity. To avoid arousing suspicion from the Hunter Organization, his card has been temporarily sealed in the underground factory. I will retrieve his card holder before the Weekly Secret Chamber begins."
Currently, only Lu Jiuchuan is not in the group, and everyone hopes he can return safely.
With three days left until the Weekly Routine, Xiao Lou said, "Everyone, get some rest. Try to avoid meeting each other these next few days, take good care of yourselves, and call us if you need anything."
As it was almost eleven o'clock, everyone took a shower and went to bed.
Seeing that Xiao Lou's face was a little pale, Yu Hanjiang gently patted his shoulder and said in a low voice, "You must be tired too. Go take a shower and get some rest."
Xiao Lou nodded, turned around and went to the bathroom to take a shower.
When I calm down, I can't help but think about what happened at the gymnasium today.
He and Yu Hanjiang were in Zone A, where the situation wasn't too serious. They weren't pushed into the crowded aisle by the crowd, and Yu Hanjiang held him protectively in his arms, so Xiao Lou wasn't injured.
However, the horrific scene he saw and heard still lingered in his mind.
I could still smell a strong stench of blood.
Xiao Lou could not imagine the suffering endured by those who were trampled to death on the ground.
He frowned as he let the cold water from the showerhead wash over his body. Only after taking a cold shower did his mind gradually return to calm.
His power is limited, and he can't save too many people. Right now, he just wants to leave this crazy world as soon as possible.
Although there were criminals in his human world, most people abided by social rules and didn't have to live in constant fear of survival, much less participate in the perilous " Weekly Routine " every weekend. In that world, weekends were usually spent with young people having meals together, watching movies, and going on dates... Now, thinking back, such weekends have become a luxury.
Xiao Lou dried herself off, changed into her pajamas, and returned to her room.
Yu Hanjiang turned around and went to take a shower, while Xiao Lou sat down at his desk, opened his laptop, and went online to see if there were any news reports about today's events.
Soon, he saw the headline on the front page, which read in large, bright red letters: " Stampede at Luo Yan's Concert Leaves Thousands Injured!"
When Yu Hanjiang came out of the shower, he found Xiao Lou staring at the computer screen, his face pale. He walked over to Xiao Lou and looked at the screen— Xiao Lou had opened a news website, which was reporting in detail on the stampede at the concert.
Yu Hanjiang's voice was low: "It seems that the official statistics have been released."
Xiao Lou nodded and said softly, "Tonight's concert resulted in 578 deaths, 1086 serious injuries, and many minor injuries. Currently, the bodies of the deceased are being taken to be cremated, and the seriously injured are receiving treatment in hospitals."
578 is not just a simple number; it represents a total of 578 lives.
Most of the 1,086 seriously injured people are Challengers. If they cannot be cured before Saturday, they will likely be eliminated from the Weekly Routine this Saturday. What are they feeling in the hospital at this time?
Yu Hanjiang paused for a moment, then asked, " What about Luo Yan? Has he apologized for this?"
Xiao Lou gently gripped the mouse, opened Luo Yan's homepage, and said, "Her PR team reacted quickly. As soon as the official news came out, they immediately posted an apology letter, which was obviously written in advance. Luo Yan also publicly apologized on her personal Weibo and announced her retirement from the entertainment industry, saying she would no longer sing. But what can all this change? The dead won't come back to life just because she apologizes. She's just putting on a show."
Luo Yan's personal page has received over 500,000 comments. Apart from a few die-hard fans still defending their goddess, most of the comments are from passersby who are condemning and insulting her... But none of that matters anymore.
She accomplished her mission as a Hunter, killing over 500 people and seriously injuring over 1,000 in one fell swoop.
She will definitely receive an award from the organization.
Seeing Xiao Lou's pale face, Yu Hanjiang sighed softly and said in a low voice, "If... I mean if, our team can't clear the S-level secret chamber, is there anything you haven't done yet? Why don't you say it now, so you don't have any regrets?"
Xiao Lou looked up and met the man's deep, gentle gaze.
An unfulfilled wish?
Suddenly, the scene of his first real-life encounter with Yu Hanjiang flashed through his mind. On that rainy day, he was being summoned by the police to the city bureau to give a statement. Yu Hanjiang, dressed in a police uniform, stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, his figure as straight as a pine tree, his profile as handsome as a statue.
His first impression of Yu Hanjiang was that the man was very handsome, but too serious and aloof, and looked like someone not to be trifled with. The man's gaze was so sharp it seemed to pierce through one's heart. Facing this Criminal Police Detachment Chief, Xiao Lou was sweating profusely during questioning, afraid that he might say something wrong and affect the police's investigation of the case.
That was the first time they met.
He never imagined that he and Yu Hanjiang would have so many interactions later on.
After spending time together, Xiao Lou's impression of Yu Hanjiang has changed significantly—this man is principled, decisive, and efficient, and his personality is not as cold as he had imagined.
Especially towards him, Yu Hanjiang had always taken good care of him. In the secret chamber of Turmoil of War, the two had even been husband and wife for a lifetime, sharing the same bed for so many years. Xiao Lou didn't know if he had fallen for Yu Hanjiang at that time.
Every time Yu Hanjiang inadvertently took his hand, his heart would pound like a drum.
He felt inexplicably at ease whenever Yu Hanjiang was by his side.
But he didn't dare to say it.
Hunter's ruthlessness exceeded his expectations. There might be many more Hunters like Luo Yan, and whether they could overcome the upcoming challenges remained to be seen. Even Jiu Ge's formidable team nearly perished at Plum Blossom J. How far could their current team go? If they were eliminated, would their spirits be utterly extinguished?
In such a harsh living environment, how could he have the leisure to dwell on matters of the heart?
He might not even be able to save his life. If he confesses now, it might cause trouble if Yu Hanjiang doesn't like him.
A hint of struggle flickered in Xiao Lou's eyes.
This was the first time he had truly liked someone. If it were in a stable, peaceful world, he might have dared to actively pursue Yu Hanjiang. But now, even the word "like" felt incredibly heavy, and he dared not utter it. If this caused a rift with Yu Hanjiang, it would definitely have a negative impact on the upcoming locked-room adventures.
Xiao Lou was filled with conflicting emotions. Under Yu Hanjiang's gaze, he subtly shifted his eyes and said softly, "Of course, there are many unfulfilled wishes. As a son, I cannot fulfill my filial duty to support my parents; as a teacher, neither of my two students have graduated..."
Yu Hanjiang asked in a low voice, "Is there anything else?"
Xiao Lou fell silent.
He really wanted to say...and you, I haven't had a chance to tell you how much I like you yet.
His eyes welled up slightly, but he couldn't bring himself to say those words.
The next moment, Yu Hanjiang suddenly gently grasped Xiao Lou's hand. Xiao Lou's fingertips trembled violently, and he tried to pull his hand back, but Yu Hanjiang gripped his fingers even tighter.
Just now, in order to see the computer screen clearly, Yu Hanjiang had moved his chair next to Xiao Lou. The two seats were very close. When Yu Hanjiang pulled hard, Xiao Lou was caught off guard and leaned forward, being pulled tightly into the man's arms.
Xiao Lou: "???"
***