Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou returned to their room at 3 a.m. They went to bed and rested. The next day was Thursday, and they slept until noon again. At lunch, they ran into Shao Qingge, who squinted and joked, "Didn't you two get enough rest last night? What were you doing staying up so late?"
This time, since they were openly investigating at the bar, Yu Hanjiang had nothing to hide and said directly, "We went to the seaside bar last night and didn't get back until 3 a.m. We even ran into an acquaintance there."
Everyone knew the two had gone to the bar, and Shao Qingge hadn't expected them to return to the hotel so late. He immediately stopped smiling and asked in a low voice, "What happened? Who did you see?"
Xiao Lou said, "Do you guys remember the masked man we met in Spade 4?"
At that time in Liuxi Village, Shao Qingge and Ye Qi hadn't teamed up with Xiao and Yu yet, but they had met in Spade 3 and agreed to meet in Spade 4, so the four of them stayed together. Later, they met Liu Qiao at the mountain temple, and on their way out of the village, they met the couple Long Sen and Qu Wanyue...
The Masked Man wasn't part of their group; they were just temporarily working together.
Ye Qi thought for a moment and said, "I remember him. We had already found most of the gems when he suddenly appeared and used his telekinetic ability to take all the gems from our hands. I thought he was there to steal the gems, but he said he wanted to cooperate."
Many people cleared the Liuxi Village instance, but everyone remembers the masked man vividly. While the other Challengers revealed their true faces, he mysteriously wore a silver mask to conceal his identity. His voice was soft, not effeminate, and quite distinctive…
Shao Qingge said, "I remember he went to Sun City after passing the fourth level?"
Xiao Lou nodded and said, "We met him at the bar last night, but he didn't recognize us at all. Moreover, according to Mr. Tang's information, he opened a bar in Sun City six months ago, so it's impossible for him to have appeared in the Spade 4 instance a month ago. I guess he has a twin brother, and the one we met was probably his twin."
Shao Qingge and Ye Qi exchanged a glance and looked at each other blankly.
Ye Qi scratched his head and said, "Are you sure they're twins? What if they're just wearing the same mask?"
Yu Hanjiang is very confident in his ability to recognize people: "Different people wearing the same mask will not look so alike. Besides, his mask will reveal his eyes and lips, and these features are exactly the same as the Masked Man we saw in Liuxi Village."
Upon hearing this, Ye Qi couldn't help but ask in confusion, "If the twins came to this world at the same time, they should have found each other using the contract book after passing through the Plum Blossom 2 secret room and teamed up to do quests together. How come one of them came to the main city half a year ago, while the other was still in the Spade 4 newbie secret room a month ago... Unless they didn't die at the same time?"
Yu Hanjiang said in a low voice, "We also find this strange, so Xiao Lou and I discussed it and decided to tell everyone. If you encounter this person in the future, be careful. We don't know yet whether he is friend or foe."
Ye Qi and Shao Qingge both nodded to indicate that they understood.
After dinner, Xiao Lou went to find Lao Mo again and asked him if he had heard of "White Fox" or the Twins. Lao Mo said, "White Fox is quite famous on the Challenger forum. I've seen him post some strategy guides. But he's always elusive; I've never seen him, nor have I heard of him having any twin brothers."
Tang Ci's Intelligence Bureau and Lao Mo's network of connections could not confirm the identity of this "white fox".
Xiao Lou had no choice but to leave him alone for the time being.
There was still no news from Ninth Brother, and the rest of the day was spent in worry.
As Friday night approached, once midnight struck, Challengers in the main city were forcibly pulled into the Weekly Secret Chamber.
Previously, to avoid the Weekly Routine, they followed Brother Jiu's advice and forced themselves to draw cards before midnight on Friday night to enter the A-grade secret room. Now that the A-grade secret room is cleared, it's time for everyone to reunite. For their first Weekly Routine as a team of 12, everyone felt both excited and nervous.
At 11 PM on Friday night, Xiao Lou asked in the group chat, "Is everyone ready?"
Tang Ci typed a message: "Ready."
Gui Yuanzhang and Chu Huaying also promptly sent a message: "All done." "Wait until midnight."
Yu Hanjiang was a little worried because Lu Jiuchuan wasn't in the group chat: "Where's Ninth Brother?"
Tang Ci said, "He should still be at the dinner party and it's inconvenient for him to contact us. Around midnight, we forcibly pulled him in using the contract book."
***
At this moment, in the presidential suite on the top floor of the Ronghua Building in Sun City.
Several people were eating fruit and playing cards, including pop diva Luo Yan, who had just held a concert a couple of days ago.
Unlike her usual aloof goddess attire, Luo Yan wore a fiery red low-cut halter dress today, with chestnut-colored curls that perfectly showcased her beautiful figure. The thin halter dress revealed most of her shoulders, and even the black totem tattoo on her shoulder was faintly visible.
This place is full of Hunters, and Lu Jiuchuan has realistic tattoos all over his body, so no one seems to mind.
The game was Texas Hold'em. Luo Yan got a full house and won the hand. She grabbed all the chips on the table and said, "Sorry, I won again."
Lu Jiuchuan sat down next to her and smiled rather gentlemanly, "Miss Luo, you certainly have a lot of luck today."
Luo Yan turned to look at him, smiling, and said, "Mr. Chen's luck wasn't bad either; although he didn't win, he didn't lose much either." Her words were meaningful.
He glanced at the gold coins in front of Lu Jiuchuan: "It's like he's deliberately controlling his chips, making sure he neither wins nor loses."
Lu Jiuchuan chuckled: "Miss Luo overestimates me. How could I possibly have such abilities?"
Luo Yan, still smiling, leaned close to Lu Jiuchuan's ear and said, "I remember Mr. Chen used to frequent the underground banks in Moon City. How come your card skills seem to have gotten rusty after all this time?"
Lu Jiuchuan said helplessly, "I guess my luck with cards is just bad today."
As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly felt a chill on his chest. Lu Jiuchuan looked down and saw that Luo Yan had taken a gun from somewhere, and the black muzzle was pointed directly at his heart.
The woman's smile grew even gentler: "Rumor has it that Challenger has many cards that can disguise one's appearance, such as the S-rank effect card [ Mask ], which is like a transparent mask that allows one to change their appearance at will. Have you heard of it, Mr. Chen?"
Lu Jiuchuan felt a sudden chill run down his spine.
At this time, he was using a [ Mask ] card to disguise himself and impersonate a high-ranking member of the Hunter Organization named Chen Wenbo.
To attend this dinner, he secretly investigated Chen Wenbo for a long time, figuring out Chen's lifestyle and habits. The last Weekly Secret Chamber happened to be a disaster-themed spade world, with many Hunters involved. Lu Jiuchuan followed Mr. Chen into the Weekly Routine, cooperated with Chu Huaying to kill him, and then impersonated him to return to the Hunter Organization to attend this dinner.
After dinner, he stayed to play cards with these people until now, wanting to hear what they had to say.
Where exactly did Luo Yan slip up and see through it?
Lu Jiuchuan was inwardly turbulent, but he pretended to be calm and smiled as he said, "I have never heard of the card that Miss Luo mentioned. I am truly ignorant."
"Never heard of it?" Luo Yan took a step back, staring coldly into Lu Jiuchuan's eyes: "Haven't you been using it all along?"
"..."
The next second, Lu Jiuchuan decisively grabbed her wrist with a grappling move, twisted it in the opposite direction, and at the same time, his body suddenly squatted down and slid quickly under the table!
Almost simultaneously, Luo Yan pulled the trigger. The silenced gun made no sound, and a bullet shot out and embedded itself in the wall behind where Lu Jiuchuan had just been standing.
Lu Jiuchuan's expression changed drastically.
Luo Yan shouted sternly, "Kill him!"
Upon hearing this, the men who were still playing cards simultaneously picked up their guns and opened fire on Lu Jiuchuan.
The room was filled with a dense hail of bullets, forming a net that Lu Jiuchuan could not avoid. As he dodged, he was suddenly shot in the shoulder, and his white shirt was immediately stained red with blood.
Lu Jiuchuan rolled on the spot and quickly hid behind the stone pillar.
The sound of their approaching footsteps filled his ears, and a sharp pain shot through his shoulder. In desperation, Lu Jiuchuan glanced at the window beside him, swiftly moved, kicked the glass, and decisively jumped out.
This is the hotel's top floor, the 68th floor. Falling from there would definitely result in being smashed to pieces!
However, just as Lu Jiuchuan climbed out the window, a large bird engulfed in flames suddenly spread its wings and, as if possessed by a spirit, caught him steadily. Lu Jiuchuan sat on its back, and the bird let out a sharp cry in the air before soaring into the sky, disappearing without a trace like a ball of fire across the night.
A man slowly walked out of the closed inner room and said coldly, "He really is Lu Jiuchuan, the owner of the S-rank summon beast [Vermilion Bird]. Back then, it was he who led that group of people to kill hundreds of our elites."
Luo Yan's face darkened: " Lu Jiuchuan? Wasn't he eliminated a long time ago?"
The man walked to the broken window, watching the flames flash by like shooting stars in the distance. He picked up a shard of glass, brought it to his nose, and gently sniffed the smell of blood. He squinted and said, " Lu Jiuchuan, he actually managed to survive in the S-class Nightmare Secret Room."
Those behind him exchanged bewildered glances upon hearing this.
The man said, "Track after him immediately. His companions should still be alive—this time, leave no one alive."
******