498: 8.98 A Terrible Secret*

8.98 A Terrible Secret*

The werewolves camp's mission was only one: to annihilate 500 guests in the next seven days. It meant that at least 72 people on average had to die everyday so they could fill the quota. However, the number of people killed on the first day was only 38. If Lu Yizhou excluded the two people he had personally killed as well as Liu Shi who died of poisoning yesterday, then last night only 35 werewolves acted.  2

Assuming that there were 50 werewolves on this ship, then what about the remaining 15? Were they like the girl he had met in the labyrinth last night? Burdened by conscience and guilt, they chose to abstain and bear the consequences in the end?

Of course, that was only Lu Yizhou's speculation. He still had no idea how many werewolves were there in the cruise ship.

Actually, 38 deaths in one night was already a very huge number. It would definitely create panic among people. Lu Yizhou had anticipated the jubilant atmosphere on the ship to change, but contrary to that, everything was still peaceful on the surface. Yes, people were restless and fidgety, but not to the point of locking themselves up inside the room. At least they still had a lot of passion to chase idols.

He wanted to see how the guests could vote for the werewolves and cast them out. However, it was already close to 10.30 am and there had not been any moves from the guests yet.

When would they act?

Just as he was thinking about it, a piercing scream tore through the air, sounding so desperate that it sent goosebumps to everyone who heard it. "Help—! Help aaaah! My son—"

Photographer Song lifted his head from the camera with an unhappy look. "What's with the ruckus?"

Humans were curious creatures to begin with. As soon as the scream erupted, almost 50% of the fans that crowded around the set rushed out, leaving the other half who were either too timid or unsympathetic. Not only that, the photoshoot crews also ran out to join the uproar. Lu Yizhou himself wanted to check the situation out but there was no way he could leave Ellen alone in this kind of situation. 

He lifted his eyes and met Ellen's eyes in midair. As soon as he did, a minute frown appeared on his forehead. Ellen was just fine when he started shooting, his mood was fantastic and even the photographer praised him to the roof, so why did he look like he's in such a bad mood now?

Photographer Song waved his hand, sighing. "Alright, half an hour break." The atmosphere was not conducive any longer. Moreover, he had gotten some very good shots so he did not mind giving longer breaks to his models. "Remember to come back here at 11 am! We're not done yet!"

Xiao Qi rushed out diligently to offer a towel and water bottle to Ellen, but he was intercepted by Lu Yizhou even before he could reach the model. "Let me," he said in a tone that brooked no arguments.

"O–Oh!" It was unknown what kind of thoughts was in Xiao Qi's mind but his face flushed as he handed the items over to Lu Yizhou. 

Not thinking too much about it, Lu Yizhou turned to the dressing room where Ellen had just entered. The supermodel was lounging on the chair with a mini fan blowing cold air to his sweaty face. He grumbled as soon as he caught sight of Lu Yizhou. "Where have you been?" He reached out for his water bottle, but Lu Yizhou beat him to it as he unscrewed the cap and drank two gulps himself. Ellen was dumbfounded. "You're fighting me for water now?"

Lu Yizhou held out a hand. "Five minutes."

"What are you—" Ellen's face changed abruptly. "You suspect someone will try to poison me?"

Lu Yizhou grunted in acknowledgement. 

Ellen shot up standing so quickly that his chair nearly toppled over. He snatched the water bottle away from Lu Yizhou's hands, livid. "Then what are you drinking it for?!" He pulled Lu Yizhou's head down and thumped him on the back, so anxious that he was one step away from thrusting his fingers into Lu Yizhou's mouth. "Spit it out! Spit it out, I tell you!"

Lu Yizhou, who almost suffered internal injuries from that powerful hit: "..."

"There's nothing." Lu Yizhou gestured calmly for the water bottle. "You may drink now." His body had been trained to be sensitive toward poisons. He should be able to identify it at the first sip and the lack of reaction in his blood told him that the water was safe.

"You're a bodyguard, not a poison tester!" Ellen rebuked him harshly. "Who do you think I am, an Emperor in the ancient dynasty?! Who the hell would want to poison me anyways?!"

Lu Yizhou pinned him down with a severe look. In this kind of situation, it was not good to keep Ellen in the dark. Ellen had known more than necessary from the previous quest anyway, so Lu Yizhou did not have any qualms to expose the crux of the matter to him. "Don't ever let your guard down. Remember Baines?"

Ellen's face turned ugly at the mention of the old servant. "What about him?"

"There are people like him on this ship, people who want to take advantage of your weakness and force you to do their bidding. You have experienced how hard it was to deal with Baines so this time, you have to be more careful." Lu Yizhou put on the most solemn look he could muster. "It's been confirmed that there are two such people among those around you. I call them 'bugs'. They are sneaky, vicious creatures who will not hesitate to use underhanded methods to bring you down."

"Bug…" Ellen was dazed by the barrage of information. Fortunately, he quickly snapped to his senses and exclaimed in realization. "So that's why you were asking me about that yesterday. But… how do you know there are two? And also, they are around me right now?" Anger blazed in his golden eyes. "They want to kill me?!"

"No." Lu Yizhou sighed. "Their goal is never to kill you." 

Instead, it seemed like all the bug wanted was to trap his lover inside the simulator. They had gone through all kinds of methods to make Lu Yizhou fail his mission and this time… Lu Yizhou pursed his lips tight. He still had no idea what kind of demise Ellen would go through in this world. Ellen should be the 'villain', however what kind of villain would he be in this kind of setting? How should Lu Yizhou save him? 

"One thing for certain, they will definitely harm you." Lu Yizhou held his shoulders and looked straight into his eyes. "Remember my words. Trust no one but yourself and think twice before you do something. I will do my best to protect you but… there will be a time when I won't be around. By then, you should protect yourself, and also Ella and Ellie. Do you get me?"

"Why…" Ellen showed a slightly panicked look as he grabbed onto Lu Yizhou's wrist. "Why won't you be around me? Where will you go?"

"I won't go anywhere." Lu Yizhou reassured him. "I only fear that they will attack me first to get to you. By then, there will not be anyone who can get to your rescue." He finally softened his voice and stroked Ellen's head. "Don't blame me for scaring you, okay? I don't want you to go through the same thing as you did with Baines. I promise… after everything is over, I will bring you to a better place."

"Mn." Ellen nodded his head, fists clenching tight. 

In the place where Lu Yizhou could not see, Ellen's eyes turned chilling with murderous intent. There was one thing Lu Yizhou had overlooked though. Perhaps he had been too accustomed to protecting his lover behind his back, he forgot the fact that in this world… Ellen might very well be stronger, much stronger than him.

Ellen had made a vow in the previous quest. He would never let Lu Yizhou be injured again. He would never allow the man to sacrifice himself for the second time. And for that, Ellen could do anything.

Crimson flickered in his golden eyes, so faint that he failed to notice it himself. 

Lu Yizhou needed not to worry because Ellen could protect himself very, very well. It was those 'bugs' who should tremble in fear once he caught hold of them. After all, Ellen had been holding onto a very terrible secret; a secret that could destroy the world they were in now.

If… If those bugs dared to do something to Lu Yizhou, then he would not hesitate to use it. No matter what kind of price he had to pay for it…

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