Chapter 26

Gu Yi’an's gaze fixed on the words "drunk driving" in the message.
In an instant, she recalled how, just before Brother Yong left, Lu Zize had told him that he'd placed the alcohol he bought for him in the passenger seat.
He had anticipated that Brother Yong would drink and drive.
Everything was within his calculations.
The other players had just breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Gu Yi’an mention Brother Yong as a potential breakthrough, only to have that hope vanish in the blink of an eye.
"Did he do it?" a female player voiced the question.
Now, aside from the players, Lu Zize was the only veteran investigator left in the bureau.
If it wasn't Lu Zize, then who else could it be?
Everything was unfolding exactly as Lu Zize had planned.
A sense of inescapable despair began to gnaw at the players.
The drowsiness of the novice male player vanished entirely. He studied Gu Yi’an's expression and cautiously asked, "So... now that Brother Yong is dead, what do we do?"
Gu Yi’an's fingers brushed over the Sage card she had placed on the table.
She said, "We go to the second floor. There's evidence there."
Gu Yi’an remembered the items Brother Yong had rummaged through in the room, those items were likely evidence.
While Brother Yong was around, she couldn't touch them.
But now that Brother Yong was gone, she was determined to search the room, regardless of Lu Zize.
Just as Gu Yi’an was thinking this, a figure none of the players wanted to see appeared at the conference room door.
Lu Zize, wearing his black-framed glasses, smiled and said, "I thought it was about time for dinner, so I came to get you all. Were you planning to come get me too? What a coincidence."
The players had just risen from their seats, ready to head to the second floor to search for evidence of Lu Zize's crimes, only to have him assume they were coming to invite him to dinner.
Some players, unable to hide their expressions, quickly averted their gaze to avoid meeting Lu Zize's eyes.
Lu Zize continued, "After today's investigation, I doubt you'd want to step into the kitchen again. I'll treat you all to seafood."
His mention of it only made things worse. The players who had gone to the market with him yesterday recalled how they had taken premium meat from the butcher.
Especially the two remaining male players, who had been the main cooks for the meat dishes, their faces twisted in discomfort.
Hearing Lu Zize's words, Gu Yi’an immediately realized that he had likely taken the players to the market on purpose yesterday.
He had anticipated that they would follow him.
But Gu Yi’an, being perceptive, hadn't joined the others in tailing him.
Originally, staying alone in the room would have given her ample time to search for evidence, but unfortunately, Brother Yong had been in the bureau.
Now that Brother Yong was dead, no one could know what he had truly been thinking.
But Lu Zize knew that Brother Yong wouldn't allow Gu Yi’an to disturb the items in that room.
Therefore, he had no need to worry about his evidence being discovered.
Thinking this through, Gu Yi’an grew even more convinced that the room held crucial evidence.
In the conference room, the players and Lu Zize stood in a near-standoff.
Lu Zize was no longer hiding certain things.
The players were well aware of his malicious nature.
Yet, Lu Zize acted as if nothing was wrong, smiling as he asked, "What's the matter? Why are you all looking at me like that?"
None of the players dared to respond to him.
Lu Zize said, "Let's go. People can't skip meals."
Although he spoke with a smile and used his usual consultative tone, this time, no player dared to show defiance and refuse him as they had on the first day.
Who knew what consequences refusing him might bring?
The last person to refuse him, Brother Yong, had already died in a drunk driving accident.
Gu Yi'an was the first to leave her seat.
She was determined to see what tricks Lu Zize was up to.
Tang Jiu followed closely behind.
The other players naturally followed suit.
When it was time to get into the cars, Gu Yi'an and Tang Jiu rode in the one driven by Lu Zize.
The other four players kept as far away from Lu Zize as possible and went to the other car.
During the boarding process, the new male player hesitated, saying that due to the psychological trauma from the previous night, he was afraid to get into the car at night, always feeling like there might be ghosts. The experienced players practically shoved him into the car.
During the drive, Lu Zize seemed to realize that Gu Yi'an and the others didn't want to talk to him, so he focused on driving without saying a word. He took everyone to the vicinity of the East Ring Road market.
Near the market, there was a shopping mall, and Gu Yi'an and the others had found a restaurant inside the mall that day.
Through the car window, Tang Jiu spotted her favorite candy store, its huge sign particularly eye-catching.
Her eyes lit up, and she tugged at Gu Yi'an's sleeve, saying, "I want to buy candy."
Gu Yi'an took out the candy Tang Jiu had previously given her from her pocket.
Tang Jiu shook her head, "That's for you. You eat it."
Lu Zize, while parking the car, noticed Tang Jiu's actions and said, "We'll go after we eat."
Tang Jiu glanced at him and suddenly grinned, "Brother Lu, why can't we go now?"
Lu Zize patiently replied, "We're about to eat."
"Oh," Tang Jiu looked at him and fell silent.
Lu Zize led everyone into a seafood restaurant.
The seafood restaurant was bustling with business, crowded with people, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
The shop owner, seeing they were in uniforms, quickly asked if they wanted a private room or the main hall.
The players naturally preferred the main hall, with so many people around, they figured Lu Zize wouldn't dare to make a move.
Lu Zize stood by without saying anything, letting the players decide.
Gu Yi'an couldn't find anything suspicious about the situation, so she quietly browsed the menu.
The other players couldn't help but scrutinize the seafood restaurant, searching for anything unusual.
Due to their extreme distrust of Lu Zize, they eyed the waitstaff with suspicion.
Lu Zize smiled and said, "Order whatever you want."
The players exchanged glances and decided to pick the most expensive items, lobster, scallops, abalone, anything pricey. Eventually, they considered that they should at least have something to eat, so they added a few common fish and shrimp dishes.
At that moment, Gu Yi'an suddenly remembered she still had Lu Zize's card in her possession.
She was about to return it to him.
Lu Zize said, "I'll pay with face recognition."
Gu Yi'an: "..."
While they were busy ordering, the noise from the other tables had somehow faded away.
For a moment, the loudest sound came from the speakers hanging on the central support pillar in the restaurant's main hall, beneath which was a large television screen.
Gu Yi'an and the other players instinctively turned their attention to the screen.
On the screen, a man declared confidently, "I didn't break the law. I ate their meat with their consent. I have their signed agreements. I couldn't finish it all, so I sold some to others, it's just sharing. The person from the investigation bureau who broke into my home is the one who broke the law!"
The man spoke with conviction, showing no trace of remorse.
His face was familiar to Gu Yi'an and the other players.
This was the vendor who sold "premium meat" and was linked to multiple missing persons cases.
Lu Zize's voice chimed in at just the right moment.
"Brother Yong broke into his house this afternoon and found multiple dismembered bodies on the spot. He posted the entire process online. Later, Brother Yong died in a drunk driving accident because he didn't want to implicate us."
His tone was calm as he recounted what had already happened.
Hearing his words, most of the players looked uneasy and doubtful.
Had they misjudged Lu Zize?
The forces behind the premium meat vendor were indeed powerful, as evidenced by the fact that the investigation task assigned by the Divine Eye had been abruptly terminated.
Tang Jiu tugged at Gu Yi'an's sleeve. "I want to buy some candy."
Gu Yi'an pulled her sleeve back and shook her head slightly.
She had no money.
Lu Zize said, "You two go."
Implying that he would cover the cost.
"Thank you, Brother Lu!"
Tang Jiu thanked him energetically, immediately stood up, and pulled Gu Yi'an toward the door.
The other players watched enviously, but Lu Zize said, "If all of you go, what will the restaurant owner think of us?"
The players had ordered thousands of dollars worth of food. If they left now, the owner would likely call the enforcement squad on them for fraud.
Everyone could only watch as Gu Yi'an and Tang Jiu walked away.
The sky had turned pitch black.
Shop lights shone brightly under the dim yellow streetlights.
Dark surveillance cameras blended into the shadows.
There were few pedestrians on the road during dinner hours, only a scattered few here and there.
Even the gentle breeze couldn't soothe Gu Yi'an's tangled thoughts.
After walking for a while, she asked Tang Jiu, "What did you pull me out here to say?"
Tang Jiu glanced at the cars on the road, then at the pavement tiles, and finally at the candy shop they were about to reach.
Her gaze had no fixed point of focus.
"I feel like we've already fallen into his net," Tang Jiu said.
She looked at Gu Yi'an seriously and asked, "Do you believe what he just said?"
"You mean about Brother Yong's cause of death?"
Gu Yi'an thought about the Brother Yong she knew and said, "He wasn't lying."
Lu Zize probably wasn’t lying about this.
"Wake up! You actually believe him?" Tang Jiu said incredulously.
"You're playing a game, one where you could die at any moment!"
Tang Jiu looked at Gu Yi'an as if she were an idiot.
"I know."
Gu Yi’an said helplessly, "I think he just hid some things about Brother Yong."
Hearing this, Tang Jiu calmed down a bit and said, "What I can’t figure out is why he wants the players dead. Our identity is rookie investigators, what conflict could we possibly have with him? Just because we’re players, because this is the game of the gods, we have to die? Clearly, we rookies could have been his assistants."
As the two talked, they stepped into the candy shop.
Tang Jiu didn’t bring up the previous topic again. She adjusted her mood quickly and began excitedly picking out candies.
Gu Yi’an looked at the colorful candies but couldn’t muster the same enthusiasm as Tang Jiu.
Why did these players have to die?
Why did Lu Zize want these rookie investigators dead?
What was his goal?
Just for fun?
While Gu Yi’an was lost in thought, Tang Jiu finished selecting her candies and urged Gu Yi’an to pay.
After Gu Yi’an settled the bill, Tang Jiu took the bag of candies handed over by the cashier, pulled out a few pieces, and stuffed them into Gu Yi’an’s pocket.
"Stop overthinking it. Just be careful. You’re the one being targeted."
Without giving Gu Yi’an a chance to refuse the candies, Tang Jiu nimbly hopped a few steps away, stood outside the door, and turned back to smile at Gu Yi’an. "Have some candy too, "
A huge signboard suddenly crashed down.
It struck her head directly.