Chapter 126 Leaving the Ship

Finally getting the key, Lin Qiushi quickly returned to the hallway where Ruan Nanzhu and Gu Longming were. However, when he arrived, he saw only an empty stool and scattered sheets on the floor. Ruan Nanzhu and Gu Longming, who were supposed to be tied to the stool, were nowhere to be found.

Seeing this scene, cold sweat instantly broke out on Lin Qiushi's forehead. His mind was spinning rapidly, with many thoughts popping up in his mind. Then he turned around and ran towards the restaurant.

When Lin Qiushi arrived at the restaurant door, before he went in, he heard a creepy chewing sound coming from inside.

Hearing this voice, Lin Qiushi had a very bad premonition. He did not dare to walk in directly, but slowly moved to the window and looked inside.

All the remaining survivors appeared in the restaurant, even Gu Longming, who hadn't reacted previously. They gathered around a round table, clutching the pale, dead fish and stuffing them into their mouths, their obsession terrifying. Sitting next to Gu Longming was Ruan Nanzhu, the person Lin Qiushi was most worried about.

Ruan Nanzhu was also eating fish. Although his movements were not as rough as those of the people around him, he was indeed using chopsticks to pick up the fish meat and put it into his mouth to taste it.

Lin Qiushi looked at the scene in front of him and didn't know how to react for a moment. He looked at the fish on the table for a moment, and a strange desire rose in his heart. Just like Ruan Nanzhu had said before... it seemed that the fish meat of the dead fish in front of him was not that bad to eat.

This thought flashed through Lin Qiushi's mind, and he keenly sensed that something was amiss with his condition. He glanced down at the key in his hand. Knowing something was amiss, Lin Qiushi gritted his teeth and slipped into the restaurant.

The people in the restaurant, heads bowed as they ate their fish, were completely unaware of the person who had walked in beside them. Their entire attention was focused on the table in front of them, completely oblivious to what was happening around them. This was convenient for Lin Qiushi. He walked around the restaurant but couldn't find what he was looking for, so he thought of another place—the ship's kitchen.

The dining room and the kitchen were the only two rooms on the ship that would not change. Lin Qiushi had already found the key, so he guessed that the door leading out of here should be one of the two rooms.

There is none in the restaurant, the only thing left is the kitchen.

When he was about to leave the restaurant, Lin Qiushi looked at the people who were eating fish near the round table. When he saw a certain detail, he felt a deep chill on his back.

I saw some green scales appearing on the face of someone who ate fish first. These scales attached to his skin and spread from his neck to his cheeks. It seemed that this change had been going on for quite a while. If it continued, I wonder what it would look like in the end.

But no matter what, it was not what Lin Qiushi wanted to see.

So he walked out of the restaurant quickly and took one last look at Ruan Nanzhu.

Ruan Nanzhu still lowered his head, eating the fish in front of him nonchalantly. His indifferent look made Lin Qiushi feel uncomfortable, but Lin Qiushi did not dare to delay any longer because he found that he did not seem to hate fish so much after all, and even swallowed his saliva involuntarily.

Lin Qiushi turned and left the restaurant, heading to the kitchen next door.

The kitchen was empty, filled with stale, dead fish. The chopping board, the floor, the bucket—all piled high with fish. The room was filled with a nauseating stench. But Qiushi didn't feel like dwelling on this. He lowered his head and began searching the room for what he wanted.

Soon, under a huge barrel, Lin Qiushi discovered a black tunnel. He crawled into the tunnel and saw a black iron door at the end of the tunnel. This iron door was so exciting that Lin Qiushi didn't care about anything else. He directly used the key in his hand to open the lock on the door, and watched a tunnel full of light appear before his eyes.

Then, Qiushi bent down and picked up the note that had fallen on the ground. Without even looking at it carefully, he put the note into his shirt pocket.

Then he turned around and headed towards the restaurant.

The people in the restaurant continued to eat their fish. This time, Lin Qiushi walked directly to Ruan Nanzhu and called him by name: "Zhu Meng."

Ruan Nanzhu raised his eyes and glanced at him, "Linlin."

"Would you please come with me?" Lin Qiushi asked.

Ruan Nanzhu said, "But I want to eat fish."

Lin Qiushi said, "I know. You can come with me while you eat. It will only take a moment. I found more fish in the kitchen."

Ruan Nanzhu was silent for a moment, then agreed to Lin Qiushi's proposal. He stood up, holding the plate of fish, and asked, "Really?"

"Really." Lin Qiushi answered affirmatively.

Ruan Nanzhu then followed Lin Qiushi outside.

Seeing this, Lin Qiushi breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that Ruan Nanzhu hadn't been too deeply troubled, otherwise he would have been forced to resort to violence. However, violence was the worst option, because according to Lin Qiushi's own estimation, he simply couldn't defeat Ruan Nanzhu, which would be disastrous.

Ruan Nanzhu obediently followed Lin Qiushi to the kitchen. He was actually quite happy to see a room full of dead fish. However, while he was happy, Lin Qiushi pushed him into the tunnel where the door was.

Ruan Nanzhu, who was pushed down, looked puzzled. Standing below, he looked up and said aggrievedly, "Why did you push me?"

Lin Qiushi didn't respond. He simply went down the tunnel with Ruan Nanzhu. He took Ruan Nanzhu's hand and led him to the exit tunnel. Pointing inside, he said, "There are a lot of fish in there. You'll see when you go in and take a look."

"Really?" Ruan Nanzhu was a little skeptical.

"Really." Lin Qiushi nodded.

Ruan Nanzhu laughed, apparently believing Lin Qiushi. He turned and entered the tunnel. Once inside, he disappeared. Lin Qiushi breathed a sigh of relief as he watched Ruan Nanzhu vanish. He raised his wrist to check his watch, gritted his teeth, turned around again, and returned to the restaurant.

In fact, Lin Qiushi also felt that he didn't have much time left, because the fish in the kitchen actually had a strong attraction to him. These fishy and smelly meats that should have been disgusting became delicious in Lin Qiushi's eyes at this time. He could only use all his willpower to resist this idea.

Facing Gu Longming, Lin Qiushi lost the gentleness he had shown Ruan Nanzhu. He chose the simplest approach. He walked up behind the fish-obsessed Gu Longming, knocked him unconscious with a single blow, and then carried him directly onto his shoulder. As he carried Gu Longming away, Lin Qiushi thought for a moment and took the girl named Xiaomo with him. As for the others... he was truly powerless and could only do his best to save whoever he could.

He took the two men to the tunnel entrance and threw them into the tunnel. Lin Qiushi then panted and crawled into the tunnel.

He didn't dare linger inside any longer, as he realized he was beginning to crave those dead fish. Lin Qiushi had no idea what would happen to those who continued to eat fish in the restaurant, but he imagined it wouldn't be a pleasant experience.

Following the tunnel filled with light, Lin Qiushi returned to reality.

When he sat back in the living room, smelled the familiar scent and felt the warm air, he once again felt the beauty of life.

Ruan Nanzhu also appeared beside Lin Qiushi. He looked very ugly and rushed directly into the toilet. Then the sound of vomiting was heard from the toilet.

Lin Qiushi sighed and thought, fortunately he didn't eat those dead fish, otherwise he would probably vomit together with Ruan Nanzhu.

About twenty minutes later, Ruan Nanzhu came out of the bathroom. He vomited for a long time and then took a shower. At this time, his lower body was wrapped in a bath towel, and he was rubbing his wet hair with an unhappy look on his face.

"Are you okay?" Lin Qiushi was eating candy, and his mood gradually calmed down as the sweetness spread across his tongue.

Ruan Nanzhu shook his head to indicate that he was fine.

"Why is this happening?" Lin Qiushi was a little confused. "Why is everyone suddenly eating fish? Isn't the monster already dead?"

Ruan Nanzhu said, "Maybe there aren't enough people."

Lin Qiushi: "Hmm?"

Ruan Nanzhu said, "Not enough people died. We solved the puzzle too quickly." He sighed and took a candy and popped it into his mouth. "I've only encountered this once. That time, I was guided by a veteran. There was a powerful character in the game. He found the key before anyone started dying."

Lin Qiushi: “…”

Ruan Nanzhu: "Then everyone entered an abnormal state."

Lin Qiushi: "...How could it be like this?"

Ruan Nanzhu said, "Situations like this are extremely rare. I didn't realize we'd encounter one." Everyone's goal was to get out as quickly as possible. Who would have thought that fewer people would cause problems? Besides, most of the doors had been opened with tragic casualties. Even for this one, they only found the key after three people had died.

However, I didn't expect that this number of deaths would not even meet the hidden requirements inside the door.

Lin Qiushi asked, "Then why wasn't I affected?"

"You can hear sounds that others can't, right?" Ruan Nanzhu said, "This is a gift from the door to you."

Lin Qiushi continued listening.

"I can also see things that others cannot see." Ruan Nanzhu said, "Everyone has light in them."

Lin Qiushi: “Light?” He vaguely remembered that Ruan Nanzhu seemed to have mentioned it once before, but he didn’t take it seriously.

"Yes, light," Ruan Nanzhu said. "The brighter the light on your body, the less affected you will be by the door. You are the one with the brightest light I have ever seen, so you are very suitable for the door."

Lin Qiushi didn't know what to say for a moment, but judging from Ruan Nanzhu's words, this should be a good thing.

He was indeed not affected by the negative emotions inside the door. Many people, including Ruan Nanzhu, needed a few days to recover after coming out of the door, but he didn't need to. At most, he just needed a good sleep and he would recover.

This is Lin Qiushi's best talent.

"Let's go have a big dinner tonight." Lin Qiushi looked at Ruan Nanzhu's unhappy expression and said, "Want to go?"

Ruan Nanzhu nodded, agreeing to Lin Qiushi's proposal.

Afterwards, Lin Qiushi returned to his room and contacted Gu Longming, asking him about the situation over there.

Gu Longming replied that he had vomited everything in his stomach. He now felt nauseous at the mere thought of the taste of fish and said he might not eat fish for a long time. Lin Qiushi smiled and teased, "You were enjoying the food in there."

Gu Longming: "Isn't that like being possessed by an evil spirit... What on earth did we step on to suddenly become like this?"

Lin Qiushi told Gu Longming about Ruan Nanzhu's theory. Gu Longming was stunned and said, "Can it be like this?" However, there was no need to take this matter too seriously. After all, there were so many doors, and it was almost impossible to get out easily without losing a few people.

Then the two agreed on a meeting time. Lin Qiushi told Gu Longming the address of the city, but of course he didn't give the exact location. He just said that they would pick him up when Gu Longming arrived.

Dinner was heavy-flavored Hunan cuisine. Originally, the restaurant's signature dish was chopped pepper fish head, but when Lin Qiushi and Ruan Nanzhu saw that page of the menu, they both silently turned the page in tacit understanding.

Ruan Nanzhu still seemed to have a poor appetite, eating the food in front of him in a disjointed manner. It was obvious that what happened inside the door had a serious impact on him.

Lin Qiushi was quite happy with the meal. He hadn't had hot food in the cell for a long time. Most of it was instant noodles and compressed biscuits. It was a very comfortable thing to improve his diet at this time.

When they returned home after dinner, they happened to see Cheng Qianli and Cheng Yixie sitting in the house discussing something. When Lin Qiushi walked in, he realized that the two of them had just come out of a low-level door.

Cheng Yixie was reviewing the mistakes Cheng Qianli had made in the lower-level sect. Cheng Qianli hugged his toast and listened eagerly. Seeing Lin Qiushi return, he quickly stood up and said, "Qiushi, you're back. Sister Lu made some crucian carp soup. Would you like some?"

When they heard the word "fish", Lin Qiushi and Ruan Nanzhu's faces changed and they immediately declined Cheng Qianli's kindness.

Cheng Yixie knew what his brother was thinking, so he said coldly from behind Cheng Qianli, "Why, you've only had three bowls, and you're already going to drink the fourth? Don't tell me you need to go to the bathroom later."

Cheng Qianli instantly wilted. Knowing his brother well, he knew that his brother would do something like not letting him go to the toilet.

Helplessly, Cheng Qianli could only look at Lin Qiushi for help.

Lin Qiushi looked at his nose and his heart, pretending not to see it. Gemini was about to enter the advanced door, and it would be a good thing for Cheng Yixie to give more lessons to the nervous Cheng Qianli.

Three days later, Gu Longming flew to this city.

Lin Qiushi and Ruan Nanzhu went to pick him up in person.

Lin Qiushi originally thought that the muscular Gu Longming inside the door should also be strong outside the door, but who knew that a gentle-looking young man wearing glasses was walking towards him. He didn't look very old, at least Lin Qiushi guessed that he should be much younger than himself.

"Gu Longming." The young man stretched out his hand towards Lin Qiushi.

"Lin Qiushi." Lin Qiushi held his hand and asked, "How long have you been waiting?"

"Not long." The young man, whose pseudonym was Gu Longming and whose real name was Ye Niao, laughed. He glanced at Ruan Nanzhu, who was standing next to him with an imposing aura and a blank expression, and asked quietly, "Who is this?"

Lin Qiushi smiled and said, "Your sister-in-law."

Ye Niao: "..." His expression twisted severely, obviously comparing the look of Zhu Meng laughing and lifting her skirt inside the door with the expressionless handsome man in front of him. The strong contrast made Ye Niao fall into a brief confusion.

Lin Qiushi had already guessed Ye Niao's reaction. To be honest, his initial reaction was probably similar to Ye Niao's. Ye Niao finally calmed down and looked at Lin Qiushi with difficulty, saying, "Brother, you have good taste."

Lin Qiushi finally couldn't help himself and burst into laughter.

Ruan Nanzhu also curled the corners of his mouth.

Ye Niao looked at Ruan Nanzhu with a slightly dazed expression.

"Let's go back first," Lin Qiushi said. "They knew there were new people joining, so they specially prepared food."

"Thank you." Ye Niao said gratefully.

Then Ye Niao got into Lin Qiushi's car, and the three of them returned to the villa together. On the way back, Ruan Nanzhu asked Ye Niao some personal information in a nonchalant manner.

Ye Niao's answer was very sincere, and it was not much different from what Ruan Nanzhu had investigated.

Ye Niao was born into a Feng Shui family, but he studied Western medicine in college and joined the public security department after graduation. He said in the car that he used to be a staunch materialist... until he learned about the existence of doors.

"So why did you almost die?" Lin Qiushi asked curiously while waiting for the red light.

"I went on a mission," Ye Niao said. "Then I suddenly entered the door. After I came out of the first door alive, I was shot in the abdomen by the gangster." He was sent to the hospital injured. After the doctor took out the bullet, he sighed and said that Ye Niao was really lucky. He was shot in the abdomen but it was only a flesh wound. No part of the internal organs was injured. This was simply incredible.

It can be imagined that if Ye Niao had not successfully passed the door, the final outcome would have been death from serious injuries.

"But why are you dressing up as a high school girl?" Lin Qiushi looked at him and remembered the first time he and Ye Niao got married, when Ye Niao looked so eye-catching in a little skirt.

"Isn't it easy to let down your guard when you're a high school girl?" Ye Niao said, "Look, you've fallen for it." He had said this with a smile, but after he finished speaking, he noticed that Ruan Nanzhu, who was sitting next to him, gave him an expressionless look. His smile froze instantly, and he hurriedly explained awkwardly, "Of course, with my sister-in-law here, other women are nothing. Even a high school girl wouldn't be any use..."

Ruan Nanzhu glanced at him and ignored him.

Ye Niao broke out in a cold sweat because of Ruan Nanzhu. He never thought that Zhu Meng, who loved acting inside the door, would be like this outside the door. If it weren't for Lin Qiushi's affirmative attitude, he would have thought they were joking.

This contrast reached its peak when Ye Niao returned to the villa and learned that Ruan Nanzhu was the boss of Obsidian.

Ye Niao quietly asked Lin Qiushi in the kitchen why Brother Ruan wore women's clothes?

Lin Qiushui looked at him and seemed to see the curious self he was back then. He said, "Why don't you go ask him yourself?"

"How dare I?" Ye Niao said, "Brother Ruan looks so scary..."

"Is it scary?" Lin Qiushi said.

"Scary." Ye Niao said, "He looks like the most dangerous criminal I've ever seen."

Lin Qiushi: “Hmm…” He remained noncommittal.

Ye Niao said: "So..."

"So why should I wear women's clothes?" Ruan Nanzhu's voice came from behind them. Ye Niao shuddered all over and looked at Ruan Nanzhu in horror.

Ruan Nanzhu smiled, her beautiful eyes curved into a gentle arc: "If you want to know the answer, it's very simple."

Ye Niao: “…”

Ruan Nanzhu's smile gradually cooled: "Why don't you try it yourself and know?"

Ye Niao: "But..."

Ruan Nanzhu: "Why? You can wear women's clothing in front of Lin Qiushi, but not in front of me?"

Ye Niao looked at Lin Qiushi in fear, asking for help, but Lin Qiushi pretended not to see it.

Thus, Ye Niao once again became the next target of Ruan Nanzhu's torment. The other people in Obsidian looked at him with pity, but there was also a hint of gloating hidden in this pity, and Lin Qiushi was even worse - God knows he didn't want to be a poor little mute girl anymore.

After hosting a welcome party for Ye Niao, Obsidian welcomed a new member, but it was unclear how far this new member would go. But for some things, the outcome wasn't that important, at least that was what Lin Qiushi currently believed.

As time passed, it was time for Cheng Qianli and Cheng Yixie to enter.

The atmosphere in the villa became tense again, and almost no one in the whole house spoke loudly. But what surprised Lin Qiushi was that Cheng Yixie did not reveal his clues until he entered the room.

Lin Qiushi was no naive newcomer at this point. From Ruan Nanzhu's attitude, he understood why Cheng Yixie did this.

Because Cheng Yixie's clues may be special.

The kind of clue that can only be obtained after only one person survives, such a clue can resist a ghost attack in the next door.

Lin Qiushi had no idea how Cheng Yixie got this clue. The only thing he knew was that the day before Cheng Yixie and Cheng Qianli came home, Cheng Yixie and Ruan Nanzhu had another big fight.

In the end, the two parted on bad terms.

Cheng Qianli looked a little downcast standing downstairs. He said to Lin Qiushi, "I wish I were a little smarter."

Lin Qiushi patted his head and whispered comfortingly, "You're fine now."

Not everyone can be as smart as Ruan Nanzhu and Cheng Yixie, but stupid people also have stupid ways of living. You can't always demand perfection in everything.

Besides, Cheng Qianli might not realize that it was his existence that gave Cheng Yixie the courage to move forward.

Cheng Yixie loves his younger brother deeply, and they are each other's strongest spiritual support.