***
Bonus chapter! Thank you to JustSomeOne for the donation! ^^
***
This was the tenth floor of the cruise ship—a space that didn’t belong to Qi Lintian.
His presence here could only mean one thing: he had grown suspicious of Xia Qing’s identity.
Lin Zhiyan could erase all traces of Xia Qing from the ship’s records, but he couldn’t dispel Qi Lintian’s doubts. So, he used this reckless man as a shield instead.
To Lin Zhiyan, it didn’t matter who served as the shield. A dead man was a dead man.
Qi Lintian stared coldly at Qi Yi, the suspicion in his eyes not fading but growing stronger.
The more he had thought about it, the more something felt off. That young man’s voice was completely different from Xia Qing’s, but his silhouette and build were nearly identical.
Voices could be faked.
And so, he had come to the tenth floor.
Lin Zhiyan shifted slightly, blocking Qi Lintian’s line of sight. He smiled politely. "Mr. Qi, it’s quite late. If there’s nothing urgent, perhaps we could discuss this tomorrow?"
Then he turned to Qi Yi, his tone softening into something deceptively tender. "We should rest now."
His voice was gentle, but the look he gave Qi Yi was ice-cold—the kind reserved for the dead.
Qi Yi’s gaze mirrored the same hostility.
There was no trace of affection between them. The way they looked at each other suggested they were one second away from drawing knives.
But because Lin Zhiyan stood at an angle, shielding Qi Yi from view, Qi Lintian didn’t catch their exchange.
After a pause, Qi Lintian let out a smooth, indifferent hum and turned to leave.
The elevator stood at the end of the hallway. As its doors slid shut, it severed Qi Lintian’s line of sight—and his presence from the two men left behind.
Inside the ascending elevator, Qi Lintian spoke idly, "Look into Lin Zhiyan."
The man in a black-suit behind him bowed immediately. "Understood, Mr. Qi."
***
With Qi Lintian gone, only two figures remained in the corridor.
The elevator’s rising numbers showed it had already left the tenth floor.
Lin Zhiyan withdrew his gaze indifferently—then snapped his fingers.
The sharp sound cut through the empty midnight air.
Qi Yi reacted instantly. The moment the snap echoed, he swiftly sidestepped and rolled back several times, putting distance between himself and the threat—his movements sharp and precise.
Where he had stood just moments before, the floor now bore a gaping, perfectly circular hole, as if something had silently dissolved it away, connecting the ninth and tenth floors.
Yet the entire process had been utterly soundless—unnerving and chilling.
Lin Zhiyan had expected to kill the man outright, but Qi Yi had dodged. Narrowing his eyes, Lin Zhiyan studied him. This wasn’t the reaction or agility of an ordinary person.
Qi Yi’s murderous intent was equally unrestrained. He lunged at Lin Zhiyan, and the two clashed in the hallway, their fight eerily quiet.
Perhaps out of fear of alarming the person inside the room, both held back, their movements restrained enough to resemble an ordinary brawl—something the boy might dismiss as a mere scuffle over their earlier conflict.
But this very restraint left them locked in a stalemate, their killing intent only growing denser, almost tangible.
Though their struggle was quiet, it still masked another sound.
The sound of a door opening.
Peering through the peephole and seeing the two men fighting near the corner, Ruan Qing didn’t hesitate. He slipped out, intent on fleeing the tenth floor.
He initially headed for the elevator, but before he could press the button, he noticed it was already ascending—either summoned from above or carrying passengers up.
Without a second thought, Ruan Qing abandoned the elevator and darted toward the stairwell tucked in the ship’s corner, vanishing from the tenth floor without a trace.
Ding—
The elevator arrived once more, this time disgorging a crowd of cruise staff.
Their loud footsteps and unconcealed chatter disrupted the tense atmosphere. Hearing the commotion, Lin Zhiyan disengaged, casting a cold glance at the newcomers.
"Handle it," he ordered, his voice low but firm.
"Understood, Mr. Lin." The staff immediately moved to surround Qi Yi.
Without another glance at his opponent, Lin Zhiyan swiped his keycard and entered Room 1005.
The room was empty.
Only a note remained on the bedside table:
[Mr. Lin, I’ve returned to the second floor.]
Lin Zhiyan picked up the note and examined it, then finally loosened his tie with a sigh, abandoning his plan to go after the young man.
With his identity card, the boy would be much safer on the second floor than the tenth—at the very least, Qi Lintian would never set foot there.
Besides, he had already altered the boy’s records, reassigning him as a guest with the surname Xu. No matter how thoroughly anyone investigated, they wouldn’t be able to trace him back.
Once I deal with Qi Lintian, I’ll bring him back.
Unlike Lin Zhiyan, the staff had no reservations about being seen. They lunged at Qi Yi without hesitation, striking with brutal force.
Their speed was inhuman.
Their strength was unnatural.
The cruise ship’s staff… were not human.
Qi Yi was highly skilled, but the staff were overwhelming in number—and worse, they were armed. A single gunshot pierced his chest, straight through the heart.
Blood pooled rapidly beneath him, spreading across the corridor floor in a dark, viscous stain.
The staff showed no reaction to the corpse. Holstering their weapons, they swiftly cleaned up the scene, restoring the tenth level to its usual eerie silence.
***
Meanwhile, Ruan Qing cautiously made his way back to the second floor. Still uncertain of the dangers lurking aboard the ship, he avoided reckless exploration and instead stayed quietly in his room.
[Get some rest. I’ll wake you if anything happens.] The System’s voice echoed in his mind.
Ruan Qing paused. 'Your permissions have expanded?'
The System fell silent for a moment before replying with a simple, [Mn.]
In truth, it wasn’t a matter of permissions. The forced fusion of the three bosses had unexpectedly amplified his power—even restoring the energy he’d expended across previous instances.
This was his true strength, the same primordial force that governed the Infinite Horror Game’s bosses. Now, operating within the instance without detection had become far easier.
Ruan Qing asked no further questions. He lay down and closed his eyes.
Whether from exhaustion or trust in the System, his breathing soon steadied into sleep.
When he woke again, it was 5:00 AM.
The noise outside his door had roused him.
Dawn had yet to break, but the second floor staff were already at work, preparing everything the guests might need.
...And opened the passageway leading to the deck.
The temperature on the cruise ship had returned to normal at some point, no longer carrying that eerie chill.
Peering through the peephole at the busy staff outside, Ruan Qing waited for over two hours before seizing the right moment to open his door and make his way toward the deck.
As he passed by, the working staff caught sight of him. After a brief moment of stunned silence, they immediately lowered their heads, not daring to look a second time.
If this had been before, they might not have recognized the young master. But after last night’s two thorough inspections, everyone now knew exactly who Xia Qing was.
Mr. Lin’s little lover.
Truly, even heroes fall for beauties—someone as cold and ruthless as Mr. Lin was no exception.
Then again, with looks like Xia Qing’s, it wasn’t hard to understand.
The staff members recalled the young man’s breathtakingly beautiful face, their heartbeats quickening uncontrollably before they forcefully suppressed those dangerous thoughts.
Snatching someone from Mr. Lin? That was no different from courting death.
But why wasn’t the young master with Mr. Lin? And what was he doing heading to the deck?
Confusion flickered in their eyes, but they quickly averted their gazes, not daring to stare.
Most of the staff reacted this way—except for one bold worker who couldn’t help but steal glances at that exquisite figure.
He watched as the young man stepped onto the deck.
Watched as he approached the ship’s railing.
Watched as he—accidentally—fell into the sea.
The worker’s eyes widened in horror, his heart nearly stopping. Without a second thought for the items in his hands, he sprinted toward the edge of the deck.
But it was already too late.
Apart from the churning waves left in the cruise ship’s wake, there was no sign of the young man.
The ship’s engines were powerful, and its daytime speed was extreme—even an expert swimmer would have no chance of survival.
The moment someone hit the water, the tremendous pressure would drag them beneath the hull.
The likelihood that the young man was still alive… was practically zero.
***
By 8 AM, most of the ship’s passengers had woken up and were gathered in the dining hall, cheerfully eating breakfast.
Lin Zhiyan and Qi Lintian were no exception.
Under normal circumstances, men of their status would never dine in the guest restaurant. But early this morning, just after Lin Zhiyan woke up, he received an invitation from Qi Lintian—a request to share breakfast.
Though framed as a morning meal, it was clearly a veiled interrogation.
After composing himself, Lin Zhiyan went to meet him.
"Good morning, Mr. Qi."
Qi Lintian glanced at Lin Zhiyan, who had come alone, and raised a brow. "Where’s your lover?"
"My lover... died last night." A pained expression crossed Lin Zhiyan’s handsome face, as if he were still grieving the loss.
Qi Lintian was about to respond when his gaze suddenly fixed on something in the distance. He tilted his chin slightly. "Isn’t that your lover right over there?"
Lin Zhiyan: "…?"
Following Qi Lintian’s line of sight, Lin Zhiyan saw Qi Yi standing among the crowd—the same Qi Yi who should have been dead since last night.
Lin Zhiyan’s eyes darkened as he turned toward the staff nearby.
The lead staff member in charge of last night’s "disposal" also spotted Qi Yi. His eyes widened in disbelief.
This man… he was definitely dead last night.
When the lead staff member met Lin Zhiyan’s gaze, terror surged uncontrollably in his eyes. His tall frame even trembled slightly.
He tried to explain, but another staff member abruptly clamped a hand over his mouth and dragged him away.
The fact that someone who should be dead was still alive was completely unexpected for Lin Zhiyan. But under Qi Lintian’s watchful eyes, he had no choice but to force a smile of relieved reunion.
Just as Lin Zhiyan was about to dismiss it as a misunderstanding, a staff member rushed over, his voice shaking as he delivered the news:
"Mr. Lin… Mr. Xu—he… he’s fallen overboard."
