A huge white cloud was suspended directly above the cruise ship, casting a deep shadow on the sea. The originally bright stairwell was now dim.

Akai Shuichi's dark green eyes were full of ice. He shook off the raccoon man's hand that was holding him, raised his leg and walked downstairs, saying in a cold voice: "You recognized the wrong person."

However, the raccoon man showed a look of relief on his face. "I'm sorry, I know this will bring you risks, but my identity may have been discovered by them. I'm not afraid of death, but I'm afraid of not being able to pass on the message. This matter concerns many people, just..."

Click, click, click…

The sudden sound of footsteps, drawing a sharp rhythm in the humid sea breeze, made the raccoon man stop talking. He looked vigilantly in the direction of the footsteps, and the tall parrot girl suddenly appeared in front of them.

"What are you doing here?" The parrot girl's eyes moved back and forth between the raccoon man.

The raccoon man said in a deep voice: "What can we do? Of course, we should find a way to attract allies for the young lady. How is it going over there? Have you found Miss Gray Rabbit?"

The parrot girl glanced at the black wolf and said, "No, but I did hear some information about the game. I'm not sure if it's true or not."

"I heard something too. I was just about to discuss it with Mr. Black Wolf when you came." The raccoon man looked at the parrot girl calmly.

"So I came at a really bad time." The parrot girl said this, but she showed no intention of leaving.

The raccoon man took out a cigarette box and handed it to Akai Shuichi, "Let's smoke while we talk."

Shuichi Akai lowered his eyes and looked at the cigarette box. There was only one cigarette in the box, and a piece of paper was stuffed into the filter of this one cigarette. It became a difficult question whether to take it or not. Is this a trap or an opportunity?

The clouds above the cruise ship seemed to grow thicker, and the light in the stairwell grew dimmer, as if a new rainstorm was about to form.

"I'm used to smoking my own cigarettes." Akai Shuichi took out a cigarette box, put a cigarette in his mouth, and took out three more cigarettes and put them in the raccoon man's cigarette box. "Your cigarettes are not good, smoke some of mine. What were we talking about just now?"

The raccoon man glanced at the three cigarettes in the cigarette box, quickly closed the lid, took out a match, struck one, lit it for himself, and then lit it for Akai Shuichi. Then he threw the match on the ground, extinguished it with the sole of his shoe, exhaled a puff of gray smoke, and took over Akai Shuichi's topic, "You checked the digital room, are you also doubting that the next round of the game will decide the final winner?"

"What do you know?" Akai Shuichi put his hands in his trouser pockets.

The parrot girl looked at the two men who were smoking, her brows furrowed beneath the mask.

"I..." The raccoon man glanced at the parrot girl and kindly reminded her, "It's not good for pregnant people to breathe secondhand smoke. You should leave now."

"Oh? Pregnant?" Akai Shuichi looked the parrot girl up and down, guessing that the raccoon man wanted to drive the parrot girl away by smoking, but who was he? What was the so-called key information? The most important thing was why did he know my name? One question after another emerged in Akai Shuichi's mind.

The parrot girl glanced at the black wolf and turned away. The young lady didn't completely trust me, I must get solid evidence, but this child...

At some point, thick clouds gathered above the cruise ship. The originally white clouds gradually became thicker and stained with a layer of gray.

Thump, thump, thump…

Ta-ta-ta, tap-ta-ta...

When the raccoon man saw the parrot girl's figure gradually going away, he was about to speak when he heard footsteps coming from both above and below the stairs.

As soon as Sakakibara turned the corner, he saw Lei with long black hair. His heart skipped a beat. But the next second, he saw the man with a red fox mask appearing on the stairs, and his heart rose to his throat.

The man in the red fox mask glanced at the raccoon man, "Mr. Black Wolf, you are here."

"Something?" Lei glanced at the White Snake gentleman behind him and felt that the other party seemed to know him, otherwise he would not have shown such an expression.

"I wanted to talk to you about the next game, but it seems someone got there before me." The man in the red fox mask looked at the raccoon man, "If I remember correctly, wasn't this guy eliminated?"

"Of course I'm here for the young lady, but I've already discussed this with Mr. Black Wolf." The raccoon man took the cigarette out of his mouth and rubbed it out with his index finger and thumb. A few pieces of ashes were scattered on the ground. "You guys chat." After that, he raised his leg and left without staying.

The man in the red fox mask glanced at the cigarette ashes and extinguished matchsticks on the ground. The way he extinguished the cigarette was obviously to destroy fingerprints. His proficiency must have been that he did this frequently. It seemed that he was a person with a criminal record.

Suddenly Sakakibara spoke up: "If we're discussing games, can you include me?"

Lei looked at the White Snake Gentleman. He always felt that the White Snake Gentleman seemed to be avoiding him before, but why did he take the initiative to join this time? Thoughts in his heart kept surging, and he turned to look at the red fox masked man, using his eyes to indicate whether he agreed to the White Snake Gentleman joining.

The moment Lei looked at the man in the red fox mask, Sakakibara's heart began beating wildly. He also looked at the man in the red fox mask with an earnest gaze, as if he was very much looking forward to the ensuing discussion.

however.

"The next game is related to promotion, so I think it would be better to discuss it with someone I trust." The man with the red fox mask looked at Iori and said "sorry" in his heart. Although he didn't know who Kurolang was, in order to avoid exposing Iori's undercover identity, it would be better for the two of them not to have contact in the presence of other people.

Sakakibara naturally knew that the red fox masked man was protecting him, but how could he let the red fox masked man have a private contact with Lei, who could compete with Gin in the organization, so he tried to persuade him: "There will always be a first time for cooperation. Don't reject me just because we haven't cooperated before."

"I'm sorry." The red fox masked man said calmly. He looked at the black wolf and said, "Let's go to the outer deck. There are fewer people there."

Lei nodded and left behind the man in the red fox mask.

Sakakibara was the only one left in the empty stairwell. He looked out the window and saw gray waves rising on the sea. The sky was gray and even the bright sunshine could not penetrate the thick clouds.

The cruise ship is sailing on the unknown high seas. No one knows when the journey will reach its destination, nor does anyone know whether their feet can step on soft land again.

Perhaps the next moment you will be forced to leave the cruise ship, buried in the vast ocean, and eaten by unknown fish.

Thick clouds pressed down from above the porthole. The light in the stairwell flickered in the shadows of the clouds. The sea breeze poured in from the open doorway, bringing with it a salty and damp smell.

Suddenly, the clouds seemed to be torn open by the wind, and the dazzling sunlight penetrated the clouds and shone into the cabin, carving two blurry figures on a closed door on the seventh floor of the cruise ship.

Bourbon stopped and turned to look at the evil puppeteer behind him, "Open the door."

"Aren't you going back to your room?" The evil puppeteer curled his lips. Although he said this, he still raised his arm, and after the bracelet touched the access control panel, the door opened.

After Bourbon entered the room, the evil puppeteer looked outside the door. Seeing that there was no one around, he quickly closed the door and locked it. "Oh, this dress is so uncomfortable for me to wear. I'm going to take a shower first. You can choose any clothes in the room. They are all provided by the cruise ship and I have never worn them." After that, the evil puppeteer rushed into the bathroom.

Crash--crash--

The sound of running water reached Bourbon's ears through the thin door panel. Bourbon looked around the cabin again and sniffed. The faint smell of blood in the room before was no longer there. It seemed that someone came in and cleaned the room after they left.

Bourbon lay on the floor, looking under the bed. He remembered that there were a few dark red marks there before, but now there was nothing. The clothes that he and Lei had changed out of seemed to have been taken away and washed. It must have been those waiters who had been there. Even if he continued to investigate, he might not find anything.

rustling—

As the fabric rubbed, the black robe was taken off, but Bourbon caught a glimpse of the stain at the bottom of the hem. He sniffed it, frowned, and wiped it with a tissue, but the dried stain was difficult to wipe clean. The white dress that fell into the sea appeared in his mind again. After taking a deep breath, Bourbon folded the black robe and changed into a set of sportswear that was convenient for movement.

The clear sound of running water was still in his ears. After finishing everything, Bourbon took a deep breath, sat on the chair and closed his eyes. The continuous investigation made him feel tired. However, the elimination round was about to begin, so he still couldn't let his guard down, but it should be okay to take a short rest.

I don’t know how long it took, maybe a few minutes, maybe dozens of minutes.

The sound of running water suddenly stopped. With the sound of the door opening, Bourbon suddenly opened his eyes. The evil puppeteer in a bathrobe walked out of the misty bathroom.

"Don't you want to go wash? If your hands are inconvenient, I can do it for you." The evil puppeteer still wore an owl mask on his face. He was wiping his wet short hair with a towel. "To be honest, I can't stand the smell of the black robe. The host in the green dress is too kind. Those who caused the trouble should be severely punished!"

Bourbon looked at the evil puppeteer who was rummaging for clothes, and a barely perceptible ripple appeared in his eyes. He saw that the evil puppeteer changed into a neat suit and regained his elegant gentleman appearance.

"What on earth did you do after we separated early this morning?"

The evil puppeteer who was tying his tie in front of the mirror paused for a moment and turned to look at the Siamese cat with a puzzled look on his face. "Sleeping, what else can you do?"

"You dismembered the sloth." Bourbon said calmly.

But the evil puppeteer's heart was in turmoil. He looked at himself in the mirror, but the mirror also reflected the figure of the Siamese cat, "I..."

"Don't quibble. The knife technique and handwriting are similar. Different people have different strengths and traces. Mr. Sinful Puppet Master, the puppets you made are recorded in detail."

The evil puppeteer looked at the Siamese cat in the mirror, his heart beating wildly. He turned his head and looked at the Siamese cat, "Are you a cop?"

At this moment, the air seemed to freeze, but the silence was interrupted by the cruise ship's broadcast...

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Preview of the next chapter: Is this strange broadcast a reminder for everyone to start the game, or is it a hint of a special event?