Si Yehan stood before the window, watching the blood spreading across the surface of the sea gradually disappear. The body floated for a moment before sinking toward the seabed.
It was as if some mysterious force were drawing it down.
He lowered his eyes to the scene before him, but he was wondering whether he should pay a visit to the cruise ship's engine room. There would be nothing but machinery inside, hardly anything worth seeing, but this was an instance. What if it held clues relevant to what came next?
Si Yehan raised a hand, running his fingers over the dagger he had wiped clean. Glints of cold light reflected in his dark eyes, lending them some of the blade's chill.
It would be better to go, in case he missed a clue.
A knock suddenly sounded at the door, followed by Yan Jingxing's voice. "If you're in there, open the door."
Si Yehan turned around, running his fingers over the dagger in his hand. Yan Jingxing had already realized his subordinate was most likely dead. He had come quickly.
Si Yehan put the dagger away. He knew Yan Jingxing would certainly not turn against him, and now was not the time to kill him either. He had to make sure all four of them were gathered on the fourth floor.
He opened the door. Yan Jingxing was dressed as before, except for a few accessories added to his dark gray coat. Four people stood behind him, carrying guns.
Yan Jingxing turned to the four of them. "If I haven't come out within half an hour, go in immediately and eliminate everything you can see."
Then he turned back with a smile. "I have something to discuss with you."
Yan Jingxing walked into the room and closed the door behind him.
"What did you want to talk to me about?" Si Yehan asked casually. "While you're at it, take me to see the Iblis's engine room."
Yan Jingxing was a little surprised. "What do you want to see the engine room for? You're not thinking of sinking this cruise ship and sending everyone to their deaths in the sea, are you?"
Hearing that, Si Yehan thought it was an excellent way to slaughter people. Perhaps he could use it during his great purge. By then, it would be time to leave anyway, so he wouldn't have to worry about dying in the sea along with that bunch of stupid pigs. "Not a bad suggestion. I only want to go now to see if there are any clues in there. Tell me what you came for first."
Yan Jingxing looked at Si Yehan, his gaze growing grave for a moment before relaxing again. "Did you kill Yang Rui? He was one of the five people who pointed shotguns at you yesterday. It doesn't matter if you killed him; he simply wasn't good enough. Remember what I warned you about before. Don't even think about making a move against any of the four of us in power. We're the same kind, and unless I have no other choice, I don't want to kill you."
A trace of recognition appeared in Yan Jingxing's eyes. Si Yehan chuckled, but the man before him failed to hear the derision in his laughter.
Si Yehan had never regarded anyone as his own kind. Yan Jingxing was no different in essence from the prey he slaughtered, yet he actually hoped to find a "partner." Such stupidity was truly sickening. Every living being other than himself was a target to be wiped out.
Yan Jingxing looked at Si Yehan, the arrogance disappearing from his face. "I'm ashamed to say it, but after all this time, I still don't know your name."
Si Yehan gave his name offhandedly, then urged Yan Jingxing to lead the way.
Yan Jingxing looked up and gave him a long look, a trace of wariness appearing in his eyes. "I'll have someone take you there. And one more thing: there's no shortage of people on this ship. You can hunt and kill them as you please."
With that, Yan Jingxing hurried out of the room. He felt a fear of Si Yehan in his heart.
Once outside, Yan Jingxing picked one of the armed men at random. "Put your gun away and take this honored guest around the engine room."
Si Yehan followed the security guard to the engine room. The moment he entered, a heavy, oppressive atmosphere washed over him. Machines rumbled, accompanied by the faint grinding of gears.
Si Yehan observed the place for a while and found nothing special about it. The black walls made it feel even more cramped and oppressive, making it an ideal hunting ground.
He had found a hunting ground, so the trip was not a loss.
After looking around, Si Yehan turned to leave. "All right, let's go."
The security guard accompanying him had kept every muscle in his body tense, acting cautiously the whole time for fear that Si Yehan would suddenly attack. Seeing that he was leaving now, the guard was naturally relieved and turned to run quickly into the corridor outside.
He left Si Yehan facing his back. In the next instant...
A faint gunshot rang out, and warm blood sprayed from the guard's forehead. A hint of joy still lingered on his face. It had happened so suddenly that his expression froze, and his eyelids slowly closed.
He fell heavily to the floor, blood spilling onto it.
Si Yehan put away his silenced pistol and returned to his room as though nothing had happened. He needed to plan how to lead Cheng Zhuiyu into a death trap that night, as well as what to do about the others. Since it concerned the killing rules, he could not afford to take it lightly.
How to guide them, and how to confirm whether they followed the routes he had planned before they died, were matters he had to take into account.
He couldn't split himself into four and appear in all four of their rooms to watch them die.
Once the killing rules were triggered, the Ghost Slave would eat everything clean, and someone would deal with the bodies as soon as dawn broke. He couldn't reconstruct what had happened by examining the rooms, either.
All he could do was put some waste to use. Tomorrow was the day Yan Jingxing would die, so he could make himself useful today.
He would install miniature surveillance cameras in the other four participants' rooms, then examine the footage the next morning to confirm what had happened.
After turning it over in his mind for a moment, Si Yehan headed straight for the fourth floor instead of returning to his room.
He walked at a steady pace. The security guards along the way stepped aside at the sight of him, and he proceeded without obstruction.
Two hostesses stood at the entrance to the fourth floor. One of them saw Si Yehan and bowed politely. "Honored guest, do you have an appointment? If not, we'll need to announce you first."
Si Yehan spoke calmly. He didn't have an appointment, so he made something up on the spot to deceive the two women. "Yan Jingxing told me to come."
The two hostesses' expressions changed slightly. The man before them must have been talking about President Yan, and they presumably knew each other well. The other hostess immediately opened the door without asking any more about an appointment.
The two of them worked on the ship, so naturally they were no fools. This honored guest knew President Yan's name. Whether he had an appointment or not, neither of them could afford to offend him.
When Si Yehan entered, Yan Jingxing was sitting on the sofa, facing the floor-to-ceiling windows and looking out at the sea.
Hearing the door open, he turned and saw Si Yehan. The wineglass in his hand stopped swirling, but his expression remained unruffled. "What brings you here? Is something the matter?"
The hostess outside closed the door after Si Yehan entered. "I need you to install miniature surveillance cameras in the rooms of the three people who came with me. I want to see the footage tomorrow."
Yan Jingxing was a little puzzled. "All right, no problem. But aren't there seven people left who came with you?"
Si Yehan's voice was calm. "I killed two yesterday, and one was killed by a Ghost Slave. Another will probably die tonight, so three will be enough."
After speaking, he wrote down the room numbers of Chen Zhongshou, Wang Yuxiu, and Jin Zhiguang for Yan Jingxing.
Once he had done all that, a voice suddenly rang out.