I Am The Sinner!

"I think the most urgent matter right now is to find Yan Shuangying first. We need to integrate and analyze what we know with the information he has."

Bei Lang stood up and spoke forcefully.

However, the lady in black and Thorny Show-off both shot him disdainful looks. They clearly wanted nothing to do with their crackpot teammate.

Thorny Show-off was even more blunt.

"Give me a break. What information could he have gathered on his own? He's probably dead in a ditch somewhere by now."

Bei Lang raised an eyebrow.

What information could Yan Shuangying gather? he thought. Sorry, but that expert's efficiency is probably higher than our entire team combined. He most likely already knew everything we just figured out last night.

It was just that, for some reason, he hadn't told them.

Why do I want to find him? The clues are secondary. I need to catch the mole first! You have to secure your own ranks before you can fight an external enemy.

But he couldn't explain all that in front of everyone.

Unexpectedly, Fox Loli, who had always projected a cold and aloof image, didn't refute his idea. She just gave Bei Lang a calm glance.

"He has a point," she said. "Two of our people are already dead, and it's only the second day. If that weirdo isn't dead, he must have gathered a lot of information. I agree we should go find him."

The other two looked a bit surprised. They had assumed she hated the psycho as much as they did. Why would she suddenly want to seek him out?

The four of them fell into a silent stalemate.

After a moment, the lady in black offered a gentle smile.

"How about this? The Gentleman and I will continue looking for clues, and you two can go find that psycho."

"No problem."

Before Bei Lang could argue that they should stick together, Fox Loli agreed. She grabbed his wrist and started dragging him out of the conference room.

Faced with this Lv. 18 woman, who he suspected specialized in close-quarters combat, Bei Lang could only follow helplessly.

That's right. The seemingly petite Fox Loli was actually a King Kong Barbie.

This was also the reason Bei Lang hadn't danced with any other women at the ball. Fox Loli's strength was simply too great, and he couldn't break free from her grasp at all. He speculated that her equipment and stats were allocated almost entirely to 【Strength】.

Watching the two of them leave, the lady in black's smile grew even brighter.

At her side, Thorny Show-off fidgeted nervously, picking at his fingers and pretending to be lost in thought. He was rarely alone with a woman. Even when the waitress had accompanied him earlier, he had tried to stick to crowded public areas to avoid this exact kind of anxiety.

He was terrified of interacting with the opposite sex.

But this time, Thorny Show-off gathered his courage and spoke up.

"Um… Miss Liu, about that thing you promised me before…"

The lady in black turned her head. Her bright smile turned bewitching, her gaze so tender it seemed water could drip from it.

"Of course it's true, my dear Gentleman~" she purred softly. "I also need a moment of pleasure to counteract my equipment's side effects. You are the most suitable candidate."

With that, the air in the room seemed to heat up, growing thick and amorous. The distance between them shrank, closer and closer.

Thorny Show-off was so captivated that he didn't notice what the lady in black was stepping on. Perhaps he would only have seen it if he were lying on the floor.

It was a pair of petal-shaped earrings.

Bei Lang was dragged all the way to a private cinema on the cruise ship.

Confused, he watched as Fox Loli casually began to peel off a white stocking.

"You should hurry up and take something off, too," she told him.

The plot was taking a strange turn.

"Stop, stop, stop! Sister, what are you doing? I have a wife, you can't do this!"

Hearing the mix of fear and embarrassment in Bei Lang's voice, Fox Loli rolled her eyes. She tossed the stocking onto a tray in the corner and explained calmly.

"After entering this private cinema, everyone must take off one article of clothing within five minutes. If you don't, you'll be trapped in the movie that's playing."

After speaking, she stomped her foot for emphasis.

Only then did Bei Lang notice that the white stocking on her other foot was already gone. He figured she must have used it up while exploring this place earlier.

Sighing, he took off one of his socks and tossed it onto the tray.

"How did you find out about such a ridiculous rule?" he complained.

Fox Loli picked up the remote control.

Click.

A horror movie began to play on the screen. Strangely, one of the male characters in the film was dressed in clothes that were completely out of place for the scene. He was being chased by a vicious ghost, looking utterly wretched.

"He's a cruise ship passenger," Fox Loli said faintly. "He came up to hit on me, so I had him help test the rules."

Bei Lang was speechless.

As expected, he thought. Cut open any high-level player and you'll find their heart is pure black! That poor passenger was played right into Xiaoxiao's hands.

"Then why did you bring me here?" he asked. "Aren't we looking for the expert… that psycho, Decade?"

Faced with his confusion, Fox Loli's expression finally turned serious. She took an acrylic card from her pocket.

The words 【The Sinner】 were written on it.

Bei Lang's pupils contracted.

It was a character Identity Card!

"The rule is bizarre, but this cinema is absolutely private and safe," Fox Loli began. "What I'm about to tell you must not be known by a third person."

She paused, her eyes locking onto his.

"There's something wrong with Liu Jiang."

"She is not our teammate."

Then, Fox Loli explained where she had gotten the Identity Card. The priest she met in the Sky Light Church hadn't just mentioned the cards; he had also told her the names of all six roles. As she was leaving, he had given her this very card.

"Seven players, six roles," she continued. "That means one of the players is the problem. That's why I didn't trust anyone in the meeting and concealed some information."

"It wasn't until Liu Jiang revealed, intentionally or not, that she was 【The Sinner】 that I became certain she was the one with the problem."

"My Side Quest is complete," Fox Loli stated with a deadpan expression. "I am 【The Sinner】."

The words made Bei Lang's expression freeze.

"Then The Gentleman is still with her…" he said, his voice trailing off.

Before he could finish, she cut him off.

"He's involved with Liu Jiang," Fox Loli said with a helpless sigh. "He's either already fallen for her trap, or they were on the same side to begin with."

She explained that she had an item that could visualize a target's scent. She had planned to use it on the lady in black, but to her surprise, she saw that Liu Jiang's scent was already entangled with Thorny Show-off's. It was a clear sign that they had been in much closer contact than anyone else.

Those two had met in private many times.

That was why she had only brought Bei Lang out to explain things. This was a Nightmare-level Instance. With survival being so difficult, she wouldn't give a shred of trust to someone who might have already betrayed the team.

"We have two choices now," she said. "Either we find a way to clear the Instance quickly, or we do as you suggested and find that psycho first. If he can be trusted, at least we'll have the numerical advantage."

Bei Lang didn't hesitate.

"Find Decade!"

Fox Loli was a bit surprised by his decisiveness. She had thought that as the intelligent 【The Wise One】, Bei Lang would dislike a loose cannon like Decade.

Could it be that this 【The Wise One】 is actually 【The Warrior】?

"Where do we find him?" she asked.

"The Captain's Room!" Bei Lang said without thinking. "You can check the surveillance for the entire cruise ship there. I figured that out this morning."

After finalizing their plan, the two quickly left the private cinema and began to move through the ship. As they approached the Captain's Room, they saw a familiar figure walking slowly from the other end of the corridor.

It was Captain Cook, the man who had given the speech at the ball.

The moment their eyes met, he raised an eyebrow in confusion. He couldn't figure out why so many people were coming to the Captain's Room to see him today. Had they all arranged a party without him? He preferred a different kind of party anyway, and these people clearly had their own agendas.

"Oh, my friends, what brings you here?" Captain Cook greeted them with a smile.

Just then, Fox Loli gently nudged Bei Lang's arm, signaling that she had detected something abnormal.

The scent of that strange player, Decade, was on Captain Cook. This proved they had met just a short while ago.

Maybe they wouldn't need to enter the Captain's Room after all. They could find out Decade's whereabouts just by asking!

So, she spoke up.

"Respected Captain, I'd like to ask you about someone. I wonder if it's convenient?"

"Of course," Captain Cook's smile remained. "I always give special treatment to beautiful ladies. Who would you like to ask about?"

"Um, I don't know his name, but he should be a man in a magenta tokusatsu suit, accompanied by a waitress in a bunny girl outfit. Have you seen him?"

The words had barely left her mouth when she saw the smile on Captain Cook's face vanish. The corners of his mouth drooped as if he had just recalled something incredibly unpleasant.

Alright, she thought, no need to guess anymore.

Only someone who had actually met the guy could know how infuriating he was. Just a few minutes in the same room yesterday had been enough to make the other players grind their teeth.

He had definitely seen Decade.