Reborn in the Enemy's Embrace

The members of the Rebels immobilized us by tying our hands and feet. However, Ashton and Xandra, being children, only had their hands bound.

Xandra whispered in my ear, "Mom, there’s something wrong with Yara. She’s incredibly intelligent. She appeared in the underground cabin a while back and came to find us. After she confirmed our presence, she escaped."

I was stunned, and my eyes were fixed on Xandra. "What do you mean?"

"Mom, there are numerous traps and mechanisms in the underground cabin we’re in. Anyone unfamiliar with them would never make it out alive. Before you arrived, I heard footsteps. Someone walked into the cabin, saw us, and then turned and left. Those footsteps belonged to Yara."

Xandra and Ashton could guess a person’s height, weight, and approximate age by the sound of their footsteps.

"Then why wasn’t there a mechanism when we went down to the cabin?" I asked in a hushed tone.

"Because Ashton and I wanted to go out and look for you, so we found and deactivated those traps and mechanisms in advance."

Before Xandra and Ashton could shut those traps, Yara managed to spot them and smoothly escape. She could even trick me into going down. Her intention was for me to meet Ashton and Xandra and then take them away. I wondered about her true purpose.

This time, it was also Yara who led us down to the cabin. Hence, we uncovered the Rebels’ secret and encountered Ewan. So far, Yara had shown no signs of malicious intent.

"Yara, who exactly are you?" I turned to look at Yara, who was squatting in the corner.

Yara looked at me with an innocent expression, as if she didn’t comprehend. I sighed and fell silent.

"It’s chaotic outside now. That lunatic is selling food and water at extremely high prices, triggering a riot. He’s instigating conflict between the rich and the poor."

We heard Ewan arguing about this lunatic. The person he was referring to was most likely the masked man.

"Rich people can easily spend millions, or even tens of millions, on a meal while many poor people struggle to afford a few hundred or a few thousand. This has led to a distorted mindset and increased resentment toward the wealthy."

"They’re killing each other outside. If this scenario continues, only a few people on this cruise will be able to get out alive."

Ewan was seething with anger. It was clear that his principles clashed with those of the masked man. Ewan sought to minimize casualties, aiming to uncover Genome Society’s activities and bring them to light.

On the other hand, the masked man’s motives centered around inciting conflict and killing. He sought to spark lethal confrontations between the rich and the poor.

"The darkness is where the seed of evil in human nature takes root and thrives. Once it emerges, it must be eradicated completely to prevent its recurrence. Those who have died on the cruise were far from innocent." The masked man’s voice changer emitted an eerie sound.

His statement that the victim was also the perpetrator was precisely parallel to the mastermind behind the serial killing. I could basically confirm that this masked man was not only the mastermind but also the creator of the serial murder case and the killing game.

I had to acknowledge that he was truly brilliant.

"If all these people die, who will spread the word? The rich and powerful possess infinite resources. We gathered over a thousand people to spread the word, bridge the information gap, and challenge ignorance. It wasn’t to let you kill people as you please."

Ewan’s voice resonated with intense emotion and seething anger, clearly showing his strong disagreement with the masked man.

The masked man taunted ominously, "It’s difficult to achieve great things if you’re too kind-hearted. You’ve witnessed too little of human nature. These individuals who are easily swayed by self-interests will continue to be driven by those interests once they’re free. They’ll only hold us back."

"Only those who survive and still harbor good intentions in their hearts will have the opportunity to stand steadfast and strive to expose all of this."

These people would do anything for personal gain, including murder. The masked man believed keeping these people alive would only mess up their plan. They would later appear and accuse that there was no issue on the cruise, blaming only the Rebels for the killing.

The masked man clearly had a deeper understanding of human nature. However, he was too violent and bloodthirsty. Whether it was the serial murder case, the killing game, or the Death Cruise, they all served as chilling evidence of his insanity.

"That’s enough. We’ve narrowed down the list of suspects to 11. One of them is definitely the president of Crowdstar Group. Once these 11 people’s hand injuries heal, we can identify the president and kill him in front of Genome Society."

"After that, we’ll abandon the cruise and leave. It’s time to stop it," Ewan continued to argue with the masked man.

I looked at Zion, and he looked back at me. It was clear that the Rebels were not as unified as they seemed. Some members advocated killing while others preferred exposure. Ewan was the one who stood for exposure.

"My dad is not actually a bad person," Joel said in a low voice, speaking up for Ewan.

Jimmy sneered. "Not a bad person? Not a bad person when he’s the one who locked us all up here?"

"You’re still alive, aren’t you?" Eason frowned and said, standing up for Joel.

"Stop making noise," Una urged with a serious expression. She gestured for everyone to remain silent.

After a brief moment of silence, a hand emerged, followed by a gradual appearance of a head. To our astonishment, it was the killer, Stan. He had managed to infiltrate the warehouse through a narrow crack in the door.

Our hands and feet were tied as we all eyed Stan warily. He was a killer, and we had bound him before. We were afraid that he would retaliate. Violette was even more frightened and sought refuge behind Zion.

However, Stan appeared indifferent toward us. Instead, he cast a peculiar smile as he surveyed the warehouse.

He pointed to the door and smiled. "The serial killer is outside. He planned everything, including the killings. He gathered all the people he thought should be killed. The wealthy, in particular." 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Stan approached me with a smirk on his face as if to show off his secret of being a serial killer. "He’s not acting alone. He didn’t commit all this on his own. He’s just a piece of shit but still dares to provoke me, haha."

With a wary look, Damien positioned himself in front of me to shield me from Stan. Yet, Stan ignored him and pushed him aside. He showed off and reported to me with an intense gaze as if he truly regarded me as his equal.

Stan seemed very happy because he killed people on his own, unlike the serial killer who had assistance. He smiled and lifted his pants, revealing his congenitally deformed legs and body. "Do you know what it signifies when a murderous person doesn’t commit the act of killing themselves but instead schemes to have others carry out the killings for them? It signifies disability or weakness."

Stan was analyzing the identity of the serial killer. "I won. I defeated him in essence. He must be someone like me, either disabled or weak."

I frowned as I looked at Stan. What he said was right. The serial killer planned everything, allowing the victims to kill each other. He never really did it himself, except for Sophia.

When I remembered the moment Sophia died, I gasped. I was in a daze and noticed his birthmark, the scratches I inadvertently made on his arm, and his weak and thin body.

Even in killing me, he resorted to semi-anesthesia. This implied that the murderer might not have the strength to kill me while I was fully conscious. He was indeed a feeble presence.

Was it the masked man? He was dressed in a way that concealed all of his skin, yet it was unmistakably apparent that he was more slender and shorter than the other men. Who could he possibly be?

"If I kill him, I’ll go down in history, and I’ll be the real winner," Stan declared with a confident smile, ready to kill the masked man and unveil his true identity.

I took a deep breath before speaking with caution, "You’ll definitely put yourself in grave danger by going out like this. Do you really want to kill him? He has a lot of people around him who will help him, and you need our support as well. It’s only fair."

I attempted to deceive Stan, who unquestionably found my words to be logical.

"Untie our ropes and we’ll help you..." I raised my hands, which were tied behind my back, signaling him to free us. As anticipated, Stan enthusiastically aided us in untying the ropes, thinking that we were going to help him kill the man.

"Ashton will trick him in later. Then, we’ll work together to subdue him and uncover the identity of this well-disguised person." I looked at Zion. The few of us understood each other without speaking a word.