Surviving players took to the forums, sharing tales of the game's horrors and stirring sympathy among others.

“CarrotEatsRabbit: The second game starts in two days. Save me, I don’t want to go. Do you people even understand the despair of seeing more than a dozen teammates strangled by something inexplicable right in front of you?”

“KeyboardWarriorLaodzu: Immersive horror, man. The Spider-Woman almost hacked me to pieces—if the game hadn’t ended, I might never have made it back.”

“You’reMyBoss: A million players went in, only 199 came out. Who could understand what that means?”

“Coastline888: I’ve already asked for help from Daddy Government. You can always trust our powerful motherland to back you up.”

【…………】

On Doujia's livestream platform—

A scrawny man held a fistful of fire, grinning smugly at the barrage of on-screen comments. “Alright, brothers! Double-tap 666 and I’ll put on a little show for you.”

“HarmoniousFamily: Is this some kind of illusion trick?”

“BlessYouForever: Just showmanship, it’s a cheap special effect. This streamer’s just here to scam people—don’t fall for it, guys!”

“AbaAba: But it really doesn’t look fake at all. It looks so real!”

“YQHReturns: Just came from the Bai family’s heiress’s live room—she can spray water from her hands, just like the water abilities from web novels. Is the apocalypse or a zombie outbreak really coming?”

The streamer’s blonde hair glinted as comments scrolled. The flames in his palm burned brighter, pride flickering across his leering face.

“That’s right! I entered the game and awakened a fire ability.”

He’d thought he was fate’s chosen, that it was divine favor to receive such power—never imagining that the first thing the game would do was throw him into some haunted scenario. Worse still, ordinary attacks had no effect on the monstrous entities inside.

With no other options, he’d soaked himself in Aura Plus just to barely survive.

…………

With two days to prepare, Ye Shu found a shooting range and trained. By the end of the day, she felt no exhaustion—her attributes surely had improved.

In just two days, she’d learned enough shooting to defend herself if need be.

During this time, Pang Pangzi finally replied after days of silence.

“ImYourDad: You’re still alive?”

“Coastline888: Lady Ye, of course I’m still breathing.”

On the other side of the screen, Pang Tong’s flabby face gave the tiniest twitch. The way Ye called him… she sounded almost surprised he was still alive, as if good people weren’t destined for long lives.

“Coastline888: Lady Ye, your username looks so darn familiar. Where have I seen it before?”

Suddenly, Pang patted his forehead. The top player on the game’s leaderboard—wasn’t that ImYourDad?

Good heavens, he had latched onto a golden thigh—a truly sturdy one at that.

Compared to her, even the second place on the board was a joke. Just 20 points? Not even close to her scraps.

“Coastline888: Lady Ye, you made the leaderboard!!”

“ImYourDad: ???”

Ye Shu opened the nearly-forgotten ranking list in a corner of her screen.

Ding-ding-ding—

A golden flash; a silver-white screen appeared before her. At its very top, in bold, sat her username: ImYourDad.

Her score stopped at 1,160, even after buying items out of her pool.

“Coastline888: Lady Ye, as soon as I exited the game, government guards took me to safety. It’s really secure—do you want in?”

“ImYourDad: No. Also, don’t ever reveal my username—you know what happens if you do.”

The system had a protection mechanism—after exiting, players’ faces would blur. But still, Ye Shu couldn’t relax.

She turned down Pang decisively, throwing herself back into her shooting practice. At first, she couldn't even hit the target.

Pang Tong now sat at the center of an office. Those beside him—faces he’d only ever seen on screens—were drenched in sweat.

Thankfully, only players themselves could see their system screens.

“Comrade Xiao Pang?”

Pang Tong looked at the expectant faces and shook his head.

Disappointment flashed across the grizzled leader’s countenance, but he quickly regained his composure.

They’d gone to great lengths and spent dearly to recruit these so-called survival game players within Huaxia, but the results were insignificant. Including Pang, there were barely twenty of them.

Too little useful information…

The only certainty: the chosen couldn’t refuse entry, and this survival game was no mercy—it had erased a million souls in an instant. Human effort seemed laughably frail.

For the players, surviving ten days in the game had taken only seconds in real life.

Just like that, another two days slipped past.

This time, every human being on Blue Star heard the voice.

『Only 199 players survived last round. One million will be randomly selected for this game!』

『Attention: Failing in-game means player death!』

『Take this seriously!』

…………

『Welcome, Player Ye Shu, to the game!』

『Would you like to draw a card?』

『Congratulations, you have acquired: one battered, rusted sniper rifle—unusable.』

『Congratulations, you have gained: +1 Strength, +1 Agility.』

『Congratulations, you have acquired: Marmot Transformation Device x1. Effect: Transforms you into an adorably frantic, screaming rodent for five minutes at a time.』

Ye Shu: “......Was that really necessary?”

Her HUD unfolded:

『Player: Ye Shu』

『Game Identity: High school student vacationing with family』

『Age: 19』

『Constitution: 18 (Finally, not a total weakling)』

『Agility: 15 (Faster than Li Xiang, at least)』

『Strength: 20 (A veritable Vajra Barbie striding among mortals)』

『Current living players: 1,000,199／1,000,198』

『Game description: The Royal Caribbean, the largest cruise ship in the world. Once it sets sail, it will not stop. In this round, players will travel with NPCs on board and must do their utmost to survive.』

『Game Mission: Survive twenty days』

『Initial supplies: 2,000 in cash, 1 ID card, 1 set of clothes, 1 mobile phone』

Azure sea, endless sky.

The sunshine was perfect. Far off, a flock of seagulls wheeled over the water.

Ye Shu stood on the deck, her gaze sweeping over bustling crowds. Everywhere, children in swimsuits splashed by the poolside, joy suffusing the air.

This time, there was no warning.

The only message: the cruise ship would never stop.

Ye Shu noticed those nearby were all rookie players, just like her.

“This is the survival game? Looks totally harmless,” murmured a woman in a beige dress, stretching out contentedly for a sunbath.

“A ship like this must cost forty, fifty grand to build—a real eye-opener,” commented a middle-aged man with a scholarly air, though his gaze lingered vulgarly on bikini-clad women as he filched a free glass of champagne when no one looked.

“So this is the survival game blowing up Doujia. Feels pretty easy. Those losers must have scared themselves silly. Leave this to the real pros,” scoffed a young man with barely concealed contempt.

Ye Shu frowned subtly.

Far out across the boundless sea, nine nearly identical cruise ships sailed in different directions.

…………

Ye Shu lifted her eyes to take in the behemoth before her—this cruise ship boasted one hundred decks, room for two hundred thousand people, over a hundred thousand cabins, five hundred restaurants, more than fifty superstores, water parks, pools, bars—a veritable city at sea.

She pondered what looming threats the game might throw their way: storms, food crises, outbreaks of plague—the more she thought, the more possible it all seemed.

A bold thought rose in her chest: if this grand city afloat were to collapse... would anyone survive?

Looking down into the endless blue beneath the deck, she no longer felt the awe she’d once had for the sea’s beauty.