When the storm finally abated, the deck was flooded and strewn with chaos. Compared to the players’ panic, the cruise staff seemed unfazed—going about their duties and meals as if nothing at all had happened.

Truthfully, storms were common occurrences at sea. Yesterday’s was but a minor squall—the smallest of waves.

Yet this little tempest had given the players a chilling glimpse of terror lurking within the game.

……

It was now the seventh day since entering the game.

The sky glowered with an oppressive gray. The sea was unnaturally calm, but the overcast heavens left a sense of deep foreboding.

Especially among those self-assured players who’d bragged about breezing through the game. Ignoring the captain’s repeated warnings, they burst from their rooms to snatch up lifeboats and similar gear. When lifeboats were sold out, they settled for life vests, life rings—even stockpiling enormous washbasins from the supermarket if nothing else was left.

“This must be a sea rescue game. All we have to do is collect supplies and we’ll clear it!”

“Hey, keep your voice down! What if those NPCs overhear us?”

“Li-ge, have you forgotten? The game’s NPCs can’t hear anything about game-related things.”

Wang Xiaowu cast a glance at the calm, collected girl opposite, utterly unbothered. In her eyes, Ye Shu was certainly no player—if she were, she’d be elbowing her way in with the others to fight for supplies, not wandering the ship at leisure as though on vacation.

That afternoon, a new wave of chaos struck as, all at once, another large group collapsed on the spot.

Their numbers far outstripped the first fainting episode.

There was no room left in the ship’s infirmary. The loudspeakers could only repeat the message over and over:

[We ask all passengers to stay calm. Currently, over 2,000 patients have been admitted to the infirmary and there is no more capacity. Please move those who have fallen unconscious to a safe area, preferably in isolation, to prevent the spread of germs.]

[The ship will now be sprayed with alcohol for disinfection. Please cooperate with staff... ]

[We have already contacted rescuers on shore. Please wait patiently!]

The announcements strove desperately to soothe the crowd. But to little effect.

Panic spread across the passengers like wildfire.

With the previous round included, nearly five thousand people had passed out aboard the ship.

Those with sense started hoarding medicine—especially alcohol and anti-inflammatories. What was once a ten-yuan box of cold pills now tripled in price the moment demand spiked: thirty, a hundred, five hundred—prices skyrocketed. As for alcohol, it was simply nowhere to be found.

Ye Shu slurped her noodles, popping a clove of garlic into her mouth with a crunch.

Her gaze fell upon her mountain of stockpiled supplies—a comforting sight.

A few hours later, yet another wave of people collapsed without warning, bodies slumping as they slowly cooled.

Players huddled in their rooms, shivering with dread.

Who said all it took to survive this game was having working legs?!

Why were people fainting en masse for no discernible reason? No one had a clue. Nor could anyone say if those who’d fallen would ever wake again.

[Iron Pot Stews Big Goose: My teammate just passed out in front of me, help! The shelter on the 56th floor is full. I don’t even have 5ml of alcohol. Do I just dump him outside the door?]

[Anshu and Cat: Now that’s what I call a good teammate from Dragon Country! I support it!]

[DingDingCat: Toss him out. With how strange this illness is, who knows—what if the unconscious turn into monsters and attack us? Can’t say I’d blame you. Thank goodness I have no teammates.]

[Bai Xiaolian tagged Iron Pot Stews Big Goose: Waaah~ How can you be so cruel, big sis? Aren’t the unconscious still human? They once had lives too, were our friends and family. How can you bear it?]

[Big Goose: Sorry to disappoint, I’m a guy.]

[The King Sent Me to Patrol the Mountains: Somebody toss this white camellia out. Big Goose, better lock that guy up alone. Haven’t you noticed their body temperature keeps dropping? I snuck a look at the shelter from afar—some of those people are frosted over. At this rate, soon as the temperature dips below zero, even if they wake, are they still human?]

[Old Nanjing Bean Juice with Roast Duck: Damn, isn’t this basically a monster?]

[Gotta Live Well Today Too: Where’s the earlier White Xiaohua? Why so quiet now?]

[Bai Xiaolian: My name is Bai Xiaolian.]

Ye Shu popped the last of her garlic into her mouth, munching thoughtfully, when she heard subtle noises from the next room.

Ye Xiuyuan was now lashed securely to a chair. But calling him “he” was no longer quite right. His body had sprouted a milky film, sheets of black-purple scales now armor-plated his skin, his hands webbed into fins. His eyes—entirely consumed by milky whites—bore no trace of humanity. Had it not been for the silver pocket watch Ye Shu herself had given him hanging at his neck, even she wouldn’t have recognized the tall and once-handsome Ye Xiuyuan.

"Dad?" Ye Shu called cautiously.

"Raaagh~"

"Click-click-click—RAAAUGH!!"

The creature stared at her with those unblinking, ashen eyes. Its seamed-over nostrils vibrated as it sniffed the air, and it strained violently against its bonds, glaring at Ye Shu with nothing but malice.

Seeing the monster about to break loose, Ye Shu didn’t hesitate. Summoning a watermelon knife from her space, she drove it deep into its chest. Black-blue blood spurted, the air thick with a grotesque, fishy stench.

Ye Shu instantly recognized the odor. This creature’s blood was the same acrid reek she’d caught wafting from the restaurant on the very first day.

"Click-click-RAAAAAUGH!!"

The monster seemed utterly unfazed by the wound. Its ashen eyes never left her for an instant.

Can’t be killed?

Ye Shu slashed its throat for good measure.

She popped up her psychic interface, opened the camera function, and quickly typed: "The unconscious awaken as monsters. Take care." She snapped two photos and uploaded them to the player forum.

Instantly, the forum exploded—notifications flooded in.

In the photos, the hideous creature’s face sneered back at the players, a watermelon knife still lodged in its chest.

[26MaleTenant: Boss, is this for real?]

[Daddyder: Boss, you’re amazing! Need a free baggage handler? I’m 18 and built like a tank…]

[Bai Xiaolian: This can’t be true, right? Monsters? I refuse to believe it.]

Ye Shu eyed the handle ‘Bai Xiaolian’ with a furrow that didn’t even twitch. She turned and strode to the next room. If Ye Father had mutated, then Ye Mother would be in grave danger. Anyone caught by these monsters was bound to become infected.

Ye Xiuyuan’s journal had mentioned it: He was caught by a ‘madman’ while boarding the cruise. No wonder he’d locked himself away from the beginning.

Sounds hissed from behind the next door. No surprises—Ye Mother had likely succumbed as well.

Ye Shu kicked the door open. Inside, a gray-purple, scale-covered creature crouched with spiny-finned back and a long tail. Startled by the sudden intrusion, it froze for several seconds, then lunged, razor claws swiping for her face—gills burbling a weird ‘pu-pu-pu’ sound.

"Creeeeeak—"

The infected one was fast. Black claws screeched as they scraped against the watermelon knife.

Ye Shu discarded the knife and hefted the fire axe instead.

She swung with lethal accuracy, the axe whistling savagely through the air.

She seized her moment and brought the blade down across the creature’s slender neck. Scales parted, viscous blue blood oozed out. She slit its throat, just to be sure.

These monsters, bodies armored with fish scales, Ye Shu dubbed them: the Infected.