The rescue station staff lashed out in the group chat at 80c9906, unleashing a torrent of curses. Seeing the other party too guilty to reply, he was finally satisfied, snapped his phone shut, and tossed it aside.

He was a veteran of Royal Caribbean, having served as long as the cruise ship itself. In Wang Dabao’s eyes, working aboard the Royal was a gift from the heavens. Now, for someone to dare slander the ship he revered as sacred—it had to be dealt with.

"Puh-puh-puh—"

"What’s that sound?"

A strange noise echoed in the corridor. Wang Dabao glanced around but saw no one, dismissing it as a trick of aging eyes wearied by countless shifts.

As the office door creaked open, a shadow lunged at him.

What kind of monster was this?

Could it be—the tales from those passengers on the 80th floor were true? An unknown terror roams the ship?

Frozen in terror, Wang Dabao couldn’t muster a scream. He dashed for the office, but it was too late—the creature moved with uncanny speed, blocking the door just as it was about to close. Wang Dabao threw himself against it with all his strength, but the monster barely flinched, as if it possessed no nerves to register pain.

Within moments, a dozen more of the same monsters surrounded the rescue office, creating a living barricade.

Moments later, the door was cast aside. Wang Dabao, considered a delicacy, was dragged down and torn limb from limb...

Not far away, inside another rescue station dormitory, those who had lain bedridden now began to stir. The newly awakened infected ones staggered at first, but soon their bodies adapted and their predatory movements grew sure.

A horde of monsters poured from the rescue station—the 90th floor erupting into an inferno.

Cries of agony rose in chorus.

The few survivors snapped photos of the infected and posted them in the group chat. Only then did people believe: monsters truly stalked the cruise, and these monsters were their own family—lost in coma, now neither dead nor alive.

The chat exploded with desperate @’s for Ye Shu, but the void yielded no answer.

[80th Floor, come out and answer us!]

[How did you know about the monsters? We won’t scold you, please, just respond!]

[Damn it, my son just bit me! Half of my leg’s useless—does anyone have meds? I’ll pay ten million, just deliver me a roll of bandages!]

[So what if they’ve become monsters? They’re still my family… We shouldn’t harm them.]

[What? Have you listened to your own nonsense? You out of your mind? Should us living start lining up as snack packs for monsters?!]

[I remember the guy from 80th Floor said, the monsters’ weakness is their head...]

While the NPCs in the group argued endlessly, the Players quickly regrouped and rallied together. Teams coalesced, and in no time they managed to suppress the freshly awakened monsters.

"Brother Wang, the player from the 80th floor was right—these mutated things do have a glaring weakness up top. Ha… It’s like free loot! Can you believe these NPCs are too scared to even move?"

Ding Xiaoliu beamed with excitement as he smashed an infected’s skull with a frying pan—fortune had favored him: at the very start of the game, he’d drawn a card boosting his strength.

With a single swing, the frying pan caved in the infected’s head. Blackish-purple slime splattered all around.

"Xiaoliu..."

Wang Zhiping cast a cold look at his companion; Ding Xiaoliu quickly stifled his grin, fawning, "Brother Wang, I’m just saying, with you around, we’ve got this game in the bag."

Night fell. Ye Shu was jolted from sleep by rustles just outside her door, the dregs of her dreams evaporating instantly.

"Boss, I know this one—schoolgirl, nineteen, fair-skinned and sweet. First day of the game she stocked up, must be a Player."

"Watch it, don’t rile those things."

Though the man's voice was lowered, Ye Shu caught every word.

There was something eerily familiar about that voice.

In less than half an hour, the people outside deftly picked the lock and slipped in, only to be blinded by a sudden burst of light—the lamp flared, stunning the intruders who hadn’t expected a direct confrontation.

"Get out."

Ye Shu hefted an axe, her expression fierce, though her round, guileless eyes gave her the look of someone pleading, not threatening.

"Hahaha... Sure, pretty girl. Beg big brother nicely and maybe I’ll leave," the gang’s burly leader drawled. A vicious scar pulled taut across his cheeks as he grinned, clearly more amused than angered by her display.

"Li Lao’er and Ye Laosan were right—you’re a Player, girlie. Monsters eat people outside, but stick with big brother, and you’ll stay safe. Hand over your goods and keep close to me."

Ye Shu recognized 'Li Lao’er' as the enthusiastic supermarket delivery guy; the pieces clicked together. No wonder the voice seemed familiar, and they’d found her out of thousands of rooms—her stalkers had been watching all along.

As for 'Ye Laosan', she’d never forget him—no matter what mask he wore.

Ye Jun had always taken pleasure in tormenting the original owner, especially before the Ye family had acknowledged the real heiress Ye Wanwan. During Ye Shu’s hellish days, Ye Jun went out of his way to make them worse; the Ye family favored this unrelated cousin over her at every turn.

"Say it again—get out, or leave your life here," she said, lifting a silver-grey pistol and aiming it dead-on.

Her threats made them laugh harder.

"Hah... Little girl, bluffing with a toy like that? Give it a rest. Follow your brother and you won’t die," the scarred man jeered.

"Ye Shu, you’re lucky my brother likes you. Come with us and bring your supplies," Ye Jun said sternly, as if she were the one in the wrong.

Ye Shu let out a sharp laugh.

They broke in at midnight, intent on robbing her—and now dared act aggrieved, demanding she oblige? Unforgivable.

No one in the room believed her threats.

So Ye Shu pulled a sniper rifle from thin air and mowed them down, hardly blinking.

All that remained was Ye Laosan, gut-shot and trembling. He stammered, "Ye Shu... you can’t kill me… I’m your cousin, remember? We grew up together… The Ye family treated you well… you can’t do this—Tianxiang always liked me best—"

Ye Shu smiled, untouched, "Thanks to your family, I had three meals in three days for years. That’s a debt too great to repay."

"I was thrown out by the Ye family; I’ve got no family left."

Ye Jun mistook her words for mercy, hoping emotion would sway her. But he found no angle of appeal: the Ye family—even their housekeepers—ate better than Ye Shu, and as her cousin, he’d made it worse.

"No more excuses. You can go now!"

Ye Shu never bore grudges; she repaid them—instantly.

Every slight, every humiliation—she remembered. Ye Jun and his crew broke in at midnight with bad intentions; upon seeing it was their long-bullied cousin, they didn’t offer a word in protest. They died as they lived.

Even in death, Ye Jun couldn’t comprehend how the once-timid Ye Shu had become so cold, so merciless—a killing demon.