This guy actually just sawed the door open so brazenly?! Was he really treating her like she didn’t matter at all?
All the more so since this apartment was one Ye Shu had chosen with great care. For the sake of both safety and principle, she could not allow it to be breached with violence.
Clang, clang—
The sound of chains came from inside. Zhang Ping, thinking Ye Shu was frightened into surrender, looked much more pleased. He sneered, "See, you should’ve opened up sooner. We wouldn’t have had to use force. Pretty girl... you really are something."
Zhang Ping had seen Ye Shu once before. He’d thought she was pretty and delicate back then, but up close, she was even more striking.
Behind Zhang Ping, a few men leered at Ye Shu with lascivious eyes.
Was Ye Shu the type to take this lying down? Not a chance. She fished out a pistol from her space and let loose a barrage right at them.
Zhang Ping, the ringleader, didn’t even have time to cry for help before he was dead. The rest caught a bullet or two each; if they hadn’t dodged in time, they’d already be corpses.
Chen Jiang, clutching a bleeding wound, dropped to his knees and begged, "Sister Ye, spare me! We didn’t mean it, it was all Zhang Ping’s idea—it had nothing to do with us!"
"That’s right, that’s right! Zhang Ping made us do it. Miss Ye, please forgive us, we swear we’ll never try anything again."
The lackeys were dumbfounded. If they’d known this lady was carrying a gun, who would’ve dared to act so rashly?
"So you all know my surname is Ye?"
She’d only stayed at Yuhai Bay a short while and barely talked to anyone.
"Sister Ye... We did some digging beforehand. Zhang Ping—he stole your info from the archives. Heard there was a single girl on the 32nd floor, just moved in, brought supplies... Boss Ye, we’ll never do it again—please, let us go, we promise we’ll change our ways!"
The muzzle pressed against Chen Jiang’s head. He felt the cold metal and broke into a cold sweat, twisting his face into a sickly smile.
"You’re the gang of thieves that’s been mugging people in the hallways these days, aren’t you? Take me to your place."
Ye Shu spoke with certainty.
These men were nothing but average thugs. With a gun pointed squarely at them, and with Ye Shu’s ruthless efficiency, who would dare defy her?
The corridor on the twentieth floor reeked, mounds of trash everywhere. The closer Ye Shu got, the more she could hear the subtle sounds: restrained breathing, a woman pleading—a grisly scene was plain without needing to be told.
Chen Jiang was the type who could read the room. He glanced at Ye Shu’s impassive face and knew disaster was coming.
In broad daylight... It had to be Li Laosan again...
Chen Jiang turned pale, his shaking hands fumbling with the key until, finally, he got the door open.
A couple of the lackeys trailed behind Ye Shu. Seeing that her attention was elsewhere, they exchanged glances, plotting to seize her pistol.
But Ye Shu was ready. She pulled the trigger, dropping Chen Jiang on the spot, then dealt with the rest—one knife per thug.
Within seconds, several half-dead bodies littered the floor.
With the door thrown wide, Ye Shu furrowed her elegant brows; the foul, turbid air inside made her want to flee straight away.
"Zhang, you’re back? Say something, will you? That chick from upstairs—did you take care of her?"
A man, fastening his belt, turned and met Ye Shu’s cold, expressionless face. Her eyes were black as a dry well, void of any light. She stabbed him clean through the throat, and he collapsed in a dying heap.
The room was dim, but Ye Shu could see clearly: a dozen women, naked and huddled in the corners. In the center, a huge pot simmered with a thick broth she recognized from before. Half a bone jutted from the stew—and she caught a glimpse of jeweled nail tips within.
Nearby was their waste—the source of that unbearable stench.
"You’re free now," Ye Shu said, making no move to comfort them.
One woman, missing half an arm, caught the words. In her dim eyes a spark rekindled. She lunged, yanking the knife from the man’s neck and stabbing him again and again—until he was nothing but a bloody pulp.
With tears in her eyes, the one-armed woman threw her head back and laughed, "Good riddance! Let all the scum die! May you rot in hell! My husband shared food with you, and this was your betrayal... All of you, go to hell!"
Ye Shu had already guessed what awaited on the twentieth floor, but she never imagined how quickly things had spiraled.
These wretches hadn’t just hoarded the food—they’d eaten people.
............
The fourteenth day within the game.
Word of the cannibalism on the 20th floor had spread. The mood in the building grew heavier still.
Only the rising waters remained unchanged.
In just one day, the water had swallowed the fourteenth floor, sending survivors scrambling higher.
Now they had to sleep in cold, filthy hallways, starving, parched. Some—unable to bear it—drank rainwater in secret, hoping for rescue.
The fifteenth day.
All food on the lower floors was gone. Cannibalism was no longer a secret.
Tragically, never once did the survivors try to seek a way out.
Disease and plague swept through the building.
Ye Shu disinfected herself daily, scrubbing each corner of her home to keep malaria at bay.
One rare day while she disinfected outside her door, she saw the apartment opposite open up.
To her surprise, she recognized them:
The figure in heavy protective gear was none other than Fu Shiyi—last round’s airplane pilot—and Fu Jingchuan.
Ye Shu hadn’t even reacted when the other side called out proactively: "Pretty lady! What a coincidence—I didn’t know you lived here too!"
She ignored him and walked straight inside.
Fu Shiyi: "........."
He couldn’t shake the feeling that she seemed awfully familiar.
Fu Jingchuan’s eyes darkened as he stared at her door. In his memory, that woman wore the same vermillion bead bracelet...
The thought wouldn’t let him sit still—he knocked immediately on Ye Shu’s door.
Fu Shiyi could hardly believe it. It was his first time seeing his Third Brother take the initiative with a woman, and this one he’d only seen for a few seconds. Sure, she was a rose—but with plenty of thorns!
Ye Shu opened the door impatiently. "........."
Fu Jingchuan didn’t waste words. "Player. Let’s work together!"
"No," Ye Shu shot back without hesitation.
She had no plans to stay at Yuhai Bay. Judging from how the rain was progressing, the entire thirtieth floor would be submerged in days. Besides, her radio had picked up word of a shelter—Jade Lake City was barely a hundred li away.
"With disease breaking out, every day here increases your risk of infection. We should team up, seal the hallway. You don’t want a crowd camping outside your door, do you?"
Fu Jingchuan wasn’t mincing words, and Ye Shu’s irritation faded bit by bit.
"I know where to get steel for barricades. I just need a raft to haul it."
Ye Shu smirked, "How do you know I’ve got one? What if you’re wrong?"
Fu Jingchuan was straightforward: "Anyone who thought about heading upwards can’t possibly have come empty-handed. No more delay—let’s move now. It’s an hour’s round trip."