Ye Shu's vision blurred, and she found herself back in her hotel room.

A familiar mechanical voice echoed in her ears.

"The third round of the game has concluded. Congratulations to the players who cleared the stage; rewards have been distributed. The fourth round will commence in two days. Please prepare!"

"Players who failed to clear the game—erasure!"

"Countdown begins: 10...9...2, 1."

"Erasure complete!"

On the street below, people suddenly turned into clouds of blood mist, exploding on the spot. The carnage struck terror into the bystanders. Faces twisted in horror, they fled, screaming.

Some parents watched in disbelief as their own children swelled grotesquely into balloon-shaped human husks. There was barely a moment for a final word before they erupted—flesh torn apart. In their grief, the parents raged against fate, but it dissolved quickly into bottomless despair.

Although the public had known that chosen players would die if they lost, witnessing the carnage firsthand savaged even the steeliest nerves. Thankfully, Huaxia’s authorities reacted swiftly and chaos did not devolve into full-blown riot.

"Beep—beep—beep—"

Ye Shu peeked out her window to chaos on the street below; several players had died simultaneously in her vicinity. Police had been called, some people wept, but most were putting distance between themselves and the carnage.

She had seen scenes like this before.

Still, the shock never faded.

"Congratulations to player Ye Shu for SSS-ranked clearance. Reward: Physique +10, Strength +10, Agility +10, and 100 points."

The mechanical voice returned. For the first time, Ye Shu thought it sounded gritted, as if the emotionless system had suddenly found reason to seethe. Maybe it was just her imagination.

A light-screen materialized before her.

[Player: Ye Shu] [Age: 20] [Game Number: 10096] [Physique: 38] (Free from illness, even minor ailments heal themselves; no need for doctors.) [Strength: 42] (Able to lift mountains, overpower tigers with half a punch.) [Agility: 37] (Can run when you can't win—truly reliable.) [Game Points: 1460] [Skill Talent: SSS-ranked Rewind (Upgradeable, Level 2, rewinds to half an hour before death, CD: once per day) Note: cannot be lost.] [Skill Talent: SSS Optimize (Upgradeable, Level 2, optimize items. Note: Cannot be lost, cannot be plundered.)] [Item: SSS-tier Exorcist Peachwood Sword, 100% durability (Slays vengeful spirits, may drop points), bound item, cannot be lost.] [Item: A-tier Vermilion Bead Bracelet (Exorcises, sense and resists the supernatural.)] [Item: Storage Space (5 square meters)] [Items... summoning cards, obedience talismans...]

Ye Shu eyed her talent list with wonder; both Rewind and Optimize had advanced. There had never been an explanation for skill upgrades. She was left to fumble in the dark.

She recalled how the wild optimizing at the end of the last game had nearly drained her dry—was that why her talents leveled up?

As for Rewind... did its upgrade come from dying too many times?

And this World Affinity stat—what was it for?

She pondered with no answers, but took solace in that it posed no apparent harm.

A new prompt appeared in her talents tab.

"Detected: High-grade Half-Spectral Black Tiger. Optimize?"

Ye Shu withdrew the magnificent pelt from her spatial storage and laid it out. The supernatural beast had been dead for some time; its corpse only slightly stiff, not decomposing like that of a human. She gazed at the blood-caked black cat, and with a thought, pressed Confirm.

No doubt, the supernatural lacked emotion. No doubt, they fed on human flesh and blood. Yet it was also true: it had saved her life.

"Yes."

A white light flashed. Ye Shu gathered the black cat into her hands, squeezing its plush pink paw pads.

"Mrow...?"

Big Pretty felt the oddity in its now-living paws, squirming in protest. It soon realized something was wrong—eyes opening, green pupils flickering at its surroundings in disbelief. Its soft, milky mewl nearly melted Ye Shu’s heart. She ruffled its fluffy head.

"Mrow???"

What was happening? Wasn’t it dead?

Minutes later, Big Pretty accepted that it was really nothing more than an NPC specter in a game world.

"Little kitty, your life is mine—I saved you, after all. So, this life belongs to me now. As for this contract... think carefully before signing," Ye Shu said sweetly, brandishing a Supernatural Pact she’d bought off the market, and a can of cat food from the pet shop downstairs as incentive.

Big Pretty shook its head, refusing: "...Mrow..."

Ye Shu tossed down the can and drew her peachwood sword.

The once-defiant black cat began to nod furiously: "...Mrow mrow, meow meow meow!"

Its round eyes were fixed on the sword, unscathed despite all odds. Big Pretty clearly remembered; that detestable blade should have been reduced to splinters.

Overpowered, Big Pretty pressed its paw on the contract—utterly against its will.

[Supernatural Pact: The pact-bound entity, in life or death, is the master's to command. It must obey any order, and the master may handle the contracted supernatural as she wishes. (One hundred more unequal clauses omitted.)]

Satisfied, Ye Shu watched the blood bead from her pricked finger drip onto the ancient parchment. Instantly, a black pentagram flared underfoot, both woman and specter cast in shadowy, sinister light.

"Pact sealed. Contract effective!"

This was the real world—Big Pretty was fond of blood and flesh. If unleashed, what havoc would it wreak upon Blue Planet? This pact was necessary.

"Meow meow, mrow mrow—" Big Pretty griped.

If not for that damnable sword, it would never have agreed to this accursed contract. Curse this scheming woman and her sly, unreadable gaze. Humans, it concluded, are more devious than even the supernatural—downright fiendish!

Ye Shu blinked; for a moment she thought she’d imagined it.

Who'd have guessed the adorably soft Big Pretty actually had the voice and temperament of a roughneck behind closed doors?

"One more complaint and I’ll end your strange existence. I saved you; I can destroy you just as easily."

Ye Shu’s eyes were cold as winter streamwater. Yet a smile danced on her lips as her hand rested on the cat’s spine.

"Mrow... meow meow meow... You can understand me?"

Big Pretty’s glossy green eyes locked on Ye Shu’s. It hadn’t bothered to read the contract—didn’t realize that, upon signing, its language would be automatically translated.

Ye Shu rolled her eyes in a thoroughly unladylike fashion.

Clearly, she had contracted a not-so-bright supernatural...

At Big Pretty’s urgent insistence, Ye Shu placed a delivery order for a crate of fresh market chickens. On her way down to collect them, she came face-to-face with the last person she wanted to see.

Qin Zaozao glared at Ye Shu, the so-called "sister" she never acknowledged. The shared features on their faces only deepened her ire; only Wanwan could be her real sister. This Ye Shu was nothing more than an irrelevant outsider.

Yet, remembering her mother’s instructions, Qin Zaozao swallowed the worst of her anger. With open disdain, she snapped: "Ye Shu, Mother wants you to come home with me. Pack your things—right now—and bring that clown cat to heel. The Qin family won’t tolerate any filthy stray you drag in."