“Shushu-jie... I didn’t mean to upset you! Please don’t blame me, okay? Wanwan really wants to accept you as my big sister!! Ah...”
Ye Shu’s fist stopped an inch from Ye Wanwan’s forehead. With a sweet smile, she brushed some invisible dust off Ye Wanwan’s sleeve. “How curious, I never knew I had such a grown-up little sister. My mother only ever had me—don’t start recognizing random relatives.”
“Ms. Qin, I believe we’re long past having any connection... Back at the family reunion, you personally kicked me out of the Ye family. I’ve never so much as eaten a single meal in the Qin household. Spare me the sentimental mother-daughter act.”
The assembled crowd, busy with their meals, shot astonished glances at Ye Shu. The eldest brother, who had been loudly demanding her departure just moments prior, now watched the four of them with barely-contained gossip gleaming in his eyes.
First Qin, now Ye—what a tangled mess of family affairs.
Compared to the delicate younger sister, it was true—the older sister looked far more maternal. She’d never raised a daughter, and yet she drove her out. Among the rich and powerful, everything was chaos!
Ye Shu turned her attention to Ye Wanwan, a sly, unsettling smile tugging at her lips.
Not moments before, she had improved her Obedience Talisman. A tool once only usable in the game world could now be employed in reality. She had taken the opportunity to stick it right on Ye Wanwan.
“Shu-jie... Why are you looking at me like that... what’s going on?”
A chill ran down Ye Wanwan’s spine, though she maintained the gentle, white-lotus heiress persona as always.
“Ye Wanwan, let me ask you, do you really want me to return? Tell the truth.”
“Of course, I don’t,” Ye Wanwan replied honestly. “Mom and Dad’s love is mine—I don’t want to share it. I only try to present a good side outside so both sets of parents will pay more attention to me. As for you, as long as I say I want ‘big sister’ back, they will never actually let you come home... Mom and Dad always fall for that act.”
“How pitiful. For over ten years, the Ye family treated you like thin air, yet you work so hard for even a glimmer from their eyes.”
“And as for the rest, if I look a bit more pitiable, they’ll naturally take my side.”
Mother Qin: “...”
Qin Zaozao looked at her younger sister with a complicated expression.
The bystanders: “...”
“Whoa! Did that girl just say all that out loud? Respect, honestly. To think I actually thought she was pure and kind—the clown was me this whole time.”
“She’s acting like she’s been possessed or something. Is this really something we get to hear for free?”
“I thought she was some sweet, innocent heiress—what a face-heel turn! I don’t even flip through books this quickly.”
“Didn’t I say the girl who just kept eating couldn’t be a bad person? If you’re focused on food, there can’t be that much evil in your heart. She was just hungry.”
“Miss Ye Shu, please kill me—am I the only one who noticed her devastating beauty?”
Ye Wanwan stood frozen in place.
Hadn’t those just been... her thoughts?
How could she have said those out loud—in front of everyone?
She raised a trembling hand, wanting to explain herself to Mother Qin and Qin Zaozao, but not a word of protest would come.
Seeing her sister’s ashen face, Qin Zaozao finally chose to forgive her. She’s still young, after all. She just wants their parents’ attention—what’s so wrong with that?
“Mom, what I just said isn’t true! I just... Ye Shu must have used some strange in-game item on me when she entered the game. I didn’t want to say those things...”
Ye Wanwan seemed to convince even herself, insisting over and over that it was all Ye Shu’s doing.
Qin Zaozao had just remembered—whether purchased from the in-game store or drawn at random, none of the items could be used outside the game world... except for awaken-type abilities.
As for Mother Qin, who had never played the game, she believed every word without hesitation.
...
Ye Shu had left as soon as Ye Wanwan spoke those damning words.
She truly disliked the girl, but Ye Wanwan’s petty malice didn’t warrant death. The next round of the survival game would start in just a few hours—it wasn’t worth wasting time on people like her.
【A new round of the Survival Game is about to begin. Insufficient player numbers. One million players will be randomly selected to enter the game!!】
【Take this seriously. Failure means death.】
【Welcome, player Ye Shu, to the game. This is now your fourth clearance. As a reward, your chances of drawing high-level cards have been increased. For your SSS-level perfect clearance last round, you’ll get an extra card draw.】
Ye Shu studied the void, feeling the sensation of being watched intensify as she suppressed her own mounting unease.
【Would you like to draw your cards?】
【You have gained: +1 Strength Attribute, +1 Agility.】
【You have obtained a Mermaid Transforming Device ×1. Function: Transform into a mermaid; ignore all water pressure.】
【You have obtained Fuluwa Seed ×1. Function: Unknown. Can produce rare types of Fuluwa.】
【You have obtained Ice Power Card ×1. Function: 50% chance to awaken ice-based powers.】
Ye Shu put away the remaining cards. She quickly bound the ice card—she had always relied on her own stats and resets to clear rounds until now. Ice-based powers were rarer among the gifted than lightning, and genuinely rare enough to be envied.
With an awakened power, her options multiplied. Another method to kill Lin Qingyue appeared before her.
Ye Shu didn’t want to face that monster if she could help it—undying, unable to be destroyed, infinitely resurrecting, and with skills capable of illusions and erasing all memory, like what she’d experienced during the ‘Sweet Home’ copy... It was no wonder her nerves were so frayed.
...
A glowing screen unfolded before her eyes.
【Player: Ye Shu】
【Game ID: 10096】
【Current Active Players: 1,002,399 / 1,002,399】
【Global Population: 8,323,456,778 / 832,345,677】
【Starting Resources: Level 0 battered raft ×1, Fishing rod ×1】
【Game Intro: Planet D has suffered a game invasion. The original world has been destroyed. Survival on rafts begins. Reinforce your raft and survive at sea. Safe zones refresh daily—avoid the black fog and make your way to safety.】
【Mission: Survive for twenty days.】
Ye Shu eyed the words on the light screen with relief. Finally—a game that hadn’t upped its difficulty even further!
A game with clear instructions—what a comfort!
【Welcome to the Sea Survival Game. Players, please read the rules carefully: 1. This is a world as real as your own—if you fail the game, you die. 2. The ocean is dangerous; do not enter the water unless you have a death wish. Only by reinforcing your raft can you hope to survive; the seas at night are filled with peril. 3. Each player’s gear is tailored specifically for them—a fishing rod is provided to all. 4. The fishing rod is the key to gathering supplies; guard it well. 5. The first three days serve as a rookie protection period; difficulty is lower… For more details, consult the newcomer’s guide. Survive, everyone!】
Suddenly, a mechanical, genderless voice echoed next to her ear, distinctly different from the typical one used in Survival Games.
Ye Shu glanced down at the electronic watch strapped to her wrist and pressed a button. A Sea Survival Game interface sprang to life—not the plain menu of the glowing screen, but an image of blue skies and white clouds, with handy weather and time indicators: Day 1 of Sea Survival Diary, 7:23 a.m., clear skies, gentle wind, nothing but sunshine at sea, though you should beware the ravenous schools of fish.
Below was the Sea Survival chat channel.
Billions had been pulled in at once—the chat exploded.
“Another day, another cutie: Where is this? Sea Survival Game? I want to go home! I fell asleep and woke up here on the sea, water everywhere, no land in sight, help! I can’t swim!”
“Zhouzhouzhou ni: Me too, just endless water all around. What is this place?”
“Dark Wukong: This is a game? It’s way too real—I can feel the water’s temperature. By the way, this raft’s sunshade is absolutely massive!”
“Your Name: Sunshade? Upstairs has a sunshade on their boat, mine’s just a ramshackle raft. You even have a paddle? People really don’t get treated equally, huh. I didn’t even get an oar.”
“...”
So, she thought, am I playing a survival game... inside another survival game?