"The sixth round of the game has ended. Congratulations to all the players who have cleared this round. Rewards will be distributed accordingly. The seventh round will commence in two days. Prepare yourselves!"
"All players who failed the game have been eliminated!"
"Elimination complete."
Humanity on Blue Star had grown used to such announcements. In fact, a portion of people—those who hadn’t ever entered the game—became obsessed with it. They envied the survivors, yearning for the chance to be chosen themselves and become empowered.
This round had been particularly unusual.
As soon as Pang Pangzi exited the game, he succinctly reported the terrors of the oxygen deprivation challenge to his superiors. If it hadn't been for Ye Nüxia, with her ability to create oxygen spores, their group would've never escaped so easily. The oxygen tanks they'd brought certainly wouldn't have lasted until the end.
Ye Shu returned to reality.
A familiar chime resounded in her ears.
"Player Ye Shu has cleared the round at SSS level. Strength +10, Constitution +10, Agility +10. Awarded 100 points."
Her stats on the interface ticked up once more:
Player: Ye Shu
Age: 20
Game Number: 10096
Constitution: 70
Strength: 75
Agility: 69
Total Points: 2,428.5
Innate Skills: SSS-Level Rewind (Level 2, upon death rewinds to 30 minutes prior, usable once per day. Non-transferable.) SSS-Level Optimization (Level 3, can be upgraded, optimizes any item. Non-transferable.)
Xiao Bai was the first to bound from the bathroom, her fishtail flinging droplets everywhere.
The Jiao Ren looked puzzled. Weren’t you going into a survival game? How are you back in less than a minute? Isn’t that a little… fast?
"Goddess Master, that was quick!"
The ugly little one lounged in the sink, chewing on a strawberry almost as big as himself, blurting out what he thought without a hint of tact.
Ye Shu didn’t take offense. She smiled softly. "It wasn’t quick at all—twenty days passed in there."
She contacted Pang Pangzi to sell off the pearl ring she’d tricked from Fu Shiyi.
A tool that boosts agility by 2 points—useless for Ye Shu perhaps, but irresistible to other players.
"You Are Your Own Dad: Pang Pangzi, come out. Are your people still interested in these items? If not, I’ll sell them elsewhere. Oh, and I have those chip technologies from Da Xia State."
Ye Shu uploaded photos of the goods.
D-Rank Pearl Ring: Grants wearer +2 Agility.
C-Rank Drawing Pen: Perfect for cheating on art exams; whatever you draw looks exactly like the real thing.
C-Rank Ten-Li Teleport Talisman: Randomly transports you anywhere within ten kilometers.
D-Rank Painted Skin: Stick it on to alter your face; can take on a bizarre guise, undetectable by others of your kind, effect lasts two minutes.
"Coastline888: Take, take, take! Heroine speaks, I obey!"
Low-level C- and D-grade items could only be used in the game, but those higher up still bought them all without hesitation—even the drawing pen, which seemed pretty pointless.
Each item sold for five million. In a blink, Ye Shu became a rich woman.
The Jiao Ren, a high-ranking sea monster, preferred meat, but in this world had to settle for little fish and shrimp.
Ye Shu was startled to realize her Optimization skill had reached level 3 at some point.
Could she optimize living things now…?
Heart racing, she dashed to the bathroom. Discarded fish and shrimp remains floated in the bathtub. Ye Shu snatched a tiny fish.
Slightly disappointed, she realized that, at level three, living things still couldn’t be optimized.
She spotted a dying aquarium fish clinging to life, scooped it up without hope, but—
"Detected: this creature has 12% health remaining. Optimization possible!"
"Proceed with optimization?"
Wait—she could do it?!
Ye Shu stared, dumbfounded. Hadn’t it just said sentient life couldn’t be optimized? But the others she’d tried were already dead—that must be it. She could heal creatures at death’s door. That meant, perhaps, injured people could self-heal, too.
Without hesitation, she took a dagger and gashed her own palm.
Aiming to restore the wound.
"Detected: sentient life, health at 98%. Initiating repair."
In an instant, her palm healed, as though nothing had ever happened. If not for the blood still dripping from her blade, Ye Shu would have thought she imagined it.
Her talent for Optimization, it seemed, had taken on the role of a healing superpower.
Thrilled, she restored the tiny goldfish surviving on 10% life.
The fish sprang to life in her hand. Ye Shu felt a wave of exhaustion, her knees giving way as a sharp pain throbbed in her head. Her spirit sagged.
Clearly, healing life came at a steep cost. This skill shouldn’t be used unless absolutely necessary.
A powerful ability, but one that exacted a price.
Currently, the Plant Spirit was still a fledgling, unable to take human form and could only remain as a mark on Ye Shu. Away from E-Star and its oxygen spores, it was leveling up slowly.
The beautiful black tiger wore a constant scowl.
In just a few rounds, her household had filled with cloying sweetness and competition for favor. Tigers are territorial by nature, and if Ye Shu hadn’t had a sword that could suppress it, the beast would already have picked a fight with her other contract creatures.
The Jiao Ren was a latecomer, but his loyalty to Ye Shu now stood at 90%. He had no complaints.
As for the ugly one, the lowest ranking of the bunch, he didn’t even have a say.
……
Meanwhile, within the Ye family, chaos reigned.
The sisterly bond between Qin Zaozao and Ye Wanwan had finally gone down the drain.
Especially after the Qin parents learned their eldest daughter had gotten hurt—and died—trying to help Ye Wanwan, yet still reacted with indifference. Qin Zaozao at last felt the same helplessness Ye Shu had once endured.
She realized with a jolt that Ye Wanwan wasn't truly a good person—just an expert at playing the victim in front of their parents. Had she not hidden the true number of revival cards from her family, her dear little sister’s true colors might've shown much sooner!
Compared to Ye Wanwan's deceit, she’d much rather have the blunt-knife honesty of Ye Shu. At least, if Ye Shu wanted her dead, she’d make it quick and clean.
Regret gnawed at Qin Zaozao as she tried to reconcile her lost sisterhood.
But Ye Shu wanted nothing to do with her—why on earth would she want to see her again? Last time, she’d nearly swept both sisters off the board.
Two days flew by.
Ye Shu spent the time either working out, or on her way to working out.
"The seventh round of the game is about to commence. Due to insufficient player numbers, one million people from Blue Star will be randomly drawn to participate."
"Take this seriously, everyone!"
"Failure to clear the round means death!"
"Welcome back, Ye Shu, to the Survival Game. This marks your sixth successful clearance. Congratulations! You have earned an extra lottery draw."
"You gained +2 Strength."
"You gained +2 Constitution."
"You gained +1 square meter of Inventory Space."
"You gained +1 Agility."
But this time, there were no items given at all!
Ye Shu blinked, mystified, and could only chalk it up to bad luck.