Ye Shu melded seamlessly into the dusty ground, camouflaging herself perfectly along the base of the wall. No one, not even the sharpest eye, could spot her now.
This round? Please, it’s in the bag!
Clearing the stage was child’s play.
She was satisfied with this form—she couldn’t wield weapons, but that was a small price to pay.
Within two minutes, Ye Shu had shrunk herself into a corner, watching pots and pans, oil jugs, and tea kettles scuttle about in a frantic dance. Above, city buses sailed by like it was nothing out of the ordinary.
Suddenly, a message popped up in Su Bai’s chat window.
‘Sexy Mother Cockroach in Black Stockings’: Shushu, where are you? I want to stick with you for this round! I’m just a little toothpick, hehe, feeling lucky today!
Even through the glowing screen, Ye Shu could picture Su Bai’s smug grin.
A toothpick.
Compared to a hulking, attention-grabbing truck, that wasn’t a bad draw.
‘I Am Your Dad’: Don’t share your position. You’re better off staying put for this minute, or you’ll draw attention. Stay alert.
‘Mother Cockroach’: Knew it, my Shushu always worries about me most!!
Content with her instructions, Su Bai closed the window. Despite being a mere toothpick, she shivered with nerves and quickly burrowed into a bush to hide her minuscule body.
The countdown finished.
The amusement park plunged into a deathly silence, the rustle of wind through leaves suddenly shudder-inducing.
Messages flashed by in the player chat area every second.
‘Dancing Maggot’: Damn, I’m a maggot this round. Why? Why do I have to be something so disgusting? Might as well find a hunter and get it over with. I’m a total germaphobe…
‘Fly’: That’s not so bad. I drew a fly.
‘Tissue Box’: Does it matter what you are? We should be worried about the rules. This round, we only get killed twice, and our field of view shrunk by twenty meters. The difficulty’s nearly doubled!
‘Rubber Track’: Figures! In my second life, I’m a rubber track in an amusement park. I won’t survive two seconds. Last round I was a ferris wheel…
‘Shattered Ceramic Shard’: Quick, hide! The hunters are in the game. I’m right under their feet, lucky they haven’t spotted me—wait, one’s looking this way… Oh no, I’m done for… Wait, actually, he’s kinda good looking though!
‘Watering Can’: Girl, shouldn’t you be worried about your own safety? If he finds you, you’re dead for sure.
A post appeared immediately after.
‘Shattered Ceramic Shard has logged off!’
Area A-101: 9,999 players remaining.
Players dropped out at lightning speed, shocking everyone.
Who would have thought a broken ceramic shard would be the first to go? No one ever notices those!
Ye Shu felt a sudden pang of anxiety.
Was she being too bold?
If she threw caution to the wind and appeared in front of a hunter, wouldn’t she be riddled with bullet holes in no time?
Gunshots echoed in the distance, signaling the start of the hunt as several players fell.
Bang, bang, bang—
Ye Shu stayed still as a veteran hound, calm and collected, while a stone fountain just meters away was reduced to rubble.
"Find me a clucking chicken in the game!"
"Boss Lu wants it, don’t forget."
"Tch, even the higher-ups want in on the prize…"
Ye Shu was far enough away to hear only snippets, but the mention of the "clucking chicken" told her all she needed—hunters were looking for her character from the last round.
More gunshots rang out.
A broken lightbulb mere centimeters away from her was shattered to pieces.
Her palms went cold. That was close—almost too close.
But the hunters strode on, oblivious, trampling over the patch of earth she had become, leaving her unnoticed.
Player count dropped to 9,587 within three minutes.
‘White Rabbit Milk Candy’: How terrifying! Even faster than last round. Are these hunters cheating?
‘Rolls-Royce Phantom Eagle Hood Ornament’: I love this tension! The hunters walked right by and didn’t notice me. The thrill is unbelievable.
‘Door’: I disguised myself as a restroom door. Those gunners didn’t figure it out! They tore up the toilet lids and floor tiles but not me. The more you blend into the environment, the safer you are.
‘Bushes’: Where’s the clucking chicken from last game? Two groups are out looking—better keep hidden.
‘Plastic Bit’: What’s going on? What did the clucking chicken do?
‘A Patch of Unremarkable Turf’: Oh, nothing, just blasted the hunters with a rocket launcher, that’s all.
‘Glove’: I’d heard rumors, but to think it’s real! Chicken boss is a legend—rumor has it there are tons of weapons in the space. Blasted the hunters, stylish and deadly… Only 200 survived Area 101 last round, and the chicken was the only living creature.
‘Rusty Nail’: Is the chicken boss still around?
…
The chat was dominated by talk of the chicken boss.
Ye Shu couldn’t help but chuckle. She, the infamous chicken with the rocket launcher—how could she not know?
Half an hour passed. Of the original ten thousand players, fewer than six thousand remained.
Still, there was no sign of the clucking chicken anywhere in the park.
Hunters passed before Ye Shu time and again, yet none of them detected her existence. She reclined in her earthy disguise, content not to have to face Lin Qingyue, that relentless weirdo—life was good.
Another hour slipped by.
Players remaining: 3,344.
The amusement park was chaos: chickens flying, dogs barking, gunfire unrelenting.
Sweeping the chat for news, Ye Shu learned that hunters were only a tenth of the total players, and this round, they didn’t have unlimited ammo.
A bold idea crept into her head.
Maybe… just maybe the players could pick up those guns!
If they were prey, why couldn’t they fight back—no more skulking around like sewer rats.
But her current form held her back. As a patch of turf, she had no limbs… even if she grabbed a gun, she couldn’t use it.
BANG—
A gunshot roared.
A squawking chicken’s voice rang out, and a squad of hunters burst into view right before Ye Shu.
"Catch it! Boss Lu wants it in one piece."
"No gunfire—it’s already been shot once."
A dozen hunters surrounded a clucking chicken in a bizarre chase. The chicken flapped its wings desperately, glancing back in terror.
Damn it, he was the first to be killed last round, and now he’d drawn the short straw again as a live target. What had the chicken boss done to deserve so much attention from the hunters?
Another shot split the air.
The clucking chicken reverted to its true form—a brawny middle-aged man—before vanishing into thin air.
The shooter: Lin Qingyue.
But it wasn’t her…
This round, no matter the form, Lin Qingyue insisted Ye Xiao Shu should die by his hand.
He stood at the spot, scanning his surroundings—yet his gaze slid right over the dull gray patch of ground at his feet.
The other hunters exchanged odd glances. So their boss really went for this… big and brawny type?
Ye Shu grinned beneath her disguise.
See? She knew this bastard of a man wouldn’t recognize her. As long as she wasn’t alive, passing this round wasn’t too hard!
But in the next instant, Lin Qingyue’s eyes met hers—or rather, settled on the patch of dirt beneath him.