"Iron-Boned Cleaver: Why should I leave? This place doesn't belong to you alone! I'm staying right here, not moving an inch."
The cleaver hung brazenly from the flagpole next to the balloon, bold as brass and impossible to miss.
Ye Shu stared, speechless.
She’d never met such a stubborn problem before.
She longed to run, but there was nowhere to hide—and the countdown hit zero right before her eyes.
If time allowed, she would have blasted that damn cleaver to pieces.
For now, her only hope was that the hunters were all blind—so blind they couldn’t spot her, obvious as she was.
From her lofty perch, Ye Shu could see all the hunters entering the arena—around a thousand of them. She took care to relay the scene in the chat.
Su Bai was the first to reply.
"Sexy Cockroach in Black Stockings: Shu, is that your balloon, sticking out like a sore thumb?"
"I’m Your Dad: Yep, that’s me—the walking bullseye."
"Cockroach: That’s me! I'm the cleaver! Didn’t realize it was you, Shushu. Sorry about earlier—if anything happens, I'll take the heat."
Ye Shu went silent for a long moment, then sent a quick '6' in the chat.
The cleaver she’d wanted to blow up turned out to be an ally.
"Bunny Plush: Damn, you're hardcore, hanging right above the hunters!"
"Fly: There are that many hunters? Not bad. Got lucky this round—I'm a fly glued to a wall; let's see if any hunter can find me now."
"Toilet Seat: Ha... that balloon of yours is about to go offline. Not me, though. I'm just a humble toilet seat—no hunter will bother with me."
Shots rang out.
The game of hide and seek had begun.
"Toilet Seat is offline!"
"Fly is offline!"
Player count in Area A-101: 9,998.
Moments ago, those players had been bragging in the chat. Now, they’d vanished—leaving everyone hushed.
Toilet Seat was no surprise, but Fly? Something that inconspicuous should've survived at least the first minute... unless the hunters were cheating, seeing through walls.
"All you little mice hiding in the dark, bury yourselves well.
I'll drag out every last one of you."
"Ten percent of the prey survived last round—now the boundaries are tighter, so none of you will escape the net!"
The hunters grinned wickedly, guns raised, hungry for the chase.
In a flash, more players vanished from the game.
"Big Tree is offline!"
"Telephone Pole is offline!"
Soon, the hunters swept under the flagpole.
"Cockroach: Shushu, we're doomed. If I’d known it was you, I wouldn’t have hidden here and dragged you down!"
"Bunny Balloon: Shut up! You’re too loud—and stop posting in chat, you’ll give us away."
Ye Shu sat, nerves taut as stretched wire.
She couldn't shake the feeling the Fly and Toilet Seat weren’t shot by accident—more like targeted deliberately.
Just then, that bastard Lin Qingyue seemed to glance up at her.
She was already exposed—no way out. Was this game designed fairly at all?
A whole kilometer of open air, and the flag was the only hiding spot. Everything else was bare, easy to spot with a glance.
As Ye Shu watched, the hunters scoured the ground right beneath her feet.
"Search thoroughly."
"Don’t let a single worm in the dirt escape!"
"Last round, that Lin guy bagged nearly a thousand prey by himself.
We barely got the scraps."
The hunters even dug up earthworms from the soil, yet not one of them looked upwards before striding away.
Neither Ye Shu nor Su Bai saw that coming.
The bunny balloon and the cleaver dangled in astonishment.
With hunters still nearby, they couldn’t risk moving and had no choice but to hold fast.
"Cockroach: Shushu, can they really... not see us?"
Su Bai stared, speechless, at the dozen hunters below—none of them looked up.
Thankfully, their eyes stayed on the ground. If they’d glanced up, she’d be out by now.
If survival meant clinging on, she’d cling for dear life.
"I’m Your Dad: Looks that way. Hunters seem obsessed with the ground. Isn’t that better for us? We can see this round through safely."
Ye Shu’s chosen flagpole towered thirty meters high. The balloon fluttered in the wind above, its noise lost on those below.
Wave after wave of hunters passed.
And not one noticed the balloon or cleaver above them.
This round, Ye Shu still hadn’t made contact with Fu Jingchuan—but at least he wasn’t offline.
Half an hour later, Fu Jingchuan finally replied.
"Fu Jingchuan: Be very careful around this guy—he’s the deadliest hunter. He shot me once and hasn’t stopped chasing me since."
He attached a photo—it was an all-too-familiar face.
Lin Qingyue.
He was chasing Fu Jingchuan relentlessly.
Ye Shu’s mind conjured a vivid image.
Those two, both with dark, sharp beauty, both striking—standing together, an odd but fitting pair.
Ye Shu sent the photo to Su Bai.
"I’m Your Dad: Watch yourselves—this hunter is extremely dangerous! Fu Jingchuan can’t shake him!"
"Cockroach: Thanks, honey~ I’ll be careful. Have you met this hunter before?"
"I’m Your Dad: More than once. Xiaobai, you’ve seen him too?"
Ye Shu caught the tension, the wariness in Su Bai’s tone.
"Cockroach: More than just seen him—that was the hunter who killed me in the first round! If I could, I’d leap out and stab him right now."
Now the cause was clear, Ye Shu felt at ease.
Had Su Bai been in her body, she’d notice how pale Ye Shu was.
This time... things had changed. The boss had appeared in the first ten rounds, and Shu had already met him.
Keep your distance!!
And yet, she couldn’t quit... what a cruel game.
Resurrection cards in the shop were a scam—priced at 9,999 points. Other game tools also guzzled points by the fistful.
Even after clearing fifteen rounds last lifetime, she’d barely scraped together a thousand.
There was only one way to avoid him.
Escape the game for good!
If only Su Bai knew Ye Shu had not only met that man but been killed by him before—who knows how she’d react.
..........
On the abandoned hospital’s map, a pair of calipers scrambled for its life.
Fu Jingchuan didn’t know why the most relentless hunter was fixated on him. There were plenty of other prey around, but it was as if the hunter couldn't see them.
"Beep beep beep~ Prey cannot leave the designated area, or you’ll be disqualified automatically."
The system’s icy voice rang in his ears.
Fu Jingchuan had no choice but to turn back.
He found himself staring down the hunter’s gun.
"Wait—Lin, can you let me have that prey?"
At the last moment, Lu Xiao stepped between Lin Qingyue and Fu Jingchuan.
Seasoned pro that he was, Lu Xiao quickly noticed Lin Qingyue pursuing a new target—the prey happened, strangely, to be someone he recognized.
Fu Jingchuan was stunned—a hunter helping him?
"No."
Bang—
The calipers shattered, dissolving into human form before fading out of sight.
Lin Qingyue holstered his gun with satisfaction, striding straight for the front of the hospital—toward Ye Shu’s hiding place.
For the first time ever, Lu Xiao’s words went completely ignored.
He cast a grave, thoughtful glance at Lin Qingyue’s retreating back.
An hour had passed since the hide-and-seek game began.
Lin Qingyue dragged over a stool and sat squarely under the flagpole.