Deep in the dense forest, more players besides Ye Shu began to appear. Everyone kept to their human forms, yet the once eager crowd now shrank back from one another, doing all they could to avoid contact.
One player buried themselves in a hollowed-out den; another camouflaged amidst the undergrowth. Some simply gave up and let fate run its course.
Ye Shu picked up a few more crates along the way. All she found inside were provisions—certainly no sniper rifles or weapons of any kind, so it was clear how rare and precious arms must be.
An hour later, Ye Shu finally tracked down Su Bai.
"Shushu, I should've stuck with you earlier—I haven't found a single box. Wow, this orange is delicious!"
Su Bai happily accepted the orange Ye Shu handed over, trailing along just a half-step behind.
Only a handful of minutes now remained in the game. They needed to find a place to hide fast—ideally, somewhere the hunters wouldn’t spot them.
Ye Shu had considered rallying the other players for a counterattack, to turn the tables and hunt the hunters, but after the last round, she knew these people wouldn’t be nearly so easy to deal with anymore.
As she hesitated, someone impersonated her in the player chat channel.
[Shi Wanwan Ya: To all who helped surround the hunters in the last round, gather here with me. Let's strategize and win again.]
[Caomei Boluo Jiang: Is this Lu, the boss? I’m on my way.]
[Babi Tu: Right! That's the way to do it. Cowering and hiding isn’t my style at all. Boss, say the word and we’ll follow you anywhere.]
[Zao Miaomiao Ren: The hunters already know our plan—should we switch things up?]
"Shameless! That name... is that Ye Wanwan?!"
The orange peel in Su Bai’s hand was reduced to shreds, her eyes cold as she glared at the cascade of messages on her display.
"Mhm."
Ye Shu noticed it, too.
"Really, Ye Shu, she’s stealing your reputation. Quick, post a rebuttal! Expose that Ye Wanwan’s a fake, and tell them you’re the real boss here."
Su Bai truly couldn’t stand Ye Wanwan’s character.
"No need. If she likes it, let her have it. We'll keep out of sight."
Ye Shu showed not a trace of anger regarding Ye Wanwan’s impersonation. If Ye Wanwan wanted fame, so be it—she could have the spotlight.
But what Ye Wanwan didn’t realize was that her acclaim last game had only come thanks to genuine firepower—and Da Piaoliang’s timely distraction. If she tried to lead without doing anything herself, those people wouldn’t be so easy to handle. Even that noisy rabbit would be more than she could manage.
With Ye Wanwan making herself the decoy, Ye Shu and Su Bai could lie low for now. This round was dragging on too long; Ye Shu couldn’t guarantee she’d lead everyone safely through. The hunters were nothing to scoff at either—someone had already set their sights on her, though fortunately her real identity was still concealed. Except, perhaps, from that lone NPC hidden among the hunters.
"But… whatever you say, Shushu. I’ll do as you think best," Su Bai conceded, letting go of her grudge with Ye Wanwan and sticking close by Ye Shu.
Countdown: 28 minutes. They scoured the entire prairie, desperate for any viable hideout.
At 18 minutes, Ye Shu considered doubling back to the jungle—at least there’d be more cover to work with.
Eight minutes left, and finally they stumbled upon a cluster of wooden huts nestled beside a chain of ponds. Drawing near, the chorus of frogs could be heard from the muddy banks.
"No choice, this will have to do."
Little time remained. They could only hope no one would notice this spot.
"Here? It's completely exposed," Su Bai protested, glancing around at nothing but withered grass and the row upon row of old timber shacks. Her memories from before told her nothing lay in wait inside—no traps, just an extremely obvious location, and the nearest exit was right here. Hiding here seemed suicidal.
Ye Shu pulled out an electric drill and bored a hole in a boulder by the water's edge, making a cavity big enough for the both of them.
Relief washed over Su Bai. Shushu planned to hide underwater, using the stone as a natural shield. No outsider would ever notice.
Countdown: 3 minutes. The hole was barely finished. Ye Shu handed Su Bai a Beishui Pearl, then rolled the boulder down into the pond.
She quickly wiped their tracks from the shore and slipped in, nestling herself among the rocks with her companion. Thanks to the bead, they had a bubble of breathable space a meter wide, and Ye Shu’s grasswood spirit energy kept the air replenished—enough to stay there not just two days, but two hundred if needed.
[End of the countdown!]
[The fifth round of the Hide-and-Seek Game begins!]
[Hunters are in position; prey, prepare yourselves.]
[Countdown: 47:59:56.]
There were four exits on the map: North led to the forest, South to the desert, West to a volcanic crater, and East—where Ye Shu now hid—was an abandoned zone of deserted bungalows.
As luck would have it, Lin Qingyue entered from the east.
The moment he stepped in, he noticed the ripples on the ponds stretching behind the cottages—waves not yet settled.
"Heh. Convenient. Did you bring yourselves right to me?" Lin Qingyue strode straight for the cabins.
The other hunters fell in behind him. These rows of houses were always full of prey—surely this time would be no exception.
[Ding! Hunters have entered the area. Map is now open to you.]
The display shimmered, revealing several hunters advancing, with Lin Qingyue at the fore.
Su Bai shrank back instinctively.
This… this was way too fast! Would they really be the first ones eliminated?
"Shushu… are you sure we’re safe down here?"
"Mm. I think so. Just keep quiet."
But as she spoke, Ye Shu’s gaze met Lin Qingyue’s black eyes on the screen, and her confidence faltered. Did he… see her?
Was it possible the man truly had X-ray vision? For a second, she could have sworn he was staring straight back and smiling.
"Lin, what’s so interesting about that pond—are you sure there’s someone down there?" Lu Xiao stepped forward, sweeping the water with his eyes. He ordered a couple hunters to dive in and search.
Su Bai’s pupils dilated in terror.
This couldn’t be happening. Weren’t they supposed to ignore such an out-of-the-way spot? Why did the game boss have to enter from the east? If things got any worse, she’d have to fight their way out alongside Shushu and take down every last hunter herself. It was only her second time in Survival Game—she didn’t have enough points to buy a Resurrection Card yet! She’d only just come back to life, finally seeing the people she wanted to see—dying now was simply not an option.
[Hei Si de Xinggan Mu Zhanglang: Shushu, something’s off. Be ready to strike back!]
[Wo Shi Ni Die: Stay calm. They can't find us.]
If it were any other hunter, Ye Shu could have dealt with them easily. But with him involved… escape was by no means guaranteed.
Below the surface, the hunters systematically swept the mud and weeds, even turning over dead fish as they drew closer. Su Bai’s anxiety grew alongside their approach.
A moment later, the hunters spotted the unmistakable boulder.
One of them pointed his gun at it.
Ye Shu pressed her lips together and pulled out her armor prop.
"Bang—" The bullet struck stone with a dull thud, leaving just a shallow dent, but no other reaction.
With no sign of life, the hunters moved on, searching nearby until they came up empty.
"Boss, there’s nothing under the water!"
"Waste of a bullet."
"There’s no way any prey could hide down there—they all need to breathe, and the supplies didn’t include any diving props."
Lu Xiao conceded that the reasoning was sound. In the final round, the prey weren’t equipped to survive underwater—maybe he had just been jumpy.
Lin Qingyue, however, stared long and hard at the ripples spreading out across the surface, slowly crushing a leaf between his fingers. His face betrayed nothing, but his gaze drilled straight toward that conspicuous boulder.
Lu Zhan, trailing after Lu Xiao, glanced into the pond unintentionally. Something told him there had to be prey beneath those waters, but these idiots—including his own brother—hadn’t seen a thing.