The hunters in the midst of a frenzied killing spree froze, staring at their teammates in utter disbelief. A hidden stage? After all these years, they'd never discovered it here.
Players who had not yet died suddenly widened their pupils with ecstatic delight, gazing skyward.
A player had defeated the boss among the hunters—dragging everyone to an early exit.
The next moment.
All the players vanished from the game world at once.
Only a crowd of bewildered hunters remained.
…………
Back in reality.
The survival game system’s voice rang out:
"Eighth round complete. Congratulations to all players who cleared the stage. The ninth round will begin in two days—please prepare yourselves!"
"Game over for the failed players. Erasure complete!"
Ye Shu calmly poured herself a glass of cold water.
Her memory was still trapped in the final moment of the game's end.
Lin Qingyue had met a pitiful end beneath her sword...
What was that, really?
Offering themselves up for slaughter?
"Shushu, we cleared ahead of time! Isn't that great?"
Su Bai burst into Ye Shu’s room straight from the game, clinging to her with no intention of letting go.
It was wonderful—she had finally gathered enough points for a resurrection card!
With one more life, she could stay longer in the game, by her side.
The Ugly Monster watched the woman glued to his master, cackling with wild joy, and rolled its eyes in disbelief.
Show-off.
Still just a short-lived ghost... bound for death, sooner or later.
"Congratulations, player Ye Shu! Cleared the game—awarded 100 points. Physique +10, Agility +10, Strength +10!"
The light screen unfolded before her.
[Player: Ye Shu]
[Game ID: 10096]
[Physique: 86]
[Strength: 91]
[Agility: 85]
[Points: 3650]
[Innate Skill: SSS-Rank Time Rewind (Current Level 3, Upgradable): After death, return to one hour prior, usable twice daily, not cumulative. (Note: Cannot be stripped or lost.)]
[Innate Skill: SSS-Rank Optimization (Current Level 3, can optimize any item) (Cannot be lost)]
[Items: ............]
[Bound Contract Beast: ............]
Somehow, Time Rewind had leveled up!
For Ye Shu, this was akin to winning the lottery—no, even the lottery couldn’t match the thrill of this upgrade!
Two lives a day...
She dared not imagine what further upgrades would bring—unlimited resurrection, perhaps?
Excellent! Another card up her sleeve.
"Shushu, what are you giggling about?"
Su Bai looked at Ye Shu in confusion. Even with bonus rewards this time, was there need for such excitement?
Just ten extra points, after all...
Then it dawned on her. Her own friend was a leaderboard legend—with thousands of points stored up.
In that case, a withdrawal card should be as easy as pie!
"Xiaobai, why do you look so grim?"
Ye Shu regarded Su Bai with some suspicion.
In the bathroom, the little merman Xiaobai’s eyes rolled so far back they almost vanished.
Tch, it was his name first.
But the latecomer had won out simply by not fighting for it.
Now he didn’t even have a name to call his own.
Ye Shu and Su Bai were about to head to the shooting range for another round of training when the system’s voice chimed again:
"Ding! Survival Game has begun bug-fixing and user-experience upgrades... Reopening date: indefinite."
"Game Store is now closed."
"Teleport Tunnel: currently closed."
"Combat Power Leaderboard now available. Top 100 players each receive one Withdrawal Card. This card can be gifted to anyone."
"Players will be notified before reentry. Looking forward to meeting you again in Survival Game!"
"Shushu, what's going on? Is the game channel really closed?"
"Did I hear right—a Withdrawal Card???"
Su Bai nearly screamed.
Impossible!
This never happened in her previous life.
How could the game be so generous?
She had tried everything to get that card, and now they were handing it out to leaderboard players. Was this a joke?!
Ye Shu opened the light screen first; the leaderboard was on the last page.
Two leaderboards—melded together with a hint of mockery.
She still led the points board.
But on the combat power board, she was only fifth.
No sooner had she opened the rankings than the Withdrawal Card arrived.
"Ding-dong! Congratulations, player Ye Shu, for ranking fifth on the Combat Power Leaderboard. You have received one Withdrawal Card. Do you wish to exit the Survival Game?"
"Yes!!"
Ye Shu tapped 'Yes' furiously, only to find the light screen frozen, unresponsive.
"Tch, garbage! Giving me a fake!"
Inside the system space.
Lin Qingyue: "............"
"Explain to me, what's the deal with the Withdrawal Cards?"
They were all trapped inside his sea of consciousness—yet the system was still trying to pull tricks behind his back, slipping out Withdrawal Cards, only for him to intervene just in time.
"Just a little reward for the ant-players. Didn't you break the rules as well—switching your own status to player?"
The system sounded uneasy, but its rebuttal was firm.
Player 10096 was a special case—if they did not report up the chain, the only recourse was to force her off the boards, curbing her growth as much as possible. If she continued playing, she might soon become uncontrollable.
Lin Qingyue did not bother to argue further; instead, he wiped the system’s memory.
This way, no one could interfere any longer.
…………
Ye Shu spat in annoyance—she knew the game couldn't be that generous.
She was prepared for it, but still, there was a twinge of disappointment.
And at the very top—first place—was... Lin Qingyue!
Wasn’t he supposed to be an NPC???
Why was he listed on the player rankings?!
Ye Shu was thoroughly bewildered. Still, she had snagged a Withdrawal Card; even if she couldn’t use it, perhaps others could.
Trash game—clearly out to target her!
"Alright, let's skip training today. We'll rest."
Ye Shu was surprised, but more than anything, she was glad not to have to grind away at training for once.
Those hundred Withdrawal Cards caused a massive storm on Blue Star.
The system had deliberately announced, in broad daylight, that anyone could use the Withdrawal Card. The store’s card cost almost ten thousand points—Ye Shu herself had never managed to buy one, let alone anyone else.
Players who received the card were equal parts shocked and delighted.
And yet, because of this card, many families hovered on the brink of collapse.
The hide-and-seek game was still logged in the survival records of Huaxia Nation.
Most of all, the higher-ups now knew—there was a hidden boss inside the game!
The codename 10096 soon became famous across Blue Star. Yet the party at the heart of it, Ye Shu, had no clue—until Pang Pangzi came knocking.
Ye Shu’s living room.
Su Bai eyed Pang Pangzi across the table with open hostility.
"Um, Ye Nüxia..."
"This is... the first time we’ve met in real life, right...?"
Pang Tong was sweating profusely, rubbing his nose as guilt crept in. Out of the corner of his eye, he studied the woman not far away.
When did the Heroine pick up another little fangirl?!