Lin Shuya spat her threat and immediately made to run.
This girl really was a handful! If she were as easy to handle as before, her life wouldn’t have turned out so miserable.
She admitted it—at first, she'd still entertained a flicker of hope for Ye Shu.
That was, until the last time, when Ye Shu nearly slit her throat. Whatever illusions she had left vanished right there.
Now, all she wanted was to escape, and to never, ever cross paths with this cursed, ungrateful wretch again.
Ye Shu stroked the black cat draped over her shoulder, striding decisively in Lin Shuya’s direction.
"Stop right there!"
"Did I ever say you could leave?"
"What’s the rush, Lin? Weren’t you just now spitting all kinds of venom at me? And now you wanna bail? Chicken out so fast? I don’t buy it!"
Watching Lin Shuya’s face flicker with panic only convinced Ye Shu more—this woman was hiding something.
"You... You’re talking nonsense."
Before marriage, Lin Shuya had been coddled by her family all her life—she’d never tasted humiliation like this. But now, with Ye Shu cutting her off and driving her into a corner, her unease and the last traces of guilt scattered like dust.
"Ms. Lin, let’s get one thing straight. This is a game world."
"Here, there are no human rights. If I really wanted to kill you, no one could stop me."
Ye Shu stopped right in front of Lin Shuya, shooting her a cold glance. The seriousness in her eyes was chilling, utterly authentic.
Lin Shuya pressed her lips together. Of course she knew this little wretch spoke the truth!
And that black cat... something about it unnerved her, as if it was itching to rip out her throat.
This survival game, and Ye Shu—her fake daughter—everything was driving her to the brink.
"What did you do to me just now?"
Ye Shu didn’t believe for a second that a schemer like Lin Shuya would ever do something pointless.
Even after making Da Piaoliang check her over, she couldn’t find anything wrong.
No sign of trouble at all—that was the trouble!
Lin Shuya stiffened for a second, but quickly recovered her old mask of false kindness, scoffing, "Ye Shu, you’re mistaken. We were once mother and daughter—what could I possibly do to you?"
Did she already notice?!
Impossible.
She must be bluffing.
Wanwan said no one could ever detect this kind of thing.
Ye Shu caught that brief twitch in Lin Shuya’s face and was more convinced than ever—this old witch must have used something on her!
No warning sound, no physical symptoms...
"Ms. Lin, don’t act like you can trick me."
"Da Piaoliang, go."
Ye Shu patted the black cat’s back. Her smile was gentle, but to Lin Shuya it was bone-chilling.
"I’m still your mother, you can’t kill me!"
Lin Shuya, paralyzed by fear, collapsed to the ground.
She’d thought that, with so many people around, Ye Shu wouldn’t dare act...
Da Piaoliang pounced on Lin Shuya, sinking its teeth deep into her neck and tearing away a chunk of flesh. In an instant, blood spurted in thick streaks.
"Aaaah—!"
Lin Shuya’s shrill scream made everyone nearby cringe.
The new players, witnessing the brutal reality of the game for the first time, finally understood why some players broke down and slaughtered each other. They shut their mouths tight, not daring to speak.
"Tsk. Blood on my clothes," Ye Shu muttered in disgust. She wiped the spatters from her face, caught the metallic scent clinging to her, and frowned.
She had only a handful of changes of clothes left in her dimensional space. This particular outfit—Su Bai himself had picked it out for her!
"Get it over with," Ye Shu said.
She pulled out a wet wipe and meticulously cleaned her face, not the least bit flustered. Instead, she smiled sweetly at the sight of the cat munching flesh on the ground.
The other players stared, dumbstruck for a heartbeat, then silently turned back to their own affairs.
Ye Shu propped up her chin, disregarding the gore before her, and mused inwardly—no wonder those big bads in novels loved tormenting people. Turns out, there was such a thrill in torment itself! She was liking it a bit too much.
Her carotid artery nearly bitten through, Lin Shuya felt her strength leaking away, drop by drop. She fumbled for her teleportation talisman—
She’d drawn this slip before the game had even started!
She’d meant to save it for Wanwan, but who’d have thought Ye Shu would drive her to such desperation now?
Ye Shu was suddenly struck by a sense of foreboding.
Until she saw the yellow charm flash in Lin Shuya’s trembling hand.
"Da Piaoliang, stop her—"
"Thousand Mile Teleport! Activate!"
But before the black cat could move, Lin Shuya vanished in a shimmer of light.
Ye Shu: "........."
No wonder villains always die monologuing!
It was just like a novel brought to life.
Had she grown too complacent? Would it have been better to just kill Lin Shuya on sight?
"Lucky, isn’t she? A Thousand Mile Teleport, at that."
Ye Shu herself had used one before. This talisman could also mask one’s aura; in this vast underworld, trying to track someone down was like fishing a single star from the heavens.
The fugitive was gone—no reason for Ye Shu to stick around.
"Phew—"
"That was terrifying! My first time in this game and I immediately witnessed a mother–daughter deathmatch like that!"
"The girl’s seriously ruthless. What on earth did her mom do to deserve that?"
"Never heard of a black cat eating people! Is that cat a monster from this place too?"
"Doesn’t seem like it! The ghosts in this world are all formless. That cat's... it's just weird!"
"I’ll never look at kittens the same way again."
"Is that really the point? The lanterns are about to sell out—today’s gonna be another bust! Can't make an appointment, and the ghosts will sweep the place soon. Move it!"
All the lanterns and food at the exchange point were gone.
The only time left belonged to the monsters—it was their hunting hour. Anyone who lingered would only be waiting for death.
The players scattered in every direction, each trying to outpace the next.
............
Inside the pit, the place was deserted.
Lin Qing’s whereabouts were unknown; even the messages sent got no reply.
Ye Shu, nose full of the thick scent of blood, changed out of her stained clothes. She grilled herself a bun and paired it with cold noodles.
Night fell, right on schedule.
Ye Shu nibbled a few red dates, expertly pricking her finger to smear her blood on her wooden sword—waiting for the cave ghosts to arrive.
She’d tried using others’ blood before.
Nothing worked.
It had no effect on the cave ghosts whatsoever.
So, for now, Ye Shu herself had become a walking blood bank.
She’d slain so many ghosts already that most of the cave ghosts would go out of their way to avoid her.
She figured tonight would be more of the same—a peaceful, uneventful night.
[Your SAN value has dropped to 87!]
[Your SAN value has dropped to 76!]
Outside the pit, cave ghosts poured in, wave after relentless wave. Ye Shu slaughtered them until her arms ached and elbow went stiff, the ground littered with rotting corpses.
In just two hours, the cave ghosts had come in multiple waves, with no sign of stopping.
If anything, they were increasing.
What on earth was going on?
Ye Shu couldn’t spare time to consider—she swung her sword at the ghost sneaking up behind her.
Since when did these mindless ghosts know how to ambush?
And why did the lantern no longer deter even the low-level monsters?
Had someone slipped her a fake?
Clutching the lantern in one hand, Ye Shu hauled herself up the slippery cave wall. The blue glow of the lantern swung side to side, lighting a corridor jam-packed with indistinct, looming ghosts.