"...Uh, I spoke out of turn." Chen Meng's eyes widened in shock as she met that pair of cold, piercing eyes. She’d just crossed a line! No one could deny that Ye Xiaoshu seemed easy to talk to, but when it came time for ruthlessness, she was merciless, through and through.

"It's fine."

"Why haven't I seen Li Dahai... Wasn't he the leader of the Survivor Alliance?" The easing of Ye Shu’s expression made Chen Meng relax a little. At the mention of Li Dahai, Chen Meng's gentle face immediately twisted, her reply stumbling out: "Yezi-jie, the captain is long gone... back in the Oxygen-Deprivation Game copy—his own teammates stole his oxygen and left him for dead."

"Hmm. I see." Ye Shu wasn't at all surprised by Li Dahai's death. Players like him, honest and soft at the core—without real strength, they were bound to be dragged down by the others. Besides, she’d never seen any good come from these upper-level organizations; every player harbored their own secrets. Within this lawless game, betrayal and backstabbing were routine—almost mundane.

"You should leave. Staying near me is dangerous."

"Yezi-jie, I want to stay with you." Chen Meng looked as if she'd resolved herself, meeting Ye Shu’s eyes with a rare, steady determination.

"No need. I don't keep useless people at my side." Even she might not make it out of this round alive; bringing along dead weight would only be trouble. And if there was one thing she despised, it was trouble. The small bond she'd formed with Chen Meng in the last instance? Saving her life once was already the limit of Ye Shu’s mercy.

"I... I'll go now!" Chen Meng’s explanation—her desperate wish not to seem useless—caught in her throat. Compared to most, her survival since the horrors began was already remarkable, but to Ye Shu, it meant nothing. She’d barely improved; at the sight of the Abyssal Ghosts, she cowered and ran like all the others. Such fragility Ye Xiaoshu could not abide. Stiff with shame, her face flushing red, eyes hollow with disappointment, Chen Meng offered her a final farewell and disappeared into the shadows, her silhouette swallowed by darkness.

Only when she heard the system’s chime did Ye Shu finally unwind her taut nerves. "What a damned game..." Peeling back her sleeve, she took stock of her wounds—large and small, crisscrossing her pale arm. Ragged scars, red-black, grotesquely marred her skin. During the escape, her abdomen had been pierced clear through. Ye Shu had restoration fluid—one application and every wound would heal, not a scar left behind—but she left the gash untreated, staunching only the bleeding. All of this—direct or indirect—was Lin Shuya’s doing. Next time, she wouldn’t let her go unpunished.

---

Day nineteen in the Inner World. Ye Shu weathered yet another onslaught of specters. On the twentieth day, the system reduced the number of available caverns. Ten became five; mining crystals grew fiercely scarce. Before now, the players hadn’t cared—even with fewer caverns, ghostly attention elsewhere meant rare direct confrontation. But from today on, the ghosts multiplied severalfold. Not even Ye Shu’s strongest lures could draw them all away. The higher-ranked abyssal wraiths weren’t like their lesser kin; they chose to hunt humans right where they lurked.

The underworld seethed with sinister energy. Ghostly shrieks and human screams tangled together in the close, damp air.

"The ghosts—they’re back!"

"Weren’t they after that top player girl? Why are they coming for us?"

"Run—get out of here!"

"My san-value just dipped below 20... I feel awful. Am I dying? Why is it so cold...?"

"Mine just hit zero. Other than this misery, seems like nothing else is happening... huh-huh..."

More and more players watched their sanity slip to nothing. At first, they almost felt lucky—nothing happened. But then, inevitably, all whose san-value hit zero became new recruits in the ranks of the Abyssal Ghosts.

"Su Xiaobai! Didn’t you say nothing would happen when our san drops? What’s up with Lin Ling?" a crazed male teammate shrieked at Su Bai.

The woman stood still, eyes unfocusing, her body’s warmth seeping away as the red flush of life drained from her face. In a matter of moments, a living person silently devolved into a ghostly figure. Under the unsteady blue lanterns, Su Bai noticed Lin Ling no longer cast a shadow.

"I... I don't know," Su Bai could only mutter, unable to meet the accusing glares.

Ye Shu’s own san-value had dropped to zero before and she’d only lost consciousness—nothing more. So why did others turn into monsters?

Within half an hour, both Lin Ling and the man were lost—transformed into abominations. Su Bai squeezed her eyes shut, clutching the restoration fluid Ye Shu had left her. She would be fine. These low-level ghosts weren’t worth fearing. Flames burst in Su Bai’s hand, reducing the fresh ghost to ashes. This time, she suffered not a single wound—she found she could shape the fire, unscathed. Her powers, at last, had transcended their limits.

---

Day twenty-three inside the game. Ye Shu’s stack of Qianli Teleportation Talismans had nearly run out. She herself was cornered, trapped by ghosts. The leaders—ten or more high-level Abyssal Wraiths—gathered before her. Higher-ranking ghosts demanded greater bloodshed. After her last skirmish, Ye Shu’s energy was flagging, her strength nearly spent. It was only the first half of the night; escaping with the last talisman would buy her just a few hours before they sniffed her out again.

The ghostly shrieks encircled Ye Shu. She cursed, "Tch, these things even know tactics! I thought ghosts didn’t have brains." Spitting out her anger, she slashed her sword, felling a ghost that tried to sneak up on her. Yet nothing in this scenario made sense—their intangibility rendered them nearly untouchable. Only one talisman left, and the game far from its conclusion. If only she could kill Lin Shuya! Just as her mind scattered, claws split her abdomen—her intestines spilled out in a wet, ghastly mass. Ye Shu, dead at twenty.

Lin Yaoyao watched indifferently as the pack of phantoms devoured what remained of Ye Shu’s body. "Ah... too late again! Xiao Shu, you died again! I wanted to play the hero, save the damsel, but I failed... Still, who gave you worthless trash permission to touch her?" The higher ghosts didn’t seem to notice Lin Yaoyao’s existence—instead, they continued tearing into Ye Shu. A flash of white light—then nothing remained of the ghosts but unstirred ashes.

---

Ye Shu opened her eyes again. She’d rewound half an hour. The pain, she was used to; but she still couldn’t help but tremble all over. This time, she wasn’t yet surrounded, with one last shot at escape. She split the ambushing ghost in two, snatched up her last teleportation talisman, and vanished from the scene.

"Oof, what just landed on me?"

A familiar voice rang out. Ye Shu’s gaze lingered on the woman below her.