Ye Shu was genuinely surprised—she hadn’t expected to run into the Fu brothers again in the game.
“Sister Ye, we’ve been here this whole time. Miss Su told us to come. Luckily, the white mist’s lifted.”
Fu Shiyi said nothing at first, but he couldn’t shake a sense of strangeness about the young man standing before him—there was something dark, almost sinister about him. More than once, he caught the youth shooting daggers in his direction, as if wishing him dead.
"Oh, right, let me introduce you. This is Lin Qing. He helped me out in the last round of the game—half a friend, you could say.”
The fact was, she’d brought him here herself.
He’d saved her life, at least halfway. Since they’d be braving more game dungeons together, it only made sense to make the introductions.
Fu Jingchuan gave Ye Shu a nod before finally setting his eyes on Lin Qing. “Hello, Lin Qing, I’m Fu Jingchuan, and this is my younger brother, Fu Shiyi. That’s Pang Tong—you can just call him Fatty…”
“Alright.”
Lin Qing’s expression remained indifferent, betraying neither joy nor anger.
The atmosphere dropped to freezing.
Su Bai, aware that Lin Qing had helped Ye Shu survive a few dangerous days in the previous game, couldn’t quite bring herself to like this brooding youth, but still tried to smooth things over. “I’m Su Bai. Lin Qing, we’ve met before.”
Outwardly, Fu Jingchuan kept his composure, but out of the corner of his eye, he watched Lin Qing with vigilance.
“Sister Ye, now’s not the time for reunions. The mist has faded, and some of the patients have started waking up!”
At Fu Shiyi’s intimate way of addressing Ye Shu, Lin Qing’s face briefly softened with a genial smile.
Sister Ye…
So familiar a title.
Playing the ingenue at your age—truly disgraceful!
Fu Shiyi switched the television channel to the news.
“At precisely 9 pm tonight, Jing City Hospital reported over eight awakening patients… All currently in stable health, only minor malnutrition...”
The screen showed the city’s largest hospital, just as the anchor reported: the unconscious patients were slowly regaining consciousness. All seemed well. Other than pallor, there were no unusual conditions.
“I heard about that on my way here,” Ye Shu remarked.
She just hadn’t expected them to wake so quickly!
Lin Qing’s suggestion about infiltrating the hospital had crossed her mind as well, but instinct screamed danger. That wasn’t a place to linger.
“Sister Ye, now that the white mist is gone… do we still need to hole up in a sealed room?”
From the first day of the game, Fu Shiyi had received Ye Shu’s warning.
He’d been lucky enough to be assigned the same area as Fu Jingchuan—never lacking food or clothing, spending days resting safely indoors. Even his sharp features had rounded out.
“No rush. We’ll wait until tomorrow.”
Xiao Bai hadn’t sensed anything amiss—there shouldn’t be any more white mist. But this survival game was nothing if not inhumane; caution was wise.
“Shushu, I’ve prepared a room for you. All tidy and ready.”
“Speaking of, didn’t we all bind the teammate cards? Why aren’t they working? You’re always so far from me.”
Su Bai grumbled a bit, letting her true feelings slip out.
She’d asked Fu Jingchuan before—he and Pang Fatty had their teammate cards bound, and after being teleported into the dungeon, they were almost always together. And in a past life, she’d also bound her card. But this time, it seemed like Ye Shu had somehow been isolated by the game itself?
Was it just her imagination?
“Mm, the cards must be malfunctioning.”
“Oh.” Su Bai dismissed it—she was so exhausted from the journey she could hardly care.
Cards or no cards—what did it matter?
Right now all she wanted was a hot shower and a good night’s sleep.
Ye Shu answered nonchalantly, but her gaze slid sideways to Lin Qing for a fleeting moment. But she still entrusted Su Bai to arrange a room for him.
Lin Qing stiffened, his face unchanged but a tremor of unease stirring inside.
Did Ye Xiao Shu suspect something?
Did she know who he was?
If she found out… there was no way she’d treat him kindly, let alone bring him home.
As an enforcer, he did have some access to players’ cards.
But if there was someone else by Ye Xiao Shu’s side, it would be nearly impossible to approach. No chance at all.
……
The tenth day of the game dawned with clear skies and soft breezes.
The white mist faded from public view. More and more patients woke up in the hospital. Life looked as if it were returning to its origin point—almost as if the mist had never existed at all. An illusion, nothing more.
【Tanghulu串串香: Thank heavens, my roommate woke up! She’d been out for three days—I really thought she’d never come to. Lucky I didn’t give up, we promised to clear this game together.】
【What’s for Lunch: This game is weird. Aside from the white mist causing high fevers and unconsciousness, it’s not so bad. Did I overreact by wrapping myself up so tight?】
【Overtime for Life Extension: My card-bound teammate woke up too. Looks like the fever does affect memory—can you believe he barely remembers me, or how to open the light screen… absolutely hilarious!】
【Snack Queen: I’m choosing to hunker down in a cave. Maximum safety.】
Reading through the barrage of comments, Ye Shu noticed one mentioning odd behavior from a teammate.
The light screen was opened simply by thought—a foolproof method.
Any living person, even a three-year-old, could do it. There was no reason a grown adult couldn’t.
Could it be that players who breathed in the white mist… lost their very wits?
Lounging back in a rocking chair, Ye Shu sunbathed and chatted lazily with Su Bai—like a proper vacation.
“Heroine… your caramel peanuts.”
Fatty Pang served up the freshly fried peanuts, even preparing a plate of varied flavors. He took his job as chef seriously—everyone here outclassed him, so hard work was essential. As Ye Shu’s most perceptive lackey, reading the room was a survival skill.
Lin Qing seemed straightforward enough, Su Bai was Ye the Heroine’s sworn sister, impressively capable, and the two Fu brothers… that left him as the odd job man.
“Sister Ye’s business is my business. I’ll bring them—Fatty, you go get some rest.”
Lin Qing took the fruit tray, shooing Fatty Pang away without a trace of kindness.
By day’s end, more and more patients awoke.
They shared a strange trait: none remembered what happened before losing consciousness. Some even forgot their names—besides that, there was nothing wrong.
Ye Shu sat astride the balcony railing, ignoring the burning stares behind her.
“Xiao Bai, can you still sense the mist?”
“No, Master. I haven’t felt anything since yesterday.”
The merman answered dutifully.
“Xiao Shushu, why aren’t you bringing out that weird one? I miss those gorgeous, downy black feathers.”
Ye Shu called this one Xiao Bai—and the merman, too, Xiao Bai.
Su Bai pretended not to mind, but it stung. She was Ye Shu’s true-born sister—what were all these merfolk doing in the inner circle?
“Next time—I’ll bring it for you to play with.”
Ye Shu scrolled through livestream replays while tossing back a reply to Su Bai.
“Thank you all for the concern. I’m much better, and soon I’ll be leaving the hospital—back to work…”
On screen, a man in hospital pajamas beamed into the camera. But to Ye Shu, that smile never reached his eyes.
In an instant, his brown irises flickered to a deep, inky black. Then, just as suddenly, his gentle face returned.
“Am I seeing things?”
Ye Shu dragged the timeline back, scrutinizing the footage.
At 21 minutes and 23 seconds, the man’s eyes had most definitely turned pitch black!