She hadn’t seen wrong—those eyes had changed in an instant!
Could this be connected to the white fog?
Ye Shu called Su Bai over, playing the video in slow motion for her.
“Shushu, is that… a mutant? Or something else? I’m scared, you’d better protect me!”
Ye Shu remained silent.
‘Scared, weak, and so delicate she can’t take care of herself?’
How did Su Bai manage to say such things with a straight face?
Did she really enjoy pretending to be vulnerable in front of her?
If Ye Shu hadn’t already witnessed the way that girl had charged in wielding a broadsword, she’d almost believe the pathetic act.
“A mutant?”
Aside from the eyes, there didn’t appear to be anything amiss about that person.
Or maybe, that person was just an anomaly.
Erring on the side of caution, Ye Shu copied the video and sent it out to everyone, Lin Qing included.
Pang Pangzi truly lived up to his reputation as a veteran player from the very first survival game.
The moment he watched the video, he was spooked.
“I’ll search online, maybe I can find a few more patients like this.”
While the Fu Jingchuan brothers remained grave, Lin Qing appeared remarkably composed, as though he’d already known all along.
Fu Jingchuan shot a quick glance at Lin Qing.
This youth gave him a deeply unpleasant feeling.
From the very first encounter, Fu Jingchuan could sense hostility.
It was uncannily similar to the aura of a certain player from earlier rounds.
Since his last breakthrough in the game, he could now barely control his ability.
He still cared very much about the black fog clinging to Ye Xiaoshu—and that shadow… After much thought, Fu Jingchuan decided to use his precognition ability.
He only hoped he wouldn’t end up hurt again, as he had the last time.
Lin Qing was the first to notice Fu Jingchuan’s odd state.
Precognition. Level two, now?
Peeking, are we?
‘If he’s so keen, let him look all he wants.’
Everything Fu Jingchuan saw turned crimson—
The land lay scorched and lifeless.
…
Unexpectedly, not only did he avoid injury, but he also couldn’t see the boy’s future or past at all.
Lin Qing was completely unreadable.
Just as anticipated, the footage soon revealed several people whose irises had changed color.
Ye Shu forwarded this material to the world channel.
[Wooden Doll: What does this mean?]
[SurvivalGamea111: Are these the patients discharged from the hospital? Their eyes… changed color, that’s creepy! Looks just like a scene out of a horror movie, kind of interesting though!]
[SadakoVersusKayako: So what if their pupils changed color? What does that prove? Officially, they said inhaling the white fog messes with memories, a change of eye color—so what?]
[LearnToCook_NewWestern: Makes sense! My game ID looks familiar… like I’ve seen it somewhere before.]
[BadBunny: Making a fuss over nothing—so weak!]
Most players didn’t care about the video Ye Shu sent. Some even responded with outright malice.
Su Bai was the first to explode at the messages.
“Shushu, let me go teach them a lesson.”
“We offer a warning out of kindness, and they accuse us of clout-chasing… Ignorant fools!”
“Quiet! Xiao Bai, just eat your meal.”
It’s not that Ye Shu was any kind of saint. The truth was… it had been a long time since a survival dungeon increased world affinity.
Every good deed seemed to raise world affinity a little.
She still didn’t know what use it really had—but more was better than less.
So why not try?
Ye Shu not only shared it in the game, but uploaded the video online as well.
Almost immediately, the patients became the focus of public attention.
“How does this benefit you?”
Ye Xiaoshu always did things that made no sense on the surface.
Like rescuing refugees from Yuhu City.
Yet when dealing with her enemies, her strikes were ruthless, each one lethal.
She obviously wasn’t some soft-hearted Mother Mary. So why bother helping those irrelevant people?
Online chatter became a deluge of scolding, some even creating dummy accounts to finger-point and accuse Ye Shu of prejudice and slander.
“There’s no benefit, and I didn’t expect any. I just did it because I wanted to.”
Of course, that was a lie.
After ten rounds of this survival game, how could she still be an innocent, harmless pushover?
Still, nothing happened by the time Ye Shu turned in that night.
…
The eleventh day in the game began.
Yet again, there was no white fog.
Most patients who had once collapsed had been discharged; families radiating joy as they left, hospital corridors no longer deathly silent.
The calmer things felt, the more dangerous they truly were.
As residents greeted loved ones, players survived another day on edge.
Still, nothing happened.
Calm—utter normalcy.
Evening brought an unexpected rain.
After so many dry days, the gentle rainfall wasn’t peculiar. Ye Shu sprawled lazily on the balcony recliner, chatting idly with Su Bai.
From Ye Shu’s pocket, the little merman let out a wailing cry.
“Aaaahhhh—”
“It reeks of rotten fish!”
“I’m doomed—doomed! It’s even worse than last time. Ugh, ugh, how’s a fish supposed to live? There are still twenty days to go!”
Ye Shu’s face instantly darkened.
She hadn’t mentioned to anyone just how valuable the merman’s warnings were.
If Xiao Bai says it stinks… then that damned white fog must be on its way back!
The fog seeped in everywhere. Best not get careless.
Her blood could contend with ghosts—but would it work against the white fog?
Last round, she’d become a walking blood bank. No way she’d go through that again.
A hundred thoughts flashed through Ye Shu’s mind in an instant.
Even as the merman let out a second howl, she grabbed Su Bai nearby and dragged her into the room.
“Ye Shu, something’s up?”
Su Bai, normally brash, became shrewd in critical moments. Seeing Ye Shu’s grave expression, she called back the others from outside and blocked off all gaps in the room—exactly as Ye Shu had once taught.
“Sister Ye, is it going to fog up again?”
“Ye…”
Lin Qing tried to speak, but Fu Shiyi beat him to it.
“No.”
“It’s just Xiao Bai sensing traces of the white fog.”
They waited, the rain pattering on… but the fog never came.
“Oh, it’s that merman who loves strawberry hairclips. Can transform, right? If he can smell the white fog, why isn’t it here yet?”
Fu Shiyi grinned at the half-hidden head peeking from Ye Shu’s pocket.
“Tsk—”
“Idiot.”
“Can it even get foggy when it’s raining?”
Lin Qing couldn’t stand Fu Shiyi’s affected act, firing back with icy sarcasm.
“You… I’m not going to stoop to arguing with a kid.”
“An idiot is an idiot. Did you slip through nine years of mandatory education?”
Fu Shiyi wanted to retort but found himself speechless, glaring in vain.
He was sure, Lin Qing was deliberately picking on him.
Or perhaps… he picked on anyone who got close to Ye Xiaoshu.
“All right, all right—Xiao Bai just picked up a hint of fog. To be safe, let’s stay indoors and seal everything up.”
Ye Shu’s head was aching.
Should she even have brought these people back?
She hadn’t expected Lin Qing to be so sharp-tongued after all.
“It stinks… How are we supposed to live like this?”
The merman, overwhelmed by the stench of rot and mud, stuffed his own nose shut, and Ye Shu left him to it.
The light rain pattered down for hours, well past midnight, and still did not let up.