Su Bai's face turned deathly pale. She stared at the glowing screen in disbelief, as if she could pierce a hole straight through to the other side.
Pang Pangzi, having heard Su Bai's words, stomped on the brakes so hard that his forehead slammed against the windshield.
Fu Shiyi’s previously languid gaze turned sharp in an instant.
Meanwhile, Fu Jingchuan immediately opened the display to check his friend list.
How could Ye Xiaoshu possibly die?
Didn’t she have a resurrection card?
After all this time knowing her, Fu Jingchuan might doubt many things, but Ye Shu's abilities were not among them.
He simply did not believe… that woman could die in a mere dungeon.
He was certain she still had her resurrection card. So why hadn’t she been transported out of the game instead?
"No way…"
"Ye Shu just messaged me. How could she be offline now?"
A stabbing pain sliced through Su Bai’s mind.
As if in a trance, she saw that torn-apart corpse in the cave...
"What was that?"
The place looked exactly like the cave beneath the desert in another instance, but why was she thinking of it now?
She had the nagging feeling she’d seen this scene before… déjà vu.
Back then, didn’t Ye Shu make short work of that monster?
That mangled heap on the ground could not possibly be Ye Shu.
After her initial bout of madness, Su Bai suddenly became eerily calm, as if she hadn’t been the one screaming just moments ago.
"Turn around! Now! Take me to that damn shelter or whatever it’s called!"
Ye Shu hadn’t given Su Bai her location, so she could only start by investigating from the shelter.
In the rear, Lin Qing, who sat in the furthest seat, heard Su Bai’s words and glanced up at the air with shadowed eyes.
He didn’t even know when the auxiliary system had bypassed his own authority as the executor.
But then again, Ye Xiaoshu’s ability was resurrection. No matter who died, she would not.
Lin Qing held onto that fact, unshakeable.
……
Agony!
It was as if every tendon and bone in her body had been dismantled, then broken, one by one.
To be burned alive—Ye Shu felt that must be how this pain compared.
The instant her eyes snapped open, Ye Shu understood: She had reset!
How long it had been since her last forced save reload!
She’d gotten too comfortable in the early rounds of this game, and nearly forgot about her final trump card.
"Humans, you really have no honor!"
Zhao Yao was still in human form, repeating the very words she’d said an hour ago.
Just before dying last time, Ye Shu remembered...
Zhao Yao had turned into a parasite, spewing a white mist. She'd let her guard down and fallen for it—her body being slowly consumed, assimilated by the parasite. In that desperate moment, she detonated everything she had and blasted the whole zone.
But no—something important was missing from that memory.
Aside from her firearms, she’d used… another item.
But what?
It was on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn’t recall.
Zhao Yao, ignored, was fuming. "Damn you, don’t think being a player makes you special. I’m a player too—and I know your kind best. Hypocrites."
"You think if you just keep quiet, I’ll let you go?"
"…Annoying." Ye Shu muttered.
She casually lobbed a miniature blasting cap. Zhao Yao staggered back, her face flushed an ugly purple.
Wait—she remembered!
That ‘item’ she’d tossed aside without a thought.
Before entering the game, she had drawn a massive barrel of white vinegar.
Conventional weapons barely scratched high-level parasites. Not even her arsenal could kill Zhao Yao.
But that jug of concentrated white vinegar—now, that was different!
The moment the flesh-worms touched the vinegar, their armored hides dissolved into bloody holes.
She’d been right! Parasites did have a weakness.
These monsters—were afraid of strong acids!
A smirk twisted on Ye Shu’s lips. She raised her middle finger at Zhao Yao. "Idiot! I don’t play fair with animals. You really think you’re worth it?"
"You…"
Zhao Yao's face contorted with rage, commanding her parasite horde to attack Ye Shu.
Ye Shu didn’t bother with firearms anymore. Leisurely, she started harvesting parasites like point-farming machines.
[Ding! Congratulations, Player Ye Shu has slain a mid-level parasite. +10 points.]
[Ding! +20 points.]
[...]
She even took the time to pour the white vinegar from her inventory into smaller containers, eyeing Zhao Yao with a chilling grin.
That meat-worm had gotten her blown to pieces once. Now it was time for payback.
Who could’ve guessed—they were weak to strong acids of all things.
Just a small ladleful of white vinegar was enough to kill a low-level parasite. Similarly, concentrated acid could purify water of micro-parasites.
This lunatic Zhao Yao was no pushover. If she could capture her alive and intact, maybe she could hijack her way back to reality.
Zhao Yao shuddered beneath Ye Shu’s cold, predatory gaze. "Madwoman! What do you want? Look at me like that again and I’ll kill you!" she screamed.
"I believe you," Ye Shu said evenly. "I absolutely do."
Cutting through the horde, Ye Shu charged at Zhao Yao, scooping a ladle of white vinegar from her storage and pouring it straight onto Zhao Yao’s head.
"Aaaaaagh—"
A shriek rattled the chamber. Zhao Yao toppled, her earlier arrogance gone.
"Ssszzzz—"
The vinegar ate away half her brain. The remaining half of her face was a grotesque web of exposed, bloody veins.
Ye Shu frowned, dipped up another scoop, and poured it over Zhao Yao's twitching form.
The vinegar, like sulphuric acid, chewed through the parasite’s flesh.
Zhao Yao stared at Ye Shu in terror. She simply couldn’t believe this human knew her species’ fatal weakness… It was impossible!
Once a parasite hatched, it was nearly unbeatable. But strong acid—even a drop—spelled instant death.
Only her high level had let her survive this long.
How did this human player know their greatest secret? It made no sense.
But the evidence was too clear.
Zhao Yao writhed weakly on the ground, even her cries barely a whisper.
The remaining parasites gaped at the huge barrel of white vinegar in Ye Shu's hand. Terrified, they retreated inch by inch, disregarding Zhao Yao’s orders as they scattered in flight.
"Thick-skinned flesh monsters, afraid… of white vinegar," Ye Shu snorted. "Should I laugh, or just… laugh harder?"
To think, all that struggle before her last reset, and all she’d needed was a bottle of vinegar—no fighting necessary.
So what did her sacrifice mean, then? Was it for nothing?
On the ground, Zhao Yao could only gurgle weakly. If only she had destroyed every acid on earth, especially white vinegar. To be maimed by a condiment—this had to be a joke.
……
Ten kilometers outside the shelter, a modified pickup tore down the road.
Su Bai clung to the steering wheel, gas pedal slammed down, terror glazing her eyes with sweat beading at her brow.
She’d awoken from a nap, disturbed by a dream of Ye Shu dying to a monstrous bug.
Unease gnawed at her. Without a second thought, she rounded up a hastily assembled team and hit the road.
……
A stream of friend notifications kept pulsing on Ye Shu’s screen.
She finally opened them.
[Sexy Black-Wearing Mother Cockroach: Ye Shu, where are you?]
[Mother Cockroach: Answer me, now!]
[I dreamed you died. Scared me half to death.]
[I’m coming to find you—where are you? Give me your location!]
[Are you at the shelter?]
[...]
Dreamed I died, huh? Ye Shu smirked.
Was Su Bai trying to jinx her?
With her ability to reset, no one was dying today—least of all her.
With 99+ unread messages, Ye Shu didn’t even know where to start. She simply shared her location.
When Su Bai and the others finally arrived, what they saw was Zhao Yao sprawled on the ground, barely clinging to life, whimpering as if her very soul were leaking from her body.