Afterwards, under Ye Shu’s oppressive might, even if Ye Wanwan harbored resentment, she dared not make a single move in public.

The next few days passed in uneasy peace.

The only fly in the ointment was that supplies on the plane were dwindling.

All the Awakened were placed in Cabin 1; their treatment was naturally better, but it still paled in comparison to what they’d had before. At first, a meal of dark bread was distributed daily; now, it came once every two days.

“So hungry…”

“Damn it, this game isn’t over yet!”

“What if we never get out of this dungeon?”

“I’ve never been this desperate before—what kind of crappy game is this? Can’t even draw a single ability card.”

A young man cursed, his eyes drifting toward Ye Shu not far away. He muttered under his breath, “We’re freezing and starving, but that woman… she eats and drinks her fill. Maybe we should…”

The man beside him looked horrified and shrank back, whispering, “Forget it, even Cabin 1 keeps their distance from her. Don’t bring trouble on yourself.”

“I’m just joking,” the young man replied, regretting his words as he stole another glance at the peacefully sleeping woman and quickly looked away.

Ye Shu’s attempt to choke Ye Wanwan to death in front of everyone was still fresh in memory—it made her a minor celebrity on the plane. No one dared to provoke her lightly.

…

The plane landed several times along the journey.

Ye Shu, although she had refused Wen Qi’s offer, was still willing to help store a bit of fuel. After all, her survival was at stake.

Ye Wanwan, no longer as brazen as before, now acted like a mouse in the presence of a cat, scurrying off whenever she saw Ye Shu, though occasionally, Ye Shu could still sense venomous eyes on her back—as if longing to tear her apart. But for now, that was the extent of it.

Thirty-five days had passed since they entered this game. The nightmare showed no sign of ending. Not a single hint from the system.

Worse yet, the dormant black hole had started to stir again.

Even more ominous, the black hole now trailed the plane, never fast, never slow, as if it had acquired a will of its own.

At first, Ye Shu thought it was coincidence, but after changing course several times and finding the giant mass still tailing them, she became certain… this monstrous thing must have developed sentience.

Or perhaps, it had never been an inanimate object to begin with!

…

Forty days since entering the game.

Wen Qi had just come back with Ye Shu and another spatial Awakened after collecting fuel, when the ground beneath their feet shuddered.

“Not good—run!”

“It’s back!”

“To the plane! Now!”

Chaos erupted. The crew scattered in confusion. By the time Ye Shu boarded, the earth was violently trembling, sections of ground sinking into disarray.

No time to worry about those still outside—the hatch slammed shut, and the plane raced skyward.

The moment they reached ten thousand meters, the ground below collapsed in huge swathes, revealing a gaping, lightless chasm. Violent turbulence buffeted them; packages flew in all directions. Through the chaos, following Fu Shiyi’s gaze, Ye Shu spotted something chillingly familiar.

The black hole had grown, swelling to new and monstrous size.

From above, it was at least twice as vast as the last time.

A vague disquiet gnawed at Ye Shu—the hole was now large enough that its gravitational pull would definitely be stronger than before. The plane was flying awfully close—it wouldn’t take much for them to be sucked in.

She barely had time to process these thoughts when a shriek cut across the roar of wind.

Even before looking up, Ye Shu was hit by a rush of cold air.

She risked a glance up. Sure enough, the plane’s ceiling had ruptured.

And that hole—almost as wide as a person—was still widening at an alarming rate.

In less than half a minute, half the cabin roof was gone, open to the sky.

Chaos broke out among the passengers.

In the face of true despair, people can do nothing but panic.

The players had never seen anything like this—they trembled in terror.

“I… I can’t breathe…”

“This is unbearable. If I’d known I’d meet my end like this, I wouldn’t have bothered resisting.”

“Buckle up! Cover your mouth and nose—don’t panic!”

Ye Shu felt nothing in the thin, frigid air at ten thousand meters—thanks to the boosts from the game’s attributes.

Still, the plane tottered and threatened to fall.

Ye Shu kept herself calm and as steady as possible. If the plane went down, no amount of attribute buffs could save her, unless… she tried something desperate.

Wind and wailing churned in her ears. Raising her voice, she called, “Little Eleven, can you fly a plane like this?”

Fu Shiyi nodded vigorously.

“Good.”

Ye Shu unfastened her harness, grabbed the next seat with one hand and Fu Shiyi’s collar with the other, and dragged him toward the cockpit.

Passing through Cabin 1, she glimpsed Ye Wanwan curled up on the floor, clutching her head. Their eyes briefly met—Ye Wanwan’s face twisted with fear.

Ye Shu ignored her and continued hauling Fu Shiyi along.

The plane lurched; Ye Shu stumbled, nearly tossed off her feet.

“Little Eleven, get in!”

Fu Shiyi dashed into the cockpit.

Ye Shu was just about to follow when someone rammed into her. She staggered back, reaching for a handhold, only to be blocked by Ye Wanwan.

“Ye Shu, die—just die! If it weren’t for you, my life wouldn’t be this miserable! Even my parents have discarded me, and Qin Zaozao betrayed me too… All of you deserve to die!”

Ye Wanwan’s attack at this moment caught Ye Shu completely off guard.

At that instant, the plane bucked violently; Ye Shu’s body grew weightless—she was flung out of the plane entirely.

"Shit!"

Ye Shu spat out a curse, furious at having underestimated Ye Wanwan and let her guard drop.

But she was no pushover. Several throwing knives leapt from her hand, pinning Ye Wanwan’s grasping fingers to the seat from ten meters away.

"Ahh! Bitch… how dare you?!" Ye Wanwan screamed in pain.

The agony rendered her limbs useless—her vision darkened, and she nearly fainted.

Ye Shu fished a rocket launcher out of her inventory and aimed it directly at Ye Wanwan.

Ye Wanwan’s eyes snapped open just in time to see a rocket careening straight for her.

"Ahh! Ye Shu! You maniac!"

She had weapons stashed in her spatial pocket!

The explosion shredded Cabin 1—Ye Wanwan tumbled from the torn plane, as helpless as a dumpling dropped in boiling water.

Both women plummeted through open sky.

Even separated by hundreds of meters, Ye Shu could hear Ye Wanwan’s frenzied curses.

"Ye Shu… you…*%... are insane. Dare to #$… do this to me? Madwoman… rotten… mongrel—"

Ye Wanwan was frantic and frightened beyond words. She never imagined Ye Shu would literally blast her out of an airplane with a rocket. If she had a do-over, she’d never dare provoke this harbinger of doom.

Below them yawned the waiting black hole.

She would be devoured.

Her resurrection card had already been used in the previous round.

This time, death in the dungeon would be final.

Ye Shu, however, was perfectly calm. She fished out a Wishing Star.

“Please help me clear this dungeon.”

As she spoke, the system’s robotic voice sounded:

[Beep~ Hell Difficulty dungeon; wish-type items prohibited, Wishing Star functionality rejected. Appeals not accepted.]

Ye Shu muttered darkly under her breath.

Back in the cockpit, Fu Shiyi had just poked his head out in time to see Ye Shu falling from the sky.

“Big Sister Ye!”

With a desperate cry, Fu Shiyi jumped after her without hesitation.