Chasing the Deadly Game

“Catch her! Don’t let her run!”

The shrill sirens and the man’s angry shouts grew more and more distant behind her, while Yilin felt that suffocating metallic sweetness rise again in her throat as the adrenaline faded.

She stumbled forward, shoving aside the tall grass in front of her, forcing her small body through the branches, then crawling desperately under a barbed-wire fence marked “Radiation Hazard.”

By the time her school uniform was once again full of tears and scratches, the voices behind her had gradually disappeared.

Yilin clutched the still-warm PTM pistol in her hand and kept running wildly forward, until her legs finally gave out and her body collapsed uncontrollably beside a large tree.

As the dew soaked her clothes, the panic in her eyes finally dissolved into tears.

Why… why did it have to turn out like this…

Clutching the pistol tightly, Yilin forced herself to endure the pounding of her heart that felt like it would burst from her chest.

She dragged herself to lean against the tree, only then realizing that at some point her body had already become covered with wounds.

Pain had invaded her very spine, while the blood dripping from her forehead stained her pure white long hair with dirt.

Although none of the wounds were fatal or crippling, in a place like this even arriving at full strength might justify considering a bullet to the head.

Now, exhausted and starving, with every coin taken away by those corrupt cops, only half a magazine of bullets left, and nearly having lost her body as well—what hope was there?

This was the third year since she had crossed into this world.

At first, when she realized she had become a beautiful girl, she had been happy.

But after learning about this world, Yilin went completely numb.

It was a world much like Earth in her old universe, except with different nations.

But unlike her original world, there had been no peace after World War II.

Every nation, big and small, remained in constant hot wars.

Though nuclear war never broke out, the conflicts shattered the world into chaos, with regimes rising and falling, and humanity stumbling into the new millennium under endless turmoil and fear.

And the place she had been dropped into was right on the border between several great powers and small states—an area ravaged by war.

To make things worse, she was an orphan.

Her parents left her nothing but a beautiful face, a younger sister, and a mountain of debt—debt owed to none other than the local orphanage.

That “orphanage” was no public institution.

It was a mafia-like organization that adopted children with potential, sent them to school, and then forced them to work for them.

Those unwilling to work had to pay instead.

And if they couldn’t pay, their bodies would be put to “better use.”

Yilin was, unfortunately, one of them.

In her previous life, she had been nothing more than a university student who hadn’t even stepped into society yet.

The day before graduation, she found herself in this body.

With no resources and unwilling to sell herself, she had no choice but to scavenge garbage during her free time to pay off the massive debt, picking up things others didn’t want.

Luckily, the “garbage” in this world wasn’t so bad—in fact, quite valuable.

Here, a strange force existed.

When a nuclear power plant leaked, the immense radiation disturbed space-time, bringing countless supernatural objects into reality.

These things appeared only in irradiated zones, and they were mysterious and extremely powerful—fetching sky-high prices outside.

But those zones were also filled with supernatural creatures, bandits, and warlords.

For Yilin, with a child’s body, going deep inside was no different from suicide.

All she could do was scavenge near the outskirts—picking up scraps, searching corpses, and sometimes stealing.

Until now… to be precise, three hours ago.

…

Border checkpoint.

“Next. Show your documents.”

The impatient voice called out.

Yilin hurried forward a few steps, standing before the inspection desk.

She laid out all her papers at once: her residence permit, travel permit, vaccination record, bank card, and student ID.

Forcing a cute smile, she looked up at the inspector with her big violet eyes, harmless and innocent.

The act made her feel sick.

After all, she was originally a grown man.

But she had long since grown accustomed to using this body’s appearance to her advantage.

“A child? What are you doing here? Don’t you know this area is full of war risks? Why are you entering?”

The border inspector frowned, eyes narrowing as he examined the lively schoolgirl who stood out from the numb-faced immigrants around her.

He slowly began to check her papers.

“Tourism, sir. I’ve always been very interested in the culture and scenery of the Suvier Federation, so I wanted to join a short-term study trip.

Since it’s summer vacation, I signed up for a tour group to visit the Suvier Federation properly.”

Yilin recited the flattering lines she had memorized, though it made her feel like a sneaky traitor.

But there was no choice.

The Suvier Federation was a major power—and had recently crushed her own country.

The war had devastated the Detelan Republic, leaving the economy in shambles, crime rates soaring, markets collapsing, and refugees desperate to flood into Suvier.

Even now, the war between the two nations wasn’t truly over.

Detelan’s government had surrendered, but guerrillas kept fighting, and tensions remained extremely high.

The inspector squinted, seemingly unsure whether to scrutinize her or the papers.

In truth, Yilin didn’t have the luxury of “study trips.”

The crushing debt on her shoulders could bury any adult alive.

She had spent every last coin to clean herself up: a neat school uniform, a stack of forged documents, and her well-kept long hair.

Her real purpose was to sell a “supernatural object.”

Luck had finally favored her: she had scavenged one during a mercenary skirmish—a cat-like tail.

There was no way she would sell it in Detelan for nothing but toilet paper.

Only in Suvier could she hope to strike it rich.

“Height one fifty-six, weight forty-eight kilograms, natural white hair, violet pupils, citizen of the Detelan Republic, vaccination certificate valid…

Residence permit can theoretically be granted.”

The inspector’s slow tone made Yilin nervous.

She had prepared thoroughly—if this wasn’t enough to pass, then…

“No issues with the documents.”

The inspector’s words let Yilin breathe a sigh of relief.

But his next words crushed her hope:

“But the student ID—we’ll need to keep it. You’ll get it back when you return.”

Forcing herself to comply under the stares of nearby soldiers, Yilin handed over her student card again.

On it was the smiling face of a cheerful schoolgirl.

It didn’t really matter—though it wasn’t part of standard procedure, if it got her through, she could endure it.

The inspector, a tall and thin man, rose from his seat.

A strange glint flickered in his eyes, and a smile crept onto his lips as he pressed the button to temporarily suspend processing, cutting off Yilin’s chance of leaving.

“And, we require you to undergo further inspection—to see whether you are hiding any contraband inside your body.

I’ll be conducting the inspection personally.”

“W–wait, hold on, that’s not necessary, right? I… I can go to a hospital for an inspection…”

Yilin’s head buzzed, and she instinctively wanted to run, but the nearby soldiers had already surrounded her quietly, their assault rifles’ safeties clicking off.

“There’s no need. It’ll be over quickly.”

Half-pushed, half-dragged, Yilin was forced forward by two soldiers pressing their knees into her back, following the border inspector into a small dark room inside the checkpoint.

There were no cameras here, only a chamber sealed off by a heavy blast-proof door.

Inside was nothing but a table, two chairs, and a filthy bed.

Creak.

The heavy door slowly closed.

Yilin walked in nervously, her mind racing with possibilities.

Was the supernatural object exposed?

Impossible.

Once worn, those things could only be detected with specialized instruments—there was no way it was discovered just now…

“Bend over the table. I need to check whether you’re hiding contraband.”

The cold, businesslike tone made Yilin snap her head around—only to see the inspector twirling her student ID card between his fingers, savoring the stark contrast between the cheerful girl in the photo and the terrified one standing before him.

He was even scribbling something on it.

That pig!

So skilled, with that expression… this clearly wasn’t the first time.

Yilin’s heart felt as though it were being squeezed by an icy hand.

The inspector’s greasy gaze and undisguised intent churned her stomach so violently she nearly vomited up yesterday’s canned meat.

Don’t panic, Yilin.

Absolutely don’t panic!

“Hurry up and bend over. Unless you want to defy the laws of the Assimilation Bureau and rot in prison for life?

Scum from Detelan like you must be thoroughly checked…”

The inspector’s voice was laced with impatience and the excitement of imminent success.

He stepped closer, his uniform reeking of cheap tobacco and alcohol.

That old bastard…

Yilin clenched her teeth.

Before crossing into this world, she had been a real man.

To be preyed upon like this—she’d rather drink antifreeze and die.

Absolutely not!

Even if it meant dying here…

She took a deep breath, her nails digging into her palms, using the pain to banish her fear.

Then she slowly turned, her back to the filthy bed and the inspector, body taut like a drawn bow.

Muttering under her breath, shoulders trembling, she put on the posture of a terrified girl barely able to control herself.

Carefully, she bent over the table and whimpered:

“Sir… I… I’m scared… please, be gentle… I’ll cooperate…”

The submissive act clearly pleased the inspector.

He let out a contemptuous laugh, dropping his guard, approaching her more boldly.

One hand grabbed eagerly for her slender arm, while the other reached straight for her waist, intent on ripping away her clothes.

“What are you afraid of, little beauty? Compared to those cowardly Detelan men, being with a warrior like me is your fortune—”

Now!

“Fortune your *ass! Eat *this, you bastard!!”

Before the word “fortune” had even left his lips, the spring Yilin had compressed to the limit exploded.

With all her strength, she drove her fist straight into his groin.

Eighteen years as a man—she knew exactly how much that hurt.

The inspector’s face went pale white, then flushed red, then purple.

He collapsed to the ground convulsing, too pained even to scream, eyes rolling back.

Yilin didn’t hesitate for a second—this was life or death.

The instant he hit the ground, her gaze locked on the PTM pistol at his waist.

She lunged, driving her knee hard into his abdomen to pin him down, her left hand clamping onto the back of his neck, while her right hand shot to his belt and ripped the pistol free.

“You filthy brat! How dare you—!”

The inspector regained a flicker of strength through pain and shock.

Sensing mortal danger, he struggled to turn over, a muffled roar spilling from his mouth.

“Shut up!”

Yilin smashed the gun butt into his eye socket with brutal force.

Instantly, hot, metallic blood sprayed across her face, even splattering into her open mouth from the exertion.

The impact ruptured an eyeball—he collapsed into shock on the spot.

“Ugh…”

Though she had seen countless corpses while scavenging near radiation zones, this was the first time Yilin had personally reduced someone to this state.

She fought down the urge to vomit and immediately searched his body for anything useful.

Her student ID, the fake documents, a keyring, the pistol, and three magazines…

Damn it, where was her bank card?

Damn it—her money!

To hell with it, she’d rather die again than let this stand!

Fury burning, she kicked his abdomen again, then ripped off his leather belt and wrapped it messily around her hand to sell later.

Outside, footsteps of alerted guards grew louder, her heart pounding against her ribs like it would break them.

With bloodied fingers, she fumbled through the keyring, trying several before finally finding the special key for the door bolt.

Click—

The lock released.

She yanked open the heavy blast-proof door.

Sirens wailed, soldiers’ footsteps and shouts crashing in like a tidal wave.

The whole checkpoint lit up.

Yet the soldiers, as if aware of the inspector’s filthy dealings, all chose to look away—buying Yilin precious moments to escape.

At the last second, Yilin hesitated, then turned back, spitting onto the half-dead inspector’s military cap.

Only then did she bolt toward the radiation zone.