The Price of Survival

Is this… a death?

Xiang Qi halted, her brows furrowing slightly. The scene before her was somewhat beyond her expectations.

Another dead person, looking particularly gruesome. The two nameless goons lay stiffly on the stairs leading to the rooftop, their bloodshot eyes wide open, filled with disbelief, surprise, and despair.

This level of gore naturally didn’t faze Xiang Qi. She thoughtfully bypassed the scene, having no intention of lingering.

‘Such outrageous injuries… Did Liu Zhengxuan do this?’ Xiang Qi’s gaze grew heavy. It was evident to the naked eye that these two had been brutally bludgeoned to death.

Their chests were caved in, and their hands were twisted at alarmingly unnatural angles, as if they had tried to block something in vain.

A vivid image flashed through Xiang Qi’s mind: a man, wielding a baseball bat with a cruel grin, closing in on two unarmed, weaker men. With two swift blows, he beat one of the unsuspecting victims to death.

The other, witnessing this horror, was stunned into a daze. When a crushing blow came for him, he instinctively raised his hands to block it. A sickening crack of breaking bones accompanied the collapse of his chest.

He writhed on the ground, howling in agony, yet he couldn’t escape the merciless assailant’s next strike. After a final, desperate roll, he ceased breathing, utterly still.

This entire scene played out in Xiang Qi’s mind, haunting and visceral, much like the animated GIFs of pigs being beaten that circulated in various chat groups.

Unconsciously, she imagined herself in their place. Xiang Qi suddenly realized she might not have any way to resist either. Perhaps it wouldn’t even take two blows; one hit might send her straight to the afterlife.

‘This is… quite sudden. What should I do if I feel useless?’

Thinking of those two guys, Xiang Qi immediately felt relieved. ‘Right, if we’re talking useless, those two were clearly more so. At least I’m a delicate girl; those two grown men together couldn’t even defeat one person. That’s what you call truly useless, isn’t it?’

‘Why should a beautiful girl who relies on her intelligence compare herself to those pathetic men?’

‘Wait, beautiful girl…’ Xiang Qi’s expression suddenly froze as she realized the biggest problem. ‘If I can’t beat him later, now that victory is basically certain, will I be captured and… penetrated?’

Truth be told, the possibility was quite high. This wasn’t Xiang Qi being narcissistic; she simply felt that with her current body, few men wouldn’t want to.

Of course, that included herself.

Besides true philosophical masters, who wouldn’t like pretty, cute girls?

‘Damn, I haven’t even tried it myself yet…’ ‘Surely, that blue-haired guy wouldn’t do something so tasteless, right?’

She herself felt quite unsure, her hand involuntarily reaching for her slender right leg beneath her pristine white dress. The object she felt, even through the fabric, provided her with a considerable sense of security.

It was a well-known fact that no one would doubt how many things a girl might hide under her skirt, as it was inherently an unknown variable.

Lost in these thoughts, Xiang Qi had already reached the stairwell.

The sounds from outside made her stop. She pressed herself against the wall, attempting to discern anything interesting.

Xiang Qi didn’t need to guess who was outside; only a few survivors should be left in the entire game. Since the game hadn’t ended yet, the Hunter could only be one of the remaining Gu Changqing, Xiang Ke, or Liu Zhengxuan.

‘Or perhaps none of them…’ Her expression was somewhat unreadable, a conflicted look on her beautiful, delicate face. ‘What if I’m the Hunter?’

She no longer wished to complain about the game system’s ability to stir up trouble. With unclear instructions and only half-buried clues, any game developer daring to operate this way would surely go bankrupt.

Unfortunately, there was no way to complain about this wretched game. If you didn’t like it, don’t play it.

‘Forget it, these aren’t problems to consider at this stage. For now, I’ll temporarily treat the blue-haired youth as the Hunter.’ Such a final boss character would not be easy to defeat. As for the other possibility… ‘If I just eliminate everyone, won’t that naturally solve it?’

She didn’t hear anything interesting, but she did hear a gunshot first, which left Xiang Qi’s head feeling muddled.

Her first reaction was, ‘This crappy game actually has guns? That severely breaks the balance. How is this even playable?’

In fact, it was true. Talents and Phenomenon Armaments were not affected by the system’s balancing mechanism. Or rather, outside of special modes, these two elements were calculated for balance using the same standard across all game instances.

The balancing power for even the weakest talent and the strongest talent was the same; it rarely specifically targeted individuals. Phenomenon Armaments followed the same principle.

Regardless of Xiang Qi’s thoughts, this was already a set fact. Since it couldn’t be changed, she could only try to accept it. Xiang Qi quickly adjusted her mindset, preparing to face what might be the most perilous challenge since her debut.

“If only that guy were still here,” she muttered to herself, a flicker of apprehension in her heart.

But that was just a fleeting thought. If that person truly were here, Xiang Qi would probably be the first to be unable to tolerate it.

After all, he was the one who had occupied a large part of her childhood nightmares.

At this moment, the sounds outside had almost quieted. Then, Xiang Qi heard a voice.

“However, Miss Xia over there, haven’t you watched enough by now?”

“Aren’t you going to come out and see your subordinate one last time?”

The final battle was about to begin, the stage was set, and the supporting characters had all exited. ‘Go, Miss Xiang! You absolutely cannot stop here!’

And so…

“It seems I’ve arrived at an inopportune moment, perhaps interrupting someone’s enjoyment?”

Unfortunately, the blue-haired youth had no intention of showing mercy. Without listening to Xiang Qi’s lengthy speech, he simply pulled the trigger.

Another body fell to the ground.

Well, how to put it? Xiang Qi had now clearly assessed the current situation. The only two potential allies on her side: one lay half-dead on the ground with a large hole in them, clearly beyond help. The other had just been decapitated right before her eyes, brain matter splattering, confirming their rather unrestful demise.

Bad. Extremely bad. There was virtually no chance of turning the tables; it seemed there was only one path forward.

She couldn’t possibly sell her beauty to seduce him, could she? Uh, given the blue-haired youth’s unsettlingly aggressive gaze, it might actually be feasible.

However, the outcome would undoubtedly be tragic. After all, this was a life-or-death game; how could anyone leave a way out for someone who threatened their life?

Let it be known: Xiang Qi, even if she dies today, even if she jumps from here, will never use her beauty to tempt a man.

No ‘true fragrance’ moments!