After coming out, Bai Xi played a little trick. She didn't run towards her rented apartment; instead, she picked a random direction and dashed forward.
As she left, she paid special attention to Qi Shuo. Realizing that he was heading in the opposite direction, she felt a wave of relief.
After running a fair distance, Bai Xi looked around.
The streets were completely deserted. The city government had already broadcasted a city-wide announcement about the giant ants, and no one dared to wander outside.
Once she was certain no one was following her, Bai Xi pulled out her phone for navigation and hurried toward her apartment.
She rented a place on the third floor, which was much safer than the ground level. The fact that she had survived the system task there also proved that it was one of the safest locations so far.
To get back as quickly as possible, Bai Xi scanned a shared electric scooter by the roadside and sped all the way home.
Along the way, she occasionally spotted people looting food from roadside stores. A few bolder individuals stood on the sidewalks, eyeing her like prey.
Bai Xi didn't dare to make eye contact, let alone stop. She had no idea if these people were players, so keeping a respectful distance was her best option.
Her heart pounding the entire way, Bai Xi finally arrived near her apartment complex.
SCREECH!
A sudden screech of brakes rang out as she stopped at a corner. Staring at the person in front of her in astonishment, Bai Xi quickly forced a flattering smile. "Brother Qi, what a coincidence!"
Qi Shuo leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, watching her calmly. He offered a friendly smile. "Not a coincidence at all. I was specifically waiting for you."
"Is that so! What do you need me for, Brother Qi? Are you in need of a sidekick?" Bai Xi acted overwhelmed by the favor, stepping off the scooter and subtly positioning it between them as a shield.
Qi Shuo noticed her little movement but didn't mind. He continued, "You're a player too, aren't you?"
"Ah... what?" Bai Xi feigned ignorance, looking completely bewildered. "What player?"
But Qi Shuo saw right through her poor acting. He laughed. "I originally thought you were just a normal local resident, but to think you're actually a player, and a newbie at that. How could I pass up such a great opportunity?"
He straightened up, and that black dagger appeared in his hand. Bai Xi's body instantly tensed. She reached her right hand behind her back and pulled out the short knife she had bought earlier.
"Brother Qi, what are you talking about? You're making no sense."
"It doesn't matter whether you are or not," Qi Shuo's demeanor suddenly turned ruthless and sinister. "I'll find out once I kill you. Let's see what good items you'll drop."
As he spoke, Qi Shuo suddenly lunged, swinging the black dagger at her.
Alarmed by his speed, Bai Xi shoved the electric scooter forward and turned to flee, but Qi Shuo was much faster.
Before she could even run a few steps, Qi Shuo caught up to her. Like a cat playing with a mouse, he boasted, "You haven't been enhanced yet. You're no match for me."
At the same time, the black dagger slashed toward her neck. A chill ran down Bai Xi's spine as the shadow of death enveloped her entire body.
She hastily activated her Speed Card. In an instant, all five of her senses were heightened, and the dagger's trajectory seemed to slow down.
With a swift step backward and a pivot, she barely dodged the incoming strike. The sharp blade grazed her skin, leaving a shallow, bloody scratch on her neck.
A look of pleasant surprise flashed across Qi Shuo's face. "You used a Speed Card? How many tasks have you even completed to get a Speed Card? Newbies really do get special treatment."
Bai Xi had no time for his nonsense; she turned and bolted. She knew very well that even with the Speed Card, she was no match for Qi Shuo. Running was her only option.
But Qi Shuo had no intention of letting her go. He sprang up, kicked off the wall, and leaped right in front of her. Grabbing her by the throat with one hand, he lifted her clean off the ground.
"See that? This is the gap between us. You used a Speed Card, yet you're still slower than me. And my strength is enough to easily strangle you to death."
Qi Shuo's eyes were cold; he already considered Bai Xi a dead woman.
Bai Xi's face flushed red, and the veins on her forehead bulged. Her feet kicked desperately in the air while her hands gripped his wrist, trying to pry his fingers apart.
But her meager strength couldn't budge him at all. The oxygen in her lungs was rapidly depleting, leaving her in agonizing suffocation.
Death was staring her right in the face.
In that brief moment, she seemed to see her grandparents' kind smiles and the warm meals her mother used to cook.
"Xixi, hurry back and eat. Dad will be home soon." Her mother's familiar smile flashed before her eyes.
"You're about to die, and you can still smile?" Bai Xi didn't panic or beg in terror like the others, which greatly surprised Qi Shuo.
He had killed many people, and every single one of them had cowered and begged for mercy. But this girl was smiling.
Qi Shuo's words yanked Bai Xi out of her hallucination. She looked at him, her will to live burning fiercer than ever. The corner of her mouth curled up. "Of course you wouldn't understand."
With that, Bai Xi vanished.
Before Qi Shuo could even react, a short knife was plunged viciously into the back of his head. Bai Xi dropped to the ground, panting heavily.
"You're..." Before he could finish his sentence, Qi Shuo was dead, his face frozen in a mask of shock and disbelief.
[Player Bai Xi has achieved a cross-tier kill against Mid-Tier Player Qi Yubin of the same rank. Points awarded will be calculated at the end of the game.]
Once she caught her breath, Bai Xi stood up and collected the three cards and the dagger from the ground. Stowing them in her system space, she turned and darted into the apartment complex.
The complex was eerily quiet without a soul in sight, and even the security guards were gone. Sticking to the shadows of the trees, she carefully made her way back to her apartment.
The first thing she did upon entering was check for any signs of an intrusion.
Confirming it was safe, Bai Xi let out a sigh of relief. She sank into the sofa, curling herself into a tight ball, trembling with lingering fear.
It was only the second day of the game, yet she had already encountered two players back-to-back, neither of whom were easy to deal with.
Especially Qi Shuo—no, Qi Yubin. Everything about him had been fake from the very beginning. His prior friendliness and warmth were likely just a ruse to test her.
Bai Xi didn't know where she had slipped up to make Qi Yubin so certain she was a new player.
Thinking of this, she let out a soft sigh. This game was just too difficult!
She took out the three cards Qi Yubin had dropped: a Speed Card, an Invisibility Card, and an Item Card, along with his Black Gold Dagger.
Both the Speed Card and the Invisibility Card were Green-tier. The latter allowed the user to turn invisible for ten minutes.
The Item Card was Blue-tier. It allowed the user to take one item from this world back to their original world, making it essentially a useless card.
The Black Gold Dagger was a Gray-tier weapon. It was a game reward that could only be used within the game world, and the same applied to the other cards.
It seemed her luck wasn't bad; she had mostly obtained Green and Blue-tier items, without a single White-tier one.
After putting the items away, a wave of drowsiness washed over her. Bai Xi dozed off on the sofa—she was simply too exhausted!
Meanwhile, on the street outside the apartment complex, a group of people discovered the murdered Qi Yubin.
"Boss, look, there's a dead body over there."
The men walked over and clicked their tongues in amazement as they examined Qi Yubin's corpse.
"It was an expert! Killed with a single strike."
"Look at his expression—full of shock and disbelief. He probably never expected to be killed!"
"Boss, was this done by a player?"
The middle-aged man they called Boss furrowed his brows. "The killer is definitely a veteran player. Let's be careful so we don't become their next target."