Chapter 7: Trouble, Time to Slice

But at this moment, she was still staring at the live chat without blinking.

The moment she looked up, they could no longer hold back.

【Damn... Stupid Sister, you’re going the wrong way!】

【Stupid Sister went the wrong way, come back quickly, there’s no one over there.】

【Geez, how can she even get that wrong?】

【She really is so stupid. Aside from her luck, she’s completely useless.】

【Here we are, staying up half the night, obsessed with a completely useless woman.】

【Are you proud of that? How is this any different from being a fly?】

【Hello there, Emperor of Flies.】

【Hello everyone, Brother Fly.】

【Pfft, hahahahaha.】

After washing her hair, Jiang Xiaoya felt lightheaded. After all, she hadn't eaten or slept well for days; the only reason she was still alive was because her soul had been swapped. Seeing a blue tent, she assumed Zhou Yuyu had already set it up. She wobbled over and gave the tent a firm pat.

"Pretty sturdy."

She bent down, intending to crawl inside.

【Ding, valuable item detected, valuable item detected...】

Jiang Xiaoya’s bending motion nearly caused her to tumble over.

Holy crap...

Jiang Xiaoya planted her feet in the sand and quickly recoiled, the expression on her face shifting like a chaotic palette.

However, she quickly remembered something. Having just come from the police station, she recalled them saying that all the severed limbs had been recovered, and she hadn't heard of any other cases involving severed limbs in the city.

As this thought crossed her mind, she felt a bit more energized and used the moonlight to carefully examine her surroundings.

Although it was near the coast, tourists wouldn't set up camp on the tidal flats; they would be on the sandy ground further up the shore.

She had to admit, this tent was pitched quite well, though it was a bit old.

【Ding, valuable item detected, valuable item detected...】

The system continued its incessant reminders.

What kind of valuable item could there possibly be?

Jiang Xiaoya scanned the area. It was completely barren. Was she supposed to jump into the sea? There had to be treasure in the sea.

Still rubbing her hair with a towel, she kicked a beer can.

The first task for the show’s participants was "scavenging"—in simple terms, picking up trash. There were no strict categories for this, but to prevent participants from disrespecting the work, some rules were set. One of them was that failing to pick up a valuable, harmless item was considered a foul.

Although Jiang Xiaoya had only been on the show for three days, it had become a reflex; she subconsciously reached down to pick up the can.

While bending over, she saw something protruding from the ground where the tent was staked. It looked like a knife handle?

Where would Zhou Yuyu get a knife handle to stake down a tent?

Jiang Xiaoya leaned in closer to observe the handle. It looked a bit rusty, and the pattern on the hilt... *hiss*, she couldn't quite make it out. It had red veins that made it look increasingly mysterious.

Could it be an antique?

If it were an antique, it would definitely be worth some money.

The more she thought about it, the better she felt, and the smile on her face grew brighter.

I’m rich, I’m rich!!!

"I can catch the moon..."

"Goodbye, mother, I’m setting sail tonight. Don’t worry about me, I have the oars of joy and wisdom."

Jiang Xiaoya squatted on the ground, digging into the soil with both hands. Just as she was halfway through, a dark shadow suddenly emerged from the tent.

Thinking it was Zhou Yuyu, Jiang Xiaoya spoke without looking up.

"Where did you pick this up? Let’s use something else to stake the..."

Sensing an odd presence above her, her singing stopped abruptly. She slowly raised her gaze and locked eyes with a pair of eyes.

The corners of those eyes were covered in deep wrinkles, and the gaze was cold and sinister.

For a few seconds, Jiang Xiaoya’s brain short-circuited, but her hands had already naturally and forcefully pulled the knife handle out of the ground.

In the faint moonlight, the reflection on the blade was clear, as were the red mottled stains within the reflection.

They were as bright as the fluid of life.

"..."

The atmosphere became terrifyingly quiet.

The man stared at Jiang Xiaoya without blinking, and Jiang Xiaoya stared at the knife in her hand without blinking, her peripheral vision catching the man’s hand-flicking motion.

"You know now? Hmm?"

He spoke. It sounded like he hadn't spoken in a long time; his voice was hoarse and unpleasant.

"Know... know... know what?!!"

Jiang Xiaoya retorted. Not knowing what else to do, she took a deep breath, her bright smile stiffening. "Big brother, sorry about that. I’m just scavenging. I thought this knife of yours was pretty nice. Oh my, first time I’ve seen a knife this color, it’s quite unique..."

Her eyes darted to the tent that had collapsed because she pulled the knife out, and she quickly tried to remedy the situation.

"I’m really sorry, my apologies. It’s all my fault. My mother taught me since I was little not to pick up random things. Look at me, I’ve knocked over your tent. I’ll help you set it back up right now."

She started to move, but her wrist was suddenly gripped.

Jiang Xiaoya felt something crawling over her body—dense, creepy, and skin-crawling. She looked at the hand holding the knife, then at her gripped wrist, her pupils dilating to their maximum size.

The viewers in the live stream were terrified by the man’s cold, sinister gaze.

【What is he doing? She just pulled out his knife, is that really necessary?】

【Are you blind? Jiang Xiaoya knocked over his tent, isn't it normal for him to be angry?】

【Don't you guys notice that Stupid Sister's expression is a bit off?】

【Yeah, she usually looks abnormal, but now that she’s acting normal, it’s actually kind of unsettling.】

【The abnormal one is the man, right? What does he want?】

【Doesn't anyone think the red dye on the knife is weird? It looks... kind of gruesome.】

【F*ck! That’s blood!】

【Blood? How could there be blood on a knife?】

【The more you think about it, the scarier it gets. Everyone, call the police!】

【Thinking about it even more makes it scarier. Call the police, call the police! Protect our Stupid Sister!】

【Stupid Sister: I really thank you all for that!】

Jokes aside, kind-hearted viewers quickly took out their phones to call the police.

"Yes, yes, we are all watching on the live stream. That man is definitely not a good person. You should really dispatch officers to check it out. What? It doesn't meet the criteria for dispatch? No, this is very dangerous... Ah! He’s attacking! They have a knife!! Please hurry!! Ah!! Go quickly, Stupid Sister is in danger!"

At this point, not just the police officers, but even the sleepy owner of the internet cafe was jolted awake.

Back at the police station, after seeing Jiang Xiaoya off, the criminal investigation team had stayed behind to work overtime, screening the victim's social circle and investigating his usual residence, friends, and associates.

While they were busy, the door was suddenly pushed open. They had arranged for someone to monitor Jiang Xiaoya’s live stream, and something had happened to her.

Everyone stood up in shock.

The police station’s phones were soon ringing off the hook, all reporting the incident.

"Oh my god, this Jiang Xiaoya is quite the firebrand," and quite the troublemaker.

The veteran officer wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. In all his years on the job, he had never encountered anything so bizarre.

It had only been a few hours, and how many times had Jiang Xiaoya visited their station?

She might as well just stay here; it’s safer!!

Although the others didn't say anything, their expressions were equally grim.