CHAPTER 22

Two of the four resident guests were now out.

Only two remained.

One was Wang Ji, the other was Chen Xufang.

Wang Ji was older—he used to be in a rock band, but in recent years, he had been “scratching his feet at home” (his words). This variety show basically saved his career.

Chen Xufang, on the other hand, was a rising young actor with growing popularity.

As soon as the chase began, Chen Xufang dove into the dance floor and buried himself in the crowd. He had no intention of coming out anytime soon.

Wang Ji, on the other hand, bolted out of the bar.

Only after dashing into the street did he realize his mistake.

Why was he running?

Blending into the crowd would’ve made him harder to find.

But then, another thought struck him.

Jiang Su had left the warehouse to chase after the others.

Which meant the props, the ones she had spilled out of the box, were still inside—untouched, because she, as a vampire, couldn’t directly hold them without getting eliminated.

But I can touch them.

The warehouse was empty.

Wasn’t this the perfect chance to go back and grab them?

Wang Ji made a bold decision—he turned around and headed back.

[Did Wang Ji figure out Jiang Su is in the alley? The back alley connects to the front entrance, so it is risky.]

[Wait, what? Why are you going back to the warehouse??]

[He’s going for the props.]

[…Oh no. Jiang Su is heading back too.]

[Dude, stop. She’s waiting behind the shipping containers!]

[Ugh, why does my adorable girl look like the ultimate villain?! Damn it! Why is this so exciting?!]

—

Wang Ji, oblivious to the chaos in the live chat, had no idea what awaited him.

Holding his breath slightly, he listened at the warehouse door.

Good. No sound.

He picked up a dice cup he had grabbed from the bar and tossed it inside. It landed with a heavy thunk, the dice rolling across the floor.

Still nothing.

Perfect.

The chat was losing its mind.

[LMAO this is actually a smart move, but why is it so funny?!]

[Wang Ji: I’m a genius. Jiang Su: OJBK.]

Wang Ji strode in confidently, heading straight for Zhao Qiuying.

[W is so miserable lol. Why is he still lying there pretending to be a corpse?]

[Maybe he’s still recovering from the heartbreak of being worth less than a gold bar.]

Wang Ji crouched beside Zhao Qiuying and reached for the props.

At that moment, Jiang Su landed lightly from the shipping container and pressed a hand to his back.

“May I bite you now?”

Wang Ji screamed, toppling straight onto Zhao Qiuying.

At the same time, the chat exploded with massive text:

[Wang Ji, in danger.]

[LMAO why is this so funny? Zhao Qiuying must be questioning life right now—why is a grown man collapsing onto him??]

Wang Ji cautiously turned his head and met Jiang Su’s gaze.

Only when he fully took in her face—so stunning it almost felt unreal—did his heart finally begin to settle.

Wang Ji struggled to get up and plopped down beside Zhao Qiuying, stretching out his hand in resignation. “Go ahead, bite me…”

Honestly, he felt a bit embarrassed.

Zhao Qiuying was lying there, his expression shifting slightly, a tinge of sourness welling up inside him.

And rightly so.

Jiang Su had thrown herself at others, biting their hands.

But when it came to him, it was just a ruthless downpour of crosses and Bibles. After that, she didn’t even spare him a glance.

Now, she was about to bite Wang Ji, and it was happening right beside him. No matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t help but feel bitter.

“There’s only one left,” Jiang Su said softly.

Wang Ji couldn’t figure it out and asked first, “How did you know I’d come back?”

Jiang Su replied, “Your personality.” She continued, “You’re bold and impulsive. When the stakes are high enough, you’re willing to take risks. This was evident throughout the first ten or so episodes of the battle royale. For example, in the Haunted Well episode, you forced yourself to endure your fear and lowered yourself into the well just to get an important clue…”

She spoke with ease, as if she’d analyzed him thoroughly.

Wang Ji was stunned.

[How much research did Jiang Su do before coming on this reality show?!]

[Damn, she studied this even more closely than the fans!]

[This show doesn’t even have that high of an appearance fee, but Miss Jiang is seriously dedicated.]

“So, I chose to go after He Feng first. He was an easy target. Once you saw me chasing someone else, you’d definitely return to the warehouse for the tools.”

[Hahaha, what does she mean by “an easy target”?!]

Wang Ji threw his head back in dramatic anguish. “He Feng, my guy! Tomorrow, you’re running 8,000 meters with a weight vest, courtesy of me!”

After wiping his face, Wang Ji asked, “Then… what about Chen Xufang? Tell me about his personality.”

Jiang Su responded, “Cautious.”

[Dog? Did she just insult him?]

[She means “cautious”! Chen Xufang is ridiculously good at survival games—he always sneaks into the grass and hides until the very last second…]

“So how do you plan to deal with him?” Wang Ji asked again, chuckling. “Like you said, he’s super cautious. He can lie low for three whole rounds if he has to—he’s incredibly patient.”

Jiang Su replied, “Did you forget? You’ve all been bitten by me. You’ve received my Embrace. You’re mine now. I’ll have you lure him out.”

Wang Ji felt his face heat up and awkwardly muttered, “He won’t trust us… He’ll suspect we’ve already been turned.”

Jiang Su said, “That’s simple. Mr. He, please put the tools back in the box.”

With a sigh, He Feng stepped out from the shadows.

“I’ve already been turned. If I touch it, I’ll die!” He Feng complained.

Jiang Su mercilessly ordered, “Put it back before you die.”

He Feng and the first turned player each picked up a Bible and a cross, putting them back in the box. At the same time, the broadcast announced their elimination.

Jiang Su then turned to Wang Ji. “Now, Mr. Wang, take it and go find Chen Xufang.”

Wang Ji, thoroughly impressed, obediently picked up the box.

[Jiang Su is so smart! She kept Wang Ji because, out of all the contestants, he was the most likely to obtain the tools! If He Feng went instead, Chen Xufang would immediately know something was off.]

[He Feng: Wow, thanks. I feel so attacked.]

Chen Xufang had been hiding in the dance floor for a while when he spotted Wang Ji hurrying over with the tools.

Wang Ji caught his breath and said, “The crosses… they’re all in here…”

Chen Xufang stood a meter away. “Open it and show me.”

Wang Ji complied.

Chen Xufang immediately relaxed. “Damn! Then you’re definitely not a vampire, right? Lend me the tools for a second—”

Even though he still had some doubts, the lure of the tools was too strong.

Wang Ji nodded and stepped forward.

Then, a hand landed on the back of Chen Xufang’s neck.

“Hello, I’m going to bite you now.”

And just like that, total annihilation.

[Even though this episode was short, it was absolutely hilarious!]

[When Jiang Su said “I’m going to bite you,” why did that sound so attractive?!]

[W was the only real newbie this round. Poor W—played for two minutes, eliminated for an hour.]

The chief director arrived at the bar with a complicated expression, clearing out the NPCs and preparing for the debrief.

It turned out that the girl in the woman’s arms in the photo was actually the first player who had been bitten. The production team had planted plenty of clues pointing to him. However, since Jiang Su had obtained the tools ahead of time, and the sudden addition of a female guest had thrown everyone off, everything quickly spiraled into chaos.

[LMAO, no one expected the director to make Ah Hui dress as a girl!]

(Ah Hui was the nickname of the first turned player.)

Everyone turned to Jiang Su. [How did you get the cross?]

Jiang Su pointed to the bar counter. “There was a Darwin fish on the wall and a Christmas bell on the table—both symbols of the church. In Western legends, the church hunts vampires. But the cross was missing. Because… it was on the bartender.”

“How did you make him give it to you?”

Jiang Su lowered her eyes slightly, her long lashes trembling. She looked delicate and captivating as she spoke.

“I told him that I had discovered he was feeding a vampire. If word got out, his reputation would be ruined. I have an undying grudge against vampires, so I hoped he would hand over the cross.”

From a narrative perspective, this kind of threat would be effective on a character like him.

“Wait, but how did you know he was feeding a vampire?”

Jiang Su pulled out her identity card.

“You are Candice’s thirty-second queen… You come here every day, sipping from your glass of wine and blood…”

The description was nearly identical to Zhao Qiuying’s.

[HOLY—she’s two generations ahead of Zhao Qiuying! And she’s a queen!]

[Zhao Qiuying’s great-grandmother?!]

[LMAO this backstory suddenly took a wild turn.]

“What does this part of the story reveal?” Wang Ji asked, puzzled.

Zhao Qiuying, however, caught on quickly. He instinctively locked his gaze onto Jiang Su and murmured, “It’s because of that line: ‘You come here every day, sipping from your glass of wine and blood.’

“When you had the bartender mix a drink for you, it was to confirm that all the drinks here came from his hand. He wouldn’t let anyone else touch his ingredients.

“So, aside from alcohol, there was blood in the glass.

“How could the bartender not know that?

“In fact, it’s entirely possible… that he was the one who put it there in the first place.”

Jiang Su: “Yes.”

Everyone: “……”

[Susu is really playing this so seriously and immersing herself completely! She reacts fast, observes carefully, and quickly takes control of the entire game!]

Even the other guests couldn’t help but be impressed.

He Feng said, “I heard from Wang Ji that you analyzed our personalities and behaviors… What about me?”

“And me!”

Jiang Su calmly responded, describing each of them one by one.

He Feng: “You’re really amazing… I have nothing to say.”

“This ability is incredible.” The praise kept coming.

What they didn’t realize was that analyzing mission targets’ personalities and behavioral habits from cold, dry data was merely a basic skill for an assassin.

In a battle royale game, you’re either the hunter or the hunted.

For them, it was just another increasingly difficult game. But for the former Jiang Su, it had been a part of everyday life.

There was nothing more natural than putting an assassin into a dark, tense environment to hunt others.

This brief live stream quickly made it onto trending topics.

Zhao Qiuying drove Jiang Su back to the building. The other guests, unable to resist, exchanged contact information with her.

#JiangSu#

This trending hashtag gained yet another layer of depth.

The trainees in the building weren’t particularly interested in reality shows. They were busy with training, and by the time they were done, the show had already aired.

“It ended this early?” someone asked, puzzled.

“Did Jiang Su pass out on set?” Yu Xinyan asked anxiously.

Wu Qingqing shook her head. “Impossible.”

“Guys, check the trending list!” someone suddenly shouted.

They followed the link and saw a video from a marketing account. It had already surpassed five million views.

When they clicked play, the first thing that appeared was a line of text:

[You will never know what bizarre skills this woman will surprise you with next…]

Meanwhile, Jiang Su, hugging a box of gold bars, was happily heading to the bank to exchange them.

Zhao Qiuying: ?

Zhao Qiuying: “They didn’t tell you that the gold bars were just props? Only the outer layer is gold-plated?”

Jiang Su’s expression instantly turned cold.

This show was produced by Weiguang → Weiguang is owned by the Cheng family → The show is stingy = Weiguang is stingy = The Cheng family is stingy ↓

I want to kill Cheng Yue.

The executives at Weiguang were blissfully unaware that a guillotine was now metaphorically hanging over their heads.

Zhao Qiuying whispered, “You can sell them to me. I’ll buy them for half the price of solid gold bars. How about that?”

Jiang Su agreed immediately. “Deal.”

Suddenly, she found Zhao Qiuying much more pleasant to look at.

Zhao Qiuying pressed his lips together before finally voicing the question that had been weighing on his mind for so long: “Before joining the reality show, you analyzed the other guests. Before joining the idol survival show, did you analyze me too?”

Jiang Su hadn’t.

How could she have known back then that she’d end up on this show?

But seeing the eagerness written all over his face, she casually tossed him a perfunctory answer: “Mmm, you’re a good person.”

Zhao Qiuying’s heart skipped a beat, and in his excitement, he slammed on the brakes.

Meanwhile…

Although Weiguang hadn’t offered her more appearance fees, many variety shows were now eyeing Jiang Su’s potential.

She didn’t even have to wait for her debut—she was already the hottest pick in their eyes!