Seeing Lin Chu remain silent, Bai Wei frowned.

“Don’t play dumb.”

Lin Chu glanced sideways at the surveillance camera above.

Although the building had lost power, given Old Man Cheng’s eccentric nature, it was entirely possible he had rigged things to mess with them.

Following Lin Chu’s gaze, Bai Wei immediately understood her meaning.

She took the hint, drew in a deep breath, face tense with frustration, and turned to continue walking upstairs, muttering under her breath:

“If it weren’t for me just now, you wouldn’t have had a chance to get the item. Don’t forget that.”

Behind her, Lin Chu raised an eyebrow slightly.

What Bai Wei said was, in fact, true.

When she was cleaning No. 31’s wounds earlier, only she and Bai Wei were close enough to notice. Although Xia Zhengyang was filming nearby, the footage only captured Lin Chu working on the wound.

He didn’t see the part where another wound had already begun growing scales when Subject 23 burst into the room.

But Lin Chu and Bai Wei both saw it.

Bai Wei seemed to know from the very start that Lin Chu was also a mission participant.

The moment she saw the scales, she passed a hemostatic clamp to Lin Chu, subtly signaling her willingness to cooperate.

That was why Lin Chu hadn’t dodged or retreated when the fish-scaled person charged at her.

If she had moved, she would’ve lost her chance to obtain the scales at such close range.

Standing her ground was risky, but given her current physical strength, it was a gamble worth taking.

What she didn’t expect was Bai Wei’s unexpected move.

Not only had Bai Wei taken the scaled person down quickly and efficiently, she even bought Lin Chu the time she needed.

Staring at Bai Wei’s stiff back, Lin Chu narrowed her eyes slightly.

Just like that, the two of them climbed to the twelfth floor—one in front, one behind.

Lin Chu showed no change in expression or breath, as if it hadn’t tired her at all.

Bai Wei panted slightly and, glancing back to see Lin Chu looking perfectly normal, couldn’t help muttering, “You’re seriously lucky, huh.”

Lin Chu was momentarily puzzled, then quickly understood what she meant.

Bai Wei likely thought her physical condition came entirely from the three physical enhancement pills she had taken. The effects of those pills were notoriously inconsistent—how much they helped depended on one’s constitution and luck.

Which meant…

Bai Wei probably hadn’t encountered the body-modification pill yet.

Maintaining a two-meter safe distance between them, the two entered the hallway and walked all the way to the end.

Lin Chu’s room was at the farthest end, so she had to walk past Bai Wei.

Bai Wei stopped in front of her own door and turned her head warily as Lin Chu walked past.

After Lin Chu passed her, Bai Wei looked down at the object in her hand, eyes filled with complicated emotions.

Lin Chu didn’t care what Bai Wei was thinking. She reached her room, took out her key card, and was just about to open the door—

When the person beside her suddenly spoke.

“Lin Chu, do you seriously feel no guilt at all?”

Guilt?

Lin Chu’s hand paused slightly.

She thought it over for a moment, then looked at Bai Wei and replied earnestly:

“If you’re talking about ‘Xiao An,’ then I’m sorry.”

She said “sorry,” but not “I feel guilty.”

Without waiting for Bai Wei’s reaction, she stepped into her room, closed the door, locked it in one smooth motion.

Left standing in the hallway, Bai Wei’s expression changed like a color palette after hearing Lin Chu’s response.

Finally, she slammed her door shut in frustration.

“Xiao An?”

“What does this have to do with Xiao An?!”

“That conniving bastard Xiao An was taken out by me. What does that have to do with her?!”

“What the hell is this?”

“So I’m the only one who remembers the past, and everyone else involved has forgotten?”

Bai Wei opened her hand.

Inside was a black scale, still stained with blood.

It was the one Lin Chu had slipped into her hand as they brushed past each other.

She remembered what others used to say about Lin Chu in the original world:

—She didn’t talk much, but she was reliable and always kept her word.

Even that brief one-second agreement was enough for her to entrust her back to Bai Wei and then hand over the scale afterward.

Bai Wei knew she should be glad that she had such a capable partner in Lin Chu, which allowed the hidden mission to go so smoothly.

But she still hated her.

She hated how Lin Chu looked at her like she was a stranger.

That she hadn’t even remembered—she was that person’s daughter.

“Everyone else can forget, but Lin Chu—you’re the one who can’t.”

Bai Wei clenched her jaw and closed her hand around the scale. When she raised her eyes again, they were full of determined hatred.

In the room next door, Lin Chu, with her enhanced senses, had heard Bai Wei’s suppressed muttering clearly.

So Bai Wei’s resentment toward her wasn’t because of that survivor named Xiao An?

Then what was it?

Why was it something only she must not forget?

Lin Chu reviewed her brief 26-year life in the original world.

Her father died young, her mother remarried. Later, her mother was institutionalized, and her stepfather went to jail for a crime of passion.

Aside from those painful milestones, she couldn’t recall anything else she was supposed to remember.

Bai Wei…

Just then, a system notification interrupted her thoughts.

[Congratulations to the Host for completing the hidden mission in the Flooded World. Hidden Store unlocked at current level. You may now access the panel to make purchases.]

When she obtained the blood and fish scale samples from Subject 31, Lin Chu had immediately submitted her portion to the system.

That triggered a series of alerts she hadn’t had time to check through.

Now, a new notification had appeared.

Hidden Store?

Lin Chu thought back to the body-modification pill she had bought from Yu Hongfei.

He had said not everyone could purchase it—was it from this Hidden Store?

Suddenly more alert, Lin Chu opened the system shop and found the Hidden Store panel.

However, to her disappointment, only three items were available for purchase.

A Tang Dao, a crossbow, and a skill—Crisis Awareness.

Each item cost 100 points.

But Lin Chu already had both the Tang Dao and crossbow.

She’d seized them from the Ma Yan squad—most likely items from the Hidden Store.

Only the last skill remained…

Lin Chu tapped on the skill description.

[Basic Skill: Crisis Awareness
Skill Level: Upgradable
Effect: Sense the level of danger 5 minutes before it occurs
Learning Method: Painless, requires only 10 minutes]

“System, will there be any side effects during the 10-minute learning process?”

[Host, this is a basic skill in the mental domain. The learning process may cause temporary mental fatigue.]

“Just fatigue?”

[Yes, Host.]

“Will the skill activate immediately after purchase?”

[Yes, Host.]

After confirming with the system, Lin Chu quickly calculated her future needs. Completing the hidden mission had earned her 150 points.

She could afford to spend 100 points.

Points -100
Skill +1

After the purchase, her mind began to feel a little sluggish.

Drowsiness set in.

She lazily leaned back on the bed, waiting for the 10 minutes to pass.

Ten minutes wasn’t long. As soon as the time was up, her mind cleared immediately.

[Congratulations to Host for successfully learning Skill: Crisis Awareness. Skill Level 1.]