A witch can always find new ways to torment you, striking when you least expect it.

The first rule of cherishing your life is to stay far away from witches.

Except for Suna. She’s absolutely amazing. (Declaration: This line was not added under duress. I was not threatened.)

— Excerpt from One Hundred Survival Tips for the Blasphemer

Under the high-intensity ultraviolet light, Yang Yi’s skin began to peel away, yet he paid it no mind.

Compared with burning, the pain barely registered.

What truly steadied him was a simple thought: This was a dream. He would not actually die.

If death came, then so be it. Perhaps next time he would have the same nightmare, and he could learn from this failure.

“Aren’t you afraid of death?”

Wei Qian’s voice came through Robot Number Eight.

In reality, Wei Qian sat inside the laboratory, watching Yang Yi’s condition on a tablet while keeping a close eye on the timer, waiting for his answer.

She was more nervous than he was.

She had already lowered the ultraviolet intensity in secret. The claim about death after sixty seconds had been nothing more than a bluff.

Killing Yang Yi would be a terrible decision.

Not for research. Not for saving Dijie.

“Even if I told you, you wouldn’t believe me. Better not to say it.”

Yang Yi’s tone was calm, almost detached.

“Speak. I’ll decide what to believe.”

“Fine. But I’m telling the truth. Prepare yourself.”

Yang Yi cleared his throat.

“The truth is… you, Dijie, and every player aboard this ship died. Over four thousand years ago. This place is a dream. I’m from a new batch of players. We found the Sanctuary Vessel…”

He did not hide anything.

He explained everything he had seen aboard the abandoned Sanctuary ship, including how he had discovered Wei Qian’s corpse.

“That’s the situation. I entered the dream and became Dijie. I came to find you because I needed the Rat Killer.”

Inside the laboratory, Wei Qian listened with her mouth slightly open.

Her red pupils trembled violently.

She could hardly accept it.

By the time Yang Yi finished speaking, sixty seconds had long passed.

Yet he did not die.

New skin formed, only to peel away again.

“You’re messing with me!”

Yang Yi realised he had been tricked by a witch once more.

The ultraviolet lamps shut off.

The laboratory door opened.

Wei Qian stood there.

She looked frail, her face pale. Her right leg was amputated below the knee, wrapped in bloodstained bandages. She leaned on a crutch.

“Come in. Ultraviolet light at this level can’t kill a bloodkin so quickly. You’d need at least ten times the intensity for that.”

She beckoned him inside.

Yang Yi stepped forward. His body regenerated rapidly, though his vitality limit had dropped to 127.

“Your name is Yang Yi, correct?

Honestly, I don’t want to believe what you said. But I can’t find a flaw in it.”

Wei Qian turned to face him.

Yang Yi walked casually to the food printer, entered a code, and produced a plate of braised pork knuckle.

He took a bite.

The taste was foul, sour and rotten, like chewing on a dead rat. He gagged immediately.

“Vampires find everything disgusting except blood. Cooked food is the worst. And they can’t digest it.”

Wei Qian spoke evenly.

“Tch. Looks like being a werewolf suits me better. Eat whatever I want.”

Yang Yi’s opinion of vampirism sank even lower.

Wei Qian stared at him in silence.

He felt less and less like Dijie.

The real Dijie suffered from severe anorexia. He refused to eat anything, even resisted drinking blood.

Wei Qian had gone to great lengths to force him to consume something.

Memories surfaced.

A faint warmth stirred in her chest.

“Yang Yi, you say we’re dead. I don’t see it that way. Right now, I feel alive. Alive in your dream.”

There was no despair in her voice.

No resignation.

“As for the Rat Killer… I never actually developed it. It was only an idea.”

“But since you’ve said it, then I will make it a reality.”

She tapped rapidly on the tablet. Moments later, the security door opened again.

A line of robots entered, nine in total. With their mechanical arms, they dragged in a large group of unconscious research personnel and carried them deeper into the laboratory.

There were more than twenty people.

After setting them down, the robots immediately departed. More batches were still coming.

“Some of these players might still be saved. If the parasitic duration is under four hours, the toxin won’t have fully fixed their cognition.”

“But I don’t have time to examine them one by one. Now they must be sacrificed. It’s the only way to save this ship and wipe out those cursed rats.”

Wei Qian explained as she moved inward, leaning on her crutch.

She had already prepared for mass-producing the Love Elixir. With only minor adjustments to the procedure, she could attempt large-scale production of the Rat Killer.

She had hesitated before.

After hearing Yang Yi’s information, she no longer doubted the plan would succeed.

Under Unit Eight’s coordination, the unconscious players were loaded into empty cylindrical tanks.

Yang Yi glanced at the scene once, then looked away.

He was certain of one thing.

If the wicked truly went to hell, witches would be the first to arrive.

Inside the tanks, the subjects’ limbs had been removed. They floated in fluid, a tube inserted into the back of each skull.

…

Yang Yi had little to do but stand guard while Wei Qian worked on the Rat Killer.

During that time, several half-rat thralls feigning unconsciousness were smuggled inside, attempting to sabotage the research and incite chaos.

The explosives hidden on their bodies even destroyed two robots.

Fortunately, Yang Yi reacted instantly, killing them with brutal efficiency.

After that, any half-rat thralls brought in were missing arms or legs.

Only those rendered completely incapable of movement were permitted into the lab.

About three hours later, Wei Qian emerged from the laboratory.

She handed Yang Yi twenty vials and a sheet of paper.

“This is a pheromone agent. Shatter it on the ground, and nearby house-nesting rats and rat thralls will die. Its effectiveness drops sharply against heavily mutated fused rat colonies. I’ve included the formula as well. You may find it useful.”

“No need. Suna says she has a new idea. Something that could produce an even better rat poison.”

“Oh?”

Wei Qian raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued.

“If we ever meet again, tell me what kind of rat poison could surpass the Rat Killer.”

“If there’s a chance, I’ll bring you a sample.”

Yang Yi replied, preparing to depart.

The twenty vials might not be enough to eliminate every rat thrall and parasite, but they would resolve the immediate crisis.

Wei Qian had produced forty vials in total.

Twenty went to Yang Yi.

The remaining twenty were assigned to the robots, who would release them through the ventilation system for internal dispersal.

As production continued, the rats and their thralls were doomed.

There was no shortage of raw materials.

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