Chapter 15: Truths and New Threats

The old shoe lingered in Yun Shi’s inventory because he hasn’t traded with island NPCs.
His gray items, never auto-sold, stayed put.

NPC goods are subpar and overpriced.
For non-essentials, Yun Shi crafts cheap substitutes—every copper saved counts.

Facing his teammates’ odd stares, he stiffens, explaining, “I just didn’t trade with NPCs.”

“Yeah, yeah, we get it, bro,” they say, their expressions screaming, No need to explain your weird keepsake habit.

They clearly don’t buy it.
Everyone trades during NPC quests—who doesn’t?
They suspect he couldn’t bear to toss the shoe, maybe even bought it back after auto-selling.

Yun Shi: …

Whatever. He brushes it off, stone-faced.

The plot continues.

Seeing the shoe, the human-snake Yan Ziyun believes their story.
Glancing at her monstrous form, she rasps, “Where’s my brother?
On the island?
Does he know… and that’s why he didn’t come himself?”

A choice appears:

[Kind Lie]
[Truth]

Stream viewers, via Cherry’s POV, see the options.
The sister’s forlorn look tugs heartstrings:

“Sigh, she’s worried her brother hates her look, but he’s long gone…”
“What a knife! A big one!”
“Watch out, main! Her red status hasn’t cleared.
Wrong answer might frenzy her!”
“Sh*t, true!”
“What to pick?
Telling her he’s dead will set her off, right?”
“She’s so pitiful, and her brother too.
Give her some hope while she’s lucid.”

The team notices her status.
Cherry and Jiang Shu exchange pitying looks, about to speak, when Yun Shi’s cold, emotionless voice cuts through.

“Dead.”

Cherry & Jiang Shu: …Bro, a heads-up?!

As expected, the answer enrages Yan Ziyun.
Her eyes narrow to slits, red tongue hissing, her massive tail shredding a nearby tree to splinters.

“Dead? He’s dead?! Brother…”

Her screams pierce the air, her health bar spiking and plummeting.
Her tail lashes, wrecking everything nearby.

Yun Shi activates his ultimate, speeding the team out of her range.

She rages but doesn’t pursue.

Cherry’s heart pounds.
This dungeon has only Yan Ziyun as the boss.
They’ve beaten her—wiping now would be…

He glances at the stream, seeing complaints about Yun Shi, but feels he had a reason.
Before he can defend, Bo He speaks.

“This was the right choice.”

Jiang Shu eyes the frenzied boss, then his calm cousin, typing a slow “?”

Bo He explains, “A lie loops back to the shoe.
He cherished it for years—why’s it with strangers, conveniently shown to his monster sister?
If you were her, what’d you think?”

Jiang Shu wails, “I’d think they’re up to no good… This game hates me!”

A 50/50 chance, and he’d pick wrong every time!

The stream floods with “Same” and “Me too” comments.

After venting, Yan Ziyun calms, her inhuman eyes brimming with hatred.
Slithering forward, she hisses, “How did my brother die?”

Yun Shi recounts the game’s opening scene.

Hearing it, Yan Ziyun’s voice drips with venom: “Xiao Yue, what a friend!”

Xiao Yue, the girl sneaking out at night, clearly has a story.

Through questioning, the team pieces it together.

Yan Ziyun and the survivors fled a ship attacked by sea monsters.

The island wasn’t safe—mutant plants, animals, and a terrifying python monster roamed.

An old woman, a cultist, preached the disaster as divine punishment.
Initially dismissed, repeated deaths drove survivors to her superstition.
They started offering sacrifices.

Women, deemed weaker, were chosen first, with Yan Ziyun and Xiao Yue—naive, frail students—prime targets.
Xiao Yue, injured, was initially picked.

Yan Ziyun pleaded for her, but the survivors were cold.
Exhausted, she never expected her “friend” to betray her.

Xiao Yue was spared; Yan Ziyun became the sacrifice, thrown to the python’s island with cries of “God, forgive us” and “Sorry, it’s not on purpose.”

The python came.
Desperate, Yan Ziyun fought for survival—and ate the snake.

Jiang Shu, Cherry, and the stream gulp in unison.

What a badass!

She survived but wasn’t truly alive.
Mutant animals are toxic—unlike normal beasts, they drop materials, not meat.
Eating the snake poisoned her, turning her into this human-snake monster.

Yun Shi frowns.
“Why not take revenge?”

Her damage is high, fueled by hatred and inhuman instincts.
The dungeon entrance isn’t sealed—she could easily kill her betrayers.

Yan Ziyun says, “I don’t remember clearly, but a mental ability user came.
He barred me from the other island.
I couldn’t leave…
But my hatred never faded.
Each day, his influence weakens.
Now—”

Her face twists in madness, staring at the entrance.
Suppressing her urges, she closes her eyes.
“Go. Leave fast.
I can’t guarantee I won’t eat you next time…”

“I couldn’t become him, but I don’t want to kill the innocent.”

The human-snake monster slithers into the dark.
Her tail smashes a stone wall, revealing a high-tech chest.

The dungeon reward.

As Jiang Shu and Cherry marvel at the siblings’ tragedy and open the chest, Yun Shi notices a blinking red dot in the wall.

A…

Bo He, following his gaze, uses a displacement skill and returns.
“Camera.”

A camera?
On a primitive island?
The chest’s design is equally futuristic.

They exchange looks, thinking of the mental ability user.
Per the plot, he’s no ordinary figure.

The chest opens smoothly.

Two golden system messages flash across all players’ skies:

[System: Congratulations to players [Clouds and Breezes], [MistInTheView], [StarKnight], [CherryWhatFlavor] for first-clearing dungeon [Snake Woman]!]
[System: Congratulations to players [Clouds and Breezes], [MistInTheView], [StarKnight], [CherryWhatFlavor] for unlocking [Bloodstained! Twin Islands]!]

Bloodstained Twin Islands?

Yun Shi’s puzzled.
After grabbing rewards, the team is teleported out.

Outside, Twin Islands has transformed, and only their four remain.

Bo He explains, “The map split.
The original Twin Islands holds other players.
Bloodstained Twin Islands is exclusive to those who cleared the hidden dungeon and Yan Ziyun’s plot.”

The island’s monsters aren’t just mutant wildlife anymore.

Ahead, a mob with torches spots them at the entrance.
Once green-named NPCs, they’re now red, hostile, and vicious.