Chapter 1: She Does Not Wish to Die

“Someone has to die. What should we do?”

“What else? Pick the most useless one.”

Everyone’s eyes landed simultaneously on Lu Xi.

Standing in the corner amidst a fog thick with thorns, Lu Xi blinked in utter confusion.

Damn it—she had transmigrated.

Not only had she landed in a horror game, she’d found herself in the body of a disposable character who shared her name.

And she was supposed to die right at the start?!

How was that fair? This was pure bullying.

“Let’s just choose her. She doesn’t have any skills or tools, and all she ever does is hide in the group, eat too much, and waste resources,” one of the players suggested.

The others hesitated for a few seconds, then agreed.

Lu Xi quickly retreated a few steps and crossed her hands. “No, please! I don’t eat that much.”

Give her a moment to catch her breath.

She couldn’t just die right after transmigrating.

As much as Lu Xi couldn’t accept it, she had to face reality. She was now inside the world of an unlimited survival novel she’d been following recently. The plot was gripping, the horror atmosphere well-crafted, and she’d been utterly engrossed.

If there was one thing she’d nitpick…

The novel was still ongoing, not yet finished.

And then there was the disposable character in the story—utterly forgettable, a deadweight who clung to the main group and barely survived a few arcs.

Then she died.

This side character was also named Lu Xi.

Lu Xi had felt so frustrated reading about her namesake’s death. It just felt so unlucky.

And now, after a night’s sleep, she’d actually become that expendable Lu Xi in the novel.

“Lu Xi, you’re a new player and so useless. We’ve protected you so many times. If it wasn’t for us in the earlier arcs, you’d have died long ago.”

“That’s right. Now the ghost lady insists on a human sacrifice. You should be the good one this time, do your part, and consider it your way of repaying us for keeping you alive.”

“You’re useless anyway…”

Lu Xi quickly interrupted, “Wait, listen to me! Even if we step back for a moment—”

“Even if you step back a thousand times, it’s useless. Hurry up, if we wait for the ghost lady to catch up, none of us will survive.”

No one wants to die for no reason.

Especially not Lu Xi, who cherished her life and was terrified of death—a real coward at heart.

Heaven had chosen the wrong person to throw into a horror game.

Heaven, it serves you right for not being merciful!

How was this even fair?

Wait!

She remembered that the heroine in this novel was the embodiment of kindness, beauty, and virtue. Maybe she could beg the graceful, compassionate protagonist for help?

Lu Xi’s eyes swept quickly over the group, locking onto two people.

There were no name tags on anyone’s faces, but Lu Xi just knew.

Her sixth sense told her those two were definitely Ji Yunxuan, the male lead, and Jiang Yanyan, the female lead.

With their impossibly perfect looks and the gentle aura surrounding them, there was no mistaking the luminous, kind-hearted heroine.

“Yan… Yanyan?” Lu Xi put on her sweetest smile, her eyes pleading for help as she called out softly.

In this world, the heroine was gentle, beautiful, and exceptionally kind-hearted.

Surely she wouldn’t stand by and watch someone die?

Under Lu Xi’s hopeful gaze, Jiang Yanyan’s face indeed showed compassion. She spoke softly, “Let’s not do this. Lu Xi doesn’t have any skills. In a horror game where we constantly have to survive, she’s already quite pitiful. If we abandon her now…”

She didn’t finish, but her eyes reddened, shimmering with unshed tears.

Lu Xi: Heroine! You’re my goddess! My savior!

Truly worthy of being the protagonist—while everyone else was eager to send her off to die, only she was willing to step forward.

Ji Yunxuan, the equally stunning male lead, gently put his arm around Jiang Yanyan’s shoulders and said in a low voice, “Don’t be so soft-hearted. She’s dead weight. Even if we protect her today, she’ll die by accident tomorrow.”

Lu Xi: …

She wanted to curse!

What kind of trash male lead was this?

The kind-hearted heroine had just spoken up for her, refusing to treat her as cannon fodder, and here he was, stirring up trouble!

A cold wind swept through, rustling the leaves on either side, and the surrounding fog seemed to grow even denser.

“Hurry up! We can’t delay any longer. That must be the ghost lady pushing us.”

“Yeah, she only wants one sacrifice to let the rest go. What if the deal falls through if we keep stalling?”

The group started chattering. Except for a few silent ones, everyone else was egging Lu Xi on to hurry up and die.

Lu Xi was so nervous that her palms broke out in a cold sweat.

She’d been here barely five minutes, knew nothing, and the original Lu Xi really was a skill-less nobody.

Her only hope for survival now was to beg the heroine, Jiang Yanyan.

But this time, Jiang Yanyan simply turned away and buried her face in Ji Yunxuan’s chest, sobbing quietly.

“No—” Lu Xi panicked. “I’m not dead yet! Please, save me! Don’t start mourning so soon!”

She wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but Jiang Yanyan seemed to stiffen at her words.

As Lu Xi continued to hesitate, two burly boys advanced menacingly, clubs in hand.

Her heart leapt into her throat.

Her eyes darted around frantically, taking in the surroundings.

She’d only read up to the point where the original Lu Xi died. She had no clue what happened next or how the story ended.

They were on a cliff. The main characters had been driven there, the ghost lady blocking the path back to the village, pointing persistently toward the abyss.

Lu Xi didn’t know how the group had decided that “sacrificing one person will let everyone else survive,” but everyone seemed to accept it as fact.

“Lu Xi, I don’t hit women. So, are you going to jump yourself, or do you want me to kick you off? Pick one,” said a crew-cut, broad-shouldered boy.

Lu Xi’s face turned deathly pale. She swallowed hard and took a deep breath. “I’ll… I’ll do it myself. Just give me a second.”

She closed her eyes, patted her chest a few times, and then, in one decisive burst—

She ran.

Before anyone could react, Lu Xi mustered every ounce of strength, her adrenaline surging, and shot out like an arrow.

Jump off a cliff?

No way.

What a terrible, painful way to die.

This was a horror world—a game. Every second she stayed alive was a win.

With the ghost lady blocking the path forward and a cliff behind, she might as well take a chance.

Jumping meant certain death. After all, this wasn’t some fantasy world where falling off a cliff brought miraculous opportunities.

And even if it did, she wasn’t the protagonist—she had no plot armor, no luck, nothing of the sort.

Either way, it was a dead end. She might as well take her chances with the ghost lady blocking the road.