What the hell was this "hostility value"? How could that even count as part of the reward? An Xiaomei silently grumbled in her heart.
The game seemed to sense her confusion and immediately emitted a mechanical prompt:
"Because you just killed a Mutant Fishman King, you have incurred the enmity of its tribe. Whenever you appear within their line of sight, under equal conditions, mutant fishmen will prioritize attacking you.
However, your rewards from killing them will also be increased by 30%."
Well, at least it wasn't all bad. As for the 30% increase in hostility—she had already killed their king, so what was the point of worrying about it now?
The sight of An Xiaomei defeating three mutant fishmen, including one Fishman King, in barely over a minute left the livestream audience completely dumbfounded. It was a miraculous, world-shaking reversal.
[I'm honestly in shock—why do those monsters look like easy prey when she fights them, like she's chopping vegetables?]
[I don't get it either. But as long as she survives, that's all that matters to me.]
[Don't tell me this Auntie An is actually a hidden master from some ancient clan? How else could she be this strong and so clean with her moves?]
An Xiaomei's only living relative, Yang An, stared blankly at the screen. A hidden master? My mom? He'd never heard of such a thing in his life.
[Let's not jump to wild theories. Maybe she just got some powerful items from the game. This National Fate Game can even extend people's lives—nothing should surprise us anymore.]
[I'm still worried, though. The link with that foreign island is temporary. Can Aunt An really make it back safely before time's up?]
The camera switched again—An Xiaomei had already left her main island. If she had stayed there, she would've been a perfect glowing target under the moonlight on that silver-white ice field—basically offering herself up as live target practice for the island natives.
Thankfully, the set of winter clothes crafted in the game could change color based on the wearer's will. As soon as she entered the numbered foreign island, she changed her outfit to black to blend into the shadows.
Using her psychic ability, An Xiaomei stealthily observed her surroundings, carefully investigating the island's conditions.
This island seemed inhabited solely by the mutant fishmen tribe. Perhaps other creatures had once lived here, but they had long since been driven out or slaughtered. The island's resources were meager—except for one thing: a mine located in the distance.
However, the mine was heavily guarded by the fishmen. With just her alone, and without using her space treasures, there was no way she could force her way in.
She glanced at the timer on her wristwatch—only 1 hour, 34 minutes, and 45 seconds remained. She couldn't leave empty-handed after all this.
Then it struck her—weren't these mutant fishmen themselves… resources?
Yes! According to the earlier game notification, each one she killed was like a walking resource chest.
Her eyes lit up at once, and her entire aura shifted. If she had been a lazy cat before, now she was a hunting tiger brimming with killing intent.
An Xiaomei decided to adopt a divide and conquer strategy, targeting the fishmen patrolling the outer perimeter of the mine. Their movement patterns were predictable and cyclic.
Interestingly, the fishmen didn't seem to notice her unless she got very close. It appeared they had a fatal weakness—poor eyesight, especially at night.
This gave An Xiaomei an enormous advantage. Each time she encountered one, she would first set up a sound-proof barrier before engaging it in close combat.
This time, she didn't go for a quick kill. Instead, she treated the fights as training—sharpening her battle instincts and reacquainting herself with her body's combat rhythm.
At first, it took her about four minutes to kill a single fishman. But as she grew more experienced and learned their attack patterns, her speed improved dramatically.
In the end, she could take one down in just 45 seconds.
Of course, battle injuries were inevitable. But minor wounds didn't bother her—she had survived countless worlds filled with danger and death. Her pain tolerance was far beyond that of ordinary people.
Then, another system alert chimed:
"Ding! A friendly reminder to adventurer An Xiaomei: You have four minutes remaining. Please evacuate immediately to avoid being stranded on this island.
Friendly tip: Mutant fishmen's attack power doubles during the daytime."
By then, An Xiaomei was only four meters away from her main island. She hadn't left yet simply because she was in the middle of battle frenzy. Her relentless fighting had drawn the attention of a Fishman Commander, and now four of them were blocking her retreat.
Still, her fighting spirit burned stronger than ever. She didn't act recklessly, though—she fought defensively, gradually retreating toward her own island. Time was running out.
The commander-class fishman was highly intelligent. It quickly discerned her escape route and was about to signal its subordinates—
—but before it could utter a sound, a Sword of Death pierced through its vital point, cutting off the warning in its throat.
The remaining fishmen were no challenge. Under An Xiaomei's strikes, they fell like torn rags.
Finally, just 20 seconds before the system's countdown ended, the blood-soaked An Xiaomei dashed back onto her main island. Watching the horde of mutant fishmen swarming the opposite shore, her mind, which had been running on pure battle instinct, finally cleared.
Thank goodness I ran when I did. If she had been a second slower, facing those hundreds of enraged fishmen would've been impossible.
Then came the game's notification sound:
"Congratulations, adventurer An Xiaomei.
You have slain a total of 34 ordinary mutant fishmen and one commander-level fishman.
You are awarded six Primary Resource Chests and one Intermediate Resource Chest.
The Mutant Fishmen Tribe's supreme ruler, the Fishman Emperor, has issued a death order against you.
Their tribe's hostility value toward you has reached the maximum—100%."
As for this so-called "hostility value," An Xiaomei was already numb to it—she had plenty of enemies anyway.
But the words "death order" sent a chill down her spine. Something told her… this was not good news.