After receiving the alarm warning from her main island, An Xiaomei immediately dropped the resources she was collecting and used her gifted two-way spatial passage to return at once. Thankfully, the game did not limit the number of times one could use a teleportation channel on their own main island.
The man's face lit up with excitement the moment he saw An Xiaomei emerge from the shimmering silver portal.
That silver portal—what a treasure! If he could get his hands on it… just the thought made his breathing grow rapid with greed.
Upon returning, the first thing An Xiaomei did was to scoop up all the resource piles scattered across her island. On the surface, it looked like she was simply storing them in her backpack, but in reality, she was transferring them into her bound storage space. Her backpack space was too limited—she needed to free up room for combat.
Seeing this, the man's greedy expression cooled slightly, replaced with a hint of caution.
As one of the top-tier adventurers in this game, he knew very well—someone holding that many supplies was definitely not an easy opponent.
An Xiaomei's sharp gaze locked onto the intruder. Both her hands were already gripping weapons—one of them coated with toxin extracted from thorn venom.
To know her enemy and better plan her tactics, she quickly activated her psychic ability to probe his information.
To her surprise—it was an acquaintance. Andemar Kaile, from country L. He was the very one who had tried to rally other adventurers to stop her from selling winter outfits earlier.
His ship was even equipped with an attack cannon, though fortunately, he didn't have enough energy stones to fire it freely.
Andemar's plan was simple. He wanted to use wits rather than direct combat—after all, he wasn't sure his hidden trump cards could defeat her, and conserving energy stones was a priority.
Having made up his mind, he stood proudly on the deck, crossing his arms with an air of superiority.
"Friend, I advise you to hand over some toll money. Otherwise, this ship's cannon won't be responsible if it fires on its own."
After saying that, Andemar gazed at her with smug arrogance.
He was bluffing, of course. If the other party panicked and backed down, that meant she was weak—just lucky. Then, when her guard was down, he could strike and reap the maximum benefit.
Andemar's calculations clinked away in his head like a cash register. As long as she showed fear first, his victory would be certain.
An Xiaomei, having already read his every thought, naturally wasn't going to let a greedy opportunist like him go. Besides, his ship was a fine prize—snatching it would be a beautiful bonus.
So, as his ship drew closer to her island, An Xiaomei grabbed the mooring rope and swiftly flipped onto the deck.
The instant her figure disappeared from sight, Andemar realized his plan had failed.
He gripped the handgun hidden in his sleeve—one of the items he had drawn from a high-level resource chest.
When An Xiaomei landed on the ship, Andemar immediately raised the gun and fired. But with her speed boots boosting her agility, the bullet only grazed her arm.
Feeling the sting of the wound, An Xiaomei moved even faster. In a flash, she appeared behind the man—then lunged forward, plunging both blades into his heart.
To ensure he wouldn't move again, she twisted the hilts a full 360 degrees, making absolutely sure he was dead.
"Y-you… how are you that fast…" were Andemar Kaile's final, bewildered words. It didn't make sense—her speed defied all logic.
Of course, that was thanks to the Star Serum she had developed herself. But that answer… well, he could go ask his god about it.
Sigh, she thought, glancing at her blades. "These two are getting dull again. Hopefully, he's carrying some new weapons."
Ding!
Congratulations, Adventurer An Xiaomei. You have successfully counter-killed invader Andemar Kaile. The intruder's items taken from his backpack prior to death—
Icebreaker Ship and Targeting Handgun—have automatically become your loot.
Additionally, you have obtained: Fine Iron Sword ×1, Energy Stone ×3, Telescope ×1, Durian ×2, Bread ×3, Wine ×6…
Well, what do you know—items taken out before death went straight into her inventory! That meant next time, she should control her kill speed—let them pull their treasures out first.
She noticed the durian among the loot and couldn't help but brighten in delight. What a surprise! There hadn't been any on her resource island—and she'd been craving it lately.
Given how high-quality the fruits in the game usually were, this durian's flavor and texture were bound to be amazing—not like the "mystery boxes" she'd stockpiled in her space before.
Once, as a poor working girl, she could never bring herself to buy such a luxury fruit. But after tasting one in a previous mission world, she had fallen hopelessly in love.
The viewers watching her stream were baffled by her expression.
[What did Ms. An just get? I've never seen her look that happy before. Must've been something big.]
[I hope it's something that'll help her stay alive. She's still got that ticking time bomb on her back, remember!]
[I've gotten so used to watching Auntie An's efficiency at cleaning up enemies, I can't even watch those indecisive players anymore.]
[Exactly! I love decisive adventurers who don't hesitate or play the saint. In a world this dangerous, mercy just means throwing away your life.]
On her end, An Xiaomei suddenly remembered she was still being livestreamed. She quickly reined in her visible excitement and began examining her newly acquired items.
Icebreaker Ship: When used on open water, consumes 1 Energy Stone per 12 hours. During the Frozen Season, however, each Energy Stone only powers it for 1 hour.
Targeting Handgun: Each bullet fired consumes 1 Energy Stone.
Good grief. Without energy stones, both tools were basically useless decorations.
Looked like she'd have to keep doing business—and earn herself more energy stones!