Yu Xi’s hair stood on end as goosebumps spread across her skin. She wanted to pinch the worm out of her hair, but as soon as she lifted her hand, the thin worm at her hairline began wriggling again. Was it reacting to the smell of blood?

She hesitated for a few seconds, staring at the wound above her. Her intuition had always been sharp, and it told her that exposing this wound to the black worm was not a good idea.

Setting down the flashlight, she quickly retrieved the [Healing Foundation] from her Star House storage, opened the cap, and squeezed it directly onto the wound. The liquid that came out was milky white and slightly thick, with a faint medicinal scent. She spread it with her fingertip, and within two or three seconds, the cut began to visibly shrink and then completely healed.

Yu Xi was stunned. Although she knew that something costing 10 star coins wouldn’t be ineffective, the speed of the healing was astonishing. With this, there was no need for Yunnan Baiyao, iodine, or alcohol disinfectants.

With the wound healed, the smell of blood disappeared, and she sensed that the thin worm at her hairline had calmed down, lying motionless and blending in with her hair. She firmly pulled the worm out, along with a few strands of hair, and threw it into the sink. The worm wriggled a few times against the smooth surface of the sink. The sight of the black worm squirming on the white ceramic was repulsive.

She turned on the faucet to wash the worm away, but the salty, musty smell in her nose persisted. Yu Xi had a bad feeling. She used the flashlight to examine her scalp again and, after a moment, her pupils dilated. She quickly grabbed the showerhead, intending to rinse her hair directly. But then she realized that the water could wash the worms down her face, making the situation even more unbearable, so she resisted the impulse.

Having heightened senses wasn’t always good. If she were an ordinary person, she might have simply closed her eyes and rinsed off with the showerhead, oblivious to the many worms in her hair until she finished washing.

Suppressing her disgust, Yu Xi directly bought a bottle of [Instant Cleanser] from the Star House Mall. It was slightly smaller than the [Healing Foundation], still with a screw cap and a squeeze nozzle. She squeezed some onto her face and spread it around. Instantly, the oil-like substance covered every inch of her skin, isolating all the dirt on her body.

Yu Xi saw the black worms falling onto the sink and her sleeves, immediately jumping barefoot into the shower. She closed the door behind her and frantically tore off all her clothes. The worms were so disgusting that she forgot to control her strength, ripping her outfit, inner sweater, and undergarments apart and throwing them down. She saw more black worms falling onto the tiles and her clothes.

Next, she turned on the shower, closed the door, and let the water wash away the black ash on the tiles. She noticed a few more wriggling black worms on the tiles outside the shower. Placing the toilet lid down, she squatted barefoot on it and used the [High-Temperature Perfume] to clean each spot where the worms were.

Setting the temperature slightly higher than normal was enough to burn both the clothes and the worms completely. She continued spraying for a while until everything turned to ash. Then, she turned on the shower and closed the door, letting the cascading water wash away the blackened residue from the tiles.

Outside the shower, a few more wriggling black worms were on the floor tiles. She put down the toilet lid, squatted on it barefoot, and used the [High-Temperature Perfume] to clean every spot where there were worms.

Luckily, this was the bathroom, and the walls and floors were all tiled with nothing flammable. She meticulously cleaned every inch. The tiles were scorched black, but at least all the tiny worms were eradicated.

Yu Xi carefully sniffed the air. The musty, salty smell that had lingered since she left the subway station was finally gone. This indicated that the room was now free of those black worms. But she had smelled the same odor in the air outside the building earlier in the afternoon. Did this mean that these worms were already out there?

Where could they be? In the water? On the grass? Or… on other people?

Yu Xi put on her clothes and changed into a pair of comfortable soft-soled shoes. Just as she stepped out of the bathroom, she heard a familiar voice in her mind.

[World Task 1: Avoid the parasitic crisis and safely return home completed. Host has earned 30 star coins. Total star coins: 285.]

Was this the task marked with ????

Although Yu Xi knew that the first task was generally not too difficult, she was still delighted to have completed it inadvertently. At least the threat of death had been halved.

Now, she just had to focus on surviving for a month to return to the original world!

Yu Xi thought for a moment and sighed. “Star House, you’re actually a pretty good system, aren’t you?”

[…]

“Looking back, whether it was the initial lottery or the newly unlocked items in the mall before each apocalyptic world, they were precisely what was needed for the next world.”

When she faced the tsunami and low-temperature apocalypse, she had drawn the [High-Temperature Perfume].

When she faced the zombie apocalypse, the mall had items like the [Air Hair Dryer], which had high attack power, even if its use was somewhat unusual. That was only because the zombies’ heads were gross to deal with; its lethality was undeniable.

Now, she had the [Healing Foundation], which could heal any wound, and the [Instant Cleanser], which could instantly clean all dirt. It’s hard to believe the Star House system didn’t have any foresight.

Moreover, now she knew the content of the first task, and coupled with the recent incident, she could deduce some useful information.

First, the appearance of the worms might be related to the leaking water in the tunnel. The worms attached themselves to the human body through the water and were hard to detect – even she didn’t notice them immediately. The worms were attracted to blood and would become active upon contact.

However, this last point was contradicted by her observations. She remembered that some passengers had also been injured and bleeding at the time, although not seriously. If the worms were truly drawn to blood, they should have reacted earlier. She shouldn’t have been the first to notice.

Perhaps… the worms in the dripping water hadn’t yet awakened? Were they in their larval stage, or possibly still in egg form?

This seemed highly likely.

Secondly, the worms’ attraction to blood might cause them to enter the human body through wounds, though it’s unclear if this was how they parasitized or if they used another method. However, their parasitism would undoubtedly cause negative effects on the host, otherwise avoiding the parasitic crisis wouldn’t have been a world task.

Finally, the subway incident likely wasn’t the worms’ first appearance because she had smelled the same musty odor when she left the building earlier. This suggests that the water sources in this world – whether seawater or freshwater – might already be contaminated. Furthermore, some foods might also be unsafe.

The apocalypse hadn’t officially begun, but it seemed to have a latent period. This was likely an apocalyptic world involving a parasitic crisis or a worm infestation.

Currently, she leans more toward the former scenario. As for the negative effects of the black worms parasitizing the human body, further observation is needed. It could be catastrophic, or it could manifest in other ways.

Fortunately, she had planned ahead and filled ten barrels of water, amounting to five tons of purified water, in addition to enough drinking water and the [Instant Cleanser]. Surviving for a month would be no problem. The downside of having an oily face was negligible compared to the threat of the worms.

Yu Xi finished her analysis and turned up the volume on the TV in the living room. It was time for the evening news, and an event as significant as the collapse of the underwater tunnel would surely make the local news.

However, after half an hour and several channel changes, there was no mention of the incident. The spread of information in this world had not yet become as universal as in her original world, where people’s first reaction to any event was to check the news. Consequently, no one had immediately taken out their phone to record the incident in the underwater tunnel.

With no news coverage from either media or individuals, the event was naturally suppressed. But why was there no report on such a major incident as a tunnel collapse and a subway being trapped?

Reversing the logic, it seemed that the higher-ups in Hai Ru City were already aware of something, which is why they suppressed the news.

Still feeling disgusted by the worms, Yu Xi didn’t feel like eating meat that evening. She finally opted for a cup of fruit tea, a portion of yellow rice cake, and some almond tofu. Only sweets could cure the lingering disgust from the worms.

After eating a bit, she sipped on her fruit tea while browsing the internet on her phone for related information. The appearance of the worms had initially made her think of horsehair worms, but those live in freshwater, not in a seaside city like this. Moreover, the size and behavior of the worms were entirely different; horsehair worms are attracted to water, not blood.

So, she ruled out the possibility of it being horsehair worms. Despite extensive searching, she found nothing relevant. She did, however, look at countless pictures of similar worms, which overloaded her eyes and psyche, making her somewhat immune to the sight of them.

At 9:30 PM, the night news began. This time, there was news about the underwater tunnel, but it was an announcement that due to aging infrastructure, several subway and road tunnels had been closed since the afternoon. This was a public notice meant to inform city residents to choose alternative routes.

At 10 PM, Yu Xi set a six-hour alarm on her phone, intending to get some rest. She secured all the doors and windows, thoroughly checked the faucets, then lay on the sofa with a fleece blanket from her Star House storage.

She was drifting off to sleep when she heard strange noises outside the door. The sense of danger made her instantly alert. She glanced at her phone—just after 1 AM. Whoever was outside at this hour likely had no good intentions.

She quickly stored her belongings in the Star House storage, took out a semi-automatic pistol, then moved to the bedroom. She made it look like someone was sleeping in the bed by arranging the blankets, then hid behind the bedroom door.

A moment later, she heard the lock click, indicating someone was picking it.

Two breaths entered the house one after the other. One stayed in the living room to check the surroundings, while the other headed straight for the only bedroom. In the darkness, Yu Xi saw the intruder clearly. He took a towel from his pocket and quickly moved to cover the person on the bed. Realizing the feel was wrong, he was struck hard on the back of the neck.

Yu Xi took the towel from his hand, covering his mouth and nose to deepen his unconsciousness. She dropped the towel, hid behind the door again, and aimed her gun at the temple of the second intruder as he entered.

“Move and you’re dead.” She disengaged the safety, found a drug-soaked towel in his pocket, threw it aside, and kicked his legs, forcing him to the ground. “Speak. Who sent you, and why are you here?”

“Who are you?” The man, confused, asked back, “You’re not Yu Xi. Yu Xi is just an ordinary company employee. Where is she? I need to take her back immediately!”

“Tell me everything you know, and I’ll tell you where she is,” Yu Xi replied smoothly.

But the man wasn’t a fool and had professional training. Even with a gun to his head, he didn’t reveal much, only saying he meant no harm. He explained that the subway Yu Xi took today had an incident, and taking her back was for her own good.

What he didn’t reveal was already known to Yu Xi. What he did disclose was exactly what she needed to confirm. So, they were from an organization, or possibly sent by the authorities of Hai Ru City. They were looking for all the passengers who experienced the underwater tunnel incident.

Given the detailed knowledge of passengers’ identities, addresses, and other personal details in such a short time, it wasn’t an ordinary organization. The man claimed to have no ill intent, but why would someone with good intentions sneak in with a drug at midnight?

Regardless of his true intent—research, testing, or observation—those taken this way would never return.

“You can’t escape. We have people downstairs, and the entire neighborhood is under surveillance. Tell me where Yu Xi is, and I’ll let you go.”

Yu Xi sneered. Before knocking him out with the gun butt, she said, “I am Yu Xi.”

Ten minutes later, when the people outside didn’t hear from their comrades, they rushed upstairs. They searched the entire apartment but only found the two unconscious men. There was no sign of a third person. They reviewed the surveillance footage of the neighborhood but found no record of her leaving.

The neighborhood had only one main gate, with high walls and surveillance cameras all around. Even if she climbed the walls, she would have been seen. They searched the area thoroughly but found nothing.

At dawn, as residents started leaving for work, they monitored everyone exiting the neighborhood. They knew what she looked like and believed they could identify her despite any disguise.

A tall boy, about seventeen or eighteen, with a backpack, walked out with the other residents heading to school or work. He calmly ate breakfast while waiting at the bus stop across the street for ten minutes, then boarded a bus.

The “boy” found a seat in the back row, placed his backpack next to him, and continued eating his breakfast.

The disguise from the [Disguise Lipstick] would last another eighteen hours. Fortunately, this [Disguise Lipstick] was obtained from the first task’s lottery, just enough for one more use, saving her from spending star coins.

With eighteen hours left, she needed to plan where to find a suitable place to lay low.