In a shallow sea filled with jagged reefs, the sloping rocks formed a natural sanctuary. A peacock mantis shrimp with a vibrantly colored shell hid within its small burrow, its long antennae swaying in the current.
When a domineering crab swaggered past, the ravenous mantis shrimp saw its opening. With lightning speed, it lunged from its den. Its raptorial limbs, coiled like a boxer's fists, struck the crab's pincer in a mere 1/50th of a second.
The crab jerked back, one pincer torn clean off. The mantis shrimp wasn't greedy; it dragged the pincer back to its burrow, smashed the shell, and began feasting on the meat.
Cyan Wei had lived here for quite some time. This area was chosen for two reasons: first, the cramped spaces were perfect for a small shrimp; second, it allowed him to avoid predators he couldn't handle. Last time, he was chased by a turbot and only survived by leading it toward an octopus. In this maze of rocks, a large fish trying to catch him was living in a dream.
Despite his small size, Cyan was the undisputed tyrant of this reef. Anyone passing his door had to pay a "toll" in the form of a lost limb.
"This crab meat... it has no flavor. I remember it being delicious, though."
As Cyan ate, this strange thought emerged. It was odd—whether he ate octopus tentacles, other shrimp, or small fish, he could never actually taste anything. Why did he have memories of how they should taste?
Ever since he hatched, he knew he was different from his siblings. They felt like a different species entirely. When he tried to communicate, he got no response.
"Am I destined to become the King of Shrimps?"
Cyan imagined leading an army of mantis shrimp to punch out turbots and trample octopuses. The thought was exhilarating. Because of that previous bullying, his grudge against turbots was deep. If not for his physical limitations, he would have picked a fight with one long ago.
After finishing the meal, Cyan idly played with the remains of the pincer, snapping it open and shut like a pair of scissors.
Night fell. Beautiful moonlight shimmered on the ocean surface, but beneath the waves, danger lurked. A hungry octopus approached the burrow, lured by the scent of delicious shrimp.
Seeing the aggressive intruder, Cyan didn't flee. He emerged from his den, rearing up his body. This was his home. If he was going to run, he'd at least try to fight first.
Cyan locked onto the approaching octopus. Like a trained boxer, he lunged, grazing past the octopus's head while slamming his raptorial limbs into the nerve cluster between its eyes. It was pure instinct, as if the knowledge of an octopus's weak points was branded into his very genes.
The octopus writhed in pain. Cyan didn't give it a chance to recover. Victory is decided in an instant. He launched a series of hit-and-run strikes, always maintaining a safe distance.
The octopus, ten times his size, was like a slow, heavy-weight boxer with massive power but no speed. Cyan was the agile bantamweight. After taking several hits, the octopus realized it couldn't win and retreated. Cyan didn't pursue; the exertion had drained his stamina.
Suddenly, a flat, fast-moving shadow surged toward him.
"A... a Turbot?!"
Terror gripped him. Cyan scrambled for the safety of the crevices. Before he could make it, he felt a horrific void behind him. Looking back, half of his body was gone, leaving nothing but exposed white flesh.
Driven by spite, Cyan dragged his mangled remains into a narrow crack. The turbot, blinded by greed, rammed its head into the gap and got stuck.
"You idiot! You absolute moron! What did I ever do to you?!"
Cyan lunged onto the struggling fish. His sharp claws gouged its eyes, and his limbs hammered its head repeatedly. The thrashing weakened until the powerful fish went limp.
But even in victory, Cyan was doomed. A shrimp can regrow a limb, but it cannot survive being bitten in half. Determined not to die on an empty stomach, he gorged himself on the fish's flesh before returning to his burrow to face the end.
"No... I don't want to die. I finally got a second chance... why am I so unlucky?"
"I want... revenge..."
In his final moments, an unprecedented will to survive surged, accompanied by a wave of pure hatred. A pillar of white light descended through the water, illuminating the dying shrimp.
A cold, mechanical voice echoed in his mind.
[Survivor No. 11766, beginning the first round of the Survival Game.]
[Collecting DNA...]
[Assimilating...]
[Detection: Subject soul is human; physical vessel is a low-level marine organism. Searching for solution...]
[According to Regulation 72, Item 36: Construct a body matching the subject's DNA and soul.]
[Required cost: 3,000 Survival Points.]
[Survivor No. 11766: Insufficient points. Creation failed.]
[According to Regulation 51, Item 11: Priority given to the start of the Survival Game.]
[Survivor No. 11766, body construction in progress...]
In a void as vast as a sea of stars, matter converged to form bone, nerve, flesh, skin, and blood.
In seconds, a living person appeared. Naked with snow-white skin, the figure had short, fiery red hair with streaks of blue, green, and white. The face was exquisitely beautiful, looking like a stunningly pretty boy; however, the slight swell of the chest revealed a different reality.
As a white kimono materialized on her body, a cold voice rang in her groggy ears.
[Warning: Survivor No. 11766. Current Survival Points: -3,010. If points remain negative after the first round, the Survivor will be ELIMINATED.]
"Am I... not dead?"
Cyan Wei felt her new, slightly "off" body. Suddenly, she felt a sensation like being struck by a club, followed by the terrifying feeling of falling from a great height...
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