Chapter 1

I found myself in a stark white room packed with people.

The system's robotic voice announced, "Welcome, all 100 players, to the Survival of the Poorest. Starting funds: 50 dollars. Objective: Survive 7 days inside the game. The winner gets 1 million dollars in prize money! Overspending, dying, or stepping outside the designated area will be treated as a forfeit, and you will carry one million dollars in debt."

Then, with a sly tone, it continued, "Now then, do any cowards want to back out?"

Just like the last round, no one chose to leave. Every face lit up with excitement, as if the million dollars were already within reach.

"Um..." I slowly raised my hand, and all eyes snapped toward me at once.

The system's threatening voice echoed in my head, saying, "Player 66, a reminder that you were the winner of the previous round, and if you forcefully exit, you will carry a 500 million dollar debt. Only players who win two rounds in a row are allowed to cash out and leave."

I could not help but wonder why they did not mention the rule earlier.

I asked the system in my mind, "What if I lose?"

The system replied, "Your prize will be forfeited, and you will have a debt of one million dollars."

I lowered my hand. "Never mind."

"You're insane!"

"Attention seeker!"

Everyone turned their attention back to the front.

The system announced, "The game rules are now active, and players may not withdraw. All 100 players have been deployed.

"Welcome to the 'Ghost Cruise'. Remember: you are all stowaways, so good luck staying alive."

A flash of white light burst out, and we were all transported onto a cruise ship floating on the open sea.

The system gave each of us a card that we could use to make purchases anywhere on the ship. However, it only had 50 dollars loaded on it.

My interface displayed three stats: hunger, thirst, and energy, and all three were currently in order. Once any of them hit zero, the player would be eliminated immediately.

I was deployed on the third-floor deck and noticed the cruise ship was sailing across pitch-black waters. It meant the sea was unfathomably deep, and anyone thrown overboard would vanish without a trace.

I found a staff member and asked for a map.

The ship had eight levels in total.

The first and second levels were crew quarters and work areas, off-limits to regular passengers.

The third level was the deck and passenger lobby. Meanwhile, the fourth through seventh levels were filled with countless cabins, plus a theater, casino, spa, duty-free shop, movie theater, restaurants, and more. Lastly, the eighth level featured an open sun deck with a large swimming pool, while the other half was a buffet area.

However, the ship actually had a hidden half-level above that. It was where the VIP suites were. VIP guests conducted all their activities up there, separated from the regular passenger areas.

I then checked out the convenience store and saw bottled water for 20 dollars, sandwiches for 55 dollars, and cake for 70 dollars each.

The prices were exactly what I expected for a luxury cruise ship.

Based on my experience, the buffet restaurant had free water available during meal service. Since it was mealtime, I headed to the top-floor restaurant, where a decent line had already formed at the buffet entrance, waiting to scan their cards for entry.

I joined the queue, standing behind two players who were one step ahead of me at the card reader. They pulled out the cards the system had given them and handed them to the attendant, but when she swiped them, the machine started beeping frantically.

The attendant's expression instantly changed, and she told them, "These aren't legitimate room cards. You're not guests."