[1,776 new people liked Bai Liu's small TV]
[2,006 new people bookmarked player Bai Liu's small TV]
[345 people charged player Bai Liu.]
[2,004 new people are watching player Bai Liu's small TV]
[You gained over 1,500 likes in one minute. Player Bai Liu has finally become serious!]
[Yo~ your performance is back on track~ yo~ my punishment won't be shifted~ yo~ as long as you keep flying~ yo~]
[Player Bai Liu still needs 47,294 likes, 50,860 bookmarks on your small TV, and 14,724 charging points before you can leave the Graveyard Dancing Area.]
Mu Sicheng ran back and forth through the train several times. Only after all the passengers had gotten off did he finally get a chance to breathe. He lay flat on his back and drank a physical strength recovery potion. After wiping the sweat-soaked hair from his cheeks, he stared gloomily at the resting Bai Liu.
"Bai Liu, did you already guess that my personal skill is stealing?" Mu Sicheng voiced the same suspicion as Wang Shun. "You stole my things on purpose to mislead me, making me think your skill was also stealing, so I'd lower my guard."
"At the entrance of the game hall, you pretended not to know my skill. You even said nonsense about it enhancing my senses. But you fucking knew it was stealing, didn't you?" His eyes flashed sharply as he stared at Bai Liu.
"Yes," Bai Liu admitted calmly.
Mu Sicheng took a deep breath, still staring at him. "When did you find out?"
A personal skill was an unspoken taboo on the forum. Even if people knew, openly discussing someone's skill was offensive. Aside from the puppet master, who publicized his ability to recruit players, most players' personal skills were never discussed publicly.
Bai Liu was a newcomer. The only way he could have known would have been to buy Mu Sicheng's game videos.
The skill panel wasn't visible to the audience during gameplay. In other words, viewers couldn't see specific skills. If Bai Liu wanted to know Mu Sicheng's skill, he would've had to repeatedly purchase his videos to analyze and guess it, or discuss it privately with veteran players.
But Bai Liu had never purchased Mu Sicheng's videos. Mu Sicheng had found him the moment he logged in. There was no opportunity for him to ask other players.
So how did this guy know?
"I knew when I met you after logging out of Siren Town," Bai Liu said.
Mu Sicheng looked at him in disbelief. "Right after Siren Town? I found you as soon as you logged out. There's no way you had time to figure out my skill!"
"I originally just wanted to trick you into giving me a bottle of mental bleach," Bai Liu said, rubbing his nose. "I didn't expect to end up setting you up. Your reaction exposed your personal skill. Plus, you're ranked fourth on the Rising Stars leaderboard, so your strength is solid. Since you were already there, it would've been a waste not to take advantage of the opportunity. So I just went with the flow."
What the hell did he mean, a waste not to take advantage? Wasn't that pushing opportunism too far?
Mu Sicheng's chest heaved with anger. "How did my reaction expose my skill?"
Bai Liu turned to him. "Because after I stole your mental bleach, your first reaction was that my skill must be stealing."
"What else would I think?" Mu Sicheng retorted. "Is there any other skill that can directly take something from my system warehouse?"
"Yes," Bai Liu replied calmly. "We were in the game hall, where theft is clearly prohibited. Yet when I took your physical strength supplement, you still insisted my skill was stealing. A normal player might've considered other possibilities—like manipulation. But you were certain."
"Even after entering the game, you never changed your mind."
Mu Sicheng froze.
"That was your subconscious reaction," Bai Liu continued. "It shows you have a strong obsession with stealing. Personal skills are linked to desire. So I guessed yours was related to theft."
"Fuck." Mu Sicheng, embarrassed, cut him off. "Even if you planned to manipulate me, you couldn't have been 100% sure I'd follow you into the game. If I hadn't, all your groundwork would've been wasted."
"I wasn't 100% sure," Bai Liu admitted honestly. "But I was about 80% sure."
He lifted his gaze. "Because I had something you wanted to steal. The Mermaid Amulet, right?"
Mu Sicheng felt suffocated.
"I found it strange that you waited in the logout area for me," Bai Liu continued. "You're a capable player. Even if you were curious about my skill, you wouldn't cling to me after losing 2,000 points."
"You're not foolish enough to do something unprofitable. So you must've wanted something from me. And you were confident you could get it—that's why you approached me immediately after I logged in. In thieves' jargon, that's called 'casing the target,' isn't it?"
Mu Sicheng's expression darkened. "You knew I wanted to steal the Mermaid Amulet? You used it as bait?"
Bai Liu smiled gently. "How is that baiting you? God Mu, I was simply seeking cooperation. I gave it to you as a gift. Look—I can control you, but I didn't ask you to return it, did I?"
His ability to speak nonsense with a straight face had reached new heights. In truth, Bai Liu couldn't force Mu Sicheng to return the amulet. It was genuine cooperation—he had no way to compel him.
Mu Sicheng's expression softened slightly. At least Bai Liu hadn't forced him to give it back. He wasn't like the Puppet Master, who treated puppets as disposable tools. For now, Mu Sicheng was safe.
He stopped arguing and opened his panel.
[Player Mu Sicheng's Personal Panel]
[Health: 94 (reduced after being burned by flames)]
[Physical Strength: 30 (empty, recovering)]
[Mental Value: 75 (mild alienation due to passenger attacks)]
If Mu Sicheng had been running alone, his stamina wouldn't have drained so severely, nor would he have been burned. Carrying Bai Liu had nearly doubled the consumption of his skill.
He wasn't sure how strong Bai Liu's control over him was. He didn't dare attack him recklessly, but that didn't stop him from being sarcastic.
"You were the one being carried, yet your stamina still hit zero. With panel attributes like that, you should've died long ago."
"Isn't it thanks to God Mu lending me a helping hand?" Bai Liu opened his panel leisurely. "Besides, there's always fortune after disaster. We triggered the first page of the monster book."
[The Exploding Last Train Monster Book has refreshed — Exploding Passengers (1/3)]
[Monster Name: Exploding Passengers]
[Features: Extremely fast movement speed (1,000 movement speed points; flames grant bonus effects)]
[Weaknesses: ??? (Unexplored)]
[Attack Method: Being burned by an exploding passenger reduces health and mental value.]
"What's the point of triggering the first monster entry?" Mu Sicheng scoffed while drinking another recovery potion. "You want to complete the monster book in the level-two instance, Exploding Last Train? Even I wouldn't dare try that in a level-two game no one has ever cleared."
"There's a first time for everything," Bai Liu replied mildly. "Isn't there me this time? God Mu, why not give it a try? Let's cooperate."
It was practically a threat disguised as an invitation.
Mu Sicheng felt his anger rise again. "Your health is almost gone, and you're still thinking about completing the monster book. You really value money over your life."
Bai Liu nodded sincerely. "You're right. I'm exactly that type of person."
Mu Sicheng: "..."
And he wasn't wrong. Bai Liu's panel was far worse than Mu Sicheng's A-grade attributes.
[Player Bai Liu's Personal Panel]
[Health: 31 (reduced after being attacked by Mu Sicheng and burned by flames)]
[Physical Strength: 8 (empty, recovering)]
[Mental Value: 90 (slight alienation due to passenger attacks)]
Mu Sicheng exhaled slowly, forcing himself to calm down. They were tied to the same boat now.
"You've experienced mental value decline," he said stiffly. "Maybe you don't understand how important health is. Let me explain."
"Health is the only attribute that doesn't automatically recover in-game. If it reaches zero, you die. There's no item that restores it. Your health is 31. That's extremely dangerous. Any monster could kill you with a few more hits. Stop thinking about collecting the monster book."
Bai Liu didn't respond directly. Instead, he changed the topic.
"We need to collect the broken lenses."
Mu Sicheng closed his eyes, conserving strength, while Bai Liu continued analyzing.
"This game seems to revolve around passengers boarding and disembarking at the same station. When they board, we're forced into a chase. When they disembark, the train doors close immediately. If the lenses aren't on the train but on the subway platform, we only get one chance to search for them."
"In other words, when the passengers board the train, we must go to the platform to search for broken lenses—and return before the doors close. Otherwise, we'll be trapped outside with the passengers."
"I think the puppet master searched the platform while we were being chased."
"How do you know?" Du Sanying, who had been hiding in a corner, finally asked. He was in the best condition among them. Although his little bumper car was badly burned, he himself wasn't injured.
"Because we ran through the entire train during the chase and never encountered him," Bai Liu said, leaning against the wall. "It's impossible we coincidentally missed him every time. That means he wasn't on the train at all."
"Ah—!" Du Sanying grew anxious. "Does that mean the Puppet Master can quickly gather the mirror fragments and clear the game?"
"I don't think so." Bai Liu looked at him calmly. "I don't think he found the broken lenses on the platform."
Du Sanying blinked. "Why?"
"It is because if I were him, I would do one thing after confirming that the broken lenses are in the station." Bai Liu raised his index finger, his eyes calm. "It is to come to us."
"Why would he come to us if it's confirmed that the lenses are on the platform?" Du Sanying grew even more confused.
"The train only stops at each subway station for two minutes. I've already surveyed the platform area. It's impossible for the puppet master to search the platform in two minutes and still make it back onto the train—even if he has three puppets as fast as Mu Sicheng."(Mu Sicheng gritted his teeth when he heard this.)
"Searching for something takes time. It requires methodical checking; speed alone doesn't solve it," Bai Liu continued calmly. "Subway Line 4 has eleven platforms. Excluding the starting and terminal station—Antique City—where we boarded, that leaves ten."
"It took over three minutes to reach the first platform after departure. Add the two-minute stop, and each station cycle takes roughly five minutes. To go through ten platforms would take fifty minutes, and the countdown is only one hour. That means we can probably circle Line 4 only once before it explodes."
"In other words, if the broken lenses are on the platform, we'll have only one chance to search. But the puppet master's three puppets can't fully search a platform in two minutes."
"So he'll come to us," Bai Liu concluded.
Du Sanying's eyes spun like mosquito coils. "So why?!"
He couldn't connect Bai Liu's reasoning to that conclusion at all.
If the three puppets couldn't search the entire platform in two minutes… then the puppet master would come to them? Why? They weren't going to help him search—wait!
Du Sanying suddenly froze and stared at Bai Liu in shock.
"It's because he lacks manpower," Bai Liu said, looking toward the empty end of the swaying train. "After confirming that the key clue is indeed on the platform, he would definitely try to turn us into his puppets."
"However, he wouldn't act rashly before confirming that clue."
-----------------
"Master, the broken lenses aren't on the platform." Li Gou spoke softly, his posture deferential, as if walking on thin ice. "The three of us didn't search every corner, but we checked most areas near the subway tracks as you instructed. There really aren't any."
"No broken lenses?" Puppet Zhang narrowed his eyes. "Strange. This game should revolve around searching for broken lenses on the platform, shouldn't it? Did we miss somewhere?"
Li Gou lowered his voice further. "There's one section we didn't search. There were too many burning passengers there. We simply couldn't get close."
"I know," Puppet Zhang said impatiently. "I was standing by the door, controlling you. I saw it." He flicked his hand, and the invisible silk threads tightened, forcing Li Gou to his knees instantly. "I'm thinking about our next move. Don't interrupt me."
Li Gou clenched his teeth but remained silent. After a moment, he spoke again in a low voice. "Master, if you're unsure about the game for now, why don't we deal with Bai Liu first?"
Li Gou had been brooding over Bai Liu ever since the promotion incident. If he were alone, he might not dare act. But now he had backing—and that backing also disliked Bai Liu. If he didn't seize this chance to deal with that little bastard who stole his promotion position, he would be too magnanimous.
If Bai Liu hadn't taken that promotion last time, Li Gou would've earned enough points to buy the items needed to free himself from prison. He would be outside by now, enjoying himself.
He didn't want to spend another minute in that prison.
"Do not attack Bai Liu until I know exactly where the lenses are hidden," Puppet Zhang said coldly, looking at Li Gou as if he were an idiot.
"If you provoke him, it will escalate into a full conflict. They have Mu Sicheng, who already holds a grudge against me. He'll interfere. We'll suffer losses, and the difficulty of clearing this level-two game will increase."
"We must ensure we clear the game first. We can't act rashly before identifying the key clue. Don't put the cart before the horse."
Li Gou lowered his head. "Yes, Master."
After a pause, he asked unwillingly, "Master, if the broken lenses aren't on the platform or the train, then where could they be?"
"Wait—" Puppet Zhang's expression shifted abruptly. "Don't tell me—"
-----------------
"Mu Sicheng, have you ever tried stealing from monsters?" Bai Liu asked as he walked over.
Mu Sicheng pushed him away impatiently. "No. I can steal from players—I've even stolen from Spades—but monsters are different."
"Why?" Bai Liu pondered. "Does the system invalidate it?"
Mu Sicheng narrowed his eyes. "I don't know what you're planning, but I'll be direct. I can steal from monsters. But once I do, their hate value locks onto me, and they'll chase me until the end of the game. It's easy to die even in a level-one game, let alone level two. If you're going to use me, don't waste me on some suicidal one-time stunt."
"Locked hate value…" Bai Liu murmured, twirling a coin between his fingers. Then he suddenly looked toward Du Sanying, who was sitting in the corner eating a biscuit to restore his stamina.
Bai Liu's eyes narrowed. He smiled kindly—like a big bad wolf coaxing Little Red Riding Hood. "Du Sanying, have you ever played online games?"
Du Sanying still had crumbs at the corner of his mouth. He blinked blankly before answering honestly, "I have."
"Do you know how to transfer hate value?"
Du Sanying didn't know why, but the back of his neck felt cold. He scooted back slightly and swallowed. "Yeah… just OT it, right?"(OT = Off Tank. Drawing hate value away.)
"Exactly!" Bai Liu snapped his fingers, smiling even more gently. "For example, after Mu Sicheng steals something from a monster, the monster's hate value locks onto him. Then we attack the monster until its hate value transfers to us. We lure it away so Mu Sicheng can continue stealing. You know—while you're driving, and there's a long train of monsters chasing behind us…"
"Wait!" Du Sanying interrupted, not noticing that Bai Liu had shifted from "I" to "we." "Isn't this a collection game? What do online games, monster trains, and hate value have to do with it? Shouldn't our main task be finding the broken lenses?"
"Yes." Bai Liu raised his eyes. "If the broken lenses aren't on the train or on the platform, where else could they be?"
Du Sanying grew increasingly confused. "…Where else?"
Bai Liu smiled faintly. "The mirror exploded inside the carriage. It's unlikely the fragments were blown outside the train. And we've considered the platform."
"If they aren't on the train… could it be that the broken lenses were embedded into the passengers' bodies during the explosion?"
Du Sanying: "..."
Mu Sicheng: "..."
Fuck. It's a trap.
"So—" Bai Liu looked at Mu Sicheng innocently. "God Mu, it seems you'll have to try stealing from these non-human things after all."