From the moment Bai Liu entered the mirror, it was clear that this was the true reality of the game. When he prepared to break the mirror, the audience in front of the small TVs held their breath.
As soon as Bai Liu proposed breaking the mirror, God Mu refused to let him, and a commotion erupted among the viewers. They felt both heartbroken and conflicted.
"Bai Liu is really good to God Mu. They must be good friends. But this is still a game… I hope Bai Liu lets God Mu break the mirror…"
"I'm a fan of God Mu. Before, I was annoyed that people kept comparing Bai Liu to him. Now I'm in a complicated mood. I don't want Bai Liu to die at all, but I don't want God Mu to die either…"
"Uwuuu, I don't dare look. I like both of them so much. I can't accept either of them dying. Bai Liu is so powerful. He must have a way, right?"
"Bai Liu only has a sliver of health left. What can he possibly do? Do you think he's a god? I think it's better to go with Mu Sicheng!"
When Bai Liu finally persuaded Mu Sicheng to leave first, Xiang Chunhua and Liu Fu panicked. They weren't familiar with Mu Sicheng at all. They had been eagerly waiting for Bai Liu to clear the instance. The moment Bai Liu chose to sacrifice himself, they were overwhelmed with anxiety.
Some viewers disagreed with Bai Liu's decision, but most admired his loyalty. He had said he wouldn't let Mu Sicheng die—and from beginning to end, he protected him.
"Ah, I really want to cry. What a pity. If both Bai Liu and God Mu survived, they could've formed a team. In the future, they wouldn't have been any weaker than the combination of the fifth- and sixth-ranked players in the overall rankings."
"In fact, God Mu is very strong. He just needs a bit of support. Otherwise, he would've ranked higher than Puppet Zhang. His personal skill has huge potential. He's the only player on the rising stars rankings who has stolen something from Spades and survived. If Mu Sicheng were willing to be the knife in Bai Liu's hand, the two of them would've risen extremely quickly."
"Don't say that. Honestly, the combination of Bai Liu and Du Sanying is also very good…"
The mirror shattered, and the god-level NPC emerged, causing the audience's mental values to plummet. It was just like what had happened in Siren Town before. When the system blocked the screen, and the audience recovered from their dizziness—after hastily drinking mental bleach—Bai Liu's small TV had already gone black.
There were only two reasons for a black screen: the player had died, or the player had cleared the game.
Wang Shun lowered his head in pain. The other players followed, bowing their heads in silence. It was a gesture of mourning and respect for a player they admired.
Bai Liu couldn't have survived.
Xiang Chunhua and Liu Fu staggered away from the others and stepped forward. Bai Liu, who had avenged them, was no different from their own child. Seeing him seemingly die so helplessly sent their emotions spiraling. Xiang Chunhua took a few unsteady steps and collapsed to her knees. She raised her head blankly and reached toward Bai Liu's small TV, her eyes blurred with tears.
Liu Fu forced himself to stay calm. He helped Xiang Chunhua up, though he couldn't conceal the grief on his face. Even so, he maintained his rationality.
"If something happens to Bai Liu as it did to Guoguo, then we'll enter the game ourselves, earn points, and revive him!"
The next second, the small TV lit up again. The system's cold, mechanical voice rang out.
[Congratulations to player Bai Liu for unlocking all main tasks and collecting the Exploding Last Train Monster Book.]
[System: The players have reached the true ending: "Last Train That Stopped Moving Forward." After the explosion, the passengers who died were trapped inside that terrible mirror, reliving the painful hour before their deaths day after day. They screamed and wailed, secretly hiding fragments of the mirror. Unfortunately, it was useless. The mirror, devoid of human emotion, continued to burn them—the ashes never ceasing. Finally, one day, someone stopped the last train in front of the mirror that had been consumed by flames. The passengers stepped off with smiles. Even in death, they could finally arrive at the station…]
Wang Shun raised his head in shock, while Xiang Chunhua and Liu Fu collapsed from the violent emotional whiplash. They knelt on the ground, covering their mouths as they wept with joy.
"He's alive! He cleared it successfully!" Xiang Chunhua shouted hoarsely, breaking the suffocating silence.
After several seconds of stunned disbelief, the audience burst into tears and laughter.
"Fuck! How did this guy survive? He only had a sliver of HP left! That was a god-level NPC! How did he pull that off?!"
"Don't think about it—he's alive! Quickly, charge, bookmark, and like! Push him into the promotion spot! Hurry!"
"Yes, yes! Push him to the last promotion slot! Go, Bai Liu! We can't let such a powerful player be buried here! Hurry! Let's see if we can get Brother Bai onto the Nightmare Rising Stars Promotion List!"
"Du Sanying and Mu Sicheng both rushed to third and fourth on the Nightmare Rising Stars Promotion List! I checked—the new stars in the other positions are all present. If they weren't here, Bai Liu might've rushed into tenth place on the Nightmare New Stars List. His luck is really terrible!"
"A lot of new rising star players are fighting for promotion right now. It'll be difficult for Bai Liu to make it onto the Nightmare Rising Stars List. I don't think he can do it. The audience from the core area is too small. What a pity—it's such an incredible game video."
"Then, should we still try? It feels hopeless…"
Suddenly, the system's voice rang out:
[Player Du Sanying and player Mu Sicheng have strongly recommended player Bai Liu's small TV!]
The audience froze. Many quickly rushed to the forum to see what had happened. Moments later, screams erupted one after another.
"Damn! The moment Mu Sicheng exited the game, he set his recommendation screen to Bai Liu's small TV! He even said that among the players who like Bai Liu, he'll personally take three people to play a level-one game for free!"
"Du Sanying also pinned Bai Liu's small TV! He posted on the forum that he'll give ten players who like, bookmark, or recommend Bai Liu's video system items worth 600 points!"
"Fuck! These two players, who are already in promotion positions, are going all out to help Bai Liu! They've placed his small TV right in the center of their screens! They don't care about their own promotion benefits at all!"
"I'm crying! This is real brotherhood! Bai Liu, charge upward! I won't give up on you!"
"Charge! Bai Liu!! You are a well-deserved Nightmare Rising Star!"
A steady stream of viewers poured in. Some were curious. Some had no idea what was going on. Others had come after seeing Du Sanying and Mu Sicheng's small TVs.
What kind of player could make people cry and scream with excitement like this?
Yet they all understood one thing—if there were no such player in this terrifying, nightmare-like game, then perhaps no one would be able to clear it at all. In a sense, Bai Liu was a nightmare star more terrifying than the nightmare itself to those who had died. But to those who survived, he was a new star brighter than any other.
"It's almost over! Ahhh, just a little bit more!"
[System prompt: Player Liu Huai has strongly recommended player Bai Liu's small TV!]
Wang Shun let out a long sigh. From the very beginning, he had been watching this small TV that had once been completely insignificant, tucked away at the edge of the central hall. Now, he had to look up to see it, surrounded by tens of thousands of people.
No player had ever rushed onto the Nightmare Rising Stars List within just two games—except for the legendary player Spades, who ranked first overall. But Wang Shun had a feeling that this record was about to be broken by Bai Liu.
[System prompt: The data from player Bai Liu's small TV is entering final calculation…]
The audience stopped frantically charging points and liking the stream. They stared anxiously at Bai Liu's small TV, whispering among themselves.
"Ahhh, I'm so nervous. Can he make it?"
"We did everything we could. If he doesn't make it… I'll cry my eyes out and then help Brother Liu even more next time!"
"I'm not asking for much. Tenth place on the Nightmare Rising Stars List is enough… though I know even that might be too much to hope for…"
[100,007 people have liked Bai Liu's small TV. 126,700 people have bookmarked it. 41,190 people have charged it, and player Bai Liu has obtained 67,100 points.]
[Player Bai Liu has received over 100,000 likes in one minute and over 60,000 points from charges! You are wildly loved by the audience!]
[Congratulations to player Bai Liu for winning the final promotion slot and entering second place on the Central Screen's Nightmare Rising Stars List. The number of views is rising rapidly…]
There was a long silence in front of the small TV. The audience members' mouths hung open, as if they couldn't believe what they had just accomplished.
Then the silence was shattered into wild laughter, cheers, and screams.
"Ohhhhhh—!!!"
"Bai Liu made it!"
"Fuck! Second on the Nightmare Rising Stars List!!!!"