[1776 new people liked Bai Liu’s small TV, 2006 new people bookmarked Bai Liu’s small TV, 345 people charged points for player Bai Liu. Charging points: 345.]
[2004 new people are currently watching Bai Liu’s small TV. The player obtained over 1500 likes within one minute. Player Bai Liu has finally started getting serious!]
[Yo~ Your performance is back on track~ Yo~ My punishment cannot be deferred~ Yo~ Until you can keep flying~ Yo~]
[To leave the (Grave Dancing Area), player Bai Liu still needs 47,294 player likes, 508,600 player bookmarks, and 14,724 charging points.]
Mu Shicheng ran around the entire train an unknown number of times before they finally arrived at the next station. Only after the swarm of [Passengers] disembarked did he get a chance to breathe.
He collapsed flat on his back, poured a Stamina Recovery Agent down his throat, and wiped away the sweat-soaked hair plastered to his cheeks and forehead. Then he cast a dark, hostile look at Bai Liu, who was also resting nearby.
“Bai Liu, did you guess my personal skill was stealing a long time ago?” Mu Shicheng’s thoughts followed the same line as Wang Shun’s. “You deliberately baited me by stealing my things, making me think your skill was theft so I’d lower my guard.”
“Back at the game entrance, you also pretended you hadn’t figured out my skill and casually guessed it was sensory enhancement. But in reality, you knew damn well from the start that my skill was theft, didn’t you?”
His gaze was sharp as lightning as he stared calmly at Bai Liu.
“Yes,” Bai Liu admitted without hiding anything.
Mu Shicheng drew in a deep breath and stared at him. “When did you figure it out?”
Personal skills were something players tacitly avoided discussing in public. Exposing someone’s personal skill was an easy way to offend them. Unless it was someone like the Puppet Master, who needed to recruit players and therefore had to put his abilities on display, most people’s personal skills were not openly talked about.
As a newcomer, Bai Liu’s only way to learn another player’s personal skill should have been by purchasing Mu Shicheng’s game videos.
But a player’s skill panel was not visible to the audience. In other words, viewers could not see exactly what a player’s skill was. If Bai Liu wanted to figure out Mu Shicheng’s personal skill, he would have had to buy several of Mu Shicheng’s videos and infer it from the footage, or discuss it offline with veteran players who knew.
But Bai Liu had never purchased any of Mu Shicheng’s videos.
And this time, Mu Shicheng had approached Bai Liu the moment he logged in. Bai Liu hadn’t had any chance to talk with other players who might know Mu Shicheng’s skill.
So how the hell did he know?
“When I met you after logging out of Siren Town,” Bai Liu said. “That was when I knew.”
Mu Shicheng looked at him in disbelief. “Right after you logged out of Siren Town?! I found you almost the instant you came out. There’s no way you had time to learn my skill!”
“At first, I really only wanted to trick you out of a bottle of Mental Bleach,” Bai Liu said, rubbing his nose. “I wasn’t planning to set a trap for you yet. Your reaction was what exposed your personal skill as theft.”
He paused, then added, “Besides, didn’t you say yourself that you’re fourth on the Rising Star Rankings? You looked fairly strong, so I thought it would be a waste not to do something with you while you were already there. I simply followed the opportunity.”
What the hell did he mean, “it would be a waste not to do something with you while you were already there”?
Was this bastard Grandet? Did he have to pluck feathers from every goose that passed by?!
Mu Shicheng was so angry his chest heaved. Still unconvinced, he demanded, “How did my reaction expose my personal skill?”
Bai Liu turned to him. “Because after I ‘stole’ your Mental Bleach, your first reaction was to assume my skill was theft.”
“What else was I supposed to think?” Mu Shicheng was speechless. “What other skill could directly take something from my system inventory?”
Bai Liu reminded him calmly, “But in the Game Lobby, you clearly knew theft was prohibited. Yet when I took your Stamina Supplement the second time, your reaction was still to stubbornly insist my skill was theft. I think a normal player would have changed their line of thought by then and considered other possibilities—for example, that my personal skill could control you into gifting things to me. But you didn’t.”
“Not even after I entered the game did you change your belief that my skill was theft.”
Mu Shicheng froze.
“That was a subconscious reaction,” Bai Liu said, glancing at him. “It shows that deep down, you have an extremely strong fixation on ‘theft.’ Personal skills are tied to desire, so I guessed your skill was probably related to stealing.”
“Fuck.” Mu Shicheng cut him off, his expression ugly. “Even if you wanted to manipulate and use me from that early on, you couldn’t have been completely sure I’d follow you into the game. If I hadn’t followed you, all your preparations would’ve gone to waste!”
“I couldn’t be completely sure,” Bai Liu admitted frankly. “But I was about eighty percent sure.”
He lifted his eyes. “Because I had something on me that you wanted to steal—the Siren’s Amulet, right?”
Mu Shicheng’s breath caught.
“There was something I found very strange before,” Bai Liu continued. “Why would you come all the way to the game entrance to find me? You’re a fairly strong player in this game. Even if you were curious about my personal skill, it shouldn’t have been enough for you to keep clinging to me after losing several thousand points.”
Bai Liu looked up at him. “You’re not stupid. You don’t get up early unless there’s profit in it. There had to be something on me that you wanted, and you were confident you could get it. That’s why you came to find me the moment I logged in—to confirm that I had brought the thing you wanted with me.”
“In the jargon of you thieves, that’s called casing the joint, isn’t it?”
Mu Shicheng’s face finally went completely black.
“So you knew all along that I wanted to steal the Siren’s Amulet from you? You used it as bait?”
Bai Liu changed to a gentler tone and smiled kindly. “How can you call it bait, God Mu? I was mainly seeking cooperation with you. Consider that item a gift from me. Look, I can control you now, but I haven’t asked you to return it, have I?”
Bai Liu’s ability to lie through his teeth had reached its peak.
In truth, he could not control Mu Shicheng into returning the Siren’s Amulet. At present, the skill connection between Bai Liu and Mu Shicheng was genuinely limited to cooperation. Bai Liu had no way to force Mu Shicheng to do specific things.
But after hearing this, Mu Shicheng’s expression eased slightly.
At least Bai Liu had not made him return the item. That proved Bai Liu did not use his puppets the way the Puppet Master did—stripping them to the bone without caring whether they lived or died.
For now, Mu Shicheng was safe.
He no longer wanted to speak to this player who made his liver ache with anger. He opened his own panel and checked it.
[Player Mu Shicheng’s Personal Panel]
[Health: 94. Decreased after being burned by flames.]
[Stamina: 30. Exhausted, currently recovering.]
[Mental Value: 75. Mildly alienated due to being attacked by passengers.]
If Mu Shicheng had been running alone, his stamina would not have dropped so severely, nor would he have been accidentally burned by those monsters.
It was all because he had been dragging Bai Liu with him.
To maintain his original speed while carrying Bai Liu, the stamina consumed by his skill had nearly doubled.
Mu Shicheng still didn’t know the exact extent of Bai Liu’s control over him, so he didn’t dare rashly harm him. But that didn’t stop him from verbally mocking Bai Liu.
“You were carried by me the whole time, and your stamina still bottomed out. Your panel attributes are so weak you should’ve died ages ago.”
“Isn’t it because God Mu extended a helping hand that I didn’t?” Bai Liu replied leisurely, opening his own panel. “A narrow escape always brings good fortune. We triggered the first Monster Book entry.”
[The Last Train to Blast Off Monster Book updated — Exploding Passenger (1/3)]
[Monster Name: Exploding Passenger]
[Characteristics: Extremely fast movement speed. 1000 movement speed. Flames have an enhancement effect.]
[Weakness: ??? To be explored.]
[Attack Method: After being burned by the flames on an Exploding Passenger’s body, both Health and Mental Value will decrease.]
“What’s the use of triggering the first Monster Book entry?” Mu Shicheng sneered, tilting his head back and draining the Stamina Recovery Agent. “You’re not seriously planning to complete the entire Monster Book in a Level Two dungeon like The Last Train to Blast Off, are you?”
“Bai Liu, let me tell you—at my level, even I wouldn’t dare try to complete the full Monster Book in a Level Two game that no one has ever cleared.”
“There’s a first time for everything.” Bai Liu always possessed the ability to infuriate people to death. He smiled lazily. “Don’t we have me this time? How about God Mu gives it a try? We’re cooperating, after all.”
The moment Bai Liu said “cooperating,” he was practically threatening Mu Shicheng outright: if necessary, he would force him to help collect the Monster Book entries.
Mu Shicheng felt the anger he had barely suppressed surge up again. He took two deep breaths, regulating his heartbeat and breathing so he wouldn’t die of rage.
“Your damn Health is about to hit zero, and you’re still thinking about collecting the Monster Book. You really do value money more than your life.”
Bai Liu was unashamed. “That’s right. I’m exactly that kind of person.”
Mu Shicheng: “...”
Mu Shicheng was right.
Bai Liu’s panel attributes looked far more miserable than Mu Shicheng’s Grade-A stats.
[Player Bai Liu’s Personal Panel]
[Health: 31. Decreased after being attacked by player Mu Shicheng and burned by flames.]
[Stamina: 8. Exhausted, currently recovering.]
[Mental Value: 90. Mildly alienated due to being attacked by passengers.]
Mu Shicheng exhaled deeply and forced down his stifled mood.
Now that he and Bai Liu were in the same boat, he could only make himself stay calm.
“You’ve already experienced the consequences of Mental Value dropping,” Mu Shicheng said, “but maybe you still don’t understand the importance of Health. Let me explain what happens when Health decreases.”
“Health is the only attribute players cannot automatically recover in-game. Once it hits zero, you die. No item can restore it. Listen carefully, Bai Liu. You only have 31 Health left. That’s already extremely dangerous. In a Level Two dungeon, any monster hitting you a couple more times could kill you.”
“So I strongly advise you to stop thinking about completing the Monster Book.”
Bai Liu neither agreed nor disagreed. Instead, he changed the subject.
“We still need to collect the broken mirror pieces.”
Mu Shicheng closed his eyes and rested, trying to recover his stamina without responding.
Bai Liu continued analyzing on his own.
“In this game, passengers seem to board and disembark at the same time whenever the train stops. When passengers board, we enter a chase sequence. When the passengers finish getting off, the subway doors close. If the mirror pieces aren’t on the train but outside on the platforms, then we only have one chance to search for them.”
Bai Liu’s tone turned thoughtful.
“That chance is while passengers are boarding. We have to search the station platform for broken mirror pieces during boarding and return before the doors close. Otherwise, we’ll be trapped on the platform with those [Passengers].”
“I think the Puppet Master searched the platform during the chase just now.”
“How do you know?” Du Sanying, who had been hiding in the corner, finally asked curiously.
He was in the best condition among the three.
Although his little bumper car was smeared with blood, and the My Little Pony stickers were covered in various charred scraps of flesh, Du Sanying himself had not suffered any damage.
“Because during the chase just now, we ran back and forth through the entire train and didn’t run into anyone else,” Bai Liu said, leaning against the wall and wiping the sweat from his face. “Unless we coincidentally missed the Puppet Master every single time, then he simply wasn’t on the train while we were being chased.”
“Ah!” Du Sanying grew anxious. “Then wouldn’t the Puppet Master be able to collect the mirror fragments very quickly and clear the game?”
“That... isn’t necessarily true.” Bai Liu lifted his eyelids and glanced at Du Sanying. “I think there’s a high chance he didn’t find any broken mirror pieces on the platform.”
Du Sanying was stunned. “Why do you think that?”
“Because if I were him, after confirming that the broken mirror pieces were on the platform, I would only do one thing.” Bai Liu raised one finger. His gaze was calm. “I would come find us.”
“Why would he come find us after confirming that the mirror pieces are on the platform?” Du Sanying became more confused the more he listened.
“The train only stops for two minutes. I’ve checked the layout of this subway station. It’s impossible for the Puppet Master to search an entire platform and return to the train within two minutes. Even if he had three puppets as fast as Mu Shicheng, it still wouldn’t be possible.”
At the mention of this, Mu Shicheng ground his teeth.
“Because finding things takes time,” Bai Liu continued without changing expression. “It requires searching. Speed doesn’t help much with that.”
“This Subway Line 4 has eleven stations. Excluding the start and end station, [Antique City], where we boarded, there are still ten stations on Line 4.”
“It took us more than three minutes just to get from the starting station to the first stop. Add the two-minute stop time, and each station takes roughly five minutes. Passing through all ten stations on one line would take about fifty minutes. The countdown is only one hour, which means we most likely only have one full trip along Line 4 before the explosion.”
“In other words, if the broken mirror pieces are on the platforms, we only get one chance to search each platform. But the Puppet Master’s three puppets cannot search an entire platform in two minutes.”
“So he would come find us,” Bai Liu concluded.
Du Sanying’s eyes spun like mosquito coils.
“Why?!”
Bai Liu, your conclusion and your last sentence don’t connect at all!
The three puppets can’t search the whole platform in two minutes, so the Puppet Master will come find us?
Why?!
It wasn’t as if they were going to help the Puppet Master search—
Wait.
Du Sanying suddenly snapped awake and looked at Bai Liu in shock.
“Because he lacks manpower.” Bai Liu looked toward the empty, swaying end of the train. “After confirming the key clue that we do need to go to the platforms to search for broken mirror pieces, he will definitely do everything he can to turn all of us into his puppets.”
“But before confirming that key clue, he probably won’t rashly come after us.”
—
“Master, the broken mirror pieces are not on the platform.”
Li Gou’s tone was extremely low, his posture so respectful it bordered on walking on thin ice.
“The three of us couldn’t search the entire platform. We only searched most of the area near the tracks, as you instructed. There really weren’t any.”
“Not a single broken mirror piece?”
On Zhang Kui’s wooden face, his eyes narrowed into thin ink-black slits.
“How strange. This game should allow players to search for broken mirror pieces on the platform. Is it because you didn’t finish searching everything?”
Li Gou said quietly, “Only the upper section of the platform wasn’t searched, but there were too many burning passengers up there. We couldn’t get up at all.”
“I know.” Zhang Kui stood by the door, controlling them. His tone was impatient. “I have eyes. I can see.”
He waved a hand and tugged the transparent silk threads looped around his fingers.
Li Gou instantly dropped to his knees.
“I’m thinking about our next plan. Don’t interrupt me!”
Li Gou gritted his teeth for a while.
Seeing that Zhang Kui seemed to have come out of his thoughts, he couldn’t help suggesting in a low voice, “Master, if we don’t have any clues for the game right now, why don’t we strike at Bai Liu and the others first?”
Because of that promotion slot, Li Gou had always held a grudge against Bai Liu.
But Bai Liu had shown his talent before. If Li Gou were alone, he might not have chosen to make a move against him.
Now, however, he had a powerful backer.
And this “backer” happened to be very dissatisfied with Bai Liu as well. If Li Gou didn’t take the chance to deal with that little bitch who had stolen his promotion slot, then he would be far too generous.
If Bai Liu hadn’t taken his promotion slot last time, Li Gou would already have gathered enough points to buy all the items he needed to get out of prison. He’d be enjoying himself outside by now!
Li Gou truly did not want to stay in that prison for even one more second.
“Until I’m certain where the mirror pieces are actually hidden, don’t lay a hand on Bai Liu recklessly.” Zhang Kui looked down at Li Gou as though he were staring at an incurable idiot.
“Attacking him means starting a conflict. Once conflict breaks out, Mu Shicheng, who already has a grudge against me, will definitely get involved and stir things up. Our side will suffer losses, and the difficulty of clearing the game will increase.”
“This is a Level Two game. Clearing it comes first. Before we know the game’s key clues, we shouldn’t act rashly. Secure the clear first, then handle incidental matters.”
“Don’t put the cart before the horse.”
Li Gou gritted his teeth and answered quietly, “Yes, Master.”
After a while, still unwilling, Li Gou asked, “Then Master, if the broken mirror pieces aren’t on the platform and aren’t on the train, where could they be?”
“Wait—”
Zhang Kui seemed to suddenly think of something. His expression changed.
“Could they be—”
“Mu Shicheng, have you ever tried stealing things from monsters?”
Bai Liu shifted closer to Mu Shicheng and asked.
Mu Shicheng shoved him away impatiently. “Impossible. I can steal from players—I’ve even stolen from Spades—but it doesn’t work on monsters.”
“Why?” Bai Liu propped his chin on his hand, thinking deeply. “Does the system judge it as invalid, or are you simply unable to steal from them?”
Mu Shicheng glanced sideways at Bai Liu.
“I don’t know what scheme you’re cooking up, so I’ll tell you directly. Bai Liu, I can indeed steal certain items from monsters. But ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) after I steal from one, that monster’s aggro will permanently lock onto me. It will chase me until the game ends, and it’s extremely easy to die that way. Even in a Level One game, I could die easily, let alone a Level Two.”
“If you’re planning to use me, you’d better not use me for that kind of one-time suicidal stunt.”
“Aggro...” Bai Liu fell into thought.
He idly fiddled with the coin in his hand, then suddenly looked up at Du Sanying, who was sitting in the corner eating cookies to recover his stamina.
Bai Liu narrowed his eyes and revealed a kind smile very much like the Big Bad Wolf coaxing Little Red Riding Hood.
“Du Sanying, have you ever played large-scale online games?”
Little Red Riding Hood Du Sanying still had cookie crumbs stuck at the corner of his mouth.
After a confused “Huh?”, he honestly answered the Big Bad Wolf’s question.
“I have.”
“Then do you know the aggro-transfer playstyle?” Bai Liu turned around, squatted down, and leaned closer to Du Sanying.
For some reason, Du Sanying felt a chill on the back of his neck.
He edged backward slightly, swallowed, shrank his head, and said in a tiny voice, “I... know a little. It’s like OT and pulling aggro, right?”
“Exactly!” Bai Liu snapped his fingers, his smile growing even kinder.
“For example, after Mu Shicheng steals something from a monster and the monster’s aggro locks onto him, I’ll attack that monster until its aggro transfers to us. Then we lead the monster away, making it easier for Mu Shicheng to steal things.”
“You know training, right? Kiting a whole string of monsters behind us...”
“Wait!” Du Sanying did not notice at all that Bai Liu had changed from “I” to “we.” He interrupted Bai Liu, stammering in confusion. “Isn’t this a collection-oriented game? What does any of this have to do with online games, training, aggro, and all that? Our main task should be finding the broken mirror pieces, right?”
“Exactly.” Bai Liu looked up. He spread his hands. “If the broken mirror pieces aren’t on the train and aren’t on the platform, where else could they be?”
Du Sanying grew even more lost.
“...Where else could they be?”
The corners of Bai Liu’s mouth curled up.
“Before, I thought the chances of the mirror pieces being outside the train weren’t high, because the mirror exploded inside the carriage. It’s unlikely that the fragments would be on the platform.”
“If they aren’t in the carriage, then is it possible that, during the explosion, the shattered mirror fragments were blasted into the passengers’ bodies?”
Du Sanying: “...”
Mu Shicheng: “...”
Fuck.
“So—”
Bai Liu looked at Mu Shicheng with a seemingly innocent gaze.
“God Mu, looks like you’ll still have to try stealing from those non-human things after all.”
