chapter 32

Mu Sicheng stared at the single silver point in Bai Liu's fingers as if he'd seen a ghost, then looked past the coin at its owner, exasperated. "Bai Liu, are you kidding me? You want a sanity bleach for one point? Do you know how expensive those are? Mine are all premium—over a thousand points each! How is this any different from a freebie?"

"This one point, plus a demonstration of my personal skill. Deal?" Bai Liu's smile never wavered. "You can see my skill first, then give me the bleach. How about it? You might be the very first player to witness my personal skill in action."

The hint of temptation in Bai Liu's tone made Mu Sicheng waver, though suspicion lingered. He could easily watch Bai Liu's skill and then refuse the bleach—Bai Liu, with his single-digit sanity, might look lucid, but he was in no state to do anything about it.

And in the game hall, theft and robbery skills were forbidden; even if Bai Liu's skill could forcibly take things, no coercive skill could be used here…

But Bai Liu didn't know that yet.

After weighing his options, Mu Sicheng decided he had nothing to lose. He was genuinely curious about this newcomer's skill.

He rubbed his nose, then suddenly snatched the coin from Bai Liu's fingers, a sly smile curling his lips. "Deal. Show me your skill, Bai Liu!"

[System Notification: Transaction established between Player Bai Liu and Player Mu Sicheng. The impoverished wanderer Bai Liu receives one bottle of sanity bleach.]

[System Notification: Player Mu Sicheng has gifted Player Bai Liu a high-quality sanity bleach, valued at 1,700 points. Restores sanity from below 20 to its original value.]

A canister of sanity bleach, resembling a spray can, materialized in Bai Liu's hand. He gave it a shake and, before Mu Sicheng could react, sprayed himself liberally.

White mist enveloped Bai Liu's face.

Mu Sicheng let out a wail as he realized what had happened. "That was my premium bleach from the last big sale!"

But by the time he lunged to snatch it back, Bai Liu had already finished.

Mu Sicheng glared at the now-refreshed Bai Liu with a look of deep grievance. "What is your personal skill, anyway? Is it theft? But in the hall, only trades are allowed—no stealing or robbing! How did you take my bleach from the system warehouse?"

"I've already demonstrated it for you," Bai Liu replied cheerfully, standing and dusting off his clothes. He patted the dejected Mu Sicheng on the shoulder. "Thank you for the sanity bleach, Player Mu Sicheng. It worked wonders."

Mu Sicheng was utterly baffled, trailing after Bai Liu like a monkey, peppering him with questions about his skill and even using a strange scale item to test Bai Liu's honesty.

The result was [True], meaning Bai Liu hadn't lied once—leaving Mu Sicheng even more perplexed.

At that moment, Wang Shun, prompted by Bai Liu, began explaining some basic game knowledge. When he mentioned that nearly all the other rookies had perished, he added regretfully, "Actually, there's another rookie from your batch, Mu Ke, who's still struggling. But he's probably done for—I just checked, he's fallen into the 'Death Comedy' zone, and no one's tipping him anymore. He'll likely die soon."

"What's his name? Mu Ke?" Bai Liu's tone shifted.

Bai Liu's own unemployment had been caused by the arrival of a big boss's son, who'd come to "experience life." Bai Liu's supervisor, who'd never liked him, seized the chance to fire him and make room for this privileged young master—Mu Ke.

This Mu Ke was notorious for his bad temper. During the handover, Bai Liu hadn't had time to back up his horror game files and important data. The next day, he found his computer—and everything he'd left behind—had been thrown out by Mu Ke.

Not just the company computer, but Bai Liu's own old laptop, too. When Bai Liu asked about it, Mu Ke had shrugged, saying it looked old and ugly, so he'd tossed it. If Bai Liu wanted, he could have a brand-new, top-of-the-line replacement.

Bai Liu had wanted to explain that his laptop contained dozens of gigabytes of data and several new game ideas, but, newly unemployed, he saw no point in arguing. He accepted the new Alienware, made Mu Ke compensate him for every lost item (even a half-used pack of tissues), and left with a cool head.

It was said Mu Ke had a congenital heart condition and was spoiled at home, given anything he wanted. When he decided to "experience" the gaming industry, heads rolled to make room for him.

Bai Liu knew his own sharp tongue could provoke trouble, and if he pushed Mu Ke into a medical crisis, he couldn't afford the consequences.

So he simply nodded, took the compensation, and left.

Now, hearing Mu Ke's name, Bai Liu said he wanted to see him. Wang Shun found it odd, but led Bai Liu to the 'Death Comedy' zone.

Mu Ke's small television was in a desolate corner.

Such desperate, dying struggles were common in 'Death Comedy'—too dull to draw an audience. Only one or two people occasionally glanced at the tear-streaked, desperate Mu Ke before quickly losing interest.

Players on the brink of death were a daily sight here—nothing special, nothing worth watching.

Bai Liu opened his game panel to check Mu Ke's progress. He saw that Mu Ke had completed two pages of the monster manual, one of which was [Mermaid Sailor], whose reward was the [Mermaid's Talisman]—an item Bai Liu considered extremely valuable. His gaze lingered on that entry.

"Mu Ke's will to survive is strong," Wang Shun observed, though he felt little pity. "But clearing the level is too hard. He managed to get a [Water Bubble] through donations, but it was quickly destroyed by mermaids. After that, no one tipped or liked him, and he ended up here."

"He's done well for a rookie," Mu Sicheng commented, arms crossed. "If Mu Ke were willing to sell me that [Mermaid's Talisman] after clearing, I'd gladly tip him. It's a great item. But no player would part with a [Monster Manual Item] easily, so I'll just have to watch him die."

Bai Liu also coveted the [Mermaid's Talisman]; from a designer's perspective, it was a priceless item.

But as Mu Sicheng said, if Bai Liu helped Mu Ke clear, Mu Ke would never hand it over. Bai Liu wouldn't, either.

Still, letting such a valuable item sink to the bottom of the sea wasn't Bai Liu's style.

He asked the system silently: [System, can I trade with Mu Ke in-game?]

[System: You and Player Mu Ke are not in the same dimensional world. Trade is impossible.]

Bai Liu lowered his gaze. So, to trade, they had to be in the same dimension. [Define dimension.]

[System: You and your trading partner must share a unified, continuous, and unbroken time and space. Currently, you and Player Mu Ke exist in separate, disconnected timelines and spaces—different dimensions—so trade is impossible.]

"Time and space…" Bai Liu's fingers toyed absently with the coin around his neck. He murmured, "Maybe it's not entirely impossible."

[System, bring up the item: Siren's Fishbone.]

[System: Loading item for player.]

A three-meter-long, luminous white fishbone appeared before Bai Liu.

It was pure and flawless, elegantly shaped, with a translucent, amber-like sheen—beautiful, like its master, the Siren King. Yet it was clearly a whole spine, extracted in one piece, lending its beauty a cruel, bloody edge.

The tail end was tipped with a sharp barb; the other end was smooth, like a handle—almost like a whip.

The fishbone slowly coiled around Bai Liu's waist, cold as scales, making him shiver. It settled loosely at his hips, the barb resting at his navel, the handle dangling from his belt—an odd, nonconformist accessory that clashed with his white shirt and slacks.

Mu Sicheng, curious, reached out to touch the fishbone. The moment he neared Bai Liu's waist, the bone whipped around and stabbed him with its barb. Mu Sicheng yelped, jerking his hand back, shaking it as numbness and cold spread. "What the hell is that?! Players are supposed to be isolated in the system hall—how can it attack me?!"

Mu Sicheng was an A-rank player, yet a single prick from the bone had halved his HP.

But that wasn't the most important thing—the real issue was that, in the hall, players weren't supposed to be able to attack each other!