chapter 40

These were the very words Mu Sicheng had once spoken to Bai Liu, now returned to him verbatim.

Mu Sicheng was silent for a long moment before muttering a stifled curse.

Damn it, you too?! This guy was actually on that train!

After a pause, Mu Sicheng clicked his points wallet with a resigned click of the tongue. "Tell me what you know. How much do you want? If it's under three hundred points, I might consider buying your intel."

He was prepared to pay for Bai Liu's information. Having watched Bai Liu play, Mu Sicheng already understood his mercenary nature—he would never refuse points offered to him, nor would he waste a single one.

Bai Liu had survived the explosion; he was one of those rare players who had experienced the [Blazing Last Train] in reality and lived. For Mu Sicheng, who had followed Bai Liu in without any knowledge of the game, Bai Liu's information was invaluable—a walkthrough he could not refuse.

"Just give me whatever you think is fair," Bai Liu replied, slipping his hand into his coat pocket and feeling the old wallet within. His smile grew even more sincere. "Mu Sicheng, what I'd like to propose is this: I'll share the game's setting and information with you, and in return, when necessary, you lend me a hand. Mutual benefit, mutual cooperation—what do you say?"

Mu Sicheng looked Bai Liu up and down. Bai Liu's gaze was earnest, and Mu Sicheng crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow with a meaningful smile. "Cooperate with me? So you're giving me your intel for free?"

"Not quite for free. You're a wealthy player—mooching my hard-earned information would be a bit shameless…" Bai Liu sighed, waving his hand magnanimously. "How about this: just a token one or two hundred points, for the sake of formality."

Mu Sicheng's smile turned wicked. "One or two hundred? You wish. You want to cooperate with a top player like me and pay me for your so-called valuable intel? Dream on. I haven't even settled the score for you stealing my two-thousand-point item for a single point last time!"

Bai Liu: "…One point is fine."

"Wait, no, Bai Liu, this is odd. You're actually seeking cooperation with another player in-game?" Mu Sicheng scrutinized Bai Liu, eyes narrowing. "You don't strike me as the type to naively trust others. Do you really think I'll help you just because I say I will?"

"Though you're a newcomer, I see you as a rival, not someone to underestimate. You always have tricks up your sleeve—who knows, maybe I'll fall for one myself. You seeking my cooperation is suspicious. It reeks of a scheme."

Mu Sicheng eyed Bai Liu with deep suspicion, certain Bai Liu had considered all this.

Outside of guilds, where external constraints exist, cooperation between players in this game was little more than an empty promise, devoid of credibility.

As a super-A player, Mu Sicheng could easily take Bai Liu's information and then decide whether or not to help him. What could Bai Liu, a mere newcomer, do about it?

"No scheme. I genuinely want to cooperate," Bai Liu said, spreading his hands. "This is a Tier 2 game with a high mortality rate, and my stats are only F. Without help from a top player like you, I'm likely to die. Besides, I think we share a common enemy."

Mu Sicheng raised an eyebrow. "A common enemy?"

"[The Puppeteer] is in this game as well." Bai Liu smiled. "You wouldn't want to face a group-attack player like [The Puppeteer] alone, would you?"

Mu Sicheng's expression changed. "How do you know he's here?!"

His reaction was understandable. In his struggling newcomer days, [The Puppeteer] had been his personal nightmare.

[The Puppeteer] had tried to make Mu Sicheng his puppet, and after being rebuffed, had relentlessly hunted him in-game, often joining forces with others to corner him, showing no regard for Mu Sicheng's survival. Mu Sicheng had only escaped time and again thanks to his own speed-based skill; otherwise, he would have long since been turned into a marionette.

In those days, [The Puppeteer] was his nemesis. Even now, with his own strength greatly increased, Mu Sicheng still loathed encountering him.

Both were clever, but if Bai Liu's approach was unorthodox, [The Puppeteer]'s was downright sinister.

After many failed pursuits, [The Puppeteer] realized no player could catch Mu Sicheng in a straight chase. So, with his 93 intelligence, he devised a new strategy.

That time, Mu Sicheng was nearly caught.

No matter how fast he ran, there were always those he couldn't outrun—those who simply didn't run at all.

Back then, Mu Sicheng often played with a friend from the real world. They entered the game together, and, trusting their real-life bond, Mu Sicheng let his guard down.

But [The Puppeteer] somehow turned this friend, who joined the King's Guild and secretly aided in the ambush.

Mu Sicheng was lured into a game, unaware that [The Puppeteer] was lying in wait. The moment he entered, he was beset on all sides.

He escaped only by severing both hands, dropping his sanity to 18, and going berserk to slaughter all of [The Puppeteer]'s minions. When he finally cleared the game, half his body was already mutated, covered in blood, and barely sane.

Since then, Mu Sicheng had been deeply wary of "cooperation."

By rights, Bai Liu, as the first to enter, should not know who followed. How could he know [The Puppeteer] was here—unless they had arranged it in advance?

This brought back memories of his own early ambush, and Mu Sicheng's expression darkened, the red light in his eyes flashing like a warning.

His hand morphed into a sharp, gray-black monkey's claw, hidden behind his back, as he fixed Bai Liu with a dangerous stare. "Bai Liu, unless you can give me a reasonable explanation for how you know [The Puppeteer] is here, your game ends now."

Bai Liu calmly opened his game manager for Mu Sicheng to see. On the panel, a red forum post was pinned: [The Puppeteer enters "Blazing Last Train," declares he'll make Bai Liu his puppet!]

Mu Sicheng's dangerous look faltered, the red in his eyes fading. "How can you access the forum? I thought it was locked after entering the game."

"My personal skill. I saw you'd been hunted as a potential puppet, too." Bai Liu didn't elaborate, but smiled and extended his hand. "In short, we're on the same side now. Shall we cooperate?"

"Of course, I don't do freebies—a single point is enough to show your sincerity." Bai Liu added with a playful grin.

Mu Sicheng narrowed his eyes, unwrapped a lollipop, and stared at Bai Liu for a long moment before conjuring a one-point coin from thin air.

He returned a similarly insincere smile, pressing the coin into Bai Liu's palm as if tossing alms to a beggar. "Fine, let's cooperate. We'll share information and help each other. Here's your one point of sincerity."

Mu Sicheng still remembered Bai Liu's "I don't do freebies" trick, and now returned the favor.

Bai Liu closed his fingers around the coin, his smile deepening. "I can feel your sincerity."

"My sincerity is this—if you end up begging for help," Mu Sicheng flicked his oversized monkey headphones down around his neck, silencing the eerie screech, and stuffed his hands in his pockets, sneering, "—cry sincerely enough, and maybe I'll help you out of pity."

Bai Liu's lips curled almost imperceptibly, and he played along. "No problem. I'll cry so sincerely you won't be able to resist."

At that moment, the system prompt sounded in his mind.

[System Notification: Cooperation agreement reached between players Bai Liu and Mu Sicheng.]

[Terms: In "Blazing Last Train," whenever Bai Liu requests aid, Mu Sicheng must do everything in his power to help. If he refuses, the system will compel him. In return, Bai Liu must share all information he knows and provide necessary assistance—a one-point fee per help rendered.]

As Bai Liu smiled serenely, Mu Sicheng, about to demand the promised intel, suddenly felt a chill down his spine.

Why did he have the ominous sense he was about to be taken for a ride?

——————

While Bai Liu and Mu Sicheng waited for the last train, the game lobby and forums had erupted. The multiplayer zone was packed with spectators eager to witness this rare gathering of top players.

"Whoa! It's really the Puppeteer, Mu God, and Little Parrot—how did these three end up together?"

"Top players rarely end up in the same game anymore—they usually avoid each other. What's going on? Three legends in one game, and in a Tier 2 that's never been cleared?!"

"They must be looking for a real thrill… but this is insane!"

"I can't decide whose stream to watch. I'm a Little Parrot fan, but he always wins effortlessly—so boring. I want something exciting. Should I pick Mu God or the Puppeteer?"

"I'm torn too. I've got a new favorite—Bai Liu. He was so cool last time! I recommend his stream—it's just as exciting as the others!"

"Ugh, not this again. Everywhere I go, people are shilling this Bai Liu. He's never even played multiplayer—don't hype him up!"

"I just watched—he's actually talking cooperation with Mu God. How dumb do you have to be? Doesn't he know Mu God never cooperates after being betrayed? I bet Mu God's just playing him."

Bai Liu was the talk of the town. Though his ranking wasn't high, he was the center of attention.

His last playthrough, with its distinctive style, had won him a devoted following.

But for every fan, there were detractors—especially among the lower-ranked players, who resented Bai Liu's meteoric rise despite his weak stats. Among the masses, his reputation was decidedly mixed.