chapter 44

Zhang Gui let out a haughty, derisive laugh. "A fool is always a fool. Among those three, one is Bai Liu—his stats are abysmal, and his movement speed is nowhere near as swift as you are under my control. There's no way he could search the carriage faster than you."

"As for Mu Sicheng, he's quick, but his intellect doesn't match Bai Liu's. When it comes to searching, he can't compare to someone like me, who possesses both intelligence and a team of puppet players. Unless those two join forces, I am undoubtedly the fastest at scouring the train."

"But those two will never cooperate." Zhang Gui's smile turned malicious. He casually kicked one of the puppets before him, sending it crashing to its knees with a metallic thud, head bowed in submission.

With languid indifference, Zhang Gui placed his foot on the kneeling puppet's back, leaning down to sneer into its face. "Hey, Mu Sicheng's old friend—Liu Huai, isn't it?"

The puppet named Liu Huai trembled, silent and shivering.

"I brought you here precisely because I knew Mu Sicheng would be in this game," Zhang Gui chuckled. "He'd never expect you to have become my puppet, would he?"

"He nearly became my puppet himself, thanks to your betrayal. But even with his sanity dropping to eighteen, he managed to keep his wits, slaughtered four of my puppets in a frenzy, and escaped. I lost so many, I had to use you as a replacement."

"But being my puppet isn't so bad, is it? I'm sure you're quite content. If you see Mu Sicheng later, remember to do your best to unsettle him. If he escapes again, you'll find yourself in a far less pleasant position."

As he spoke, Zhang Gui lightly patted Liu Huai's face. Cold sweat streamed down the puppet's wooden features, but he dared not utter a word.

Finding the exchange dull, Zhang Gui soon withdrew his hand. "Mu Sicheng will never work with anyone, least of all someone as cunning as Bai Liu. Even if Bai Liu wanted to cooperate, Mu Sicheng would only feign compliance. Whether alone or together, they can't search the carriage faster than us. We should be the furthest along in the game, yet we've found nothing. That leaves only two possibilities—"

He raised two fingers, explaining, "First: the so-called mirror shards the game wants us to collect aren't in the train at all."

"And the second—" Zhang Gui's eyes narrowed meaningfully, "—there are seven players in this game. Mu Sicheng and Bai Liu, myself and you three, that's six. The last slot belongs to the final player to enter. If that person managed to find all the shards before us, it's possible."

Despite his fear, Li Gou looked up in confusion. "But Master, we've searched half the train at full speed and found nothing. It's impossible that all the shards are in the other half, just waiting for the last player to collect them, right?"

"Why not?" Zhang Gui's tone grew sharp at the mention of that name. "If the last to enter is Du Sanying, then yes—even if every shard were piled at his feet, waiting to be picked up, it wouldn't surprise me!"

——————

Bai Liu glanced sidelong at Du Sanying, who was anxiously inspecting each seat. He hadn't found a single shard, despite having followed Bai Liu and the others through two carriages.

"This doesn't make sense…" Du Sanying muttered, genuinely perplexed. "How have I not found a single shard?"

He was used to breezing through collection quests, yet this time, after so long, he was still empty-handed.

Pushing up his glasses, Du Sanying checked his game manager—his luck stat remained at one hundred percent, deepening his confusion.

…How could this be? With perfect luck, he should excel at finding things…

Yet he had a powerful premonition: as long as he followed Bai Liu, he would clear the game. The feeling was tinged with a bone-deep unease, but Du Sanying never doubted his intuition. If it told him to follow Bai Liu, then follow he would.

Bai Liu, seeing Du Sanying check his luck stat, withdrew his gaze and turned to Mu Sicheng with quiet certainty. "There are no mirror shards in the carriage."

Mu Sicheng had long since given up trying to follow Bai Liu's logic. He simply asked, "Why?"

"If there were shards in the train, Du Sanying, with his perfect luck, would have found them by now," Bai Liu replied.

Mu Sicheng raised an eyebrow. "You're forgetting the Puppet Master. Du Sanying is good at finding things, but the Puppet Master has four people, and his puppets move fast. They could have beaten us to the shards."

"Unlikely," Bai Liu shook his head. "First, you yourself said Du Sanying's luck is a huge advantage in this kind of game. Second, if the Puppet Master had already found the shards and realized their importance, he'd likely attack us by now. We've traversed several carriages without encountering them—they're deliberately avoiding us, not acting like someone who's already succeeded."

Mu Sicheng folded his arms and looked away, a sardonic smile on his lips. "You clever types always understand each other, always playing these games."

"I don't care for his games," Bai Liu replied coolly, catching the edge of Mu Sicheng's sarcasm. "If I need someone to cooperate with me, I'll make sure they do so willingly."

"Like our partnership, you mean?" Mu Sicheng gave a hollow laugh. "Bai Liu, a verbal agreement with you is hardly binding."

"It's a business transaction," Bai Liu corrected, a faint smile on his lips. "You paid me a point, Mu Sicheng."

Mu Sicheng snorted, unwilling to argue further. "If, as you say, there are no shards on the train, then where are they? Outside? In the station? Are we supposed to get off and search the platform?"

Bai Liu stroked his chin in thought. "Honestly, I think it's unlikely the shards are in the station either."

"If not on the train or in the station, and the map is this small," Mu Sicheng spread his hands, "where else could they be?"

Bai Liu didn't answer, for the train had arrived. The PA system's female voice interrupted his half-formed reply: "The train has arrived at Mirror City Museum. Passengers disembarking, please do so in an orderly fashion. Passengers boarding, please enter in an orderly manner…"

The doors slid open. Mu Sicheng and Du Sanying caught sight of the scene outside and their faces changed instantly, while Bai Liu, having anticipated it, remained composed.

The platform was littered with charred corpses, some with melted eyes, others with limbs shriveled and teeth bared. Strangely, they all maintained the postures of ordinary people—one corpse even checked a watch, though the timepiece was now a blackened ruin.

The burnt passengers were packed densely throughout the station. As the doors opened, they all lifted their heads in unison, empty sockets fixing on Bai Liu and his companions. Du Sanying involuntarily swallowed and pressed himself against the window.

The station was a scene of utter devastation, blackened by fire, the stench of scorched flesh so thick it made one's throat itch.

Du Sanying edged behind Bai Liu, whispering, "B-Bai Liu, do you think this is another cutscene? Will they… attack us?"

"I wouldn't design two nearly identical cutscenes at the start of a game," Bai Liu replied. "It's dull and a waste of time."

Du Sanying grew even weaker, every hair standing on end, a sense of imminent danger urging him to flee.

Yet the moment he left Bai Liu's side, the shadow of death seemed to loom ever closer. He felt trapped, unable to stay or go, and could only ask, on the verge of tears, "Bai Liu, then how would you design it?"

"If it were me…" Bai Liu spoke as he swiftly searched his system interface for an item. Once he found what he was looking for, he continued, "I'd design a high-stakes train chase to inject some excitement into the opening."

Mu Sicheng understood at once. Staring at the charred corpses outside the doors, he muttered a dark curse.

A chase was about to begin.