chapter 48

After that final lash, Bai Liu's stamina was utterly depleted by the high-level weapon, Siren's Fishbone. Gasping for breath, his legs buckled and he half-collapsed atop the car's hood, his face ashen, sweat soaking through his shirt.

[System prompt: Player Bai Liu's stamina has dropped by 80 due to use of (Siren's Fishbone). Please replenish stamina promptly to avoid incapacitation!]

The passenger struck by Bai Liu let out a guttural cry of pain, its eyeball—anchored in its socket by a charred nerve—swiveling to fixate on him. Instantly, it spun around and charged at Bai Liu on all fours.

Bai Liu tipped back a stamina potion, his gaze steady, and with a swift motion, cracked his whip across another passenger poised to attack Mu Sicheng. His voice was hoarse: "Second one. Three more to go."

[System prompt: Player Bai Liu has used (Siren's Fishbone) to lash a passenger. Target's aggro has shifted. He has decided to catch Bai Liu…]

Again and again, Bai Liu's whip struck true. Most of the time, he was shouting for another stamina potion, his peripheral vision locked on the passengers as he lashed out. The rapid cycle of depletion and replenishment left his condition visibly deteriorating.

His face was ghostly pale, cold sweat streaming down his body, his wrist trembling violently as he gripped the whip. He could barely remain upright, relying on the seatbelt around his ankle to keep from collapsing entirely.

Yet even in this state of near-terminal exhaustion, Bai Liu's aim never faltered. Each strike landed precisely on the hand of a passenger about to attack Mu Sicheng.

It was as if, to maintain the aggro transfer, he struck the exact same spot every time.

Du Sanying was transfixed.

So strong… Are all newcomers this outrageous now?

He desperately wanted to know how Bai Liu could aim with such sharpshooter precision, especially when all his stats were plummeting, his stamina perpetually hovering near zero. If it were Du Sanying, he'd have long since collapsed into delirium. But—

—Bai Liu's focus on Mu Sicheng never wavered for an instant.

"Fifth one." Bai Liu looked as if he'd been dredged from a river, hair plastered to his forehead, eyes dark and glassy with sweat, reflecting only Mu Sicheng. He exhaled with a smile, "Keep going, Mu Sicheng. The plan works. Continue."

As soon as he finished, his stamina ran dry again. His legs gave out, and he nearly slid off the car, but Du Sanying caught his ankle just in time and hauled him back up.

Bai Liu lay on the hood, panting, and downed another stamina potion.

Meanwhile, Du Sanying, driving the bumper car, zigzagged through the carriage, dragging five relentless passengers in hot pursuit. He glanced anxiously at Bai Liu, who could barely stand. "Bai Liu, you're running on empty! Shouldn't you rest?"

"No need. The train's about to depart." Bai Liu, ruthless to himself and Mu Sicheng alike, forced himself upright, eyes calm. "Keep going. Mu Sicheng, don't try to grab every passenger—you'll lose HP too quickly. Try to identify which ones have shards."

"I'd love to!" Mu Sicheng snapped, exasperated. Each grab cost him a point of HP from the flames. With so many passengers, grabbing them all was suicide. "But I can't tell which ones have shards!"

All the passengers were charred, burning masses—who could possibly spot a shard the size of a few carats among them?

"Isn't finding loot what thieves like you do best?" Bai Liu even found the energy to tease.

For the first time, he tore his gaze from Mu Sicheng, scanning the crowd. The flames and ash made it nearly impossible to see, and Bai Liu couldn't easily judge which passenger held a shard.

If he couldn't deduce it from the passengers, he'd work backward from the results—his eyes darted to the five passengers trailing the bumper car. One of them had been the source of a shard Mu Sicheng had stolen. Bai Liu narrowed his eyes.

Among the five, one moved more sluggishly, its flames dimmer, flailing like a headless fly. That was the passenger Mu Sicheng had stolen a shard from. Bai Liu recalled that, before losing the shard, this passenger had moved much faster.

"Mu Sicheng, the passengers' weakness is the shard itself!" Bai Liu called out rapidly. "The shard seems to boost them. Look for the ones moving fastest, burning brightest. Can you see which are more vigorous?"

"No!" Mu Sicheng, hanging from a strap, tried to peer through the swirling red and black below. "All I see is fire and a mass of passengers. I was grabbing at random before!"

With that, he suddenly dropped into the flames, gritting his teeth as he snatched another passenger.

[System prompt: Player Mu Sicheng is burned by fire. HP -1, Mental -1.]

"Stop, Mu Sicheng! You're losing HP too fast. If you keep this up, you'll die. You've grabbed five and found one shard—that's only a twenty percent success rate. This one might be a miss…" Bai Liu's whip lashed out just as Mu Sicheng withdrew his claws, striking a passenger about to attack him.

Mu Sicheng raised an eyebrow, flashing a grin as he revealed another shard. "Sorry, this one's a hit."

[System prompt: Player Mu Sicheng has obtained a mirror shard (2/???).]

Bai Liu looked up quickly. "You can tell?"

"Once you're in the thick of them, you can tell," Mu Sicheng replied, wiping soot from his face and giving Bai Liu a rare, approving smile. "Your aim is dead-on. Otherwise, I wouldn't dare. Diving in to steal is too risky if the aggroed passengers turn on me."

"I promise I'll never miss." Bai Liu smiled back, flicking his whip in a flourish. "Go on."

Mu Sicheng, tail hooked to the strap, plunged again and again into the inferno, brushing past passengers who would have torn him apart if not for Bai Liu's whip, which always arrived in time to clear a path.

It was theft without fear.

Soon, Mu Sicheng was stealing from two, three, even four passengers at a time, no longer worrying about retaliation. Bai Liu's whip was always there, precise and reliable, creating a safe space for Mu Sicheng to work.

Bai Liu's flawless crowd control allowed Mu Sicheng to focus entirely on stealing shards.

Perhaps that's why Mu Sicheng forgot he was entrusting his back—and his life—to a player with an F-rank panel, only in his second game.

Every swing of Bai Liu's whip cost him sixty percent of his stamina, and all the passengers Mu Sicheng had robbed now trailed the bumper car, making Mu Sicheng's job easier and easier.

But for Bai Liu, the pressure mounted. Du Sanying's bumper car was fast, could even drive along the walls, and had a luck buff, so most passengers missed him. Still, his face was pale as he dragged a long line of charred corpses, some so fast they nearly clambered onto the car, only to be whipped away by Bai Liu.

"B-Bai Liu," Du Sanying stammered, glancing at the grotesque horde chasing them, their faces twisted, eyes full of malice. The flames were so intense they'd melted the bumper car's tail. "Bai Liu, we can't keep kiting them—if we drag any more, we'll crash!"

"You won't crash, no matter what." Bai Liu, eyes never leaving the passengers, continued clearing a path for Mu Sicheng, his tone almost encouraging. "Believe in yourself. You're one hundred percent lucky."

For the first time, Du Sanying heard a teammate praise his luck stat, but he felt no joy.

Clutching the wheel, he wanted to cry. "A hundred percent luck doesn't make me invincible! Bai Liu, I can still crash, I can still die! It just means I'm less likely to die, not that I can't!"

"No! I can't drive anymore!" Du Sanying's face was ashen. He'd nearly been bitten by a passenger—if not for a last-second dodge, he'd be dead. "Bai Liu! Take the car—I'm getting off!"

In that instant, Du Sanying was overwhelmed by a sense of impending doom.

He'd always trusted his instincts, which had saved him countless times. When he felt this way, it meant something terrible was about to happen—he had to run!

"I said, believe in yourself, Du Sanying." Bai Liu stood on the car, his gaze cold as obsidian, his smile oddly gentle yet chilling. "I need you, Du Sanying."

Every hair on Du Sanying's body stood on end. The warning in his mind screamed: Danger! Run! He'd never felt such a powerful sense of crisis from another player. He instinctively tried to jump, but—

[System prompt: Player Bai Liu requires assistance from player Du Sanying. Player Du Sanying must cooperate with all of Bai Liu's actions!]

Du Sanying was distraught: "!!! When did you control me?! I put on my anti-control gear! Even the Puppet Master can't control me with this! How are you still able to?!"

"I told you, I never controlled you." Bai Liu coughed weakly, wiping stamina potion from his lips, and smiled. "I'm just a collaborator who asked for help—and took a few precautions, just in case."

"Keep driving," Bai Liu said. "Du Sanying, if you run now, Mu Sicheng and I will die. You must hold steady, understand?"

Bai Liu looked down at the trembling Du Sanying. "Don't worry. I won't let Mu Sicheng die, and I won't let you die either."

He smiled, blood and ash on his cheeks lending a cruel edge to his gentleness. "You're both far too valuable to me."

————————

"The train is about to depart—passengers wishing to disembark, please line up in an orderly fashion—"

The charred corpses filed out of the blood-soaked carriage, leaving three utterly spent survivors.

Du Sanying lay limp in the battered bumper car, eyes vacant, limbs splayed, feeling as if he might foam at the mouth at any moment. "I never want to drive again…"

Mu Sicheng, one knee bent, head thrown back against the door, had reverted to human form, but was scorched all over. His lips, cheekbones, and hands were badly burned, raw flesh exposed. Even the monkey on his headphones was curled up, whimpering, its red eyes dim.

But of the three, Bai Liu was in the worst shape.

He was deathly pale, as if sculpted from snow, coughing up blood and bits of viscera, which he wiped away carelessly. He toyed with the diamond-like cluster of shards Mu Sicheng had collected.

The repeated cycles of exhaustion and forced recovery had taken a heavy toll, draining his HP as surely as a drop in mental value signaled psychological collapse.

Mu Sicheng knew the sickening, dizzying aftermath of such depletion—the feeling of being tumbled in a washing machine, every organ about to burst. Empty stamina bottles littered the floor around Bai Liu, who looked like a man suffering from a brutal hangover.

Mu Sicheng glanced at the bottles and clicked his tongue, at a loss for words.

This lunatic—after downing so many stamina potions, he could barely stand, yet his first act was to demand the shards.

"Bai Liu, how much HP do you have left?" Mu Sicheng asked.

Bai Liu sluggishly tapped his panel, his wrist too weak for speed:

[Player Bai Liu's Personal Panel]

[HP: 21 (reduced by Mu Sicheng's attack and fire damage)]

[Stamina: 31 (depleted, recovering)]

[Mental: 89 (mildly corrupted by passenger attacks)]

"Twenty-one," Bai Liu replied. "That last round cost me ten HP. What about you, Mu Sicheng?"

Mu Sicheng opened his own panel, his face darkening:

[Player Mu Sicheng's Personal Panel]

[HP: 70 (reduced by fire damage)]

[Stamina: 59 (depleted, recovering)]

[Mental: 61 (mildly corrupted by passenger attacks)]

"Tch, I lost twenty-four HP," Mu Sicheng muttered. "I managed to protect my mental value from the flames, but it's still on the edge. I need to bleach."

"Don't bleach yet—I need your low mental value," Bai Liu said, checking his panel for quest progress:

[Main Quest—Collect the shattered mirror shards from the last train (20/ )]

['Explosive Last Train Monster Book' updated—Explosive Passenger (1/3)]

[Monster Name: Explosive Passenger]

[Traits: Extremely fast (1,000 speed, fire-boosted)]

[Weakness: Mirror Shard (1/3)]

[Attack: Fire from Explosive Passengers reduces both HP and Mental]

"Not good. I've run into a major problem…" Bai Liu's expression grew grave.

At this, both Mu Sicheng and Du Sanying tensed. Bai Liu rarely said such things—usually, he was all "Don't fear difficulties! The best way to overcome them is to win!" Even when he was weak and shaky, he'd seemed calm and confident. For him to admit trouble now—

"What is it?" Mu Sicheng and Du Sanying asked in unison, faces tight.

"I bought eighty stamina potions. I've used thirty-three, leaving forty-seven, but there are still several stations to go. These may not be enough…" Bai Liu's face was pained. "And I just realized—I'm out of money. I'm broke. This is a big problem."

[System prompt: Bai Liu's account balance is 179 points, insufficient to purchase stamina potions.]

"I need your help!" Bai Liu looked pleadingly at Du Sanying and Mu Sicheng. "Can you spare me some points? Please, please!"

Du Sanying and Mu Sicheng: "…"

He uses them, then begs for money—could he be any more shameless?

————

Graveyard Disco Zone.

For once, the area was packed, the crowd surging toward a single spot: Bai Liu's small TV, where all eyes were glued to the screen.

From the moment the second chase—no, the theft battle—began, with Mu Sicheng stealing shards and being attacked, Bai Liu lashing out to transfer aggro, Du Sanying's breakdown, and Bai Liu's iron grip on the situation, all of this had happened in just two minutes.

No one blinked. They held their breath, more and more viewers joining the silent throng, all staring up at Bai Liu's screen.

No one spoke. In the heat of such a battle, before the outcome was clear, all discussion felt hollow. This was Bai Liu's war, his gamble, a contest with the outcome still unknown. Only victory or defeat would determine whether his madness was genius or folly.

And this madman—he had controlled the third and fourth-ranked rising stars. He had succeeded.

Wang Shun, standing closest to Bai Liu's TV, finally exhaled. He'd been so tense, his breathing shallow for two minutes, that now his heart raced and his fingers tingled.

He stared at Bai Liu's calm face, at a loss for words to describe this newcomer.

Bai Liu had once again shattered Wang Shun's expectations.

Searching for shards, deciphering the Monster Book—these were standard game procedures. But few could maintain Bai Liu's clarity and almost cruel composure, executing decisions without hesitation.

Mu Sicheng's wavering, Du Sanying's fear—most people, faced with life and death, could not put victory above survival. Yet Bai Liu, from start to finish, had considered Mu Sicheng's survival, Du Sanying's survival, the game's progress—never once his own.

—Stamina drained and refilled in seconds, blood seeping from his body under extreme strain, HP dropping with every swing of the whip. By the end, he was sprawled on the car, dangling by a seatbelt, yet his aim never faltered. And the first thing he did after disembarking was to seize Mu Sicheng's shirt and demand the shards.

Bai Liu's relentless, chilling desire for victory shook Mu Sicheng and Du Sanying in-game, and stunned every viewer outside. They flocked to the Graveyard Disco Zone, eager to see how far this newcomer could go.

"This guy… he really will stop at nothing," Wang Shun murmured, flexing his numb fingers. He took a deep breath and opened his points wallet. "If you lose just because you're broke, that's too frustrating."

Other viewers whispered:

"If Bai Liu survives this, he'll be a legend."

"Only 21 HP left… but I just can't believe he'll lose."

"Terrifying… Thirty-three stamina potions in two minutes—wasn't his panel F-rank? How did he survive? I'm C-rank, and if I drained and refilled my stamina three times in a minute, I'd puke…"

"I'm from Du Sanying's stream—I've never seen him fight so hard…"

"I'm from Mu God's stream—I've never seen him pushed like that…"

"How does a newcomer have such presence? He's got the third and fourth rising stars following his orders…"

The soft murmur of conversation, the sound of points being transferred, filled the air. Wang Shun glanced back at the crowd, at their awed expressions, and sighed, both complicated and gratified.

Even in the Graveyard Disco Zone, Bai Liu could stage a comeback with sheer force of will.

He was on par with Spade, the top of the points leaderboard.

[An additional 9,706 people have liked Bai Liu's small TV, 10,006 have bookmarked it, 7,990 have tipped him for a total of 12,081 points.]

[15,900 new viewers are watching Bai Liu's small TV. You now have 99% of the Graveyard Disco Zone's audience—you are the king of the graveyard TVs!]

[To leave the Graveyard Disco Zone, player Bai Liu still needs 37,588 more likes, 40,854 more bookmarks, and 2,643 more points in tips.]

——————

[System prompt: Player Bai Liu has received 12,081 points in tips. Would you like to purchase items?]

Bai Liu's lips curled: [A bountiful harvest. I'd like to buy items.]

Having just played the pitiful card for his audience, Bai Liu replied to the system in his mind while rapidly scrolling through the shop. Suddenly, he paused: [Why are rocket launchers, atomic bombs, fire hydrants, and high-pressure water guns all unavailable for purchase in this game?]

[System: The game prohibits the purchase of items that would severely disrupt game balance.]

[Items that would severely disrupt game balance…] Bai Liu narrowed his eyes. [Help me search for any bomb or water-type items that are available.]

The system was silent for a moment: [Sorry, player Bai Liu, none are available for purchase.]

…As expected. No wonder Mu Sicheng had to tough it out instead of buying water to douse the flames—those items simply couldn't be bought…

Bai Liu mused: [So bombs and water will have to be improvised…]

"Bai Liu, you were right—the shards are inside the passengers. But your plan is too costly for all of us." Mu Sicheng's hoarse voice snapped Bai Liu from his thoughts. "I lost 24 HP in one station. I can't survive eight more. At best, I can last three."

He paused, then added, "And you, Bai Liu, you only have 21 HP left. You can't last more than two stations. We'll never collect all the shards."

"True, but I never intended to rely solely on your HP to steal shards." Bai Liu glanced at the shards in his hand, then tossed them to Du Sanying, who was shrinking into the corner. "You hold onto these, Du Sanying."

Du Sanying fumbled the catch, pointing at himself in astonishment. "Me?! Are you sure?"

"Absolutely." Bai Liu explained before Mu Sicheng could protest, "You're the safest one to hold them. No one can easily take them from you—especially the Puppet Master."

Mu Sicheng eyed Bai Liu warily. "What are you planning now?"

Bai Liu didn't answer directly. Instead, he sat cross-legged and began sketching on the floor, analyzing the dungeon's plot. "I just checked the shop—every water and fire-fighting item is banned. Players can't use items to extinguish the passengers' flames."

"I suspect the system forces players to take a hit to get a shard—each one costs an HP. That's the game's difficulty: you must trade life for progress."

With a fingertip, Bai Liu wrote two numbers in the ash: [700] and [20].

"There are seven players, so 700 total HP. With a death rate of 50–80%, and one HP per shard, the total number of shards should be between 350 and 560." He wrote [350–560].

Then he circled [20]. "We collected 20 shards in one station, covering half the train. The Puppet Master's group likely got a similar number. So, about 40 per station."

"With 10 stations, that's about 400 shards." He tapped the range. "I think that's the total we need."

"400 shards means 400 HP lost. There are two ways to clear the game. First, all seven cooperate, each sacrificing 57 HP for shards, and everyone survives—a happy ending. But the Puppet Master will never agree to that."

"Second, four players lose 100 HP each, letting the rest clear the game." Bai Liu paused, a sly, confident smile on his lips. "I know you two only cooperated with me out of necessity, but you've seen I won't let you die easily. You don't want to be among the four sacrificed, do you?"

"So why not try genuine cooperation?"

Mu Sicheng snorted. "Can't you just control us? Why bother negotiating?"

"I may not have the bandwidth to control you both in the next phase," Bai Liu replied honestly. "If you don't want to work with me, you can leave now—if you think the Puppet Master won't target you for shards."

A strange silence fell, broken only by the train's rumble and their shallow breaths.

Even with Bai Liu's euphemism of "sacrifice," the bloody reality of the game was unmistakable.

After a long pause, Mu Sicheng spoke, face blank: "Let's hear your plan."

Du Sanying bit his lip, still hesitating.

His luck would likely keep him from being one of the four sacrifices, but Bai Liu's recklessness made him instinctively wary. His premonition was a tangle of luck and misfortune, and he wasn't sure if he should follow Bai Liu—especially after being tricked once already.

Bai Liu seemed to sense this. He turned and smiled. "Du Sanying, do you really think that if you don't cooperate, the Puppet Master will just ignore you and let you clear the game after him?"

Du Sanying froze, caught out.

"First, the game requires four players to clear. Even if the Puppet Master kills Mu Sicheng and me, that's not enough. Who do you think he'll sacrifice—his own puppets, or you?" Bai Liu's eyes glinted as he looked at the pale Du Sanying. "And I think you'll be his first target."

Du Sanying bristled. "Why me? He hates you two more!"

"Wrong." Bai Liu wagged a finger, smiling. "Mu Sicheng and I are far more valuable to him."

"One of his goals is to make us his puppets. You're useless to him, and your 100% luck is the biggest obstacle to his victory. If I were him, I'd sacrifice you first, then control us, and finally dispose of his own puppets."

"—Then, with all his goals achieved, the Puppet Master clears the game in triumph." Bai Liu's smile was gentle as ever. "What do you think, Du Sanying?"

Du Sanying was silent for a long time, head bowed, lips trembling, fingers curled as he pondered Bai Liu's words.

Mu Sicheng glanced at the frightened Du Sanying, then met Bai Liu's gaze—resentful, but with a deep, hidden resignation.

Bai Liu's argument was all too familiar to Mu Sicheng—this was exactly how he'd been roped in at the start: establish a common enemy, corner you with hypotheticals, show a little vulnerability and goodwill, and finally draw you into his camp.

[We're all targeted by the Puppet Master.]

[If he controls me, you'll have five enemies.]

[You don't want to face a group attack alone, do you?]

[I won't let you die, Mu Sicheng. You're my most valuable card.]

Sincere tone, innocent eyes, the perfect balance of weakness and warmth—yet when using others, he was utterly heartless. Was this guy a cult recruiter in real life?

Mu Sicheng closed his eyes, recalling how he'd fallen into Bai Liu's web, and cursed inwardly—this bastard had been plotting since the very start!

Now, Bai Liu had bound both him and Du Sanying to his ship. From now on, the three of them were grasshoppers on the same rope, forced to cooperate for survival, just as they had in the theft battle. Even if they didn't want to, Bai Liu had cut off every escape.

There was only one path left: to be used by him.

Du Sanying, with only his luck, was no match for Bai Liu.

At last, Du Sanying looked up, shrinking back, and stammered, "B-Bai Liu, so what's your plan?"