Brother Thief's hollow black eye sockets swept over the crowd. Then, as if sensing the location of the broken lens, he suddenly lifted his head and charged after Du Sanying, who had already run far away. The entire carriage shook from the force of his sprint, trembling as though it might fall apart at any moment.
Liu Huai let out a sigh of relief. He had thought he would have to fight again like before. A bitter smile tugged at his lips at the thought. He didn't want to attack Mu Sicheng again and force him into his rage state for the third time. Mu Sicheng, the one who had been cut, didn't seem to have any psychological trauma yet, but Liu Huai, the one who had done the cutting, was about to develop some.
Puppet Zhang glanced at Bai Liu. "Did you deliberately ask Du Sanying to hang the broken lens outside to lure Brother Thief away? You already knew Brother Thief would appear at this station and had Du Sanying draw him off?"
"Yes." Bai Liu nodded. "I realized the monsters at each station aren't new; they actually carry over from the previous one."
Puppet Zhang frowned. "How did you figure that out?"
Bai Liu raised his eyes. "Because the number of exploding passengers increases at every platform, even though we've been attacking them."
Understanding dawned on Puppet Zhang. The number of passengers this time was indeed much higher than at the last station. The growing number of monsters would make it even harder for players to steal the broken lenses and escape. No wonder Bai Liu had Du Sanying lure Brother Thief away. If Brother Thief and the increasing swarm of passengers rushed in together, the players truly wouldn't stand a chance.
However, whether it was stealing Brother Thief's broken lens or distracting him, the survival rate couldn't be high. Puppet Zhang's expression darkened. No wonder every previous team that played this game had been wiped out. This game was truly disgusting. Brother Thief appeared when there were still seven stations left. There were seven players in total seven players, seven stations. One station would claim exactly one player, and by the final station, they would all be dead…
Yet under Bai Liu's leadership, they had reached the fourth station without losing a single player. At the previous station, Mu Sicheng had practically stepped through the gates of hell before being dragged back. This station's target had been Du Sanying…
Puppet Zhang glanced at Bai Liu again. This guy was frighteningly good at using both his brain and the people around him. Du Sanying might be useless in combat, but the chances of his dying or being robbed were extremely low. Using him to lure away Brother Thief was indeed the best option, but—
"Aren't you worried Du Sanying might get too scared and stash the broken lens in his system backpack instead of luring Brother Thief?" Puppet Zhang asked, narrowing his eyes. "This is extremely dangerous. How can you be sure he won't run? If he flees the fight and Brother Thief turns back to attack us, we'll all be in danger."
"I'm in a cooperative relationship with him," Bai Liu replied calmly.
Puppet Zhang blinked, surprised. "Du Sanying's luck value is 100%, and yet you managed to control him?!"
He had tried many times to control Du Sanying, but his puppet silk threads couldn't even get close; they would always be interrupted somehow. Du Sanying possessed a famous item called the 'Release Control Jacket.' No control skills could penetrate it, which was one of the main reasons Puppet Zhang had given up on trying to manipulate him.
Bai Liu shrugged with a faint smile. "Perhaps for someone like Du Sanying, being controlled by me counts as good luck."
Puppet Zhang silently watched Du Sanying being chased by Brother Thief, crying and calling for his mother. "…."
'Fine. If you call this luck…'
This round of lens collection went surprisingly smoothly. Aside from Du Sanying, who did nothing but curse the entire time, the rest of the group felt unusually relaxed as they gathered all forty pieces.
Liu Huai and Mu Sicheng were responsible for retrieving the lenses and couldn't avoid the passengers' fire damage. Each of them lost 20 health points.
"Defense items like bandages can't reduce fire damage." Mu Sicheng's clothes were scorched, exposing his soot-streaked chest and abdominal muscles. His face was blackened, his hands sweaty and dirty. He looked like a coal miner.
Panting, Mu Sicheng dropped to the ground. He lifted his bandaged hands to wipe his chest, then rested them on his knees and looked up at Bai Liu. "I only have 40 health left. I can last two more stations at most."
Liu Huai wiped the sweat from his chin with the back of his hand, breathing heavily as he sat on the floor. "I'm at 70 health. I can manage three more stations."
Bai Liu thought for a moment. "Everyone, report your health. I have 6 points."
Li Gou said, "65."
Fang Ke answered, "80."
Puppet Zhang said, "85."
Du Sanying, who had been chased the entire time, was strangely quiet. After a long pause, he swallowed. "…100 points."
Even Bai Liu fell silent.
The utterly miserable-looking Mu Sicheng stared at Du Sanying for a long moment before speaking. "You were chased that badly and didn't lose a single point of health? Isn't Brother Thief's movement speed 1,400? How did he not catch you?"
Du Sanying's guilty eyes widened slightly as he scratched his face. "I was almost caught a lot of times, but… he kept tripping over the train seats."
Puppet Zhang was completely speechless. This wasn't the first time he'd witnessed Du Sanying's absurd luck, but this was beyond ridiculous. The boss tripped over seats while chasing someone?!
Puppet Zhang exclaimed, "How many times did he trip for you not to get caught even once?!"
"Just… a few hundred times," Du Sanying replied weakly, looking away.
Bai Liu, Puppet Zhang, and Mu Sicheng: "..."
A few hundred times… Did Brother Thief ever actually manage to stand up in front of you, Du Sanying?
Before the train reached the next station, Bai Liu went over the battle plan once more.
He glanced at the LED countdown, then turned to look at the ground behind him and gave his orders succinctly. "Two minutes until the next station. At this stop, Li Gou and Liu Huai will be responsible for stealing the fragments. Puppet Zhang and Fang Ke will assist and rotate in to replace Mu Sicheng. At the following station, Li Gou and Fang Ke will take the lead, with the other two assisting. After that, Puppet Zhang and Fang Ke will be the main attackers. We'll rotate like this to keep everyone's health above 20. There's still one monster in the monster book that hasn't appeared. We need to be prepared for a boss fight."
He added, "Du Sanying, you're still responsible for drawing Brother Thief's attention."
Mu Sicheng looked at Bai Liu, puzzled. "Then what about me?"
Bai Liu met his gaze calmly. "You're preparing for the boss battle. I absolutely need you for that fight. You're the main damage dealer against the boss, so you can't die easily. Your health has to stay above 30."
Mu Sicheng glanced down at his battered body, raised an eyebrow, and spread his hands. "So you want me to tank my mental value again and go crazy fighting the boss? Do you really see me as a sheep to shear whenever you need wool? If my health keeps fluctuating like this in such a short time, I'll go delirious. Bai Liu, not everyone can crash their mental value and bounce back like you."
He wasn't wrong. After his mental value had dropped into the single digits and then recovered, Mu Sicheng's eyes had grown noticeably unfocused. Even though Bai Liu's mental bleach restored it, the rapid plunge and rebound in such a short time still left side effects. His spirit and concentration were clearly declining.
Earlier, when Mu Sicheng had been the main attacker against the exploding passengers, he had nearly been burned to death several times. It took three people pulling him back and Bai Liu watching closely to barely keep him alive.
Bai Liu's tone remained steady. "Based on your performance just now, your condition really isn't good. So I'm replacing you. Rest and recover your energy. I need you at peak concentration for the boss fight. Take a sleeping pill and get twenty minutes of sleep."
Sleeping pills could be purchased from the system store, and they were highly effective; one pill and the user would fall asleep instantly. It was one of the best ways to restore mental value.
Mu Sicheng almost laughed. He leaned back, folding his hands behind his head. Tilting his head, he looked at Bai Liu with a half-smile. "If I fall asleep, who's going to protect me? You've already assigned everyone else to collect fragments."
Bai Liu looked at him as if the answer were obvious. "Me."
Mu Sicheng choked on air, startled. He nearly scoffed—You only have 6 health points, and you're going to protect me?
But when he met Bai Liu's steady, unshaken gaze, the sarcasm died in his throat. He scratched his head irritably instead. "You've only got 6 HP. Are you joking, Bai Liu…?"
Without hesitation, Bai Liu replied, "Out of everyone here, I'm the only one who can guarantee your survival 100%. Any objections?"
Mu Sicheng's eyes swept across the carriage, Puppet Zhang's gloomy face, Du Sanying still sniffling, Liu Huai deliberately avoiding his gaze, the silent puppets—and finally returned to Bai Liu's unwavering eyes. He'd seen that look before, when Bai Liu had executed the plan to control Puppet Zhang. I know this is risky. I'm not changing it.
After a few seconds, Mu Sicheng let out a dull grunt and raised his hands in surrender. "Fine. No objections."
"I said I wouldn't let you die, Mu Sicheng."
Bai Liu stepped closer and smiled at him. On Bai Liu's face, the smile almost looked insincere, but Mu Sicheng visibly relaxed anyway.
Bai Liu patted his shoulder and sat down beside him. "Sleep."
Mu Sicheng's eyes closed almost involuntarily under the pat. He had been tense, but Bai Liu's quiet "sleep" sounded almost like a spell. His tight muscles gradually loosened as he leaned against the carriage door. He thought that even if he closed his eyes, he would never truly fall asleep; sleeping in the middle of a game was far too dangerous. Someone as vigilant as he would never—
[System tip: Player Bai Liu has used a high-efficiency inhalation sleeping pill on Player Mu Sicheng.]
The moment Mu Sicheng heard the notification, he frowned and twitched as if trying to wake up. But Bai Liu calmly pressed his hand over Mu Sicheng's nose. After two breaths, Mu Sicheng's muscles went slack, and he sank into a deeper sleep.
Bai Liu glanced at Mu Sicheng's steady breathing, then raised an eyebrow at the white powder in his hand. "This inhalation pill works pretty well."
Du Sanying blinked blankly. "Why did you suddenly knock Mu Sicheng out?"
"His previous mental crash affected him too much. The best way to restore him is deep sleep." Bai Liu brushed the white powder from his hands and waited for it to disperse before turning back to Du Sanying. "I need him in top condition for the boss fight, so he sleeps first."
Du Sanying looked confused. He edged closer and whispered, thinking he was very quiet, into Bai Liu's ear. "Bai Liu, before, there were only three of us, so you had to rely on Mu Sicheng. But now there are more people. You don't have to depend on him alone! Others can fight the monsters too!"
As he spoke, Du Sanying sneaked a glance at Puppet Zhang and the others, his eyes gleaming with barely concealed gossip.
"Their health will drop below 30 from collecting fragments, and their combat effectiveness will decline," Bai Liu replied calmly. Though he knew Puppet Zhang could hear every word at this distance, he still lowered his voice cooperatively and leaned toward Du Sanying's ear.
"Besides, in this instance, only Mu Sicheng has a real chance of defeating the final boss."
"Only Mu Sicheng?" Du Sanying repeated blankly. He glanced at the deeply sleeping Mu Sicheng and asked in confusion, "Why is he the most useful?"
Bai Liu lowered his gaze to Mu Sicheng's peaceful face and smiled faintly. "He's the best thief I've ever seen. The only thief who can steal from me."
"He's far better than the brothers who stole the mirror."
Du Sanying didn't understand—but he was used to not understanding Bai Liu. Still, he hesitated. "Even so, you're going to protect him yourself? You could let someone else do it. It's too dangerous—one of you is asleep, and the other has only 6 HP."
"It's fine." Bai Liu dismissed the concern. "Only three people will collect fragments—one steals while two defend. That minimizes unnecessary HP loss. If we split one-and-one, their condition will decline later, and mistakes will cost too much health. If our total HP drops below 400, we'll be trapped in this instance."
Du Sanying wanted to argue further, but the emotionless look on Bai Liu's face told him the decision was final. Convincing him would be nearly impossible. He lowered his head in frustration.
Before leaving, Du Sanying glanced at the sleeping Mu Sicheng and Bai Liu sitting beside him, then sighed with mixed emotions. It was the first time he'd seen a player risk his own life just so another player could get decent sleep.
Of course, Bai Liu's goal was to make better use of Mu Sicheng afterward.
Whether that made Mu Sicheng lucky or unlucky… who knew?
-----------------
Mu Sicheng woke abruptly from deep sleep.
The train was speeding through a pitch-black tunnel. Wind howled in through the opening torn by Brother Thief, carrying a cold draft that pulled him out of his dreamless rest.
At first glance, everything looked the same as before he'd fallen asleep. But when Mu Sicheng looked closer, he noticed the carriage had sustained far more damage.
It looked as if it had endured battle after battle, holes riddled the walls, and wind seeped in from every direction.
The others' condition confirmed Mu Sicheng's suspicions.
Puppet Zhang and Liu Huai were huddled in a corner, their faces pale. Li Gou and Fang Ke were covered in blood. Du Sanying lay sprawled across a chair, panting like a dog, his hair drenched in sweat and plastered to his forehead like a parrot hauled out of water. His eyes were filled with exhaustion.
Bai Liu didn't look much better. His face was as white as a corpse as he leaned against the door, regulating his breathing. A whip hung loosely in his hand. Sweat soaked through his shirt, dripping down in rivulets. With his head tilted back, he downed a stamina recovery agent. Empty bottles were piled at his feet.
When he noticed Mu Sicheng had woken up, Bai Liu's gaze shifted slowly. "You're awake. The sleeping pill worked well—just over twenty minutes. How's your recovery?"
Mu Sicheng rubbed his throbbing temples and pushed himself upright against the door. He knew Bai Liu wouldn't care about his earlier outburst over being drugged, so he simply frowned and asked, "What station are we at? How many broken lenses have we collected? How much HP do you have left?"
"We just passed the eighth station. Two more before we return to Antique City. We've gathered 300 broken lenses." Bai Liu seemed to ignore the last question. "Your mental value looks restored, so I'll explain what you'll do at the ninth station. You'll work with me to—"
Mu Sicheng's eyes sharpened with hostility. He stepped on Bai Liu's whip, cutting him off. "I'm asking you how much HP do you have left?"
A thin line of blood trickled from the corner of Bai Liu's mouth. He licked it away and met Mu Sicheng's gaze. "If you know, it might shake your confidence when cooperating with me."
"It'll shake even more if I don't know." Mu Sicheng snorted. "Go on. Whether I trust you or not doesn't matter. Haven't you always forced me to cooperate properly anyway?"
Bai Liu fell silent for a moment. "Three points."
Mu Sicheng exploded. "Fuck!"
He bit back the rest of the curses, forcing himself to breathe. Agitated, he grabbed a train seat and lifted it before setting it down again, trying to calm himself. He turned back, teeth clenched. "Three HP? And you're talking about cooperating? One burn and you're dead!"
"Three burns," Bai Liu corrected calmly. Before Mu Sicheng could erupt again, he continued, "If you work with anyone else, you'll make too many mistakes. I have to be the one coordinating with you. In the next round, no one can afford to slip."
"As long as you don't make a mistake, I won't die."
They locked eyes.
"So don't make mistakes. Understood?"
Mu Sicheng inhaled deeply. In the end, all he could do was snap irritably, "Fine! No mistakes! You lunatic, tell me what you want me to do. What exactly am I stealing? How do I cooperate with you?"
Bai Liu smiled faintly. "No need to be so tense. I just need you to steal something for me."
"What?" Mu Sicheng demanded.
Before Bai Liu could answer, the train's female broadcast voice rang out.
"Two stations remaining. The train is approaching the terminal. Next stop: Lujia Alley. Passengers alighting, please queue at the door…"
Outside the carriage, a dense mass of charred corpses began lining up. Their heads twisted unnaturally, joints creaking. At the very front stood Brother Thief, engulfed in flames. Fire crackled in his eye sockets; his bones glowed red-hot. Fury burned in his scarlet gaze as he roared and slammed against the train door, enraged that the broken lens had been stolen from his chest.
"They're coming up!" Mu Sicheng said sharply, watching the monsters. "What do you want me to steal?"
Bai Liu stroked his chin. "I'm not entirely sure."
Mu Sicheng stared at him. "You're not sure? Give me a target!"
Bai Liu twirled the fish bone between his fingers and let out a slow breath, eyes fixed on the door. A faint smile tugged at his lips. "If my guess is right, you may have to steal all 300 broken lenses. Or maybe just twenty. It depends on whether Du Sanying holds steady."
"Three hundred? Aren't they with Du Sanying?" Mu Sicheng glanced over in confusion.
Du Sanying still had 100 HP, which left Mu Sicheng speechless. "Steal them back? You think Brother Thief can take them from him? That oversized idiot has chased Du Sanying for six stations and hasn't even brushed his clothes. How would he steal anything?"
"Have you heard of the 'level jump' principle in horror game boss design?" Bai Liu asked suddenly.
Mu Sicheng narrowed his eyes. "No. What's that?"
Bai Liu smiled faintly. "Before a player clears a level, the guarding boss will inevitably go berserk. It could be increased attack power, improved hit rate, or something. The boss's performance spikes. That's the level jump. It's usually the stage that causes mass player deaths right before the game is cleared."
He lifted his gaze slowly. "But it's strange. Brother Thief has chased us for six stations. He's clearly the main boss, yet he hasn't shown any sign of a berserk phase. In fact, things have gotten smoother. His combat power hasn't improved at all. That's not a reasonable design."
Mu Sicheng raised a brow. "So?"
"So I suspect there's another level jump." Bai Liu looked up at him. "If there's no enhancement in quality, then there must be a new monster. Think about the monster book. What's written on the second page? Brother Thief with a note saying he's the younger brother. But we've only seen the younger one."
Bai Liu's eyes darkened slightly. "So where's the older brother?"