Free Web NovelOriginally, the warning — “the soul of the failed trader will be imprisoned inside” — was a restriction the system attached to the [Old Wallet] when Bai Liu acquired it, meant to prevent him from abusing the skill.
Since failing to complete a transaction would result in the system sealing the user’s soul inside the wallet, it functioned as a kind of restraint, forcing Bai Liu to honor his agreements — something akin to a “little black room” punishment for Taobao sellers. What no one had anticipated, however, was that Bai Liu would use it to manipulate the people trading with him instead.
For someone like Zhang Kui — a man who delighted in laying traps and prided himself on his cleverness — there was no strategy more effective than obediently following the script he himself had written. The satisfaction of watching his prey walk willingly into the snare would make him lower his guard. Only then would Bai Liu have an opening.
Bai Liu lowered his eyes thoughtfully.
Still, Mu Shicheng’s side of things was genuinely troublesome. Bai Liu had only just learned about the complicated history between Mu Shicheng and Liu Huai, and Zhang Kui had even brought Liu Huai along. Hallucinations caused by falling Mental Value had little effect on someone like Bai Liu, whose only real attachment was money. But for a normal person with ordinary emotions and desires like Mu Shicheng, hallucinations involving a once-close friend who had betrayed him could have devastating consequences.
Mu Shicheng had already been visibly unstable the moment Liu Huai’s name came up.
Bai Liu knew that the average player’s mental endurance in this game hovered around seventy. Sixty was already considered dangerous territory. Anyone capable of leaving the game with a Mental Value below twenty without completely losing their mind possessed terrifying psychological resilience. Yet Bai Liu needed Mu Shicheng’s Mental Value to fall even lower. His target threshold was below even Mu Shicheng’s historical low of 18. By that point, the hallucinations and psychological pressure crushing Mu Shicheng would become far more severe.
And with Liu Huai acting as the trigger, there was a very real possibility Mu Shicheng would completely break down.
That made things difficult.
[The train has arrived at Yellow Springs Road. Passengers are requested to allow others to disembark before boarding.]
Zhang Kui flicked his index and middle fingers like a pianist striking invisible keys, tugging lightly at the transparent puppet threads wrapped around them. Bai Liu was immediately dragged behind him.
Zhang Kui took the puppet mask Liu Huai had removed earlier and placed it over Bai Liu’s face with a smile.
“There. Now you finally look like one of my people.”
“I know you’re not truly willing.” Zhang Kui smiled faintly. “You’re probably pretending to submit. Maybe you and Mu Shicheng are planning something behind my back.”
The corners of his lips slowly curled upward. It looked less like he was putting a mask on Bai Liu and more like he was fastening shackles around him, lowering that enormous, suffocating, heat-soaked puppet mask over his face.
Bai Liu looked up at him as the mask descended.
The final expression he saw before his vision was covered was one of absolute malice and certainty — Zhang Kui’s heavy-lidded eyes dripping with arrogance, as though everything in the world were already under his control.
His voice turned hoarse and low.
“But Bai Liu, I think you miscalculated Liu Huai’s influence over Mu Shicheng. As long as Liu Huai is here, Mu Shicheng will never stay rational enough to cooperate with you completely. It doesn’t matter how many backup plans you’ve prepared. The moment Mu Shicheng breaks—”
Zhang Kui let out a muffled laugh.
“—the most valuable card in your hand is gone. And once that happens, your entire plan collapses with him.”
Bai Liu’s expression did not change, though his thoughts moved rapidly.
To some extent, Zhang Kui was right. Mu Shicheng truly was the most critical piece of the entire plan.
The [Siren’s Amulet] was in Mu Shicheng’s possession.
If Mu Shicheng completely lost control, surrendered, and Zhang Kui obtained the [Siren’s Amulet] to finish the trade, then everything would be over. Bai Liu had considered exploiting a loophole by having Mu Shicheng directly use the item himself, but— ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
[System Notification: During the transaction period, the traded item (Siren’s Amulet) must continue to exist. Otherwise, the transaction will be judged invalid.]
In other words, if Mu Shicheng were cornered into desperation — or simply stopped listening to Bai Liu and used up the [Siren’s Amulet] — Bai Liu would also be doomed and would genuinely become Zhang Kui’s puppet.
Which meant Mu Shicheng was absolutely indispensable to Bai Liu’s plan. If he broke, Bai Liu’s entire side would be pushed to the brink.
Bai Liu was gambling.
And it was an enormous gamble.
The only chip he possessed was Mu Shicheng — an extremely unstable chip at that. Judging from the current situation, Bai Liu’s odds of winning were not high.
In truth, Bai Liu had also considered using Du Sanying instead. But Du Sanying was practically an instinct-driven animal, like an overly alert little rodent. In a direct confrontation, he might immediately throw the sculpture at Zhang Kui just to minimize danger to himself, the same way he had tried to abandon the others and flee earlier.
Du Sanying was too unstable.
And while under the Puppet Master’s control, Bai Liu had no way to direct him remotely. Compared to Du Sanying, Mu Shicheng — who carried a deep grudge against the [Puppet Master] and possessed a firm stance — was far more useful.
So in the end, Bai Liu chose Mu Shicheng.
The train doors slowly slid open.
Countless charred [Passengers] surged into the carriage in a flood, wailing as flames devoured their bodies.
Zhang Kui moved with crisp, practiced efficiency, manipulating his two puppets forward to seize mirror fragments. He did not use Bai Liu, likely because he knew Bai Liu’s Health Points were dangerously low and that reckless use would kill him quickly.
Zhang Kui’s control over the puppets was frighteningly fast.
In less than ten seconds, the two puppets ghosted through an entire carriage and returned carrying piles of mirror fragments in their scorched hands. Zhang Kui accepted them without even glancing down, his expression dark.
“Go. Clear the next carriage.”
All the [Passengers] behind them had their aggro locked onto the two puppets, leaving Zhang Kui himself relatively safe. Meanwhile, the puppets moved with astonishing speed, and Zhang Kui’s precision was so high they took almost no unnecessary damage. After clearing one carriage, they immediately advanced into the next. In under a minute, they had already swept through half the train.
The reason Bai Liu’s group had struggled so badly earlier was simple: among them, only Mu Shicheng possessed an A-rank attribute panel.
Now there were three A-rank players present, and Zhang Kui himself was even Super A-rank. While controlling his puppets, he still had enough spare attention to personally eliminate [Passengers], making fragment collection vastly easier. He operated on an entirely different level from someone like Bai Liu, who could barely withstand a single lash before collapsing.
Mu Shicheng had previously explained Zhang Kui’s two primary personal skills to Bai Liu.
The first was called [Puppet String], which allowed Zhang Kui to manipulate puppets and implant puppet threads into them. However, the puppets retained their own consciousness; only their bodies were controlled.
If a puppet resisted or was not completely submissive, implanting the puppet threads into struggling limbs became extremely difficult. That was why Zhang Kui preferred cooperative puppets. Most of the puppets he regularly used were willing participants he had hired, because controlling unwilling puppets like Mu Shicheng consumed enormous effort.
The second skill was called [Puppet Enhancement].
Activating it consumed five points of the puppet’s Mental Value. The puppet would lose all autonomous consciousness, but their panel attributes would double.
Puppets in this state were harder to control because they had entered the [Mental Value Danger Zone]. They suffered tremendous pain and would sometimes struggle instinctively. However, because they lacked awareness, they also became nearly fearless in battle. As long as the Puppet Master continued moving the strings in his hands, they would advance endlessly regardless of pain.
Still, Mu Shicheng had told Bai Liu that this skill could not be used on players whose Mental Value had dropped below 20. At that stage, players entered a berserk state beyond even the Puppet Master’s control.
“No one in this game has ever tried controlling a player with a Mental Value below 20,” Mu Shicheng had said while glancing sideways at Bai Liu. “Even Zhang Kui can’t do that.”
“Except you, Bai Liu. You actually expected me to remember the details of your plan when my Mental Value was only 10. That’s impossible.”
Bai Liu had merely smiled.
“We won’t know unless we try. Besides, we don’t exactly have other options, do we?”
While Bai Liu was considering all of this, a rare female announcement suddenly echoed through the carriage.
“Due to the boarding of an important passenger and special items at this station, the train’s stopping time has been extended to five minutes for passenger and item safety. All passengers are requested to remain calm and keep away from the doors—”
A gigantic charred corpse several times larger than an ordinary [Passenger] forced its way through the doorway.
Using two enormous burning hands, it pried the doors apart and ducked its head to squeeze inside.
Its eyes had long since burned away, leaving behind pitch-black sockets like charred pits. Its skin had been completely incinerated, exposing bloody muscle tissue across its entire body. Embedded in the center of its chest was a palm-sized hexagonal mirror fragment, lodged deep within its exposed pectoral muscles like a protective heart mirror, flickering brilliantly within the flames.
The creature was taller than the train carriage itself. Its neck twisted at an unnatural angle just to force its body inside, nearly piercing through the ceiling.
The giant corpse with the bent neck seemed irritated by the cramped space. It let out a furious roar and slammed a fist upward into the roof.
The ceiling exploded apart.
A massive hole tore open overhead as flames erupted from the creature’s body, flooding the carriage in an explosive wave of fire.
Bang!
Zhang Kui’s expression darkened instantly as he retreated into the next carriage. His fingers tightened sharply, and the two puppets snapped backward like rigid zombies being reeled in on strings. With his other hand, he grabbed Bai Liu by the back of the neck and hauled him up.
Zhang Kui was already incredibly fast, yet even he was still scorched by the flames.
Bai Liu was burned as well.
[System Notification: Players Zhang Kui, Bai Liu, Fang Ke, and Li Gou have been struck by the monster’s blazing flames. Health Points -10. Players Zhang Kui and Bai Liu: Mental Value -20. Players Fang Ke and Li Gou, due to being in a puppet state: Mental Value -9.]
Bai Liu coughed violently from the smoke. A thin stream of blood slid from the corner of his mouth, and beneath the puppet mask, his complexion grew paler and paler. He glanced quickly at his personal status panel.
[Health Points: 11 (Reduced due to attacks from player Mu Shicheng and burn damage from flames)]
[Stamina: 70 (Currently recovering)]
[Mental Value: 69 (Mild alienation caused by monster attack)]
Bai Liu immediately opened the Monster Book.
[“The Last Train to Blast Off Monster Book” Updated — Thief Brothers (2/3)]
[Monster Name: Thief Brothers (Didi)]
[Traits: Extremely high strength and speed. Possesses a large-scale attack skill usable once every minute (Movement Speed: 1400. Flames receive bonus effects. Becomes physically violent when enraged and enjoys forcing others to obey through brute force. Extremely high attack power.)]
[Weakness: ??? (To be discovered)]
[Attack Methods: Angry Smash, Blazing Impact (For player Bai Liu, being hit by either attack in your current condition will send you directly to meet God. Amen.)]
Bai Liu licked the blood from the corner of his lips and spoke in a hoarse, broken voice.
“...That huge mirror fragment embedded in the monster’s chest should be both its weakness and the fragment we need to collect.”
“I know that already!” Zhang Kui snapped impatiently.
He stared at Thief Didi advancing toward them step by step, each footfall shaking the entire carriage. His fingers moved rapidly, manipulating the puppet strings into defensive formations.
“This damn game...” Zhang Kui grit his teeth. “Extending the stop for five whole minutes already drags out the chase enough, and now they throw a boss monster in too...”
The mortality rate of this Level 2 game, The Last Train to Blast Off, was probably close to eighty percent. Even for him, clearing it safely would be difficult.
Zhang Kui clenched his jaw so hard the muscles bulged.
“You really know how to pick them, Bai Liu! Of all the Level 2 games, you picked the most insane one possible!”
“Thank you for the compliment.” Bai Liu sounded utterly unbothered, like a dead pig unafraid of boiling water. “So? Aren’t you going to try stealing the mirror fragment from its chest?”
“Try my ass!” Zhang Kui exploded into curses, his composure genuinely beginning to crack. “Didn’t you see that attack just now?! And its movement speed is 1400! This thing is at least A-rank! Sending my puppets in would just be feeding them to it!”
He cursed continuously, fury and frustration leaking through every word.
“Steal it? Bullshit! Even if I entered this dungeon fully prepared with six healthy puppets, I still couldn’t guarantee a clean clear! If I’d known this kind of monster existed in this game...”
Grinding his teeth, Zhang Kui retreated while speaking, resentment boiling in his chest. If he had known this dungeon was such a nightmare, he never would have followed them in so casually.
He had never seen a Level 2 game with difficulty this absurd.
Bai Liu had somehow managed to pick the hardest Level 2 dungeon Zhang Kui had encountered in his entire life.
—Damn it. Just what you’d expect from someone with a Luck stat of 0.
“No...” Zhang Kui suddenly calmed himself and dragged the two puppets protectively in front of him. “My puppets can’t handle this thing. The only person in this dungeon who might be capable of dealing with it is a berserk Mu Shicheng. But after fighting something like that, he’ll basically be dead anyway—”
“I should be able to deal with it in a berserk state too, shouldn’t I?”
Bai Liu’s calm interruption forcibly derailed Zhang Kui’s train of thought.
Mu Shicheng could not die.
The [Siren’s Amulet] was still on him. If Mu Shicheng died, the item would drop. And if Zhang Kui got his hands on it, Bai Liu’s entire group would truly become his puppets.
“That’s true.” Zhang Kui narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. “But your Health Points are barely above ten. Even if you went berserk, one direct hit from that thing would kill you outright.”
He gave Bai Liu a cold glance.
“You’re my puppet now. Between you and Mu Shicheng, naturally I’d rather sacrifice him. You’re still useful to me. Mu Shicheng, on the other hand, has refused to submit from the start.”
Zhang Kui let out a cold laugh and withdrew all the puppet threads.
Bai Liu and the other two puppets obediently lined up behind him.
“Then let him go die.”
[System Notification: Player Zhang Kui has used the item [Hope to See You] on player Liu Huai. Teleportation to player Liu Huai’s current location will occur in ten seconds.]
A wave of dizziness washed over Bai Liu.
When he opened his eyes again, he saw Liu Huai, Mu Shicheng, and Du Sanying in another carriage, still desperately collecting mirror fragments.
The three of them were cooperating reasonably well. Though strained and exhausted, {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} they were still barely holding things together.
But Mu Shicheng was in the worst condition by far.
Without Bai Liu drawing aggro for him anymore, most of the [Passengers] had locked onto Mu Shicheng. Although Liu Huai had helped block some attacks, Mu Shicheng’s condition had visibly deteriorated. Blood covered his face. The red glow in his eyes flickered unstably. His breathing had become ragged, and he was practically rolling across the floor to evade attacks.
Zhang Kui coldly tugged the puppet thread wrapped around his little finger.
In the middle of combat, Liu Huai suddenly felt his heart constrict violently, as though something were pulling it in a certain direction. The sensation carried no killing intent — more like a signal or command. Clutching his chest instinctively, Liu Huai turned toward the source of the pull.
Through the flames and piles of corpses one carriage away, he saw Zhang Kui.
Expressionless, Zhang Kui pointed at Mu Shicheng.
Then he drew a finger sharply across his own throat.
His lips moved silently.
“Plan changed. There’s a boss monster. Abandon Mu Shicheng. Push his Mental Value down and force him berserk so he can fight the boss. Don’t care whether he lives or dies.”
Liu Huai had heard the announcement too. He knew perfectly well what the appearance of a boss monster meant.
But seeing Zhang Kui discard Mu Shicheng so coldly still made his heart tremble.
He understood immediately.
This boss was probably strong enough that only a berserk Mu Shicheng could stop it.
But this was supposed to be a Level 2 game.
How could a Level 2 game possibly contain a monster terrifying enough that Mu Shicheng would need to berserk himself nearly to death just to fight it?
Before Liu Huai could make up his mind, the giant charred corpse charged forward with earth-shaking footsteps.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
Everywhere it passed, train windows shattered explosively. Flames roared outward while the surrounding [Passengers] screamed miserably, instantly reduced to ash in Thief Didi’s burning fire.
The lethality and heat were horrifying.
Zhang Kui dragged his three puppets into the carriage where Mu Shicheng and the others were located.
The instant Du Sanying saw the gigantic corpse charging behind them, he nearly broke down.
“Holy shit!! What the hell is THAT thing?!”
At the same moment, Zhang Kui viciously tightened the puppet thread on his pinky and barked at Liu Huai:
“Liu Huai!! Do it!! Or everyone dies!!”
Pain exploded through Liu Huai’s chest where the puppet thread constricted his heart. Gritting his teeth, he snapped out a pair of sleeve blades, one in each hand.
Standing behind Mu Shicheng, Liu Huai lowered his head slightly.
“...Sorry.”
Then he stabbed forward without hesitation.
Du Sanying saw it happen and screamed in terror:
“MU SHICHENG!! BEHIND YOU!!”
Mu Shicheng had already sensed it.
He rolled aside instantly, narrowly dodging the backstab. Rising smoothly to his feet, he wiped away the blood trailing from the end of his eyebrow — a wound left by Liu Huai’s blade during the dodge.
Mu Shicheng let out a cold laugh.
“Liu Huai, did you really think I’d trust you enough to leave my back exposed again? Impossible.”
“That’s only natural.” Liu Huai smiled bitterly, sorrow and ruthlessness mixed together in his expression. “Shi-ge... once upon a time, we were the perfect pair. [Assassin and Thief]. We could steal anything. Kill anyone. We were unstoppable.”
His smile darkened completely.
“That naturally includes each other, doesn’t it?”
“We’re both just doing this for ourselves, Shi-ge.” Liu Huai slowly raised the sleeve blades again. “You stole from me for your own sake. And I’m trying to kill you for mine.”
“In the end, everyone’s selfish.”
“Master!! Restrain Mu Shicheng!!”
Liu Huai lunged forward mercilessly.
At the same time, Zhang Kui flicked a razor-thin puppet thread toward Mu Shicheng’s ankle.
Mu Shicheng hooked one arm around an overhead handrail ring and narrowly dodged.
Desperate, Du Sanying shoved his cart directly toward Zhang Kui in an attempt to interfere, only to be blocked instantly by another puppet Zhang Kui threw into his path.
Now it was Zhang Kui, Liu Huai, and Li Gou against Mu Shicheng alone.
Du Sanying was completely pinned down by a puppet, sweating so hard his face had gone red with panic.
Bai Liu had said Mu Shicheng only needed to endure until the train restarted without getting captured by Zhang Kui.
But how the hell was that even possible now?!
Du Sanying instinctively looked toward Bai Liu.
Even under pressure from three opponents, Mu Shicheng had somehow managed to maintain a fragile balance.
Then the giant corpse arrived.
The moment Thief Didi approached the carriage, the balance shattered completely.
Zhang Kui’s attacks grew increasingly savage. Puppet threads spread across nearly the entire carriage, restricting Mu Shicheng’s movements more and more. Cuts opened across his face from the razor-sharp strings, and his hands — the hands of a thief — were finally tightly bound by Zhang Kui’s puppet silk.
Panting heavily, Zhang Kui barked:
“Liu Huai. Do it.”
Breathing unevenly, Liu Huai slowly approached Mu Shicheng with the sleeve blades already raised.
Suddenly, Mu Shicheng grabbed every puppet thread wrapped around his body with both hands.
“Tch.” He clicked his tongue. “Bai Liu, if you’ve got some hidden move left, use it now. I seriously can’t hold on much longer.”
Blood immediately burst from his fingers where the strings bit into flesh.
“I’m helping you lock down the puppet threads Zhang Kui’s using to control you. His control relies on vibrations traveling through the strings. If I hold them tightly enough, the vibrations can’t pass through.”
Mu Shicheng grinned through gritted teeth.
“I can only keep this up for a few seconds before the threads slice my fingers off. But right now... you can move freely.”
Zhang Kui froze.
His head snapped toward Bai Liu — who had somehow appeared behind Mu Shicheng without anyone noticing.
Then his gaze shifted toward Mu Shicheng’s hands.
Sure enough, the puppet threads were clenched tightly in his palms. Blood dripped steadily from Mu Shicheng’s sharply defined knuckles onto the overheated floor, hissing into steam.
Slowly, Bai Liu lifted the puppet mask behind Mu Shicheng.
Painted across the mask’s face was a pure, innocent smile.
Zhang Kui’s expression changed instantly.
“Fuck!! These two really were still working together!” Zhang Kui roared. “Liu Huai!! Hurry up!!”
He tried several times to manipulate the puppet threads, but the vibrations truly were blocked by Mu Shicheng’s grip. He could no longer control Bai Liu.
Zhang Kui’s expression darkened viciously as he yanked the strings harder, trying to sever Mu Shicheng’s fingers completely.
“Liu Huai!! QUICK!! Bai Liu has no offensive ability right now!!”
Du Sanying also shouted desperately, like a drowning man grasping at his final hope.
“BAI LIU!! HURRY!!”
Liu Huai thrust forward without hesitation.
Mu Shicheng instinctively turned to look at Bai Liu behind him.
The puppet mask still wore that same innocent smile.
Bai Liu slowly opened his arms and gently placed both hands against Mu Shicheng’s back.
Then he pushed.
The completely defenseless Mu Shicheng stumbled forward.
His pupils contracted violently.
Du Sanying froze in shock.
Zhang Kui released the puppet threads in disbelief.
Liu Huai stared blankly at Bai Liu and Mu Shicheng as blood slid silently down the edge of his sleeve blade.
Mu Shicheng’s body crashed directly into Liu Huai’s attack.
The sleeve blades pierced cleanly through both shoulders.
His arms were severed at the joints.
Mu Shicheng’s hands fell soundlessly to the floor.
Exactly like the last time Liu Huai betrayed him and cut off his arms.
Only last time, the one who betrayed him had been Liu Huai.
This time—
—it was Bai Liu.
Blood exploded from the severed cross-sections of Mu Shicheng’s shoulders.
“I actually think Master Zhang Kui is right,” Bai Liu said softly from within the puppet mask.
He was still smiling.
“Mu Shicheng, if we don’t sacrifice you and force you into a berserk state, everyone here is going to die.”
His voice carried a faint, almost gentle amusement.
“There’s no point cooperating with you anymore. You’re too weak to clear the game now.”
“So I’ve decided to wholeheartedly become Master’s puppet... and obediently follow his orders.”
(T/N: Robert, I don’t like this rock.
Good thing I’ll never end up in an unlimited flow game. I’m terrible at puzzles, nowhere near smart or interesting enough to catch a god’s attention, and I definitely don’t possess jade-like beauty.)
