Free Web NovelAfter a brief moment of shock, Mu Shicheng’s expression darkened immediately. “You’re saying there are two monsters on this page?!”
Bai Liu nodded and continued his analysis. “They’re called the Thief Brothers. If Didi is the strong but brainless type, then if I were the designer, I’d create a Gege who’s small, extremely agile, and specializes in stealing. He would activate once the player accumulates fragments past a certain threshold before the stage is cleared, then steal the fragments to raise the difficulty right before the end.”
“But that’s Du Sanying,” Mu Shicheng said skeptically. “Can anyone actually steal something from him? With his luck value at 100%, nobody’s ever managed to take anything from him before.”
“That only works,” Bai Liu replied calmly, “if his luck value stays at 100% the entire time.”
“I’ve already overused Du Sanying’s luck while having him kite Thief Didi through six stations. The balance of this game has already been disrupted by me. I think the system will deliberately lower his luck value during a critical moment like the clear in order to restore balance.”
Mu Shicheng froze.
At the end of Siren Town, the system had also declared that Bai Liu had broken the game’s balance. To suppress him, it had forcibly lowered Bai Liu’s stats while strengthening the monsters...
A Du Sanying without absolute luck...
Mu Shicheng stared blankly at Du Sanying as he awkwardly climbed back into his bumper car, preparing to lure Thief Didi away again. A chill slowly crept up his spine.
Without that overwhelming luck, Du Sanying was only a player with a C-rank attribute panel. His ability to withstand monster attacks was barely any stronger than Bai Liu’s. If not for that 100% luck value, Du Sanying would have died long ago.
“If we force him to keep kiting them, he can still do it,” Bai Liu continued evenly. “But even if his luck drops from 100 to 99, even if Thief Didi misses ninety-nine attacks out of a hundred, as long as one attack lands...”
Mu Shicheng stared at Bai Liu without blinking.
Bai Liu’s eyes remained calm and still.
“...he’ll die.”
“But even so, Du Sanying still has to kite the Thief Brothers. The rest of our health bars have already been suppressed below thirty percent. Thief Didi can kill us in one hit. If Du Sanying doesn’t lure them away, we’ll have no chance to collect fragments from the passengers.”
The train doors shuddered several times before finally grinding open, and passengers immediately flooded into the carriage.
The others followed Bai Liu’s earlier instructions and began sweeping fragments from the crowd. Meanwhile, Du Sanying restarted his nearly scrap-metal bumper car and prepared to flee with Thief Didi in pursuit.
But at that exact moment, everyone saw Thief Didi’s charred chest twitch violently twice.
A pair of sharp, dry “ji-ji” laughs rang out from inside his chest cavity. Then two pitch-black hands tipped with razor-like nails suddenly burst outward and lunged toward Du Sanying.
Du Sanying happened to sit down at that moment and narrowly avoided disaster, but—
—he blankly lifted a hand to his face.
A fresh cut had been carved across his cheek.
A bead of blood slid down.
He was injured.
For the first time since entering this game, Du Sanying had been injured.
[System Notification: Player Du Sanying attacked by Thief Gege. Health -2. Mental Value -2.]
[System Notification (All Players): As all players remain alive and no deaths have occurred, player Du Sanying’s luck value will now gradually decrease in order to maintain game balance. Players are advised to stop relying on him and clear the game using their own abilities.]
[Player Du Sanying’s current luck value: 98]
Thief Didi’s massive chest was forced open from the inside.
His face split apart down the middle as an infant-sized pitch-black head emerged from the scorched flesh and exposed brain matter. Its empty sockets were burnt coal-black, yet pale white eyeballs rolled frantically within them. The flesh around its gums had completely burned away, revealing a full set of oversized white teeth stretched into a grotesque grin.
Its feet hooked into Thief Didi’s burnt ribs as its body swung outward. Both arms were nothing but blackened skeletal bones, dry and brittle as charcoal, yet unnaturally slender and flexible. Its fingers twitched rapidly like spider legs as it dangled sideways through the air. fгeewebnovёl.com
In the blink of an eye, it shot past Du Sanying’s head so quickly it was almost invisible.
Although Du Sanying instinctively leaned back and barely dodged again, another wound still appeared on his body.
[System Notification: Player Du Sanying attacked by Thief Gege. Health -2. Mental Value -2. Luck value coordination reduced. Luck value -2.]
[“The Last Train to Blast Off Monster Book” updated — Thief Brothers (2/3)]
[Monster Name: Thief Gege]
[Characteristics: Extremely high movement speed (3400 movement points; enhanced further by fire). Highly skilled at theft.]
[Weakness: ??? (To be discovered)]
[Attack Methods: Scratching, Stealing]
Du Sanying clenched his teeth and ignored the blood streaming down his face. He flipped himself back into the driver’s seat and prepared to follow Bai Liu’s plan.
Even if his luck value was no longer perfect, a value of ninety-six was still enough to keep ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) him alive for a while.
But once his luck truly failed him, he would have to face the Thief Brothers alone.
And he would almost certainly... die.
Still, Du Sanying understood one thing very clearly—
—besides him, whose health was still nearly full, nobody else present could survive even a single exchange against these monsters.
No one else could do this.
His luck value had pushed him into this position, so he had to take responsibility for everyone else. Even without absolute luck, he couldn’t just abandon Bai Liu and Mu Shicheng and watch them die.
Du Sanying sat in his “My Little Pony” bumper car with a deeply aggrieved expression and slammed down on the accelerator.
Despite the fact that this was essentially a suicide mission, he didn’t feel particularly sad.
Instead, he felt... strangely emotional.
He had always been the sort of player everyone disliked—the kind who idled uselessly until the very end before swooping in to reap the rewards. This was the first time anyone had entrusted him with such an important task.
And from the moment Bai Liu assigned him this role, Bai Liu had never once doubted that he could do it.
Even though Du Sanying was clumsy.
Even though everyone called him nothing more than a decorative “vase” player.
Being trusted so completely by Bai Liu—to guard everyone’s rear—felt incredibly strange.
At first, Du Sanying had resisted the idea intensely.
But somewhere along the way, he had unconsciously developed a profound sense of trust and obedience toward Bai Liu.
He had a feeling—
—even if his luck value dropped all the way to zero, Bai Liu would still find some way to keep him alive.
Because Bai Liu had said he wouldn’t let him die.
Just like he had said to Mu Shicheng.
And Du Sanying had always trusted his instincts.
A violent impact suddenly slammed into the rear of his bumper car as the pursuing Thief Didi caught up.
The front of the vehicle crashed hard into a chair and jammed sideways, but by sheer luck Du Sanying himself wasn’t thrown out. However, during that instant, Thief Gege coordinated another sneak attack and struck him again.
Flames spread from Thief Didi’s fist across the back of the vehicle, scorching Du Sanying’s vision red.
He gritted his teeth and wiped away the blood he’d coughed up from the punch.
[System Notification: Player Du Sanying attacked by Thief Brothers. Health -20. Mental Value -20.]
“Du Sanying, hold on!” Bai Liu shouted from the other side of the carriage while collecting fragments. “Just keep kiting the Thief Brothers until we finish here. Can you manage it?”
Du Sanying coughed twice. Despite his pale face, his voice remained steady as he gripped the steering wheel tightly and floored the accelerator.
“I’ll do my best!!”
Bai Liu laughed softly. “Then I’m leaving the rear to you, Du Sanying.”
While helping gather fragments, Mu Shicheng glanced anxiously at Bai Liu. “Du Sanying only has a C-rank panel. His only real advantage is his 100% luck, and now even that’s failing. You’re seriously going to let him kite both Thief Brothers alone? Do you really think he can hold out? If he collapses over there, we won’t have time to rotate back and defend!”
“I don’t know if he can hold out,” Bai Liu admitted honestly.
“But since he promised me he would, I’ll assume he can.”
Bai Liu looked at Mu Shicheng calmly.
“Just like before. You said you didn’t know whether you could stay conscious with only ten Mental Value left, but I chose to assume you could.”
Mu Shicheng paused.
“...And what if Du Sanying fails?”
“Then you and I will take over,” Bai Liu replied flatly.
Du Sanying bent over the steering wheel and dry-heaved another mouthful of blood.
His luck had finally failed him.
In order to keep the fragments safe while dealing with Thief Gege’s interference, he’d been forced to take one of Thief Didi’s attacks head-on. Even though he’d used an item to mitigate the damage, the blow had still been devastating.
His health and Mental Value instantly plunged below the danger line.
[System Notification: Player Du Sanying attacked by Thief Gege. Health -20. Mental Value -20.]
Du Sanying tilted back his head and gulped down a bottle of Mental Value Bleach.
His Mental Value recovered, but the dizziness remained.
Mental Value represented mental stability, not physical exhaustion. The fatigue caused by repeated damage and recovery couldn’t simply be erased by consuming Mental Bleach. After continuous depletion, Du Sanying was already approaching his limit.
These Thief Brothers were simply too difficult to deal with.
Thief Didi’s attacks were powerful, but his movement speed was relatively slow. Du Sanying could still evade him through speed alone.
But Thief Gege’s movement speed exceeded three thousand points.
Even after using every item he had, Du Sanying still couldn’t shake him off.
Worse yet, the two monsters coordinated perfectly.
Thief Gege let out another shrill “ji-ji” laugh.
With a swing of Thief Didi’s enormous arm, he was hurled through the air and slammed onto the hood of Du Sanying’s bumper car like a projectile.
He immediately stretched out his black claws to snatch the fragments.
Du Sanying gritted his teeth and jerked the steering wheel violently from side to side, trying desperately to throw him off. The bumper car spun so wildly it nearly became a top, and Du Sanying himself was on the verge of vomiting from the rotation, yet Thief Gege remained firmly attached.
Left with no other choice, Du Sanying activated another item.
[System Notification: Player Du Sanying used (Sunny Day Umbrella) against Thief Gege.]
A translucent umbrella decorated with a bright sun abruptly opened over the hood of the car, releasing a blinding burst of light.
Thief Gege shrieked and recoiled, slashing furiously at the umbrella with both claws.
[System Notification: (Sunny Day Umbrella) has been destroyed by the Thief and can no longer be used.]
“Fuck!” Even Du Sanying, who possessed a large number of items, couldn’t help cursing in pain.
He had already lost seven or eight defensive items to Thief Gege, all shredded apart by those claws.
And worse, he was almost out.
Du Sanying checked his system inventory with a dark expression.
At most, his remaining items could block two more attacks.
Two more times...
It wasn’t enough.
Before he could even finish the thought, Thief Gege was thrown forward again by Thief Didi.
Like a bat swooping through darkness, he crossed the entire carriage and landed on the hood once more.
This time, his hands moved rapidly across Du Sanying’s body like an expert pickpocket.
Du Sanying dodged frantically.
At first, he’d hung the fragments around his neck. Later he realized that position was far too dangerous, so he’d moved them elsewhere—
—to inside his pants.
Uncomfortable? Absolutely.
But undeniably secure.
Thief Gege paused.
His pale eyes swept over Du Sanying’s body in confusion. He clearly sensed the fragments were nearby but couldn’t locate them. He spun in circles atop the hood, chirping “ji-ji-ji” angrily as if demanding Du Sanying hand them over.
Du Sanying glared back stubbornly.
“You’ll never find them. Give up.”
Thief Gege appeared enraged.
His screeching grew even louder as he stared at Du Sanying for several long seconds. Somehow, Du Sanying could almost read the expression in those eyes—
—a mixture of disdain and utter psychological collapse.
Thief Gege clenched his rows of white teeth as though steeling himself for an enormous sacrifice.
Then, trembling slightly, he reached one skeletal hand toward Du Sanying’s crotch.
This technique had a very vivid Chinese name:
[Monkey Steals the Peach].
Bai Liu had nearly finished on his side when a horrifying scream suddenly echoed through the carriage.
“AAAAAAHHHHHH—LET GO OF MY [BEEP]!! YOU PERVERT!! DON’T PULL IT—DON’T PULL MY [BEEEEEP]!!!”
For a moment, the entire carriage fell eerily silent.
“FUCK, GET AWAY FROM ME!!” Du Sanying roared in complete breakdown while desperately yanking at his pants. “What kind of monster are you?! Don’t you think that’s disgusting?! Get your hand out of my pants, you damn train pervert!”
Thief Gege’s eyes bulged outward as his jaw trembled violently.
His long skeletal arm had disappeared almost entirely into Du Sanying’s pants. Soot continuously flaked off his burnt face, exposing bloodied flesh beneath. His mouth twisted upward hideously as he shrieked “ji-ji-ji” in fury, as though he too were cursing Du Sanying for hiding the fragments in such a shameless location.
At that exact moment, Thief Didi closed in from behind with massive strides.
Meanwhile, Thief Gege’s impossibly long fingers were only inches away from the fragments that had already slipped down Du Sanying’s pant leg.
Du Sanying cursed under his breath and activated another item.
[System Notification: Player Du Sanying used (Clown Spring) on Thief Gege.]
A giant clown head suddenly burst out from the hood of the car attached to an enormous elastic spring. It bounced wildly in every direction while laughing loudly.
Like a living punching bag, it blocked several of Thief Gege’s scratching attacks without breaking apart.
But before Du Sanying could even breathe in relief, the pursuing Thief Didi roared from behind and raised his fist.
With a thunderous bang, flames erupted across his entire body.
Scorching wind instantly swept through the carriage, and every window shattered simultaneously.
Thief Didi lunged forward, threw back his head, and released a deafening howl. His blazing fist burned fiercely as he charged several steps before leaping into the air.
He was aiming directly for Du Sanying.
At that instant, Du Sanying felt suffocating terror seize his chest.
His instincts screamed at him that death was coming. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
He looked up at Thief Didi suspended midair, his violent expression twisted with murderous fury, and his pupils contracted sharply.
A fully charged flame impact combined with an all-out hammer strike—
—once that punch landed, the entire carriage would become a sea of fire.
Du Sanying knew instantly.
He was dead.
[System Notification: Player Du Sanying used (Clown Spring) on Thief Didi.]
[System Notification: Player Du Sanying used (Golden Bell Shield) on Thief Didi.]
Thief Didi’s monstrous punch descended without the slightest restraint.
The entire train shook violently for several seconds.
Then—
—BOOM.
The carriage exploded into a blazing inferno.
Mu Shicheng, who had been rushing toward them, stared at the shattered burning wreckage and cursed violently.
“Fuck!!”
“DU SANYING—!!”
No answer came back.
Only smoke and drifting embers remained.
Du Sanying’s “My Little Pony” bumper car had been burned beyond recognition, leaving behind only a charred metal frame engulfed in flames.
Beside it lay the melted remains of the clown head, still frozen in its ridiculous grotesque grin.
Fragments of the shattered Golden Bell Shield had already turned to ash in the fire.
“...Du Sanying probably used Clown Spring and Golden Bell Shield to block the attack,” Zhang Kui said grimly. “But even the combined effects of those two items couldn’t stop that punch.”
“...He’s most likely dead. Even a full-health A-rank player would have their health bar emptied after taking that attack head-on.”
“Not to mention Du Sanying’s luck isn’t at one hundred percent anymore, and his panel is only C-rank. He can’t survive that.”
“His luck value should still be above ninety,” Bai Liu said calmly, directly refuting him. “I believe he survived.”
He turned immediately toward Mu Shicheng.
“I’ll lure away Thief Didi. After using his ultimate move, he enters a one-minute cooldown period. You take Thief Gege away and buy Du Sanying enough space to escape.”
Zhang Kui couldn’t stop himself from speaking again. “There’s no reason for you to risk this much for Du Sanying. He’s probably already—”
Before he could finish speaking, Bai Liu cracked his whip sharply across Thief Didi’s back.
The monster released a furious howl and whipped around toward Bai Liu.
His eyes widened with rage.
Heavy footsteps thundered through the carriage as he charged.
At the same time, Mu Shicheng swung upward onto the hand straps overhead. Thief Gege was still circling around the wrecked bumper car as though searching for something.
Mu Shicheng lunged downward like a striking beast, aiming directly for Thief Gege’s heart.
Thief Gege twisted aside with terrifying agility and avoided the attack, but the ambush enraged him instantly. His skeletal arm whipped outward toward Mu Shicheng’s chest, aiming to tear out his heart in return.
Once both Thief Brothers had been lured away, the heap of burned scrap that had once been Du Sanying’s bumper car suddenly twitched.
A soot-covered Du Sanying crawled weakly out from underneath it.
He coughed several times before collapsing flat onto the floor, limbs spread like a half-dead plucked parrot.
“...I really thought I was dead...” he muttered blankly. “...good thing I have a personal skill...”
[System Notification: Player Du Sanying activated personal skill (Law Apprentice), reducing incoming damage by 90%.]
[System Notification: Player Du Sanying received Thief Didi’s attack. Health -20. Mental Value -30. Luck value coordination -10.]
The moment Du Sanying crawled out, the pursuing Thief Brothers immediately sensed the fragments’ location and turned back toward him.
Du Sanying had barely regained his breath before scrambling upright again and running in utter collapse.
“BAI LIU—!! I can’t hold on anymore!!”
“That’s enough already.” Bai Liu smiled. “Leave the rest to me. Throw the fragments over here.”
Du Sanying ran frantically toward Bai Liu.
Halfway there, he stumbled and crashed face-first onto the ground.
Behind him, Thief Didi’s massive foot nearly crushed his spine.
Bai Liu shouted immediately:
“Throw the fragments!”
Just before Thief Didi could charge him again, Du Sanying hurled the fragments high into the air.
“BAI LIU! CATCH THEM!!”
The instant the fragments left his hands, both Thief Brothers abruptly changed direction and lunged toward the airborne shards.
Bai Liu reacted instantly, snapping his whip out to knock Thief Didi aside while Mu Shicheng—moving at terrifying speed—seized the fragments first.
Du Sanying collapsed onto the floor with tears streaming down his face, panting so hard he couldn’t even stand.
Bai Liu crouched beside him and patted his shoulder lightly.
“Well done. Leave the rest to me and Mu Shicheng.”
Du Sanying finally managed to recover enough strength to lift his head, but concern immediately appeared on his face.
“But your health is only three points. Why don’t I—”
“Three points is enough.”
Bai Liu flicked his whip lightly and faced the charging Thief Brothers without the slightest change in expression.
“Mu Shicheng,” he said calmly, “let’s coordinate.”
Hanging from the overhead straps, Mu Shicheng swung diagonally downward and grabbed Bai Liu by the back of his collar, hauling him upward effortlessly.
He sneered.
“Sure. Hold on tight, Bai Liu.”
“My maximum speed exceeds ten thousand.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Mu Shicheng shifted his grip and swiftly adjusted the headphones hanging around his neck.
The moment he put them on, the monkey-shaped headphones burst with brilliant red light.
The monkey plush grinned wildly and screamed excitedly:
“FAST—FASTER—!!”
[System Notification: Player Mu Shicheng activated personal skill (Thief’s Stealth) — Ultra Full-Speed Stamina Exhaustion State.]
[Skill Upgrade: (Thief’s Stealth) upgraded from A+ to S-. Movement Speed +9003.]
[Warning: After forcibly activating this skill, player Mu Shicheng’s stamina bar will be completely depleted. Duration: 1 minute. During recovery, stamina cannot be replenished with supplements and may only recover naturally.]
[Does player Mu Shicheng confirm activation?]
Mu Shicheng’s eyes darkened slightly.
Then the corners of his lips curled upward into a reckless, almost delinquent grin.
[Confirm.]
