Free Web NovelThe instant Mu Shicheng looked back, Bai Liu felt a light tug at the back of his collar.
But Mu Shicheng was moving too fast.
Bai Liu could barely see his hands.
For one brief moment, Bai Liu felt himself suspended in midair. Then, as if he had been flung backward into a bungee jump across level ground, he shot away at terrifying speed.
It felt as though his entire body had been pulled into a space-time tunnel. Everything around him stretched into lines of pure color. Eventually, even black and white blurred away.
Tinnitus rang in Bai Liu’s ears. He could no longer see light or shadow, only hear the violent howl of wind. The air from their high-speed movement whipped against his face until it stung. Mu Shicheng had him by the back of the collar; from an outsider’s perspective, Bai Liu looked like a kite flapping wildly in a gale, limp as a noodle.
“Cooooool,” Bai Liu couldn’t help whistling.
But Mu Shicheng was moving too fast. The whistle was shredded into several trembling pieces the moment it left his mouth. Only Mu Shicheng, who was moving at the same speed, could hear what he was saying clearly.
Even as he was shaken into an afterimage like a kite in a storm, Bai Liu still did not forget to give Mu Shicheng a thumbs-up.
“Mu Shicheng, this skill of yours feels like illegal street racing. No wonder everyone calls you the fastest man in the game. Dealing with the Thief Brothers should only take minutes.”
“...Aren’t you afraid of tearing your throat open talking at this speed?” Mu Shicheng raised an eyebrow slightly. “And why is it that perfectly normal words sound like insults the second they come out of your mouth?”
“Also, yes, this skill is fast, but it burns through stamina extremely quickly—especially while I’m carrying you.” Mu Shicheng completely ignored Bai Liu’s silver-tongued flattery. “I can hold out for one minute at most. If we can’t win within that minute, my movement speed will plummet, and both of us are finished. Got it?”
“Got it.” Bai Liu made an OK gesture.
He tightened his grip around the fishbone whip and lowered his eyes with a smile.
“Then let’s begin.”
[System Notification: Player Mu Shicheng’s movement speed has dropped to 3400. He is about to be caught by Thief Gege.]
Mu Shicheng braked against the carriage wall.
His monkey claws dug into the metal surface, and with both feet braced together, he kicked downward. Claw marks tore through the stainless-steel wall in a long trail, scattering sparks like lightning.
In the next breath, Thief Gege’s blackened head and splayed fingers appeared in Bai Liu and Mu Shicheng’s field of vision.
Mu Shicheng inhaled deeply, concentrating every ounce of his attention.
Bai Liu focused as well.
If Du Sanying had been here, he would have been stunned to discover that their eyes carried an almost identical expression.
A machine-like, inorganic calm.
Thief Gege scrambled across the four walls of the carriage and reached Bai Liu in only a few bounds. He released a sharp, piercing screech, bared his teeth, and lunged forward with his claws.
The moment those claws swung down toward Bai Liu, Mu Shicheng’s breath hitched involuntarily.
Bai Liu suddenly said, “Mu Shicheng, just do what you’re supposed to do. As for the rest—”
“—leave it to you, right?” Mu Shicheng abruptly snorted with laughter. “No need to be so wordy. I’ve heard you say that plenty of times.”
Bai Liu’s plan was this:
The Thief Brothers were a speed-and-power combination. Thief Gege’s attack power was relatively weak. Judging from Du Sanying’s battle, his attack rating should only be around C-rank. Against players with C-rank panels or below, such as Du Sanying and Bai Liu, one attack would only drain two health points.
But Thief Gege’s movement speed was extremely high—basically on the same A-rank level as Mu Shicheng. Once he caught a player, he could interfere with them and lower their movement speed.
That would allow Thief Didi, who moved more slowly, to catch up and attack.
Although Thief Didi’s movement speed was lower, his attack power was terrifying. Combined with Thief Gege’s speed and their high coordination as “brothers,” this pairing was nearly impossible for Bai Liu’s battered group to deal with.
Unfortunately, “nearly impossible” still meant there was a solution.
Based on the game’s data and overall design logic, Bai Liu guessed that Thief Gege should also have twenty fragments on him.
However, obtaining those twenty fragments was almost impossible for their current group.
Unless they could produce a combination with higher speed, stronger attack, and better coordination than the Thief Brothers.
Mu Shicheng could handle the speed, but he could not fight both Thief Brothers alone. More importantly, he needed to steal the mirror fragments from Thief Gege in the middle of the battle—something absolutely impossible on his own. Most likely, he would be hammered to death by the irritable Thief Didi before he even managed to touch Thief Gege’s little hand.
So, if they wanted to steal the fragments from Thief Gege, someone had to coordinate with Mu Shicheng while moving at a speed of three to four thousand points.
That person would have to shake off the high-attack Thief Didi, restrain the high-speed Thief Gege, and create the space and conditions Mu Shicheng needed to steal.
And there could not be a single mistake.
Bai Liu looked around and realized that this person could only be himself.
Everyone else’s health had fallen below thirty. None of them could perform such high-precision coordination with Mu Shicheng.
But Bai Liu’s health was only three.
One mistake would mean complete annihilation.
So whether it was him or Mu Shicheng, neither of them could afford to fail.
Bai Liu had already used Du Sanying to force out one of Thief Didi’s ultimate moves in advance. Now that Thief Didi’s ultimate was on cooldown, Bai Liu’s plan had at least become slightly feasible.
Though it was still as difficult as climbing to heaven.
Putting everything else aside, Mu Shicheng and Bai Liu’s current average attributes were far lower than the Thief Brothers’. Mu Shicheng did not even know whether his stealing skill could actually steal the mirror fragments Bai Liu wanted from a monster that also seemed to belong to the thief class.
Mu Shicheng considered this plan extremely risky.
But fuck it.
Bai Liu had said everything he couldn’t handle could be left to him.
So be it.
With the recklessness of someone smashing the pot and abandoning all hesitation, Mu Shicheng took a deep breath and hurled Bai Liu straight toward Thief Didi’s position. At the same time, he turned to face the incoming Thief Gege. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
Sharp monkey claws collided with Thief Gege’s scorched, withered claws.
After two identical sets of black claws clashed, both sides immediately tried to pierce each other’s hearts. Their other hands blocked in the same instant, and when both sneak attacks failed, Mu Shicheng flipped backward.
He dropped down and caught Bai Liu, who had just struck Thief Didi with his whip.
The two swapped positions midair.
Mu Shicheng turned to face the pouncing Thief Didi, while Bai Liu was flung toward Thief Gege.
Bai Liu’s expression remained completely unchanged as he lashed Thief Gege with his whip.
Mu Shicheng’s gaze sharpened. He clawed at Thief Didi before the monster could react, blocking its attack on Bai Liu. Although Mu Shicheng was extremely fast, the flames covering Thief Didi’s body still scorched him.
[System Notification: Player Mu Shicheng has taken fire burn damage. Health -1. Mental Value -1.]
Thief Gege retreated and stepped onto Thief Didi’s shoulders as the larger monster caught him from below. With a hiss, he sprang forward to attack again.
Mu Shicheng threw Bai Liu out once more.
Bai Liu was tossed upward, turning through the air as if in slow motion. With a flick of his wrist, he swung the whip and struck Thief Gege hard across the back.
Thief Gege wailed from the lash.
Seeing this, Thief Didi roared and charged upward, intending to teach Bai Liu a lesson with his fists.
After landing his strike, Bai Liu could no longer control his rapid fall. Seeing that he was about to drop straight onto Thief Didi and be roasted alive, his eyes shifted quickly.
“Mu Shicheng,” he called softly.
Mu Shicheng swung sideways across two hand straps. His tail hooked around Bai Liu’s waist at the last possible moment and lifted him up, narrowly avoiding Thief Didi’s assault.
Hanging from a hand strap with one hand, Mu Shicheng narrowed his eyes and reached his monkey claws toward Thief Gege, who had just been struck by Bai Liu.
Thief Gege, still stinging from the lash, threw his head back and screamed twice.
Two pairs of agile black claws, both meant for theft, clashed repeatedly in the air at a speed invisible to the naked eye before springing apart.
Because Bai Liu had swung the whip twice in a row, his stamina was depleted. Hanging from Mu Shicheng’s tail, he tilted his head and began drinking a stamina recovery agent.
Thief Didi rushed up again in several massive strides, roaring as he smashed his fist toward Mu Shicheng.
Bai Liu had not yet finished the recovery agent in his mouth, but he quickly patted Mu Shicheng’s back.
Mu Shicheng flicked his tail upward and tossed Bai Liu out.
With the recovery agent still clenched between his teeth, Bai Liu was spun in a circle by the throw. His eyes remained fixed. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed the liquid and emptied the bottle.
His focused gaze shifted diagonally downward.
He twisted in midair and brought his whip down across Thief Didi’s fist.
The blow knocked Thief Didi’s fist off course. It narrowly missed Mu Shicheng’s head as he hung upside down from the straps and slammed into the carriage wall instead.
“Fuck,” Mu Shicheng cursed, lingering fear flashing through him.
He had almost been decapitated by that punch.
Mu Shicheng quickly climbed across two more hand straps and hooked his foot outward, catching Bai Liu—who was once again exhausted and falling—with the back of his foot.
Panting, he asked, “Can you still hold on?”
Mu Shicheng’s own stamina consumption was severe. Both his hands were constantly being used to cling to walls or block attacks for Bai Liu, and he was moving at full speed to catch him each time. The strain was enormous.
Bai Liu hung limply from Mu Shicheng’s raised foot and lazily lifted one hand, giving him another OK gesture.
In truth, he no longer had the strength to speak.
Bai Liu quickly downed another bottle of stamina recovery agent.
Halfway through, Mu Shicheng threw him out with full force again.
Both Thief Gege and Thief Didi lunged toward Bai Liu while he was still balanced on Mu Shicheng’s foot, but Mu Shicheng launched him into the air before they could reach him.
Holding the recovery agent to his mouth with one hand to ensure not a single drop was wasted, Bai Liu narrowed his eyes at the Thief Brothers below.
Seeing Bai Liu thrown away, the brothers immediately shifted targets and rushed toward Mu Shicheng instead.
Bai Liu swung the whip with his other hand.
His wrist snapped, forming a sharp Z-shaped strike that knocked Thief Gege and Thief Didi away in opposite directions.
In truth, Bai Liu’s whip had no damage skill attached to it.
Its interference judgment was simply very strong.
Even so, Mu Shicheng was shaken.
This guy’s hands—and his mental state—were terrifyingly stable.
He had said there would be no mistakes, and there truly had not been any.
With only three points of health, if Mu Shicheng lost focus for even a second and failed to catch him, Bai Liu would be finished. Yet Bai Liu showed no hesitation, no fear, no retreat.
Instead, he was calmly and boldly carving out space for Mu Shicheng to steal.
“The minute is almost over,” Bai Liu even found the time to say.
His expression, softened by exhaustion, looked almost relaxed and indifferent.
“Have you still not stolen the mirror fragments from Thief Gege? If not, we might be finished.”
The words “we might be finished” were spoken in such a lazy, joking tone that it seemed Bai Liu had no proper understanding of how serious “being finished” was.
Or perhaps he simply was not afraid.
“The location is wrong.” Mu Shicheng hung from the strap with one hand, his face dark. He was also breathing hard from the intense exertion. “The mirror fragments on the other passengers and on Thief Didi were all near the heart.”
“But Thief Gege’s aren’t. I can’t find anything near his heart.”
“Not in the heart...” Bai Liu murmured thoughtfully. “Since the mirror fragments are designed as a weakness, they must be placed in an important part. For the other monsters, that part is the heart. But for Thief Gege, it isn’t...”
The difference between Thief Gege and Thief Didi—or any of the other monsters—was that he seemed to possess an extremely strong stealing judgment skill and very fast movement speed.
In those two aspects, he was somewhat similar to Mu Shicheng...
“There are only a few seconds left before Thief Didi’s ultimate fully charges, and I’m almost out of strength...” Mu Shicheng watched Thief Didi gathering power below them and closed his eyes, speaking through ragged breaths. “Bai Liu, if we don’t touch the mirror fragment the next time we attack Thief Gege, both of us are going to die here.”
Bai Liu suddenly lifted his head.
“Mu Shicheng, for a thief, what do you think is the ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) most important part? Or rather—what is a thief’s weakness?”
Mu Shicheng had no time to think about Bai Liu’s question.
He let out a hoarse, furious roar.
“Bai Liu!! Thief Gege is behind you! Turn around and swing the whip!”
The minute was almost up.
Both he and Bai Liu were severely depleted.
Mu Shicheng was holding the hand strap with one hand and gripping Bai Liu with the other. Below them, Thief Didi was charging his ultimate move. freēwēbnovel.com
He could not let go.
He could not spare a hand to help Bai Liu block the attack.
All he could do was shout a warning.
But Bai Liu seemed to no longer have the strength to react.
He stared blankly ahead and did not turn around.
Behind him, Thief Gege extended five sharp fingers and fused them into a single pointed cone. A strange grin spread across his exposed gums as he drove his hand without hesitation into Bai Liu’s heart.
The black claws pierced straight through Bai Liu’s body.
They burst out from the front of his chest.
The force of the blow shoved Bai Liu’s chest forward. He tilted his head back, frowning with a muffled groan as blood poured continuously from his mouth, staining the front of his white shirt red.
Mu Shicheng’s pupils contracted to pinpoints.
“Bai Liu—!!!!!!!!”
[System Warning: Player Bai Liu has been attacked by Thief Gege!! Currently in a near-death state!!]
