Mu Sicheng fitted himself with a diving mask as well—these were purchased from the system for a mere three points, and they had long since prepared them.
He cast a glance at Bai Liu. "Let's go. Time to regroup with the others."
Du Sanying and Zhang Gui were in another carriage. Du Sanying wiped the water from his face, gasping for breath. Beside him, Zhang Gui, Liu Huai, and Fang Ke were equally disheveled. Before they could catch their breath, Bai Liu and Mu Sicheng emerged from the mist at the end of the carriage. Bai Liu, without a care for Zhang Gui's resentful glare, placed his 360 mirror shards into Du Sanying's false cloth, then unceremoniously stuffed the bundle into Zhang Gui's arms. "You should have twenty shards as well. The explosion will happen in less than a minute. Hold on to them."
[System Notification: Player Zhang Gui has obtained 380 mirror shards. Collection progress (380/400).]
"As for you two—" Bai Liu turned to Liu Huai and Fang Ke. Under his calm, unblinking gaze, both men involuntarily shuddered. "The shards are gathered. You're of no further use, and now you're a liability. Perhaps it's best if…"
Liu Huai gritted his teeth and spoke first. "We would never ambush you. Killing us now would only waste your time, and our health is nearly depleted. Attacking you would bring us no benefit—only death. We'll keep our distance."
"If you truly don't trust us…" Liu Huai's voice was tinged with despair as he met Bai Liu's impassive eyes. "I only wish to survive. I'll do anything to prove I won't betray you."
Bai Liu replied coolly, "Then sever your own hands."
Liu Huai looked up in shock, and even Mu Sicheng's expression froze. Both turned to Bai Liu in near unison.
Bai Liu, however, seemed to think nothing of his words, his tone as natural as ever. "I have no interest in killing, but you are a risk. Your skill requires hands to wield a dagger, doesn't it? And if you survive the amputation, your health will be as low as mine, making you even less of a threat."
"And with no hands—" Bai Liu turned to Mu Sicheng. "You could handle Liu Huai then, couldn't you?"
Mu Sicheng stared at Bai Liu for a moment, his face a tangle of emotions. After a few seconds, he clicked his tongue and gave a wry laugh. "If Liu Huai loses his hands, I could carry him with ease."
Bai Liu turned to Liu Huai, his tone polite. "Very well, then. Get on with it. We don't have much time."
A storm of emotions crossed Liu Huai's face. At last, he gritted his teeth, turned to Fang Ke, and asked him to do the deed.
Fang Ke, his expression conflicted, took the dagger from Liu Huai. As Liu Huai's mutilated arms fell to the ground, Mu Sicheng's face betrayed a moment of stunned sympathy, but he quickly composed himself, turning away with reddened eyes, his dark hands hanging at his sides.
"As for Fang Ke—" Bai Liu began, but before he could finish, Fang Ke let out a sharp cry and severed one of his own hands, desperation etched across his face. "Is this enough?"
Bai Liu paused. "I only wanted you and Liu Huai to hand over your items and points. I didn't mean for you to maim yourself."
Fang Ke: "…" He could only sob in silence.
Bai Liu spoke of robbery as if it were the most natural thing in the world. After a moment's hesitation, Liu Huai and Fang Ke obediently handed over all their points and items. Bai Liu's gaze then shifted to Zhang Gui. "And you—hand over your points and items as well. It would be a waste if you died with them."
Zhang Gui, about to be sent to his death by Bai Liu: "…"
This was like grinding his bones to dust and then selling the ashes—Bai Liu was truly ruthless!
Zhang Gui gnashed his teeth in hatred, but there was nothing he could do. Bai Liu, satisfied, had successfully robbed three high-level players.
Du Sanying and Mu Sicheng, who had witnessed the entire scene: "…"
They looked at Bai Liu, who was equally adept at robbery, murder, and sabotage, and couldn't help but wonder—what prison had released such a scourge upon the world?
Bai Liu, a laid-off worker, counted his spoils with delight, waving cheerfully at Fang Ke and Liu Huai. "Goodbye. Let's play again if fate allows. You made this game most enjoyable."
Liu Huai and Fang Ke: "…"
No, thank you. Our experience was anything but pleasant.
Under Bai Liu's satisfied gaze, the two fled like startled dogs. Even Mu Sicheng was speechless—Bai Liu was clearly planning to rob them again if they ever met. When Bai Liu turned his attention to Du Sanying and Mu Sicheng, Du Sanying was so nervous he nearly burst into tears. "Bai—Bai Liu, I really have nothing left! I used up all my items! Please don't rob me!"
Bai Liu looked surprised. "Why would I rob you? We're partners." He paused, a hint of regret in his voice. "You really have nothing left? I thought with your luck at a hundred, you'd have stashed away plenty."
Mu Sicheng: "…" At least try to hide that predatory look, Bai Liu.
Du Sanying nodded frantically, eyes brimming with tears. "I really have nothing!"
Bai Liu had no intention of targeting Mu Sicheng—he still needed his help, and Mu Sicheng's skill was theft. Whatever Bai Liu took, Mu Sicheng could steal back, though he was a discerning thief, unlikely to act rashly. As Bai Liu looted Fang Ke and Liu Huai, Mu Sicheng watched with folded arms and a look of disdain, as if observing a vagrant scavenging through trash.
But, Bai Liu thought, he was indeed a "poor wanderer."
As the train started, the tunnels on either side began to collapse, torrents of water flooding in from all directions, pouring through shattered windows and gaping holes. In seconds, the water rose above Bai Liu's waist.
Bai Liu was tossed about by the waves, nearly floating away, but Mu Sicheng's quick reflexes saved him. Du Sanying clung to a seat, shouting above the roar, "Bai Liu! Zhang Gui is going to explode in this carriage! Let's guard both ends! Mu Sicheng and I still have enough health and some defensive items—we'll hold the line! You stay back!"
Bai Liu pressed a gloved hand to his diving mask, signaling OK as the water swallowed his face. He turned and paddled away, clumsy and awkward—he still couldn't swim.
Du Sanying and Mu Sicheng guarded the carriage doors, using items to shield themselves. In the center, Zhang Gui, pale and grim, clung to the false cloth containing the mirror shards. Bai Liu had stripped him of all his items, leaving only a diving mask to keep him from drowning before the explosion.
Both doors were blocked. Zhang Gui, out of time and options, was utterly trapped.
For a moment, both Mu Sicheng and Du Sanying were struck by déjà vu—this was a scene they knew all too well.
Mu Sicheng had been ensnared by Zhang Gui's tricks countless times, barely escaping with his life. Du Sanying, too, had only recently been trapped by Zhang Gui in a carriage, running for his life. Now, the tables had turned.
The thought made Mu Sicheng want to laugh. Bai Liu, with a luck stat of zero, somehow managed to turn misfortune into opportunity.
It was as if this man, with effortless ease, had returned every hardship Mu Sicheng had ever suffered, even if Bai Liu had not done it for his sake.
…Yet, somehow, Mu Sicheng couldn't help but feel a quiet joy.
Zhang Gui could feel, through the cloth, the mirror in his hands growing hotter and hotter. He began to tremble violently, his eyes darting in panic, mouthing words underwater that no one could hear.
Mu Sicheng squinted, trying to read Zhang Gui's lips through the mask: "In—the—mirror—there—"
Before he could finish, the mirror in Zhang Gui's hands erupted in a blinding red light. Zhang Gui's face twisted in agony as a torrent of bubbles burst forth, the explosion's shockwave rocking the train. Mu Sicheng instinctively shielded his eyes.
The mirror exploded.
The violent blast shook the entire train, murky bubbles rising from the floor. The shockwaves battered the underwater subway, tossing it in every direction. Du Sanying, unable to keep his grip, tumbled through the carriage, losing precious health before coming to a dazed halt. Bai Liu, more cautious, had wrapped himself tightly in stolen defensive items and hidden far away, only emerging after the explosion subsided.
[System Notification (to all players): Player Zhang Gui's Sanity has reached zero. Confirmed aberration. Exiting game.]
Mu Sicheng stood before the bag on the floor. Inside was a mirror, pristine save for a triangular chip missing from its center—identical to before the explosion.
It lay quietly at the bottom, with no trace of Zhang Gui's remains. At such close range, he had likely been reduced to fragments, swept away by the current. The thought of wading through Zhang Gui's liquefied remains made Mu Sicheng queasy, but something else soon caught his attention.
He gazed into the mirror, and because of the missing shard, his reflection's eyes were incomplete—a strange, unsettling sight.
Only twenty shards away from clearing the level, yet a deep sense of foreboding gnawed at Mu Sicheng's heart.
It was the same feeling he'd had the first time Bai Liu smiled at him in this game—a premonition of imminent disaster.