"You have the mermaid amulet, Mu Sicheng." Bai Liu turned his head, his gaze tranquil as water as he looked at Mu Sicheng. "Did you bind the item?"
Mu Sicheng's expression stiffened. "…I bound it the moment I got it." He produced the mermaid amulet.
The white mermaid figurine's face was no longer generic, but had taken on Mu Sicheng's own features.
At the same time, Mu Sicheng realized what Bai Liu intended—to use the mermaid amulet, which allowed the player to shatter the mirror and instantly escape. But since the amulet was already bound to Mu Sicheng, there was only one possible outcome.
"I'll be the one to break the mirror." Mu Sicheng gripped the figurine, taking a deep breath.
But this plan was far from foolproof. No one knew how quickly the god-level NPC could kill, or what its attack would be, or whether Mu Sicheng would have time to use the item.
"Bai Liu, don't tell me you had me steal the mermaid amulet from the very start just for this moment?" Mu Sicheng's expression was a mix of exasperation and resignation. "When did you realize the world inside the train was fake?"
"Hmm, I started to suspect when I saw the escalator in the subway station running in reverse, and the circular subway line," Bai Liu answered honestly. "If it were me, I'd design a circular track in the game for the sake of endless loops."
Damn, that was at the very beginning! Before we even boarded the train!
Mu Sicheng felt himself coming apart.
Bai Liu had known all along—he was as much a bug in this game as the god-level NPC.
Mu Sicheng closed his eyes. He really had no choice. No matter how risky it was for him to break the mirror and use the mermaid amulet to escape, he couldn't avoid it.
It wasn't as if Bai Liu, with only one point of health, could do it himself.
Bai Liu clapped his hands and stood up, nonchalant. "I'll use my whip to shatter the mirror. If the god-level NPC bursts out, remember to crush the amulet and escape."
Mu Sicheng stared at Bai Liu for several seconds, dazed, then shook his shoulders in disbelief. "Who did you just say would break the mirror?!"
"Me," Bai Liu replied, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "I still haven't completed the last page of the monster compendium. I'm missing the ghost mirror's attack pattern. I'm waiting for it to attack me."
Mu Sicheng: "…"
Mu Sicheng: "???????????"
Mu Sicheng: "?!?!?!?!?!?!?!"
"Shit!" Mu Sicheng was completely thrown. All his usual logic and predictions were useless against this madman. He stared in disbelief as Bai Liu drew his whip. "Hey, you're not seriously going to break the mirror yourself?!"
Bai Liu shot him a sidelong glance. "Or would you rather do it?"
"Of course not! At least I have the mermaid amulet! What the hell do you have, to be so reckless?" Mu Sicheng was on the verge of losing it. He wanted to shake Bai Liu awake. "Are you insane?! You only have one point of health!"
He pulled out the pure white mermaid figurine, ready to shield Bai Liu, and bared his monkey's paw at the mirror, voice cold and resolute. "Fine, I'll break the mirror. When it shatters and the game ends, you can log out. Get as far away as you can—hide, and don't die at the last second."
"Mu Sicheng, you breaking the mirror is actually a poor trade." Bai Liu's voice drifted calmly from behind. "It's obvious the god-level NPC will unleash an area attack when it emerges. If I break it, you can still use your item to escape. But if you break it, and the attack sweeps over me, I'll be dead instantly—and the item will be wasted."
"It's not cost-effective," Bai Liu concluded, utterly composed.
Mu Sicheng was speechless, on the verge of exploding. "Is this really the time to be talking about cost-effectiveness—"
"And—" Bai Liu's voice was cool and clear. "Mu Sicheng, I told you, you're the most valuable card I have right now. For you to die here would be a waste. The return on investment is too low."
Mu Sicheng fell silent, realizing that Bai Liu… was completely serious.
He truly thought it would be a waste.
Mu Sicheng turned to look at Bai Liu with an expression of utter incredulity. Bai Liu met his gaze, unblinking, and for a moment they stood in stalemate. At last, Mu Sicheng spoke, stunned: "You can't be serious, Bai Liu. You really want to break the mirror yourself, and let me watch you die? Are you actually insane?"
Bai Liu, pale and weak, looked at him with a faint, mocking smile. "Mu Sicheng, weren't you always so averse to being controlled by me? And now you're willing to die in my place? Which of us is the real lunatic?"
Mu Sicheng fell into a strange silence—damn! That's right! Wasn't he the one being controlled? How did things end up like this?
Oh, right—because Bai Liu never played by the rules. What kind of controller dies for the one he's controlling? Mu Sicheng's mind spun before he finally sorted it out. "Bai Liu, what the hell are you doing all this for?!"
"For money." With a flick of his fingers, a one-point coin appeared. Bai Liu grinned suddenly. "For your remaining value to me. Mu Sicheng, you're even willing to stand in front of me and break the mirror—that's almost the same as dying for me. But your death here would be a waste."
Bai Liu lifted his eyelids. "Why not sell me your soul? At least I wouldn't let you use yourself so carelessly, dying for me without value, Mu Sicheng."
Mu Sicheng was momentarily speechless, unable to find words to respond, his expression complex.
"I need you to steal more things for me, to work with me again and again, to win more money and points." Bai Liu's tone was gentle as he met Mu Sicheng's eyes, holding up the one-point coin. "So I won't die, and I won't waste your life. Do we have a deal?"
Mu Sicheng's expression shifted from strange to calm, then to cold. He stared at Bai Liu. "I hate being controlled."
Bai Liu nodded, not withdrawing the coin, his smile flawless. "I won't control you. We're partners. Or at least, I won't let you feel like you're being controlled."
"Partners?" Mu Sicheng clicked his tongue, snatched the coin from Bai Liu's hand, and suddenly laughed. "Not a bad feeling, this kind of partnership. But one point is too cheap—at least ten thousand."
"You drive a hard bargain." Bai Liu frowned, hesitating. "Ten thousand points…"
Mu Sicheng watched him for a moment, then suddenly exclaimed, "No way! Are you actually hesitating to buy me for ten thousand points? I'm ranked fourth on the Rising Stars list, Bai Liu!"
"But—" Bai Liu replied honestly, "ten thousand is expensive. I bought everyone else for one point. Only Zhang Gui cost twelve thousand, and I thought that was too much, so he ended up dead. Do you want to die too?"
Mu Sicheng: "…"
Damn it, is that a threat? You think I'll be cowed so easily?
Mu Sicheng's face was expressionless. "Name your price."
"A hundred points, at most." Bai Liu looked at him sincerely. "It's your first time selling your soul—how about a ninety percent discount?"
Mu Sicheng: "…"
[System Notification: Player Bai Liu has purchased Player Mu Sicheng's soul for one hundred points.]
[System Notification: Player Bai Liu has obtained Player Mu Sicheng's soul coin, and now shares Mu Sicheng's soul debt with the system.]
"Hey, are you really going to break the mirror yourself?" Mu Sicheng raked a hand through his hair, agitated. "Tch, if I'd known, I wouldn't have bound the amulet. You're going to get yourself killed. Can this thing be unbound? If so, I'll leave it for you."
"No need." Bai Liu shook his head. "Your safety is important too. I need the mermaid amulet to ensure your value—after all, you're my property now. I have to protect my assets. It's the first time I've spent so many points on a soul. At a thousand per point, you're worth a hundred thousand…"
He sighed. "A hundred thousand… Maybe I should reconsider."
Mu Sicheng: "…"
What's with that tone, like someone regretting an impulse buy on a luxury item? Do I not even deserve a hundred grand to you?
"Bai Liu." Mu Sicheng threatened, deadpan, "If you keep rambling, I'll shatter the mirror and kill myself right in front of you, and you'll lose your hundred thousand."
Bai Liu immediately fell silent.