Nightmare Rising Stars Hall, Central Lobby.
This was a black-walled television hall, its style a stark contrast to the opulent splendor of the Core Hall—a modern industrial aesthetic, draped in inky curtains that shrouded the walls. Scattered across the darkness were glimmers of silver and gold, like fragments of starlight on a summer night, enchanting at first glance. Yet, upon closer inspection, one would see bloodied handprints smeared across the drapery, and those tiny shards were not stars at all, but fragments of metallic dentures, glued there by unseen hands.
In the game, a "newcomer" was defined as anyone who had participated in fewer than fifty-two games. Given the average player's weekly participation, this meant anyone within their first year was considered a Rising Star, and these newcomers had their own special leaderboard. The Nightmare Rising Stars board was the most coveted of all.
There were ten screens in the Nightmare Rising Stars Hall, reserved for the top ten newcomers by total points each day. Competition was fierce—players would climb up, only to be quickly pushed down again. Yet today, the atmosphere in this cutthroat hall was… peculiar.
For the second, third, and fourth screens all displayed Bai Liu's small TV.
Wang Shun hurried over, torn between laughter and tears. Bai Liu had surged to second place, but both Du Sanying in third and Mu Sicheng in fourth had placed Bai Liu's small TV at the center of their own screens. At a glance, it looked as if Bai Liu alone occupied three of the Nightmare Rising Stars promo slots. Many spectators who hadn't paid him much attention were now drawn in, their curiosity piqued:
"Who is this newcomer? He's got three screens to himself—impressive."
"That's Bai Liu! The one everyone was arguing about on the forums! You must not follow the gossip—people said if he ran into Zhang Gui, he'd either die or become a puppet. Judging by this, he didn't end up anyone's puppet."
"I remember a lot of people hated on him back then, because he racked up so many charge points in his first solo game. The lower-ranked players were jealous, saying he was showing off and would get his comeuppance. Now he's on the Nightmare Rising Stars board. If he's ruthless, he could just kill off the loudmouths in-game. Who's really going to get struck by lightning now?"
['Exploding Last Train' True End Clear—Points Reward: 30,000]
['Exploding Last Train' True End Clear—Attribute Points: 100 (can be allocated to any panel attribute)]
['Exploding Last Train Monster Compendium—Burning Passenger Page' Completion Reward—Item: 20 Mirror Shards (quality unknown)—requires all shards to unlock the full item]
['Exploding Last Train Monster Compendium—Thief Brothers Page' Completion Reward—Item: One Thief's Black Finger (excellent quality), 60 Mirror Shards (quality unknown)—equipping the Black Finger grants a third hand, allowing you to steal from others unnoticed; mirror shards require full set to unlock item]
['Exploding Last Train Monster Compendium—Ghost Mirror Page'—Item: Mirror Frame (quality unknown)—the core vessel for the mirror shards, requires 400 shards to assemble a complete mirror]
['Exploding Last Train Monster Compendium' Full Completion Reward—Item: Passenger's Blessing (excellent quality)—the grateful souls of the passengers you saved will protect you from harm by any monster, as long as you are seated in a vehicle]
[Note: The vehicle must be part of the original scene, not carried by the player]
[System: Player Bai Liu's Small TV Comprehensive Evaluation]
[This 'Exploding Last Train' gameplay video received 153,266 likes, 196,835 favorites, and 94,802 charge points. However, 1,359 players disliked the video. At its peak, over 100,000 viewers watched Bai Liu's small TV simultaneously. Bai Liu's gameplay video is, without question, extraordinarily compelling.]
[With total engagement exceeding 300,000, the video is rated as Silver-Gleam Badge level. Considering the 1:112 dislike-to-like ratio, the video is downgraded to Bright Silver Badge level, qualifying for entry into the VIP library—Bai Liu's gameplay video is now in the VIP library.]
[Once in the VIP library, players wishing to view Bai Liu's 'Exploding Last Train' video must become VIP members and pay 60 points per view, split 50/50 between Bai Liu and the system.]
[Bai Liu's Small TV has earned the following achievements—]
[First player in recent memory to leave the Graveyard Disco Zone]
[Second place on the Nightmare Rising Stars board]
[Among the first to clear 'Exploding Last Train']
[First player since Spades to reach the Nightmare Rising Stars board in just two games]
...
When Bai Liu emerged from the exit, he saw Mu Sicheng waiting for him, arms crossed.
As Bai Liu approached, Mu Sicheng gave him a once-over, his gaze incredulous. "I knew you probably had a backup plan, but how did you make it out? That was a god-level NPC…"
Bai Liu smiled enigmatically. "Do you want to know?"
Mu Sicheng hesitated, then nodded.
Bai Liu spread his hands. "Buy the answer with points."
Mu Sicheng: "…"
"You just earned over a hundred thousand in charge points, and you still want to squeeze money out of me? You really are obsessed with profit." Mu Sicheng grumbled, "Forget it, I don't want to know. You've fleeced me enough."
Bai Liu's smile grew even more amiable. "That Black Finger item—you only have one, right? It's a thief-class item, very useful for you. Don't you want to complete the set?"
"I have one too." Bai Liu looked at Mu Sicheng with feigned innocence.
Mu Sicheng: "…"
"How much do you want?" Mu Sicheng asked, resigned, ready to pay for peace.
Bai Liu's smile was delighted. "I want the remaining 320 mirror shards."
"…But I only have 80," Mu Sicheng frowned, locking eyes with Bai Liu for a few seconds before realization dawned. "Damn, you want me to help you collect all the other shards? Why should I?"
Bai Liu replied unhurriedly, "You'll have to collect the Black Fingers from other players anyway. Why not gather the shards for me while you're at it?"
Bai Liu hadn't expected all the rewards to be composite items this time. The Black Finger required five to form a "third hand," and the mirror shards needed 400 to become a single item. With five people clearing the level, each received one finger and 80 shards—excellent items, but only a fifth of a set, and thus unusable alone.
The Black Finger was a must-have for Mu Sicheng; anyone could see he'd do whatever it took to collect all five.
But the mirror shards… who would manage to gather them all was anyone's guess.
Mu Sicheng sneered, "You forget, Fang Ke and Liu Huai are guild players. Good items have to be handed over to the guild. The Black Finger is a personal skill item, so they can keep it or sell it to me. But those mirror shards, with their unknown properties—clearly because the system can't calculate the stats of a god-level NPC item—look at your whip, everyone saw how overpowered it was. You're an F-rank player, and you could wield that much power. If the mirror shards form a similar item, who knows how strong it'll be?"
"Fang Ke and Liu Huai have to hand those shards over to the King's Guild. The guild will do whatever it takes to collect them and assemble the god-level item," Mu Sicheng said with certainty.
"But 180 shards are with you, me, and Du Sanying," Bai Liu mused. "How will the King's Guild get them from us?"
Mu Sicheng held up three fingers. "I can think of three ways. First, they'll try to buy them—offer us a high price for the shards. And I have to tell you, Bai Liu, Du Sanying already sold his to the guild for 60,000 points."
Bai Liu sighed softly. "As expected, Du Sanying would get rid of something so unlucky right away. But 60,000 points for each unknown shard—the King's Guild really is rich."
Mu Sicheng continued, "Second, theft. That's my specialty. They'll send players with theft skills or items to follow us and try to steal the shards in-game. But don't worry—no one's ever managed to steal from me, except for you, you lunatic."
"And, of course, there's the simplest, most direct, and most profitable third way—" Mu Sicheng waggled his three fingers at Bai Liu, a sly smile on his lips. "I think you can guess what it is."
Bai Liu's eyes narrowed. "Murder. If they kill me in-game, everything I own becomes theirs."
"You killed one of their top players—Zhang Gui. They invested a lot in him, and you took him out in-game." Mu Sicheng's tone was mock-threatening, but his smile was careless, as if he didn't care about offending the King's Guild. "You've made a powerful enemy. Now you want to compete with them for the shards. Do you realize what you're in for? They'll hunt you to the ends of the earth!"
"I do now, but it seems it's too late." Bai Liu glanced at Mu Sicheng, then suddenly smiled. "But you didn't sell your shards to the guild—you saved them for me, didn't you? Looks like you're ready to be hunted with me?"
"How conceited." Mu Sicheng snorted, looking away, but then punched Bai Liu lightly in the shoulder. "You're the one who insisted on partnering up, right?"
Bai Liu staggered from the blow, just as the system chimed:
[System Notification: Player Mu Sicheng has gifted 80 mirror shards to Player Bai Liu]
"Hey, what should we call our team?" Mu Sicheng suddenly mused aloud, a strange smile on his face, as if the prospect of defying the King's Guild thrilled him. "Back when Zhang Gui was hunting me, I told Liu Huai that if we ever killed him, our team would be famous. I gave us a terrible name—Thief and Assassin."
But in the end, the thief stole the assassin's blade, and the assassin severed the thief's hand. The puppet master who once controlled everything, once thought invincible, was so easily dispatched by a newcomer—by Bai Liu, who killed him without a ripple.
That unremarkable team name had long since faded from the forums.
"Let's name our new team, too," Mu Sicheng said.
Bai Liu wasn't much for such trivialities, but with the rise of streaming and entertainment, a team name was useful. He deferred to Mu Sicheng: "What do you suggest?"
Mu Sicheng's gaze flickered. "…How about Thief and Strategist?"
Even Bai Liu couldn't help but deadpan: "= ="
…Does this guy only know how to mash professions together? If he knew Bai Liu's true identity as a Wanderer, he'd probably suggest something like Thief and Wanderer—a name that just reeks of poverty…
"That's even worse than…" Bai Liu pretended to ponder. "Wanderer and Monkey."
After two seconds of silence, Mu Sicheng exploded, leaping up in outrage. "Damn it! Bai Liu, are you mocking me?!"
Mu Sicheng could never have imagined that Bai Liu's offhand, slightly ridiculous suggestion would one day sweep through the entire game, becoming a nightmare team name that struck fear into countless players. The moment they heard that shrill, piercing monkey's laugh, or saw the smiling young man in a white shirt and slacks, the outcome of the game was already decided.
In the game where money and crowns slumbered in eternal fear, victory would always belong to the "Wanderer and the Monkey."
And their reign was only just beginning.