"Mu Sicheng, you have the Mermaid Amulet." Bai Liu turned to look at him, his expression utterly calm. "Did you bind the item?"
Mu Sicheng's face stiffened. "…I bound it as soon as I got it." He took out the Mermaid Amulet. The little mermaid statue no longer bore the face of its original model. Instead, it had Mu Sicheng's face.
At that moment, Mu Sicheng realized what Bai Liu intended to do.
Bai Liu wanted to use the Mermaid Amulet. A player could break the mirror and instantly escape using it. But since the item was bound to Mu Sicheng, there was only one possible outcome.
"I'll break the mirror." Mu Sicheng gripped the statue and took a deep breath.
However, this method wasn't safe. No one knew how fast the god-level NPC could kill, what its attack skills were, or whether Mu Sicheng would even have time to activate the item.
"Bai Liu, surely you didn't have me steal the Mermaid Amulet from the beginning just for this moment?" Mu Sicheng's expression turned strange and sullen. "When did you realize the world we were in on the train was fake?"
"Mm. I probably suspected it when I saw the escalators moving in the opposite direction at the subway station—and when I noticed the subway line was circular," Bai Liu replied honestly. "If it were me, I would've designed the track as a loop for this kind of mechanic."
That was practically the beginning of the game. They hadn't even boarded the train yet.
Mu Sicheng nearly collapsed.
So Bai Liu had already known back then. He was almost like the god-level NPC himself—a bug in this game.
Mu Sicheng closed his eyes. He didn't really have a choice. No matter how high the risk of death, breaking the mirror and using the Mermaid Amulet to escape was unavoidable. It was impossible for Bai Liu, with so little health left, to break the mirror himself… right?
Bai Liu clapped his hands and stood up as if nothing were wrong. "I'll use the whip to smash the mirror. If the god-level NPC breaks out and goes berserk, remember to crush the amulet and escape in time."
Mu Sicheng fell silent for several seconds. Then he stared at Bai Liu in disbelief and grabbed him by the shoulders.
"Who did you just say is breaking the mirror?"
"I am." Bai Liu looked at him oddly. "I still haven't collected the last page of the monster book. I'm only missing the ghost mirror's attack method, so I'll wait for it to attack me."
Mu Sicheng: "..."
Mu Sicheng: "??????"
Mu Sicheng: "?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!"
"Fuck!!" Mu Sicheng was completely thrown into chaos. All his conventional reasoning methods were useless against this lunatic. He stared at Bai Liu, who had already drawn out his whip. "Are you seriously planning to break it yourself?"
Bai Liu glanced at him. "Or would you prefer to?"
"Of course I don't want to! But at least I have the Mermaid Amulet! How can you be this reckless when you don't have anything?!" Mu Sicheng was beyond irritated. "Are you sick? You barely have any health left!"
As he spoke, he stepped in front of Bai Liu, gripping the Mermaid Amulet tightly. He took a deep breath and pointed his monkey paw at the mirror.
"Fine. I'll break it. The moment the mirror shatters, and the game ends, you log out immediately. Stay away from me. Find somewhere to hide. Don't die at the last second."
"Mu Sicheng," Bai Liu's unhurried voice came from behind him, "it's actually not cost-effective for you to break the mirror."
Mu Sicheng froze.
"Obviously, the god-level NPC will release a group attack skill once the mirror breaks," Bai Liu continued calmly. "If I break it, you can still use the item to escape. If you break it, that group attack will still hit me. I'll likely die immediately, and you'll have wasted an item."
He concluded evenly, "It's not a good deal."
Mu Sicheng stared at him, completely speechless—then exploded. "What the hell are you talking about? What do you mean it's not a good deal—"
"In addition," Bai Liu said clearly, "Mu Sicheng, I told you before—you are my most valuable card right now. It would be a pity for you to die here. The cost-performance ratio is too low."
Mu Sicheng went quiet. He realized Bai Liu wasn't joking. He genuinely thought it would be wasteful.
Mu Sicheng turned to look at him strangely. Bai Liu met his gaze without the slightest ripple of emotion. They stood in stalemate for a moment before Mu Sicheng spoke in a daze.
"Bai Liu… You really intend to break the mirror yourself while I stand here and watch you die? Are you insane?"
Bai Liu's pale face carried a faint, ambiguous smile. "Mu Sicheng, didn't you resent being controlled by me? Now you're willing to die for me? Between the two of us, who's actually crazy?"
Mu Sicheng fell into a strange silence. That's right. He hated being controlled. So how had things reached this point?
Oh. Because Bai Liu was a madman who never followed the rules.
After a moment of dizziness, Mu Sicheng finally sorted out his thoughts. "Bai Liu, what the hell are you doing all this for?"
"For money." Bai Liu flicked his fingers, and a single point's worth of currency appeared between them. He suddenly smiled. "For your remaining value to me. Mu Sicheng, you being willing to block the way for me and break the mirror is almost the same as being willing to die for me. But it would be too wasteful for you to die here."
He lifted his eyes. "How about selling your soul to me? At the very least, I won't let you throw your life away meaninglessly for my sake."
Mu Sicheng was silent for a long moment. His expression was complicated. He didn't know how to evaluate Bai Liu's words.
"I need you to steal things for me. Cooperate with me. Earn more money and points," Bai Liu said softly, staring directly at him as he extended the single point. "So I won't die—and I won't waste your life. Do you agree to this transaction?"
Mu Sicheng's strange expression gradually settled into calm indifference. He met Bai Liu's gaze head-on. "I hate being controlled."
Bai Liu nodded but didn't withdraw the point. He simply smiled. "I won't control you. We're just cooperating. I won't make you feel controlled."
"Cooperating?" Mu Sicheng sneered as he snatched the point from Bai Liu's hand. "Well, cooperation doesn't feel bad." He narrowed his eyes slightly. "But one point is too little. Make it at least ten thousand."
"You're really expensive." Bai Liu frowned slightly, hesitating. "Ten thousand points…"
Mu Sicheng stared at him for a moment before exploding. "Fuck you! Are you seriously hesitating over buying me for 10,000 points? I'm ranked fourth on the New Stars leaderboard, Bai Liu!"
"But—" Bai Liu explained honestly, "10,000 points is very expensive. I only spent one point to buy other people's souls. The only exception was Puppet Zhang—I bought him for 12,000 points, and even that felt overpriced. In the end, he still died. Do you want to die too?"
Mu Sicheng: "..."
'Fuck. Is this bastard threatening me? Does he think I'm that easy to intimidate?'
Mu Sicheng kept his facial expressionless. "You name a price."
"One hundred points at most." Bai Liu looked at him sincerely. "It's your first time selling your soul. How about giving me a discount?"
Mu Sicheng: "..."
[System prompt: Player Bai Liu has used 100 points to purchase the soul of player Mu Sicheng.]
[System prompt: Player Bai Liu has obtained player Mu Sicheng's soul money and will share player Mu Sicheng's soul debt rights with the system.]
"Hey, are you really planning to break the mirror yourself?" Mu Sicheng tugged at his hair impatiently. "Tsk. If I'd known this would happen, I wouldn't have bound the amulet. Can it be unbound? If it can, I'll give it to you."
"Don't give it to me." Bai Liu shook his head. "Your safety is also important. I need you to have the Mermaid Amulet to ensure that. After all, you're my property now—I have to protect you."
He paused and sighed lightly.
"This is the first time I've spent so many points to buy a soul. One point equals 1,000 yuan. That means you're worth 100,000 yuan…"
Bai Liu sighed again, even more faintly. "One hundred thousand… Should I reconsider?"
Mu Sicheng: "..."
'What's with that regretful tone? It sounds like you impulsively bought luxury goods. Am I not even worth 100,000 yuan to you?!'
"Bai Liu," Mu Sicheng said flatly, his voice full of threat, "if you keep pushing me, I'll smash the mirror myself and kill myself right in front of you. Let's see how you like losing 100,000 yuan."
Bai Liu immediately shut his mouth.