Rainbow Turtle: I’ve been using soul coin previously but based on later chapters, it is more like soul money. So I’ll be changing soul coin to soul money from now on.
Originally, the warning ‘the soul of the player who fails to keep the transaction will be imprisoned’ was a warning given to Bai Liu by the system when Bai Liu got the Empty Old Wallet skill to restrain Bai Liu from abusing this skill.
Since the transaction wasn’t complete, the soul would be imprisoned by the system. It was a restrictive measure for Bai Liu to keep his promises. It was the same as a Taobao merchant’s ‘little black room’. Who would’ve thought it would be used by Bai Liu to pit the people he was trading with.
For a person like Puppet Zhang who liked plans and thought he was smart, there was nothing better than following his plan. He would feel a sense of accomplishment about making his prey step into his own trap and become less vigilant. It was only in this way that Bai Liu could seek a breakthrough.
Bai Liu looked down thoughtfully.
However, Mu Sicheng was indeed in trouble. He had just learned that Mu Sicheng actually had such a love-hate relationship with Liu Huai. It was why Puppet Zhang brought Liu Huai with him. The hallucinations caused by a lower mental value had little influence on Bai Liu, a man who only cared about money. Yet for people with normal emotions and desires like Mu Sicheng, the influence of the illusion brought about by a confidante and friend who betrayed him was probably immeasurable.
Mu Sicheng wasn’t quite right when he talked about Liu Huai.
Bai Liu understood that most people in this game had a mental endurance value of around 70. 60 was dangerous enough and people who could get out of the game without going crazy once their mental value was below 20 were extremely strong psychologically. However, Bai Liu needed Mu Sicheng’s mental value to be further reduced. His requirement for Mu Sicheng was even lower than Mu Sicheng’s record lowest value of 18. By then, the hallucinations and psychological impact would be more severe on Mu Sicheng.
If Liu Huai was there as an inducing factor, it was estimated that a major problem would arise with Mu Sicheng. It was a bit difficult.
[The train has arrived at Huangquan Road—passengers are requested to get on the train first before getting off in turn.]
Puppet Zhang’s index and middle finger moved like he was playing the piano. He pulled the transparent silk and Bai Liu was instantly pulled behind him. Puppet Zhang placed the puppet headgear that Liu Huai previously took off onto Bai Liu and laughed. “Well, now it looks like you are my puppet.”
“I know you aren’t very willing. Perhaps you just pretended to surrender to me. Perhaps you and Mu Sicheng have other plans.” The corners of Puppet Zhang’s lips slowly rose. He seemed to be putting a shackle on Bai Liu as he let go of the heavy, huge and stuffy puppet headgear.
Bai Liu’s face was slowly enveloped by the puppet headgear. He raised his eyes to look at Puppet Zhang. Before the headgear fell, Bai Liu saw Puppet Zhang’s last expression. There was malice and determination. His eyes were arrogant and he seemed to be in control of everything.
Puppet Zhang’s tone was hoarse and low. “But Bai Liu, you must’ve missed Liu Huai’s influence on Mu Sicheng. Thanks to Liu Huai, Mu Sicheng will never be sober and cooperate with you. No matter how many tricks you have, as long as Mu Sicheng collapses here—”
Puppet Zhang smirked and continued viciously, “—Mu Sicheng is the most valuable card in your hand. As long as he collapses, your plan will completely collapse.”
Bai Liu’s expression didn’t change but his mind was moving quickly. To a certain extent, Puppet Zhang was right. Mu Sicheng was indeed the most important part of his plan. The Merfolk Amulet was on Mu Sicheng.
If Mu Sicheng collapsed completely and lost his resistance, if Puppet Zhang got the Merfolk Amulet and completed the transaction then everyone would be finished together. Previously, Bai Liu thought of playing tricks and having Mu Sicheng directly use this item but—
[System tip: During the transaction, the transaction item (Merfolk Amulet) must exist. Otherwise, it will be considered an invalid transaction.]
During this period, if Mu Sicheng fell into a desperate situation or simply didn’t want to listen to Bai Liu and he ended up using the Merfolk Amulet, Bai Liu would be ruined and he really would become Puppet Zhang’s puppet.
Thus, Mu Sicheng was very important to Bai Liu’s plan. If he collapsed then Bai Liu would be in danger.
Bai Liu was making a bet and it was a big bet. The only chip on his table was Mu Sicheng and this was an extremely unstable bargaining chip. At present, it seemed like his chances of winning weren’t very big. In fact, Bai Liu had thought about using Du Sanying but Du Sanying was an intuitive animal, like a keen rodent. If Du Sanying had to fight, he might directly throw the amulet at Puppet Zhang to reduce his danger, just like he wanted to abandon his car to escape the danger he perceived.
Du Sanying was very unstable. Once Bai Liu was under the control of the puppet master, he couldn’t remotely control Du Sanying. This Du Sanying was far less hostile to the puppet master. Mu Sicheng had a grudge against the puppet master and was more worthy of using.
Thus, in the end, Bai Liu chose Mu Sicheng.
The door of the carriage finally opened. Countless burned passengers wailed as they poured onto the train while burning. Puppet Zhang cleanly manipulated the other two puppets to go forward and grab the mirror fragments. He didn’t use Bai Liu. It seemed he knew that Bai Liu’s health was very low and it was easy to die with casual use.
Puppet Zhang manipulated the puppets very quickly. In almost 10 seconds, the two puppets walked through a section of the carriage in a ghostly manner and presented a pile of broken lenses to Puppet Zhang with burned hands. Puppet Zhang accepted it without looking and his expression sank. “Go, clean up the next carriage.”
The aggro of these passengers was locked on the two puppets. Puppet Zhang was safe and the two puppets moved very fast. Puppet Zhang’s operation was very precise and there was almost no additional damage. After cleaning up one carriage, the puppets entered the next one and half of the carriage was swept away in a minute.
Bai Liu’s group of three had such a difficult time previously. They only had Mu Sicheng, a player whose attributes panel was A-rated. Now there were three A-rated players and Puppet Zhang was super A. In the gap between manipulating the puppets, he also cleaned up the passengers to make it easier for his puppets to grab the lens. It was completely different from Bai Liu, the weak chicken, who collapsed with one blow of the whip.
Mu Sicheng had told Bai Liu everything that he currently knew about Puppet Zhang’s personal skill. There were two aspects. The first one was called ‘Thread Doll’. It was to implant the puppet silk to manipulate puppets, but the puppets were self-conscious. It was just that their limbs were controlled by Puppet Zhang.
If the puppet wasn’t voluntary or absolutely controlled, it was difficult for Puppet Zhang to implant the puppet silk in the struggling puppet’s limbs. This was why Puppet Zhang said that he liked voluntary puppets. The most commonly used puppets were the voluntary ones he hired. It was because Puppet Zhang had to use a lot of energy to control the implantation of puppet silk for involuntary puppets like Mu Sicheng.
The second skill was called Puppet Enhancement. At this stage, he sacrificed 50 points of the puppet’s mental value. The puppet had no sense of autonomy while the other panel attributes doubled. (Rainbow Turtle: said half but seems to have been changed from now on to 50 points)
Puppets in this state were more difficult to control. Since it entered the mental value danger area, the puppet itself was in a lot of pain. Sometimes it would struggle instinctively. It was just that since they were unconscious they hardly feared any attack. Their combat power was very tough. As long as the puppet master didn’t stop the silk threads in his hands, the puppets wouldn’t stop attacking no matter how painful.
However, Mu Sicheng told Bai Liu that this skill couldn’t be used on puppet players with a mental value of less than 20. At this stage, the puppets had already entered the rage state and the puppet master couldn’t control them at all.
“In this game, no one has ever tried to control a player with a mental value below 20, not even Puppet Zhang.” Mu Sicheng stared at Bai Liu with narrowed eyes. “That is, except for you. Bai Liu, you are trying to make me remember the planned task you gave me when my mental value is only 10 points. It is completely impossible.”
Bai Liu just smiled. “How do we know if we don’t try it? We have no other way, right?”
As Bai Liu was thinking about this, the female broadcast’s voice was heard in the train.
“There are heavy passengers and special items boarding the train. In order to protect the safety of the passengers and items, the station stop time has been extended to five minutes. Passengers on the train are requested to stay calm and stay away from the door—”
A huge charred corpse that was several times the size of an ordinary player used two huge, still burning hands to open the door of the carriage and lowered his head to squeeze in.
This guy’s eyes were burned out and the eye sockets were full of burnt carbon marks. The skin of the corpse had burned off and the entire body was covered with bare and bloody muscles. There was a palm-sized broken lens embedded in his chest. It was embedded in the bright red, bleeding pectoralis muscles like protective goggles, gleaming in the flames. He stood taller than the carriage and his neck was crooked. He forcibly stuffed himself into the carriage, almost bursting through the carriage.
The large scorched corpse with his crooked neck seemed to feel uncomfortable. He struck the roof of the carriage with a loud roar. The roof burst open with a loud sound and flames emerged from his body, filling the entire carriage.
Puppet Zhang’s face darkened and he quickly retreated to another carriage. He placed his ten fingers together and pulled. The two puppets were sucked back toward his hand like zombies. His other hand lifted Bai Liu up by the back of the neck. Puppet Zhang moved quickly but he was still burned and Bai Liu was also burned.
[System tip: Players Puppet Zhang, Bai Liu, Fang Ke and Li Gou have been attacked by the monster’s flames and HP -10. Player Puppet Zhang and Player Bai Liu’s mental value -20. Player Li Gou and Player Fang Ke’s mental value -9 due to being in the puppet state.]
Bai Liu coughed as he was burned. Blood slowly flowed from the corner of his mouth. His face hidden by the puppet’s headgear became paler and he glanced at his personal attributes panel.
[Health: 11 (decreased after being attacked by player Mu Sicheng and being burned by flames)]
[Physical strength: 70 (restoring in progress)]
[Mental value: 69 (slightly alienated due to being attacked by passengers)]
Bai Liu also quickly glanced at the monster book.
[The Exploding Last Train Monster Book has refreshed—Brother Thief (2/3)]
[Monster Name: Brother Thief (Younger Brother)]
[Features: Extremely strong and tall. Moves very quickly. Can use one large-scale attack every one minute (1,400 movement speed, flames have a bonus effect, likes to use fists to make the opponent obedient, extremely strong attack power)]
[Weaknesses: ??? (Unexplored)]
[Attack method: Rage Hammer, fire impact (for player Bai Liu, you can see God as long as you are hit by either of these two attacks, amen)]
Bai Liu licked the blood flowing from the corner of his mouth and intermittently said, “…The big broken lens in this monster’s chest should be his weakness and the thing we want to collect.”
“Do I need you to say it?!” Puppet Zhang interrupted Bai Liu’s words angrily. He vigilantly watched the thief approaching him step by step. His fingers danced quickly as he arranged his puppets through gritted teeth. “This game is broken. We are stopped here for five minutes. This not only prolongs the chase time but a big boss got on…”
The death rate of this level 2 game Exploding Last Train should be very close to 80%. Even for him, it was hard to be stable.
Puppet Zhang’s teeth were tightly clenched together. He couldn’t help swearing. “Fuck Bai Liu, you are really good at picking! You picked the most difficult game among the level 2 games!”
“Thank you for the praise.” Bai Liu’s tone was lazy like a dead pig not afraid of boiling water. “Aren’t you going to try and grab the broken lens from this monster’s chest?”
“What fucking try?” Puppet Zhang spat out angrily, his mentality was a bit broken now. “Look at the attack just now and the movement speed of 1,400. This monster’s level is at least A-rated. How the fuck can I send two puppets to grab it? Even if I brought six puppets full of health to clear this instance, I have no guarantee I can pass the game smoothly when encountering this type of thing! If I had known there was such a thing in the game…”
Puppet Zhang grinded his teeth together and he retreated as he spoke, resentful in his heart. If he knew that this instance was like this, he wouldn’t have entered so easily! Puppet Zhang had never seen such a ridiculously high level of difficulty! This guy Bai Liu picked the most difficult one Puppet Zhang had ever seen! He deserved to have a luck value of 0!
“There is no way.” Puppet Zhang pulled the two puppets in front of him and quickly calmed down. “My puppets can’t beat it. It is estimated that only Mu Sicheng in his rage state can handle this thing. However, he won’t be far from death after dealing with this thing—”
“Can’t I handle it in my rage state?” Bai Liu asked while calmly shifting Puppet Zhang’s train of thought.
For Bai Liu, Mu Sicheng couldn’t die. The Merfolk Amulet was on him and with Mu Sicheng’s death, the Merfolk Amulet would drop. If Puppet Zhang took it and gave it to Bai Liu then Bai Liu really would become his puppet.
“Indeed.” Puppet Zhang’s eyes narrowed and he scoffed. “However, you only have a bit of health left. Even if you are in the rage stage, you will almost certainly die if you just block one attack from it. You are now my puppet. Compared with Mu Sicheng, I will naturally choose to let him die instead of you. I can still use you while Mu Sicheng will never submit to me.”
Puppet Zhang sneered and gathered all the puppet silk. Bai Liu and the other two puppets stood behind Puppet Zhang. “Then he will go to death—!”
[System tip: Player Puppet Zhang used the item (I Want to See You) for player Liu Huai and will move to the current position of player Liu Huai within 10 seconds.]
Bai Liu felt dizzy and once he looked up again, he saw Liu Huai, Mu Sicheng and Du Sanying who were also collecting broken lenses in another carriage. The three of them were working with each other. It was a bit laborious and difficult but they seemed able to sustain it.
The one in the worst state was Mu Sicheng. He didn’t have Bai Liu to help him attract the aggro and most of the passengers went after him. Liu Huai helped Mu Sicheng block some of it but Mu Sicheng’s state still declined very seriously. His face was covered with blood stains. The red light in his eyes flickered and his breathing wasn’t smooth as he rolled around on the ground.
Puppet Zhang looked cold as he pulled the silk thread with his finger. Liu Huai’s heart tightened in an instant. Liu Huai felt that his heart was pulled in a certain direction. This type of pull was a reminder so Liu Huai instinctively turned his head and glanced in that direction while holding his stinging heart.
He saw Puppet Zhang hidden in the carriage behind countless corpses and flames.
Puppet Zhang pointed at Mu Sicheng in an expressionless manner and slashed his neck fiercely as he ordered Liu Huai, “The plan has changed. There is a big boss so give up on Mu Sicheng. Lower Mu Sicheng’s mental value to the rage state to let him fight the big boss. You don’t have to worry about his life or death.”
Liu Huai had heard the sound of the train broadcast and knew what it meant for a big boss to come. Even so, he saw Puppet Zhang preparing to so easily abandon Mu Sicheng and his heart trembled. His expression didn’t look good but he understood Puppet Zhang’s meaning.
The big boss was probably very difficult to deal with. Only Mu Sicheng in his rage state could take it on. However, wasn’t this a level 2 game? How could there be a monster that needed Mu Sicheng to enter the rage state?
Just as Liu Huai was hesitating, the big corpse ran over in a rage. All the windows in the carriage were hammered and flames burned wherever it passed. The passengers screamed and were all turned to ashes by Brother Thief, showing the strong lethality and high temperature.
Puppet Zhang pulled the three puppets and rushed forward into the carriage where Mu Sicheng and the others were located. The big corpse behind Puppet Zhang shocked Du Sanying. “Fuck! What the hell is that fucking thing!”
Puppet Zhang violently tightened the puppet thread with his pinky finger and yelled at Liu Huai, “Liu Huai! Do it! Otherwise, everyone is going to die!”
Liu Huai’s heart was pulled by Puppet Zhang’s silk thread and he felt great pain. He gritted his teeth and pulled out two swords from his sleeves. Standing behind Mu Sicheng, Liu Huai lowered his head and apologized before stabbing without hesitation.
Du Sanying saw it and screamed. “Mu Sicheng! Watch out behind you!”
Mu Sicheng had already noticed. He rolled and avoided Liu Huai’s backstab. Then he stood up neatly and wiped the blood dripping from his eyebrow with his elbow. He was slightly injured by Liu Huai’s sword when he first avoided it. Mu Sicheng sneered, “Liu Huai, do you think I would give you my back so easily? It is impossible.”
“It is natural.” Liu Huai’s smile was very complicated. He laughed with a bit of sadness and cruelty. “Brother Si, we were once best friends and the best combination called ‘Assassin and Thief’. We could do everything, steal anything and assassinate everyone. Of course, this includes each other, right?”
“We are all for ourselves, Brother.” Liu Huai’s expression completely sank as he raised the swords in his sleeve. “You stole my things for yourself and I tried to assassinate you for myself. Everyone is selfish.”
“Master! Grab Mu Sicheng!” Liu Huai shouted as he mercilessly stabbed with his sword.
Puppet Zhang was silent as he threw sharp puppet thread around Mu Sicheng’s ankle. Mu Sicheng grabbed onto a ring with his finger and dangerously escaped. Du Sanying hurriedly drove his small car only to be stopped by Puppet Zhang who threw a puppet at him.
Now it was Puppet Zhang, Liu Huai and Li Gou against Mu Sicheng alone. Du Sanying was held back by a puppet. He was sweating and his face was red with anxiety.
Bai Liu said that Mu Sicheng had to hold on until the train started and he couldn’t be restrained by Puppet Zhang! However, how could Mu Sicheng hold on now?
Du Sanying instinctively looked at Bai Liu. Mu Sicheng managed to keep control under the attacks of three people but the big corpse soon broke the balance. It was about to run into Mu Sicheng’s carriage. Puppet Zhang’s restriction on Mu Sicheng became fiercer and almost the entire carriage was filled with puppet silk threads. Mu Sicheng couldn’t move an inch, his face was covered with scratches from the puppet silk and his thieving hands were tightly bound.
Puppet Zhang gasped, “Liu Huai, do it.”
Liu Huai gasped for breath as he approached Mu Sicheng step by step, already raising the hidden blades.
Mu Sicheng suddenly grabbed the silk thread and sighed. “Bai Liu, if you have anything up your sleeve then use it. I really can’t hold on anymore. Right now, I can help you hold the silk threads that Puppet Zhang is using to control you. Puppet Zhang’s silk threads are controlled by the fluctuations of the thread. Now I am holding it tightly and he can’t pass on the fluctuations. However, after a while, my fingers will be cut by the thread. You have to move now.”
Puppet Zhang was shocked. He didn’t know when but Bai Liu was standing behind Mu Sicheng. His eyes swept over Mu Sicheng’s hand. As expected, he was tightly holding the puppet silk thread. Blood dripped from Mu Sicheng’s hand and fell on the hot floor, soon evaporating.
Bai Liu slowly lifted the puppet headgear behind Mu Sicheng, a pure smile on the puppet shell.
Puppet Zhang’s expression changed.
“Fuck!! These two guys still have an alliance! Liu Huai, quickly do it!” Puppet Zhang tried to manipulate the silk thread but the fluctuations of the manipulation couldn’t pass because it was held by Mu Sicheng. He really couldn’t control Bai Liu. Puppet Zhang pulled the silk threads tightly, trying to cut off Mu Sicheng’s fingers while shouting, “Liu Huai!! Hurry up!! Bai Liu has no attack power now!”
Du Sanying also roared like he was grabbing at the last straw. “Bai Liu! Move faster!”
Liu Huai stabbed without hesitation while Mu Sicheng instinctively looked at Bai Liu behind him. Bai Liu’s puppet head still had the innocent smile on it. He opened his hands and slowly touched Mu Sicheng’s back. Then he pushed forward slightly and the defenseless Mu Sicheng’s body fell forward.
Mu Sicheng’s pupils shrank.
Du Sanying’s mouth dropped open while Puppet Zhang let go of the puppet silk in amazement. Liu Huai stared at Bai Liu and Mu Sicheng dumbly, the blood from his hidden blades sliding down the tip.
Mu Sicheng was pushed toward Liu Huai and Liu Huai’s hidden swords pierced Mu Sicheng’s shoulders and moved down, cutting off his arms. Mu Sicheng’s arms fell and quietly hit the ground. It was like last time when Liu Huai betrayed him and cut off Mu Sicheng’s hands. However, last time it was Liu Huai. This time it was Bai Liu.
Blood gushed from the cut section of Mu Sicheng’s shoulders.
“I also think that Master Zhang’s point made sense.” Puppet Bai Liu said in a loud voice, the smile still on his face. “Mu Sicheng, if you don’t sacrifice yourself to enter the rage state then everyone will die.”
“It is useless to cooperate with you. You are too weak to pass the level.” Bai Liu declared with a cool and gentle smile. “Thus, I decided to be Master’s puppet wholeheartedly and obey his orders.”
Proofreader: Purichan
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