Gu Jiu stabilized herself, her speed unwavering. Each step firmly landed on a ghostly hand, propelling her forward. It was as if the ghostly hands obeyed her commands, assisting her advance.
Wan Xingzhou’s voice grew closer.
In this impenetrable dark world, her eyes were more of a hindrance than help. Resolutely, she closed them, relying solely on the sound to guide her to Wan Xingzhou.
She retrieved several paper creations and tossed them out.
The moment the paper objects touched the ground, they transformed into large paper animals: a paper frog, a paper rabbit, and a paper tiger.
“Grab onto them!” she shouted at Wan Xingzhou.
Wan Xingzhou, whose body was mostly submerged in the darkness below with only his chest and torso still above, grasped the nearest paper frog with delight and held onto it tightly.
With the paper frog as a support, his body was no longer being dragged downward by the ghostly hands.
He called out to the others, “Quick, grab them too! Don’t get pulled under!”
Worried that the paper creations wouldn’t suffice, Gu Jiu quickly threw out several more. As soon as they landed, the paper animals grew larger and dashed toward the players, providing them with stable platforms to escape the ghostly hands’ grip.
The ghostly hands clawed at the paper animals, attempting to tear them apart and drag them downward.
But the paper creations were massive and couldn’t be easily pulled under.
Gu Jiu leaped onto a paper rabbit. Relying on her hearing, she swung her Lingyuan Blade and severed the ghostly hands restraining the players, allowing them to climb onto the paper animals.
The players seized the opportunity to free themselves, breaking away from the ghostly hands’ relentless grip.
Finally, all the players managed to climb onto the paper animals.
“Follow me!” Gu Jiu commanded, throwing out several ropes for them to hold onto.
The paper animals beneath them were already trembling, on the verge of being torn apart by the ghostly hands.
After ensuring all the players were securely holding the ropes, Gu Jiu leapt off the paper frog. Once again, she stepped on the ghostly hands on the ground, dashing toward the passage’s exit.
Gu Jiu led the group like a string of dumplings, pulling them as they escaped the passage.
Though the players were utterly exhausted, none dared relax. Their survival instincts drove them to use every ounce of strength to follow Gu Jiu. Even when scratched by the ghostly hands, they endured the pain in silence, gritting their teeth to push through.
At last, Gu Jiu emerged from the dark passage.
Behind her were eight players, each clutching a rope. The ropes guided them out of the dark passage and helped them stay balanced while navigating the darkness.
Old Hei and the others were there to receive them.
Suddenly, Li Jing exclaimed in surprise, “Ji Changxin! You’re actually here!”
The young man named Ji Changxin was equally surprised. He let go of the rope and rushed forward to embrace Li Jing, laughing heartily. “I can’t believe you’re here too! Li Jing, seeing you alive and well makes me so happy!”
“Same here! I knew you were too stubborn for even the heavens to take you!”
After their brief reunion hug, Li Jing resumed rescuing other players trapped in the darkness, while the rest collapsed to the ground, resting.
Their bodies bore wounds inflicted by the ghostly hands, each scratch burning with pain. Every injury was a grueling test of their endurance.
Gu Jiu endured the pain in her waist and looked at the line of “dumplings” she had rescued. Her gaze paused on one person.
“Brother Wu, you’re here too?”
Wu Yang, exhausted, sat on the ground and gave her a weak wave. “Gu Jiu, long time no see.”
Gu Jiu popped a painkiller into her mouth, applied a medicinal patch to her injured waist, and then distributed some medicine to the others. Smiling, she said, “Looks like I arrived just in time. How did you all end up together?”
Wan Xingzhou, wincing and gritting his teeth in pain, managed to reply while gasping for air, “I ran into Brother Wu right after I got here yesterday. Luckily, he saved me. Otherwise, I’d have been killed by those ghosts the moment I arrived.”
Gu Jiu glanced at the claw marks covering his face. After a moment of silence, she took out some healing ointment and began treating his injuries.
Even though everyone had been trapped in that passage earlier, Wan Xingzhou’s injuries looked far worse than the others—so severe it seemed he might not survive if left untreated.
What a magnet for bad luck.
The other players quickly began treating their own wounds.
Gu Jiu’s method of applying medicine was neither gentle nor particularly skilled, causing Wan Xingzhou to howl in pain, unable to endure this “kindness” from the beautiful lady.
“If you can scream like that, it means you’re fine,” Gu Jiu said gently.
Wan Xingzhou protested, “Screaming is a way to vent! It hurts so much I have to let it out—ah! Gentle, gentle!”
“I’m already being gentle,” Gu Jiu defended herself. “You’re my first patient, after all. No one else has had this honor.”
Wan Xingzhou’s eyes filled with tears. Was he really just her first guinea pig?
Hiss, Gu Jiu was really rough! Her demeanor was so at odds with her gentle appearance.
“But Ah Ji is very skilled,” Gu Jiu continued. “Her technique is excellent and gentle.” With a smack, she slapped a medicinal patch onto Wan Xingzhou’s waist. “Next time you see Ah Ji, let her treat you.”
Wan Xingzhou didn’t know whether to complain that this sounded like she expected him to get injured again, or to join her in praising Lu Ji’s gentleness.
The problem was, Lu Ji’s gentleness was reserved exclusively for Gu Jiu. To everyone else, she was as cold as winter’s frost. They could only dream of receiving her “gentleness.”
By the time everyone had finished treating their injuries, Old Hei and the others had rescued the remaining players from the passage.
The group quickly moved a safe distance away from the passage and collapsed to rest, casting wary and fearful glances back at it.
Old Hei and his team started helping the injured players with treatment.
Fortunately, everyone carried a variety of medicines. After all, players constantly risked their lives in this game world, so medical supplies were indispensable.
Once she had finished tending to Wan Xingzhou’s injuries, Gu Jiu turned to Wu Yang. He had already treated his own wounds and was sitting quietly to rest.
“Brother Wu, when did you become a C-level player?” she asked.
“About half a month ago,” Wu Yang replied.
“So you were thrown into this world right after completing just one C-level game?”
“Not quite,” Wu Yang corrected her. “I’ve already gone through three C-level game worlds.”
Gu Jiu understood what he meant. He hadn’t taken the usual ten-day break after leaving each game. Instead, he entered a new game world after only a few days’ rest. In just half a month, he had endured three C-level games. This was his fourth.
No wonder Wu Yang had been selected for the Death Train world. This time, the Multiverse Games had gathered all the capable C-level players and thrown them into this deadly scenario.
After Wan Xingzhou entered the subway station yesterday, he started at the twentieth station and joined Wu Yang to take the train back toward the first station on a return trip. They disembarked at the thirteenth station to rest.
Early this morning, the ghosts in the subway station chased them back onto the train, forcing them to ride until the fifth station.
“What happened earlier? How did you end up trapped in that pile of ghostly hands?” Gu Jiu asked, looking up toward the dark passage. Even from a distance, the oppressive danger emanating from it was palpable.
Hearing her question, the rescued players’ faces darkened with anger.
“We ran into some despicable people,” Ji Changxin muttered gloomily. “That group treats other players like cannon fodder, pushing them ahead as bait to scout the way. That’s how we got shoved into the trap—they took the opportunity to escape.”
“They’re pathfinding players,” Old Hei confirmed.
These so-called “pathfinding players” were infamous among gamers. They were the most reviled type of player, known for using others as bait or shields to probe dangerous paths. They acted without scruples, and to them, everyone else was just a tool to be exploited. Yet, due to the game world’s strict prohibition against players harming each other directly, even if others were infuriated, they could do nothing about it.
Gu Jiu suddenly recalled something. Yesterday, when they passed the seventeenth station on the return train, some players there had tried to force them off the train. Those must have been pathfinding players.
Originally, nearly two hundred players had boarded the train together, but among them was a hidden group of pathfinders. Wan Xingzhou and the others, caught off guard, had fallen victim to their schemes.
It was pure bad luck.
Finally feeling less pain from his injuries, Wan Xingzhou found the energy to ask, “Miss Gu, have you run into Ah Ji yet?”
“Not yet,” Gu Jiu sighed. “I thought I’d meet Ah Ji before I ran into you…”
“I get it—I’m unlucky, right?” Wan Xingzhou accepted her comment with a wry smile. “But the fact that I met you before Ah Ji must mean my luck isn’t all bad.”
He had thought he was destined to die at this station, yet Gu Jiu had descended like a savior. She was truly his guardian angel.
Wan Xingzhou couldn’t help but feel a little smug. His luck wasn’t so bad after all—he always seemed to escape danger at the last moment, aided by helpful allies.
Having learned the situation, Gu Jiu and Old Hei approached the dark passage again.
By the faint light at the entrance, they could just make out the ghostly hands swaying within, exuding a heart-stopping menace. If a player ventured in carelessly, they’d likely be dragged underground.
“What do you think, Gu Jiu?” Old Hei asked.
Gu Jiu replied, “How about we try setting it on fire?”
Old Hei: “…”
Although Old Hei had been focused on leading his teammates through the train escape, he had also been searching for clues to clear the game whenever possible. One question had been nagging at him: where did these ghosts come from? How did they appear, and why did they haunt the train and subway stations?
Unfortunately, this mystery remained unsolved.
Old Hei began searching the players for flammable materials.
“I have some lamp oil,” Wu Yang offered, producing a small bottle containing about fifty milliliters.
Gu Jiu took one look at it and found it oddly familiar. “Brother Wu, is this lamp oil from Qing Mountain Village?”
Wu Yang nodded. After leaving that game world, he had found the lamp oil surprisingly cheap and bought some.
Other players contributed various oils as well—fish oil, plant oil, animal fat—and even something that resembled human body fat. That last one was particularly unpleasant to look at.
“Let’s mix these together and see what happens,” Gu Jiu suggested, holding back a grimace at the bizarre collection of substances.
The player who provided the fat-like oil explained, “This is ghost oil, left behind after ghosts are burned to death. A single bottle costs 500 points—it’s very expensive.”
Everyone marveled at the variety of oils presented, their horizons broadened yet again.
Indeed, nothing in the game world was too strange to exist. After seeing enough bizarre things, they had become desensitized to the absurd.
Old Hei and the others poured the various oils into the passage and ignited them immediately.
A small flame erupted into a roaring blaze, its intense heat and light illuminating the darkness. The ghostly hands emerging from the black abyss below quickly retracted. Those that failed to retreat in time were engulfed in flames, thrashing and flailing as if trying to extinguish the fire.
Gu Jiu and the others stood at the entrance, watching the scene unfold.
The flames illuminated only a limited area, with the further reaches of the darkness remaining impenetrable. Even as the burning ghostly hands disintegrated, the depths of the abyss below remained unchanged—a bottomless void from which more ghostly hands could emerge to drag down unsuspecting prey.
The ghost oil proved to be the most potent. A single spark was enough to ignite a wide area, and it was responsible for eliminating most of the ghostly hands in the passage.
Gradually, the ghostly hands burned away, dissolving into nothingness.
At last, all the ghostly hands vanished, and the dark passage returned to normal. The tiled floor became visible again, replacing the ominous void.
Gu Jiu stepped forward.
Her feet pressed firmly against the hard tiles, the oppressive danger now completely gone.
Old Hei sighed in disappointment. “They disappeared so quickly, we didn’t even have time to investigate properly.”
With the ghostly hands gone, the fifth station was now safe.
Gu Jiu decided they should rest there for a while.
“Miss Gu, are you tired?” Wan Xingzhou asked with concern, his gaze lingering on the injury at her waist. “How’s your back?”
Gu Jiu leaned against the wall, crossing her legs. “Don’t worry, it’s fine. I’ve got a patch on it.” She patted her lower back. “A woman’s waist is so important—how could I not take care of it?”
Wan Xingzhou sat down next to her. “Then why aren’t we moving?”
Gu Jiu replied, “I’m waiting for Ah Ji.”
Wan Xingzhou had nothing to say to that.