Back at the 18th station, Gu Jiu found Xiao Hui hiding under a desk in the subway staff’s workspace.
Anyone unaware of the situation might mistake him for a pitiable child, curled up in a cramped, dark space, seeking refuge from the harm of the outside world.
Xiao Hui crawled out from under the desk, looked up at her with wide eyes, and sweetly called out, “Sister.”
Even the coldest of hearts would soften at the sound of that innocent “Sister.” After all, he was just a poor child.
At such a young age, he had become a ghost, one that had starved to death. No one knew what had happened to lead to such a tragic end.
Gu Jiu gazed down at Xiao Hui and reached out to touch the center of his forehead, retrieving the mermaid blood she had infused into him.
Although mermaid blood is a one-time consumable, its effects grow stronger with the amount used, extending the duration of its control. However, if not completely consumed and the time is short, it can be reclaimed. As someone perpetually strapped for resources, Gu Jiu made sure to carefully manage even the few drops of mermaid blood she possessed, unwilling to waste even a trace.
Of course, there was another reason. Once the mermaid blood was retrieved, the person or ghost under its control would return to normal.
The moment the mermaid blood left him, Xiao Hui’s expression began to shift.
His gaze, which had been filled with admiration and warmth toward Gu Jiu, gradually turned calm. Beneath the calmness, however, lurked calculation and malevolence. His pale face took on the bluish hue unique to ghosts, clearly displeased that she had used such a method to control him.
Though just a little ghost, his cunning and disposition were far from childlike.
Gu Jiu said gently, “You should leave now. Don’t let me catch you next time, or I’ll make you cry just like I did with that high-heeled ghost.”
Her tone was exceptionally soft, but her words carried a chilling cruelty.
Xiao Hui’s expression shifted slightly, and he turned to run.
He darted toward the dark subway tunnel. Before entering, he glanced back at Gu Jiu, then quickly vanished into the shadows.
Afterward, they left the subway station and boarded the train.
Chai Yingying, with a long blade strapped to her waist, asked, “You just let him go like that? Aren’t you worried he’ll come back to seek revenge?”
“That depends on whether he seeks revenge first or if I get to beat him up again,” Gu Jiu replied with a faint smile. “I’m actually hoping he’ll come back for revenge.”
“And then you’ll seize the opportunity to beat him up and make him take you to the real world, right?”
Chai Yingying smirked knowingly. Seeing the serene and charming smile on Gu Jiu’s face, she realized she had hit the mark. She couldn’t help but feel that this young lady was downright wicked, scheming even against a naive little ghost.
But she liked it.
Throwing an arm around Gu Jiu’s shoulder, Chai Yingying beamed. “Young lady, when I first met you, I thought you were one of those delicate, two-faced white flowers. Who knew you’d turn out to be a two-faced carnivorous plant? I like you more and more!”
Gu Jiu: “…Thanks for the compliment.”
“You’re welcome. I just love people like you. Once that little ghost starts crying, I can go comfort him, see if I can move him emotionally, and maybe get him to willingly take us into the real space.”
Gu Jiu was speechless.
Chai Yingying: “Good plan, right?”
Gu Jiu: “You make me be the bad guy while you play the good guy. You sure know how to pick your role! Don’t you think, based on appearances, you look more like the evil supporting villainess?”
Chai Yingying: “Shut up!” She refused to accept the label of “evil supporting villainess.” With her beauty, she should be seen as a commanding and elegant queen.
“By the way, did you notice the little ghost’s reaction just now? It seems like there’s some kind of connection between the ghosts in this subway station, don’t you think?”
Xiao Hui must have known how brutally Gu Jiu had dealt with the woman in red high heels, which explained his fear of her.
The two chatted shoulder-to-shoulder, looking particularly close to onlookers.
Chai Yingying suddenly felt a sharp gaze, like a dagger trying to pierce through her.
She pretended not to notice and continued her banter with Gu Jiu, unwilling to believe that Lu Ji would actually dare to get jealous in front of Gu Jiu.
As it turned out, Lu Ji really didn’t have the guts—though that was because Gu Jiu didn’t give him any.
Gu Jiu gently removed Chai Yingying’s arm from her shoulder and pulled Lu Ji away to another train car to rest, firmly rejecting Chai Yingying’s proximity.
Chai Yingying rolled her eyes, wanting to tell them to stop overthinking. She was as straight as an arrow, with no interest in women—only fresh-faced young men or charming bad boys.
Whether in Boundless City or the real world, she only needed to wave her hand, and a slew of men would rush to her side, eager to please.
The train rumbled forward.
By the time they reached the first station again, their group had grown to nearly a hundred people.
Over the past few days, new players had been sent into the game. Some encountered powerful bosses right after entering the game world and died quickly. Others were lucky enough to meet kind-hearted players who explained the rules and nature of the Death Train, helping them avoid dying early. Some joined existing groups to survive by blending in with other players.
Gu Jiu’s team had also taken in a few players who had just entered the game world.
As long as the new players had decent character, the team was willing to accept them. The larger the group, the better their chances of surviving on the Death Train.
When they arrived at the first station, everyone tensed.
The hunter at the first station was the strongest of all the ghosts. Even Lu Ji could barely fend off his axe. Even with one arm missing, the hunter could still overpower the players with ease.
They found no sign of the hunter on the second basement level.
Gu Jiu went to the first basement level again.
As soon as she reached it, she saw Sasha wandering around the subway station. A doll, Lisa, sat on her shoulder. Both the girl and the doll turned their mechanical gazes toward them.
All the players froze in place, stiffly watching as the duo slowly walked their way.
“You’ve come again.” Her voice was crisp. “You really shouldn’t keep coming here. There’s a very scary killer here, one who will kill a lot of people.”
The group silently stared at her.
They seemed to have realized who the “killer” she mentioned was: none other than the hunter of the first station.
But why did Sasha’s words sound almost like she was warning them? Wasn’t Sasha the one who tried to take their lives the moment she saw them? Could it be that after helping her find Lisa’s hand, this vicious little girl had turned into a sweet little angel?
Gu Jiu said, “We’re trying to find another subway station to go home. This is the only way.”
Sasha and Lisa both stared at Gu Jiu. Their eyes—one belonging to the girl, the other to the doll—were eerily similar, emotionless and cold as ice, sending chills down everyone’s spine.
Then, Sasha walked away again.
Wan Xingzhou watched her departure and suddenly raised a hand to cover his eyes.
When he removed his hand, a faint, stunning red hue had appeared at the corners of his eyes, adding a captivating touch to his already handsome face. The sight made Chai Yingying and the other female players’ hearts race.
Damn it, for a brief moment, they thought this “poor, pitiful boy” was downright seductive.
A pitiful little lamb could transform into a seductive devil with just a touch of enchanting red at the corners of his eyes.
Only Gu Jiu seemed oblivious, either too dense to notice Wan Xingzhou’s allure or entirely unaffected. She didn’t even glance at his transformation and instead asked, “Wan Xingzhou, what did you see this time?”
This round on the Death Train seemed to have unlocked Wan Xingzhou’s latent ability.
He was seeing more and more of the truth behind their reality.
Wan Xingzhou replied softly, “There are many people entering the station. I saw the subway map on the wall over there. The name of the first station is… Sanhe Tang.”
He pointed to the subway map on the wall near the station entrance. Though scratched and blurred, it had momentarily become clear to him.
Everyone stared at him with excitement. “Really? You saw it?”
After wandering through 25 stations for so long, this was the first time they’d learned the name of the first station.
In contrast to their excitement, Gu Jiu remained calm. She asked, “Other than Sanhe Tang, did you see the names of any other stations?”
Wan Xingzhou shook his head and said regretfully, “I only saw the name of the first station. Starting from the second station, the names were still blurry, like they were pixelated.”
The mention of “pixelated” almost made someone burst out laughing.
But upon reflection, the term was oddly fitting. Whether it was the fragmented illusions Wan Xingzhou saw or the way Gu Jiu experienced the real space when taken there by ghosts, the station names were consistently impossible to discern. It really was like they’d been pixelated.
Wu Yang patted Wan Xingzhou on the shoulder. “That’s already great progress. At least we finally know the name of the first station. This means we’re one step closer to clearing the game.”
The station names were critical. If they couldn’t even read the names, it meant they were still far from grasping the reality of the Death Train.
“Wu Yang is right,” Old Hei agreed. “Maybe once we figure out the names of all 25 stations, we’ll be able to enter the real space.”
Hearing this, the previously excited players suddenly felt like the world had gone dark.
“How long is that going to take?”
They’d spent so much time and effort just to uncover the name of the first station. With 24 more stations to go, who knew how long it would take?
Seeing their gloomy expressions, Chai Yingying smacked them on the head. “Snap out of it! You can sulk after we’re out of here. The end is in sight—this is when you should be full of energy and fighting spirit!”
After being force-fed Chai Yingying’s violent brand of motivational speech, the dispirited players regained their resolve.
When they boarded the train for the return journey, the players began eagerly discussing what had just happened, particularly how Wan Xingzhou had suddenly been able to see the name of the first station despite being unable to before.
Wan Xingzhou found himself surrounded by players bombarding him with questions, leaving him overwhelmed.
The problem was, he didn’t know the answer either.
Finally managing to escape the crowd, Wan Xingzhou noticed Gu Jiu looking at him with a subtle expression, making his heart skip a beat.
“Miss Gu, why are you looking at me like that? Let me just say upfront—I don’t know anything! I feel like this has nothing to do with me. It’s probably related to the little girl, Sasha… no, wait, it must be you.”
By the end of his statement, Wan Xingzhou looked completely convinced of his own conclusion.
“Is it because Miss Gu helped Lisa find her hand and earned their goodwill, so Sasha decided to help us?” Chai Yingying chimed in, leaning closer.
Wan Xingzhou nodded vigorously, his face lighting up with excitement. “Exactly!”
Since Lisa’s hand had been found, the little girl Sasha no longer attacked players. However, most players still felt a deep unease around her, avoiding her or daring to speak only briefly. Only Gu Jiu could interact with her normally.
Every time they watched Gu Jiu calmly converse with Sasha, they couldn’t help worrying that Lisa might suddenly open her mouth wide and swallow Gu Jiu whole.
Thankfully, that had never happened.
Chai Yingying summed it up: “So, we’re really just riding on Miss Gu’s coattails.”
This conclusion was quickly accepted by everyone in the train car, their faces lighting up in realization.
“So Lisa’s hand was the key all along! We’ve been stuck here for so long and never thought of helping Lisa find her hand. We wasted so much time…”
“Exactly! Every time we met Sasha, she was always asking for Lisa’s hand. It was such an obvious hint, and we completely missed it.”
“But even if we had noticed, what could we do? The first station is so dangerous; who had the time to go searching for Lisa’s hand?”
“And even if we wanted to, we wouldn’t know where to look. At the time, we thought it was a plastic hand for a doll. Who would’ve guessed it was an actual living hand? That’s just absurd.”
The group sighed and lamented.
Gu Jiu, however, remained calm. Whether the theory was right or not, at least things were progressing in a positive direction.
She pulled a mermaid doll out of her pocket and teased, “Look at that doll Lisa we just saw, and then look at yourself. Lisa can help her master swallow tons of junk, but you won’t even eat a mouse.”
The mermaid doll: “….” It could never live down the mouse incident.
Feeling chastised, the mermaid doll puffed up its cheeks and waved its little hands as if to say it was actually quite capable—that other doll was nowhere near as good as it was.
“Oh? And how are you amazing? Is it because you’re so arrogant and full of yourself, or because you can’t even swallow a little mouse?”
“…”
The mermaid doll wilted under her scolding, drooping its head and crawling back into her pocket, unwilling to face anyone.