The train arrived at Station 24.
Lu Ji was the first to step off.
Tall and lean, she wore a loose black trench coat that accentuated her long strides, each step exuding confidence and authority. The players trailing behind her couldn’t help but fixate on her figure. For a moment, they almost mistook her for a slender man rather than a girl.
“That silhouette is unreal!” someone murmured. “If it weren’t for the hair, I’d think that’s a guy.”
“Black trench coats suit anyone, but it looks especially striking on a pro like her.”
A female player frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean? Can’t a girl have such a dashing and charismatic presence?”
“No, no, that’s not what I meant! I’m just saying—look at her height. Most guys can’t even compare.”
“That’s a problem with you short guys, not her.”
“Our dear Sister Ji is just too gorgeous.”
“…”
The term “Sister Ji” silenced everyone. The crowd turned to the player who had dared to utter it, as though they were staring at some kind of hero.
“What are you looking at?” the female player said indignantly. “Sister Ji looks like she’s barely out of her teens. Isn’t it natural for us to call her that? Besides… seeing someone like Sister Ji, I refuse to believe you don’t feel anything.”
Humans admire strength instinctively, especially in a game world where survival often feels like walking a tightrope over a blade. Power and resilience become even more desirable here.
There was no doubt—Lu Ji’s prowess and composure left others in equal parts awe-struck and captivated.
Chai Yingying could sympathize with their feelings.
When she first met Lu Ji back in the Lingyuan Hotel instance, her initial impression was of a quiet, brooding, and distant girl—a shadow to Gu Jiu. She seemed to hang onto Gu Jiu’s every word and action, her heart clearly tethered to the dazzling young heiress. Anyone with eyes could see how utterly devoted she was to Gu Jiu.
If that wasn’t love, then what was it?
Perhaps it was Gu Jiu’s brilliance that allowed Lu Ji to stay hidden, silently relying on her. Gu Jiu led the charge and carried their team through challenges, while Lu Ji had no need to shine.
But now, with Gu Jiu gone, Lu Ji had no one to hide behind.
Without Gu Jiu shielding her, Lu Ji could no longer remain in the shadows. Her brilliance and strength shone through, impossible to conceal, leaving everyone awestruck.
Chai Yingying touched her chest and reminded herself: I’m straight. I only like men. Women don’t interest me.
Yet when Lu Ji glanced her way, her cold and detached gaze sent Chai Yingying’s heart into a frenzy. Even though she knew it meant nothing, she still found herself inexplicably drawn in. She was genuinely worried she might start questioning her orientation.
It made sense now. For someone as bold and confident as Gu Jiu, it couldn’t have been just anyone who managed to win her over.
Only someone like Lu Ji, who could switch between sweet and salty, would be capable of that.
Lu Ji scouted the area around Station 25, effortlessly cutting down a deformed creature that had been lurking in the shadows to ambush them.
The creature’s head rolled from its body, yet it didn’t die. Its dull, murky blue eyes remained fixed on them, sending chills down the players’ spines. Lu Ji merely walked away.
“Hey, you’re just leaving it like that?” Chai Yingying asked, pointing at the creature.
Lu Ji frowned. “You can’t kill it. What else is there to do?”
True that!
The longer players stayed on the Death Train, the more they understood the nature of the ghosts and monsters here: the stronger they were, the harder they were to kill—almost to the point of being immortal.
But nothing in this world is truly unkillable. Maybe they just hadn’t found the correct way to kill these creatures.
Chai Yingying instinctively felt that the life and death of these monsters were closely tied to the clues for clearing the level. Unfortunately, she still couldn’t piece anything together.
After leaving Station 24, they took the train to Station 23.
Seeing Lu Ji standing by the door, facing the window and gazing at the dark tracks outside, Chai Yingying couldn’t help but sidle up to her.
“Lu Ji, have you found any clues?”
“No.”
Chai Yingying frowned. “… You’re so powerful, and you still haven’t found anything?”
Lu Ji replied nonchalantly, “I’m not good at deduction. Once we find Ah Jiu, you can exchange the clues you’ve gathered with her.”
Chai Yingying stared at her, expressionless. “When you say that, do you feel even a little embarrassed?”
Lu Ji gave her a puzzled look. Why would he be embarrassed? He genuinely hadn’t found any clues and knew nothing about the truth of this Death Train scenario.
Although he could disguise himself as a player to enter the game world, he faced more restrictions than regular players.
First, he couldn’t use power that exceeded the game world’s capacity. If the game world collapsed, he wouldn’t be able to recover the corrupted rule fragments. He had to keep his strength in check. Second, after entering the game world, he was also subjected to its rules, just like any other player, and had to uncover the truth for himself. Finally, since he wasn’t a true player, the clues provided by the game system to players were not available to him.
For example, every time players entered the game world, they could purchase life-saving items from the system’s shop. He, on the other hand, was not eligible.
When the game ended, players could buy items generated by the game rules. He still had no access to those.
That was the difference.
If he hadn’t met Gu Jiu and used her as cover to enter the game world as part of her team, he probably wouldn’t have been able to navigate the game as freely as he did. He would have long been discovered by the demigods of the Star Zone 0, who would’ve tried to obstruct him.
He had a general idea of what the demigods in the Star Zone 0 were thinking, but he couldn’t be bothered to engage with them, let alone face a group of demigods who wanted nothing more than to destroy him.
Realizing she was serious, Chai Yingying felt conflicted.
She sighed. “Lu Ji, Great God Lu, your strength is obvious to everyone. With your abilities, there’s probably nothing that can truly stump you. You don’t need to belittle yourself.”
So really, there’s no need to rely on the heiress for everything. Isn’t it a bit much to so blatantly live off of her?
Lu Ji gave her a surprised look. “I’m not belittling myself.”
Chai Yingying: “Then why don’t you actively look for clues?”
“I’m not good at it. Ah Jiu is.”
Chai Yingying: “…”
Realizing this girl genuinely thought she wasn’t good at finding clues and wholeheartedly intended to depend on Gu Jiu, Chai Yingying was at a loss. She mused that this might just be a quirk of truly powerful individuals—they liked to act willfully. What could she say to that?
From Station 25, they continued moving back station by station.
At each station, Lu Ji always took the lead. Though the others wanted to prove they weren’t entirely useless, they had no chance as Lu Ji firmly ushered them behind her.
He didn’t want to waste time on recovery if anyone got injured, and rest breaks were not something he was fond of. His goal was clear: he wanted to bring Chai Yingying and the others to find Gu Jiu. Once reunited, these people could serve as her followers or backup fighters, making things easier for her.
Chai Yingying, unaware that Lu Ji saw them as Gu Jiu’s potential entourage or muscle, felt touched by how she protected them.
—
The train arrived at Station 18.
Station 18 was eerily quiet, with an environment far cleaner and more serene than the blood-soaked chaos of the previous stations. There were no signs of gruesome deaths here.
The moment Lu Ji stepped off the train, he keenly sensed the presence of paper dolls.
Two small paper dolls emerged from the shadows behind a resting bench. They sprinted toward Lu Ji, clinging to his leg and quickly climbing up.
Lu Ji extended his hand, letting them crawl onto his palm. He inspected their backs, where a small line of text, left by Gu Jiu, was written.
In the game world, most players couldn’t use communication tools and relied on such methods to exchange messages.
Chai Yingying and the others watched the paper dolls in amazement.
“Did the heiress come through here?” Chai Yingying asked, her tone questioning but her heart certain.
Lu Ji gave a soft hmm. At the sight of the paper dolls, her cold and aloof demeanor softened noticeably. Her sharp, icy features turned gentle, transforming her from a cold, untouchable beauty to a sweet and delicate “girl.” Those present couldn’t help but marvel at the power of love.
From Chai Yingying, they had already heard about her feelings for someone named “Gu Jiu.” Quietly, everyone had started referring to her as “the Heiress.”
What could they do? Lu Ji seemed to love hearing Gu Jiu being called the Heiress, and since even Chai Yingying had adopted the term, they naturally followed suit.
Chai Yingying caught sight of the black characters written on the paper dolls’ backs: 18:30 – 8:00.
“What does this mean?” she asked, puzzled. It looked like a time notation.
Lu Ji explained, “Ah Jiu is saying she arrived at Station 18 at 6:30 PM yesterday and left at 8:00 AM today.”
Chai Yingying lit up. “It’s 10:30 AM now. Doesn’t that mean we’re close to catching up with them?”
Lu Ji nodded.
He took a quick lap around Station 18. Though he didn’t find anyone, his mood improved significantly.
Since Gu Jiu had been here, it meant he was getting closer to meeting her. Filled with anticipation, he hurriedly boarded the next train, determined to find her before it reached the final station.
If Gu Jiu boarded the return train, tracking her down would mean starting all over again. The return train only allowed players to disembark, not board again. Once someone got off, there was no way back on.
—
The train arrived at Station 13.
As soon as Gu Jiu disembarked, she noticed two small red paper dolls stuck to the wall near the escalator.
The paper dolls, folded from red paper, blended seamlessly with the surrounding bloodstains. They were hard to spot, and even if noticed, their camouflage made them seem like ordinary objects.
When Gu Jiu stepped onto the station platform, the paper dolls tore themselves from the wall and darted toward her.
She picked them up, her eyes landing on the newly written words on their backs. A small smile graced her lips.
It seemed that Gu Jiu and Lu Ji shared an unspoken connection. Both had left paper dolls for each other, each with a timestamp written on their backs.
The timestamp on the dolls Gu Jiu found read 13:00 – 13:30.
Yesterday, they both entered the game world at 1:00 PM. She had appeared at Station 1, while Lu Ji had started at Station 13. She had left Station 13 at 1:30 PM. Gu Jiu, on the other hand, had boarded the return train at 2:00 PM. This meant that Lu Ji had been trailing her, and she was still behind her today, as there had been no paper dolls left at Stations 17 through 14.
If she slowed her pace, she could wait for Lu Ji to catch up.
This thought cheered Gu Jiu immensely.
After listening to her analysis, Old Hei and the others wore complicated expressions. “So, you two are using these paper dolls to deduce each other’s locations?”
How could a tool be used like this?
Gu Jiu nodded.
Old Hei gave her a thumbs up, begrudgingly impressed by their method. “Still, only you two could pull this off. Most players don’t have enough resources to spare for something like this. If these paper dolls can be mass-produced, then sure, using them this way makes sense.”
At Station 13, after a thorough search, Gu Jiu left the two paper dolls behind and wrote a timestamp on their backs.
If Lu Ji passed by again, she would undoubtedly see the message on the dolls.
The group boarded the train to leave the station. As the train pulled away, they saw the paper dolls climb back onto the wall and stick themselves there again, blending into the surrounding bloodstains to hide.
“These paper dolls are almost too smart,” Old Hei remarked in awe. “They even know how to conceal themselves.”
“They reflect their owner’s traits,” Gu Jiu replied with a smile. “And Lu Ji is just that clever.”
Everyone else: “.…” Somehow, the way she praised Lu Ji sounded a bit off.
—
The train arrived at Station 12.
At Station 12, Gu Jiu encountered more paper dolls. The timestamps written on their backs recorded Lu Ji’s arrival and departure times from the day before.
She picked up the dolls and searched Station 12 with Old Hei and the others.
The station was quiet, and they encountered no disturbances. The group smoothly boarded the train and continued forward.
This pattern repeated over the next few stations. At each stop, Gu Jiu found paper dolls left behind by Lu Ji, each carrying information about her movements from the previous day.
The consistent trail of clues made Gu Jiu more and more confident that she would reunite with Lu Ji soon.