After deciding to collaborate with Qu Xiao, they began discussing their next plan of action.
Old Hei said, “Aside from the seven station names Gu Jiu wrote with the paint, the other station names are still blank. How about we write them down when we pass by later?”
Of the station names collected so far, only seven had been written down by Gu Jiu. The remaining station names were known only to them, and it was uncertain whether other players had discovered them yet.
However, if they wrote all the known station names, every player in the subway station would see them.
If another player were to collect all the station names faster and clear the game first, the points they earned would overshadow everyone else’s. For players who value points, this might cause significant dissatisfaction.
This was why Old Hei hadn’t immediately agreed to Qu Xiao’s suggestion earlier.
He had to consider the feelings of Chai Yingying and Gu Jiu.
Fortunately, both of them agreed to cooperate. Although Qu Xiao’s proposal might harm the players’ interests, it would allow them to clear the game quickly. In a way, this method brought all the players on the death train together, united to clear the game.
“The eighth station is coming up,” Gu Jiu said. “Among the remaining eight stations, the names for the eighth, seventh, fifth, fourth, and first stations are already known. We can write these names down.”
Among these five stations, only the names of the seventh and fourth stations had been written down; the others were still blank.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
When the train stopped at the eighth station, the players disembarked. Gu Jiu used her paint to write the station name.
The paint she used was a special kind purchased from the Boundless City, resistant to erasure unless an entire layer of the wall was scraped off. To prevent malicious tampering, they wrote the station name in multiple locations within the subway station to ensure more players could see it.
Just as they finished writing, footsteps echoed from the basement level.
A group of undead surged up from the lower floor.
The players present remained remarkably calm. As their time on the death train lengthened, they had encountered more dangers, and the gathering of players had grown larger. Consequently, the subway station bosses’ threat to the players diminished over time.
It was truly a victory through numbers.
However, even after collecting the station name, the subway station remained perilous, with countless dangers still lurking.
Qu Xiao summoned two curved blades. With a click, the blade handles joined to form an indomitable weapon.
The blades spun as they flew toward the undead, slicing through them effortlessly. Countless undead heads rolled to the ground, leaving a trail of fallen bodies.
The devastating power of the weapon, while not as elegant as Lu Ji weaving lightly through the undead, still delivered a thrilling visual impact, leaving the players excited and energized.
“Truly worthy of being the King of Soldiers—so strong!” Chai Yingying praised.
The female player beside her commented, “Impressive, but I still think Sister Ji is even better.”
Chai Yingying instinctively searched for Lu Ji and found that, for once, she wasn’t hiding behind the young lady, taking it easy. Instead, she had taken the initiative to act. Surprised, she had to admit that her teammate was right.
Lu Ji was practically a walking weapon.
Once again witnessing Lu Ji’s prowess, Chai Yingying’s teammates were thrilled, while Old Hei and the others were shocked. Although they knew Lu Ji was strong, seeing her mow down the undead with every step was almost too much to believe.
As the train finally arrived, the players quickly boarded and left the station.
Back on the train, Gu Jiu looked at Lu Ji.
Lu Ji, under her gaze, became slightly tense. The more nervous he felt, the more his expression appeared indifferent, making him seem cold and aloof—easily giving people the wrong impression.
“Ah Ji, do you want to take a rest?” Gu Jiu asked with a gentle smile. “You worked hard just now.”
Lu Ji pressed his lips together and replied softly, “It wasn’t hard.”
Despite his words, when she pulled him to find a seat, he obediently followed her guidance and sat down next to her, their shoulders touching.
Opposite them sat Old Hei, the others, and Qu Xiao.
Lu Ji discreetly glanced at Qu Xiao, recalling Chai Yingying’s admiration for him and Gu Jiu’s earlier gaze. A strange emotion stirred within him.
He could sense Gu Jiu’s favorable impression of Wu Yang and Qu Xiao—an admiration rooted in their former professions. Although they were no longer soldiers, their past identities naturally commanded respect and goodwill.
This realization left him feeling an inexplicable urgency.
Would Gu Jiu… prefer men like them?
Recently, Gu Jiu’s gaze had frequently lingered on him, giving him the impression that she might like him too. It had even emboldened him to decide to confess his identity to her. However, with Qu Xiao’s appearance and her attention on him, Lu Ji’s confidence wavered, leaving him uncertain and anxious.
He couldn’t express these feelings to anyone, nor did he know who to confide in, leaving him a little lost.
This indescribable emotion made him want to show his best side in front of her.
At that moment, Gu Jiu took his hand to inspect it. The act filled him with joy, and his ears turned slightly red as he hesitated to pull his hand away. After carefully checking both hands to ensure there were no wounds or traces of blood, she calmly let go and looked across the aisle again.
A pang of sourness welled up in his heart.
It seemed like she was looking at Qu Xiao again.
The train arrived at the seventh station, and the doors opened, revealing the station name written on the wall in paint.
They didn’t get off the train and stayed on until they reached the sixth station.
At the sixth station, the station name remained uncollected, leaving everyone disappointed as they reboarded the train and headed for the fifth station.
At the subsequent stations, they disembarked each time to paint the station names.
The train eventually reached the first station again.
The first station was eerily quiet. After writing the station name, they settled down to wait for the return train.
The return train took a long time to arrive. During their wait, the little girl Sasha appeared briefly. She stood at a distance, gave them a glance, and then left with Lisa. The players couldn’t help but sigh in relief.
Though Sasha no longer posed a threat to them, the psychological shadow cast by the doll Lisa made everyone instinctively unwilling to face them.
They boarded the return train without incident.
Qu Xiao broke the silence. “Now, we need to start from Station 22 to figure out the remaining nine station names. Will you get off at Station 22 or stay on at Station 2?”
“We’ll get off at Station 22,” Chai Yingying responded.
Qu Xiao didn’t ask for a reason and merely nodded slightly. “Alright, we’ll get off at Station 2.”
The train continued speeding forward.
Although there were ghostly attacks along the way, the large number of people onboard prevented any major catastrophes.
Qu Xiao led a group of players to disembark at Station 2.
Meanwhile, Gu Jiu and her group got off at Station 22.
—
“Huff, huff, huff…”
The sound of labored breathing echoed in the subway station. A group of players crowded near the entrance to a dark corridor, their faces pale as they caught glimpses of ghostly hands emerging from the shadows out of the corners of their eyes.
Ahead of them was another group of players, far outnumbering them.
Leading the other group was a woman they recognized—the infamous “Point-Hoarding Witch,” Chai Yingying.
Old Lu’s face darkened as he asked, “Miss Chai, are you really set on making an enemy of us, the Reverse Pathfinders?”
Chai Yingying put on a mockingly flattered expression, her voice dripping with faux innocence. “Oh, Old Lu, you flatter me! I’m merely doing what you’ve done before. How could that make me your enemy? Who decided that only you Pathfinders can do such things while we cannot?”
“Exactly!”
“Our Sister Chai is absolutely right!”
“Don’t be a hypocrite! Hypocrisy gets struck by lightning!”
Old Lu’s face turned green as the group bombarded him with taunts. The usually calm and amiable demeanor he displayed was nowhere to be seen. His so-called gentleness had only ever been a mask reserved for failures and bystanders.
Chai Yingying smiled cheerfully as she watched Old Lu’s changing expressions, clicking her tongue in mock appreciation.
She hadn’t expected to encounter him here, and seeing that he only had three people left with him made her burst into laughter, hands on her hips.
It was as if the heavens had delivered this opportunity to her.
She had thought this mission was doomed to fail and that simply surviving to the end would be an achievement. She had no intention of risking her life or those of her teammates for a task, even if it was worth 20,000 points. She valued their lives far more.
But to her surprise, they had stumbled upon Old Lu, cornered by ghosts and severely outnumbered.
Her group had nearly 200 players, while Old Lu’s side had only three. What could they possibly fight with?
Even though Old Lu was seething with rage, he could only swallow her mockery and ask in a deep voice, “Chai Yingying, what exactly do you want? Are you really planning to force us into a corner?”
His eyes gleamed with a sinister chill, as if they were laced with poison.
Chai Yingying had no doubt that if she pushed him further, he would choose mutual destruction without hesitation, dragging her group into the abyss with him. When someone was at the brink of death, they had nothing left to lose. Even the rules of the Multiverse Game could not constrain someone facing their final moments.
“Alright, there’s no need to look so desperate for a death match.” Chai Yingying waved her hand dismissively, feigning disinterest. “I just want one person from you. Hand them over, and we’ll leave.”
Old Lu’s tension eased slightly. He sneered inwardly—so these players still had their concerns.
“Who?”
“The Pathfinder player with the codename ‘Xiao Gui,'” Chai Yingying declared, her gaze sharp as she scanned the group. “I know he’s among you. I heard this guy often uses appearance-altering items to deceive female players. A scumbag like him deserves worse than destruction.”
Old Lu’s expression turned a bit strange. “You went through all this trouble just to find him?”
“Of course. Who would want to deal with you otherwise?” Chai Yingying retorted with a look of disdain.
Old Lu didn’t say whether he believed her or not. After a moment of thought, he asked, “How many subway station names have you found?”
Ever since the station names started appearing, Old Lu had realized the key to clearing the game. Some Pathfinders had special abilities, and with a clear idea of the goal, deducing the solution wasn’t difficult.
“How many we’ve found is none of your business,” Chai Yingying replied.
“I’ve got a few station names myself,” Old Lu said slowly.
Chai Yingying looked at him for a moment before sneering, “It doesn’t matter how many you’ve got. The first to clear the game will definitely be us!”
She dismissed Old Lu’s attempt to negotiate, clearly uninterested in cooperating with the Pathfinders. No matter how skilled Old Lu was, could he compare to the likes of Gu Jiu and her team?
—
In the subway station’s second basement level, a group of players rested, waiting for Chai Yingying and her group to return.
Wan Xingzhou craned his neck toward the first basement level. When he saw Chai Yingying coming down, he jumped up excitedly. “Sister Chai, how did it go? Did you find him?”
“Found him.” Chai Yingying ruffled his hair playfully. “And I helped you get some payback. They’re stuck in a horde of ghostly hands right now. It’ll be a while before they can rescue themselves.”
Wan Xingzhou laughed gleefully. “Serves them right!”
Others joined in his happiness. Wan Xingzhou had become an important member of the team, as his unique ability to restore reality and see the true subway station names was critical in their fights against bosses and in progressing the game.
Those who had been tricked by the Pathfinders were equally pleased. While they had moved past their resentment, seeing the Pathfinders in trouble was undeniably satisfying.
Chai Yingying walked over to Gu Jiu and said, “Young Miss, let’s set off. Only two station names left to find, and we’ll clear the game.”
Her eagerness was evident; she couldn’t wait to finish the game and claim her 20,000 points reward.
Gu Jiu, leaning lazily against Lu Ji, yawned before saying, “Aren’t you tired? The dark circles under your eyes are so heavy it looks like you’ve got a bad smoky eye makeup job.”
Chai Yingying’s face froze. “…Young Miss, could you speak like a normal person?”
Gu Jiu gave a casual “Oh.”
Lu Ji suddenly added, “Ah Jiu just woke up. She’s a little grumpy. Please bear with her.”
Chai Yingying: “.…”