Chapter 36: As If from Another World

Using her dagger to cut away the fabric surrounding the wound, Mu Bai tried her best to ignore Ye Yuan’s pained reactions.

She forced herself to endure the sight of blood and the visceral shock of the gunshot wound, taking several minutes to finally pry the bullet out.

The bullet had lodged itself against the bone.

The only silver lining was that the point of impact wasn’t rich in blood vessels; otherwise, Mu Bai wouldn’t have known where to start.

Mu Bai felt a quiet sense of admiration that Ye Yuan had managed to keep from crying out the entire time.

However, she soon realized that her friend had simply passed out from the pain.

Despite the guilt gnawing at her, Mu Bai knew the wound still needed care.

Conditions on The Train were limited.

There was no medicine, and she couldn’t bring herself to pour raw alcohol directly onto the open wound for disinfection.

Instead, she went to the touch screen and exchanged some items for a long roll of gauze on the Trading Market.

It took her a while to clumsily bandage the area.

Since there were no antibiotics or painkillers available in the market, this was the most she could do.

Only after finishing did Mu Bai turn her attention to the two guns.

She reached out to touch one and whispered, ‘Identification.’

The two guns were identical in appearance—both were Colt M1911 Semi-automatic Pistols.

Fortunately, pistols from the last century lacked modern stopping power; the bullets didn’t create large cavities upon entering the body.

Had they been more powerful, Ye Yuan’s condition would likely have been much worse.

Their team now possessed two guns.

It was thanks to Ye Yuan’s **[Weapon Master]** talent that she had been able to win a one-on-two battle.

Counting the ammo in both Colts, only 4 bullets remained.

It was a pity The Train had already departed.

There was no time to scavenge the bodies, or they might have been able to secure some spare ammunition.

However, Mu Bai had her doubts.

Counting the Silver Chest from the Weird Station, she and Ye Yuan had opened three chests in total.

None had yielded firearms, and they hadn’t encountered guns or ammo in any of the stations they had entered.

The only Beretta they had was the one they traded from Tang Shifu’s group.

Was the other team really so lucky that they obtained two pistols at once?

Mu Bai carefully examined the frames of the two weapons and noticed a difference.

One gun was relatively old, with wear and tear on the body proving it had been used for some time.

The other gun, however, was as clean as if it were new.

Were they obtained separately?

Could it really be such a coincidence that they were the exact same model?

Sensing something unusual, Mu Bai used Identification on the newer-looking Colt.

[Colt M1911 Semi-automatic Pistol: Appearing in response to someone’s wish, it replicates the appearance and structure of another weapon. Fresh from the factory.]

As expected, the description was different.

Mu Bai guessed that the other team likely only had one gun originally.

This brand-new Colt was probably the Statue’s Bequest.

‘Responded to a wish…’

‘So that’s how it works. What was I thinking back then?’

‘If I had known, I would have asked for something like a way back to Earth or a combat-type Golden Talent. Then again, the Train System probably wouldn’t allow anything too ridiculous.’

Mu Bai sighed inwardly.

She felt both grateful and guilty for the way Ye Yuan had protected her at the first sign of danger.

She was grateful that Ye Yuan truly saw her as an important teammate—enough to care for her to this extent—and guilty because it was likely that very act of protection that led to her injury.

There was no use dwelling on it now; it wouldn’t make things better.

Her only option was to help Ye Yuan recover as quickly as possible to honor her trust and devotion.

The newly added effect of her upgraded **[Power Bank Constitution]** could provide a healing effect.

Although she didn’t know exactly how strong it was, since it was a new feature of a Golden Talent, it couldn’t be too useless, could it?

This was exactly where she found the confidence to perform the surgery on Ye Yuan.

After adjusting the unconscious Ye Yuan’s position on the bed, Mu Bai ignored the bloodstains and other issues. She wrapped herself around Ye Yuan like a body pillow, her limbs entwined tightly with her friend’s.

They had entered the station at 6:00 PM, and roughly 8 hours had passed inside. She was exhausted.

‘I hope you get better soon, Yuan…’

***

Inside a different train car.

The blonde-haired girl carefully admired the 5 exquisite Train Coins resting in her palm.

This was her reward from the Statue’s Bequest.

She had rushed to be the first to complete the Labyrinth and returned to her train early.

By doing so, she had spent her remaining time in the Trial Station safely inside her train, avoiding a direct confrontation with those two people.

With these, she could finally perform a Train Upgrade.

After navigating the touch screen, her train reached Level 2.

She checked to see how many Train Coins she would need for the next level, hoping she might have enough left over, but she was immediately stunned by the requirement of 10 Train Coins.

The girl turned to the Trading Market with a sigh.

She needed to see if there were any items that could strengthen her combat capabilities.

Whether it was physical fitness or long-range weapons, she was severely lacking.

She could take her time saving up Train Coins for the next upgrade, but if she didn’t improve her combat power now, she might die in a station at any moment.

As she scrolled through the listings, her brow furrowed.

Due to the influence of the Trial Station, the prices for basic supplies and combat-related items had risen significantly.

There were no guns in the market, and she had no idea how to use a bow.

After searching the entire market, the only things that satisfied her were a few pills and a pot of stewed meat that offered permanent stat boosts.

The problem was that the pills were too expensive; they required 2 or 3 Train Coins each.

Of the 5 Train Coins she had just earned, she only had 3 left.

Buying them would wipe her out instantly.

In the end, she chose the stewed meat that promised to increase her Constitution and Strength.

Ever since she arrived in this Survival Game… she hadn’t eaten a normal meal in a long time.

After the exchange was successful, the girl used the private trading function that had just been unlocked by her train’s upgrade.

She listed a random item and left a message for the seller of the meat in the description.

[Private Code xxxxx. I am the buyer of the stewed meat. If there are any issues, please contact me privately.]

Once finished, she turned to the pot of stewed meat that had been traded over.

The mouth-watering aroma immediately made her swallow hard.

Though it had already gone cold, for someone who hadn’t eaten meat in 15 days, it was a top-tier temptation.

She couldn’t wait to heat it up.

Picking up a pair of chopsticks she had carved from a branch, she squatted on the floor and put a piece of the Dodo Meat into her mouth.

The taste of oil, salt, and the savory meat stimulated her taste buds.

All the grievances of the past half month turned into tears. She began to cry as she ate.

***

The next day, Mu Bai was woken up by the Train System’s notification.

This time, the destination was a Level 2 High-Temperature Doomsday Station, but she didn’t plan on going out.

She and Ye Yuan didn’t have much of a need for resources, and Ye Yuan was still injured.

Now that the Newbie Protection Period had ended, they would have to leave the train together to explore any station.

Until Ye Yuan’s injury healed, they couldn’t leave.

Ye Yuan also woke up in a daze.

Feeling the warm, soft embrace, she momentarily forgot what had happened the previous night and rolled over to hug Mu Bai back.

Wait…

“Yuan, how is your injury?”

Mu Bai asked in pleasant surprise.

She hadn’t expected Ye Yuan to be able to move the day after such a serious injury.

‘Is my talent really that powerful?’

If she could heal Ye Yuan quickly with her talent, the weight on her heart would finally lift.

Ye Yuan snapped fully awake.

She tried to move her left arm and let out a sharp hiss of pain.

However, as long as she didn’t actively move the arm, it didn’t hurt.

“The wound is healing very fast. It doesn’t really hinder my movements. I feel like it’ll be fine by tomorrow,” Ye Yuan said, her voice filled with surprise.

“Is this because of your talent?”

“Yes! I’ll go make breakfast. You just focus on recovery.”

Just as Mu Bai started to sit up, Ye Yuan pulled her back.

“Don’t go. Let me hold you a little longer.”

Ye Yuan stroked Mu Bai’s small head, resting her chin on top of it and taking a deep breath.

The sunlight from outside shone through the glass windows.

It was as if the terrors of the previous night had never happened.

Waking up felt like entering a whole new world.