“Hmm, she’s one of the candidates.”
Putting aside what happened earlier, they began discussing the matter at hand.
“From a team-building perspective, she’s indeed a good choice. But I feel like she won’t mesh well with us… If you want her, I’ll support it.”
Mo Cha answered seriously.
“In what way?”
Mu Bai was genuinely curious.
“Purpose,” Mo Cha explained.
“She wants to join us because she’s subjectively looking for a place that can give her security while also letting her maximize her value… That’s not wrong per se, but if it’s not handled well, she might not be able to integrate into our team after merging.”
In simple terms, both sides would end up exhausted.
One side would be the current four members of the team, the other naturally being Luo Huang.
This was caused by differences in habits or goals.
“Purposefulness—shouldn’t that be expected?”
Mu Bai found it a bit strange.
Mo Cha’s answer caught her off guard.
Everyone was trying to survive on The Train.
Living was an undeniable purpose.
Seeking to join a good team wasn’t something that should be rejected.
Mu Bai even thought that if someone had no purposefulness at all yet still wanted to join her team, that would be the truly weird thing—that would make her overthink things.
“It’s not purposefulness—it’s purpose.”
Mo Cha shook her head.
“You might not feel it, but Fufu and I have wanted to be your teammates ever since the first time we met you at the Station. We wanted to join forces because we genuinely like you as a person, because we wanted to huddle together for warmth with little Mu Bai.”
Mu Bai: “…”
Even though she knew Mo Cha was likely just stating the facts, having something like that said directly made her feel quite embarrassed.
Besides, coming from Mo Cha’s mouth, words like that were especially prone to making her overthink.
Mu Bai took a few seconds to compose herself before speaking again.
“Well, that’s true…”
From her brief interactions with Luo Huang, Mu Bai had gained a certain understanding of the person.
In short, Luo Huang wasn’t the type to easily form bonds with others or completely place her trust in people.
In comparison—setting aside how Mo Cha’s affection for her had grown—Tang Shifu was the type who was easy to get along with, good at building bonds and trust.
If she and Ye Yuan had met Luo Huang instead of Mo Cha and Tang Shifu when they first started, she would still have pushed for teaming up as much as possible.
After all, good teammates were truly rare.
But whether they could build rapport and form friendships or deeper connections with her and Ye Yuan as quickly as she had with Mo Cha and Tang Shifu—that was hard to say.
Thinking about it carefully, Mu Bai hadn’t even realized it herself: the actual time she’d spent with Mo Cha and Tang Shifu, including the time at the Station, added up to only about a week.
Counting just The Train time, it had only been three days since they merged.
Even in the extreme environment of survival, the speed at which they formed emotional bonds was still incredibly fast.
That kind of chemistry could only happen with mutual effort!
‘Hmm… Ye Yuan is an exception, but at least she’s been stabilized. Everything is heading in a good direction.’
So Mo Cha’s concerns weren’t unreasonable.
But at the same time, there was another undeniable issue.
While adding new teammates without restriction would certainly make team relationships more complicated and increase the chance of the group falling apart, the team still needed to grow.
More people didn’t necessarily mean better, but Mu Bai had a vague feeling that their current four-person setup wasn’t enough.
She had noticed this during the Promotion Site.
When they encountered high-difficulty Stations, especially those where they had to compete with other Player teams, four people had a hard time splitting up to handle tasks.
Normally it was fine, but if the mission requirements were harsh—like adding time constraints or requiring them to collect clues to complete the mission—there would inevitably be times when they had to split up.
Other teams didn’t value their ordinary members’ lives, so they could easily split into groups.
In terms of efficiency, her team would definitely be at a disadvantage.
Sending out just one person couldn’t guarantee safety.
Mo Cha’s Talent was suited for stealth, but her combat ability was only slightly above average.
At the very least, they needed to move in pairs so teammates could watch each other’s backs.
Then came the embarrassing part.
Whether it was Ye Yuan, Mo Cha, or Tang Shifu—none of them could protect her on their own…
Mu Bai felt a bit ashamed.
Even now, she had hardly any means of self-defense.
She had just gotten used to it.
Therefore, to solve this problem, they needed to bring in at least one or two reliable teammates.
Besides…
Mu Bai had previously thought their current team setup was complete—close combat, ranged combat, reconnaissance, terrain destruction, and herself as the healer.
But after witnessing Luo Huang’s Talent, Mu Bai felt that their current team could still be countered by a single person.
For example, what if Luo Huang already had thirty or forty Mental Power points when she encountered them?
In that case, the only one who wouldn’t be killed outright would be herself.
And if her Mental Power wasn’t higher than the opponent’s, she probably wouldn’t even be able to stand after a single interference.
If only a support remained, wouldn’t that be a team wipe?
Tang Shifu’s Strength had already reached over forty with various item boosts, and that was the result of balanced development.
Luo Huang only needed to stack Mental attribute points.
She hadn’t developed to that level purely due to bad luck.
By now, the vast majority of Players had been worn down.
But based on their Chat Room as a benchmark, an estimated ten million or so still survived.
There were bound to be some absurd Talents out there, like her [Chosen of Heaven].
If someone got lucky enough to grow into their potential and they encountered them in mid-to-late stage Trials, Promotions, or even Killing Stations… that would be quite the game to play.
In Mo Cha’s eyes, Mu Bai had inexplicably fallen into deep thought.
Then gradually, her expression turned somewhat dark.
Mo Cha: “?”
“What are you thinking about?”
A slender hand landed on her head, grabbing a tuft of white hair and rubbing.
Mu Bai jolted.
Realizing it was Mo Cha rubbing her head, she relaxed.
‘She almost thought Ye Yuan had come looking for her.’
‘Hmm, strange—she hadn’t done anything wrong, so why was she afraid of being caught by Ye Yuan?’
“Oh right, actually it’s not just Luo Huang. There’s also—”
Mu Bai’s vision blurred.
That hand came down from her head and turned into two fingers pressed together against her lips.
“Don’t talk. I’m not interested in any of that right now.”
Mo Cha grabbed Mu Bai’s shoulders and pulled her closer.
“It’s been a while since I’ve experienced your power bank. I want to rest now. Let me hold you for a bit.”
The pulling force was stronger than Mu Bai expected, carrying a hint of irresistibility.
Mu Bai subconsciously complied, letting herself be pulled over and pressed against Mo Cha’s chest.
Her body stiffened.
‘Ye Yuan is right next door. If she sees this, won’t all hell break loose?’
“Don’t move. I know you don’t want Ye Yuan to see this either. Just a little while—I’ll let you go once Tang Shifu comes out. Okay~”