When coming down from the fourth floor, Ye Yuan carried a bulging backpack, while Mu Bai carried one on her front and another on her back.
They were stuffed full of clothing, both undergarments and outer layers.
She could clearly tell the time from the Mechanical Butterfly Watch; only forty minutes of the stop time had passed so far.
If they didn’t run into any accidents, there was still plenty of time to scavenge for supplies.
Returning to the first floor, as they emerged from the safety passage, Ye Yuan cautiously had Mu Bai wait in the corridor while she stepped out of the stairwell first.
For some reason, a faint sense of unease stirred in the depths of Ye Yuan’s heart.
The position of the other survival team had still not been revealed, which remained a hidden danger after all.
If someone were lying in ambush on the first floor, the stairway entrance would be the best place to crouch.
Fortunately, perhaps she was just overthinking.
Ye Yuan walked a dozen steps outward alone; she wasn’t attacked, and she didn’t hear even a hint of unusual movement.
Only then did she relax, returning to the corridor to lead out Mu Bai, who had been hiding behind the door.
The journey was uneventful.
They put all the gathered supplies into The Train.
Afterward, Mu Bai used the Trading Area to check the rewards from the treasure chest.
Let her see what was going on here…
[Little Spirit Flame Talisman, consumable. When applied to a weapon, it creates a temporary enchantment, allowing the weapon to deal direct damage to spiritual entities with an added burning effect. Its power can insta-kill a Remnant Soul or cause damage to a Fierce Ghost.]
[A silver coin with collection and trade value, but it also has another name—Train Coin.]
Upon seeing the item descriptions, a sharp light flickered in Mu Bai’s purple eyes.
The Little Spirit Flame Talisman supplemented the means she and Ye Yuan desperately needed to deal with a Weird Station.
As for the Train Coin, it required two pieces to upgrade the train again; this find was equivalent to a 50% increase in progress.
The probability of accidentally encountering a chest was currently unknown, but they had obtained a Train Coin on only the fifth day.
It shouldn’t take too long to collect two.
She wondered what features the Level 2 Train could unlock…
“How is your stamina? Can you keep going?”
Ye Yuan’s expression didn’t ripple much, as she prioritized checking on Mu Bai first.
Just climbing stairs and carrying a bag wasn’t exactly heavy labor, but the temperature outside was genuinely freezing.
Even she felt it was barely manageable.
She worried Mu Bai’s constitution couldn’t withstand this severe cold.
The Power Bank could only charge others, not herself.
“I’m fine. At most, I’ll catch a cold. I’m not that fragile,”
Mu Bai insisted.
It wasn’t that the trading market lacked medicine.
Aside from antibiotics and anti-inflammatories, medicine held an awkward position in the market with relatively low value.
After all, if people couldn’t even fill their stomachs, who cared about minor illnesses?
You could just endure it until it passed.
Because of this, cold medicine only cost about the same as a few bottles of water.
Mu Bai poured some water boiled in the morning.
In the room-temperature environment of The Train, it hadn’t cooled down completely yet and was still warm.
This unintended preparation turned out to be useful; drinking hot water now could make one’s physical state much better.
Mu Bai filled a clean tin can with hot water.
She drank half herself, and feeling she couldn’t drink anymore, she thought for a moment and handed it to Ye Yuan.
“Here, you should have some hot water too.”
Winning over a heart .jpg
Ye Yuan’s eyes flickered.
She took the tin can, hesitated for a second, but didn’t drink from the spot Mu Bai had just used.
She drained it in one gulp.
***
After resting for a few minutes, the two left The Train again.
The trip was peaceful.
When they arrived at the third-floor supermarket, they still hadn’t encountered the other team.
Though this seemed like a good thing, both Mu Bai and Ye Yuan felt a sense of gravity.
In a Shopping Mall station so suitable for gathering supplies, the fact that the other party made no move was very abnormal.
The other party might be on the second floor, just missing them.
But the mall was only so big.
Intentionally avoiding a direct confrontation was understandable, but for there to be absolutely no sound at all was far too eerie.
Mu Bai thought as she worked.
The rules didn’t say you couldn’t seize someone else’s train.
Given how The System encouraged players to compete against each other, this kind of thing was highly likely to be permitted.
Could it be…
the others really were desperate outlaws, planning to “occupy the magpie’s nest” by coming after them?
“That’s enough,”
Ye Yuan said softly.
“Packing too much will affect our movement. We’ve gained plenty this time; let’s not take risks.”
“Okay,”
Mu Bai agreed.
She understood that Ye Yuan intended to quit while they were ahead.
Although Ye Yuan was a [Weapon Master] and they had a Compound Crossbow, Ye Yuan was only one person, and Mu Bai couldn’t be counted as a combatant.
Visibility in this Shopping Mall was too poor.
If the other party really wanted to make a move, they would be a significant threat.
The two turned around and followed the path they came from back to the first floor.
The first floor was too far from the skylight, and the light from The Train was blocked by many counters or clothing racks.
It was pitch black outside the passage.
Both were on high alert.
Ye Yuan again left the stairwell alone to scout, yet still, nothing happened.
Just as the two of them sped up to rush back together…
From the rear flank, a dark shadow that had been lying in wait for a long time suddenly lunged from the gap between two rows of clothing racks.
The target was aimed straight for Ye Yuan, who held the Compound Crossbow!
Ye Yuan had no time to aim.
Relying solely on her talent and instinct, she immediately pulled the trigger in the direction the shadow was pouncing from!
Pfft.
The arrow pierced flesh.
The attacker let out a muffled groan.
Seemingly not expecting Ye Yuan to react so quickly, he immediately changed direction.
Caught off guard, it was impossible for Mu Bai to dodge.
In her desperation, she swung an axe with all her might at the attacker’s face!
The sound of something shattering rang out.
In the next second, Mu Bai felt her neck tightened by an arm, her entire body nearly lifted off the ground…
“Drop your damn gear on the ground, or I’ll kill her right now!”
The Buzz-cut Man snarled, dragging Mu Bai to shield his vital spots.
In that critical moment, he had used his right hand holding a knife to block the axe swing.
The sensation from his hand made his heart turn cold.
This strike had not only knocked his knife to the ground, but his right hand was also torn open, and his bones were likely shattered…
Waves of intense pain radiated from his arrow-pierced shoulder blade and his palm.
He had observed for a long time before acting, yet he never imagined he would be made so miserable by two young girls.
If he had known, he shouldn’t have been greedy for that train!
Seeing this scene, Ye Yuan instantly froze in place.
The man kept his right arm around Mu Bai’s neck while moving toward where the knife had fallen, bending down to try and pick it up with his left hand.
Mu Bai saw the reflection from the dropped knife.
Knowing this was her chance to escape, a surge of ruthlessness welled up inside her.
She grabbed the arrow stuck in the man’s shoulder with her left hand and yanked it outward.
The moment his attention was distracted by the pain, she reached for the wound on his palm with her right hand and dug in fiercely!
A blood-curdling scream echoed throughout the entire first-floor hall.
“Ye Yuan!”
Taking advantage of the moment the man went limp from pain, Mu Bai used all her strength to pry his arm away, creating a perfect opportunity for Ye Yuan.
In the chaos, Ye Yuan didn’t dare use the crossbow again.
She drew her Special Dagger and closed the distance in an instant.
She used her thumb to flick open the sheath mid-air and plunged the blade into the man’s throat.
Then, she twisted!
The scent of blood filled the air.
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