Chapter 35: The Gunshot

In a Station, especially one involving a background that science could not explain, the transition from day to night was never a good sign.

Ye Yuan quickened her pace as much as possible.

Mu Bai wrapped her arms around Ye Yuan’s neck, summarizing their current direction based on her memory.

They were already quite far from their starting position.

Since they had been able to walk in this direction for so long, it meant their general heading was correct.

At dusk, the two finally emerged from a passage and arrived at an open area.

In the center of the clearing were three stone statues… or at least, there should have been.

Now, two of the three had already shattered into piles of rubble, leaving only the statue on the right still standing.

Finding the statues meant the exit of the Labyrinth was near.

At the very least, they wouldn’t have to walk much farther.

Mu Bai suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.

Although she couldn’t be certain they were completely safe, they had essentially used her Talent to brute-force their way through the Labyrinth stage.

To prevent any sudden incidents, Ye Yuan set Mu Bai down.

Her right hand rested on the holster at her waist, ready to act at a moment’s notice.

Observing the rate at which her Mental Power was dropping, Mu Bai estimated she could sustain it for at least 30 minutes.

Only then did the two of them walk to the center of the area to examine the only intact stone statue.

It was a woman dressed in a cloak.

Perhaps because the sky was growing dark and the light was insufficient, they couldn’t see the face beneath the hood clearly.

Judging by the shape of her face, her expression was likely solemn.

She had her left hand raised, pointing toward a passage to the right of Mu Bai and Ye Yuan.

Of course, Mu Bai and her companion could already see the exit in the distance.

They had approached the center mainly to look for a treasure chest.

Unfortunately, there was no sign of any chest nearby.

If it wasn’t hidden deep within the Labyrinth, it had likely been taken by the people who left first.

‘Since there were three statues and only one is left, it means two teams have already passed this trial…’

Mu Bai guessed.

Whether there were only three teams or only three opportunities to leave, Mu Bai didn’t know, nor did she need to.

Ordinary Survivors wouldn’t be able to last this long under the Mental Power reduction debuff.

Even if there were teams still trapped in the Labyrinth, they had likely lost consciousness or gone mad.

Mu Bai sighed.

Her luck was still a bit poor; otherwise, it wouldn’t have taken them so long to find their way out.

‘Level 4 Difficulty… I wonder what kind of good things would have been in the treasure chest.’

She took one last look at the statue before leaving, but she suddenly felt a hint of weirdness.

‘Was the statue smiling just now?’

The dim light barely reached the statue’s chin, but she vaguely felt that the corners of the woman’s mouth had curved upward.

[Player “Mu Bai” has received the Statue’s Bequest, Luck +5]

[Everything in fate has already been priced in secret. Your good luck will not increase; it will only be used where it is needed.]

Mu Bai’s heart had been racing, thinking some mutation was about to occur, but when the notification appeared in her mind, she froze on the spot.

‘This is a good thing. Could this be the treasure of this Trial Station?’

The announcement had said the Trial Station would definitely have a treasure, but it never said the treasure had to be a chest!

Seeing this eerie scene, Ye Yuan thought Mu Bai was being affected by some unknown influence.

She immediately hoisted Mu Bai onto her shoulder, intending to leave in the correct direction.

“Wait, wait, wait! Put me down, that hurts!”

Mu Bai cried out hastily.

Being carried over a shoulder meant her entire body weight was pressing against her stomach.

She was quite light, but Ye Yuan was in such a hurry to leave that she wasn’t being gentle at all.

“What’s wrong?”

Ye Yuan hadn’t received the bequest, so she hadn’t received any notification.

Mu Bai explained the situation, which finally put Ye Yuan at ease.

She placed Mu Bai back on the ground.

“How did you get so strong…”

Mu Bai muttered, clutching her stomach helplessly.

Ye Yuan had taken a pill to increase her physical fitness and had eaten the Dodo Bird Stew.

Her Strength had increased by a total of 3 points.

Mu Bai knew this, but she hadn’t expected that 11 Strength would allow Ye Yuan to hoist her up so easily.

Then again, considering that 20 was the maximum value, 10 points was already the average or median.

It definitely represented the strength of a normal adult.

Mu Bai was 5 feet tall at most and didn’t weigh much more than a Silver Chest.

If Tang Shifu could carry a chest, it was only natural that Ye Yuan could carry a living person.

“Next time something like this happens, tell me immediately. Don’t make me worry,”

Ye Yuan said, sounding dissatisfied rather than apologetic.

“Fine, fine, I get it,”

Mu Bai yielded.

With the sky darkening, they didn’t have time to linger.

The two quickly entered their designated passage to leave the area.

Behind them came the sound of the statue shattering and collapsing.

Clearly, the path the statue pointed out was the correct one.

Although the road twisted and turned, there were no more forks.

Soon, before total darkness fell, they saw their Train in the distance.

Seeing the soft glow of the Train’s lights, Mu Bai felt a wave of relief.

This Station had gone unexpectedly smoothly.

It was also a stroke of luck that it happened to be a type where she could utilize her Talent.

On top of that, she had gained a Luck bonus.

Even though they hadn’t found a chest, being able to pass the Trial Station safely was a win in itself.

As they drew closer to the Train, the full view of the space where it was parked began to emerge.

Suddenly, two figures appeared from either side of the passage’s field of vision.

In an instant, Ye Yuan pulled Mu Bai into her arms and pressed her against the side of the stone wall.

Bang!

Bang!

The two gunshots sounded like thunderclaps in Mu Bai’s ears, instantly shattering her relaxed state of mind.

She wasn’t sure if it was an illusion, but she thought she heard a muffled groan when the shots rang out.

Before Mu Bai could react, Ye Yuan released her, drew her gun, and turned to return fire!

The gunshots blurred together.

A blood spray erupted from one of the figures as they collapsed to the ground.

The other figure ducked back behind the stone wall just in time, blindly firing a pistol around the corner.

Ye Yuan immediately tackled Mu Bai to the ground.

A succession of gunshots followed, but none hit them.

However, Mu Bai felt a surge of warmth dripping onto her from above.

Ye Yuan was wounded…

Pinned over Mu Bai, Ye Yuan rolled to adjust her angle and fired another shot.

A man’s scream rang out, followed by the faint sound of something hitting the ground.

Ye Yuan immediately stood up, took a few steps forward, and poured bullets toward a shadow exposed at the shoulder.

The continuous firing barely paused.

The shrill screams ceased.

After confirming the target was dead, she fired another shot into the head of the first body that had fallen.

In less than 10 seconds, the gun had fired more than ten times.

Mu Bai scrambled up from the ground, only to see Ye Yuan clutching her shoulder and collapsing toward the nearby stone wall, leaning against it and panting softly.

“Yuan’er…”

“I’m fine. It’s not a fatal wound. Go get the guns first!”

Mu Bai forcibly suppressed her worry.

Within seconds, she picked up both guns and, ignoring everything else, supported the injured Ye Yuan back into the Train.

A large patch of Ye Yuan’s left shoulder was soaked in blood, a terrifying sight.

“Get the bullet out. Help me bandage the wound…”

Ye Yuan lay on the bed, her right palm covering her eyes, gasping for air.

Under the influence of adrenaline, the pain of the wound had barely affected the battle.

But now that they were safe, the piercing agony came rushing back.

Her palms and forehead were covered in a fine sweat.

Her covered eyes were no longer indifferent; tears escaped because of the pain, and her pupils trembled incessantly.

However, she didn’t want to show such weakness to Mu Bai, so she grit her teeth to maintain her last shred of dignity.

Mu Bai moved with maximum speed to find the alcohol spray she had brought from the Zombie Apocalypse Station and used it to disinfect a Special Dagger.

“You… you have to hold on.”

“Mhm…”

Mu Bai sat beside her, holding the dagger, hesitating to make the first cut.

After a few seconds, she finally grit her teeth and moved the blade.