Despair filled Tang Ruyu's unfocused eyes. Before he died, he watched with his own eyes as Su Baiye won everything.

In the second round, Tang Ruyu lost again.

When Tang Ruyu revived again, he was a completely different person.

He had lost his previous assertiveness, now resembling an old man who had aged decades, in his twilight years. In the span of just a few games, it was as if his entire life had reached its end...

On the Lost Train, the fate of having no Points was more terrifying than death itself.

Tang Ruyu's gaze toward Su Baiye was now filled with fear. Like a frightened quail, his shoulders were hunched, his neck was retracted, and his head was slightly bowed, not daring to meet Su Baiye's eyes.

Tang Ruyu said in a low voice, "I... I have no Points left..."

Tang Ruyu only had 2 Points left, the amount needed for Revival, which couldn't be used as a stake.

Theoretically, Tang Ruyu had nothing to bet for the third round.

"No, you still have something."

Su Baiye said casually while counting the assets he'd won from Tang Ruyu.

"You still have this, don't you?"

Su Baiye tapped his own head. The answer was self-evident.

Tang Ruyu could earn Points by following the rule of 'spreading knowledge'!

This was also part of Su Baiye's plan.

Two rounds of the game had completely drained Tang Ruyu's Points. Now, in order to survive, Tang Ruyu would have to tell Su Baiye more valuable information to earn the Point Reward.

For Su Baiye, obtaining this information was crucial. After getting out of here, he would have a better chance of dealing with Fang Lin.

Who would have thought that the fear on Tang Ruyu's face would only intensify. He shook his head frantically.

"No, I can't! I only have the right to know the information, not the right to spread it! If the Strategy Group finds out I've been secretly sharing the Strategy, I'd be better off dead!"

"Strategy Group?"

Hearing this term, Su Baiye stopped what he was doing, his interest piqued.

"Then start by telling me about the 'Strategy Group'."

As a complete newcomer to the Lost Train, any information was valuable to Su Baiye.

Besides, he had found one thing strange before:

Logically, spreading knowledge to newcomers could earn a Point Reward. Tang Ruyu and Fang Lin could clearly make an honest living this way, so why would they risk robbing people?

Obviously, the problem lay with the Strategy Group.

"All I know is that in the Free Market, only the Strategy Group's Strategies can be sold publicly. They've nearly monopolized the spread of knowledge... A Strategy is divided into the 'Right to Know' and the 'Right to Spread.' Without the latter, anyone who secretly spreads a Strategy will be severely punished by the Strategy Group."

Su Baiye was puzzled. "You're on the verge of death, and you're still worried about that?"

"You've never dealt with the Strategy Group, so of course you don't know how terrifying they are!"

Tang Ruyu gave a bitter laugh. "Someone once secretly sold the Strategy for Carriage No. 4. After the Strategy Group caught him... they turned him into a stone and placed him right in Carriage No. 4! Everyone who passes by can see it!"

Secretly selling a Strategy is considered 'spoiling,' the most dangerous act on the first layer—even more terrifying than death.

Su Baiye's expression darkened. The Strategy Group had a way to monitor the flow of Strategies, and they had terrifying enforcement capabilities.

Tang Ruyu said timidly, "There's a saying among Players: on the Lost Train, the greatest power is intellectual property..."

Su Baiye smiled. "If that's the case, this place must be a paradise for web novel authors."

Su Baiye mused thoughtfully. He actually knew a web novel author, the kind who dreamed of being transmigrated. He hoped that author would get a chance to take a trip on the Lost Train in his next life.

Tang Ruyu clearly couldn't follow Su Baiye's train of thought. "What?"

"Nothing. Continue."

After his little quip, Su Baiye brought the topic back and continued his interrogation.

"If you can't spoil the Strategy Group's Strategies, then tell me about the Player situation on the Lost Train. How many people are in the Strategy Group? Who's their leader? What other factions are there like them?"

Tang Ruyu answered each question truthfully.

"On our layer, there are 16 Administrators in the Strategy Group. These 16 share the lion's share of the profits from the Strategies, leaving a little for the Service Group that runs errands for them..."

"The Strategy Group only recruits new members when one of these 16 experiences 'true death,' 'strategy failure,' or 'advances to the second layer.'"

The way to advance to the second layer was to clear all the games on the first layer.

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The assessment for joining the Strategy Group, naturally, was the ability to create Strategies.

According to Tang Ruyu, aside from the unchanging Carriage Games in the beginner levels, the games in the other carriages changed periodically. The Strategy Group had to be the first to create a Strategy and sell it in the Free Market.

The first layer had 18 carriages in total. Excluding the first three beginner carriages, that left 15. With one Administrator assigned to each, plus a leader, that made up the 16 Administrators of the Strategy Group.

"On the first layer, the Strategy Group Administrators are at the absolute top of the food chain. The Service Group that runs errands for them has a few more members, but no more than 160..."

On the Lost Train, large numbers were useless. Odd-Numbered Carriages required solo efforts, and Even-Numbered Carriages had player limits. As long as the core members were elite enough, they could completely dominate ordinary Players.

15 carriages, 16 Strategy Group members, each with 10 underlings from the Service Group.

"Players who haven't joined the Service Group or the Strategy Group and survive on the first layer for more than half a year are considered 'veteran Players.' Their exact number is unknown, but it's at least over ten thousand, scattered across the dozen or so carriages..."

Fang Lin was one of those veteran Players. Tang Ruyu, having only been here a month, was a nobody.

Tang Ruyu continued his explanation.

"There are also some looser organizations, mainly of two types: the Item Group and the Training Group."

"The Item Group uses life skills to produce items and provide services, selling them in the Free Market."

"The Training Group consists of individuals with outstanding personal strength. As long as you spend enough Points, they can help you clear the games in the Even-Numbered Carriages, but you're on your own for the Odd-Numbered Carriages."

Su Baiye hadn't expected the Lost Train to have even given rise to a training service... How hardcore.

Tang Ruyu had explained most of it. In short, the Player ecosystem was quite complete, and it followed only one rule: Points are king.

With enough Points, the Strategy Group would create a custom-made Strategy for you, the Service Group would run your errands, the Item Group would be at your beck and call, and the Training Group would lead the charge.

Su Baiye remarked with a sigh,

"Strategy Group, Service Group, Item Group, Training Group... all that's missing is a handsome guy like me."

After asking about the basic situation on the Lost Train, Su Baiye asked,

"Now tell me about yourself. Why were you robbing newcomers here? What's your relationship with Fang Lin, and what trump cards does he have?"

"The game in Carriage No. 5 was too hard to pass, so I had to come back and find a way to earn Points..."

Tang Ruyu never expected that not only would he fail to earn any Points, but he would also lose everything he had.

As for Fang Lin... he had been in this line of work for a long time and had a big shot from the Service Group backing him.

Beyond that, Tang Ruyu knew nothing more.

Su Baiye began a rapid-fire Q&A with Tang Ruyu:

"How many times have you done this?"

"Eight."

"How much did you make each time?"

"Eight hundred."

"Eight times eight is sixty-four... You've made sixty-four hundred Points?!"

Su Baiye was furious. "6400 Points, and you only gave me less than 3000! Where are my Points?!"

"Speak! Where did you skim my Points off to!"

"Fang Lin made over six thousand! I-I just earned a little for my trouble!"

Tang Ruyu was on the verge of tears. "I even bought the Dice of Gambling Madness and the Poison Resistance on loan..."

He had been hoping to make a big score this time, pay off his loan, and use the leftover money to learn a trade and go work for the Item Group.

"Wait, you had 1000 Points on you to begin with. Why did you take out a loan?"

Su Baiye noticed that Tang Ruyu was in a contradictory state of being both poor and rich.

Tang Ruyu answered truthfully, "I hadn't handed over this week's cut to the Service Group yet, so I had a bit more on hand."

In the end, it all went to Su Baiye.

Tang Ruyu's voice grew quieter as he spoke, afraid of angering Su Baiye.

He still needed to rely on Su Baiye to earn some Points to ensure he could make it back to Carriage No. 3 alive.

"Tell me about Fang Lin."

Having asked everything he needed to, Su Baiye looked toward the black barrier, his gaze blocked. He said calmly,

"After we get out of here, he definitely won't let me go."

Although they hadn't spent much time together, Su Baiye knew that Fang Lin was far more dangerous than Tang Ruyu.

A veteran Player was in no way comparable to a Player like Tang Ruyu, who had only been on the train for a month.

If he didn't deal with the trouble that was Fang Lin, Su Baiye wouldn't be able to proceed to Carriage No. 3—at least, not with all these Points.

Tang Ruyu nodded. "Fang Lin really doesn't let newcomers off easy..."

Su Baiye thought to himself,

"And I won't let him go either."