Chapter 5 Food
Li Fei and her companions seemed to realize something as well, whispering to each other before returning to their seats.
"Gurgle..."
"Gurgle..."
The sounds of rumbling stomachs came one after another; the longer they stayed in the carriage, the stronger the hunger became, and the rich scent of human flesh wafted from all directions, dazzling the senses!
"Bang!" A loud noise from the third-class carriage startled everyone immersed in the aroma. A blood-soaked figure emerged, barely slapping a hand on the glass before being dragged back by those who followed. That was followed by muffled tearing and swallowing sounds.
The heavily made-up woman immediately rushed to block the door, while others quickly came to help. Through the window, Xu Huo could only see blood on the floor and some splattered fragments before the door of the opposite carriage closed. Shadows moved quickly behind the blurred glass windows, indicating the ordeal was far from over.
A few minutes later, the third-class carriage fell silent.
"Did... someone die?" the female student asked, trembling.
Professor Han's expression was grave as he said, "It seems we'll have to take turns guarding the door."
"Evolvers who have consumed humans are stronger than ordinary evolvers," said the heavily made-up woman, looking unwell. "Train rules advise us not to venture into other carriages without a reason, but it doesn't say it's forbidden. I'm worried those in the third-class carriage won't be able to resist attacking us eventually."
"How could this happen?" The woman with the melon-seed face was shocked. "Isn't it said that performance on the train affects the classification and ranking? Do they not fear the danger of being eliminated?"
Xu Huo tapped the bloody handprint on the window glass, "They've already started eating people."
People who are starving mad lose all reason, not to mention Evolvers, for whom the allure of flesh and blood is even greater. The state of mutual non-aggression was broken, and it wouldn't be long before someone would violate the train rules.
For players, this train was a lawless land.
The other players, realizing they were part of this brutal struggle in the game, all looked rather pale. To stay alive for three days, to make it until deboarding, was becoming the most difficult task of the game.
The female student sobbed twice before suddenly grabbing Professor Han's sleeve, "Professor, I'm hungry..."
Those surrounding the rear carriage door quickly dispersed, warily eyeing the others.
"Ding-dong!"
"Welcome all prospective players aboard the preliminary review train number 301. This train departs from the third-dimension point, crosses through the Dimensional Rift, and will arrive at Five-Dimensional Station at eight o'clock train time after three days. There may be some turbulence during the journey, so please remain calm," the announcement played.
"Train food service will be available around 11 o'clock each day, where all players are free to order meals. The conductor has the right to exile players, so please follow the train rules when ordering."
"With food available, there's no need to resort to cannibalism," Xu Huo mumbled to himself as he returned to his seat to wait for the meal service.
The remaining passengers looked at each other and gradually took their own seats as well.
The steward came quickly from the front carriage, holding only a single menu. The first person to order, Li Fei, was shocked, "Why is it so expensive!"
"A hundred White Notes for a cup of water, three hundred for a bowl of noodles!"
He only had seven hundred White Notes on him, not enough to afford even one meal a day for three days!
The steward replied expressionlessly, "You can choose not to eat."
In the end, Li Fei clenched his teeth and ordered a bowl of noodles.
The announcements specifically mentioned ordering food, which could very well be a key part of the ranking process. And spending money is a part of the train rules, a necessity, even if it's just for a cup of water.
Everyone in the carriage painfully ordered noodles. When it was Xu Huo's turn, he only had two hundred White Notes, not enough for noodles, so he ordered a cup of water instead. He slipped the remaining note inside the menu and gave it back to the steward.
A hint of a smile appeared on the steward's face, and after everyone had finished ordering, he quickly left the carriage.
Five minutes later, the meal cart arrived, and the aroma of the food lifted everyone's spirits—the train's food could alleviate the urge to binge!
Those who received the food began to wolf it down.
Xu Huo drank his water in one gulp, and his hunger vanished immediately. He smiled and nodded gratefully to the steward.
The price was cheap, but the effect was priceless.
The middle-aged woman suddenly pointed at Xu Huo and exclaimed, "I just saw him quietly pocket the coaster paper, there are words on it!"
Li Fei and the others darkened their faces, hurried to intercept the middle-aged woman, and repeatedly apologized to the conductor.
The conductor, with an utterly ordinary face, grimaced and coldly said to them, "The conductor is only responsible for ordering and delivering meals. Please do not disturb the order of the train, or the conductor has the right to expel you."
The middle-aged woman flinched, but stubbornly retorted, "How can you kick me off while the train is moving?"
The conductor smirked sardonically without a word.
In the end, the middle-aged woman dared not offend him and sullenly lowered her head.
Li Fei walked up to the conductor with a smile, trying to stuff White Notes into his hand. However, the conductor raised his hand to stop him, "The conductor cannot accept tips. Please return to your seat, passenger."
Li Fei glared annoyingly at the middle-aged woman but didn't dare to tangle with the conductor, only to watch him head to the Third-Class Seat compartment. Turning back, he walked over to Xu Huo's table, "I'm buying that information from you."
"Deal." Xu Huo nodded with a smile, "Fifty White Notes per person."
"Brother, aren't you being a bit too harsh?" the square-faced man said, "With that price, we might as well buy from the conductor!"
"Only if you can buy it," Xu Huo responded with an inviting gesture.
Knowing it was no longer possible to get the message from the conductor, Li Fei quickly weighed the pros and cons; it was at least much cheaper than buying the message directly from the conductor.
"It's too expensive to count per head," said Li Fei.
"Even if I tell the news to one of you, can you be sure that what you hear from others is true?" Xu Huo countered.
"I'll buy," said Professor Han, handing over a White Note and pointed at himself and the ponytailed female student, "We're looking."
Xu Huo led the two of them to the back of the carriage and, leaning against the wall, pulled out the note.
After reading it, both looked somewhat surprised but said nothing.
"Brother Li, take me with you to have a look," the melon-faced woman edged closer to Li Fei.
Li Fei, who mistrusted Chen Yi and the square-faced man even more than her, took out a hundred.
Chen Yi and the square-faced man also bought the message.
After reading it, these few were rather indignant. Who could have thought it would be such an "insider message"? It wasn't worth a hundred White Notes at all!
But having bought it, they were all in the same carriage, and if there was a pitfall, they'd all jump in together.
On He Yang's side, Professor Han used his smartphone to inform her, while Yan Jiayu gave a hundred and asked to look at the paper along with the old man at the end of the carriage.
"Do you know each other?" Xu Huo inquired further.
Yan Jiayu shook her head, her smile radiant. "This Benefactor is a good person," she said.
Her words were met with several cold gazes. Xu Huo withheld comment and showed them the note.
Afterwards, the old man gave the only fifty White Notes he had in his pocket to Yan Jiayu, and even though Yan Jiayu was poor, she took out several small packets of sealed compressed biscuits from the pocket of her Patchwork Clothes, poured the water she had bought into them, diluted it, and shared a packet with the old man.
The only ones left were the middle-aged woman and the heavily made-up lady, who looked at each other with disdain and would not spend money on the other's behalf. The middle-aged woman then turned her attention to Yan Jiayu.
"Young lady, you're a good person. Tell me, what's written on that note?" she implored.
Yan Jiayu, eating her mush, replied, "Why should I tell you?"
"A person of the cloth should have compassion. Are you going to watch someone die without helping?"
"My master said that you must be a good person, and a good person should be nicer to the good and a little meaner to the bad..." Yan Jiayu looked her straight in the eye, "Auntie, being a bad person brings retribution."
The middle-aged woman was left nearly speechless, instinctively wanting to lash out, but at that moment, the rear door opened, and the conductor who had gone to the Third-Class Seat to take orders returned with a cheerful demeanor.