Chapter 5: Food
Li Fei and the others seemed to realize something as well. After muttering a few words, they returned to their seats.
"Gurgle..."
"Gurgle..."
The sounds of stomachs growling came one after another. The longer they stayed in the car, the stronger the hunger became. The rich fragrance emanating from human bodies surged from all directions, making people dizzy!
"Bang!" A loud noise from the third-class carriage startled those immersed in the scent. A blood-soaked person burst out of the third-class car, their hand barely slapping against the glass before being dragged back by someone who chased after them. Then came the dull sounds of tearing and swallowing.
The heavily made-up woman immediately rushed over to block the door, while others quickly came forward to help. Through the window, Xu Huo could only see pools of blood and some scattered fragments. Soon, the door to the opposite carriage closed, and blurred figures moved rapidly behind the frosted glass—the matter was clearly not over yet.
A few minutes later, the third-class carriage fell silent.
"Did... did someone die?" the female student asked tremblingly.
Professor Han's expression was grave as he said, "It looks like we'll have to take turns guarding the door."
"Evolvers who have eaten people are stronger than ordinary evolvers," the heavily made-up woman said with a grim face. "The boarding rules say not to casually enter other carriages, but they don't forbid it. I'm worried that the people in third class will eventually lose control and attack us."
"How can this be?" the oval-faced woman exclaimed in shock. "Didn't they say behavior on the train affects classification ratings? Aren't they afraid of danger after being eliminated?"
Xu Huo tapped the bloodstained handprint on the glass window. "The eating has already begun."
What rationality could starving people have? Especially since, as fellow evolvers, the allure of flesh and blood was even greater. Once the fragile peace was broken, someone would soon violate the boarding rules.
For the players, this train was truly a lawless place.
The other players realized that they themselves were part of this brutal survival game, and their faces darkened. Surviving three days, making it to the end—that was already the hardest task the game had to offer.
The female student choked back a sob, then suddenly tugged at Professor Han's sleeve. "Professor, I'm hungry..."
The people gathered around the rear carriage door quickly dispersed, eyeing the others warily.
"Ding-dong!"
"Welcome, all preparatory players, aboard the preliminary examination train, Route 301. This train departs from the Three-Dimensional Point, passes through the Dimensional Crack, and will arrive at the terminal station, the Five-Dimensional Station, at eight o'clock train time in three days. There may be bumps along the way. Please remain calm."
"Train time will open meal ordering services around 11:00 daily. Players may order freely. Conductors have the right to expel players. Please follow train rules when ordering."
"If there's food, there's no need to eat people," Xu Huo muttered to himself, leaning against the car door. He returned to his seat and waited for the meal service.
The remaining people looked at each other and gradually went back to their original seats.
The conductor soon arrived from the front carriage, holding only a single menu. The first to order, Li Fei, was shocked. "Why is it so expensive!"
"A glass of water is one hundred White Notes, a bowl of noodles is three hundred White Notes!"
He only had seven hundred White Notes on him. Even eating one meal a day wouldn't last him three days!
The conductor replied expressionlessly, "You don't have to eat."
Li Fei gritted his teeth and ordered a bowl of noodles in the end.
The announcement had specifically mentioned meal ordering, which was likely key to the rating. And spending was a boarding rule, mandatory—even if it was just a glass of water.
Everyone in the carriage reluctantly ordered noodles. When it came to Xu Huo, he only had two hundred White Notes, not enough for noodles, so he ordered a glass of water. He slipped the remaining single White Note into the menu and handed it back to the conductor.
A faint smile appeared on the conductor's face. After the others finished ordering, he quickly left the carriage.
Five minutes later, the food cart arrived. The aroma of the food lifted everyone's spirits—the food on the train could suppress the urge to binge eat!
Those who received their food began to wolf it down.
Xu Huo downed his water in one gulp, and the hunger vanished instantly. He smiled and nodded at the conductor.
Cheap price, perfect effect.
The middle-aged woman suddenly pointed at Xu Huo and spoke up. "I saw him secretly take the coaster paper just now! There was writing on it!"
Li Fei and the others darkened their faces. They quickly stopped the middle-aged woman and repeatedly apologized to the conductor.
The conductor's ordinary face fell. He glared coldly at them and said, "The conductor only provides ordering and delivery services. Please do not disrupt the order on the train, or the conductor has the right to expel you."
The middle-aged woman shrank back but stubbornly retorted, "The train's moving. Can you really throw me off?"
The conductor gave a sinister smile but said nothing.
In the end, she didn't dare to offend him further and sullenly lowered her head.
Li Fei walked over to the conductor with a smile, trying to stuff White Notes into his hand, but the conductor raised his hand to stop him. "Conductors cannot accept tips. Passenger, please return to your seat."
Li Fei glared angrily at the middle-aged woman but didn't dare to pester the conductor. He watched him head to the third-class carriage, then turned back and walked over to Xu Huo's table. "I'll buy that information from you."
"Smart move." Xu Huo nodded with a smile. "Fifty White Notes per person."
"Brother, that's a bit steep, isn't it?" the square-faced man said. "At that price, I might as well buy it from the conductor!"
"As long as you can get it." Xu Huo made a "go ahead" gesture.
Knowing it was impossible to get information from the conductor again, Li Fei quickly weighed the pros and cons. At least it was cheaper than buying directly from the conductor.
"Charging per head is too expensive," Li Fei said.
"Even if I tell the information to just one of you, can you be sure what you hear from someone else is true?" Xu Huo countered.
"I'll buy it." Professor Han handed over a White Note and pointed to himself and the ponytailed female student. "We'll take a look."
Xu Huo led the two of them to the back of the carriage. Leaning against the wall, he pulled out the note.
After reading it, both looked surprised but said nothing.
"Brother Li, can you let me take a look too?" the oval-faced woman cozied up to Li Fei.
Compared to her, Li Fei trusted Chen Yi and the square-faced man even less, so he pulled out a hundred White Notes.
Chen Yi and the square-faced man also bought the information afterward.
After reading it, they were somewhat indignant. Who would have thought it was such an "inside scoop"—definitely not worth a hundred White Notes!
But since they'd already bought it, and they were all in the same carriage, they might as well drag everyone into the pit together.
On He Yang's side, Professor Han informed her via phone, while Yan Jiayu paid a hundred and offered to share the look with the old man in the back seat.
"Do you know each other?" Xu Huo asked casually.
Yan Jiayu shook her head, her smile bright. "This benefactor is a good person."
Her words earned a few cold stares. Xu Huo made no comment and showed them the note.
Afterward, the old man gave Yan Jiayu the only fifty White Notes he had. Yan Jiayu was also poor; she pulled a few small sealed bags of compressed biscuits from the patched pockets of her kasaya, mixed them with the water she'd bought, and shared a bag with the old man.
The only ones left were the middle-aged woman and the heavily made-up woman. The two couldn't stand each other, and neither would pay for the other. The middle-aged woman set her sights on Yan Jiayu.
"Little girl, you're a good person. Why don't you tell me what was on that note?"
Yan Jiayu was eating her paste. "Why should I tell you?"
"Aren't monks supposed to be compassionate? Are you going to stand by and watch me die?"
"My master said that to be a good person, you have to be good to good people and bad to bad people..."
Yan Jiayu looked her straight in the eye. "Auntie, bad people will get their comeuppance."
The middle-aged woman was choked speechless and was about to unleash her shrewish nature when the rear door opened. The conductor, who had gone to the third-class carriage to take orders, returned with a beaming face.