Chapter 856: The Chef's Birthday
"What a coincidence, I didn't expect we'd be in the same car." The player who had been peddling potions happened to be sitting next to the strikingly beautiful female player, grinning as he struck up a conversation.
Before the female player could say anything, another player with a large black mole on his cheek chimed in, "We're all on the same train, what's so coincidental about that?"
As he spoke, he also sat down opposite the female player and said enthusiastically, "The dining car has a nice atmosphere. I wonder if the lady would do me the honor of having a meal together?"
The female player smiled politely. "I haven't rested in two days. I want to catch up on some sleep."
She gently touched her face. "Women look especially old when they don't get enough sleep."
The man laughed heartily. "Well, I can't see it at all. Rest easy, no one will disturb you."
He deliberately glanced at the people around him.
The potion-peddling player snorted but didn't continue bothering the female player. Instead, he gave up his seat and moved to the front car.
Counting Xu Huo, there were seven people who had come out of the station together and ended up in the same car.
The female player, the player with the severed hand, the smoking player, the potion-selling player, the mole player, and a backpack-wearing male player who had just bought some potion.
Their states were about the same as before boarding. After the potion seller left, the backpack player who had bought the potion switched seats.
His original seat was next to someone wearing a thick raincoat. The wide brim of the hood covered most of the person's face, barely revealing the mouth and chin. The person's face was covered in scars—just from what was visible, there were several crisscrossing marks, even distorting the lips.
That probably wasn't why the backpack player moved. Xu Huo's gaze dropped, and he noticed dark, dried bloodstains on the rain boots. Though the blood was dry, a foul odor seeped out.
No one was sitting in front of or behind the raincoat man.
The backpack player sat down opposite Xu Huo and nodded at him as a greeting.
The train moved forward under the sunlight, and the broadcast began:
"Welcome aboard the 792 train. This train will depart from a three-dimensional D-level station and, after passing through five multi-dimensional stations, arrive at the D-level terminal."
"All passengers, please observe the following boarding rules."
"One: Do not bring non-game items onto the train."
"Two: You must make a purchase."
"Three: Do not turn on the lights."
"Please note: As long as you do not interfere with the train's operation, the staff will not interfere with any passenger entertainment or leisure activities. They encourage everyone to engage in reasonable pastimes to add to the fun of the journey."
"Finally, here's some good news: Today is the chef's birthday! To celebrate this wonderful day, the staff encourages every passenger to spend at least five thousand white notes."
"Wishing you a pleasant journey."
After hearing the broadcast, the faces of several players in the car changed. The backpack player couldn't help muttering, "It used to be just a hundred white notes a day, and now it's five thousand? Might as well just rob us!"
Spending money on the train was mandatory, but there had been no limit on the amount.
Players who could survive in the game weren't so poor that they couldn't scrape together a few thousand white notes, but for those living hand-to-mouth, spending that money on food was worse than buying potions.
"I'm not spending that five thousand!" another older female player with yellow hair declared. "As long as I don't break the boarding rules, they can't kick a player off the train!"
"Go ahead and try," the mole player said coldly. "Unless you can beat the staff!"
The yellow-haired female player fell silent.
"Have you ever seen the staff take action?" Xu Huo asked the backpack player across from him.
The backpack player shook his head. Just then, the potion seller, who had returned from another car, immediately cut in: "I have, I have."
"Let me tell you, anyone who can be a conductor is no pushover. They've got plenty of high-level items." He put on a mysterious air. "And you don't know this, but the train itself has items specifically to protect the staff. Ordinary players don't even have time to fight back."
"I've been through a lot of instances and seen players cause trouble twice."
"They got dealt with before a fight even broke out. That should tell you how tough the conductors are."
Seeing the others in the car perk up their ears, the potion seller continued, "I once saw a compilation of train conflicts in some game district. Everyone treated it as a joke."
"That's because your player level is too low," the mole player said. "If it were a high-level player train, the conductors wouldn't dare force sales like this."
"Do you think the game is stupid? High-level player trains would definitely use high-level players as staff!" the potion seller said matter-of-factly.
This made the mole player laugh. "Do you think any high-level player would see being a conductor as a promising career?"
"Would a high-level player rather do instances than serve tea and water?"
The potion seller opened his mouth, paused, and then said, "So according to you, B-level and A-level players could just tear up the train and kill people whenever they want, with no restrictions at all?"
The mole player couldn't answer that. After a moment, he waved his hand. "Why are you asking me? Go ask a high-level player."
Unfortunately, everyone in the car was around the same level.
Xu Huo had come across information about other level trains in the 011 District Game Government Base. Generally speaking, the game would always equip trains with staff of a similar level—or even stronger than the passengers—to keep players in line.
The higher the player's level, the bolder and more reckless they were. Not only would they fight and kill on the train, but if leaving the train weren't dangerous, they'd hijack the whole thing.
As for where these train staff came from or what they did before, no one knew.
Given the composition of train personnel, the chef, the train commander, or other key members always included one or two exceptionally powerful players.
That's right—even the chef could be a player.
Without absolute certainty, no one dared to mess with the staff.
But Xu Huo had seen the Skinner before. The game absorbed players indiscriminately, and quite a few wanted to leave instances behind and take up a regular job.
The conductor soon arrived in the car, cheerfully offering each passenger a small cake and presenting the day's special set meal for five thousand white notes.
After looking it over, Xu Huo said slowly, "The set meal is quite generous."
The conductor smiled. "The food on the train has always been good and reasonably priced."
The words "good and reasonably priced" drew stares from many players, but the conductor maintained an unchanging smile, standing in the aisle like a robot, silently pressuring passengers who had or hadn't ordered yet to pick that exact five-thousand-white-note set meal.
Xu Huo slowly took out his money, counted out five thousand white notes plus five hundred as a tip, tucked them into the menu, and wrapped up another two-thousand gift package. "Just a small token. I hope the chef won't refuse it. Happy birthday to him."