4:00 a.m.
The faint vibration of the alarm woke Zhu Yan. He opened his eyes in a daze, letting the soft light gradually fill his vision.
The proper rest had left him considerably more energetic.
Once he was mostly awake, he quietly got up and went to the bathroom to wash up.
The train was quiet. Nearly all the passengers were asleep, with only a few reading lights on here and there.
Would everyone on the train be drawn into the instance?
But the people who were awake all looked calm, unlike players.
Outside the window, it was still pitch-dark.
After washing up, Zhu Yan walked back from car seven, where he was staying, toward car eight.
He already knew that the police station was pursuing him and planned to surround the train, but the officers knew nothing about it.
Under the circumstances, taking on an attendant's appearance would make him less likely to be noticed.
There weren't many attendants on the night train, and there was none in car seven, where he was staying.
Zhu Yan deliberately kept walking toward the back until he reached the last car, number fifteen.
He did this simply because the train was long.
If the officers surrounded the entire train and searched it car by car, they wouldn't easily notice right away if Zhu Yan disguised himself as an attendant from car fifteen while in car seven.
A young female attendant in uniform stood at the connection between cars fifteen and fourteen.
"Hello."
Zhu Yan greeted her politely in a low voice, carefully observing her.
"Hello." The attendant jumped in surprise and turned around.
She looked a little tired, but she still smiled at Zhu Yan.
"How may I help you?"
A work badge was pinned to her chest, bearing the name "Zhang Li."
Zhu Yan committed that detail to memory.
He watched her subtle movements, making sure he could imitate her as closely as possible.
He came up with an excuse at random. "Oh, I just wanted to ask where the dining car is. I'm starving to death."
Zhu Yan spoke in an easygoing tone, and the attendant laughed.
"The dining car is in car six, up ahead," she said. "You're going the wrong way. But we don't start selling breakfast until six."
She glanced down at her watch. "It's four o'clock now."
Zhu Yan stayed where he was, looking at the attendant without moving.
"Staying" in place and "looking" at someone often prompted people in this kind of job to say more.
He needed more information. At the very least, he had to ask about their rules so he wouldn't give himself away.
"We have instant noodles right now." Seeing that he hadn't moved, the attendant obligingly offered a reminder, just as he'd expected. "If you're really hungry, you can have some."
Zhu Yan asked, "Do you have to wait until six to eat too?"
"We take turns," the attendant replied casually. "I've already eaten."
...They take shifts.
The instance began at five, so he needed to ask exactly when they changed shifts.
Otherwise, if he appeared on the daytime train disguised as a night-shift worker, the other attendants could easily notice something was wrong.
"That sounds exhausting," Zhu Yan remarked, probing for more information. "Miss, this trip takes over ten hours in all. Don't you get any rest, apart from taking turns to eat?"
The attendant smiled, taking Zhu Yan for a friendly, curious male college student.
She kindly explained, "We do. We take turns resting too. For example, I can rest for a while at six."
Zhu Yan had gotten the information he wanted.
The night-shift attendants didn't rest until six, which meant he could transform without worrying.
Besides, there were few night-shift attendants. On his way over, he hadn't seen one in every car.
The connection between cars seven and eight was empty.
He could make full use of that loophole!
"Thank you, miss. Thanks for your hard work." Zhu Yan thanked her politely, then turned and walked back.
There were thirty minutes left until the instance began.
After making sure no one was paying attention to him, Zhu Yan entered the restroom again.
Five minutes later, a young female attendant pushed open the restroom door, her face showing the fatigue of working through the night.
Thirty minutes earlier.
Under the dark night sky, another train slowly pulled up to the platform.
Guan En jolted awake from his dream, his forehead covered in cold sweat!
The voice in his dream had kept saying things about abilities finishing loading, and it was still echoing in his head.
It wouldn't stop, and Guan En felt as though he'd been brainwashed.
He turned his head and found himself looking straight at his superior.
"Little Guan, are you all right?"
His superior's eyes were dark and hollow, staring fixedly at him. The muscles in his face were subtly taut, and his expression was extremely unnatural.
As the announcement of the train's arrival played, some people stood up, collected their belongings, and headed for the doors.
Amid the noise, his superior gripped Guan En's arm tightly and pulled him into the crowd.
"Don't just stand there. Hurry up and get off."
His superior's tone was natural, yet there was something indescribably off about it.
"Our colleagues who came to pick us up are already here."
Sure enough, several uniformed officers and a few police dogs stood on either side of the platform.
"We'll go find Zhu Yan in an hour," his superior said with secret delight. "I'm so hungry..."
A level-one player's meat tasted slightly better than a beginner player's.
That was its first choice, followed by level-zero players and ordinary people.
"What did you say?" Guan En was frightened.
His superior twisted his neck to glance at him, then deftly showed his work ID to the colleagues coming to meet them.
"I'm hungry," his superior repeated.
Even though it had already eaten the real owner of the skin it now wore, it was still very hungry.
It took the two breakfasts a colleague handed over and passed one to Guan En.
"Have something to eat too, then come aboard with me to find Zhu Yan!"
"I'm really sorry, sir," said the honest-looking colleague politely. "The breakfast shops here aren't open, so this is all we have to tide you over."
Inside the plastic bag, a black envelope lay quietly between the bread and milk.
Time ticked by, and the train began to slow as an announcement sounded, saying they would soon arrive at the station.
It was now five in the morning.
The instance [Cat-and-Mouse Game] had officially begun.
Zhu Yan stood by the train door, maintaining his state as he watched the platform intently.
Somewhere around a dozen or more officers stood scattered along the platform, their black uniforms conspicuous.
As Zhu Yan watched, he spotted a familiar face.
It was the young officer who had checked his identification the night before!
Even from a distance, something was visibly wrong with the officer's expression.
His face was unusually solemn, the muscles beneath his eyes taut with an indescribable fear.
Yesterday, when this man had checked Zhu Yan's information, he had acted nonchalant and grinned, and had even been allowed to leave the city to assist with the investigation.
Only a few hours had passed, and he already looked as though death was imminent but he didn't dare say it.
He was definitely a new player who had only been selected for the closed beta during the night.
An older officer stood beside him.
That officer's expression was stiff and cold, and nothing but hunger remained in his hollow eyes.
Zhu Yan tensed involuntarily.
Pseudo-human!
"The train has arrived at the station. Passengers, please prepare to disembark—"
A few passengers carrying luggage gathered sparsely by the door.
Surprise appeared on some of their faces as they wondered about the officers' presence.
"Why are there so many officers?"
Zhu Yan imitated them at the right moment, putting the same expression on his own face.
The train doors opened.
Guan En stepped forward, squeezed onto the train, and shouted, "Police investigation! Everyone stay where you are for now. Don't leave!"
A small commotion broke out among the passengers.
Zhu Yan hurriedly put on an act and helped maintain order.
Three minutes later, the crowd finally quieted down. After asking how long the investigation would take, some resigned themselves to it and returned to their seats.
Guan En gave the young female attendant a grateful look.
He had been so pressed for time that he had even opened the envelope in the station restroom.
So far, things had actually gotten off to a fairly smooth start.
At least everyone had stayed!
Zhu Yan keenly caught the relief on Guan En's face.
He reacted immediately, tensing his forehead and trembling, looking terrified.
This was the officer's beginner instance, and he was likely the "cat" in [Cat-and-Mouse Game].
Know yourself and your enemy, and you need not fear the outcome of a hundred battles.
He had to do his best to gain the man's trust and coax the details of his mission out of him!
By now, the pseudo-human had entered the car.
It seemed to have another target and gave this "fellow" only a rather indifferent glance.
Zhu Yan moved over to Guan En and asked in a low voice, his lips trembling.
"O-officer, do I have to stay here?"
"I'm not feeling very well. Could I..."
Guan En studied the female attendant.
The young woman looked haggard, with tears in her eyes and an indescribable fear on her face—
Just like he had looked on the platform.
A trace of wariness rose in him. He wasn't sure whether she was a beginner player like him or the "Zhu Yan" who could take on other people's appearances.
Still, Zhu Yan shouldn't have known about this operation to capture him.
Besides, according to the information the police station had on hand, there was usually a ten-day break after a beginner instance ended.
"What's wrong?"
Guan En asked, his gaze lingering for a moment on the work badge on her chest.
The badge had a neat, standard format, and the name "Zhang Li" was clearly printed on it.
That specific detail made him lower his guard a little.
Zhu Yan trembled.
"Maybe I'm too tired. I've been hearing things." He imitated Zhang Li's tone. "A voice keeps brainwashing me."
"Officer, I feel like throwing up."