Rules

Just as he pulled open the door, Xu Huo suddenly asked, "Can I buy on credit if I don't have White Cash?"

The Conductor said kindly, "Of course. Credit is welcome."

Xu Huo pocketed the three hundred White Cash and, under everyone's watchful eyes, went to ring the bell of the First-Class Car.

This time, Nie Xuan answered the door. He had expected Xu Huo to return to the First-Class Car, so he had been waiting by the door.

Seeing the identical Coaster Paper, he smiled. "Selling information?"

Unfortunately, there were plenty of wealthy, clever people in the First-Class Car, and several had already obtained tips from the Conductor.

"Two hundred White Cash for the information in my hand. You can trade information for it too."

"Three hundred White Cash for a hidden rule. Hidden rules can be exchanged as well."

Nie Xuan was not particularly interested in the message on the paper. He had received the Conductor's dining paper earlier too, but it only contained a useless piece of information.

Nie Xuan quickly made his decision, shutting the carriage door and speaking privately with Xu Huo in the Transition Car.

"How many hidden rules have you found?"

"Two." Xu Huo exchanged papers with him and read the other's note, then raised his brows. "How much did you pay for this information?"

"Three hundred White Cash." Nie Xuan folded Xu Huo's "Stay Awake at Night" note and handed it back. "How much was yours?"

"One hundred." Xu Huo handed over the "Don't Turn On the Lights" note as well.

Nie Xuan paid him five hundred White Cash. "Give me a discount. I'm buying both of your messages."

Xu Huo accepted the money readily. Using the motion of smoking to cover his mouth and nose, he lowered his voice. "Lower-Class Cars can't enter Upper-Class Cars unless someone opens the door."

Nie Xuan understood at once. In this Transition Car, the Second-Class Carriage door had no bell, while the First-Class Car did. Xu Huo had rung the bell earlier.

"Are you sure?"

"The Third-Class Car has no doorbell, while the Back Door of the Second-Class Carriage does." Xu Huo raised his cigarette again. "Second rule: meals ordered in the carriage can be bought on credit."

Players in First-Class Car did not lack White Cash; they had more than enough to last three days. Yet some people in Second-Class and Third-Class had bought on credit, which meant they had no White Cash. What would they use to settle the bill after three days?

The announcement had said that Players would be graded and classified based on their performance. Credit would very likely be deducted from that score, making it the worst possible option.

More than that, most people had boarded hungry. If everyone could fill their stomachs by eating, what standard would remain for grading them? What would be the point of the Preliminary Train?

This information was important. It hinted at other potential rules.

Nie Xuan understood the implications as well. Looking at Xu Huo, who remained as indifferent as ever, he reminded him, "The train is relatively safe for Players."

Xu Huo tilted his head toward the scenery outside, once again growing wary of the seemingly unobstructed view. The Conductor had the right to expel Players—did that mean leaving the train led only to death?

"Don't sell the first message to anyone else," Nie Xuan added.

Upper-Class Cars could enter Lower-Class Cars without restriction. Didn't that mean First-Class passengers could attack Second-Class passengers at will?

Xu Huo did not respond. Players were assigned to carriages according to their assets; Upper-Class Cars did not mean stronger abilities.

Their abilities might not be stronger, but there could be penalties. Rational people would hesitate, while idiots would follow their instincts whether they knew the rules or not.

After finishing the exchange, Xu Huo did not leave. Soon, another person came out of First-Class. "I want to buy the information you have."

Although the people in First-Class had plenty of money, not many came out to buy information. Still, it was enough.

When he returned to the Second-Class Carriage, he already had two thousand seven hundred White Cash in his pocket. Ordering time had not ended, so he called over the Conductor and added two more bowls of noodles—one for himself and one for the Old Man.

The Old Man hesitated before thanking him, then invited Yan Jiayu to eat with them.

"Good people are rewarded." Yan Jiayu wolfed down her noodles and said to Xu Huo, "Benefactor, you're a good person too."

Xu Huo quickly finished his noodles, leaned back in his seat, and closed his eyes to rest while slowly sorting through the information he had gathered.

One hundred White Cash had bought the reminder "Stay Awake at Night," while the three-hundred-White-Cash tip was "Don't Turn On the Lights." "Lights out at 8 PM" was written in the riding rules, which meant the consequences of turning on the lights at night were at least more serious than falling asleep.

The switches in the carriage were a trap.

And the Players in First-Class generally had greater purchasing power than those in Second-Class. What the heavily made-up woman had said was most likely true: Players were assigned carriages according to their assets. But she probably had no additional information herself.

She did not care about the information she had bought from the Conductor. She might have been bluffing, or she might have been certain of victory.

But the Preliminary Train was clearly a survival game filled with hidden traps. More safeguards meant less risk, and there was also a Cannibal Player aboard. There were too many unknown factors, so the latter possibility was unlikely.

When the Third-Class Car descended into chaos, she had been the first to brace the door. Did she not understand the rules, or had she done it deliberately?

Xu Huo's thoughts paused briefly before moving on to the next piece of information.

The seemingly hidden but actually obvious rule that Upper-Class Cars could enter Lower-Class Cars was also a trap. The riding rules explicitly stated that one could not enter other carriages. On the surface, this seemed to imply that Players in Upper-Class Cars were stronger than those in Lower-Class Cars, but in reality, the gap in strength was not obvious.

Under such circumstances, entering another carriage was absolutely unwise unless every Player in one's own carriage was dead, or only Cannibal Players remained.

Cannibal Players were the only known threat for now.

From the information revealed by the Courier Woman, the Preliminary Train would definitely classify Cannibal Players separately. But Normal Players were not necessarily immune to temptation. If they could not eat the food on the train, Players who had never eaten human flesh before might do so as well.

But Players could buy on credit. If no one went hungry, there would be no way to grade or classify them at all, so the food's effect would most likely not last more than twenty-four hours.

The question was whether food affected Normal Players the same way it affected Cannibal Players.

That being the case, the first day's upheaval would most likely come after lights-out.

Xu Huo half-closed his eyes and observed every person in the carriage.

Without the Gluttony Urge troubling them, the carriage was no longer as tense as before. The melon-seed face woman and Li Fei were flirting together, Chen Yi was fiddling with a toothbrush, and Square-Faced Man had both hands tucked into his pockets.

He Yang and the ponytail student were playing a mobile game, Professor Han kept typing on his phone, the middle-aged woman sat motionless with her hands folded over her abdomen, the heavily made-up woman rested with her eyes closed, and Yan Jiayu chatted with the Old Man.

Until three in the afternoon, there were no announcements on the train.

The four at Li Fei's table muttered among themselves for a while before he stood up, looked around at everyone, cleared his throat, and said, "We're all in the same boat now. Whether you believe me or not, if we fight among ourselves, we'll definitely die faster. Tonight, we should take turns guarding the door... No objections, right?"

With the Gluttony Urge no longer troubling them, it was time to consider practical matters.

Seeing no objections, he continued, "The rest of us don't know anything about the Preliminary Train. I suggest we share information so we can handle unexpected situations more easily."

Scattered gazes turned toward the heavily made-up woman and Xu Huo.