Sister Qing Is Awesome

"Holy crap! Make that weird noise again and I'll find someone to deal with you!"

Scared.

"Sister Qing, does what you said earlier still count?"

"What did I say?"

"That you'd give me half the good stuff you got from the treasure chest."

"I was joking. You actually believed me?"

"Damn you, Little Qingzi! You'd better hope I never run into you!"

"What? Are you planning to do something to me?"

"If I run into you, I'll stand by your ear and call you 'Mommy' nonstop."

"...Are you even human?"

"Hey, to be honest, it wasn't that I didn't want to reply right away. I had a really rough time."

Lu Xingyuan spoke as though he were in agony.

"Do tell."

"I ran into a level-two Zombie! It chased me, and I ran; it chased me, and I ran."

"And then?"

"I ran, and it chased me; I ran, and it chased me."

"And in the end?"

"In the end, it died."

"That's it?"

"There's more to it than that! I almost never got to see you again, Sister Qing! The thought that I might never see you again gave me the strength to fight through my despair. I gritted my teeth, planted my feet, and took it down! I may have dealt all the damage, but you deserve half the credit!"

"For real? O_o??"

"I'm an honest man. Honest men are always honest. I never lie, and I never deceive anyone."

"Hmm. In that case, I suppose you had a good reason for not replying right away."

"Of course I had a good reason..."

Before he could finish, she opened a trade window and sent him a level-one treasure chest.

Holy crap, Sister Qing was awesome!

He genuinely hadn't expected her to be so generous. She had sent over the whole chest when one or two Train Coins would have been enough to shut him up. Now he almost felt bad.

"No more needs to be said, Sister Qing. From now on, I'm your lackey. Point me at someone, and I'll cut them down!"

"You said you ran into a level-two Zombie. Did you get anything out of it?"

"Yeah. A level-two treasure chest."

"...Damn you! Give me my treasure chest back!"

For a moment, Lu Xingyuan could almost hear a girl's heart breaking.

"I was going to open the level-two chest straight away, but I'll warm up with your level-one chest first."

The chest opened, yielding three Train Coins and fifty universal bullets.

Not bad at all.

Lu Xingyuan beamed. The three Train Coins alone made it worthwhile, never mind the fifty universal bullets.

He couldn't use the bullets himself, but he could trade them for supplies on the Trading Channel. Bullets were always in demand.

Next came the level-two treasure chest.

Please be worth it.

Three kinds of items popped out.

Four Train Coins.

Twenty units of rubber.

And two vials of pale blue potion.

That pale blue potion looked familiar.

Sure enough, it was the Basic Gene Enhancement Potion he had taken before!

"Can I take another dose of this stuff?"

Lu Xingyuan's heart thumped.

"Here goes!"

He pulled out the stopper, tipped his head back, and gulped it down. A familiar bitterness immediately spread through his mouth.

Then his stomach began to burn. A violent surge of power spread through his body, hammering every cell until it felt as though a level-two Zombie were pounding on his chest with its little fists!

"Ow, ow, ow!"

Lu Xingyuan had braced himself, but the pain still made him twitch. He curled up on the floor like a cooked shrimp.

Five minutes later, the pain gradually faded, replaced by a tremendous sense of strength.

He felt like he could take Gu Wanqing out with one punch!

Uh... Was that a bit mean to Sister Qing?

Lu Xingyuan got up from the cold floor and moved around a little.

He threw a punch and heard it whistle through the air.

No, wait. I wouldn't even need a full punch to take her out.

"So the Basic Gene Enhancement Potion works more than once, and this dose improved me just as much as the first."

The discovery thrilled Lu Xingyuan, because he had one vial left.

How strong would he become if he drank it too?

At the very least, he wouldn't be nearly as helpless against that strength-type Zombie as he had been before.

But...

"Why did you have to give me that level-one treasure chest?"

Lu Xingyuan sighed deeply.

You're making this hard for me.

Oh well.

I'll look after her.

It'd be so boring if she croaked.

"A Gene Potion???"

"For me???"

Gu Wanqing was stunned. Then she immediately pressed him,

"Did you find out I got three Train Coins from that treasure chest? Is that why you're after my coins?"

Holy crap. Is that really the kind of money-grubber you think I am?

Lu Xingyuan got angry. Briefly.

"You're really giving it to me for free? You won't regret it?"

"Enough talk. Just accept it!"

"Holy crap, Brother Yuan, you're awesome!"

"Glad you know it."

Five minutes later.

"Holy crap! Why didn't you tell me this stuff would hurt so much?"

Behind his chat screen, Lu Xingyuan covered his mouth and snickered,

"What good would telling you have done? Would it have hurt any less?"

"You could've at least given me a chance to brace myself. It hurt so much I cried."

"Pathetic, kid!"

"But seriously, this Gene Potion is amazing. I feel like one punch from me would leave you crying for two hours at least."

Damn it.

After taking a Gene Potion, the body entered a state of weakness and urgently needed nutrients.

Lu Xingyuan had to eat five packets of instant noodles, five bananas, five sausages, and five braised eggs before his stomach finally settled.

Even though his standard of living was already far ahead of most Train Conductors, he still wasn't satisfied.

"When am I going to get a hot meal?"

The chat channel was as lively as ever.

For Train Conductors who couldn't find any other entertainment, chatting was clearly the best way to pass the time.

"Holy crap, more than a hundred Train Conductors got eliminated again. Surviving is so hard!"

"If survival's tough, come join my Mutual Aid Association! Join us, and I guarantee you'll level up fast and get stronger!"

"My damn train is falling apart! It's down to its last ten durability points. When it runs along the tracks, the wind howls right through it and makes me shiver. Some people are so poor they're left with four bare walls. I don't even have walls! Just a floor with several huge holes in it! I wouldn't be surprised if I got thrown out in my sleep tonight!"

"Man, that's awful. I almost feel bad for you. Why don't you transfer all your remaining supplies to me? You can't keep playing anyway, so you might as well sacrifice yourself to help someone else."

"Go fuck yourself!"

"Trading Train Coins for bullets. DM me if you're interested!!!"