For Shen Yalong, having Zhao Xun sitting beside him was worse than being tied up here alone earlier.
At least he had felt more at ease then.
Now he barely dared to move, afraid of upsetting Zhao Xun.
And he could not read Zhao Xun at all. He had no idea what Zhao Xun was thinking or what he planned to do.
Although Zhao Xun had promised to let him go after tonight, Shen Yalong could not feel completely reassured.
Shen Yalong hoped Zhao Xun would keep his promise, but he also worried that Zhao Xun would go back on his word.
After all, he knew nothing about Zhao Xun. How could he know whether Zhao Xun was a man of his word?
As time passed, that mixture of anticipation and anxiety grew stronger, leaving him restless.
He did not dare show it, though, and could only endure it in silence.
Toward evening, the four passengers seated near Zhao Xun returned one after another.
Even though nobody mentioned it, everyone understood that their return, and the relaxed expressions on all their faces, meant they had successfully completed their personal missions.
Although everyone was curious about the others' personal missions, nobody took the initiative to ask.
Asking someone else meant they would ask you in return.
If you did not want to reveal your own mission, the best approach was not to bring up the subject.
Other questions, however, were fair game.
As soon as No. 019, the female college student, returned, she spotted Shen Yalong tied to No. 013's seat.
Startled, she then noticed the note stuck to Shen Yalong and turned to Zhao Xun.
"Why... why did you tie this person up here?" she could not help asking.
"No. 013 probably won't be coming back anytime soon. This seat would just be sitting empty anyway," Zhao Xun replied without answering her question. "It's a pretty suitable place for him."
No. 019 wanted to ask something else, but No. 020, beside her, tugged on her arm and motioned for her to sit down.
No. 019 said nothing more and obediently returned to her seat.
Zhao Xun raised an eyebrow slightly and took a proper look at No. 020 for the first time.
No. 020 appeared to be about his age, a woman of around twenty-five. Her long hair was tied in a low ponytail, and she wore office attire. She was clearly a white-collar worker.
Before boarding the [Endless Train], she had probably been working late at her company.
No. 020 was the quietest of the six people at this table. So far, she had not voiced a single opinion in front of everyone.
Judging by appearances, though, No. 020 and No. 019 had interacted privately during the day and seemed to have become considerably more familiar with each other. Otherwise, she would not have just reminded No. 019 to mind her own business.
Noticing Zhao Xun's gaze, No. 020 did not avoid it. She met his eyes openly.
Her gaze was calm and composed, with neither aggression nor guilt or panic.
This was a woman who bore no hostility and did not want trouble, but would not go out of her way to please others either.
Zhao Xun casually looked away.
That was good. Keeping a safe distance from one another was exactly what he wanted.
No. 015, the slightly plump woman, and No. 018, the bald man with the scorpion tattoo, were also rather curious about why Shen Yalong was tied up here. But they merely gave him a few extra looks without asking.
And so, everyone quietly waited until midnight.
A sweet electronic voice sounded through the carriage.
[Congratulations to all new passengers on making it through the first day.] [The points rankings for all passengers are now available. Please check them yourselves.]
Hearing this, Zhao Xun understood that the points rankings were not public. Each person could only see their own rank.
He opened his personal panel with a thought.
[Player: Zhao Xun.] [Points: 30] [Rank: 250] [Special ability: Devour lv1 (upgradeable)] [Special items: None]
Zhao Xun was somewhat surprised by this ranking.
Most new passengers' first personal missions would not be too difficult, which meant they generally would not earn many points.
Veteran players were unlikely to have fewer points than new players. Even if they spent a lot, the points they retained should still exceed those of new players who had just boarded the train.
In other words, most veteran players probably ranked ahead of the new players.
Also, although Zhao Xun had not spent any points, a few new players might have received more difficult personal missions and thus earned more points than him. He was therefore unlikely to rank first among the new players.
Under those circumstances, Zhao Xun had still managed to rank 250th.
That meant there might only be around two hundred veteran players, even fewer than he had originally expected.
The electronic voice sounded again.
[The passenger ranked last in points on September 1 is No. 066 in Carriage 12. He will receive an assistance and encouragement measure.]
After that, the speaker fell silent.
A look of understanding crossed Zhao Xun's face.
It seemed that, like the "fare evasion rules," the details of the "assistance and encouragement measure" were only revealed to the person involved.
The new players were all undertaking their first personal missions, so the gaps between their points would not be very large. Those at the bottom of the rankings were probably the ones who had failed to complete their personal missions.
Someone who could not even complete the first day's personal mission should not be hard to handle.
Once it gets light, I'll find No. 066 in Carriage 12 and see if I can get anything out of him about the "assistance and encouragement measure."
While Zhao Xun was making plans, a new pop-up appeared before him.
[Player Zhao Xun's personal mission for September 2: Before dawn, the total time spent with your eyes open must not exceed five minutes.]
Zhao Xun: "???"
Without stopping to think, he immediately shut his eyes.
Although this mission was not particularly difficult, he found it far more absurd than his mission on the first.
Why do I have to keep my eyes closed?
Sure, it gives me some time to open them, but what can I do in five minutes?
That's not even enough time to take a shit.
He kept feeling that this personal mission was not as simple as it appeared.
But for now, he could not think of what kind of trouble might arise.
Zhao Xun's brows furrowed slightly.
He had originally planned to wait until after midnight to see what would happen to Shen Yalong.
Of course, he had not tied the man up here just because he was bored and wanted to mess around.
He had two objectives.
First, Shen Yalong had not completed his personal mission and would definitely be punished. What was the punishment for failing a mission?
Second, after midnight, would Shen Yalong's failure to return to his own seat violate the instruction in Rule Seven of the Train Rules: "Do not move around at will"?
Now, before he had even had a chance to ask about the first question, he could no longer open his eyes.
Although he could still ask, being unable to open his eyes to observe the other man's expressions and gaze was decidedly inconvenient.
But he did not want to spend those precious five minutes of open-eye time here.
If he used up all that time now and later encountered a situation where he had no choice but to open his eyes, things would get ugly.
With that thought, Zhao Xun turned his head toward Shen Yalong and lowered his voice. "Shen Yalong, are you still alive?"
Although his face was turned toward Shen Yalong, his eyes remained closed.
"Yes, yes, I'm alive." Shen Yalong hurried to reply, his voice full of hope. "Boss, are you going to let me go?"
"What's the punishment for failing your personal mission?" Zhao Xun asked instead of answering.
Before you continue