So Unlucky!

No. 019, sitting directly opposite him, was a very young woman who looked barely old enough to be an adult. She was slender and only about 160 centimeters tall.

Ever since sitting down, No. 019 had been glancing around uneasily, looking tense.

Clearly, successfully killing a monster and obtaining a ticket had done nothing to put her at ease. Instead, it had made her even more afraid of this "journey."

In both appearance and temperament, she seemed like someone who would be easy to overpower.

Still, he had to find out what special ability No. 019 had received from her beginner's gift pack before deciding whether he could make a move.

Zhao Xun openly looked the young woman up and down.

She soon noticed him watching her and blinked nervously a few times.

Zhao Xun nodded in greeting with a perfectly natural expression. Nothing about him seemed suspicious; he simply came across as friendly.

The young woman relaxed a little and politely nodded back.

Zhao Xun leaned forward, resting both elbows on the table as he moved closer to her and asked quietly, "Are you a student? You look pretty young."

She looked at Zhao Xun in surprise, not having expected him to strike up a conversation.

It was already past midnight. According to the train rules, they weren't allowed to make loud noises, but viewed another way, that meant quiet conversation was permitted.

Most people, however, remained silent.

Between their wariness of unfamiliar surroundings and strangers and their anxiety about what lay ahead, few were in the mood to talk.

Zhao Xun and No. 019 were complete strangers, yet he had suddenly struck up a conversation with her. Not only was No. 019 surprised, but the other four passengers sitting beside them also quietly began watching to see what he wanted.

After hesitating for a few seconds, the young woman answered, "Yes, I'm a student. I'm in my third year of college."

Since Zhao Xun hadn't asked about anything sensitive, such as her "personal mission" or "special ability," she was less guarded.

More importantly, she was genuinely terrified.

The outside world knew far too little about the Endless Train. Every month, she saw only two kinds of news reports about it: the list of people entering the Endless Train, announced at the beginning of the month, and confirmation at the end of the month that none of the "passengers" to date had returned.

Even though she knew there was something wrong with the [Endless Train], her limited imagination could never have prepared her for what awaited her aboard it.

Her mind kept replaying the sickening sensation of killing that monster, leaving her barely able to breathe.

Whenever she thought about having to face these things from now on, and perhaps even more terrifying monsters, she felt as though she were suffocating.

Having someone to talk to and distract her wasn't such a bad thing.

"You look pretty nervous." Zhao Xun gave her a kindly smile. "You never thought you'd be chosen, did you?"

"No." The young woman gave a bitter smile. "There are so many people in District Ten. I always thought my chances of being chosen were really low... I'm just so unlucky."

She finished with a deeply dejected sigh.

There were no countries in this world. It was divided into twenty districts, and theirs was District Ten.

District Ten had a population of well over a billion. With a pool that large and only a thousand people selected to board each month, any individual's chances of being chosen were indeed low.

It wasn't just No. 019. Many people buried their heads in the sand and hoped for the best, believing they would never be chosen.

"Tell me about it!" The slightly plump woman, No. 015, seemed to relate. She leaned over to join the conversation. "I never thought I'd be chosen this soon either. What rotten luck!"

She complained, "It's been a whole year, and the authorities still haven't learned a single thing about what goes on inside the [Endless Train]. Ordinary people like us can only go about our lives and wait to be chosen as passengers. There's absolutely nothing we can do."

Over the past year, the authorities had sent volunteers into the [Endless Train] every month to investigate, but not one had come out alive. The outside world hadn't received so much as a scrap of information from them.

What could ordinary people do besides comfort themselves with the thought that their chances of being chosen were low?

"There should be official volunteers boarding this month too, right?" Hope crept into No. 019's voice. "As long as they find a way to send information out, the authorities can rescue us."

"I doubt it." The slightly plump No. 015 shook her head. "They haven't made any progress in a whole year. How could we be lucky enough for them to suddenly make a breakthrough this month?"

"Hey." No. 015 nudged Zhao Xun's arm with her elbow. "I remember you brought a suitcase. Are you a volunteer?"

"No." Zhao Xun shook his head. "I happened to be on a business trip and was led to the [Endless Train] platform along the way."

"Then you're pretty lucky. You're much better off than those of us who didn't even bring a change of clothes." No. 015 sounded envious. "I don't even have a toothbrush..."

"You're so damn noisy." No. 018 clicked his tongue impatiently.

He hadn't raised his voice, but its rough, hoarse quality carried an unmistakably intimidating edge.

The other five people sharing the table all turned to look at No. 018.

No. 018 was a burly middle-aged man with a shaved head and an enormous scorpion tattoo across his scalp. Several scars marked his face, and his eyes were full of hostility. One look was enough to tell that he wasn't someone to mess with.

"Keep jabbering in the middle of the night and disturbing my sleep, and don't blame me for what happens." He swept his warning gaze over them.

He had initially thought they might discuss something useful, which was why he hadn't stopped them immediately.

Instead, all they'd done was spout useless crap.

What a waste of my sleeping time!

The slightly plump No. 015 instinctively swallowed and fell silent.

No. 019 went rigid with fear, not daring to move a muscle.

Zhao Xun also lowered his eyes slightly, looking suitably intimidated.

The other two turned away, pretending not to have noticed anything.

Satisfied with everyone's reaction, No. 018 closed his eyes, leaned back in his seat, and went back to sleep.

Only then did No. 015 and No. 019 breathe sighs of relief.

After that interruption from No. 018, everyone stayed quiet. No one spoke again.

Half an hour later, they had all gradually fallen asleep in the silence.

Except Zhao Xun.

Once he was sure everyone around him was asleep, he quietly opened his left hand. A long black hair lay in his palm.

While looking No. 019 over, he had noticed a long hair on her sleeve.

He hadn't leaned closer to No. 019 to chat. He had been looking for an opportunity to take that hair.

When No. 018 had spoken up to warn them and everyone's attention had shifted to him, Zhao Xun had seized the opportunity to take it.

Hair counted as an item too, and it had definitely been on No. 019 for more than twenty-four hours.

Zhao Xun brought the hair to his mouth and held one end between his lips for three seconds.

A pop-up appeared before him.

[Congratulations! You have obtained the special ability [strength enhancement], replacing [Sharp Teeth].]

[Due to the effects of "Devour," [Strength enhancement] is only half as effective as the original ability and cannot be upgraded.]