The pinkish-purple hair was far too vivid, and none of its original color showed at the roots. No matter how he looked at it, it did not seem to have been dyed before boarding.
As a veteran player, he must have spent at least a month on the Endless Train. If he had dyed it before boarding, his original hair color should have started showing at the roots.
But if he had dyed it after boarding... did the Endless Train even sell hair dye?
That sparked a little of Zhao Xun's interest.
"You even noticed that!" Whistle excitedly smoothed his bangs. "I dyed it myself with dragon fruit. Looks good, right?"
Zhao Xun: "..."
No wonder the color was so vivid.
He had not seen dragon fruit for sale on the trolley or in the regular dining car. Clearly, it was only sold in the upscale dining car.
That meant a single dragon fruit probably cost as much as a meal in the regular dining car.
Most players could afford that price, but surely very few would be willing to spend it on dyeing their hair.
It seemed Whistle had quite a lot of points.
"It does look good," Zhao Xun complimented him obligingly.
Whistle was thoroughly pleased. He looked smugly at Tiantian. "See? I told you this color turned out great."
Tiantian pursed her lips and replied half-heartedly, "Sure, sure. As long as you think it looks good."
She could not be bothered to keep discussing Whistle's hair color, so she turned to Zhao Xun. "Order whatever you want to eat. Whistle and I have already ordered our lunches."
"I'm not ordering." As Zhao Xun spoke, he took out a bottle of water and a bag of biscuits he had prepared earlier.
Tiantian looked incredulous. "Surely you can afford five points for chicken leg rice or pork chop rice?"
"I want to save a little," Zhao Xun said frankly.
"Fine. Suit yourself." Tiantian waved a hand.
"Back to business." She looked at Whistle again and introduced him to Zhao Xun. "Whistle is the only information broker on the train. He spent ten days living in Car Three, and he currently lives in Car Four."
Zhao Xun remembered Tiantian saying that only passengers ranked in the top fifty could live in the train's first three cars.
Whistle clearly had some ability.
Whistle chuckled. "I may have only spent ten days in Car Three, but I've got some information on most of the players in the first three cars."
"No wonder you can work as an information broker." Zhao Xun nodded in understanding.
If his guess was right, Whistle's special ability must have played a significant part in that.
Although he did not know exactly what sort of special ability it was, there was a strict limit to how much information someone could gather through legwork alone.
Having a relevant special ability would make all the difference.
As Zhao Xun considered this, he instinctively examined Whistle's shoulders and collar.
Unfortunately, he did not see any stray hairs.
Getting his hands on anything else belonging to Whistle would not be so easy.
Whistle did not pay much attention to Zhao Xun's scrutiny.
Everyone paid him extra attention when they first learned he was an information broker.
After all, someone like him was both rare and important. He was in high demand.
Even most of the players in the first three cars treated him courteously.
After all, anyone might need to seek out information at some point.
"Tiantian said you're looking for someone," Whistle offered. "Let me see the photo."
Zhao Xun took out his phone, but instead of opening his gallery immediately, he asked Whistle, "What do you want in payment?"
He was not foolish enough to think that owing Tiantian a favor meant he would not have to pay Whistle.
The favor he owed Tiantian was for the introduction.
Without Tiantian's introduction, it would have been difficult for him to establish contact with Whistle anytime soon.
Naturally, obtaining useful information from Whistle would require payment.
"I'll have to see the photo before I can decide." Whistle shrugged. "If I already have information on this person, the price will naturally be low. If I've never even seen them, helping you track down their information will take quite a bit of effort, and the price will be higher."
Zhao Xun said nothing more. He opened his phone's gallery and showed Whistle the photo.
Whistle studied it for quite a while before saying uncertainly, "I've never seen the man in this photo, but the woman looks a little familiar. I think I've seen her somewhere."
Something flickered in Zhao Xun's eyes. "Where?"
Whistle frowned and spent a long time trying to remember before saying, "I don't think I saw her in person. Otherwise, my impression wouldn't be so vague... it might have been a portrait."
Zhao Xun pressed his lips together, then asked another question. "Have you seen all the veteran players currently aboard the Endless Train?"
"I haven't seen every veteran player, but I have some information about what even the most mysterious ones look like." Whistle now understood what Zhao Xun meant, and volunteered, "Neither of the people in this photo is aboard the Endless Train."
"So they're both dead." Zhao Xun lowered his eyes to the photo on his phone, his voice slightly subdued.
In the photo, the woman rested against the man's shoulder with a gentle smile, while the man looked down at her tenderly.
Behind them stretched a vast sea of flowers, with petals caught by the breeze frozen in midair.
The whole scene was warm and beautiful. Anyone who saw it would know they were a deeply loving married couple.
"Yes," Whistle said with certainty. "I can tell you for sure that they're dead."
Zhao Xun nodded silently and said nothing more.
There was no obvious change in his expression, and his lowered eyelids concealed the look in his eyes.
But his presence remained calm, seemingly without any emotional fluctuation, making it impossible to tell whether he was pleased or upset.
They sat in silence for quite a while. Then Tiantian's Yangzhou fried rice and Whistle's pork liver noodles arrived, and the stagnant atmosphere seemed to stir back to life.
Zhao Xun opened his water bottle and took a sip.
Tiantian ate a couple of bites before saying to Zhao Xun, "You don't look like you were determined to see them. You just wanted to know whether they were alive or dead."
Looking at Zhao Xun, she asked, "Does whether they're alive hold any special significance for you?"
Before Zhao Xun could speak, Whistle laughed. "What kind of question is that, Tiantian? They're his parents, his closest family. That alone makes them special."
Tiantian ignored Whistle and simply kept looking at Zhao Xun.
Whistle did not understand, but both Tiantian and Zhao Xun knew exactly what she meant by "special significance."
She was not referring to ordinary emotional bonds such as familial affection or blood ties, but to something else, something more unusual.
But Zhao Xun had no intention of opening up. He merely said, "Mm," and offered nothing more.
Tiantian did not press him. She just shrugged. "Then you're not as unburdened as I am. My parents don't hold any special significance for me."
Thanks to [Regretting Falling in Love] for one monthly vote, and to [Melancholy Parting Song] for one monthly vote.
There were so many more recommendation votes today, too. Spinning around with joy~
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