How humiliating!

Zhao Xun locked his suitcase again, but instead of putting it back on the luggage rack, he set it in front of his seat.

Then he sat down, quickly ate the crackers and sausage, and took a few sips of water. At last, the gnawing hunger in his stomach eased.

Beside him, Shen Yalong stared wide-eyed, unable to hide his envy and longing.

He had never expected this guy to have food in his suitcase.

If I'd known, I would've just stolen it earlier. Who cared if anyone saw me!

Then... forget it. Even if I'd taken the suitcase back then, I probably would've been caught right away. I wouldn't have ended up much better off than I am now.

Shen Yalong had spent the first half of the previous night partying at a bar and had never gotten around to eating. As midnight approached, he had walked uncontrollably to the departure station of the [Endless Train].

After boarding, he had even fought a monster. Exhausted and hungry that night, he had no food, so all he could do was sleep.

He had endured until morning, planning to finish his personal task first, earn some points, and then get something to eat at the restaurant.

Instead, he had failed the task, had his arms and legs broken, and been tied up.

Now he even had to watch the guy who had tied him up eat. What kind of fucking torture was this!

After agonizing over it for a while, Shen Yalong finally worked up the courage to ask, "Boss... why did you tie me up?"

Zhao Xun said nothing, merely shooting Shen Yalong a warning look.

Shen Yalong immediately lost the nerve to ask again.

Just then, a male attendant in a dark blue train uniform came in, pushing a small trolley.

Zhao Xun took a closer look. It carried only the most basic ready-to-eat foods, with a price list pasted on its side.

Mineral water: 1 point; crispy instant noodles: 1 point; bread: 1 point; crackers: 1 point; apples: 2 points; bananas: 2 points; sunflower seeds: 2 points; chewing gum: 2 points.

Zhao Xun understood at once.

The food on the trolley was cheaper than at the regular restaurant. Though it offered little nutrition, it was enough to meet basic survival needs.

Mineral water in particular cost just one point for a 300-milliliter bottle. It was the most essential of essentials, and the price was quite low-the fairest deal of all the food on offer.

As for apples, bananas, sunflower seeds, and chewing gum, those four were treats rather than necessities, so their prices were slightly higher.

Overall, the food on the trolley was much cheaper than at the regular restaurant. When points ran low, buying some to stave off hunger could get a passenger through a few days.

For now, though, Zhao Xun had no need for any of it.

As the male attendant pushed the trolley along, quite a few passengers spent points on food and water.

Shen Yalong watched longingly, feeling as though his drool was about to spill out against his will.

Even the bland-looking crackers made his mouth water.

But all four of his limbs were broken. He could not even lift them, let alone pick up food to eat.

He was not stupid enough to expect the guy beside him to feed him.

So he could only watch helplessly as the trolley moved farther and farther away, continuing to endure the torment of hunger.

After observing for a while, Zhao Xun noticed that passengers buying things did not go through any payment process. Their points seemed to be deducted automatically when they took the food.

That was quite convenient.

Only after the attendant pushed the trolley into Car 15 did Zhao Xun stand up.

He took out paper and a pen, wrote a sentence, and stuck the paper onto Shen Yalong. Then he wheeled his suitcase toward the cars up ahead.

With Shen Yalong here, he could not leave the suitcase behind.

Besides, Zhao Xun had no idea how long he would be away. It was better to take his suitcase with him.

Only after Zhao Xun disappeared completely from view did Shen Yalong manage to make out what the paper on his body said.

[Trophy of No. 014. Do not touch.]

Shen Yalong: "..."

He tied me up here just to show everyone his "trophy"?

There are plenty of ways to humiliate someone. Why did he have to pick this one!

This is so embarrassing!

Zhao Xun headed straight for Car 07.

From what he had seen on the platform at the departure station, Cars 01-07 had all their windows tightly covered by curtains. Those were the cars occupied by veteran passengers.

The train layout he had seen last night also showed that Cars 01-07 were all sleeper cars.

Clearly, veteran players received much better treatment than new players.

Sleeping upright in a seat every day was nowhere near as comfortable as lying down.

But envy was not why he wanted to take a look. He wanted to get a sense of the veteran players.

It would be even better if he could strike up a conversation with a few of them. He also wanted to ask about his parents-though the chances of anyone giving him the time of day were slim.

Just as Zhao Xun was about to cross the connection between Cars 08 and 07, a tall, burly male attendant suddenly blocked his path.

"Sir, you cannot go any farther," the attendant told Zhao Xun courteously.

Zhao Xun stopped. "Why?"

As he asked, he looked not at the attendant, but at Car 07, right in front of him.

The car's door was open, allowing him to see its entire layout.

"Only passengers who have cleared at least one round of a platform game may enter all the cars," the attendant replied, still courteous and polite. But he shifted his body, firmly blocking Zhao Xun's view. "You do not yet qualify."

"All right." Zhao Xun shrugged and turned away without arguing.

With that made clear, there was no point in staying.

After all, clearing a single platform game would grant him access to the veteran players' area. There was no need to force his way in.

Although he had only gotten a brief look, he had still learned something.

Rather than rows of open berths, Car 07 was divided into nine compartments.

He could not see inside them, but judging by a conventional layout, each compartment should have four berths-two upper and two lower.

Veteran players really did receive much better treatment than new players.

Not only could they sleep lying down, they also had some degree of privacy.

They did not get individual rooms, but it was still much better than sleeping together with an entire car full of people.

Of course, that was not the main point.

The main point was that if all seven cars up front had the same layout, there should be 252 berths in total.

In other words, since the [Endless Train] had appeared, twelve months had passed, with a thousand people boarding each month-twelve thousand in total. Yet at most, only a little over two hundred veteran players had survived.

That ratio alone was enough to show how difficult survival was for the passengers.

And the so-called platform games certainly could not be easy either.

That only made him more interested in them.

What kinds of games would they be, and how difficult?

Thinking as he walked, Zhao Xun arrived at Car 11 without realizing it.

Cars 10-16 all had cushioned seats and were where the new passengers stayed.

At that moment, every passenger in Car 11 was looking in the same direction.