"As you wish."
Eighteen Train Coins dissolved into flecks of golden light in Ye Qiyan's hand and flowed into the display case.
Amid a soft glow, the dark-gold Great Compassion Heavy Machine Gun appeared before him in all its glory.
So big! So thick! So cool!
And...
"So heavy."
Ye Qiyan tried to pick it up. Its hefty weight made him understand why this thing was called a heavy machine gun.
If his strength had not risen along with the twenty-point increase in stamina earlier, he would probably have struggled to lift it.
Besides, judging by how Smiley showed absolutely no intention of helping, he would have to carry this gun back himself.
Fortunately, he had prepared in advance to buy something large. He took the Safety Box out of the backpack on his back and put the heavy machine gun straight into it.
"..."
Smiley said nothing, but the eyes beneath his mask kept darting about. Even after Ye Qiyan put the Safety Box back in his backpack, he remained silent.
Only when he saw that Ye Qiyan had no intention of snapping him out of it and was about to leave did he finally speak.
"You truly are an impressive Train Conductor."
"Could you do me a favor?"
"Although it is not something you can accomplish as you are now."
"If you agree, I will give you another level-six item for free."
Ye Qiyan stopped at Smiley's words.
"What favor?"
Seeing that he had not left, Smiley smashed the glass around the other level-six item and took it out.
"It's very simple."
"Let me die."
The Deceptive Play Sword was held out before him.
An ominous purple aura spread from the blade, and faint whispers echoed by his ears from time to time.
"If you want to die, just kill yourself. Why come to me? Besides, I don't think I can kill a... person who can regrow severed limbs in a few seconds?"
Smiley shook his head.
"I cannot kill myself. No Guide can kill themselves. Heh... don't worry, it is fine whether you agree or not. As you said, you truly cannot kill me as you are now."
"Then why?"
"I'm gambling. Gambling that you will come here again, and that by then you will have the ability to release me."
Smiley removed his mask.
A face covered in twisted folds, its features abstract, was exposed.
"I was actually a Train Conductor once, too. But for certain reasons, I was forced to remain here. Heh, this is the curse that kept me here. Frightening, isn't it?"
Smiley put his mask back on.
"Once I have taken this item out, it can never be put back. This sword is already yours. Even if you forget about this in the future, just treat it as though I never said anything."
The Deceptive Play Sword fell beside Ye Qiyan's feet.
Should I accept it?
Why not?
"I can't guarantee that I can do it, or when. If you're willing to give it a try even so, I agree."
"Thank you. That is enough."
Bowing, Smiley returned to his original demeanor.
"Your purchases at this station are complete. However, this station also offers some specialty foods from human society that can be purchased with Train Coins. Would you like to try some?"
"Uh, I'll pass. It's not like I'm short on..."
"Steamed buns, dumplings, hot pot, everything you could want, all for just one Train Coin. This is an exclusive benefit provided specifically to the first Train Conductor to enter the station. Are you sure you don't want it?"
"..."
A few minutes later, Ye Qiyan sat down in a restaurant. Looking at the dazzling assortment of delicacies before him and recalling all the assorted grilled meat he had made over the past few days, either too salty or too bland, he swallowed the saliva he could not hold back and began to feast.
Five hours and thirty minutes after the Public Platform opened.
A battered train entered the Transit Station from afar.
The train stopped, and Li Xiaosheng scrambled out in a sorry state.
"Cough, cough, cough! Shit, those damned monsters actually set fire to my train! Good thing it was fast enough, or I'd have been done for back there. Fuck, my carriages are gone."
His train now consisted of only its engine. The two carriages that had held a considerable amount of resources had been ambushed by monsters on the way here. Had the train not been fast enough, he would have been blown to pieces along with the train and its carriages.
He punched the ground, and it took a while for his anger to subside. Looking at the empty platform, he could not stop the corners of his mouth from rising again.
"I really am the first! Hahahaha!"
"This time, I have to buy a Blueprint for making weapons, then trade Blueprints with other people for flame stones. Then I can keep my lead!"
"Huh? Permanent stop? Who wants to stop? I'm the man who's going to be the protagonist!"
Li Xiaosheng stood and looked around. Spotting the building ahead, he strode toward it.
"Baby, here I come!"
He had no idea that someone was watching everything he did.
The Regular Trading Area.
There was only one train on the empty platform. Ye Qiyan sat leisurely on its roof, enjoying a peaceful sunbath.
Smiley stood silently beside him without a word.
"Say, are you sure they can't see this place from over there?"
"Of course. There are extremely strict rules governing the levels of trading areas. A lower-level trading area absolutely cannot see anything in a higher-level trading area."
"So someone might be watching us from a higher-level trading area right now?"
"No. The Transit Station only has two types: the Newbie Trading Area and the Regular Trading Area."
"Oh."
Eating peanuts, Ye Qiyan watched Li Xiaosheng's actions in the Newbie Trading Area with interest.
"Speaking of which, doesn't the Newbie Trading Area have a Guide like you? This guy looks lost."
Smiley shook his head, then nodded.
"There used to be one. Then he died. I really envy him."
"I now serve as the Guide for both the Newbie and Regular Trading Areas. I should have appeared in the Newbie Trading Area, but compared with guiding a bunch of beginners, you are more important to me."
"Besides, this trading session is merely a lesson, allowing novice Train Conductors to learn as much as possible about this world within ten stops. In fact, the Regular Trading Area was not supposed to open today, but you barged in. The Regular Trading Area was forced open. This is the only time such a thing has happened in decades."
There was something strange in Smiley's gaze as he looked at Ye Qiyan. Frankly, he did not understand how someone could upgrade their train to level four before the tenth stop, nor did he understand why Ye Qiyan could break into the Regular Trading Area.
Moreover, there was no mistake: what he had seen earlier was a level-nine Safety Box, something even more impossible for a novice Train Conductor to obtain.
It made no sense.
Yet it was precisely because it made no sense that he had begun to hope Ye Qiyan could kill him.
"Oh, then I suppose I ought to feel a little proud. By the way, want some?"
Ye Qiyan offered him the last peanut. Smiley said nothing, merely turning his head away.
"..."
"Sorry, forgot you couldn't eat."
Tossing the last peanut into his mouth and dusting off his hands, Ye Qiyan summoned the Light Screen, raised his eyes, and looked at Smiley.
"So there really is something wrong with the unlimited stopping time the system displays?"
Smiley chose silence.
"Right, understood."
Ye Qiyan nodded and asked no more, because he already had his answer.
There was a message notification in his chat inbox, sent by Zhao Lin.
If he remembered correctly, this woman's Luck Equilibrium should currently have put her in a state of bad luck.
Still, her avatar had not gone gray, so she was still alive. But given her good luck at the last stop and her bad luck at this one, could she really reach this station alive?
40 minutes ago: ["Brother Ye, want to meet up once we reach the station? How about I bring you snacks and alcohol?"]
9 minutes ago: ["Oh no... there are so many mummies blocking my train. But they're so slow, like snails. Haha, looks like my bad luck isn't that serious after all. It's just that all the bottles of alcohol I prepared for you broke. Sorry about that."]
Now: ["All right, Brother Ye, my bad luck really is starting. Mummy corpses got caught in the wheels, and the train has slowed down a lot. Could you sell me some repair materials... you know how my last stop was. For some reason, nobody but you bought anything I listed on the Trading Platform..."]
Sure enough, her bad luck had begun.
Before you continue