Docking Trap

["Getting a mummy stuck in your wheels. That's so you."]

Huddled nervously in a corner with her gun in her arms, Zhao Lin kept peeking outside to see whether any monsters were still blocking the way ahead. When she saw this message, she felt as though she had grasped a lifeline.

["I didn't want this either. Ye, you know my talent. I was supposed to sell what I got at the last stop for resources, but nobody wanted any. I really don't understand why!"]

It seemed her bad luck didn't only begin on the platform. It had already started the moment her good luck ended.

As for why nobody bought her snacks, that wasn't hard to understand.

Among those still alive, apart from a very few exceptions, who had resources to spare just to satisfy their appetite?

["Deal with it."]

["I can't just deal with it! I'll give you all my snacks. Please sell me the repair materials."]

The message was followed by a sticker of a chibi figure kneeling and crying, which really did make it hard not to chuckle.

Amusing as it was, Ye Qiyan had no intention of being her savior.

["You must have opened a treasure chest at the last stop, right? I want the Train Coins from your chest. Trade those for the materials."]

The other side of the chat fell silent.

Ye Qiyan wasn't in a hurry. Less than a minute later, Zhao Lin replied.

["Okay."]

Below that was a list of the materials she needed.

It wasn't much, just forty-two Mechanical Parts. At any other time, Zhao Lin certainly wouldn't have been willing to spend two Train Coins on the trade.

Now, though, she had no choice.

"Scammer! Now I won't be able to buy anything even when I reach the Trading Platform. What a bully..."

After receiving the materials from Ye Qiyan, Zhao Lin repaired her train before the monsters caught up. With a woeful expression, she patted her flat wallet.

"I practically gave him all those snacks for free, and he doesn't know how to treat a lady at all. Sob... My money, it's all gone..."

[Ding-dong. You have a new message from a friend.]

["Oh, right. A friendly tip. Want to hear it?"]

"Trying to swindle more money out of me? That crook. I'm not falling for it."

Despite saying that...

["Yes, yes! Please tell me, Ye."]

["The docking time at this Trading Platform is unlimited."]

["Huh?? Really? Doesn't that mean!!"]

The instant Zhao Lin saw the message, she straightened up excitedly and banged her head against the wooden cabinet beside her. Its contents spilled out and struck her on the head.

"Oww, that hurts..."

She couldn't spare it any attention and continued tapping on the light screen.

["If we can stay forever, does that mean we won't have to keep risking our lives?!"]

Sure enough, without a warning, Zhao Lin probably would have chosen to stay here.

Her talent kept her cycling between danger and happiness.

Especially when faced with tremendous good luck, she wouldn't feel pleasantly surprised. Instead, she would become even more afraid of the next bout of bad luck.

That was terrifying.

["...But it's a trap, right? Otherwise, you wouldn't need to tell me beforehand. I'd definitely discover it myself once I got there..."]

Zhao Lin took a deep breath. Her excitement gradually faded, replaced by helplessness and lingering fear.

["Right. How could this world possibly let us off? Even if we really stayed there, we'd definitely face something more terrifying than on the train. Especially... this stop is bad luck for me. How could anything good happen... Thank you. I understand."]

She was smart.

She had found the answer in just one sentence.

Ye Qiyan said nothing more. He had only warned Zhao Lin because this little hen occasionally laid golden eggs. Her living a little longer did him no harm.

As for whether Zhao Lin might die during some bout of bad luck, that would merely be a bit of a pity.

Rumble-

A second train entered the platform.

A woman with smooth, waist-length black hair stepped off.

The woman looked around. Seeing only one train on the platform besides her own, she frowned slightly and took out a pale blue Japanese-style flip phone.

["You haven't arrived yet? Aren't you already level 3? This train isn't yours, then?"]

Ye Qiyan, who was playing Gomoku with Smiley, heard the system notification and looked over in confusion.

"Did that unlucky girl get into trouble again?"

He had thought it was Zhao Lin, but when he brought up the light screen, the person messaging him turned out to be Shangguan Yingxue.

"Huh? That train is hers? She got here pretty quickly. But how is she talking to me outside? A phone?"

Ye Qiyan noticed the additional train in the Newbie Trading Area. He hadn't expected that woman to be Shangguan Yingxue, whom he regularly traded with.

That made sense. After all, apart from him and Li Xiaosheng, she was the most outstanding of the remaining conductors. There was nothing strange about her being the third to arrive.

["I'm not there."]

["?"]

Shangguan Yingxue wondered whether she was still half asleep. She rubbed her eyes as she looked at the chat window on the light screen.

["You've already left this stop? How? Li Xiaosheng said in the public chat that he was the fastest, and he hadn't seen anyone else. Unless you're already level 4?"]

["Take a guess."]

["...How childish."]

Shangguan Yingxue irritably closed the chat interface and took a deep breath, unable to suppress the bewilderment and shock inside her.

"How on earth did he do it? Why is he leveling up so fast?"

She couldn't understand it, so she could only accept it.

She switched screens, and the system's platform description popped up.

"Unlimited docking time?"

"What a pointless trap."

Shangguan Yingxue had no intention whatsoever of staying here. Following the station's signs, she found the Shopping Hall.

There were three paths here as well.

They were marked with the Roman numerals one through three. She chose the third without hesitation.

Just as she was about to enter, she saw Li Xiaosheng coming out. The Refined Marksman Rifle appeared from her phone, its dark muzzle aimed straight at his head.

"You? Wait! Don't shoot! I'm Li Xiaosheng! You-you're not allowed to kill anyone here!"

Li Xiaosheng swallowed in fear and raised both hands, trembling as he pointed at a warning sign nearby.

The words "Killing prohibited" were plainly written on it in large lettering.

"Move."

"I-I'm going. Don't shoot."

He edged around the barrel and ran a couple of steps away, still shaken, before suddenly realizing something.

"I'm Li Xiaosheng, the first person to reach this station, and the leader of the Alliance. Since you managed to arrive after me, you must be very capable too. Could I invi-"

Bang-

The bullet struck the ground at his feet.

Just a little closer, and it would have pierced his thigh.

"The first?"

Shangguan Yingxue blew away the wisp of smoke from the muzzle and looked at Li Xiaosheng as though he were an idiot.

"Heh..."

Feeling her undisguised mockery, Li Xiaosheng's face turned purple.

If he hadn't been afraid of that gun, he would have left long ago.

Only after scurrying out of the Shopping Hall did Li Xiaosheng dare raise his voice.

"Damn you, you'll regret this!"