"What's today's food?" This strange being seemed to ride this train often.
"Hello, sir. Today's special is heart, lung, and bone soup, with blood ginseng and corpse worms that are over three years old," the attendant said.
"Ho, then I'm in for a treat today. But the price probably isn't low, right?" the passenger asked.
"If you only want the heart and lung soup, it's ten Soul Coins. With corpse worms and blood ginseng, it's twenty. Add a thigh bone, and it's fifty."
As she answered, the attendant directly lifted the lid off the large iron barrel.
The moment the lid came off, the passenger craned his head over for a look, took a sharp sniff, and an expression of bliss appeared on his face.
"Good. Looks like they used premium ingredients this time. Give me the twenty-coin set," the passenger said.
Plop!
A maggot crawled out of that strange being's eye socket and actually dropped straight into the large iron barrel.
Neither the strange being nor the attendant reacted at all when the maggot fell into the barrel.
Very soon, a huge bowl of soup was delivered into the strange being's hands.
"Fragrant—too fragrant." He gulped down more than half a mouthful, then chewed the ginseng roots and corpse worms in his mouth with great relish.
The attendant continued pushing her cart, this time arriving before the seats in the third row.
"Auntie, I remember food used to be provided for free. Why does it cost money this time?" The child holding a ball looked up and asked.
"Because many passengers complained that the free food we provided was too unpalatable, we launched a new service last week," the attendant explained.
"I see. Auntie, is the thigh bone inside from a living person or a clone?"
"If it's from a clone, it wouldn't be worth that price." The child asked again.
"Of course it isn't from a clone. There, it's from the same kind as those people. Otherwise, it wouldn't be sold so expensively." The attendant pointed at Mu Rufeng and the other two.
"Mm-hm. Then, Auntie, give me a fifty-coin serving. I'll warm up my stomach before the grand feast later." As the child spoke, he looked toward Mu Rufeng behind him, his face utterly innocent.
Mu Rufeng did not react in the slightest, but the other two players had gone pale with fright.
A huge bowl of soup was ladled out, containing a section of large bone, while the surface was covered with corpse worms and ginseng roots.
It was clear that the portion was truly generous.
The child grabbed the large bone in one hand, bit off a chunk, and chewed it with crisp crackling sounds.
"Seems like it was frozen? I still prefer it fresh, but it's not bad for whetting the appetite," the child said solemnly.
Very soon, the attendant pushed her cart to the fourth row, where Mu Rufeng was.
"This... passenger, what would you like?" The attendant still asked the bound old lady.
"Mmgh, mmgh, mmgh~~!" The old lady struggled fiercely, yet she could not move an inch, nor could she even open her mouth to speak.
"Attendant, I report someone. There's a Head Ghost here evading the fare."
Mu Rufeng suddenly pointed at the bamboo basket on the ground.
"Hm? Someone is evading the fare?" A flash of blood-red light swept through the attendant's eyes.
"Yes. There's a Head Ghost in that bamboo basket. He didn't buy a ticket," Mu Rufeng said.
The attendant said nothing and directly reached for the bamboo basket.
Just then, the basket's lid flew open, and the Head Ghost leaped straight out.
"I'll pay for a ticket, I'll pay for a ticket," the Head Ghost immediately said.
"Pay for a ticket? Fine. One hundred, please." A faintly regretful look appeared on the attendant's face.
The attendant's prey did not consist solely of living human passengers; strange beings were included as well.
"What? One hundred? Isn't a ticket only fifty?" The Head Ghost was shocked.
"You may choose not to pay for a ticket," the attendant said coldly.
As an attendant, it was perfectly normal for her to skim a little extra.
As for complaints? They were not honored VIPs. What use were ordinary complaints? Not worth a damn.
"Fine, I'll pay for a ticket."
"All my money is with my mother. My mother is trapped by him right now. Make him release my mother." The Head Ghost gritted his teeth.
Hearing this, the attendant looked at Mu Rufeng.
Mu Rufeng gave the attendant a faint smile without saying anything.
The attendant's gaze flickered as she slowly said, "Mr. Head, please pay for your ticket immediately, otherwise..."
"My money is with my mother. Make him release my mother!" The Head Ghost was alarmed.
"Uuuugh~~~!" The old lady struggled madly, powerful ghostly energy spilling from the gaps in the bandages.
Yet even so, it only caused several more loops of bandages to wind around her.
"If you can't produce the money for a ticket, then you belong to me." The attendant grinned savagely and reached for the Head Ghost.
"No! I'll bite through your bandages!" The Head Ghost bit down on the bandages.
His sharp teeth ground continuously, trying to bite through them.
If the bandages could speak, they would surely say, "Other than getting me covered in saliva, what else can you do?"
And that was indeed the case. The Head Ghost's sharp teeth could not bite through the bandages at all.
The main reason was that the bandages were too elastic—or perhaps the Head Ghost's teeth were not as sharp as imagined.
"I've caught you. You belong to me."
The attendant said with a savage grin.
Before the Head Ghost could even speak, the attendant pressed him toward her abdomen.
At the same time, the attendant's abdomen split open down the middle.
A twisted ghost infant appeared there.
"Ahhh~~!"
The Head Ghost let out a miserable scream and vanished completely.
The attendant's stomach closed again, and she pulled her uniform back down over it.
"You may release this passenger now." The attendant looked at Mu Rufeng.
"With pleasure." Mu Rufeng smiled calmly and made a light gesture, recalling the bandages.
The instant the old lady broke free, she became like a crazed tiger, glaring fixedly at the attendant.
A terrifying aura of strangeness spread from her body, making people's hearts quail.
This old lady was very powerful—at the very least, somewhat stronger than the attendant before her.
"What would this passenger like? Plain soup is ten, add blood ginseng and corpse worms for twenty, or the full spread for fifty."
Facing the old lady's hostility, the attendant remained utterly unruffled.
On the train, she was not afraid of others attacking her—or rather, no one dared attack an attendant.
"Fifty." The old lady spoke one word at a time.
"This journey is still very long." The old lady sat down in her seat and looked at Mu Rufeng with a gloomy expression.
"Yes, it is very long." Mu Rufeng nodded in agreement.
"Your soup is ready." The attendant brought over a bowl of large-bone soup.
The old lady took it and slowly began to eat.
"This passenger, may I ask which set meal you require?" The attendant looked at Mu Rufeng.
Current survivors: 25
Suddenly, a blood-red screen appeared before Mu Rufeng's eyes.
Another player had been eliminated.
Qu Lianhong had said that the train would provide free food, and it could not be refused. If it was refused, the strange beings would use that as an excuse to strike.
Although the free food provided by the train was somewhat unpleasant, as long as one ate it, nothing would happen.
There was also no need to worry about being contaminated or anything of the sort. At most, it would be disgusting, unless one downed five huge bowls in one go.
But if that happened, forget contamination—they would probably have burst to death long ago.
Sorry, sorry, I forgot to schedule it and only just remembered.
Before you continue