Chapter 4: Hunger

The executive-looking man took the initiative to produce his ID card: "My name is Li Fei, and I am the General Manager of Feiyue Group."

"I see people in the carriages both ahead and behind us. We in the same carriage should unite first to avoid being caught off guard if something happens."

It had been a month since Evolvers appeared, and many had encountered their own kind. The executive’s words made some sense; they were all in the same boat, and they had more to fear from the Evolvers in the other carriages than from their fellow passengers.

Everyone sat back down. The man in pajamas and the woman in the camisole reported their names.

"I'm Chen Yi, but I didn't bring my ID."

"He Yang."

"Xu Huo." Simply stating his name, Xu Huo lit a cigarette.

"My name is Yan Jiayu, I just returned to secular life." The young girl beside him tugged at her choppy, uneven haircut and said shyly, "Could you go outside to smoke? Second-hand smoke is harmful to your health."

Xu Huo paused, couldn't help but take another look at her, and then nodded.

"Pfft!" The heavily made-up woman opposite them sneered, "These days, even nuns are returning to secular life."

Yan Jiayu’s face flushed slightly. She lowered her head, clutching the small cloth bag on her patchwork robe. "Ami... My master said my worldly ties were not yet severed."

However, the woman didn't pester her. Instead, her face turned cold. "If you want to play this 'let's all be friends' game, go ahead, but don't drag me into it."

Li Fei tried to persuade her, "This is for everyone's benefit. If we know each other's names and identities, no one will dare to act recklessly."

"The government is currently investigating cannibalistic Evolvers, as everyone knows."

"To put it bluntly, if someone has eaten a person, once someone gets off the train in three days, no one will be able to escape."

These righteous words did not intimidate the woman. The six-foot-tall, burly woman stood up like a drill, walked over with broad strides, and grabbed Li Fei by the collar

"Who are you pretending to be a good guy for? Did you see the nameplate at the front of the carriage?"

"Second-class, special-class, first-class, second-class, third-class. The more assets you have, the further forward you sit. Compared to those deadbeats and petty thugs in the third-class carriage, everyone in this carriage is a pauper!"

"You’re an executive, and Feiyue Group is quite famous. You must make hundreds of thousands or millions a year. Why don't you explain how you ended up in this position?"

"So that's what the game's prompt about asset-based seating meant," Professor Han said subconsciously. "The exchange rate with cash is roughly 100:1."

Li Fei’s face turned pale. "I lost some money in the stock market; that’s not illegal, is it? I just wanted everyone to get through these three days in peace. I don't have any malicious intent."

The woman clearly didn't believe him. She shoved him aside, scanned the others in the carriage, and emphasized, "I advise you not to trust others too much. It’s not hard to get a fake ID these days. Don't be stupid enough to spill everything about yourself. Even if you manage to get off the train alive, can you guarantee you'll live long enough to report it to the police?"

Exchanging identities seemed like an extra layer of insurance, but if there was a cannibalistic Evolver in the carriage, the risk was clearly much higher.

No one was a fool; amidst the mutual suspicion, they grew more wary of Li Fei.

"You know about the situation on the preliminary trial train?" Xu Huo stopped flicking his cigarette.

"I don't know much. There's only one rule once you get on this train: get off alive." The woman snorted coldly. "I know for a fact that someone here has eaten people. I’m warning you, you’d better not target me, otherwise..."

She slammed her fist onto the table, leaving a deep indentation in the metal surface—a display of pure intimidation.

Ordinary Evolvers hadn't reached the strength to dent steel with their bare hands. Xu Huo shifted his heels, feeling no change in his own body.

It seemed that after the profession was determined, everyone’s traits were different.

"Big sister, is there anything else?" the girl with the ponytail asked cautiously. "How exactly do you play this game?"

"Didn't I say just live until you get off? So many useless questions!" The woman sat down impatiently and glared at the people opposite her.

Xu Huo cooperated by holding his cigarette and walking toward the front door.

He was stopped by Li Fei just as he gripped the handle. "The broadcast said we shouldn't go to other carriages at will. If you open the door and trigger something dangerous, won't you implicate all of us?"

Xu Huo pointed to the restroom outside. "It says we can't go to other carriages, not that we can't go outside."

Li Fei, having been snubbed repeatedly, stared at him with an unpleasant expression.

Xu Huo pulled the carriage door open and stepped out.

The transition carriage outside was half the length of a second-class carriage. On the left was the restroom with some emergency supplies nearby, and on the right were the boarding doors.

He tried the doors, but they wouldn't open. The entire train kept moving in a straight line, the scenery on both sides unchanging.

The carriage wasn't very soundproof. Seeing someone in the carriage ahead get up and walk around, Xu Huo lit another cigarette and went to pull the door to the front carriage. Two seconds later, he changed his mind and pressed the bell instead.

A moment later, the door opened, but it was opened by a burly man with tattooed arms from the first-class carriage. He growled, "What do you want?"

Xu Huo spotted a familiar face inside. He acted as if nothing was wrong and offered a cigarette. "Borrow a light."

Although the tattooed man looked impatient, he tossed him a solid copper lighter and snapped, "Don't wander around if there's nothing going on," before slamming the door shut.

Through the door, Xu Huo saw Nie Xuan, whom he had met once before, nod at him before turning toward the restroom.

When he returned to the second-class carriage, Li Fei and the others were already studying the train rules.

"Mandatory consumption is understandable, but why turn off the lights?" The exquisite-looking woman with the oval face, who had been sitting at the middle-aged woman's table, moved next to Li Fei and complained, "There are no beds in this dump; we can't even sleep."

"You still want to sleep?" the square-faced man retorted. "Don't end up dying without knowing why."

"There's a switch on the side, you can turn it on," Li Fei said. "Why argue over such a small thing? Don't let this affect the atmosphere. Don't forget there are carriages ahead and behind us."

"Brother Li is right," the oval-faced woman chimed in.

"Vixen!" the middle-aged woman muttered indignantly.

"Professor Han, I'm scared." The girl with the ponytail sitting next to Xu Huo gripped the professor's arm tightly.

"Don't be afraid, teacher will protect you." Professor Han’s forehead was beaded with sweat, his face pale and lacking the confidence his words suggested.

"What's there to be afraid of?" He Yang said, his fingers flying across his phone. "Whoever tries to mess with you, just mess them back. We're all Evolvers. The younger you are, the faster you evolve. Right now, I can easily take on two or three grown men."

Xu Huo took note. By now, small groups had already formed among the twelve people.

The executive Li Fei, the pajama-clad Chen Yi, the oval-faced woman, and the square-faced man had banded together at one table. The camisole-wearing He Yang and the student girl had the same summer camp keychain on their bags, so they were counted with Professor Han.

The middle-aged woman, the heavily made-up woman, Xu Huo, the girl Yan Jiayu, and the old man sitting alone in the last row had no faction.

"They're teaming up, so we should too," the middle-aged woman said, moving next to the made-up woman. "There are four on one side and three on the other; being alone is a disadvantage."

She then looked at Xu Huo. "Young man, you're the only one left who looks capable. You need to step up."

Xu Huo smiled. "Ma'am, have you ever eaten a person?"

The middle-aged woman’s face stiffened. "What nonsense are you spouting? How could I!"

Xu Huo’s stomach growled, and he ignored her.

The middle-aged woman snorted and wiggled back to her original seat.

Hadn't eaten a person?

Ever since he got on the train, Xu Huo felt his gluttonous urges double. He, who had managed to maintain self-control when facing the "Courier Girl," now had to struggle to suppress the urge to look at the players around him. The close-quarters conversation, the pacing back and forth, and the arguing only amplified the hunger. But Li Fei and the others looked calm, which meant they hadn't boarded the train on an empty stomach.

The middle-aged woman still had the energy to insult the oval-faced woman; she showed no signs of the tension that came from being pushed to the brink by the urge to gorge.

This gluttonous urge couldn't be satisfied by normal food. It was highly unlikely that Li Fei and his group hadn't tasted human blood.