Indeed, all their photos were posted on the bulletin board.
To be more precise, they were their work badges. The photos of all seven of them were neatly printed on items resembling meal cards, and not one was missing.
Guigu, standing beside the board, noticed his work badge. "Ah, am I the attendant for Carriage No. 1?"
There were no names on their badges; only a single line below the photos identified their roles.
Gu Mian stroked his chin. Each of the seven of them should play a different role, right?
As he looked at each badge, he saw:
Underneath Guigu's photo, it said, "Attendant of Carriage No. 1."
The middle-aged man, Xiao Tiantian, was identified as the "Attendant of Carriage No. 2."
Han Shan was the "Attendant of Carriage No. 3."
Gu Mian was the "Attendant of Carriage No. 4."
Angel Slaughter was the "Attendant of Carriage No. 5."
The middle-aged woman, Suo Qingqiu, was the "Attendant of Carriage No. 6."
Fang Xiang was the "Attendant of Carriage No. 7."
All seven of them were attendants, just in different carriages.
Guigu was taken aback. "What's going on? We're all train attendants?"
A strange expression surfaced on everyone else's faces.
Angel Slaughter pinched his forefinger. "All seven of us are attendants... That's a bit odd."
Although this was a role-playing instance, Gu Mian hadn't expected such uniformity in the available character roles.
Just then, the young man, Fang Xiang, seemed to notice something. "Hey, look up there."
Upon hearing this, Gu Mian looked up.
The underground departure station was vast and empty. The platform they stood on was over a meter higher than the tracks, giving them a clear view of an LED sign.
The LED sign displayed the time and the name of the station.
Glancing at it, Gu Mian saw the time in the top right corner of the sign: "11:36 p.m."
The departure time for the 'Time Escape' train was 11:40. The train would surely arrive a few minutes early to give passengers time to board.
In the middle of the LED board, a few characters glowed, and everyone was staring at them.
"Departure Station: Shicha Sea." Googlᴇ search 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩⚫𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢⚫𝔫𝔢𝔱
Clearly, this was the departure station for the 'Time Escape' train.
"It's strange," Xiao Tiantian, his balding head craned as he looked around, said. "This is the departure station, right? We should be able to see the train here."
But this was a Mysterious Dungeon, so nothing here followed conventional rules.
Angel Slaughter was still touching his forefinger. "You're right, there's something strange about this departure station. Not only is there no train, but there are also no passengers waiting. It's as if we're the only seven people here."
Just then, Guigu had a sudden thought. "Come to think of it, this train, including the initial and final stations, will make stops at nine stations, right?"
At his words, the others reacted as well.
Fang Xiang also looked quite surprised. "This instance didn't give us specific player numbers... Don't tell me there are other players waiting at those stations?"
That would make things very difficult.
If two players were in the same carriage, they would be eliminated. If other players were waiting at those stations, then things would get very interesting.
Just then, they suddenly heard a distant WOO-WOO sound.
Gu Mian had heard this sound many times before; the train was close.
Han Shan frowned, staring in the direction of the sound. It came from a pitch-black tunnel, its destination unknown.
Simultaneously, an announcement from the overhead loudspeaker echoed along with the WOO-WOO sound.
"All attendants, please have your work badges ready for boarding. The work badge is an important credential for accessing the restaurant in your assigned carriage. Please do not misplace it."
Gu Mian knew that every carriage on a high-speed train had a food counter, usually with a small room behind it.
This train was apparently similar. However, it seemed one needed to swipe a card to enter the kitchen here.
While thinking about this, he glanced at the work badge he had just taken down from the bulletin board.
On the back of the work badge were some rules for train attendants.
Moreover, they were itemized with great precision.
[1. Attendants should replenish the restaurant's supply promptly.]
[2. Attendants should strive to meet customer orders...]
Before Gu Mian could finish reading, the sound from the dark tunnel grew louder, and the front of a train appeared in everyone's line of sight.
Then, the front of the train swiftly passed them, bringing a somewhat chilly wind. Gu Mian stared intently at the train's dark windows. Did I just see a figure inside?
This is the departure station; why would there be people inside?
Soon, the somewhat eerie train ground to a halt.
Looking at the train in front of him, Gu Mian noted that each carriage was quite long; each one could accommodate around seventy or eighty people.
A door stopped directly in front of Gu Mian and then rumbled open.
He glanced at the carriage information beside the door. This was Carriage No. 3.
And the attendant for Carriage No. 3 was Han Shan.
Han Shan, frowning, walked over and took half a step forward, seemingly wanting to investigate the situation inside.
However, the door was quite a distance from the passenger area, making it difficult to see clearly inside. From his position, he could only see the restroom diagonally opposite and the corner of what looked like a food sales counter.
But after only a moment of hesitation, Han Shan stepped into the carriage.
Guigu seemed to be holding his breath for Han Shan. He only breathed a sigh of relief after Han Shan stepped inside unharmed.
Han Shan, still frowning deeply, urged, "All of you, get into your carriages quickly!"
Only then did Guigu react. He looked up at the LED display; it was now 11:38.
In two minutes, this train would depart!
Suddenly, the others grew anxious. They had to board before 11:40, or they would be left behind.
Gu Mian's assigned carriage, No. 4, was right beside him. He took a few quick steps and boarded it.
Guigu also broke into a run towards Carriage No. 1.
Fang Xiang instantly began to lament.
His assigned carriage, No. 7, was the farthest away. It would take some time to reach it.
"I'm done for! I have to run!" he exclaimed, sprinting towards the rear of the train.
Just then, he noticed the LED display above him showed 11:39.
Slow down! Slow down!
He had never so desperately wished for time to slow down.
Fang Xiang, panting heavily, continued to dash forward. The rear of the train still seemed quite far, and he had less than a minute left.
Just then, he heard a sound from the nearby train, like a PSSHT of releasing air. Hearing this, Fang Xiang knew the train was preparing to depart.