"A few people have ordered before, but everything they ordered was in the warehouse, so it wasn't much of a problem..."
While speaking, Han Shan's brow furrowed even more. "But just now, a passenger came to the counter to order in person."
He paused when he reached this point.
Gu Mian curiously waited for him to continue.
After a few more seconds, Han Shan resumed speaking, "A man. He ordered two pounds of raw meat."
Gu Mian, influenced by Han Shan, also frowned.
Ordinarily, if a passenger on the train made such an absurd request, the conductor would likely ignore it or even call the police. But not now.
Gu Mian could even imagine Han Shan, brow furrowed and looking troubled, agreeing to the passenger's unreasonable request.
This lieutenant must have been attending a dinner party when he entered the game. He was dressed quite formally, though not in his blinding military uniform.
Gu Mian watched Han Shan frown. He took a small notebook from his suit pocket, followed by a pen, apparently to take notes.
Holding the pen, Han Shan wrote in the notebook, "Actually, if it's just two pounds of raw meat..."
"Just?" Gu Mian touched his chainsaw. "Do you have two pounds of raw meat? Of course, if you want to sacrifice yourself to satisfy the passenger's request, I can lend you my saw to cut your flesh."
Han Shan had seen this Doctor's chainsaw before; he definitely didn't want such a terrifying instrument turned on him.
Seeing Han Shan remain silent, Gu Mian continued, "If you really give them flesh this time, what about the next, and the time after that? How can you guarantee passengers won't make even more outrageous requests? Like wanting someone's manhood, or something of the sort..."
Han Shan's brow furrowed, and he winced as if feeling a phantom pain.
He looked up at Gu Mian, trying to detect any other emotion on the Doctor's face, but failed.
Then, Han Shan coughed lightly and said, "Actually, that's exactly what I'm worried about—the kind of situation you just described."
As he spoke, his pen started moving again. "I just did a quick calculation. This train will pass through a total of nine stations, but we haven't even reached the third one yet, and already a passenger is requesting two pounds of raw meat..."
"It's still deceptively calm right now, but I have no doubt this peace will soon be shattered. I guess..." Han Shan's pen kept moving. "The closer we get to the terminal, the more outrageous the passengers' requests will become. This is only the beginning."
"I predict that the most terrifying demands will emerge as we approach the final station." Han Shan pursed his lips slightly at this point. "But that's assuming we can survive that long."
Han Shan's brow furrowed deeper. "And if I'm not mistaken, these kinds of requests are probably appearing in all carriages by now. This is the first wave designed to filter us out."
Gu Mian glanced at him.
Han Shan also looked at Gu Mian. "If I may be so bold, if a passenger made such a request to you—something like wanting someone's manhood—what would you do?"
Han Shan even stopped his pen as he spoke. He seemed exceptionally serious about this question, with no hint of jest.
Gu Mian wasn't exactly a serious person and rarely gave serious answers to serious questions.
The lieutenant, pen in hand, watched the Doctor across the invisible line separating them. The Doctor seemed to ponder for a moment before replying earnestly, "The wool comes from the sheep."
"Of course," Gu Mian continued. "In a situation where a few living people are serving as attendants on a train with ghosts, and a ghost wants, say, an arm to gnaw on, the optimal solution is naturally to chop up another living person to fulfill the ghost's order. After all, players are unlikely to dare attack a passenger who might be a ghost."
"However, there's a strict rule: two players cannot be in the same carriage. So, even if you wanted to attack another player, you couldn't." Gu Mian paused here, then looked out the adjacent window. "But..."
Generally, when a conversation reaches the word "but," experienced people know things are about to take a turn for the worse.
At that, Han Shan's heart skipped a beat. He followed Gu Mian's gaze out the window.
Outside, the sky was rather dark, and dilapidated houses sped by. Not long ago, looking out from here, they could still see a station platform with vendors selling their wares.
At this thought, realization seemed to dawn on Han Shan. His expression turned grim. "Players can't be in the same carriage simultaneously, but they *can* be on the same platform when the train is stopped at a station!"
Just then, an announcement suddenly blared through the carriage—
"Attention, passengers. We are about to enter a tunnel. The train's power supply will be temporarily cut. Please prepare yourselves."
Han Shan asked, a hint of confusion in his voice, "Cut the power?"
Not long after his question, Gu Mian suddenly felt the ambient light dim, as if he had been struck blind.
The surroundings instantly plunged into an eerie silence, broken only by the roar of the train.
But just then, Gu Mian suddenly heard another faint sound, like the roar of a different train.
The sound came from behind, quickly passed them, and then sped off ahead.
Meanwhile, Gu Mian felt as if the train he was on had slowed.
Only when they emerged from the dark tunnel did the carriage lights flicker back on, and the train gradually began to pick up speed.
Han Shan, opposite him, was frowning deeply. "Did you... hear anything just now?"
Gu Mian nodded slightly. "It sounded like another train passed us? And it overtook us quickly?"
Just then, a voice crackled over both their intercoms simultaneously. It was Guigu. "Say, Lieutenant, did you happen to receive any strange orders just now?"
This guy practically treats the public intercom as a private line to Han Shan, always addressing the lieutenant so directly, oblivious to anyone else. Orıginal content can be found at 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹⟡𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮⟡𝙣𝙚𝙩
Angel Slaughter's voice followed, "A young woman came to my counter just now... asking for two pounds of raw meat. But the warehouse doesn't stock anything like that..."
This seemed to strike a chord with Guigu. "Same here! Someone came right up to my counter to ask for it, though in my case, it was a bald man."
Then, other voices chimed in one after another, all essentially saying the same thing—"Me too."
Since Gu Mian hadn't spoken, Guigu's puzzled voice came over the intercom, "Doctor, you didn't get this strange order?"
Gu Mian glanced at Han Shan opposite him, then looked back towards the counter, which was some distance away. "Your orders... did the passengers deliver them to you in person at the counter?"
The others were momentarily taken aback, then realized that, yes, that seemed to be the case.
Gu Mian stroked his chin and averted his gaze. "I haven't been back to my counter for a while."