……
In the morning, Mu Bai was woken by the broadcast announcement from the Station.
Still dazed and not fully awake, Mu Bai felt very cramped.
There was hardly any space on the bed; no wonder she felt so tired after sleeping.
Why was the body pillow next to her so warm, fragrant, and soft…
“Mu Bai, where are you rubbing!”
Ye Yuan jolted.
This sharp cry carried a hint of shame and anger, as if something very offensive had been done to her.
Hearing her name, Mu Bai snapped awake.
“I’m sor… no, why are you sleeping with me?”
Mu Bai instinctively tried to apologize before suddenly realizing why the other person was in her bed.
“There’s only one bed in the carriage, so where else would I sleep?”
Ye Yuan said helplessly.
She only agreed to sleep together because she felt she didn’t dislike this little sister.
Mu Bai was actually quite quiet while asleep and didn’t make noise, but she always wanted to hug and cling to her, sticking like an octopus that couldn’t be peeled off.
Ye Yuan had been afraid of waking her, so she ended up entangled all night, barely sleeping in a half-awake state.
If she had known, she would have slept facing Mu Bai.
If she got hugged, she’d just hug back.
She liked sleeping with a duvet anyway; swapping it for a little girl wasn’t out of the question.
“I-I’m sorry!”
Mu Bai became submissive.
She only now realized she had asked a very stupid question.
The other person was her teammate, and she currently relied on her for protection.
She couldn’t exactly let Ye Yuan sleep on the floor.
“…Don’t get handsy with me next time we sleep,” Ye Yuan sighed softly.
Mu Bai was speechless.
Mostly, she didn’t know how a girl should react in this situation; her mindset hadn’t fully shifted yet.
Not daring to look directly at Ye Yuan, she caught a glimpse of Ye Yuan’s expression out of the corner of her eye.
She seemed still embarrassed by Mu Bai’s accidental touch.
Her usually indifferent eyes were no longer calm, like ripples on the surface of water reflecting a clear blue sky.
So beautiful…
This was the first time Mu Bai had been so close to a girl, and the other person was in a defenseless state just after waking up.
It felt completely different from hanging out with girls back in school.
Her mind was a mess.
As if sensing Mu Bai’s peeking, Ye Yuan stared back.
Mu Bai quickly looked away.
Ye Yuan: “…”
This child was too cute; it was impossible to dislike her.
***
The time waiting for The Train to dock passed quietly.
The door opened automatically, and a transparent Light Screen still blocked the entrance.
The two were already standing before the door, carefully reading the Electronic Subtitles above the door frame.
[Station Type: Weirdness Type. Difficulty Level: 3]
[Stop Duration: 3 hours. Survivors, please mind the exploration time.]
“A Weirdness Type station… It doesn’t feel like an easy type to handle, and the Difficulty Level jumped straight to 3. Should we go out?”
Mu Bai adjusted her state of mind and regained her composure.
Generally speaking, this kind of difficulty scale should be out of ten.
Jumping from Level 0 to Level 3 was unusual.
Since the Survival Game was a game, it would likely follow game rules to some extent; the difficulty should progress gradually.
This time was probably just bad luck.
Furthermore, there was another thing worrying Mu Bai…
Combined with the descriptions from others in the Chat Room about monsters like Zombies in the stations, would the monsters in a Weirdness Type station be something like ghosts?
Could crossbow bolts even work on such beings?
After all, she and Ye Yuan were indeed lacking supplies, especially food and water, but they hadn’t truly reached a point of total exhaustion yet.
They wouldn’t starve to death for a while, so there was no need to take too great a risk for resources.
“You stay in The Train. I want to feel just how dangerous Level 3 difficulty is,” Ye Yuan pondered.
“Rest assured, I won’t go too far. If I encounter danger, I’ll run straight back.”
She had gained a lot of useful information from the Chat Room.
This included the fact that if one encountered danger in a Station, The Train could provide protection if they returned to the carriage in time.
Mu Bai knew this as well.
Mu Bai remained silent, which served as tacit consent.
She didn’t think she was close enough to Ye Yuan to make decisions for her.
Except this time, Mu Bai didn’t suggest going out together.
The physical stamina of this body was a serious flaw; if she encountered danger, she couldn’t run fast and would only hold her back.
“Stay inside The Train. Don’t go out. I’ll be back in a bit,” Ye Yuan urged, sounding a bit worried.
She wanted to say something like ‘don’t come looking for me even if I don’t come back,’ but she felt it was a bit conceited and embarrassing, so she swallowed the second half of the sentence.
She was cautious enough and didn’t truly believe anything would happen to her.
The outside was a dim Cafeteria.
The ceiling lamps emitted a pale light; perhaps the wiring was bad, as the illumination flickered constantly.
From inside The Train, they could see the Cafeteria windows in the distance.
The iron trays that should have held food were all empty.
It didn’t look like business hours.
Looking toward the side, there was the main entrance of the Cafeteria.
The glass doors were wide open.
It was incredibly dark outside the Cafeteria, and a slow, cold wind blew inward.
Under Mu Bai’s gaze, the girl stepped out of the protection of the Light Screen.
Gripping her Compound Crossbow, Ye Yuan advanced cautiously with slow steps.
She walked to the window and looked inside.
The tabletops and trays were as clean as new, obviously cleaned by someone not long ago.
It looked like there was a high probability of finding ingredients in the back kitchen!
Ye Yuan scanned the surroundings and only found one locked door.
She wasn’t sure if it was a utility room or the entrance to the kitchen.
Under these circumstances, Ye Yuan didn’t want to make too much noise.
Cafeteria kitchens usually have a passage from the back of the building for staff entry and food delivery, but for Ye Yuan, the risk of leaving the interior of the Cafeteria to go outside was too great.
After a moment’s thought, Ye Yuan climbed directly through the window.
She opened the door leading to the back kitchen.
There was still light inside the kitchen.
Before Ye Yuan could step in, the sound of an electric bell made her pause.
The bell was too sudden, like a reminder of something or an alarm for approaching danger.
At the same time, it carried a faint sense of familiarity that left Ye Yuan unsure of what to do for a moment.
She closed the door again and stood still until the long ringing ended.
Nothing happened.
Just as Ye Yuan breathed a sigh of relief, a shout rang out.
“Come back, quick! Something is coming through the main entrance!”
Mu Bai shouted anxiously.
In the next second, Ye Yuan seemed to understand something.
Her expression changed, and she immediately flipped back through the window, running toward The Train in a few quick strides.
At the same time, she glanced toward the entrance.
It was an illusory shadow.
Its face wasn’t clear, but it wore a student’s outfit, rushing toward the interior of the Cafeteria at a speed not inferior to Ye Yuan’s.
Originally, it was moving toward the food service window, but the moment it discovered Ye Yuan, it immediately changed direction and pursued her.
The moment that shadow crossed the main entrance, a large crowd of similar figures swarmed into the Cafeteria.
Strangely, despite so many “people” running, not a single sound could be heard.
Intense malice surged toward Ye Yuan; a chilling sensation felt like a prickling on her back.
Fortunately, Ye Yuan returned in time.
She stepped into the carriage just seconds before being caught, using her shoulder to cushion the impact as she slammed straight into the interior wall of the carriage.
Behind her, the large group of Phantom Students suddenly stopped moving, yet they did not lose their target, beginning to wander around The Train.