"What's wrong, Master Kui?"
Lin Qian had been marveling at the white light on his fingertip, but seeing Master Kui look as though he'd seen a ghost immediately put him on edge.
Master Kui's expression was one of sheer shock. His eyes bulged, stretching out the crow's-feet at their corners. He drew a sharp breath and only managed to calm himself with great difficulty.
"More than ten years. I spent more than ten whole years just barely getting started..."
"This kid only looked at it for five minutes, tops..."
He muttered to himself, but Lin Qian couldn't make out what he was saying, so he leaned closer.
"What was that, Master Kui?"
Master Kui got up and pulled out his cigarette case, pretending to be calm.
"N-nothing..."
"I'm going to have a smoke."
He was a short man, just under five foot seven, and his slightly oversized work jacket covered his backside. There was something lonely about his departing figure.
Lin Qian didn't think much of it. He went back to studying his newly acquired ability.
After trying to activate it several times in a row, he suddenly felt lightheaded and sluggish, like he'd stayed up all night.
"This thing must use up mental energy."
That was his conclusion, though he didn't know whether mental energy was tied to Intelligence on his attribute panel.
There was no need to guess. Once he got his Free Attribute Point tomorrow, he'd put it into Intelligence and see what happened.
He checked his watch. Only an hour had passed.
He rubbed his stomach. He hadn't eaten nearly enough that morning, so he was naturally starving by now.
There was food on the train, but Lin Qian had no money.
"I wonder if I can borrow some from Master Kui."
Lin Qian looked around, but Master Kui still hadn't returned after a long while.
The hunger was becoming unbearable, so he secretly took two empty mineral water bottles out of his storage space, planning to fill them with water to take the edge off.
He walked down the aisle to the compartment between carriages. Through the glass, he spotted Master Kui whispering to a slightly plump middle-aged man.
Lin Qian pushed the door open. Master Kui turned around and, seeing who it was, called out.
"Oh, right. This young fellow's in the business too, though he's a complete greenhorn."
The middle-aged man gave Lin Qian a lukewarm nod, clearly not taking him seriously.
"Come on, let me introduce you. This is Captain Liu. He's with the authorities. Our main job is to support their operation."
Master Kui made the introduction warmly, but Captain Liu held up a hand to stop him.
"Old Kui, you know how dangerous tonight's going to be. I don't want some rookie getting in the way of the operation. Just keep him well away."
With that, he turned and walked off without the slightest attempt at courtesy. This chapter is updated first at g.com.
Old Kui gave an awkward smile and shook his head at Lin Qian.
"Ah... Those official types have always looked down on outsiders like us. Forget it. No point arguing with them."
"Have you eaten? How about we get something? My treat!"
He pointed toward the dining car.
Lin Qian's eyes lit up. He hadn't taken Captain Liu's words to heart in the slightest, and he nodded eagerly.
Half an hour later...
"One more, please!"
When Old Kui saw Lin Qian polish off another plate of food and raise his hand again, he finally couldn't sit still.
"Little Lin, how long have you been starving? How many meals has that been?"
The food on the train wasn't particularly good, but to Lin Qian, it was a rare treat.
Compared to flavorless compressed biscuits, steaming hot rice and stir-fried dishes rich with oil were more than good enough.
Lin Qian guessed that his sudden increase in appetite was probably related to the two Free Attribute Points.
According to the system's calculations, he had nearly twice the Strength and Constitution of an ordinary person, so naturally his body would burn more energy.
He was immensely glad he hadn't injected himself with the Anomalous Digestion Serum. Otherwise, he had no idea how much food it would take to keep him going.
After quickly devouring his fifth serving of rice, Lin Qian let out a satisfied burp, patted his bulging belly, and leaned back contentedly.
Noticing the complicated look on Master Kui's face, Lin Qian smiled awkwardly.
"Sorry, Master Kui. That must've cost you a lot. Next time, it's on me!"
Master Kui waved a hand.
"What's a few meals? I'm just worried you'll make yourself sick eating that much."
"Young men sure can eat. Seeing you reminds me of myself back in the day..."
He took a puff of his hand-rolled Dried Tobacco, then waved for the bill. After paying, he and Lin Qian left.
Not long after returning to his berth, Lin Qian's eyelids began to droop.
He'd used Evilbreaker too many times earlier and drained too much mental energy. On top of that, he'd eaten so much that the carbs were making him drowsy. Unable to fight it any longer, he called out to Master Kui.
"Master Kui, I'm going to get some sleep. If anything happens, wake me up."
Master Kui nodded.
"Go ahead. There's still plenty of time before nightfall. I'll wake you before it gets dark."
Hearing that, Lin Qian stopped fighting his exhaustion and fell straight asleep.
He slept like the dead. When he opened his eyes, the sun was already setting, and the clouds on the horizon glowed red.
He lay there in a daze for a few seconds before jolting fully awake and springing upright.
He looked at the next berth. Master Kui was nowhere to be seen.
A drop of cold sweat ran down his temple. Lin Qian shuddered at the thought. Luckily, he'd woken up on his own. If he'd slept until after dark, there was no telling what he might have opened his eyes to. This chapter was copied from novelping.com without permission.
It seemed he needed to be more careful in the future and never place his hopes in someone else.
No matter the circumstances, the only person he could rely on was himself.
He glanced at the countdown. Fifteen hours remained. He'd slept for more than six hours.
"What a waste of time!"
The carriage was much quieter now. After a long day, everyone was tired. Only a few people playing cards were still full of energy, occasionally bursting into laughter.
"Nothing unusual..."
"Or is it because it isn't dark yet?"
He looked outside. It wouldn't be long before nightfall.
Lin Qian cleared his throat. His mouth and throat felt parched after his nap, so he took out the two empty bottles again and went to fill them.
He'd been so happy when Master Kui invited him to eat that he'd forgotten all about the water.
At the connection between carriages, Lin Qian was filling a bottle when a man hurried over from the next carriage and tugged at the restroom door. It wouldn't open.
"How long has it been already? Why aren't you out yet?"
The man was clearly desperate to go. He pounded on the door.
"Hey! You in there! What are you doing?"
There was no response.
"Fuck!"
The man spat angrily. Rather than go to another carriage, he folded his arms and stood guard outside the door, apparently determined to wait for whoever was inside.
Lin Qian was puzzled.
"Are you sure someone's in there? Maybe the train staff locked it..."
The man turned to him. "I saw someone go in with my own eyes. It's been over half an hour, and they're still hogging the damn toilet!"
Lin Qian shook his head helplessly.
"Maybe they're constipated..."
Just then, Lin Qian's nose twitched.
It wasn't the smell of shit. It was something masked by disinfectant...
"The smell of blood!"
He went on alert, looking first at the man and then at the restroom.
Scarlet blood was slowly seeping from beneath the door, spreading from side to side as the train rocked.
With a rush, the view outside the window suddenly went pitch-black.
The train had entered a tunnel, and the clatter of the wheels against the tracks grew clear and loud.