◎ Triggered Event [Driving the Train] ◎
When Jiang Qi and the others arrived at the property management center, quite a few people had already gathered. Everyone was bundled up like bears, their faces red and necks flushed as they argued loudly about something.
The property staff were trying to maintain order, while a community worker and a homeowners’ representative were talking.
A few homeowners excitedly said, “If only 50 people go, how much can they bring back? If we go, all the homeowners should go!”
The community worker looked helpless. “Your Xin’an community was only allocated one carriage. If all the homeowners go, five carriages wouldn’t even be enough, and that’s not even counting the need to carry supplies back.”
“Then give us more train carriages! Look, all the shops outside are closed now, and the government will definitely start distributing supplies from the city center where the crowds are. Who knows how many days it will take before our community gets anything. The weather is strange as everyone knows, so it’s rare that we have the chance to go to the dock ourselves to get supplies. Let us send more people!”
Other homeowners around agreed, and the community staff could only compromise in the end: “Okay, I’ll try to apply for that.”
Those unfamiliar with the situation asked someone in the know. The person explained: “There are several large ships at Jiuwan Dock, all loaded with supplies—coal, food, medicine, you name it. Last night, several groups tried to loot them, and the armed police were deployed and opened fire. I heard a few people died. The government has now cordoned off the area and won’t let anyone approach. They said the supplies will be evenly distributed to citizens.
“But the government doesn’t have enough manpower right now, so someone suggested that communities send their own people to collect supplies. Our Xin’an community was allotted 50 spots.”
Someone shouted, “50 isn’t enough!”
“Exactly. Since we have this chance, we should get as much as possible. Who knows when the government will distribute supplies. How much can 50 people bring back? Divided among the whole community, how much will each household get?”
Another person added, “Those 50 selected might keep all the supplies for themselves. I’m a proper homeowner too, so I want to go.”
“Yeah, I want to go! I can drive myself too.”
“You probably can’t self-drive. I heard last night’s snow made many places impassable. We need to drive to the train station first, then take the train to Jiuwan District. From the station there, it’s just a few kilometers to the dock. That’s the fastest route.”
Homeowners understood the situation and insisted on personally going to get supplies to contribute to the community.
The tenants also caught on and refused to be left out.
They also lived in Xin’an Community. Why shouldn’t they get a share of the supplies? Who knows if homeowners would share the supplies with tenants? Most tenants were players and began loudly protesting, demanding to go collect supplies themselves.
The scene became even more chaotic.
In the end, the community leaders had to relax the rules, and Xin’an Community was approved for six train carriages.
Still, not everyone could go, so only one person per apartment could attend.
Ain and Qing Mai whispered, “We have to go to that dock. As long as we can access the supplies, we have backpacks. Hiding some supplies quietly isn’t difficult. There’s no better opportunity than this.”
They approached an elderly couple living in apartment 607, hoping to get that apartment’s spot. After negotiation and giving all their current supplies to the couple, they finally agreed.
Other players also used various means to secure spots, trading favors and even player-owned items.
“This knife is extremely sharp. I wouldn’t sell it for 100,000, but I’ll give it to you if you give me the spot.”
“Do you know what this is? It’s myopia medicine; it restores vision.”
“This medicine is great for scars—I had someone bring it from overseas.”
Jiang Qi watched from afar, impressed by the players’ resourcefulness. “These players are really willing to spend to get what they want.”
Dong Shengfeng said, “They think going to the dock is like a mouse entering a rice jar—they can quietly stuff supplies into backpacks. Naturally, they’re willing to spend small to gain big. We’re happy to use these reasonable methods to collect players’ items for research.”
Jiang Qi said, “I’m leaving first. The 605 spot is yours.”
Dong Shengfeng sighed. Who knows how long she’d have to play the role of an undercover among the players.
Three minutes later, a car carrying Jiang Qi left Xin’an Community first.
Soon after, the spots for the community were confirmed. One by one, cars left the underground garage, carrying excited homeowners and players. The convoy drove on the road, braving the wind and snow, struggling forward.
At 8 a.m., Jiang Qi arrived at the high-speed train station and went straight to the office, changing into the train conductor’s uniform and adjusting her facial features in the mirror.
“Conductor, Train S3105 has arrived at the platform. Should we perform the pre-departure inspection?”
Looking at her brand-new face in the mirror, Jiang Qi exhaled and opened the conductor panel, adjusting the number of simultaneous projects back to five: “Alright, let’s go.”
She wanted to see if this train conductor cosplay would trigger any internship tasks.
Before departure, the train required checks on its exterior, interior, braking system, and signaling system, and then confirmation that the carriages were clean and supplied with enough provisions, such as drinking water and meals.
Although this was an urban route with only a 20-minute ride and didn’t really require supplies, Jiang Qi still had them prepared and meticulously checked everything.
Of course, there was also a pre-shift meeting. She gathered the train crew for this ride, conducted a proper meeting, and ensured everyone was properly dressed and equipped with radios, ticketing devices, and other tools.
With preparations done, the passengers arrived.
This train had a total of 16 carriages, six allocated to residents of Xin’an Community, and the remaining ten divided among three other communities. After careful control, almost all passengers from the other two communities were players.
In other words, players accounted for over 70% of passengers, and among the remaining 30% of locals, most were played by officials ready to handle emergencies.
There were hardly any ordinary passengers.
Facing this crowd, Jiang Qi, wearing the train conductor uniform, stood at the ticket gate, making sure everyone passed security, presented their temporary tickets, and sat in their assigned seats.
By 8:50 a.m., all passengers were aboard.
Jiang Qi walked back and forth along the platform to ensure everyone had boarded, then entered the driver’s cabin, ordered the doors closed, and made an announcement over the train intercom:
“Hello, passengers. I am the conductor of Train S3105. This train departs from Spring City South Station and will arrive at Jiuwan Station. The journey will take about 20 minutes. Please remain in your seats during the ride, keep your valuables with you, refrain from loud talking, do not smoke, and maintain cleanliness in the carriages…”
She read the lines from her notebook, her tone not particularly gentle.
“Upon arrival at Jiuwan Station, please disembark in an orderly manner. Staff will guide you to the shuttle to the dock. Please note: your purpose at Jiuwan Dock is to follow instructions and handle loading and unloading of supplies. Anyone who refuses to comply will be placed on the government blacklist…”
As she spoke, memories of the announcements from the survival train in her previous life surfaced.
Whenever a new dungeon approached, the conductor on that train would announce in a rough, hoarse voice that made listeners uneasy:
“The train is arriving at XX dungeon. Your mission is to survive for 30 days. All methods are permitted. Remember, everyone in the dungeon is an enemy. You have no friends, no allies. You can only rely on yourself. Fail, and you will never return to the train. You will become a wandering soul, lost, forgotten, abandoned, never reaching the end…”
Recalling this, Jiang Qi kept her voice calm and stern, secretly mimicking the conductor’s pronunciation and tone:
“Remember, all supplies you see and access belong to the state. You are merely laborers sent by your respective communities. Any attempt to hoard or damage supplies will result in immediate punishment, revocation of return train privileges, and impact on future provision allocations.”
Through her masked disguise, her voice was broadcast throughout the carriages, echoing over everyone’s heads. Players’ expressions changed immediately.
This cold, emotionless voice inexplicably reminded them of the warnings from the survival train’s conductor.
Although the tone and content were different, the sense of pressure and intimidation overlapped, sending shivers down their spines and even causing them to momentarily feel as if they were on the survival train.
In the sub-zero carriages, players felt their hands and feet grow cold and breathing became slightly labored.
At Car 04, Seat 17B, Ain’s face turned pale, her fingers curling over her lap as she stared at the intercom above, feeling that the unfamiliar, cold female voice was the survival train conductor’s spirit reporting here in disguise.
Qing Mai lightly nudged her, “Calm down. This is just an ordinary train, an ordinary announcement.”
She didn’t notice that her own voice was tense too.
That Survival Train had changed everyone’s lives. Since boarding, all had fought, schemed, and faced daily life-or-death challenges.
Even if they had been lucky the first time—boarding with plenty of supplies and entering first-class carriages with better survival conditions—they still feared the train.
Especially that elusive conductor, who had thrown disobedient players off the train in front of many others.
It was said that the third- and fourth-class carriages were even scarier. Disobedient players there were killed in bizarre ways, and their bodies hung from the ceiling like dried meat, swaying as the train moved—a grim warning to others.
The train somewhat forbade players from killing each other, so following the rules meant safety. But in the dungeon, players could fight freely, full of danger.
Yet for many players, they would rather stay in the dungeon than return to that nightmare of a train.
Dong Shengfeng sat in seat 17A, seemingly unaware of the changes between the two, but her eyes were actually monitoring the players in the carriage. She noticed that they all looked frightened and cautious, as though their earlier excitement had been splashed away by cold water, and one by one they fell completely silent.
The announcement seemed normal, yet its intimidating effect was unexpectedly strong.
…
Driver’s Cabin.
Jiang Qi hung up the receiver, her expression far from relaxed. Imitating an old conductor she disliked—this feeling was far from pleasant.
She quickly adjusted herself and, alongside a real veteran driver, executed a series of departure procedures before personally taking the controls of the train.
As the entire train slowly started moving, Jiang Qi’s mood gradually calmed. She kept her eyes on the track ahead, operating steadily.
Twenty minutes later, the train arrived at Jiuwan Station. Jiang Qi picked up the receiver again: “This train has arrived at its final stop, Jiuwan Station. Passengers, please take your personal belongings and disembark in an orderly manner.”
As the doors opened and passengers poured onto the platform, Jiang Qi finally heard the announcement broadcast from the panel.
[Ding! You have completed the general routine of a train conductor’s daily work [Driving the Train], and your onboard announcement caused many passengers to feel pressured and frightened. Congratulations, you have begun to display the demeanor of a train conductor and gained 0.01 Internship Experience.]
Jiang Qi’s expression immediately relaxed. This task was pretty good—though unrelated to her skills and not boosting her strength, by the literal description it was a necessary internship project, carrying significant value.
She had a feeling that once she completed this project, she would be able to handle a real survival train to some extent.
The catch, however, was that earning 0.01 experience at a time meant this internship project required 100 repetitions.
She looked at the snow on the tracks. With weather conditions like this, could she actually complete 100 operations?
…
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