The sleeping old woman seemed to sense that someone was watching her as well, and the head on her left shoulder opened its eyes.
The instant An Bai saw her open her eyes, he immediately turned his head away to avoid meeting her gaze.
The old woman seemed to notice something. Her pair of murky eyes turned toward the slightly frail-looking youth in the northern area.
One corner of her mouth lifted slightly, and she smiled silently.
An Bai's heart was pounding. He had almost met her gaze just now.
Along with his alarm, a familiar feeling welled up inside him. He kept feeling that he had seen this old woman somewhere before.
Carefully recalling the details of the night, An Bai suddenly remembered that she seemed to have said something about a benefactor when she walked in.
A benefactor! An Bai seemed to realize something. His eyes widened, and he found it somewhat unbelievable.
Wasn't this face the same as that of the old granny who had been tied alone to the railway track during the trolley problem?
At the time, he had faced the choice of hitting five heads or one person. In the end, amid a helpless sigh, he had chosen to do nothing.
The train had crushed five people to death without any surprise, while the old woman on the other railway track had survived.
What horrified him was that she had actually appeared on a platform hundreds of kilometers away—and now had four additional heads.
If that was the case, then perhaps the five heads crushed to death that night had not been human either.
The more An Bai thought about it, the more frightened he became.
He had to do something now!
He stood up and looked around, discovering that the rough man was gone.
The couple was still being all lovey-dovey, while the long-haired freak raised his head and glanced at An Bai in surprise.
He felt that he was the only one among this group who did not understand the situation.
Following the route he had taken when he arrived, An Bai walked out of the building and saw the rough man outside. At that moment, he was leaning against a thick wooden pillar and smoking.
A cool breeze swept past, the white fog swirled, and moonlight spilled through the clouds onto the ground, creating a hazy atmosphere.
The rough man noticed An Bai as well. He turned his head and glanced over without saying anything, merely smiling.
An Bai walked over to the rough man and slightly moved his lips, wondering how to begin.
“If you want to know something, add me as a friend. But let me give you a warning first: my intelligence isn't free.”
“My ID is Strange Man,” he added.
“You're Strange Man!” An Bai was somewhat delighted.
“Are you Brother Andersen?” Strange Man's originally calm expression also became somewhat surprised.
“That's me!” As An Bai spoke, he took out the manual and showed him his ID.
“Oh! It really is you, Brother Andersen. I never thought we'd actually meet here.” As Strange Man spoke, he handed An Bai a cigarette.
“I don't smoke.” An Bai smiled and declined.
“It's fine. Young people should smoke less; it's better for their health.” As Strange Man spoke, he withdrew his hand, without the slightest trace of awkwardness on his face.
“Haha, I really didn't expect us to meet the first time we entered a platform.” An Bai sighed emotionally.
“Speaking of which, I feel embarrassed. When I opened the door for you, I was wondering which reckless greenhorn you were. I never thought you were Master Andersen.”
“I can't call myself a master. I just happened to be a little luckier.” An Bai waved his hand.
“Since you're Brother Andersen, I won't charge you for the intelligence.”
After Strange Man finished speaking, he opened the manual and sent An Bai several key pieces of information.
Without exchanging pleasantries, An Bai opened the chat interface and read the information the man had sent him.
【Information about the platform was deliberately leaked by someone. Only a small number of people know about it. Don't ask me who leaked the information, because I don't know either.】
【The platform has both advantages and disadvantages. It isn't as terrifying as imagined.】
【Not long after arriving at the platform, a staff member will come over. Before the first tolling of the bell, remember not to interact with them. Otherwise, you will bear the consequences.】
【When the second tolling of the bell sounds, the staff member will rise and ask everyone whether they want to purchase tickets. The ticket price is determined by the staff member's mood. Survivors who cannot afford a ticket will be unable to leave the platform.】
【After successfully purchasing a ticket, you can leave the platform when the bell tolls again. Those who leave early will bear the consequences.】
【The bell may not necessarily be sounded by the platform; it could be something else. The platform's bell is the standard.】
【There will be many more platforms during the journey ahead, and their rules will all be different.】
“What strange rules!” An Bai savored the implications, his expression shifting uncertainly.
“They are rather strange.” Strange Man smiled faintly in agreement.
“If the ticket price isn't enough, can we seek help from other survivors?” An Bai asked.
“I'm not entirely sure either, but after the first tolling of the bell, the Player Trading System entered a server maintenance state and became unusable.”
Hearing this, An Bai opened the manual and flipped to the page on the Player Trading System. Sure enough, it could not be used.
“I have one question. After the first tolling of the bell, the so-called staff member shouldn't break the rules and kill people, right?”
An Bai closed the manual and continued asking.
“No. Look, both of us walked out of the platform, and that monster didn't react at all.”
“Haha, that's true.”
An Bai also felt that he had been worrying needlessly. However, there was one thing he knew very clearly: he absolutely was not a match for this old woman with five heads.
“How about we take advantage of this time to walk around the building and see where the benefits it mentioned are?”
After gaining a general understanding of the Station Platform Rules, An Bai, now somewhat relaxed, gradually returned to his usual nature.
To him, the unknown was the most frightening thing. People like Strange Man and Li Zhiluò were worth befriending.
“Sure! Let's go.” Strange Man had the same intention.
An Bai and Strange Man walked side by side. After circling halfway around the building, they stopped.
There was no other reason: continuing forward would lead to a cliff, and the building had been constructed beside it.
The only connection to the mountain opposite was a chain as thick as a bowl's rim. An ordinary person could not cross it at all.
“I remember that the wooden door the staff member opened was the one beside the cliff,” Strange Man said.
“Yes.” An Bai had heard it perfectly clearly at the time. The monster's voice had come from the western area in the beginning.
“It's somewhat like an invisible boundary in a game,” An Bai said.
“Sigh, let's go back. We can't explore this place for now.” Strange Man let out a light sigh.
Although An Bai felt regretful, he had no choice but to return the way they had come. Judging by the time, the second tolling of the bell would sound soon.
The two soon returned to the main entrance of the building. They gently pushed open the door, went inside, and returned to their respective areas to sit down.
The atmosphere in this space remained just as quiet as before, which instead put An Bai considerably more at ease.
The long-haired freak had changed to a seat closer to the main entrance, while the couple was still showing off their love in an unbearably sickening manner.
“They really don't care about the occasion.” An Bai rolled his eyes inwardly.
As time slowly passed, the second tolling of the bell from the platform sounded again amid the anxious wait.
At that moment, the five heads of the old granny resting in the middle opened their eyes in unison.
A strange cackling laugh came from all five of her vocal tracts, creating the illusion of an echo.
“Everyone! Survivors, it's time to buy your tickets.”
The old granny's five heads each looked toward the five survivors in different areas. She wore a smile, and her expression was rather smug.
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