【Chat channel network restored】
As the chat channel network reconnected, people also caused an uproar in the chat channel over what had happened earlier.
The number displayed in the manual had also dropped from 2.98 billion to 2.93 billion, while the number of people online in regional chat had fallen from 994 to 980.
It seemed that quite a few people had chosen to jump off the train.
“Damn, damn, damn! What a scam!”
“Of course! People had to die, didn’t they?” someone complained indignantly.
“Most people still chose to run over one, right?” someone else asked.
“Anyway, I chose to run over one. Naturally, fewer deaths would be better.”
“I simply didn’t touch the control lever and ran over all five.” The person with the ID Faint Scenery said.
“You monster!” This statement drew condemnation from many people.
“If you don’t pull the control lever, the harmful consequences suffered by those five people aren’t caused by your act of ‘omission,’ which is not pulling the control lever;
but if you pull the lever, the harmful result suffered by that one person is caused by your act of ‘commission.’ Do you really think that is moral and ethically acceptable?”
Another expert refuted the argument for running over one person.
Before people could discuss it for long, the familiar Mechanical Voice echoed through everyone’s minds.
【In this trolley problem, among the 2.98 billion survivors, 50 million people chose to jump off the train. They have all now died unnatural deaths】
This news caused An Bai to break out in a cold sweat. Fortunately, he remembered at the last moment that he was a “Survivor” and did not jump off the train.
【Five hundred million people chose to go straight. Congratulations, you are qualified “survivors”】
【The abundance of resources ahead of these people has increased by 15% for three days】
This news undoubtedly dealt a harsh blow to those who had chosen to run over one person.
【2.43 billion people chose the left railway track. Since there are more of you, the abundance of resources ahead will decrease by only 5% for five days】
In other words, while he could spend the time to collect 115 jin of resources, those more than two billion people could collect only 95 jin.
Of course, reasonable deductions also had to be made based on on-site investigations.
For example, even with a 15% increase, the resources in a snowy mountain would still be considerably fewer than those in a rainforest with a 5% decrease.
“This has completely shattered my worldview for a hundred years!” Unsurprisingly, the chat channel erupted again.
“What kind of worldview do you want? One from a society governed by law, or one from the Rail-Track World where every day is uncertain?”
Clearly, the behind-the-scenes operator wanted to use this incident to tell the survivors one fact: you are not on earth!
An Bai quietly observed the arguments among the people in the chat channel.
In his view, those people were not persuading others; it was more like they were persuading themselves through the argument.
They were merely looking for a reason to numb themselves.
“Advance! Advance! Advance by any means necessary!”
An Bai repeated it once. Those words had left a deep impression on him.
Perhaps, for him, this was also a reason to numb himself.
.....
【Good daytime, survivors. The Polar Night has passed. Mist Mode will activate one hour after daytime begins】
【All survivors, please do not stray far from your train】
【The area within a radius of 1,000 meters centered on the train is the fogless zone; the area from 1,000 meters to 2 kilometers is the Thin-Mist Zone; the area beyond 2 kilometers is the dense-fog zone】
【The probability of accidents in the fogless zone is 5%, in the Thin-Mist Zone it is 15%, and in the dense-fog zone it is 35%】
【The Railway Survival Manual has unlocked the photograph-based identification function】
As the train slowly came to a stop, An Bai opened the door.
When he stepped outside, it was still a forest, but no longer the pine forest from before.
This was a type of tree An Bai had never seen before.
The 15% resource-abundance bonus allowed An Bai to discover a small stream in the forest. Now he no longer had to worry about water.
He walked to the stream and, after observing it and confirming that there was no major problem with the water, began drinking deeply.
After drinking until he was half full, An Bai stood up and began observing what resources were around him.
Now that the water problem was solved, the first resource he needed to find was food.
An Bai climbed a tree and surveyed the surroundings. He soon discovered a tree not far away covered in greenish-red fruit.
He went beneath the tree and kicked it a few times. Several fruits fell from the branches.
The fruits were shaped like peaches, but their skin was smooth.
He took out the Railway Survival Manual and used its photograph-based identification function on them.
【Salt peach. Rich in salt content and nonpoisonous, but remember not to eat too much】
“Salt!” An Bai’s breathing grew somewhat rapid when he heard that word.
This was a strategic “weapon” second only to water and food!
If he could obtain a large quantity of Salt Peaches, An Bai could not guarantee what things would be like later, but at least he could live quite comfortably during the early stages.
He took a small bite. Although it was not as salty as eating salt directly, the slightly grimacing expression on An Bai’s face showed that the salt peach was not tasty.
Nevertheless, An Bai swallowed the bitten piece. He needed salt content.
“In no more than fifteen days, my Salt Peaches will be selling at a premium.”
An Bai was somewhat excited. Most people’s bodies would develop problems after going more than fifteen days without consuming salt content!
Salt was especially necessary in an environment focused on survival like this.
Over the course of about twenty minutes, he either kicked the tree or smashed it with stones, bringing down most of the fruit.
As for the remaining, relatively “sturdy” fruits, An Bai climbed the tree and shook the thinner branches they grew on until they fell.
While climbing the tree, An Bai even discovered several more salt peach trees about 1 kilometer from the train.
He silently memorized the route back, then repeated the same method beneath those trees.
In the end, he collected nearly 150 Salt Peaches before Mist Mode activated.
In fact, An Bai had been keeping track of the time the entire time.
Mist Mode activated just as he transported the final batch of Salt Peaches into the fogless zone.
In an instant, a massive amount of mist appeared out of nowhere, occupying nearly 99% of the world around him in the blink of an eye.
The sudden mist startled An Bai as well. He hurriedly carried the final batch of Salt Peaches into the train.
After catching his breath, he opened the manual again to learn about the situation of the others.
The global population had fallen from 2.93 billion to 2.92 billion. Another ten million people had disappeared!
From his analysis, he concluded that more dangerous creatures were roaming within the mist. Of course, this was only what the survivors could sense through the mist.
After all, anyone who experienced it firsthand would need to survive to tell the tale.
“I want to go home!” someone sobbed.
“There’s no way to play anymore. The train was already shabby, and now they’ve added Mist Mode.”
“Exactly, and the weapons they give us are all worthless junk. Are we supposed to use a wooden axe to trim a monster’s fingernails?” An Bai chimed in at the appropriate moment.
“The person above is hilarious.”
Perhaps the behind-the-scenes operator was also observing this wave of public opinion.
Sure enough, not long after their heated argument began, the Mechanical Voice came again.
【Survivors’ bodily data is now available】
Beep, beep, beep. Survivor Andersen’s data.
【Level: first tier】
【Stamina: 12】
【Strength: 10】
【Agility: 12】
【Sanity tolerance: 20】
【Intelligence: 15】
【The personal bodily data of all survivors is now available. Please refer to the Survival Manual for detailed instructions on upgrading yourselves】
【The survival journey ahead will become even more dangerous. Take care of yourselves】
✦✦✦