Thank You, Flight Attendant

4:00 AM.

The faint vibration of the alarm woke Zhu Yan. He groggily opened his eyes, letting the soft light slowly fill his vision.

A proper rest had significantly boosted his spirits.

Once his mind was mostly clear, he quietly got up and went to the washroom to do a simple wash-up.

The train was quiet. Almost all the passengers were sleeping, with only a few scattered reading lights still on.

Would everyone on the train be pulled into the instance?

However, the people who were awake looked very calm, not like players at all.

Outside the window, it was still pitch black.

After washing up, Zhu Yan walked back from Car 7, where he currently was, heading toward Car 8.

He already knew that the police were hunting him and planned to surround the train, but those officers had no idea he knew.

Under these circumstances, disguising himself as a train attendant would make him less likely to be noticed.

There weren't many attendants on the night train, and his Car 7 didn't have one.

Zhu Yan deliberately kept walking back until he reached the very last car, Car 15.

He did this simply because the train was very long.

If the police were to surround it completely and search it car by car, Zhu Yan posing as the Car 15 attendant while in Car 7 wouldn't be easily detected right away.

At the connection between Car 15 and Car 14 stood a young female attendant in uniform.

"Hello."

Zhu Yan greeted her politely in a low voice, carefully observing her figure.

"Hello," the female attendant replied, startled as she turned around.

She looked a bit tired but still managed a smile for Zhu Yan.

"Is there anything you need?"

A name tag was pinned to her chest, bearing the name "Zhang Li."

Zhu Yan memorized this detail.

He observed her subtle movements to ensure he could imitate her as closely as possible.

He casually made up an excuse: "Oh, I just wanted to ask where the dining car is. I'm starving."

Zhu Yan's tone was easygoing, making the attendant chuckle.

"The dining car is up ahead in Car 6," she said. "You went the wrong way. But we don't start selling breakfast until six."

She glanced down at her watch: "It's four o'clock right now."

Zhu Yan stayed where he was, watching the attendant without moving.

The combination of staying still and watching often prompted people in this line of work to say more.

He needed more information, at least about their shift system, to avoid blowing his cover.

"We have instant noodles right now," the attendant kindly reminded him when she saw he hadn't moved. "If you're really hungry, you can go have some."

Zhu Yan asked, "Do you guys also have to wait until six to eat?"

"We take shifts," the female attendant replied casually. "I've already eaten."

...A shift system.

The instance started at five o'clock; he needed to ask about the specific shift change times.

Otherwise, if he appeared on the day-shift train disguised as a night-shift worker, the other attendants would easily notice something was wrong.

"That sounds exhausting," Zhu Yan sighed, probing for more information. "Miss, this train ride is over ten hours long. Do you not get to rest besides taking shifts to eat?"

The female attendant smiled, treating Zhu Yan like a curious and friendly male college student.

She kindly explained, "We do rest, but our breaks are also in shifts. For example, I get to rest for a bit at six o'clock."

Zhu Yan got the information he wanted.

The night-shift attendants didn't rest until six, which meant he could safely and boldly transform.

Moreover, there were very few night-shift attendants. On his way here, he noticed that not every car had one.

The connection between Car 7 and Car 8 was completely empty.

He could totally exploit this loophole!

"Thank you, miss. Keep up the good work," Zhu Yan politely thanked her and turned to walk back.

There were 30 minutes left until the instance began.

After confirming no one was paying attention to him, Zhu Yan entered the washroom again.

Five minutes later, a young female attendant pushed open the washroom door, bearing the exhausted expression of someone working a night shift.

...

30 minutes ago.

Under the pitch-black night sky, another train slowly pulled into the platform.

Guan En woke up from his dream with a start, his forehead covered in cold sweat!

The voice in his dream kept saying things like ability loading complete, and it was still echoing in his mind.

It wouldn't stop. Guan En felt like he had been brainwashed.

He turned his head and met his supervisor's face.

"Xiao Guan, are you alright?"

His supervisor's eyes were dark and staring blankly, the muscles on his face subtly tense, making his expression look extremely unnatural.

Amidst the broadcast announcing the train's arrival, some people stood up, grabbed their belongings, and headed toward the doors.

Over the noise, the supervisor grabbed Guan En's arm forcefully, pulling him into the crowd.

"Don't just sit there, hurry up and get off."

The supervisor's seemingly natural tone carried an indescribable sense of wrongness.

"The colleagues here to pick us up have arrived."

On both sides of the platform, there were indeed several uniformed police officers standing with a few police dogs.

"We'll go find Zhu Yan in an hour," the supervisor said with secret delight. "I'm so hungry..."

A Level 1 player's meat tasted slightly better than a novice player's.

That was its first choice; Level 0 players and ordinary people were secondary.

"What did you say?" Guan En was frightened.

The supervisor twisted his neck to glance at him, then skillfully showed his ID to the colleagues walking toward them.

"I'm hungry," the supervisor repeated.

Even though it had already eaten the true owner of its current skin, it was still so hungry.

It took the two breakfasts handed over by a colleague and casually passed one to Guan En.

"Eat something, then come on the train with me to find Zhu Yan!"

"I'm really sorry, sir," the honest-looking colleague said politely. "The breakfast shops around here aren't open yet, so we can only eat this to hold us over."

Inside the plastic bag, nestled between the bread and milk, lay a black envelope.

...

Time ticked by minute by minute. The train began to slow down, and the broadcast announcing its impending arrival echoed through the cars.

It was now 5:00 AM.

The instance Cat and Mouse Game had officially begun.

Zhu Yan stood by the train door, maintaining his character, and focused his gaze on the platform.

About a dozen or so police officers were scattered along the edge of the platform, their black uniforms quite conspicuous.

Upon closer observation, Zhu Yan spotted a familiar face.

It was actually the young officer who had checked his ID information last night!

Even from a distance, the officer's expression was noticeably wrong.

His face was unusually stern, the muscles under his eyes tight, carrying an unspeakable fear.

Yesterday, when this man checked his information, he acted like nothing was wrong, smiling playfully, and was even allowed to leave the city to assist with the case.

It had only been a few hours, and now he looked like he was facing imminent death but didn't dare speak of it.

This was definitely a new player who had just been selected for the closed beta during the night.

Beside him stood an older police officer.

That officer's expression was stiff and cold, his hollow eyes filled with nothing but hunger.

Zhu Yan unconsciously tensed his body.

A doppelganger!

"The train has arrived at the station. Passengers, please prepare to disembark—"

A few passengers carrying luggage stood sparsely by the doors.

Surprise appeared on some people's faces, confused by the presence of the police officers.

"Why are there so many cops?"

Zhu Yan imitated them at the right moment, allowing the same expression to appear on his own face.

The train doors opened.

Guan En took a step forward, squeezed into the train, and shouted, "Police operation! Everyone stay where you are, do not leave!"

A minor commotion broke out among the passengers.

Zhu Yan quickly put on an act, helping to maintain order.

Three minutes later, the crowd finally quieted down. After asking how long the investigation would take, some resignedly returned to their seats.

Guan En shot a grateful glance at the young female train attendant.

He was so pressed for time that he had even opened his mission envelope in the station's restroom.

The current start was surprisingly smooth.

At the very least, everyone had been kept behind!

Zhu Yan keenly caught the look of relief on Guan En's face.

He immediately reacted, tensing his forehead and making his muscles tremble, putting on a terrified appearance.

This was the novice instance for the police officer in front of him; the other party was very likely the Cat in this Cat and Mouse Game.

Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.

He had to gain the officer's trust as much as possible and fish out his mission!

At this moment, the doppelganger had already entered the carriage.

It seemed to have another target, only glancing indifferently at its fellow kind.

Zhu Yan shuffled over to Guan En, lips trembling, and asked in a low voice.

"O-officer, do I really have to stay here?"

"I'm not feeling well, could I..."

Guan En sized up the female attendant.

The young girl looked haggard, tears welling in her eyes, her face bearing an unspeakable fear—

It was exactly the same state he had been in when he was on the platform.

A hint of vigilance rose in his heart. He wasn't sure if this was a novice player like himself, or that Zhu Yan who could shapeshift into other people.

However, Zhu Yan shouldn't know about this arrest operation.

Moreover, according to the existing information in the police department, after a novice instance ended, there would generally be a 10-day rest period.

"Where are you feeling unwell?"

Guan En asked, his gaze lingering for a moment on the name tag on her chest.

The name tag was neatly formatted, with the name Zhang Li printed clearly on it.

This specific detail made him lower his guard a bit.

Zhu Yan trembled.

"Maybe I'm just too tired, I'm hearing things," he said, mimicking Zhang Li's tone. "There's a voice constantly brainwashing me."

"Officer, I feel like throwing up."