Train Departure, Please Be Seated and Hold On

Qi Xiao woke up in a train compartment, rubbing his throbbing head.

"Why am I on a train? Am I being trafficked to northern Myanmar?"

An orphan who grew up in a welfare home, Qi Xiao had just graduated from university and finally found a job where he was still in his probation period.

No wonder the female supervisor kept forcing me to drink last night. I knew that woman was up to no good!

Where's my phone? I need to call the police.

Qi Xiao tried to find his phone, but he had nothing left except for the clothes on his body.

Just then, a broadcast echoed through the train compartment.

[Welcome to the Train Survival World.]

[Here you'll find endless treasures and unknown dangers. Explore the stations and survive.]

[Here are the train rules.]

[1. The train runs automatically and requires no control. Every morning at 8:00, the train will stop at a random station and depart at 11:00. During this time, you can either explore the station or stay on the train. Make sure you're on the train when it departs, or you'll be left behind.]

[2. Collect resources and level up. Each level increase earns you one train compartment. New functions will unlock at specific levels.]

[3. The first twelve days are the probation period. During this time, your compartment temperature remains constant and absolutely safe. Creatures from the platform cannot enter your compartment. However, other train conductors are exempt from this rule, so protect your train well.]

[The train is starting, please hold on tight.]

With a rumbling sound, Qi Xiao felt the train begin to move.

He rushed to the window, but outside was complete darkness, nothing visible.

So, I'm not being trafficked to Myanmar? Instead, like in novels, I've been transported to another world and forced to participate in a survival game.

Welcome everyone - so there are others besides me?

Qi Xiao went to the front of the train, where it displayed "Train Conductor #19990526 Qi Xiao logged in."

The avatar was his own headshot, looking quite energetic.

[Train Conductor: Qi Xiao]

[Level: 1]

[Number of Compartments: 1]

[Initial Compartment ×1 (5m length, 3m width, 2.8m height)]

After closing the personal information, there were two other modules on the page - Conductor Chat Room and Trading Platform.

Qi Xiao clicked into the chat room and was assigned to Public Chat Room #2000, with 10,000 users online.

The input box showed: Daily message limit: 10.

[What the hell is this? Some kind of large-scale performance show?]

[My broadcast said this is a train survival game, is it the same for you all? Are we still in our country?]

[Great, no more early morning classes!]

[Cuilan, are you there? Is the child with you? Please respond if you see this.]

[Damn it, I just got a civil service job after ten years of trying, don't do this to me!!!]

The chat room had an auto-translation function, and messages from users with black or white profile pictures were automatically translated into Chinese.

Though limited to ten messages, the sheer number of people made the messages pop like popcorn.

[Hey everyone, there's a newbie gift package in the small cabinet at the front of the train! I got a bottle of mineral water!]

Mineral water?

Finally, some useful information.

Qi Xiao smacked his lips, desperately wanting water after his hangover.

He opened the door to the front of the train, and indeed there was a small cabinet next to the control panel.

Qi Xiao opened the cabinet door with anticipation.

Inside lay a red card with no text, patterns, or any content.

What is this? Why isn't it water?

Qi Xiao was disappointed as he took the card back to the screen.

[I got a bucket of mineral water, not bad.]

[A box of instant noodles, a box of water, three packs of sausages, I'm set.]

[These lucky ones are terrifying, my cucumber suddenly doesn't seem so great.]

They all seem to have gotten food, while I got some useless card?

Just as Qi Xiao was feeling frustrated, a message popped up in the lower left corner of the screen:

[Module Card detected, activate?]

[Yes/No]

So this thing is called a Module Card?

Of course I'll activate it, that's not even a question.

Qi Xiao pressed yes, and the card in his hand vanished.

[Special Module Activated - Station Preview]

[Station Preview: Updates detailed information about the next station each time the train starts.]

[Next Station: Sunshine Gym (Single-Person Station)]

[This station is a gym, no dangers present.]

[Note: Single-Person Station - Only one train stops at this station at 8:00 AM]

Special module? What is this, my cheat code?

While Qi Xiao was pondering, the broadcast announced:

[Train approaching station, please hold on tight.]

Qi Xiao clearly felt the train slowing down, and soon it stopped.

There was a button beside the door to control its opening and closing.

It stated that the train conductor could also control the door through voice commands.

Qi Xiao pressed the button, and the door opened.

Outside was a staircase. Qi Xiao hesitated for two seconds, and only after confirming there was no danger did he step out of the compartment.

Once outside, Qi Xiao was stunned. He had thought the train was running through a tunnel, which explained the darkness outside.

But there weren't even any tracks under the train!

It was as if the train had simply spawned here.

Too bizarre.

Qi Xiao shook his head. The urgent matter now was to explore this gym and find resources.

After all, the train only stopped for three hours.

The staircase had about a dozen steps, and at the bottom was the gym.

Various pieces of exercise equipment came into view, a complete variety.

It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop - indeed, Qi Xiao was alone here.

"Water, water, need to find water first."

After passing through treadmills, spinning bikes, ab wheels, and other exercise equipment, Qi Xiao reached the bathroom.

He eagerly turned on the faucet, but no water came out.

The women's bathroom was the same, all faucets were dry.

Qi Xiao even checked the toilet tanks, which were also empty.

Coming out of the bathroom, Qi Xiao spotted a red cabinet opposite the front desk.

With an anxious heart, he walked toward the front desk.

It was a vending machine!

Qi Xiao rushed to the vending machine and saw it was neatly stocked with mineral water, soda water, electrolyte water, and lemon-flavored sparkling water.

Gulp.

Qi Xiao unconsciously swallowed. He went back to the gym area and picked up a small dumbbell.

With a "crack," Qi Xiao smashed the vending machine's glass.

He threw away the dumbbell, carefully avoiding the glass shards on the ground, reached in and grabbed a bottle of soda water, twisted off the cap, and drank it all in one go.

Gulp, gulp, gulp.

Awesome!

Qi Xiao drank two 400ml bottles of soda water, and after regaining his spirits, he took out all the remaining water.

Four types of water, ten bottles of each.

He had drunk two bottles of soda water, leaving eight.

Qi Xiao carried all the water back to his compartment, including the two empty soda water bottles.

Looking at all this water, he felt a surge of security.

Thirty-eight bottles of water, good, the water problem was temporarily solved.

After resting briefly, Qi Xiao entered the gym again.

Though the gym was large, it had no entrances or exits, completely sealed off as an independent space.

There was only that staircase connecting to the train.