Bai Ci continued forward, passing through Carriage Three. The scenes along the way were much the same; the passengers were either asleep or resting their eyes with exhausted expressions.
In the connecting passage between Carriage Three and Carriage Four, Bai Ci encountered several crew members who seemed full of energy.
Upon seeing Bai Ci, the crew members' faces collectively stiffened into polite smiles as they stepped aside to make way for her.
Bai Ci entered Carriage Four. All the lights in the dining car were on, their warm glow dispelling some of the chill brought on by the heavy rain.
Bai Ci's gaze instinctively drifted toward the counter. There, she saw Vigi leaning against it with his arms crossed over his chest, his head nodding up and down. He was clearly dozing off.
This was quite different from the Vigi she had seen before.
Before, although Vigi had a terrible attitude and a face full of world-weariness, his mental state had been very good. Even when complaining, he possessed a certain vigor.
But now, he looked somewhat exhausted, forming a sharp contrast with the energetic crew members she had just seen.
This further confirmed Bai Ci's previous suspicion: Vigi was fundamentally different from the other crew members.
The other crew members, like Wisteria, were non-human.
Vigi, on the other hand, was human—a human whose life force would be drained by the wisteria vines, a human who would feel fatigue.
Perhaps this was why he had been transferred to the dining car to work as an ordinary crew member. He was the odd one out among the crew on this train, the one being marginalized.
That brought up the next question: how much did Vigi actually know about the situation on the train?
Bai Ci did not let her gaze linger on Vigi for too long. She quickly scanned the dining car and was surprised to spot Arbiter, Yan Zheng, and the cleaning woman.
She had originally thought she wouldn't run into anyone until Carriage Six at the very least.
They were sitting at a table at the very back of the dining car, with a few half-finished cups of black tea on the table. The three of them were talking in low voices, their expressions somewhat grave.
The cleaning woman's hair was tied back neatly. She looked a bit constrained, nodding in agreement from time to time like a standard yes-man.
Bai Ci walked over quickly, pulled out a chair quietly, and sat down.
Hearing the movement, all three of them looked up at her.
Arbiter was the first to greet her. “My dearest friend, you have finally found your way here. My kin and I were worried for your safety, fearing you had fallen deep into peril and could not escape.”
“Miss Lora, I'm glad you're alright. We were just discussing whether we should go look for you, worried you might have run into some danger.”
It was hard to tell if Yan Zheng was translating Arbiter's words or just exchanging pleasantries, but his tone carried a hint of genuine concern.
“Thank you for your concern, I'm fine.” Bai Ci smiled, her tone as warm and gentle as usual. She then turned her gaze to the cleaning woman, drawing herself into the conversation. “And this is?”
Arbiter raised her hand and gently patted the cleaning woman's shoulder, introducing her to Bai Ci. “My dearest friend, let me introduce you. This is a member of our Alliance of Destiny, named Zhou Caiwei.”
“She, too, was guided here by fate and shares our common purpose to uncover the secrets of this train. You may trust her completely.”
Seeing the attitude of the two powerhouses toward the NPC before her, Zhou Caiwei knew she couldn't underestimate her.
Although she was the type of player who didn't really view NPCs as human—a so-called "player-supremacist"—she still adopted a cautious and respectful attitude.
Zhou Caiwei immediately straightened her back and offered Bai Ci a pleasing smile. “Hello, Miss Lora. I'm Zhou Caiwei. Please look after me from now on.”
“I don't have much ability and can only help with minor tasks, but I absolutely won't drag you guys down.”
As she spoke, she nodded vigorously, looking earnest and responsible.
Bai Ci gave Zhou Caiwei a slight nod. “Hello.”
After the pleasantries, Bai Ci's smile faded, and her expression turned grave. “I came to find you because I have some important information to share. The situation on this train is truly about to take a turn for the worse.”
Yan Zheng and Arbiter exchanged a look. They had no idea what kind of information this NPC would bring them, but given Bai Ci's consistently reliable performance, their expressions turned serious as well.
Yan Zheng said solemnly, “Miss Lora, please go ahead. We are all ears.”
Zhou Caiwei also held her breath immediately, staring at Bai Ci with a serious expression, ready to listen attentively.
Bai Ci took a deep breath and relayed everything she had gathered from Violita, along with her own discoveries and deductions.
“The gentleman sharing my carriage is quite well-informed, and I obtained some critical information from him.”
“Vigi, the rather rude crew member in the dining car, is actually the famous deputy trainmaster of this train. However, for this trip only, he was demoted from his position.”
“Furthermore, the entire crew of this train—excluding Vigi—has never appeared on any of the previous schedule records. They were all replaced at the last minute without any formal report.”
“Also, do you know the name of the current trainmaster?”
All three of them shook their heads in unison.
Due to their differing personalities, the degree of their headshakes varied. Yan Zheng's shake was the slightest, while Zhou Caiwei's head shook like a rattle drum.
Seeing Zhou Caiwei shake her head as well, Arbiter pressed a hand to her forehead and sighed. “He is the one who holds the reins of your destiny and commands your actions, yet you know absolutely nothing of him?”
“Could it be that you have not even engraved such established hierarchy into your heart?”
“Huh?” Zhou Caiwei looked to Yan Zheng for help. “Boss, translation, please.”
“She means, how could you not even know anything about your direct superior?” Yan Zheng's translation was concise and straight to the point.
As for the questioning part, it was just flavor text to build her dramatic persona and didn't need to be translated.
“Well... because I was hired at the last minute. I was dragged onto the train on my very first day of work. The trainmaster's name was so long that I couldn't remember it.” Zhou Caiwei's head dropped lower and lower as she spoke.
Ultimately, she ended with a soft grumble, “Damn these long English names, I swear they're the death of me.”
“Wisteria,” Bai Ci said, deliberately pronouncing the original English word rather than any name-like variation.
Thanks to the omnipotent language pack provided by the Anomalous Infection instance, every single person present understood the word perfectly.
“Wisteria?” Yan Zheng instinctively glanced toward the carriage window.
Bai Ci nodded and continued, “So, I'm wondering... is the trainmaster really human?”
“I've met him, and his words and actions are no different from a human's. But under these circumstances, can it really just be a coincidence?”
Rate on N.U.
