Chapter 6, First-Class Ticket

"Beautiful lady, Xingni City's specialty clay dolls are on sale now. You can bring one home for only 1999. Don't hesitate, this opportunity is rare. If you miss this chance, you may not be able to find such a good deal again."

The train merchants were busy promoting their products and didn't seem inclined to answer Zhong Bingxuan's question about directions.

Depending on the situation, you won't get any useful clues without spending money.

Having no other choice, Zhong Bingxuan took out her phone to buy a clay doll. She could only open the scan function when she discovered that her phone had no internet connection, and her expression turned a little sour.

"Do you have Wi-Fi here? My phone doesn't have a network, so I can't make an online payment."

Zhong Bingxuan gestured for the shopkeeper to look at her phone screen, indicating that she was not lying and that there was no signal on her phone.

"Beautiful lady, we only accept points or cash payments here."

Zhong Bingxuan was surprised to learn that this person was not from their planet. According to the black-cloaked merchant, he was related to the Doomsday Train and used points as currency.

The only advantage over the train is that the black-cloaked merchant can also buy things with money.

Zhong Bingxuan had no choice but to ask her cousin to take out the cash they had prepared to buy food.

"Cousin, we didn't bring much cash this time, we still need to buy food when we go out."

Just in case, Zhong Bingxuan told Zhong Linlin to bring all the family savings. Zhong Linlin counted the cash and found that there was only about 10,000 to 20,000 yuan.

Whether it's because there's no cell phone signal in this strange place or because the end of the world has arrived, the entire world is in a state of internet outage.

The former is fine, as they can still pay with their mobile phones after leaving. But for the latter, this sum of one or two thousand yuan represents all the team's savings, and not a single penny can be wasted.

"Let's get out of here first, and deal with the money later."

If the two of them remain trapped here, their money will be useless; it's just a piece of paper that can't save their lives. They should use it when necessary, and Zhong Bingxuan can figure out how to deal with the money shortage later.

Hearing her cousin's words, Zhong Linlin knew that this was not the time to be stingy. She reluctantly took out the cash from her pocket, counted out two red bills, and handed them to the stall owner.

"2000 yuan for a clay doll, can you tell us how to get out now?"

Having spent the money, Zhong Linlin wanted to resolve the matter.

The stall owner looked at Zhong Bingxuan, then at Zhong Linlin, but showed no intention of taking any action.

"Linlin, buy two, no, buy three."

Zhong Bingxuan unexpectedly understood the stall owner's unspoken words, and her lips twitched involuntarily as she cursed him under her breath as a swindler.

One clay doll wasn't enough for the two of them; they needed to buy another one. What else could this be but a predatory merchant forcing them to buy? But the situation forced them to accept the favor, so Zhong Bingxuan had no choice but to pay to avoid trouble. Helpless, she asked Linlin to buy one more—no, two.

If her guess is correct, the black-cloaked merchant is connected to the doomsday train, and the clay doll will give her a big surprise; her boyfriend's side can't be left out either.

"Beautiful lady, all the clay figurines here come in pairs. Buying a single one is bad luck."

Zhong Bingxuan thought that buying three clay dolls would be enough, but the stall owner's words still made her roll her eyes inwardly. "They're in pairs, do you think they're couple dolls or do you have to buy a pair?"

Zhong Bingxuan was unaware that she had inadvertently stumbled upon the truth of the matter. Since she had already bought three, she figured she might as well buy one more so she could get out of there sooner. She then asked Linlin to pay the black-cloaked merchant.

"Here is eight thousand yuan. We want two pairs of clay dolls. Give us four yuan in change."

Zhong Linlin's hands were shaking as she counted the money; she was furious. With less than three thousand yuan in cash left, even storing grain was a problem.

However, given the current situation, they still have no choice but to pay this large sum of money. If they could pay online, they would have enough money at home for Zhong Linlin, Zhong Bingxuan, and Li Hanmo to live lavishly for the rest of their lives, and they wouldn't care about this small amount of cash at all.

The problem is that mobile payments are not working right now, and there are no banks nearby.

Even if a bank appeared, Zhong Linlin doubted whether her bank card would still work. Just thinking about it made her feel exhausted. When had she ever worried about money? The apocalypse suddenly arrived, and she experienced all walks of life in just one or two days.

"We don't have any change, so we can't give you any for free. As compensation, we're giving you an extra first-class ticket for the four-person doomsday train, and we've also packed up the two pairs of clay figurines you requested. Don't forget to take them with you. Welcome to visit us again."

After saying this, the black-cloaked merchant and his clay doll stall disappeared from Zhong Linlin and Zhong Bingxuan's sight, leaving behind four clay dolls and a train ticket on the ground.

Zhong Bingxuan looked at the thin, paper-like object with trepidation, picked it up to examine it, and when she discovered what the thin piece of paper was, her smile widened.

"Cousin, this... this heartless businessman swindled money and ran away."

They charge 1999 yuan for a tattered little clay figure, without giving change or even pointing out the way. They're just trying to rip us off.

Zhong Linlin pouted in dissatisfaction, then turned around and saw her cousin's beaming face. She was stunned and reached out to touch her cousin's forehead.

"Cousin, are you running a fever?"

She's so happy to be swindled out of her money. When did my cousin, who's usually so intolerant of any wrongdoing, become so tolerant of being played? It's so abnormal. Could it be that things have been too exciting lately and she's lost her mind?

"Linlin, look! This is a first-class ticket for the Doomsday Train. I'm sending you a binding message. Confirm it quickly, and we can leave as soon as the time comes."

It was truly effortless; Zhong Bingxuan had been worried about whether the two newbies could find train tickets, and then the tickets were delivered right to her doorstep.

Zhong Linlin looked down at the train ticket in her cousin's hand, which had been given away for free by a shady merchant, and the system's voice broadcasted in her mind.

[Beep, Zhong Bingxuan, the first-class cabin owner of the Doomsday Train, has bound you to a four-person group's first-class ticket on the Doomsday Train. Departure time: 27 days later.]

[After binding their first-class tickets, players will have unlimited water and electricity, and three meals a day delivered by a personal courier on the post-apocalyptic train. They can freely choose the post-apocalyptic theme of the next stop and arrive at their destination three days before the outbreak of the apocalypse at the next stop.]

"Cousin, are we really going to leave Earth? What if that chilling voice was just a lie telling us to flee our home, and there was no planet explosion?"

"Linlin, we can't afford to gamble. If we lose, we'll die a horrible death."

Zhong Bingxuan didn't want to leave the home she had relied on for a long time, but the words about the doomsday train had pierced her heart like a thorn.

If the planet really explodes, how can she, Linlin, and Hanmo, three flesh and blood bodies, withstand it? It's better to bind tickets as soon as possible and go to the next safer station.

The hope in Zhong Linlin's eyes was ruthlessly shattered by Zhong Bingxuan. Yes, if they lost the bet, they would have nothing left. They simply couldn't afford to gamble, so they could only dejectedly bind their first-class doomsday train tickets.

"Linlin, don't be sad. This multi-person ticket is still far from departure time. We can scavenge some survival resources on Earth to get through the next apocalyptic station."

Zhong Bingxuan herself was a newcomer and knew nothing about the types of stations the apocalyptic train would arrive at. All she could think of was collecting more food so that everyone wouldn't starve to death without any food reserves after entering the station.

Zhong Bingxuan was incredibly lucky to get a first-class ticket for the four-person group. They didn't have to pay for food, drinks, or even the restroom on the train. They just needed to prepare what they would need for the next stop. With their burden lighter, their mental stress was greatly reduced.