The one in the lead was Du Jun. He raised his eyes, blinked his peach blossom eyes slightly, and coldly shifted his gaze away from the little girl.
Cheng Shuang immediately understood and went into the buffet restaurant first.
The buffet restaurant is quite spacious, with an extremely high ceiling made of geometric blue frosted glass, as if the sky were unobstructed. It also features a floor-to-ceiling window, offering a panoramic view of the three-dimensional seascape.
On either side of the entrance are staircases leading to the second floor, which spiral upwards and contains some small recreational facilities, including a children's play area.
In the center is a large round table for group meals, with thirty tables sparsely spaced. Each table is surrounded by waist-high green potted plants, leaving only a narrow passageway for people to pass through. The rest are four-person and two-person tables, separated by vines that twine around the supports. The overall style has a touch of the Wizard of Oz, with lush greenery.
The restaurant has long tables at both ends for serving food and drinks, and a refrigerator for beverages in each of the four corners.
The sun was bright but not dazzling, and the sky was clear and clean, so much so that the two-person table by the window was full of people dressed as line drawings.
The number of humans among them was very small, and they mostly chose large round tables, as if they were surrounded by line figures, feeling restricted and speechless.
The only people in the room were whispering among themselves; the middle area was so quiet it was almost like a vacuum.
Cheng Shuang quickly counted and found that there were more than a hundred people who chose the large tables, and only about twenty people were scattered around the four-person and two-person tables.
She recalled that the buffet restaurant's capacity was around a thousand people, meaning that humans currently make up one-fifth of the line's guests.
The man standing at the entrance bowed slightly and greeted Cheng Shuang warmly, "Welcome! It's not lunchtime yet, so please wait in the restaurant. Lunch will start promptly at 11:00."
"Okay, thank you, big sister!" The girl in the skirt, whose age was hard to guess, always called "big sister." Yes, that's the kind of clever little thing she is!
"Does my sister still need to remember my room number?" Look, she even answered before I did!
"Yes, little one, you're so good. Tell me... your room number, and I'll write it down!" The line-like woman made the same grinning face, her lips perfectly positioned. Of course, Cheng Shuang could tell from her tone that she was very happy.
The little girl was very wary. After looking around and making sure no one else was around, she whispered, "Remember this, sister! A6058."
"Okay, I got it!" The girl tapped the electronic registration device a few times, then pointed to the restaurant. "Little one, just find an empty seat! Except for the round tables!"
"Thank you, sister." Cheng Shuang nodded, took two steps, then stopped and turned back curiously to ask, "Sister, why can't we sit at a round table?"
"The round table was booked by a group of guests."
The woman with the slender figure gave a brief answer, then turned to greet the three new guests, saying, "Honorable guests, please show your room number."
"A5003".
"B5071".
"B5072".
The young man is in A5003.
Cheng Shuang used the sound to distinguish the seats and chose a four-person table nearby.
She was short, so she stood on tiptoe and sat down on the chair in an adorably clumsy manner. It has to be said that the pretty little girl's every move was naturally cute, so much so that the curious glances directed at her contained less malicious speculation and more pity and sympathy.
In the otherwise tense atmosphere of the restaurant, the unhurried young woman was like a breath of fresh air, harmless and soothing.
Even so, no one dared to step forward and greet them.
Apart from the three teenagers who came in later.
“Shall we sit with the little girl?” The young boy at the back of the group had a small braid and a very artistic air about him. He observed Cheng Shuang without any hesitation, and said in a strange tone, “This is the first time I’ve ever seen such a small little girl here.”
That same phrase again.
Cheng Shuang, propping her ears up, silently rested her chin on her hand. Was there an age limit for the maintainers? But after stepping into the thick fog, she hadn't seen a single old woman or child. She had heard a little boy's voice on the cruise ship, so she shouldn't be an exception.
“Maybe he’s a newbie.” Another baby-faced boy with curly hair shrugged indifferently.
"No way! So young and already thinking about suicide? Could it be that he took his own life because of poor grades?"
"Stop talking, what if it's school bullying!"
Cheng Shuang: Why did you curse her? You're such a bad person!
"Dude, guess why this kid chose to die?" The artsy guy with the ponytail raised his hand to pat Du Jun's shoulder, but Du Jun dodged to the side, his peach blossom eyes looking at him indifferently.
The man with the ponytail touched his nose and suggested again, "Why don't we go over and ask her? I'm quite curious whether she's a newcomer or a defender?"
Du Jun didn't say anything and simply sat down.
Faced with the three men, Cheng Shuang looked bewildered. "Who are you, big brothers? There are so many empty tables over there!"
The man with the braid enthusiastically started a conversation.
"Big brother's name is Hei Zishan. Little friend, how old are you? Do you remember how you got here?"
Before Cheng Shuang could even speak, he added, "If you're scared, stay with your brothers, but we can't guarantee we can protect you!"
"My brother isn't much stronger than the others, and the disadvantages of being a newcomer are too great. If it weren't for the one-day invisible protection, the newcomers would probably be wiped out every round. Once you've been here long enough, you'll understand how precious life is!"
"Oh? Were you bullied by your teacher or classmates? Don't do anything rash in the future!"
The little girl glanced at Du Jun for no apparent reason, suspecting that he would be with them, simply because of Hei Zishan's talkative nature.
While Hei Zishan gestured to the waiter to bring a few glasses of water, Cheng Shuang successfully picked out the key point from the barrage of words and seized the opportunity to speak, "Brother, what is the protection period?"
"This is a protective shield set up for newcomers like you who can't think straight; consider it a second chance in your life!"
"Sigh, I don't understand what the Gate of Reincarnation is thinking. Although it was an accident, I never thought about dying. And here I am, a newbie! I finally mustered the courage to end my life, only to be dragged to this godforsaken place. I have no skills, no rest stops to rely on. Am I just here to be a scapegoat, an extra?! @#￥%￥#…"
Cheng Shuang understood instantly.
The manner of death is the fundamental difference between maintainers and newcomers.
Du Jun suddenly spoke up, "Newcomers have missed the baptism of ticket qualification screening, so they can't unlock their talents."
He remained calm, his tone more like stating a fact, and the other two didn't notice anything amiss. Only Cheng Shuang knew that this was something her older brother had painstakingly deduced from Hei Zishan's words.
“Yes!” The two boys, who were all smiles, fell silent the moment the ticket qualification selection competition was mentioned. Even though they had survived several rounds, the maintainers still couldn’t help but marvel at how thrilling the game competition was, even though they had improved a lot since then.
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