Chapter 2: No One Wants to Die, But Someone Has to Die.

Amidst a sea of greedy gazes.

Chen Mang slowly consumed two steaming buns with pickled vegetables, finishing them all before downing a bottle of mineral water in one gulp. He let out a long sigh, finally feeling somewhat satiated. These past few days, he had nearly starved to the point of fainting.

Earlier, he had done his best to protect the vital parts of his body. Now, although he felt pain all over, it didn't significantly hinder his movement. His joints were intact.

If only he could have a cigarette right now. After a satisfying meal, he always craved a smoke.

He glanced around the carriage, leaning against the metal wall behind him, silent. Being suddenly transported to this world, the events of the past few days had been too overwhelming. From a life of comfort, he had been thrust into this apocalyptic world.

Survival had become the paramount concern.

As for cigarettes...

What was he thinking? In an environment where starvation could strike at any moment, where would he find cigarettes?

Just then—

"Big brother..."

A bald man with a mud-streaked face approached, maintaining a safe distance before putting on a servile smile. He carefully pulled out a piece of cloth from his chest and extracted two slightly crumpled cigarettes, offering them with a mix of flattery and anxiety: "Big brother, want a smoke?"

Chen Mang looked down at the two wrinkled cigarettes on the cloth, then up at the bald man. He knew everyone in this carriage was on the brink of starvation, with no supplies to their names. Yet this man had managed to hide two cigarettes. If word had gotten out earlier, they would have been snatched away.

Sure enough.

He could already see several men casting greedy glances at the bald man's back. If he refused now, the bald man's fate would likely be grim.

The bald man was well aware of this, his eyes filled with pleading and anxiety.

After a moment's pause, Chen Mang took the cigarettes from the bald man. He placed one to his lips and wrapped the other in the cloth, tucking it into his pocket.

Seeing this, the bald man let out a long sigh of relief. He hurriedly pulled out half a box of matches from his chest, flattering as he approached. In the dim carriage, he lit a match and carefully brought the flame to Chen Mang's lips: "Big brother, fire."

Chen Mang, sitting on a straw mat against the metal wall, exhaled a plume of smoke, his brow slightly furrowed. He couldn't help but cough a few times. The cigarette was a bit moldy and harsh.

But in this environment, what more could one ask for after a full meal and a smoke?

He took another deep drag, flicking the ash onto the metal floor of the carriage, then waved a hand at the bald man and said softly, "From now on, sit by me."

As soon as the words left his mouth, the greedy looks directed at the bald man quickly faded.

"Yes, yes, thank you, big brother."

The bald man's eyes filled with excitement as he hurriedly got up and carefully sat beside Chen Mang on the metal, making sure his bottom didn't touch even a strand of the straw mat.

The red ember of the cigarette flickered in the dim carriage.

Soon, the cigarette burned out. Chen Mang extinguished the butt on the metal floor, then after a pause, asked softly, "Where did you get the cigarettes?"

He wasn't very familiar with this world. He needed to gather as much information as possible through conversation. Initially, he hadn't engaged in conversation because these people weren't in a position to talk. This bald man, who had proactively offered his allegiance, was the first person he had met who could actually converse.

He didn't mind having someone pledge allegiance to him; in fact, he welcomed it. After all, the strength of one person was limited. More people meant better chances of survival.

As for whether the other person was sincere...

Pondering that was as pointless and uninteresting as a teenager's first romantic fantasies.

The bald man glanced around and whispered, "Big brother, I used to be a deputy train conductor, though it was a small train, not as large as this one."

"After a disaster, that train was completely destroyed. When I was wandering the wilderness, this train captured me and made me a Slave. I had a pack of cigarettes then, and I kept them, but now only two are left."

"This train has three Slave carriages. With about 100 Slaves in each, there are roughly 300 Slaves in total."

"This is probably a Level 2 train, maybe even close to Level 3."

"Right now, the train is heading to a mine. Mining is hard labor and very dangerous. People die from time to time, but during those mining days, everyone gets enough food to eat."

"However..."

"Big brother, could you try to assign me a less dangerous task when the time comes?"

Chen Mang remained silent for a long while, digesting all this information, then looked at the middle-aged man who was speaking close to his ear but keeping his butt firmly off the straw mat.

The posture was quite comical, even excessively cautious, but he appreciated it.

This was a man who knew his place.

"Deputy Train Conductor?"

"Yes," the bald man replied sheepishly. "I've always been a deputy. Before the apocalypse, I was a deputy class monitor in school, then a deputy manager at work. After the apocalypse, I somehow ended up as a deputy train conductor."

"I've never been in charge, never even thought about it."

"My abilities are limited."

"Just lucky to have always managed to get by, both before and after the apocalypse."

Chen Mang didn't respond, just lowered his eyelids. Based on his observations over the past few days and the information this man had shared, it seemed this apocalyptic world had only two types of people:

Train Conductors and Slaves.

Each train had different levels, with higher-level trains having stronger defensive and offensive capabilities.

In the first three days after being transported to this world, they had been stationed in a wilderness area. Although they weren't allowed to leave the carriage, he could sense through the occasional gaps in the connecting areas that the enforcers were always on high alert, as if worried about some monster that could appear at any moment.

In this apocalyptic world, there were essentially no settlements; all settlements were trains. The larger the settlement, the larger the train.

To survive long and well in this world, one had to become a Train Conductor, owning a train of their own.

Train Conductor...

He fell into deep thought, silent. This bald man had once been a deputy train conductor and surely knew more about trains than the other Slaves. He was useful, someone who couldn't be allowed to die. A talented individual.

Most importantly, this man had once held a high position but now, as a Slave, didn't seem out of place at all, as if he were born to be a Slave.

Yet, when he sensed an opportunity, he immediately offered his treasured belongings to curry favor and seek protection.

A seasoned survivor.

The carriage fell silent again, with only the occasional sound of someone urinating in a corner.

The bald man sat dutifully beside Chen Mang, resting his head on his arm for a nap, his eyes filled with unease about the journey ahead.

In this world, only within the moving train carriages was there a basic guarantee of safety. Stationed in a wilderness or a mine, the danger increased dramatically, with the constant threat of being surrounded by a massive Corpse Tide.

He didn't want to die.

No one in the train wanted to die.

No one wants to die.

But someone has to die.

(End of Chapter)