Players, Please Board the Train-Chapter 3: Preliminary Trial Train

"The system has detected the player's attributes and provides the following three career options:"
"A. Gambler; B. Adventurer; C. Extra."
"Please choose carefully."
The countdown on the screen began ticking, starting from sixty to fifty-nine.
One minute to choose.
Xu Huo selected C and entered a nickname. The screen displayed:
[Congratulations Extra for becoming a reserve player of the Dimensional Rift game]
[Player Nickname: Extra]
[Career: Extra]
[Note: As someone always on the road, his chance to become the protagonist is only one in ten thousand.]
[Player Level: E]
[Evolution: 7%]
[Assets: 200 White Bills]
[Note: The chairman of Stellar Corporation is undoubtedly the most popular man.]
[Note 2: Initial assets are converted based on a certain proportion of the player's accumulated wealth.]
[Main Trait: Legs That Never Tire]
[Note 1: How could an Extra who's always on the move not have a good pair of legs?]
[Items: (Empty)]
The personal information soon switched:
[Player Extra will board the Preliminary Trial Train 301, which departs at 8:00 AM train time and arrives at the terminal station three days later at 8:00 AM.]
[Based on Player Extra's asset status, your seat is in second class. We wish you a pleasant journey.]
When the countdown on the screen reached zero, the surroundings brightened again. Xu Huo, who had just been in a hotel, was now seated in a train booth, the flame on his lighter still flickering.
The moving train emitted a faint mechanical hum. Bright sunlight illuminated both the interior and exterior. With just a glance, one could see the scenery outside through the three transparent walls of the carriage.
Under the azure sky, the train moving in a straight line split the space into two sections. On the left was a forest, while the right was a snowy ice plain. One side was lush with flowers and greenery, the other covered in drifting ice and snow—all appearing strikingly realistic.
The panoramic carriage exuded a futuristic vibe. The drastically different yet bizarrely coexisting scenery in the same scene left the twelve people who appeared simultaneously in the carriage with varying degrees of astonishment, which soon turned into wariness toward each other.
As fellow Evolvers, the overwhelming scent filling the carriage was downright dizzying!
"Gulp!" Someone swallowed hard.
Xu Huo immediately reached for the folding knife in his pocket.
"Ding dong!"
At that moment, an electronic announcement sounded:
"Welcome all Evolvers aboard the Preliminary Trial Train 301. This train departs from Three-Dimensional Point, passes through the Dimensional Rift, and arrives at the terminal station Five-Dimensional Station at 8:00 AM train time three days later. There may be turbulence during the journey. Please remain calm."
"As reserve players of the Dimensional Rift, the train will classify and rate Evolvers based on their performance during the trip. Please mind your words and actions."
"Now broadcasting the ride rules."
"1. Consumption is mandatory."
"2. Do not enter other carriages without permission."
"3. Lights out at 8:00 PM."
"4. Conductors have the right to expel reserve players."
"All reserve players must strictly abide by the above rules. We wish everyone a pleasant journey."
After the electronic announcement ended, the carriage fell silent. After a while, someone spoke up: "Where is this place? Can't we get off?"
The speaker was a ponytailed girl, gripping the sleeve of a young man in a shirt beside her.
"Get off?" A man who looked like an executive tapped the transparent glass. "I was just working from home when I was suddenly brought onto this train. Judging by everyone's appearance, we're all from different places. This area definitely isn't any city we know. Getting off might not get us back."
"Besides, everyone saw that game screen, right?"
"The announcement said this is a game, and we're all players. There shouldn't be any danger," a man in pajamas clutching an electric toothbrush said nervously. "Games are virtual. It's likely we're still in our original locations, just with our consciousness inside the game."
"Do you think current technology can do that?" A fashionable woman in a tank top waved her phone. "I'm more inclined to believe the online theories about spiritual energy resurgence."
"What spiritual energy resurgence? Girl, can you show me?" A middle-aged woman in an apron and sleeves reached out.
The tank top woman subconsciously stepped back upon seeing bloodstains on her.
The middle-aged woman quickly removed her sleeves. "I was slaughtering chickens and didn't have my phone on me."
The tank top woman smirked. "No signal anyway."
"Mine neither," the executive said.
"Are we... not going back? Professor Han?" The ponytailed girl clung to the young man beside her.
Professor Han looked grave. "The announcement said the train is traveling from Three-Dimensional Point to Five-Dimensional Station."
"Actually, besides Evolvers, many other anomalies have appeared on Earth. Some can't be explained with current scientific knowledge anymore. Perhaps it's a more advanced civilization invading Earth."
The others in the carriage clearly weren't familiar with this topic and couldn't respond. The tank top woman, who seemed well-read in fiction, retorted, "Invading Earth this way? Making a game to be cryptic?"
Professor Han had no rebuttal. The situation with Evolvers alone was baffling enough—how could they possibly get to the bottom of it?
While they were talking, Xu Huo had already checked his belongings.
Everything he had on him was still there: phone, cigarette case, and folding knife. Additionally, there were two thin pieces of paper resembling ordinary bills, each side printed with a black silhouette of a head and the words "Stellar Corporation Virtual Currency" in the corner.
Stellar Corporation was likely the developer of this Dimensional Rift game.
He pocketed the slightly warm lighter and checked the time. The electronic clock in the carriage showed 8:00 AM, while his phone displayed exactly 10:00 PM.
The carriage had three transparent walls but metal doors at both ends with glass windows, allowing a view of the adjacent carriages, both of which were occupied.
A "Second Class" plaque hung on the right side of the front door, next to a light switch.
Inside the carriage were six square tables arranged in two rows, each paired with facing seats. Seats in the same row were connected but separate from the tables.
The tank top woman sat alone in the first left row, while the executive and pajama man occupied the first right row.
Professor Han and the ponytailed student were in the second left row. Xu Huo sat in the second right row beside a girl in patchwork clothing, facing a heavily made-up woman with a large build.
Behind him sat an elderly man. At the next table was the middle-aged woman who had spoken earlier, seated across from a man and a woman.
Twelve people in total.
"Anyway, since we're on this train, it's best to follow its rules," the executive said. "A train that can bring us here can surely make us disappear without a trace."
"Are we really supposed to play this Dimensional Rift game as instructed?" The ponytailed girl said tearfully. "I don't like games."
"It's alright. I believe as long as we follow the announcement, nothing will happen," Professor Han comforted her.
"Then what are we supposed to do?" the middle-aged woman asked anxiously. "I've never played games before."
Everyone exchanged glances. The announcement only told them to ride for three days and follow the rules—no other hints.
"Maybe the goal is just to survive these three days," the tank top woman shrugged.
Her words brought another wave of silence as everyone returned to their seats.
"Let's not panic. I think the current situation isn't hard to figure out. The Preliminary Trial Train must be a test for us Evolvers. There might be prompts in the next three days. Let's work together to get through this first," Professor Han said.