Chapter 137: Eating in a restaurant
The burly man vanished.
Lin Ye quickly left his seat, and the next second, the fire axe landed where he had been sitting.
The burly man turned to look at Lin Ye, emitting an eerie laugh.
Lin Ye turned and ran—he had no intention of engaging in close combat with the burly man in such a confined space.
But before he could get far, a bloodcurdling scream erupted behind him.
Lin Ye glanced back and saw that the carriage behind him was now completely covered by the flesh membrane. A monster composed of blood and flesh sat on a seat, numerous tendrils growing from its body and piercing into the burly man.
A series of bone-chilling chewing sounds followed. Seconds later, the tendrils withdrew from the burly man's body, leaving only a hollowed-out skin sack that dropped onto the flesh membrane and was gradually consumed by it.
The flesh monster turned its head toward Lin Ye and let out a low, guttural roar. Lin Ye wisely turned away, ceasing to perceive what was happening behind him.
"Alright now."
After a moment, the young girl's reassuring voice came from behind. Lin Ye turned around to find the carriage restored to its original state. All the red flesh membrane and writhing tendrils had disappeared. The young girl sat in her original position as if nothing had happened at all.
Only the shattered seat and the fire axe lying nearby served as evidence of the violent murder that had just occurred here.
Lin Ye sat on the other side of the young girl. Strands of jet-black hair crept onto his body, wrapping around his arms and legs.
"Um, what was that thing just now?"
Lin Ye didn't believe the burly man was one of the Madhouse's insane patients. The train hadn't stopped at the Madhouse station at all. If the burly man had been on the train earlier, it would have approached them much sooner.
Besides, the real burly man should currently be dealing with the military-uniformed man at the Madhouse station.
"The third stage has already begun. Your time is running out."
The young girl looked calmly at Lin Ye as she spoke.
"I know. This is the third stage?"
Lin Ye wasn't particularly concerned. He still had nine simulation attempts remaining. While this pathogen was indeed dangerous, dying once would eliminate its effects.
"You don't understand. Once the fourth stage begins, everything will end. At that point, no amount of struggle will matter."
The young girl grabbed Lin Ye's left hand and placed it against her own face. She didn't know how else to make Lin Ye trust her, so she could only use this method to gain his confidence.
"...How much time do I have left?"
Lin Ye also didn't want to delay until the illness reached the fourth stage.
"The fourth stage begins after the fourth aberrant manifestation appears during the third stage."
The young girl held up four fingers, then retracted two of them.
"I understand."
Lin Ye planned to end his life when the next aberration appeared, rather than waiting for the fourth one... He couldn't be certain whether the young girl herself was part of these aberrations.
The train announcement sounded.
"Next station: Restaurant."
"Please prepare to disembark."
Lin Ye stood up and moved near the door, with the young girl following closely behind him.
The train pulled into the station. Outside the windows, the platform was arranged with various dining tables of all styles. Each table was already set with pristine white tablecloths and complete place settings. Beside every table stood a smiling attendant.
Lin Ye carefully observed the platform. Based on the decor style, this wasn't the station he was looking for either.
As the train entered the station, all the attendants simultaneously turned their gaze toward Lin Ye. They smiled while watching him, awaiting their guest to dine.
The train came to a stop, and the doors opened.
Lin Ye stepped onto the platform, with the young girl following behind him.
An attendant standing before a square table pulled out a high-backed wooden chair, inviting Lin Ye to be seated.
Lin Ye found himself involuntarily sitting in the chair. The attendant tied a napkin around his neck.
After completing preparations, the attendant turned and walked toward the kitchen.
The young girl looked curiously at the tableware, tugging at Lin Ye's napkin.
"Do you want to sit down and eat too?" Lin Ye asked.
"Yes, I've never been to a place like this before."
The young girl sat on the armrest of the high-backed chair as she spoke.
"Hey, there are two of us. Why is there only one seat?"
Lin Ye challenged the nearby attendant.
The attendant sharply turned its head to look at the young girl, as if noticing her presence for the first time.
Other attendants also noticed the situation. They glanced at each other, seemingly engaged in some form of communication. After their silent exchange, some attendants went into the kitchen while a new attendant approached the table and pulled out a chair for the young girl.
"Thank you."
Unlike Lin Ye, the young girl wasn't being controlled. She voluntarily sat across from Lin Ye and tied her own napkin.
The attendant soon brought the first course.
On a large white platter sat the smiling head of the previous attendant.
Lin Ye picked up his knife and fork, momentarily uncertain how to approach this appetizer. He had dissected many heads but wasn't particularly fond of eating brains, so he didn't know the proper way to consume an entire head.
The young girl took her dinner knife and plunged it through the attendant's ear into the brain. She then brought the brain beneath the table, and when she returned the knife to the table, the brain had disappeared.
"Was it good?" Lin Ye asked curiously.
"Average."
The young girl didn't think highly of the appetizer.
Soon the attendant brought the second course—a soup made from some creature's lungs. The pale alveoli were still rhythmically contracting and expanding when served.
The attendant watched Lin Ye, who found himself involuntarily moving his fork toward the dish. But before the fork could touch the plate, the young girl had already taken it and consumed its contents.
"Was it tasty?"
Although Lin Ye didn't particularly like lungs, he was genuinely curious about the flavor of the dishes here.
"Average."
The young girl's consistent mediocre evaluation made Lin Ye less eager to sample the cuisine.
The attendant served courses rapidly, but the young girl consumed them even faster. A whole beating heart, brains swimming in soup, cold dressed scalp, pure black slowly writhing dessert... dish after dish vanished into the young girl's stomach.
And her evaluation remained consistently the same: average.
Lin Ye didn't understand the young girl's standards. Since he hadn't tasted any dishes here, he couldn't tell whether the food was genuinely mediocre or if the young girl was simply too strict.
The attendant's expression grew increasingly unpleasant. Finally, the attendant served each of them a dessert, placing Lin Ye's portion before him while glaring at the young girl to prevent her from taking it.
This dessert appeared completely normal—like a red and white strawberry ice cream scoop—except it smelled distinctly wrong.
Lin Ye lifted a portion with his fork, and a strong fishy smell assaulted his nostrils. If he weren't being physically controlled, he would have vomited already.
Just as Lin Ye, under control, was about to consume the dessert, a familiar figure appeared in his field of vision.
The Train Attendant pushed aside the attendant near the table and walked up to Lin Ye.
Lin Ye regained control of his body, but instead of moving the dessert away, he ate it.
Whether dealing with the Train Attendant or the fourth stage, both presented significant troubles. Rather than finding ways to resist, it seemed better to taste the dish and then end his life.
The moment the dessert entered his mouth, Lin Ye completely lost consciousness.