Players, Please Board the Train

Xu Huo calmly ordered his meal, paying no mind to the gazes of others in the dining car. When the food arrived, he ate at a leisurely pace.

Those wearing the uniform outfits were clearly quite wary of him. Three of them sized him up discreetly before, at a signal from a middle-aged man, returning to the rear carriage.

The door between the first-class carriage and the dining car was solid, with no windows. The moment they opened it, Xu Huo caught a glimpse of numerous black suitcases placed on the carriage floor, along with some metal components on tables and the ground that he had never seen before.

After finishing his meal, he inquired with a staff member about whether he could enter the lounge. The staff member informed him that lounge access was expensive and, like the dining car, was not open to passengers after lights-out. Therefore, even if he paid, he would still have to return to his carriage before lights-out.

The kitchen at the front was not open for visits. Xu Huo followed the staff member back to the third carriage via the non-public passageway. Along the way, he attempted to obtain access rights to the staff-only passageway from the other person, but was skillfully deflected with vague excuses.

However, the staff member did remind him of something else. "The D009C Rift Zone is a high-incidence area for thunderstorms. Sir, you might consider purchasing a box of train personnel-specific headphones to protect your hearing."

"A high-incidence area for thunderstorms?" Xu Huo paid without hesitation and asked, "Will it affect the train?"

"You can rest assured on that point. The train has the most advanced lightning protection facilities and will not be struck by lightning. Sir, you only need to protect yourself when the thunderstorm occurs," the staff member said with a smile.

Xu Huo returned to his carriage and soon received an exquisitely packaged square box. Opening it revealed it was full of components. The over-ear headphones had no headband frame, consisting only of the two earpieces. They adhered to the area around the ears via a special magnetic force. Thus, apart from a circle of soft padding, the outer metal shell seemed somewhat bulky. The number of components was high, some very delicate, requiring self-assembly.

"What is this thing?" Skinny Monkey, who had been playing cards, was the first to lean over, reaching out to grab a component from the box. Xu Huo seized his wrist, twisted it back, and took a small component from his hand. "That player from earlier is still waiting to cause trouble for you. This is the first time. If there's a next time, I'll throw you out." Skinny Monkey grimaced and nodded repeatedly. Released, he pouted. "It's just a pair of headphones. What's the big deal?"

"I'm not playing anymore." The female player at the card table put down her cards and sat down next to Xu Huo, looking at him with smiling, crescent-shaped eyes. "Little brother, you're really handsome."

"I know," Xu Huo said without stopping his hands.

"... and very manly," the female player continued.

"I know that too," Xu Huo said, comparing something to the instruction manual.

"Then won't you look at me? Am I pretty?" She hooked out a strand of long hair, twirling it around her finger.

Xu Huo finally gave her a glance. "Average."

Anger flashed across the female player's face, but she quickly suppressed it. She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Little brother, where did you get this thing? Is it a special item?"

Everyone in the carriage pricked up their ears.

"It's not an item, just an ordinary pair of headphones," Xu Huo said, having already finished assembly. He picked them up and placed them near his ears. The two earpieces automatically adhered to his ears, instantly blocking out all external sound.