Li Xuan took out the last piece of beef jerky. "I ate too quickly. This last piece is for you. I'll buy some more."

An Chun took the beef jerky and waved her hand repeatedly. "No need, my treat! Train attendant, I'd like to order!"

"Please wait a moment~" The train attendant's voice came from the neighboring hard sleeper compartment.

Shortly after the neighboring compartment finished ordering, the train attendant approached.

Li Xuan's heart raced with excitement. He found it—it was the Wild Boar Mask train attendant!

The Wild Boar Mask attendant had just been next door when he happened to lose his beef jerky. This person must be his target!

The Wild Boar Mask train attendant said, "What would you like? We have special discounted foods today."

"What are the options?" An Chun asked.

"Big Plate Chicken and Cumin Lamb are on special."

"One of each, plus two steamed buns and two bowls of rice."

The Wild Boar Mask train attendant noted the order and said respectfully, "Please wait, your food will arrive shortly."

Li Xuan then opened the small backpack in front of him. "I still have some chocolate in my bag. Let's share."

He grabbed a large handful of chocolate and placed it on the small table, then very casually placed the bag behind him.

An Chun exclaimed, "Wow! This isn't chocolate bought on the train, but chocolate collected from outside? Just how much food have you gathered?"

Li Xuan said to Huo Shuangshuang, "Here, don't be shy."

Huo Shuangshuang silently reached out and took a piece of chocolate. The sweet, rich taste made her lick her lips.

"Thank you."

"The supernatural characteristic you gave Lingling is far more precious than a few pieces of chocolate. She transferred the fusion characteristic to me, and I've been searching for a fusion characteristic for a long time. I should be the one thanking you," Li Xuan said with a smile.

Huo Shuangshuang looked out the window and said quietly, "I gave it to her, so the characteristic belongs to her. You don't need to thank me."

"The dead cannot return to life. Even if Lingling hadn't transformed into your sister, your sister would have died in the apocalypse. Now that Lingling has become your sister, you can still see her. Isn't it good to have something to hold onto?" Li Xuan said.

Huo Shuangshuang fell silent. How could she not understand? It was just that her heart felt conflicted, making it difficult to accept.

If she truly didn't understand, she wouldn't have given the supernatural characteristic to Huo Lingling.

Her feelings toward Huo Lingling weren't hostile—just conflicted and uncomfortable.

Li Xuan unwrapped a piece of chocolate and put it in his mouth. "The train's return journey will take a long time. When you've thought it through, come find me and join my team."

Huo Shuangshuang's supernatural talent wasn't as good as Huo Lingling's, with her supernatural ability rated at A-grade.

But that didn't mean Huo Shuangshuang was weak.

An A-grade pure support ability had significant value.

Perhaps Huo Shuangshuang's ability could stack with Huo Lingling's ability.

Is there any problem with wearing two layers of clothing?

Huo Shuangshuang was surprised, not expecting Li Xuan to invite her to join his team.

Who in the survivor base didn't know about the strength of Li Xuan's team?

Li Xuan could transform into a giant beast, Huo Lingling had astonishing physical prowess, and the pigeon transformed by Yun Xiuzhi was no ordinary creature—she had absorbed supernatural characteristics. Countless people wanted to join Li Xuan's team.

What special quality did she possess that made Li Xuan want to recruit her?

The first possibility that came to Huo Shuangshuang's mind was that Li Xuan wanted to collect both sisters.

She turned her head away from Li Xuan. "I'll consider it carefully."

Li Xuan smiled. "I'll await your response."

After the two finished their conversation, An Chun said cheerfully, "Can I join your team?"

Li Xuan pondered. An Chun's A-grade supernatural talent was already quite rare, and it was a growth-type ability that strengthened by absorbing negative emotions—one of the fastest-growing ability types.

But the ceiling was too low.

The upper limit for A-grade abilities was barely reaching King-grade, around level 51. Breaking through the limit might reach level 60, but the probability of breaking through to level 61 and becoming Emperor-grade was very low.

He was willing to accept Huo Shuangshuang because her ability was pure support—transforming into battle garb that enhanced the wearer's strength, speed, constitution, and other attributes—making it less likely to be rendered obsolete by future developments.

An Chun's ability grew quickly, but its drawback was that its combat power couldn't match that of combat-type ability users at the same level, and it would be limited once it reached King-grade.

"No." Li Xuan refused.

If An Chun's ability were swapped with the A+-grade ability of Xue Lian, the survivor from O City, he would have agreed to let An Chun join the team.

The limit for A+-grade abilities was barely reaching Emperor-grade, and breaking through the limit could reach the peak of Emperor-grade, allowing them to become combat members of the team.

His team only wanted the strong!

An Chun wasn't disappointed. "You're not recruiting based on looks, are you?"

Huo Shuangshuang glanced subtly at Li Xuan from the corner of her eye.

"Of course not. If I recruited based on looks, there would be hundreds if not thousands of beauties in my team. I recruit mainly based on connection, talent, and what type of personnel my team currently lacks," Li Xuan said.

"How many people are in your team now?"

"Three. I'm the combat member, plus one support member, and one responsible for reconnaissance."

As soon as Li Xuan finished speaking, the Wild Boar Mask train attendant pushed the meal cart over. "Guests, your food has arrived."

After serving the dishes, the Wild Boar Mask train attendant prepared to leave.

Suddenly, Li Xuan reached out and grabbed the Wild Boar Mask train attendant's wrist. "Wait!"

The Wild Boar Mask train attendant stopped. "Attacking train attendants violates the rules."

"You stole my chocolate!" Li Xuan said coldly.

"How could that be? I'm a train attendant;

I couldn't possibly steal passengers' food. Please stop your slanderous behavior!" the Wild Boar Mask train attendant warned.

As he spoke, the Wild Boar Mask train attendant tried to break free from Li Xuan's grip.

An Chun worried, "Could it be a misunderstanding? Maybe someone else stole your chocolate? Or maybe you remembered the quantity wrong?"

Huo Shuangshuang remained silent, believing that Li Xuan must have a reason for acting this way.

Li Xuan extended his other hand and reached into the Wild Boar Mask train attendant's sleeve.

The Wild Boar Mask train attendant struggled. "What are you doing? Let me go! Get your hand out!"

Ignoring the protests, Li Xuan used one hand to control the Wild Boar Mask train attendant while the other searched his body. Shortly after, he withdrew his hand and opened his palm to reveal three pieces of chocolate.

"Do you still have an explanation?"

The Wild Boar Mask train attendant stopped struggling, his black eyes fixed intently on Li Xuan. "How did you discover it?"

"You're just as greedy as the last train attendant who coveted my beef. You weren't satisfied with stealing my beef jerky and had to steal my chocolate too," Li Xuan said.

"So it was you. You knew your beef had been stolen earlier, but you deliberately said you ate too quickly to mislead me. Actually, you had already guessed that I stole your beef jerky at that time, and then you took out chocolate in front of me to lure me into falling for your trap," the Wild Boar Mask train attendant analyzed.

"I wasn't sure you stole my beef jerky—just suspicious."

"Hehe~ Miserly person, you'll get your comeuppance sooner or later."

The Wild Boar Mask train attendant's body gradually disappeared, as if someone were using an eraser to slowly erase marks from paper.

"Actually, I'm not miserly." Li Xuan understood what the Wild Boar Mask train attendant meant by comeuppance.

He was unwilling to spend money and didn't bribe the train attendant delivering the hidden reward, so he could only obtain a near-death Desert Dragonfly egg.

Only by bribing the train attendant could one obtain an excellent Desert Dragonfly egg.

The difference between near-death and excellent was significant—a near-death egg had a high probability of failing to hatch.