Stellar Train: I Open a Small Shop on the Train-Chapter 152

Zhongli held a treasure chest made of pure gold in his hands.

Venti urged him excitedly,"Old man, hurry up and open it!"

At the same time, everyone turned curious gazes toward him.

Zhongli had earned his win fair and square. He had deliberately kept himself in the center of attention every round, which naturally drew suspicion from others.

Under everyone's expectant gaze, Zhongli opened the golden chest.

As soon as it opened, the chest dissolved into light and vanished, leaving behind a single card.

Everyone looked at the card and immediately exchanged shocked glances.

A card! A Revival Card?

They hurried to look at it—three bold words were written on the card:

[Revival Card]

Everyone gasped!

Zhongli felt a surge of joy. He had really drawn a Revival Card!

At that moment, Ye Yun walked over.

"Zhongli, quickly try it out."

Zhongli looked at him and asked,"Ye Yun, how do I use the Revival Card?"

Ye Yun explained,"Place it on your forehead, then silently think of the person you want to revive. The card will scan your memories and precisely revive them."

Zhongli nodded in understanding, then followed the instructions—placing the card on his forehead and silently reciting:

"From the world of Teyvat... the God of Dust... Guizhong."

The card suddenly trembled violently, shot out of Zhongli's hand, and fell to the ground.

A moment later, a portal opened—and a beautiful woman slowly floated out.

Zhongli, who was always composed, actually showed visible excitement, his body trembling slightly.

Seeing his reaction, Hutao nudged him.

"Guest Consultant! Why are you so worked up? I've never seen you like this before."

Zhongli looked at her and didn't deny it.

"Mm, I am."

Hu Tao looked curiously at the woman.

"Who is she?"

Zhongli replied slowly,"My old friend. An Archon. The God of Dust—Guizhong."

Hu Tao was surprised at the name.

"Guizhong? The one who helped you establish Liyue?"

Zhongli nodded.

"Yes."

At the same time, Guizhong slowly opened her eyes, curiously observing everything around her.

"Where is this? Wasn't I... gone? Morax? You're here too? Don't tell me you're dead as well?

Oh dear~ let me see—our Geo Archon has come down too~"

Zhongli sweatdropped.Guizhong's personality had always been similar to Hutao's—playful and mischievous.

Back in the day, she used to tease Zhongli a lot and always made fun of him.

He said,"Guizhong, you've been revived. Welcome back."

Now it was Guizhong's turn to be dumbfounded.

"Huh? I've been revived?"

Zhongli then explained what had happened.

Guizhong finally understood and realized she really had been brought back to life.

Immediately, she grabbed Zhongli, insisting that he take her to see what Liyue looks like now.

Back when she passed, her biggest regret was not being able to see Liyue's future.

Zhongli replied,"You'll have to wait a bit. We still have two more dungeon runs."

Guizhong turned to look at the portal.

"Oh~ is this that game thing where you won the item to revive me?"

Zhongli nodded.

"Yes. Want to join us?"

Guizhong's eyes lit up.

"Of course!"

Seeing this, Hutao ran over to the bar and poured herself a glass of juice.

"I'll sit this one out. You go have fun, Sister Guizhong~"

Hearing Hu Tao's voice, Guizhong looked at Zhongli and asked angrily,"Who's this?"

Zhongli replied,"Oh, I forgot to introduce you. This is the current head of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor—Hutao."

Guizhong suddenly realized,"OHHH! The place where you're working now, right? I thought I heard that earlier!"

Zhongli nodded slightly.

Guizhong walked over and sat beside Hutao.

"So you're Little Hutao? Hey~ let me ask you—does Morax spend money like crazy?"

Hu Tao sighed.

"That's putting it mildly! Let me tell you..."

She began venting about Zhongli's "crimes"—how he strolls with birds, listens to music, sips tea all day, and sticks her with the bills. She recounted it all in heartbreaking detail.

After listening, Guizhong looked at Zhongli.

"Morax! All these years and you still haven't kicked the habit of spending recklessly?

I remember once—you spent 30,000 catties of grain just to buy a bag of flower seeds. And that was when we'd only just established Liyue!"

Zhongli fell silent. ...There was no way to refute that. He just sat there quietly and took it.

Guizhong kept listing his past blunders while the others listened with great amusement, not daring to interrupt.

Eventually, Guizhong grew tired and stopped.

The group began preparing for the second game.

Zhongli, acknowledging his guilt, gave up his slot to Hutao.

Guizhong grabbed Hutao's hand, made a face at Zhongli, and then got teleported into the dungeon.

After Guizhong and the others left, Ye Yun strolled over, grinning wickedly at Zhongli.

"Tsk tsk, smooth move. Wanna relax with a cup of tea?"

Zhongli glanced toward the lounge and nodded.

"Alright."

Ye Yun and Zhongli entered the lounge and brewed a pot of fine tea to savor together.

Inside the Dungeon:

This time, Hutao was the Pelican again.

She made up her mind: she absolutely couldn't make the same mistake as last time. She needed to stay alert. In the last round, she died tragically—taking a hit meant for someone else.

Hu Tao spawned in the lab and ran to the right.

Just after leaving, she ran into March 7th.

Having learned her lesson from last time, March 7th immediately started running.

"Hutao! What's your role? Don't chase me!"

Hutao looked at the map—down below was the altar, where people usually gathered.

If she chased March 7th over there, she'd probably get knifed by someone else.

So, she stopped.

"I'm a Canadian Goose. What about you?"

March 7th paused and came back.

"Oh, that's fine then. I'm the Influencer. If I die, all good players get a message."

Hutao feigned surprise and then chomped her in one bite.

"Mhm, got it. If the influencer dies... hehe~"

March 7th was stunned again.

"Hutao!!!"

Since Pelican victims are still considered alive, March 7th could still talk—and Hutao could hear her.

March 7th started shouting inside Hutao's belly to distract her.

Hutao ignored her.

She ran to the altar.

Sure enough, nearly everyone was there.

Guizhong saw her and called out,"Little Hutao, come here! What's your role?"

Hutao replied,"There are too many people here. What if the Sniper Duck hears me?"

Guizhong assured her,"No worries. This round has Party Duck, Chain Killer Duck, and Professional Killer Duck. The Professional one hides bodies, but if someone steps on it, an alert will trigger."

Hutao nodded seriously.

"I'm the Influencer."

Inside her belly, March 7th exploded with rage.

You ate me, and now you're wearing my identity?!

Unforgivable!!!

***

March 7th was so angry, shouting loudly enough to make Hutao's ears ring.

Hu Tao hurriedly told a few people that she was an Influencer, then quickly ran away.

In this way, many people found out she was a Influencer.

The good guys thought, since she's a Influencer, it's understandable if she wants to play solo.

As for the bad guys, bring it on—at worst, they'd both perish, and there was a real Influencer inside her belly anyway.

If she stabbed herself, it would be like a C-section, with a good person jumping out from her belly. The assassin who stabbed herself would definitely be shocked.

Silver Wolf was doing a task; during the task, she couldn't see her surroundings because a screen filled her vision.

Hutao saw this, sped forward, and—ahh—swallowed Silver Wolf in one bite.

Silver Wolf suddenly went black in front of her eyes and arrived in a familiar small space.

March 7th lay on the ground, utterly despondent, and glanced at Silver Wolf.

"Yo~ you're here."

Silver Wolf looked around and immediately hung her face.

Isn't this inside the pelican's belly? Have I been swallowed again?

She looked at the name above the pelican's head—Hutao.

Silver Wolf instantly went crazy.

What? Sister? You swallowed me again! Last round too! Am I really that tasty?

March 7th rested for a while, then regained energy and stood up, turning to Silver Wolf with a knowing look.

"Together?"

Silver Wolf understood immediately.

"Together!"

Hutao's ears didn't have a moment of peace before March 7th and Silver Wolf's loud wails rang out again.

The surround sound was intense.

Hutao endured it since she'd been through it last round.

While wandering the map, more and more people ended up inside Hutao's belly.

Venti, Theresa, Stelle, Firefly, Yunli, and many others all got swallowed.

With so many noisy people inside her, Hutao couldn't hear what the others still alive outside were saying.

Passing by the altar entrance, Guizhong called her once, but Hutao didn't hear and dashed away.

After wandering some more without finding anyone alone, Hutao couldn't stand it anymore and ran straight to the altar, pulling the bell to digest the noisy crowd inside her. Too loud!!!

Once Hu Tao pulled the bell, her ears cleared instantly.

She sighed with relief and sat quietly, closing her eyes to rest.

Guizhong saw this and reminded her,

"Little Hutao～ Do you have anything to say about pulling the bell?"

Hutao snapped back, opened her eyes.

"Oh, it's like this, I wandered outside for a few rounds and didn't see any living people. I felt something was wrong, so I pulled the bell to see how many were dead.

Wow! Why did so many disappear all at once?

I wasn't trying to cause trouble; I just wanted to check the dead count. Some people know my identity, so I won't say more. Next."

The next was Himeko.

Himeko's identity this round was professional assassin; she also heard Hutao say she was a streamer.

However, Himeko didn't choose to play solo but stayed with the main group at the altar, reducing suspicion.

Next was Ei.

Ei looked at her identity and recalled the tutoring God gave her after the first round ended.

"I vote for myself, I'm the werewolf."

She remembered God's words:

When you get the Dumb Bird identity, you have to try to get voted out to win.

The survivors couldn't help but chuckle.

Next was Sparkle, who laughed heartily.

"Don't worry, Ei, I'm voting you this round. I'm a bird watcher—I've been spying on you guys~ Hehe~

Hutao, surprise! I saw your crime—you're the pelican!"

When Sparkle said this, Himeko and others looked surprised at Hutao. So it turns out Hu Tao was the pelican!

That explained everything: no wonder Hutao could play solo safely and why there were fewer people outside. They all ended up inside Hutao's belly.

Kiana looked at the ghosts of March 7th, Silver Wolf, Stelle, and burst out laughing.

"Stelle, you're so unlucky to get eaten by the pelican."

Hutao struggled, still trying.

"I'm a Influencer! Believe me!"

But finally, Hutao was voted out unanimously.

There was no helping it; the pelican was a neutral role who could eat others. Neither good nor bad would help her.

After voting, everyone returned to the castle.

Ghost Hutao was instantly surrounded by Stelle and others.

"Hutao~"

Hutao was startled, looked back at the group, swallowed heavily, and fled.

Oh wait, ghosts have no legs; she just floated away.

Stelle and Kiana chased behind her.

At the scene, after learning the Influencer had died, Himeko and another werewolf, Sunday, started taking action.

Himeko was a professional assassin; when she killed someone, the leftover chicken leg would become invisible and only her teammates could see it.

Others stepping on the invisible chicken legs would trigger an alarm.

Himeko stayed at the altar with the group and, like Zhongli in the last round, invited people in one by one for talks.

Sunday understood Himeko's plan and quietly left the altar.

That way, even if Himeko was found out, Sunday wouldn't be exposed, because the deaths happened inside the altar, but he wasn't there.

Himeko brought people in and killed them one by one, waiting for cooldowns before calling the next.

Everyone thought the altar had only one exit; no one would be stupid enough to kill inside, as it would be immediately noticed.

Until Kiana wandered in and stepped on Guizhong's chicken leg, triggering the alarm.

Kiana was confused and went to the meeting room.

She looked around and froze.

Wow! Only herself, Himeko, Sunday, and Yunli were left alive!

Himeko also looked at the remaining players and exchanged a glance with Sunday, understanding what to do.

Kiana said,

"Why did so many die at once?! So scary! I have no info; I just triggered the chicken leg alarm."

Next.

Kiana's next was Yunli.

Qingque, the sheriff, looked at the three remaining; she wasn't sure if Kiana had stabbed Canada.

If Canada died, an alarm would trigger, and the one who triggered it was the killer.

"I have no info either, next."

Next was Himeko.

Himeko stared intensely at Kiana.

"Kiana, if you can't show your identity, I suggest voting you out unanimously. I suspect you stabbed Guizhong."

Sunday didn't speak and skipped to public discussion time.