Chapter 3 — Me Lo Airport

Suddenly, shrill sirens rang throughout the station. Each heavy and steady step echoed from the distant hallway. Several epidemic prevention staff wearing white protective suits approached and immediately carried 47 up. "Let me go! I don't want to be eliminated!" — the girl screamed in panic and turned to scream at her boyfriend: "Ah Vinh! Help me! Help me!" But A Vinh didn't even glance at him, turned around and ran away. The epidemic prevention staff ignored the cries and pushed the stretcher quickly to the end of the hallway, disappearing from sight in the horrified looks of the other players. A few seconds later, the system announced: 【Player number 47 poses a serious threat to public health and safety and has been forced to leave the game area for quarantine. Remove! Burdened with a debt of 1 million yuan!】 【Player No. 87 caused serious harm to public health and safety and was forced to leave the game area for quarantine. Remove! Burdened with a debt of 1 million yuan!】 Everyone looked at each other, their eyes filled with suspicion. “87 yesterday dug through food in the trash, today I have diarrhea.” "Colds are okay, diarrhea is okay too." Who will be next? Just a cough, or even a rattling sound in the throat, is enough to make the hair on the back of someone's neck stand up. I came up with a new rule: You are not allowed to get sick - even if it's just a mild cold or stomach ache, you will be forced to leave the game area. Thanks to the bread and cookies I had hidden, I lasted the whole day. Today the temperature in the airport is even colder, as if it has turned into an ice cellar. I found a metal thermal blanket in the trash, the kind used specifically for mountain climbers. Wrap it around your body, keeping it warmer than the previous torn blanket. As time passed until the fourth day, the number of people eliminated increased more and more. Waking up early in the morning, I decided to get today's portion of bread and cookies. I avoided the crowd and went to the first hiding spot — located in a narrow gap between a giant pot of green plants and the wall, behind a secluded toilet. When I got there, I bent down and put my hand into the familiar gap to dig for things. 8. Empty! Inside there was absolutely nothing. My heart sank, still not believing it, I groped again carefully - not even the crumbs of the cookie packaging were left. I threw all thoughts aside and rushed to the next hidden spot. Do not have. Still no. All four cookie storage areas were emptied. Dozens of bags of soda crackers and life-saving bread disappeared overnight without a trace. The situation, which was sure to win, suddenly turned completely upside down. Wanting to accurately find all four hiding places in just one night and "clean up" it neatly like this, is definitely not a dreamer. Who? Who is secretly watching me? My mood fell straight to rock bottom. I boldly went looking for food to try, but the number of people vying to try it was increasing. The stores were wary and hid all food samples. Even the spice counter at Starbucks was completely clean, the sugar packets were taken away by the staff. Trash cans have now become a battleground, with many players risking diarrhea to search for food. But when I arrived, not even food scraps were left. Just holding on until ten o'clock at night, all the indicators on my interface flashed red in alarm. I walked towards the row of luxury goods stores in the airport. Next to him, a few players whispered: "This person is probably about to be eliminated. What can he do when he goes to a luxury store?" In the trash near the luxury store, I searched through some empty bags and boxes that someone had thrown away. Tourists often remove boxes before departure to avoid taxes. I carefully stuffed the boxes into the most intact bag, carried them in my hand, and went down to the first floor of the departure area. When I was exploring earlier, I discovered that there was a Haidilao restaurant that was still open. Now I'm going to "win" a free place to stay, and more importantly — some free food. Pushing open the thick, heavy glass door, warmth and the fragrant smell of beef oil hotpot rushed in. A smiling waitress ran over: "Welcome, how many of you are coming?" “Two people.” — I placed the prominent branded bag on the chair next to me, my voice was a bit hoarse, deliberately revealing a bit of fatigue: "Give me somewhere quiet, I'll wait for you." The waitress's eyes glanced at the branded bag in my hand, her smile grew brighter: "Yes yes, this side please!" People who buy so many luxury items are definitely not the poor type who come to eat. She led me to an upholstered sofa table, semi-enclosed, very quiet and discreet. As soon as I sat down, I immediately took out my phone, quickly moved my finger across the screen, dialed a number... that didn't exist. As soon as the "phone" was "connected", my voice, filled with sobs, suddenly rang out in the quiet area: "I'm at Haidilao at the airport... I bought a ticket for the 3am flight to Paris... If you don't come, you won't be able to see me again in your life!" I slammed the phone down on the table, my eyes immediately filled with tears. The waitress quickly brought me a bowl of hot snow mushroom sweet soup and a small plate of fruit. Her voice was so gentle that it seemed like she could drip honey: "Miss, calm down, drink something to warm your throat? Did your boyfriend make you angry?" My voice was choked, my nose was red: "Thank you... but thinking of him being with my 'white moon'... I can't swallow anything." The waitress placed a bowl of tea in front of me: "The sadder I am, the more I have to eat. If I don't eat, I won't have the strength to wait for him to come to 'the crematorium'." I nodded slightly, took the bowl of tea, and took small sips. The warm, smooth sweetness slid down my dry throat, my stomach growled violently, but at this point I had to be patient. Right after that, the waitress brought another bowl of steamed eggs for free. I "dumbfounded" stood up, walked to the spice counter, scooped up three large spoons of grain beef, and quickly put it all into a bowl of steamed eggs. Returning to the table, I tried to suppress my cravings, eating elegantly, one small bite at a time, while the corner of my eyes still glanced warily at the waitress and the shift manager. Sure enough, she served as a radar mount. "Miss, I see you're so sad. Do you want to try the restaurant's new tomato soup? It's sweet and sour, it's delicious!" A bowl of red, fragrant tomato soup was placed in front of me. “Let me bring some more snacks?” Right after that, a free plate of French fries was also served. “Your boyfriend hasn't contacted you yet?” — She leaned closer again, her eyes filled with curiosity mixed with sympathy, looking even more impatient than me. My heart immediately sounded a warning — she was asking too many questions! I immediately changed my state, tears immediately welled up, my voice trembled despair: "Is... he really doesn't need me anymore? Actually... I don't intend to go..." At that moment, I lowered my head, letting my shoulders shake violently as if I was trying to hold back my tears. “Hey, don't cry, don't cry anymore!” — the waitress panicked, immediately picked up a giant teddy bear, and stuffed it into my hand: "Let it comfort you! You're so pretty, he'll definitely regret it!" Hugging the soft teddy bear, fatigue came like a big wave. The Stamina indicator is red — I have to rest! I secretly set the alarm to vibrate at 2 a.m., then "exhausted" I hugged the bear tightly, curled up on the soft sofa, and closed my eyes. Before my consciousness sank into confusion, I just prayed that I wouldn't be kicked out. I'm not sure how long I slept, but suddenly the waitress shook me awake: "Miss, is your flight about to depart?" At that moment, my phone started vibrating violently — it was an alarm I had set. In an instant, I grabbed the phone, without looking at the screen, shouted the line I had prepared in advance: "I've been waiting for you in Haidilao for four hours, but you still won't come? Is she that important? I'm going, I'm really going! Just come and see me once, okay?" Hanging up, I buried my face in the teddy bear, looking like I was quietly crying. The manager walked by and stopped, shook his head and sighed. The waitress gently brought me a thin blanket: "Cover me to keep warm." I slept all night on that comfortable sofa. The next morning, when I was about to leave, the waitress specially brought out a glass of soy milk, a bowl of thin porridge and free tea eggs, her eyes full of encouragement: "Do your best! Leave that bad man, you will meet someone better! Congratulations on starting a new life!" Since I didn't order, of course I didn't have to pay. I quietly thanked him, turned around and walked out the glass door. My Stamina stat has fully recovered, and my Hunger stat is also full. Although this method is a bit brazen, it can only be used once — and I... have already played that trump card.