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CHAPTER 2: EP. 1 – THE PAID SERVICE, I

"Dear author, after a long time–"

No... that doesn't work.

"..., my love for this novel has–"

Too cheesy...

I helplessly stared at my phone, struggling to write down my feelings and thoughts. My cold hands didn't make typing easier, I felt sluggish and slow. It was irritating I couldn't put down anything decent.

I tore my eyes away from the bright screen and shifted them towards my surroundings in hopes of finding some kind of inspiration in the bustling crowd and people chatting away.

My eyes felt noticeably heavier than I thought they should've been.

For how long did I look at the screen?

I checked my chapter history of the day. This had to be a personal record.

"... 136 chapters in one sitting. Of course, my eyes would start to hurt."

A sigh escaped my throat, and I gently massaged my strained eyeballs with my index and middle finger. The coolness of my fingers somewhat alleviated the heavy exhaustion, and my mind got a bit clearer.

I still didn't know what to comment.

If a murderer demanded me to tell him my greatest weakness to safe my family, this would probably be my answer at the moment: Writing comments.

My eyes started to dart around the wagon again. It truly was the busiest time of the day, and people openly showed it on their faces.

I saw a lot of exhausted and tired faces, some were annoyed, while others were angry that they didn't get a seat. Luckily, I got one when I rushed to the train; it's a privilege I rarely have since it's almost always a fight to get a seat and I rather stood than engaging in the reckless pushing.

I felt like I was staring at them for too long, so I quickly turned my head and looked out the train window. It was cold outside and my breath fogged up the glass, blocking my view on the passing scenery.

After some hour-long minutes of hefty thinking and brainstorming, I pressed the 'Post'-button with satisfaction.

"This... should be fine."

–Thank you for this chapter. I am looking forward to reading more!

It was a simple and straightforward comment, yet it took me so long to write it. I wondered if 'Kim Dokja' had the same problem.

"I'll probably ask him when I have finished the story."

I shut off my phone and stuffed it into my pocket.

With my eyes closed, I listened to the people cramped around me, the loud clicking of the rails and the occasional squealing of the train's brakes, and felt my body bobbing along with the train. It was strangely soothing, I thought I'd nod off any second.

But I couldn't get Ways of Survival out of my head, no matter how hard I tried. I desperately wanted to catch up to the newest chapter, but there was still so much to read. It almost felt impossible, as if I was standing in front of a huge mountain, seemingly piercing through the stratosphere and I had to climb over it to reach the other side.

I didn't even know where this desperation was coming from. It was suddenly there and took me over.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"I didn't even reach the 2500th chapter yet, and updates were more frequent than ever. We're at chapter 3,149, wow."

I wondered how far the story will go and what the current events were. Was it near finished or were there another thousand plus chapters waiting to be released?

I was frustrated but also paradoxically excited because there was so much left to read. It was quite the dilemma. I couldn't tell if there was more frustration or more excitement, but what I knew for sure was that this novel would accompany me for a long time, maybe longer than I anticipated and hoped.

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I felt as if the train went on in slow-motion that day. It has never been that slow before. The cool air and dim, moody light both in and outside the train were soporific, and I was barely able to keep my eyes open. It was as if I had to fight for my life against the never-ending and relentless assault of sleepiness. I couldn't just fall asleep on the train after all.

Suddenly, the people around me started to complain about something. I tried to listen in. Maybe this could keep me awake.

"What's going on?"

"How should I know?"

"The train suddenly slowed down for whatever reason."

So I didn't just imagine things.

A man wearing a black suit and a red tie started to complain loudly.

"I have to get to work! Do you want to pay me my overtime?!"

Others started to chime in and a small-scale protest started.

It's nothing unusual for trains to slow down, especially here, why did they complain so much? I didn't understand.

"I swear. This– Someday, I will sue them for this!", another office worker complained.

Come on. I was annoyed as well, but did he really need to shout?

"Mom, when will we be home?"

A little child grabbed his mothers sleeves and looked at her with doe-like eyes. She gently smiled at him and pet his head.

"In a bit. Be a little patient, honey."

At least some people weren't filled with anger. Maybe there was still hope for humanity.

I couldn't help but smile a little as I watched them.

I pulled out my phone and looked at the time. It was 6:59 p.m.

"This sucks. That's practise then, huh."

I tried to sigh away my annoyance.

"Nothing I can about it..."

I decided it would probably be best for me to pass time reading more of Ways of Survival and navigated to the 'Favourites' tab...

I hectically tapped on my screen and refreshed the page several times before a loud "HUH?!" accidentally escaped my throat.

The people around me probably thought I was crazy, and I think I was.

My mouth dropped wide open as realisation slowly set in.

"Nothing. There's nothing here!"

Ways of Survival disappeared, it just vanished. Without any trace at all. Like it never existed.

"Did the author give up on it in the end? No, why would it be deleted then?"

I couldn't believe it, no, I didn't want to believe it.

I was devastated. The story I've nearly had forgotten grew incredibly dear to me and captured my heart in a matter of weeks once again.

I wouldn't be able to reach the story's end if it was deleted!

My train rides would become sad and lonely again.

Why did it--

[§/!"§&%#!*'"]

"What was that?"

I reflexively jumped up. I had goosebumps and my hair stood on end. The air felt cold, strangely cold even considering the outside temperatures.

What was that strange noise? It almost sounded like a voice, but it was robotic and distorted.

Suddenly, commotion broke out and people shoved each other around. It was different from the commotion before. The air was starting to be filled with panic, some people were shouting, while others were shocked and frozen.

[%"§] [{#!"?/]

There was the strange noise again!

A man pushed me while I was distracted, I almost fell and dropped my phone. The crowd swept me away and people carelessly stepped on the small device on the floor, the crunching sounds hurt my soul.

The last thing I saw before the screen broke was the time.

7:00 p.m

I heard the distorted sound again:

[%&ree"§#12-ice of p"/§&8#12"%nated]

This time, it almost sounded like words.

The distorted sound got louder, it was also accompanied by beeping and hissing. It felt like my ears were about to burst.

Tick, it felt like time has come to a halt. Then I heard a voice:

[The free service of planetary system 8612 has been terminated.]

[The main scenario has started.]