Chapter 11: A Mobile Base with Terrifying Firepower.

Although he mentioned a three-day probation period, he would actually select ten people to become enforcers for this train before nightfall.

After all, his beginner train mission was only one step away from completion.

"Within three months, acquire three enforcers and ten Slaves. Reward unknown."

Once this mission was completed, his "Train Panel" would officially unlock, and its functions would be revealed.

Moreover.

The shorter the time taken, the better the reward.

The reason the rewards for his other two missions were so good was precisely because he completed them quickly. Logically speaking, he might have only received an "Ordinary Train Token."

"Lao Zhu."

"Huh?" Lao Zhu, who was rolling up his pant legs and preparing to collect items from the carriage, stopped upon hearing Mang Ge calling him. He immediately jogged over to Chen Mang and whispered, "Lord Mang, your orders?"

"You don't need to collect items anymore. I need a Deputy Train Conductor, and I've chosen you."

Chen Mang patted Lao Zhu's shoulder with a light laugh. "You've served as a Deputy Train Conductor before, so you have the experience. Later, I'll go to the train room to officially appoint you and grant you the corresponding permissions."

"Then you can tell me about the things to watch out for when becoming a Train Conductor for the first time. I'm also new to this."

"I'll need your help a lot in the future."

A flash of disbelief and excitement crossed Lao Zhu's eyes. He immediately knelt on the ground, his voice hoarse with emotion as he said, "Mang Ge, don't worry, I won't let you down!"

In truth.

When he saw Chen Mang suddenly take out a Train Token and become the Train Conductor, he knew he had met a benefactor. His status would soon change from a Slave to a Deputy Train Conductor.

Besides him, there was no one else suitable.

He was the only one among them who had served as a Deputy Train Conductor before, and he was also the first to approach Chen Mang. It could only be him.

A train couldn't be managed by one person alone; it required multiple people to operate together. Many tedious tasks couldn't be handled by the Train Conductor, but he still had to act surprised and excited.

As a subordinate, one should try not to refuse the goodwill of a superior, and when receiving such goodwill, the reaction should be as noticeable as possible, without being too reserved.

He didn't know how to be a superior.

But he had been a subordinate all his life, and he knew very well how to be a competent underling.

Moreover, this superior seemed much better than his last Train Conductor. Not only did he lack any bizarre habits, but he also had a strong sense of conviction, exuding the natural aura of a superior without any hint of a small-minded upstart.

"Um..."

Lao Zhu hesitated for a moment before tentatively asking, "Mang Ge, among these Slaves, there are seven or eight women. Right now, they're covered in dust and dressed in rags, so their figures and appearances aren't visible. Should we have them take a bath later and bring them over for you to see?"

"No need."

Chen Mang shook his head. "Our current situation is still quite dangerous. We don't even have basic safety guarantees, so how could we spare the thought for such things? Did your last Train Conductor have a taste for this?"

"Kind of."

Lao Zhu scratched the back of his head, a bit helpless as he whispered, "The last Train Conductor had a fetish for 'Cultivating Athlete's Foot.' He specifically sought out Slaves with severe athlete's foot to ensure his own condition could be maintained."

"Then he would pick a few women from the Slaves, have them soak their feet in boiling water every day, and twist towels into balls to repeatedly rub between their toes."

"He said it was the most pleasurable thing in the world, ten thousand times better than a wedding night, though he never touched those women."

At this moment—

All the Slaves had gathered the resources and neatly arranged them to the side. Chen Mang waved his hand, signaling the Slaves to move the resources next to the train room, then instructed Lao Zhu to take inventory of everything.

Standing on the wasteland, Chen Mang looked at the group of Slaves who stood somewhat awkwardly in the distance. The 1st-level train's producible "Vehicle Components" only included the Moldy Bread Slice Production Line, not the Sand-Adulterated Purified Water Production Line.

In other words.

The train could have given them pure water, but it went out of its way to add sand to it.

However, he quickly understood the situation.

It was a method of artificially creating class disparity.

  By giving the enforcers a sense of superiority, it provided the lower-class Slaves with motivation to rise. The conflict between the two sides would soften the tension between the Train Conductor and the Slaves, keeping the entire train in a relatively stable state.

He gazed into the distance.

The Corpse Tide was no longer visible on the wasteland, with only a few hundred Zombie corpses remaining nearby. These Zombies still had some morality—they didn't eat their own kind.

He planned to return to the mine later to continue digging.

After becoming the Train Conductor, he realized that no matter what he did, he needed "Iron Ore." Having enough Iron Ore was essential.

He also had a few candidates in mind for the enforcer positions—a dozen or so individuals who were noticeably more robust than the others.

Soon—

Lao Zhu jogged over. "Mang Ge, all the resources have been inventoried."

"Here's the list for your review."

"..."

Chen Mang took a small piece of paper filled with writing from Lao Zhu, unsure where he had gotten it from.

「12.7mm heavy machine gun 1st-level bullets: over 400 rounds.」

「9mm pistol 1st-level bullets: over 200 rounds.」

「12 pistols.」

「1 heavy machine gun.」

「1,500 units of Iron Ore, 120 units of Copper Ore, 100 units of Wood.」

「Over 600 bread slices, 300 bottles of mineral water, 100 steamed buns, 80 packs of pickled vegetables.」

「...」

"Alright."

Chen Mang nodded with a satisfied expression. This way, things looked much clearer. Most importantly, he had already counted the number of pistols beforehand. If Lao Zhu's count didn't match his, Lao Zhu would already be lying in a pool of blood.

He clearly remembered that these pistols weren't manufactured by the train, meaning they could harm the Train Conductor.

As long as a gun was manufactured by the train, even if the bullets weren't, the weapon couldn't harm the Train Conductor. That was the Train Rules.

"Mang Ge."

Lao Zhu, standing nearby, whispered a reminder, "These pistols can't be given to the enforcers. All trains only provide enforcers with weapons manufactured by the train's production lines. This ensures the absolute safety of the Train Conductor."

"Usually, when going out to collect supplies, if an enforcer or Slave finds a gun and doesn't turn it in, they're executed on the spot once discovered."

"Got it."

Chen Mang tucked the piece of paper into his pocket before turning to look at the train that now belonged to him. He hadn't even given it a name yet.

For now.

A 1st-level train didn't have much firepower on its own. The main combat tasks still needed to be handled by enforcers wielding firearms. Only after the train leveled up and unlocked higher-tier "Vehicle Components" would it truly become a mobile base with terrifying firepower.

Right now, it was just a vehicle.

There was still a long road ahead.

(End of Chapter)