Chapter 14: "My Doomsday Train Can Be Upgraded Infinitely
"Congratulations on completing all the rookie Train Conductor tasks. You are now a qualified Train Conductor."
"Officially unlocked the Train Conductor Panel, with the following effects—"
"Infinite upgrades."
"The Vehicle Components of your Train will have no level cap and can be upgraded indefinitely."
"That's it?"
Chen Mang looked somewhat puzzled at the semi-transparent panel before him. It didn't seem like the effect was that great—just that the Vehicle Components had no level cap and could be upgraded indefinitely?
It didn't feel very useful.
When in doubt, ask Lao Zhu. After all, Lao Zhu had once served as a Deputy Train Conductor, so he knew more about this than Chen Mang. This was also the main reason Chen Mang had appointed Lao Zhu as the Deputy Train Conductor.
Chen Mang already had a certain understanding of this world.
This world had become semi-digitized, with many things having panels, such as the "Train" or "Vehicle Components." The reason gasoline had exited the energy stage wasn't because it couldn't be used, but because it couldn't be used by the "Train." Anything that couldn't be used by the "Train" gradually faded from the stage of history.
And his "Train Conductor Panel" was something only he possessed.
It was somewhat like a small plugin in a game. To put it simply, it was like plugging in a USB drive.
For now.
After completing three rookie tasks, his cheat ability had been fully activated. However, he wasn't sure about the strength of the effect after activation. He couldn't tell if it was a minor advantage or a game-changer, as there were differences even among USB drives.
"Lao Zhu."
Chen Mang immediately turned to Lao Zhu. "Does every Vehicle Component have a level cap?"
"Yes, yes."
Lao Zhu nodded eagerly, finally having a chance to showcase his knowledge. He spoke with utmost seriousness: "Vehicle Components have different rarities, such as white, green, and blue. The higher the rarity, the more valuable the component, and the higher its level cap."
"For example, many white components have a maximum level of 2."
"Take one white component I know of, called the 'Car Blade.' Its effect is to attach two sharp steel blades to the sides of the train car. This way, if you encounter a Corpse Tide, the entire train will become a sharp blade, cutting all the Zombies in its path in half."
"It's not a component that comes with the train or can be crafted. The blueprint randomly drops from killing monsters in the wild."
"The previous Train Conductor obtained this blueprint during a Corpse Tide encounter. This component can only go up to level 2. Even though the Car Blade becomes larger and sharper at level 2, it's still just a white component, meant for the early stages when you're weak. A truly powerful train relies on high-rarity components."
"..."
Chen Mang's mouth slowly opened, and he stared in a daze at the birthmark on the back of his hand. Now he fully understood what "Infinite Upgrades" meant!
In other words.
Even a "white component" could be upgraded indefinitely.
A level 2 "Car Blade," as Lao Zhu said, might be something for the early stages when you're weak.
But...
What about a level 10 "Car Blade"?
A level 20, 50, or even 100 "Car Blade"?
Wherever his train passed, nothing would remain!
This was a sure thing!
Even among USB drives, his panel was leagues ahead!
My specs surpass yours!
"Phew..."
Chen Mang took a deep breath. Damn it, he didn't know why the birthmark he'd had since birth would show such a powerful effect after crossing over to this world, but... who cares!
It was very possible that he had been a virtuous person in his past nine lives, and this was his reward in this life!
Right now, he only had one Vehicle Component at level 2, which was the "Geothermal Furnace."
A level 1 "Geothermal Furnace" could only consume level 1 trains. Earlier, in order to consume those abandoned level 2 trains, he had spent the last 100 units of Iron Ore to upgrade the "Geothermal Furnace" to level 2.
Now he only had 600 units of Iron Ore left.
Too bad.
These Slaves still needed to sleep. Otherwise, if they worked 24/7, he would have gotten even more Iron Ore.
First, upgrade the train to level 2, then head to the nearby city ruins to capture more Slaves, thus obtaining more Iron Ore to build an even stronger train!
Repeat this cycle until his train roars freely across the wasteland!
Half an hour later.
Chen Mang returned to the entrance of the Iron Ore mine. Just like before, under the shouts of the enforcers, the Slaves exited the train cars one by one, orderly picking up their pickaxes and heading into the mine to dig.
This scene was eerily familiar, as if it had happened before.
Except...
In the morning, he had been standing among the Slaves, but now he stood in the position of the Train Conductor.
Perhaps the apocalypse wasn't without its advantages. With enough luck, one could go from being a Slave to a Train Conductor in just a few hours. In peaceful times, going from a Slave to a Train Conductor would require more than just luck.
Inside the train's control room.
Chen Mang looked at the screen displaying the Train Crew.
So far, this train had ten enforcers and eighty-one Slaves. Each person's name was displayed in white. When someone died, their name would turn black. This feature allowed the Train Conductor to clearly know the life and death status of his passengers.
No wonder the enforcers had rushed over immediately when he killed that Slave in the train car last night—it was because of this feature.
"But..."
Chen Mang narrowed his eyes and glanced into the distance. Since this feature existed, the previous Train Conductor must have known that this group of Slaves hadn't died and had instead joined another train.
Could that escaped train car come back for them?
But...
It was just one escaped train car. Even if it returned, he wasn't too worried. After all, he still had ten enforcers armed with assault rifles and a heavy machine gun. He wasn't completely defenseless.
Meanwhile, in another part of the wasteland.
Inside a somewhat shabby train car fleeing across the wasteland, a portly man stared at the screen displaying the Train Crew and suddenly froze.
He had been lamenting the loss of those Slaves. It had taken him a lot of effort to capture those three hundred Slaves.
Now they were all dead.
Starting over would be no easy task.
But...
In the "Train Crew" section, it showed that nearly a hundred of his Slaves hadn't died. Instead, they had joined an "Unnamed" level 1 train, and one Slave named Chen Mang had even become the Train Conductor!
How was that possible?
He had abandoned that group of Slaves in the middle of a Corpse Tide. How could they have survived under those circumstances?
Unless...
"..."
The man's eyes filled with rage. It must have been that Slave named Chen Mang who had stumbled upon some kind of opportunity. That wasn't surprising. The wasteland was full of opportunities. With enough luck, anything could happen.
But what infuriated him was that he had cut his losses to survive, and now his Slaves had found an opportunity and become a Train Conductor?
This was unbearable!
A newly built train was essentially defenseless, no different from a lamb waiting to be slaughtered. Now that the Corpse Tide had been shaken off, his most important task was to find those Slaves, kill the Train Conductor, and bring his Slaves back!
Although he didn't know the exact location of those Slaves.
A new Train Conductor would quickly realize the importance of "Iron Ore," so it was likely that this guy named Chen Mang had returned to the mine. All he needed to do was return to the mine to reclaim his Slaves!
"Thank you so much."
The portly man suddenly laughed, his eyes glinting with malice and excitement. "If it weren't for you, these hundred Slaves might have died. As long as I can find these hundred Slaves, rebuilding will be much easier."
(End of Chapter)