Chapter 25: "Internal Fire Control System"
"Component Name": Moldy Bread Slice Production Line
"Component Grade": White
"Component Level": 1
"Component Effect": Consumes 1 unit of iron ore to produce 10 moldy bread slices.
"Upgrade Condition": 100 units of iron ore
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Chen Mang expressionlessly gazed at the panel. He finally understood why Master Kun usually didn't feed the Slaves to their fill. It wasn't intentional abuse, but rather, even these moldy bread slices weren't cheap.
10 moldy bread slices required a full unit of iron ore.
If each Slave were to be fed to their fill, they would need 10 slices per day. With a total of 81 Slaves, the daily bread slice expenditure would amount to 81 units of iron ore, which was indeed not a small sum.
Master Kun couldn't even bear to craft the "Universal Wheel," let alone provide full meals for the Slaves every day.
After all, there wasn't always ore to be mined. On days without mining, it would be pure consumption. Thus, it made sense to only provide basic food when not mining.
Quite expensive.
However, he had no immediate plans to upgrade this component. Since it was for the Slaves, it was sufficient for now. Iron ore couldn't be wasted here at the moment. Once the Train reached level 2, he would upgrade this production line to see if it could produce non-moldy bread. Eating moldy bread every day might make his Slaves sick.
Next, Chen Mang crafted another production line and placed it in the No. 3 living carriage.
"Steamed Bun Production Line."
Crafting this production line required 100 steamed buns. He experimented and found that moldy steamed buns could also be used as materials, so he used all the confiscated moldy steamed buns as materials.
Thus—
The No. 3 living carriage was now packed to the brim. Besides Lao Zhu's bed, there was the "Steamed Bun Production Line," "Purified Water Filter," "Moldy Bread Slice Production Line," and various pots and pans. This was also the living quarters for the thugs.
The No. 2 carriage stored large equipment such as the "Pickaxe Production Line," "Soaring Dragon Assault Rifle Production Line," "Ore Resources," and "Heavy Machine Gun Bullets."
Chen Mang looked again at the panel of the "Steamed Bun Production Line."
"Component Name": Steamed Bun Production Line
"Component Grade": White
"Component Level": 1
"Component Effect": Consumes 1 unit of iron ore to produce 1 steamed bun.
"Upgrade Condition": 100 units of iron ore
"Hmm."
Chen Mang sighed lightly. This would be his staple food for a long time. Admittedly, steamed buns were much more expensive than bread slices. He would upgrade it when he had extra iron ore in the future.
For now, steamed buns with pickles were enough for him.
However, the steamed buns produced by the "Steamed Bun Production Line" were plump and white, not moldy. This meant that the steamed buns Master Kun had given him were simply left to mold.
It was worth mentioning—
The "Purified Water Filter" in the No. 3 carriage hadn't been used yet. They had been using the confiscated mineral water all along. The component's effect was to convert any liquid, such as urine or blood, into purified water. It was shaped like a toilet.
He hadn't collected the Slaves' urine mainly because there was only one of these filters, and he would have to drink the water produced from it in the future. He found it hard to stomach. After today's Slaves returned, he would upgrade this component to directly produce bottled mineral water.
If the cost of producing a bottle of mineral water was high, he would craft another "Purified Water Filter" specifically for collecting urine and other liquids for the Slaves.
With these three production lines crafted, the Train's basic needs for food, drink, and hygiene were secured. The reason he didn't join the commotion last night was that he knew his Train's strength wouldn't get him a share of the spoils. Additionally, he knew that mining wasn't an everyday activity.
For example, Master Kun had rested on the wasteland for three days before obtaining the coordinates of a Mine.
When there was ore to be mined, it was best to focus solely on mining.
Otherwise, swinging here and there would leave one with nothing.
While Chen Mang was planning the Train's future inside, Lao Zhu was also in the No. 3 carriage, organizing daily routines—tasks that seemed insignificant but were actually crucial.
Such as tallying the daily iron ore submitted by the Slaves, distributing food, and taking inventory.
As for Biao Zi, he, along with Hei Wa and another old subordinate, found the thug who had defied his orders yesterday with grim expressions.
Last night, he had assigned other thugs to keep watch, but no one listened to his commands, leading to a mistake that left a bad impression on Lord Mang.
He had clearly become the Thug Leader, but some still didn't respect him.
So today, he needed to firmly establish his authority, ensuring that no one would disobey him again.
The method to establish authority was simple.
Biao Zi found the man who had sneered at him last night and, without a word, punched him. Then, with Hei Wa and the other subordinate, they proceeded to beat him up.
When he had given orders last night, everyone had pretended not to hear, but this man had not only ignored him but also sneered.
A troublemaker?
He was here to deal with troublemakers!
"Lord Mang!! Lord Mang!!"
The troublemaker, clearly not expecting Biao Zi to be so direct, tightly covered his head and rolled on the ground, hysterically shouting, "Biao Zi is causing internal strife, Lord Mang!"
Seeing this, Biao Zi, who was in the middle of punching, instinctively stopped. After waiting a few moments and hearing nothing but the troublemaker's shouts on the wasteland, with no sign of Lord Mang appearing, he grinned and slowly rolled up his sleeves.
"That was just the appetizer."
"Now comes the main course."
"And... remember to call me Biao Ge from now on."
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Inside the Train, Chen Mang casually glanced at the commotion outside before turning his attention back to the "Newbie Guide" on his control panel. There was a lot of information he couldn't access yet, but understanding it now would prepare him for the future.
However, most of the information was for beginners. Details about level 2 Trains and above were scarce.
For example—
He had just learned that when the Train reached level 2, one of the unlockable components was the "Internal Fire Control System." This system could place gun turrets inside the carriage, aiming inward.
With this system, with just a thought, all carbon-based life forms inside the Train, except for him, would be bathed in blood.
It could be called the "Train Reset Button."
It would directly replace all the thugs and Slaves, including the Deputy Train Conductor, and further strengthen the Train Conductor's absolute control over the Train. Even if the Train were severely damaged and unable to move, and enemies broke inside, this system would serve as the last line of defense.
The more he learned, the more he realized how extravagant it was for Master Kun to have 300 Slaves.
With Master Kun's strength, he didn't deserve 300 Slaves.
300 Slaves could produce about 3000 units of iron ore daily. If mining could be guaranteed every day, within a month, one could have a fully equipped level 2 Train.
However—
When he confiscated Master Kun's remaining resources, he found that Master Kun's assets were pitifully few. It was unclear where all the iron ore had been wasted. The Train didn't have any high-level components, so it couldn't have been due to a lack of Mines.