Chapter 37: "A Prosperous Start to the Workday."
Biao Zi let out a cold snort before narrowing his eyes slightly and continuing, "In the apocalypse, trust between people is extremely fragile. It's a difficult task to gain the Train Conductor's complete trust. For instance, how do we prove that we've handed over all of our gains this time?"
"This is almost an unsolvable problem."
"But with the Train Token, it's different. We've handed over everything that could allow us to establish our own base. Do you think Lord Mang would still not trust us?"
"Although Lao Zhu was the first to follow Lord Mang, after this incident, Lord Mang is probably 80% more likely to trust me now. Don't you think?"
"Moreover," Biao Zi sighed helplessly, "I've tried to establish my own base before. You both know how that ended. Let alone anything else, all the Train Conductors we followed eventually died, didn't they?"
"Being the boss isn't that easy."
"And this time, the boss is different."
He narrowed his eyes and murmured, "Even if an ordinary Train Blade Fragment is fully upgraded, it still can't break through the defense of a Level 3 Man-Eating Spider. As long as this Train can develop, our status and living conditions will be much better than if we tried to establish our own base."
"Alright, you probably wouldn't understand even if I explained more."
"Just remember one thing: follow Lord Mang and work hard."
"Oh," Hei Hao nodded weakly, "Every time you say that, the Train Conductor dies within a few days."
"The past is the past, and the present is the present!"
"Lord Mang is different from other Train Conductors!"
Five hours later.
The Train finally returned to the initial Iron Ore location. Chen Mang looked around at the familiar environment and the mine, feeling a sense of warmth. It was already noon.
A strong drowsiness washed over him.
He had been awake for a long time without sleep. He used the walkie-talkie to instruct Biao Zi to arrange for people to keep watch, then everyone would rest to replenish their energy. After that, he walked to the bed in the Train cabin, and without even taking off his clothes, he collapsed onto it.
He was too tired.
Sleep first.
We'll talk after waking up.
Perhaps because he had been awake for too long, when he woke up, it was already 4 or 5 AM the next day.
"Phew..."
Chen Mang groggily washed up in the Train cabin, then jumped down with a cigarette in his mouth. He saw that the wasteland was already quite lively, with many Slaves gradually emerging from the carriages and heading towards the mine.
"Lord Mang!"
Seeing Chen Mang awake, Lao Zhu, who was directing nearby, hurried over and reported, "Some Slaves woke up earlier, saying they couldn't sleep anymore and wanted to go mining. I thought about it and didn't dare to disturb you with such a small matter, so I agreed."
"Over there, we're distributing bread and water to the Slaves who just woke up."
"We should be mining a lot today; many people went down to the mine at 2 or 3 AM."
"Oh?" Chen Mang's eyes flashed with surprise, "So proactive?"
"Yeah," Lao Zhu said with a strange expression, "I asked a few people, and they said they were scared by that Level 3 Man-Eating Spider. They don't want to die and want to mine more ore to make the Train stronger, so they can be safer."
"That's awareness!"
Chen Mang couldn't help but laugh, then took two packs of cigarettes from his pocket and threw them to Lao Zhu, "One pack is for you and Biao Zi to share, and the other is for the Slaves. As long as they work hard, they won't be treated unfairly."
"The Slaves' enthusiasm must be motivated; human potential is limitless."
"Alright, go on with your work."
"Got it."
Lao Zhu responded and hurried off to maintain order, distributing two cigarettes to each Slave.
Chen Mang looked at the busy scene in the distance, standing in the night wind, glancing at the starry sky, and smiled lightly without saying a word. Having such a deputy was good; at least he didn't have to worry about these trivial matters.
Then he walked alone to the rear of the Train.
He lit three cigarettes and stuck them into the wasteland, then calmly clasped his hands together, looked up at the sky, and murmured, "A prosperous start to the workday."
"May the heavens bless me to continue mining here for seven more days. By then, this mine should be almost exhausted, and we can move on to the next new mine."
Although the Man-Eating Spider incident had unexpectedly brought him some gains, not every unexpected event ends well.
It's best if there are no accidents.
After sincerely praying in his heart several times, he took the three cigarettes out of the ground, patted off the dirt at the ends, and stuffed all three into his mouth. Leaning on his cane with one hand, he walked towards the front of the Train.
In the apocalypse, tobacco is a scarce commodity and must not be wasted. As long as the sentiment is there, it's enough.
Smoking three cigarettes at once was quite intense.
Back in the Train cabin.
After walking around and inspecting the area, Chen Mang returned to the control panel and pressed the red button labeled "Vehicle Components." Immediately, the screen next to it displayed the 12 vehicle components that could be crafted after the Train was upgraded to Level 2.
"Train Radio": Green-grade component, requires 500 units of Iron Ore to craft.
"Fabrication Table": Green-grade component, requires 500 units of Iron Ore to craft.
"Makeshift Heavy Machine Gun": Green-grade component, requires 500 units of Iron Ore to craft.
"12.7mm Heavy Machine Gun Ammunition Production Line": Green-grade component, requires 500 units of Copper Ore to craft.
"Targeting Radar": Green-grade component, requires 500 units of Iron Ore to craft.
"Resource Detection Radar": Green-grade component, requires 500 units of Iron Ore to craft.
These six components were mandatory for upgrading the Train to Level 3.
They were all very useful.
In addition, there were six non-mandatory vehicle components.
"Car Audio": White-grade component, requires 100 units of Iron Ore to craft.
"Internal Fire Control System": Green-grade component, requires 1000 units of Iron Ore to craft.
"5.56mm Rifle Ammunition Production Line": Green-grade component, requires 500 units of Copper Ore to craft.
"Clothing Customization Production Line": White-grade component, requires 100 units of Wood to craft.
"Simple First Aid Kit": White-grade component, requires 100 units of Iron Ore to craft.
"Train Auxiliary AI": Green-grade component, requires 500 units of Iron Ore to craft.
This time, there wasn't an additional red-grade vehicle component. It seemed that the "Rare Train Token" only provided two red-grade vehicle components.
After upgrading the Train to Level 2.
The components that could be crafted were significantly better than when the Train was at Level 1.
Out of the 12 craftable components this time, he wanted and needed every single one. However, crafting and upgrading them to a certain level would require a lot of resources.
Moreover,
He also wanted to install two heavy machine guns on the roof of each carriage, which would significantly boost their sense of security. However, the heavy machine gun ammunition production line required Copper Ore to craft, and producing bullets would undoubtedly require a large amount of Copper Ore. He hadn't encount
ered any Copper Ore yet.
"The road ahead is long and arduous," Chen Mang sighed softly, gazing into the depths of the wasteland. When would he be able to own a fully-equipped Level 2 Train?
(End of Chapter)