Chapter 54: Batch Upgrades.
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Chen Mang looked at the bread slice that had just been produced again, carefully examined it in his hand, and casually popped it into his mouth before turning his attention to other components.
After the "Moldy Bread Slice Production Line" reached level 10.
Not only had the taste and flavor changed, but it also gained two special supermodel effects. Long-term consumption could ensure that his Slaves rarely fell ill and slightly enhanced their physical fitness. Although he didn't know exactly how much improvement it provided, judging by the word "slightly," it probably wasn't much.
The most important thing was.
The price hadn't changed.
It was still 1 unit of Iron Ore for 10 slices of bread.
More quantity without a price increase—quite good.
He currently had 3,927 units of Iron Ore left. He wanted to upgrade all components to level 10, such as the "Telescope," as well as components he hadn't crafted yet, like the "Refrigerator" and "Cola Production Line."
The latter two components were non-essential crafting items for a level 1 Train.
At the time, he didn't have many resources, and these components weren't necessities, so they were temporarily set aside. Now that he had a solid foundation, he naturally decided to craft all these components.
Thus.
All the craftable components for the Train had been created.
3,829 units of Iron Ore weren't enough to upgrade a white-tier Vehicle Component to level 10, so Chen Mang decided to halt today's Train crafting project and wait until tomorrow when he could gather enough Iron Ore.
The next day, at dawn.
As usual, the Slaves stepped out of the carriage, ready to line up and receive their daily food and water. But today, something seemed off. The Deputy Train Conductor stood in place, showing no intention of distributing food as usual.
Just as the Slaves were scratching their heads in confusion and exchanging puzzled glances.
The door of the No. 3 Living Carriage suddenly opened, revealing several baskets filled with soft bread slices containing jam. Chen Mang also emerged at the right moment, leaning on his cane and standing at the Train door. He looked at the excited Slaves in front of him and those behind them, standing on tiptoe, eager to find out what was happening. With a light chuckle, he raised his hand.
The scene instantly fell silent.
"From now on."
"This will be your daily food—delicious bread with jam."
"This is my sincerity."
"If you wish to continue enjoying the best treatment, I hope to see your sincerity in return. Repay me with resources, and I won't mistreat anyone."
"Now, let's eat."
He waved his hand, and Lao Zhu and others stepped forward to move the baskets of bread down for distribution. Meanwhile, Chen Mang walked alone to the front of the Train, pondering whether to add another carriage.
There were too many things inside the Train.
It was somewhat inconvenient to have Lao Zhu and his enforcers share a carriage with the bread production line. There was also copper ore here, and he would definitely need to craft plenty of bullets as reserves.
Thus, the No. 2 cargo carriage couldn't mix production lines with mineral resources.
He decided to give the "Pickaxe Production Line" and others their own carriage, while bullets and mineral resources would occupy another carriage. As for the enforcers, they would have their own carriage. He would revisit this arrangement in a few days.
Three days passed.
During these three nights, Chen Mang would look up at the stars every night as part of his fixed routine. The stars that formed that string of text hadn't changed much in position or arrangement. After nightfall, those stars would always reappear.
In these three days.
He had accumulated a lot of Iron Ore, spending almost none of it and saving it all up. Combined with his previous savings, he now had.
"43,091 units of Iron Ore."
An astronomical number—it was the first time he had saved up such a large amount of Iron Ore. It was almost enough to buy a Ji Chuchu.
And his target was now—
"Carriage Steel Armor" and "Wind-Fire Wheel."
These two green-tier components were his top priorities. The former determined the Train's defense, while the latter determined its speed.
So far.
The "Stellar" Train, including the locomotive, had five carriages. Each carriage was covered with sturdy level 1 Carriage Steel Armor. Upgrading one carriage's armor to level 2 required 5,000 units of Iron Ore.
A total of 25,000 units of Iron Ore was spent.
All "Carriage Steel Armor" had been upgraded to level 2 armor.
In the night.
Chen Mang stepped off the Train and gently touched the noticeably darker armor on the Train's exterior, feeling the strong sense of security it provided. With this, he could basically completely withstand damage from level 2 monsters, and ordinary Corpse Tides could no longer threaten him.
As for level 3 armor.
He would think about that in a few days. Upgrading one level 2 Carriage Steel Armor to level 3 required 10,000 units of Iron Ore, totaling 50,000 units—exactly the price of one Ji Chuchu.
Upgrading Train defense was the most expensive.
Among all green-tier components, it was the costliest to upgrade.
After upgrading the armor.
He turned his attention to the "Wind-Fire Wheel." Upgrading this wasn't cheap either. Going from level 1 to level 2 required 1,000 units of Iron Ore.
He spent 10,000 units of Iron Ore to upgrade this component to level 5 in one go. He couldn't afford to reach level 10—there weren't enough resources.
The Wind-Fire Wheel's shape didn't change much.
Its base speed had increased.
The "Wind-Fire Wheel," a type of wheel, had the advantage of maintaining the fastest speed on the wasteland at its level, with a base effect of increasing maximum speed by 30 km/h.
Each level added 20 km/h to the maximum speed.
After reaching level 5, it directly added 100 km/h to the maximum speed. Combined with the Train's base maximum speed of 130 km/h after upgrading to level 2.
And taking into account the Train's weight and other factors.
The "Train Auxiliary AI" on the control panel displayed the current maximum speed of the Stellar Train as—
254 km/h.
Before the upgrade, it was 156 km/h—nearly double. Now, if he encountered any insurmountable danger, he definitely wouldn't be the last one to escape.
Especially since reaching level 5 unlocked the first supermodel effect.
"Wind-Fire Wheel Level 5 Supermodel Effect": Can activate a potential state, doubling the Train's maximum speed. This rapidly consumes Energy Stones and causes some damage to the Wind-Fire Wheel.
This supermodel effect could play a crucial role in saving his life at critical moments.
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Chen Mang looked at the Train data displayed on the control panel and remained silent. He turned his gaze to the "Vehicle Auxiliary AI" component. Some components' supermodel effects were predictable.
For example, the Wind-Fire Wheel's supermodel effect was definitely related to speed.
The Car Blade's supermodel effect was certainly related to attack.
But for components like the "Refrigerator" and "Vehicle Auxiliary AI," he had no idea what their supermodel effects could be. For instance, the refrigerator—what kind of supermodel effect could that thing possibly have?
He suddenly felt a strong urge to try it out. After all, upgrading white-tier Vehicle Components consumed far fewer resources compared to green-tier ones.