[The train is about to depart. May you all live forever.]
"Where is this?"
Thump, thump, thump...
Ye Qiyan woke up in a train carriage, pressing his aching head as he opened his eyes.
"Carriage?"
Ye Qiyan couldn't recall what happened yesterday. His last memory was of staying up late watching anime. Suddenly, darkness fell before his eyes, and his memory seemed to have lost track.
"Did I die from staying up all night and go to hell?"
The voice that had just appeared rang out again.
[All survivors have awakened.]
[Basic train rules are being distributed.]
[1. Do not abandon your own train!]
[2. Every 24 hours after leaving a station, all trains will arrive at a new platform.]
[3. Upon arriving at a platform, you may stop for three hours, and you may choose whether to disembark.]
[4. Please collect supplies. Supplies can upgrade the train's level. Each level upgrade triggers an upgrade module option.]
[5. Do not leave the train until you reach the platform.]
[6. Survive.]
[Rules as above.]
[Please, follow them!]
The train will arrive at its first stop in an hour, please be prepared.
Ye Qiyan subconsciously pinched his face at the long broadcast.
"Hiss, I'm not dreaming, am I?" The aching sensation in his head gradually dissipated, and
he reluctantly stood up from the cold ground and looked around. Just as he had just woken up, he was in a train compartment. Outside the windows on both sides, the endless wasteland continued to recede.
The only thing worth noting in the compartment was an oval device at the front. Above it floated a light screen with the words "Train Control System" clearly written on it.
Without a doubt, Ye Qiyan walked forward and reached out to touch it.
[The train system is at your service]
[Currently controllable options: conductor information, train details, chat room, trading platform]
"Chat room?"
[Current number of people: 10,000/10,000]
["You, who are you, let me go! I'm rich! My godfather is very rich! Let me go back!"]
["Medicine, where is my medicine!"]
["Husband, husband, where are you, I'm Xiaowen."]
["What's going on, have I traveled through time?"]
["Hahaha! Well dressed! I finally don't have to go to work tomorrow and look at my boss's face!"]
A large number of conversations went on, and a line of text suddenly caught Ye Qiyan's attention.
["Heh, what a bunch of idiots, pretending to be so good, do you think I'm an idiot? This must be a variety show that your column wants to record, right? I've seen documentaries before. The previous one was about going into space, and now it's about getting on a train. It's really unoriginal. I'm getting off now. I don't believe you dare to let me get hurt!"]
["Brother, calm down! What variety show crew can kidnap 10,000 people!"]
["Let him try, maybe it's true."]
["The one upstairs is Idiot No. 2."]
In less than a minute, the man did not appear again, but the number of people in the chat room decreased from 10,000 to 9,999
. Is he dead?
Ye Qiyan shook his head and stopped thinking about it.
He closed the chat room and dragged the light screen to turn to the train details.
[Level 1 Train]
[Carriages: None]
[Speed: 20 km/h]
[Workbench: Level 1 (Recyclable and Decomposable Items)]
[Frame: Level 1]
[Wheels: Level 1]
[Base: Level 1]
[Upgrade Required: 100 kg of Wood, 150 kg of Metal, 50 Mechanical Parts]
Speed?
If, as stated in the train regulations, arrival at the platform is a fixed 24-hour window, then what's the point of the train's speed?
However, what puzzled him even more was that if everyone arrived at the station simultaneously, ten thousand people would be ten thousand trains. How vast would the platform need to accommodate them all?
Ye Qiyan sensed something odd and subconsciously glanced out the window at the seemingly endless wasteland.
"Could it be that if we go too slowly, something will overtake us?"
He continued to scroll, opening the personal information interface.
[Conductor's Name: Ye Qiyan]
[Number: E-3-1102]
[Owned Train: Class 1 Train]
[Spirit: 100 (When Spirit falls below 80, you will fall into a state of mental exhaustion; when it falls below 50, you will enter a state of self-doubt; when it falls below 20, you will fall into a state of sanity dissipation; when it falls below 10, you
will fall into a state of mental madness; when it falls below 1, you will fall into a state of extreme laziness)]
[Ability: None]
[Talent: Sublimation]
[Train Module: None]
"Talent, what is this?"
[Sublimation: Consumes physical or mental energy to sublimate and evolve all existence, regardless of type, level, or damage.]
He quickly opened the chat room and searched for the word "Talent," but found no one mentioning it.
If most people possessed a similar talent, there would surely be someone who couldn't control their mouth and revealed it in the chatroom. Since no one did, it meant that the possessors were few, perhaps even extremely few.
Ye Qiyan fell into deep thought. Why did he possess this? His cheat?
Actually, he was indeed different from everyone else in his past world. Like a nearly broken computer that he could suddenly run a massive AAA game, or an ordinary car that could drive at the speed of a sports car.
His friends joked that he could delight the Machine Spirit, but Ye Qiyan dismissed it all as coincidence.
But the talent listed on his profile seemed to indicate it wasn't a coincidence.
"Sublime everything? How do I do that?"
Ye Qiyan pondered, walking to the workbench in the car. On it lay a bottle of water, a loaf of bread, and a knife.
This was something everyone possessed, perhaps a newbie bonus?
[Poor Quality Knife] Level 1
"Sublime,"
Ye Qiyan muttered to himself.
The next moment, an invisible force caressed the poor quality knife.
His stamina on his profile also dropped from 100 to 90.
[Sharp Enchanted Dagger] Level 2
"Success!"
Ye Qiyan's eyes gleamed with excitement as he gazed at the dagger in his hand, its cold light gleaming.
"This talent actually can do this, and it doesn't consume much stamina, so it's acceptable."
He swung the dagger, its sharp blade whirring as it sliced through the air. It was clear that after undergoing a sublimation process, the dagger's quality had far surpassed its original state.
It was hard to imagine how shabby its predecessor had been.
"Wait, if that's the case!"
Ye Qiyan suddenly raised his head and looked around.
More precisely, at the front of the train.
"Trains, too, should be able to be sublimated, right?"
The talent's description stated that everything could be sublimated, so trains should be included.
Ye Qiyan took a deep breath, his eyes filled with curiosity and excitement about the unknown.
He walked to the control panel, as if a voice in his mind told him what to do, and placed his hand on the elliptical device.
"Sublimation."
The invisible force reappeared, but Ye Qiyan felt his own strength draining away at a rate several times greater than the speed of the newly sublimated knife.
"Huh."
[Stamina: 90 → 30]
Falling to the ground, Ye Qiyan couldn't help but feel delighted as he watched the changes in the train before him.
This book was first published on Taiwan Novel Network →𝒕𝒘𝒌𝒂𝒏.𝒄𝒐𝒎, providing you with a flawless, uncluttered reading experience.
[Train Upgrade Completed!]
[Current Level: 2]
[Materials Required for the Next Train Upgrade: 200 kg of Wood, 200 Metal Parts, 400 kg of Metal Blocks]
[Upgrade Options Enabled]
[Congratulations on Breaking the Fastest Train Upgrade Record! Received a Special Module Card]
Calming himself, he carefully observed the train's current state.
After reaching Level 2, the chassis, frame, wheels, and workbench were also upgraded, increasing the train's speed from 20 kilometers per hour to 40 kilometers per hour.
But that wasn't the point. The key point was that Ye Qiyan could clearly sense that he could still upgrade these two trains. Unlike the previous knife, which had nearly exhausted its full potential after a single upgrade, even a full recovery wouldn't be enough, given his current stamina.
Unless he added Spirit.
However, the introduction to Spirit made Ye Qiyan temporarily put that idea aside.
Upgrading the trains revealed two unique features:
upgrade options and record-breaking special module cards. These were the real things to watch out for.
[Level 2 Train Upgrade Options]
[1: Low-Level Carriage Blueprint (0 Train Coins)]
[2: Low-Level Reservoir Blueprint (1 Train Coin)]
[3: Train Burst Accelerator Blueprint (5 Train Coins)]
[4: Increase Train Stop Time by One Hour (2 Train Coins)]
[Option: All available for Train Coins]
"Train Coins, are they the currency of this world? I don't have any right now. Does that mean I can only choose the first option?"
Ye Qiyan frowned slightly. If that were the case, wouldn't he have lost out by upgrading early this time?
"Can I hold this option and choose it later when I have enough Train Coins?"
[Yes, this option holds three arrival times.]
He breathed a sigh of relief and retrieved the blueprint that didn't require Train Coins.
[Low-Level Carriage Blueprint]
[Requires: 100 kg of wood, 150 kg of metal, 60 mechanical parts]
[Additional: 20 kg of glass, 10 kg of fiber for car upgrades]
The required materials are substantial, and at least not readily available right now. As for upgrading this blueprint, let's put it on hold for now.
The resources required for the basic blueprint haven't been secured yet, and if upgrading requires even more materials, it'll be even harder to create.
"Special Module, how special is that?"
He put away the blueprint, and a diamond-shaped card surrounded by light blue particles appeared and hovered in his palm.
[Special Module Card]: Activate it to obtain a special module.
The brief description doesn't reveal anything special about it; only by using it can you truly understand what kind of module you'll gain.
"This thing should be able to be sublimated, right?"
Once the thought came to him, he couldn't hold it back.
Although he'd expended considerable energy on the sublimation train, he still had some energy.
Moreover, after consuming the bread and water, his stamina had miraculously returned to 50.
"Give it a try, it should be fine,"
Ye Qiyan whispered to himself, then continued to chant in his mind.
"Sublimation."
The invisible force reappeared, and in an instant, the card in his palm emitted countless blue particles like meteors.
If anyone could stand in the sky at that moment, they would see Ye Qiyan's train accelerating like a comet streaking through the sky, trailing a blue flame.
"Hmm..."
Ye Qiyan stared at the card in his hand, his brows furrowed.
Finally, as the light shrank, the invisible force dissipated, and his body felt lighter.
[Current Stamina: 20 points]
[Current Spirit: 60 points (mentally exhausted)]
[Sublimation successful! ]
[Special Module Card] → [Exclusive Module Card]
"30 points of physical strength and 40 points of spirit, which means a full 70 points? That's a lot of consumption, but what does this state of mental exhaustion mean? I don't feel anything?"
Ye Qiyan lay on the ground, looking at the card in his hand, shaking off the doubts in his mind.
Perhaps it was just an illusion, and the physical fatigue overwhelmed the mental fatigue.
"Amen, Amitabha, Emperor bless..."
Regardless of whether it was useful or not, he prayed to all the gods and demons.
"Use the exclusive module card."
A stream of azure light enveloped his whole body, and the light screen of the train control system appeared before his eyes.
[Using the exclusive module card. ]
[Congratulations, you have obtained the exclusive module for the train conductor: Crossroads of Destiny (unique)]
[Crossroads of Destiny]: There will always be a second choice on your path. Different choices will have different destinies.
Before Ye Qiyan could take a closer look, the train announcement overhead suddenly chimed in.
[Ding Ding Dong! Everyone, please sit tight and hold on tight. The train is about to arrive at your first platform. Good luck!]
"Huh? Has an hour already passed? How come I didn't even feel a thing?"
He looked up at the time on the control system. Only one minute remained until arrival.
At that moment, a second screen appeared on the control system.
[Fate's Crossroads Triggered. Please select a platform to stop at.]
[Platform One: Swampland] [
Platform Two: Arsenal]
"Is this the power of the exclusive module?"
[Please make your decision. The countdown ends and a random selection will be made.]
"I choose the Arsenal!"
As the old saying goes, "If my neighbors store grain, I store guns. My neighbors are my granaries.
" Ye Qiyan didn't know if the other train conductors would become his neighbors, but at a time like this, he felt that nothing could give him a greater sense of security than weapons.
[Platform Selection Completed]
[Please sit tight and hold on tight. The train's first stop is...]
[Arsenal]
Boom, boom, boom!
A deafening roar echoed from the front.
Ye Qiyan saw that the space ahead was constantly distorting and deforming, as if a beast had opened its bloody mouth to devour people.
"Buzz!"
The whistle sounded!
As the train passed through the distorted space, the surrounding environment also completely changed at this moment.
[Current Platform: Arsenal]
[Countdown to Stop: 2:59:59]
[Good Luck]
[This Station, No Danger]
The train's speed gradually slowed.
As the roar faded, Ye Qiyan arrived at his first stop.
Standing
before the train door, he took a deep breath, gripped his sublimated dagger, and pressed the button to open the door.
The world outside was silent.
All around him was pitch black, save for a massive, matchbox-like building directly before him.
He looked up. There was no sun, yet both the road beneath him and the building were clearly visible.
"Space travel—truly incredible power! No wonder all trains arrive at the same time."
Leaving the train, he reached the door in less than ten steps. It was tightly closed. Using his dagger to pry it open, the door swung open, and the stench of decay hit him.
Stepping inside, he looked around. He saw neatly arranged wooden crates, and it was from these crates that the stench of decay emanated.
Ye Qiyan used a dagger to pry open the rotten iron lock on the box, revealing two bolt-action rifles half-buried in sawdust.
[Low-Level Marksman Rifle]: Equipped with 20 rounds of low-level ammunition,
two rifles, and 40 rounds of ammunition.
This was the contents of one box.
And there were many more boxes like this in the armory.
"Great stuff!"
Ye Qiyan said, opening several boxes in succession and carrying all his haul back to the train.
After several trips back and forth, his excitement-fueled strength was finally reaching its limit.
[Current Stamina: 15 points]
Ye Qiyan's physical strength had long since reached its limit after using his sublimation ability so many times, but perhaps due to the excitement, his mental strength had recovered to 70 points.
Without energy replenishment during the three hours the train was stopped, he probably wouldn't have had much strength to move all this supplies.
After a short rest, Ye Qiyan stopped carrying and explored the armory, discovering several sealed iron boxes on the shelves in one room.
In his previous world, he'd seen some videos about military supplies, and they included similar iron boxes.
Curious, he approached the boxes. The embossed markings were blurry, and only the vague shapes of the squares could be discerned.
"Could it be..."
Ye Qiyan swallowed. Prying open a corner of the box, he saw neatly arranged compressed biscuits inside, resembling gold bars, exuding a faint milky aroma and a hint of fermented sourness!
"Indeed!"
He grabbed one and stuffed it into his mouth, unconcerned about whether the biscuits were expired or not.
"If only there were some water."
Although he had food for the next while, he still wasn't satisfied.
He only ate one compressed biscuit; after all, it didn't just fill his stomach, it also made him thirsty.
Four barrels of compressed biscuits, similar to those held by military rations, were found, totaling eighty pieces.
Enough for a normal adult male to last for about two weeks.
He also found some sealed bottles of water nearby, but unfortunately, the water didn't smell drinkable.
Yet Ye Qiyan still managed to load them onto the train.
The armory, a semi-enclosed space resembling a matchbox, was plagued by collapsed shelves, rotting debris piled on the floor, and a lingering stench of decay. This made exploration particularly arduous, and the further he dug, the stronger the stench grew.
Over two hours, Ye Qiyan had only found forty-two intact rifles. Most of the others had rusted from improper storage, their only value being salvageable at the processing station.
He also loaded some easily accessible iron and wood onto the train.
Train upgrades could be done directly through sublimation, but crafting items also required resources. Even if he didn't need them, he could still trade them with others.
He returned to the train with his supplies and checked the countdown on the operating system.
With thirty minutes left until departure, he had plenty of time for one or two round trips.
"Let's go one more time. We should have enough time."
Looking at the already crowded train, Ye Qiyan felt that the first ordinary carriage was the most important thing he needed to build. He had enough wood and mechanical parts from discarded firearms, recycled from the boxes and processing tables, but he was still short on metal, so construction was currently impossible.
"I don't think I've been into these rooms yet ."
Returning to the armory, he passed by the mess and headed straight for the innermost chamber. He pushed open the few remaining rooms he hadn't explored, and the interior decoration gave a glimpse of what had once been living and resting areas.
The first few rooms yielded nothing special, until the last one, where something unexpected finally appeared.
Crack.
It was the sound of bones being crushed.
Ye Qiyan slowly lowered his head. Under his feet, a skeleton's calf bone was crushed.
"Sorry, brother, I didn't mean to do that."
He wasn't afraid. Growing up, he'd found even horror movies amusing, and the occasional sight of the swollen, blue faces of the deceased at funerals hadn't bothered him.
Ye Qiyan retracted his foot and was about to turn and leave when he suddenly noticed a dusty paper document bag beneath the skeleton.
The presence of a document bag in the armory wasn't surprising; the strange thing was its surprisingly good condition. After all, even the iron and wood items had rotted to such a state, how could a paper bag be so intact?
Confused, Ye Qiyan pulled the document bag from beneath the skeleton.
He didn't open it immediately, but trotted back to the train. The carriage's control system had an item identification function, so if there were any traps, they should be able to detect them.
[Level 1 Treasure Chest] (Openable)
"It's actually a treasure chest?!"
He surveyed the thin, pretzel-like folder, surprise and delight written across his face.
"Hey, thanks, Bones. I'll bury you later."
He smiled, and just as he was about to open it, he suddenly stopped.
"By the way, this treasure chest should also be sublimated, right?"
Just like when he'd sublimated on the train, once this thought occurred, he couldn't let it go.
He glanced at his current personal information.
[Stamina: 30] [Spirit: 80]
"For such a small bag, even if I use up my Spirit, it shouldn't be much. Plus, there are compressed biscuits. One more piece will restore some Stamina. No problem."
Perhaps this was something special about this world.
The Stamina recovery after eating was remarkable.
Besides, when a person starts to convince himself, it means that he has already made up his mind.
So, Ye Qiyan silently chanted those two words in his mind.
"Sublimation."
The numbers of physical strength and spirit were constantly decreasing.
[Spiritual strength fell below 50, falling into a state of self-doubt]
He lay on the floor of the carriage like a fish that had been landed, motionless, looking at the chandelier that was swaying slightly above his head, and sat up after a while.
[Physical strength: 30→20] [Spirit: 80→50]
"It seems, I don't feel anything."
Ye Qiyan scratched his head.
Apart from physical fatigue, he did not feel that the so-called self-doubt made him uncomfortable.
Shaking his head, Ye Qiyan carefully looked at the document bag in his hand, which seemed to have not changed at all.
The total physical strength and spirit consumed to upgrade a level 1 treasure chest to level 2 is 40 points, which is more than he imagined.
[Level 2 Treasure Chest] (Openable)
"It seems I can't sublimate any further. Can the potential of this thing only be sublimated once? Or are there some special rules?"
"Whatever, let's open it first."
Ye Qiyan rubbed his hands and opened the folder in his hand.
[Open Level 2 Treasure Chest]
[Receive Train Coins: 4]
[Receive: Colt M1911 Pistol]
[Receive: Level 2 Blueprint: External Garbage Collector]
"So this is how to get train coins?"
Google searched for TWKAN
. "Four, in that case."
Ye Qiyan opened the train details, and the options that appeared after the upgrade remained on it.
After spending three train coins to purchase the blueprint for the low-level water tank and an hour of train stop time, Ye Qiyan only had one train coin left. If he could find a treasure chest at the next stop, he might be able to get enough for the acceleration device.
After seeing the train's departure countdown reach 1:15, Ye Qiyan turned to look at the reward he got from the treasure chest.
The Colt M1911, compared to the ordinary firearms he got from the armory, the sophistication of this gun could be called a work of art .
"It seems that all guns in this world can use the same type of bullet."
He filled a magazine with low-level bullets and pointed the gun at the wooden box outside the train.
He pulled the trigger, and the wooden box was instantly shattered.
"Oh my god, this power is not right?"
Rubbing his sore knuckles, Ye Qiyan looked at the gun in his hand with a surprised expression.
They were all pistols. The ones in the arsenal used the same bullets as this one, but the power was at least half less.
"If I sublimate it..."
Ye Qiyan quickly shook his head and temporarily discarded this dangerous idea.
It's not the right time to sublimate.
His physical and mental strength are almost at the critical point. It's not too late to talk about it later when he recovers.
Putting away the pistol, Ye Qiyan turned around and checked the two blueprints he had just obtained through the control system.
[Low-Level Reservoir Blueprint]
[Stores water, preventing it from spoiling or evaporating for ten days]
[Requires: 10 kg of Metal, 20 Mechanical Parts]
[External Garbage Collector]
[Collects garbage from the platform. Automatically collects it and returns it to the collector before leaving the platform]
[Requires: 30 kg of Metal, 100 Mechanical Parts]
[Can add 300 additional mechanical parts for special modifications]
[After modification, the collected garbage can be automatically recycled and disassembled into usable materials using a workbench]
"Looks like I can build it all,"
Ye Qiyan muttered to himself, looking at the total resources he had collected.
[Wood: 210 kg]
[Metal: 60 kg]
[Mechanical Parts: 220]
The resources were sufficient, but if he built these two, the first carriage would be put on hold for now.
"Wait a while,"
he said without rushing. Since he had a few more stops, he might as well take a break.
With the last hour left before leaving the station, Ye Qiyan opened the trading platform.
The trading platform had special rules.
All train conductors on the platform were prohibited from placing anything onto the platform; they could only sell items after leaving the platform.
This rule was likely intended to prevent anyone from transferring supplies within the station through platform transactions to circumvent storage space constraints. Purchasing
items was not covered by this rule.
In other words, Ye Qiyan, currently on the platform, could purchase items placed on the trading platform by train conductors who had left the platform.
However, this rule seemed foolish, as it didn't restrict private transactions between train conductors, nor did it restrict purchases by anyone within the station.
Such a simple loophole didn't seem likely to be set by someone who could come up with a train survival scheme. Was it
as if this was a reminder that rules could be circumvented to a certain extent?
Ye Qiyan didn't think any further; he only did one thing next:
trade metal.
As for what to trade?
He glanced at the low-level rifles and compressed biscuits beside him. At a
time like this, what people lack most is a sense of security.
And weapons and food are among the things that provide that sense of security.
"No?"
Ye Qiyan kept refreshing the trading platform. Although some people had put up the metals he needed, the quantity was too scarce, and the price was too outrageous. It was obvious that these people had no intention of trading.
"They're all just waiting and watching."
He opened the chat room.
The other train conductors had already left the first station, and the chat box in the chat room began to scroll frantically.
["Brothers, how was your first stop? I searched for a long time at a garbage station, but I couldn't find anything of value except a pile of scrap tires. I was so angry, but the tires broke down into a lot of rubber. If anyone wants to buy some, please message me privately!"]
["Be content. My first stop was a meadow. There was nothing but grass! And you couldn't even walk. There was black mud everywhere, and there was a terrible stench. It was disgusting."]
["The meadow is good. The black soil is very valuable."]
["What's its value? Is it edible?"]
["You can use black soil to grow vegetables. It's very useful."]
["Tsk, I thought it was edible. What's the use? You can grow vegetables in a small place like the front of a car. What a joke."]
["Anyone selling mechanical parts? I have a blueprint here. I need mechanical parts to make it."]
A blueprint was posted to the chatroom, causing an immediate stir.
[Low-Level Mechanical Fishing Rod]
[Automatic Fishing Function]
[Requires: 20 Mechanical Parts, 1 kg of Metal]
["Holy crap! What is this, a blueprint? Why don't I have it?"]
["I'm lucky, but is it okay to post this in the chatroom?"]
["Tsk, I can tell you don't have the blueprint. This is just a screenshot. You need the blueprint to manufacture it. Hey, I have 20 mechanical parts. All I want is the bread and water you gave me at the start."]
["Shabei, 20 mechanical parts and you want bread and water? How could that be better? I'll give you the parts for one loaf of bread!"
["Me, I only want half! But I only have 15 mechanical parts..."]
["It's just a fishing rod. What's so special about it?"]
Not many people gained anything at the first stop.
["Is anyone selling water? I'm dying of thirst...]
["Did you guys get any treasure chests?"]
["What's a treasure chest?"]
["Uh, nothing, just pretend I didn't say anything."]
["Damn it, I hate it when you leave things unsaid. In this situation, if you have information and don't share it, are you a human being?"]
["That's right, we're all just trying to survive, what's wrong with helping each other?!"]
Some guys condemned the person who leaked the treasure chest news, and their ugly faces could be felt through the screen.
The person finally couldn't stand the malice, and after a moment, he sent a screenshot of the operating system.
[Open Level 1 Treasure Chest]
[Obtain Train Coins: 2]
[Obtain: Golden Wound Medicine]
[Obtain: Level 1 Blueprint: Aluminum Insulation Pad]
"A level one chest contains two train coins, a level two contains four, so a level three chest should contain six?"
Compared to a level two chest, the rewards in a level one chest were relatively meager, but medicine was still valuable enough in this world, and there were things like train coins.
"Hmm? What's this?"
Suddenly, a message caught Ye Qiyan's attention.
Remember the domain name of the initial website: 𝕥𝕨𝕜𝕒𝕟.𝕔𝕠𝕞.
Li Xiaosheng: ["Anyone wants metal? I have some. You can trade it for various resources. Weapons first."]
Prioritizing weapons over food suggests this person has a strong ability to survive.
Ye Qiyan prefers dealing with people like this over those who can't even satisfy their hunger.
Having made up his mind, Ye Qiyan contacted Li Xiaosheng.
Soon, a line of text appeared in the private chat interface.
Li Xiaosheng: "Hello, would you like to trade metal?"
"How much do you have?"
"How much do you need?"
He was a very cautious man, but from his words, it was clear that he had a lot of metal.
"One hundred and fifty kilograms of metal, can you take it out?"
The chat room suddenly fell silent for a moment.
Li Xiaosheng rubbed his eyes, looking at the text in the dialog box with a look of disbelief.
One hundred and fifty kilograms? That's the amount required for the train's first upgrade. What would this person need so much for? Could it be that he had already gathered the wood and mechanical parts? Besides, how could this person named Ye Qiyan have the confidence to purchase so much metal at once?
After a moment's hesitation, he sent a message.
"I can take it out, but what do you want in exchange? If it's the dagger I gave you at the beginning, I can only trade you ten kilograms."
"How about a rifle?"
The train system had a built-in camera function, and Ye Qiyan took a picture of a low-level rifle in average condition and sent it over.
"How about a gun and 20 rounds of ammunition in exchange for 150 kilograms of metal?"
"A gun?! You actually have a gun? I'll trade with you, but isn't the price too high? You're robbing me! Even a gun wouldn't be worth that!"
Ye Qiyan fiddled with a bullet, unsurprised by the other party's reaction.
But now, he was the only one selling the gun.
He set the price.
"It's not expensive at all. You should understand how important a gun is right now. Besides, who knows what the next stop will be like? Can you guarantee you're safe? If I had a gun, maybe I'd be more likely to survive, right?"
Li Xiaosheng knew Ye Qiyan was right.
He'd gotten over 300 kilograms of metal and a treasure chest at the first stop, thinking he had the best luck of them all.
But all that was nothing compared to the gun in Ye Qiyan's hand.
"Can you take less?"
"150 kilograms. If you don't accept it, I'll find someone else."
Ye Qiyan stroked his chin, narrowing his eyes.
This man, Li Xiaosheng, must have quite a bit of metal, and his desire for the gun was clear.
If that was the case, he wouldn't lower the price.
Looking at the photo on the screen, Li Xiaosheng swallowed; it was clear he wanted it.
"How about a hundred kilograms?"
Ye Qiyan toyed with a bullet, his lips curled up.
"I think there are others who crave a gun more than you right now."
Li Xiaosheng gritted his teeth, hesitated for a long time, and then reluctantly replied,
"Let me think about it."
"Okay, how about ten seconds? I'm busy right now."
"..."
Li Xiaosheng wanted to ask what he was busy with. Everyone had already left the first station, and in the cramped space of the train, apart from sorting their supplies, they could only communicate through the chat room.
He had no idea that Ye Qiyan was still at the first station, nor could he guess that his goal wasn't to upgrade the train, but to build his first carriage.
Li Xiaosheng took a deep breath, his expression firm, his decision clearly made.
"I've thought about it. I'm willing to trade with you, but I want to know what you need these metals for? Upgrading the train, or do you have the blueprints for this kind of firearm that can be mass-produced?" "
Of course, don't get me wrong. I'm not one of those people in the chat room. I'm not asking for blueprints. I'm just saying, if you still want to trade, you can come back to me. I'm confident I can upgrade the train to Level 2 within three stations. Then, I can help you promote this firearm. I'm sure people will listen to the words of a powerful person."
Where did this person get his confidence from?
Ye Qiyan suddenly thought of a possibility.
This Li Xiaosheng might have some kind of talent like him.
What it was, Ye Qiyan had no way of knowing, and there was no need to ask.
Does upgrading the train within three stations make him a master?
He silently scanned his train, which had already been upgraded to Level 2 before entering the station.
How could he not consider himself a master? He
could only say.
The best way to deal with such a mysteriously confident person was to use two words:
obedience.
"Let's trade."
This was Ye Qiyan's first time trading, and he was curious about how it would work.
Following the instructions, he placed a low-level rifle and 20 rounds of ammunition on an open space. Soon, a virtual halo of light flashed across the rifle and ammunition, and in an instant, both disappeared, replaced by a neatly arranged stack of metal ingots.
"So that's how it is. That's quite convenient."
He wasn't worried about Li Xiaosheng's treachery, as all transactions were notarized by the train system, ensuring no problems.
Looking at the resources in his hand, Ye Qiyan's eyes sparkled with excitement. He took out the low-level carriage blueprint and placed it on the processing table.
A translucent light curtain rose from the blueprint.
[Low-level Carriage] (Buildable)
Required Materials: 100 kg of wood, 150 kg of metal, 60 mechanical parts
[Build - Yes/No]
"Yes."
The moment he pressed the button, all the necessary materials vanished from the train.
Then, in the sky at the end of the train, Ye Qiyan saw all the materials continuously reorganized by a mysterious force, eventually solidifying into the shape of a carriage.
The carriage dropped from mid-air, landing steadily on the rails and sliding forward, eventually connecting with the locomotive.
[Construction Successful.]
[Consumable Glass and Fiber for Modification]
[Low-Level Carriage]
[Interior Facilities: None]
[Carriage Function: None]
[Modified: No]
This carriage lacked a door; entering required entering from the rear of the locomotive.
The interior was spacious, approximately ten meters long and about the height of a half-adult man, making it quite bright and spacious.
There were window frames, but unlike the locomotive's built-in windows, this presumably required glass.
"No need to put anything in the locomotive now. Besides, what's the point of a train with just a locomotive? Now,"
Ye Qiyan nodded contentedly.
He discreetly checked his remaining strength and mental energy, deciding not to consider upgrading for now .
He stuffed all the resources stored in the locomotive's front section into this carriage and glanced at the countdown to departure.
Forty minutes, plenty of time for him to load some belongings onto the train.