Among the components that can be crafted for the Level 2 Train, "Armor" and "Wind-Fire Wheel" are undoubtedly the most expensive. The Wind-Fire Wheel is relatively manageable, requiring 1,000 units of Iron Ore to upgrade from Level 1 to Level 2, and then an additional 1,000 units of Iron Ore for each subsequent upgrade.
As for "Armor," he couldn't even be bothered to mention it.
Upgrading from Level 1 to Level 2 requires 5,000 units of Iron Ore, and from Level 2 to Level 3, it requires 10,000 units of Iron Ore.
He hadn't even considered Level 10 Armor until he found Level 4 Iron Ore.
Level 5 Wind-Fire Wheel would suffice.
His speed was already quite fast, and there was no need to go any faster.
After briefly glancing past the "Wind-Fire Wheel," Chen Mang turned his attention to other components.
Many components didn't need upgrading for the time being, such as the "Single Bed" and "Purified Water Filter." He needed to focus on enhancing defense and attack first.
After pondering for a moment, he consumed 4,400 units of Copper Ore to upgrade the "Generator" to Level 10.
Then he spent 540 units of Copper Ore to upgrade the "Circuit System" to Level 10.
Both of these components were crafted from Copper Ore, so it was only natural that they required Copper Ore for upgrades. The Train Auxiliary AI had long since indicated that, with the increasing number of energy-consuming components on the train, the Circuit System was already overloaded. These two components were crucial for maintaining the train's operation and had long been due for an upgrade.
Upgrading them to Level 10 meant he wouldn't have to think about these two components for a long time.
At the same time, he gained four more Supermodel Effects.
"Level 5 Circuit System Supermodel Effect": No manual adjustments needed; the Circuit System will fully integrate into the carriage, allowing for free adjustments on the control panel screen.
"Level 10 Circuit System Supermodel Effect": Can carry a certain degree of overload.
"Level 5 Generator Supermodel Effect": Silent power generation, no noise.
"Level 10 Generator Supermodel Effect": Will continue to operate for twenty-four hours after the Energy Stone is depleted; using this function will significantly reduce the component's integrity.
"."
Chen Mang glanced at these four Supermodel Effects, curling his lip without saying much. They were mostly useless, with the only potentially useful one being the Level 5 Circuit System Supermodel Effect, which would save him the trouble of manually adjusting the Circuit System every time he added a new component.
But it didn't matter.
What he really needed were the basic effects of these two components after their upgrades; he had no expectations for their Supermodel Effects. Such components rarely had any truly useful Supermodel Effects.
Next, he consumed 30,800 units of Iron Ore to upgrade the remaining seven "Repeating Ballistae" to Level 10.
He then spent 44,000 units of Iron Ore to upgrade the "Targeting Radar" to Level 10 in one go, expanding its detection range to a radius of 10,000 meters.
This range.
It was no exaggeration to say that it would be very difficult for any monster to approach him without his knowledge. The incident where Doba controlled the Goblin Train and managed to evade his radar was unlikely to happen again.
His Targeting Radar was at Level 10.
Even if there were components capable of evading radar, they wouldn't be of a higher level than his. In this low-level area, he didn't believe any train could possess components of such high levels.
He also gained two more Supermodel Effects.
"Level 5 Targeting Radar Supermodel Effect": If a boss appears within the range, the skills possessed by that boss will be clearly displayed on the control panel screen.
"Level 10 Targeting Radar Supermodel Effect": If a train appears within the range, the components and their levels possessed by that train will be clearly displayed on the control panel screen.
"Mm-hmm."
Chen Mang raised an eyebrow; these two Supermodel Effects were quite good. The more than 40,000 units of Iron Ore he spent were not wasted; he had recouped his investment.
He looked again at the remaining components.
Most of the important components were already at Level 10. Once the two mines in the Doomsday Abyss were exhausted, he would start preparing to upgrade to a Level 3 Train.
But the next moment—
"Mm?"
He paused slightly, a flicker of shock crossing his eyes. What was going on? He had thought the "Doomsday Abyss" would be the safest area in the Iron Ridge Wasteland, with almost no monsters able to set foot here.
In reality, after spending so much time at the bottom of the Doomsday Abyss, aside from the clueless Doba popping up, he hadn't encountered any danger at all.
If he didn't need to venture into higher-level areas, he might have considered settling here.
However, after upgrading the "Targeting Radar" to Level 10 and expanding its detection range to 10,000 meters, the control panel screen was filled with dense red dots, and the alarm beeped almost continuously. The sheer number of red dots was enough to trigger his claustrophobia.
That was—
An underground river?
Six thousand meters deeper into the Doomsday Abyss, hundreds of red dots were slowly moving underground, representing fish monsters gathering in the underground river, among which there were five Level 3 monsters.
They were called "Piranhas."
With the radar upgrade, he received even more information.
"."
Chen Mang looked at this scene with a slightly strange expression, not taking it to heart. He was merely surprised; he hadn't expected monsters to exist in the underground river, but he had no other thoughts since these Piranhas posed no threat to him.
After several days of mining Iron Ore, he had nearly used it all up.
Truly, not being in charge made one unaware of how costly it was to run a household.
The food rations he provided to the slaves were far superior to what other trains could offer, mainly because the resources consumed just for meals were barely enough to upgrade even a single component.
The bread and steamed buns he had been giving them could improve physical fitness, but after all these days, he hadn't noticed any changes in his own body.
Suddenly, he decided to visit the "Gathering" again. He should have bought those fitness equipment back then; although the slaves couldn't use them, he could.
He didn't have much to do on a daily basis.
Setting up the fitness equipment inside the train would be good for him to exercise during the day when he was idle.
Oh, right, and Ji Chuchu.
He needed to make another trip to that gathering.
Chen Mang glanced at the Train Radio; the next "Gathering" would be in seven days. They had just held one yesterday, so seven days later it would be. By then, the Iron Ore in the Doomsday Abyss would likely be nearly mined out.
Next, he would have to think about where to find more high-level resource mines.
Having gotten used to mining Level 2 Iron Ore, he really didn't want to see Level 1 Iron Ore again.
In the following days, the Iron Ore he mined would just about be enough to upgrade the "Resource Detection Radar" to Level 10, giving it a larger detection range to help him find high-level resource mines more conveniently.
"."
Chen Mang narrowed his eyes, planning his future itinerary. He would also need to make another trip to Taiping City. A few days ago, he had sent Lao Zhu to check among the slaves for any potential matches he could pair up for the Doomsday Marriage Certificate.
Lao Zhu had given him a candidate, Shan Mao Zi, one of the thugs.
His girlfriend might be hiding in the suburbs of Taiping City. If he could find this woman, he should meet the conditions to use the "Doomsday Marriage Certificate." He just didn't know if she was still alive.
After upgrading the Targeting Radar, he could clearly see the specific information of each red dot, including gender and appearance. As long as he wanted, finding someone wouldn't be a hassle.
He might as well catch a few more survivors to bring back.
--Support me in Patreon for more chapters 35+ chapters in there
patreon.com/LegendaryTL
Thanks!