"I have the accessory blueprint for headlights. What can you offer?"
A straightforward sentence.
"What's your price?"
"5,000 units of Iron Ore."
"Too high. The blueprint for a white accessory isn't worth that much."
"You're currently ranked first on the Wasteland Train Leaderboard. Surely, you're not short on Iron Ore."
"Fair enough. Send me your train's coordinates, and I'll deliver it."
"..."
Inside the train's cabin, Chen Mang squinted slightly, playing with a sharpened branch in his hand, stained with brown blood.
This was a makeshift tool he had crafted on his third day in this world for self-defense.
With this branch, he had once killed a man who had come to provoke him.
Though the train's current power made the branch entirely unnecessary, it held a special place in his heart—a relic from the days when he had no sense of security and could have perished in the wasteland at any moment.
This unremarkable branch had given him a faint but crucial sense of safety.
He didn't mind paying this person a visit, and while he was at it, he could rescue some survivors from their train. He no longer worried about being unable to afford to keep Slaves, as the Iron Ore deep beneath the Iron Ridge Wasteland was all his. His only concern was not having enough Slaves.
However, the other party didn't respond immediately. It was only after a long pause that they replied.
"1,000 units of Iron Ore. Deal?"
"Deal."
Chen Mang suddenly smiled. It seemed the other person had come to their senses. Perhaps they had received some sage advice.
Through a remote transaction, he placed 1,000 units of Iron Ore on one side of the scale, and the trade was quickly completed, saving him the trouble of making a trip.
After obtaining the accessory blueprint, he immediately slapped it onto the control panel. As the blueprint dissolved into white specks and merged with the panel, the train quickly gained the ability to craft the accessory.
He had always suspected something.
Perhaps all trains inherently possessed the ability to craft all accessories, and the blueprints were merely keys to unlock these permissions.
Rather than the blueprints themselves granting the train the technology to produce the accessories.
Though this was as pointless as the chicken-and-egg debate.
Still, he couldn't help but ponder it.
"Headlights."
A white accessory. He had seen several trains with this accessory. It wasn't particularly rare, but for some reason, he didn't have it.
It could be placed not only on the front of the train but also on various sections of the exterior.
He crafted three of them, placing one on the front, one in the middle, and one on the last car.
He then spent 4,400 units of Iron Ore to upgrade the headlights on the front to Level 10. Upgrading the accessory didn't increase the brightness of the headlights but reduced their energy consumption.
The accessory itself could switch between long-range and scattered light.
Its effects were quite potent.
He also gained two Supermodel Effects.
"Headlights Level 5 Supermodel Effect": Consumes one Energy Stone to instantly emit an intensely blinding light. The strength of the light depends on the level of the Energy Stone consumed.
"Headlights Level 10 Supermodel Effect": None.
"Huh?"
Chen Mang looked at these two Supermodel Effects, raising an eyebrow. The first effect was straightforward—a flash effect, a support skill, which was within his expectations.
But he hadn't anticipated that the second Supermodel Effect would be "None."
This was the first time he had seen a Supermodel Effect with a description of "None."
This meant that not every accessory had a Supermodel Effect at every level. Some accessories, when reaching certain levels, didn't have corresponding Supermodel Effects.
That's good.
It seems there's no need to consider upgrading the "Headlights" accessory further. Level 1 is basically sufficient. The blinding flash effect isn't needed most of the time—it's more of a soft control skill.
At least, for now, he couldn't think of a situation where it would be useful.
However, when all three "Headlights" were connected to the engine through the Circuit System, the dimly lit cavern suddenly became brightly illuminated. The intense light dispelled all shadows.
The energy consumption wasn't too high, far less than that of the "Oxygen Generator."
"..."
As the cavern lit up, Chen Mang immediately saw all the Slaves at work, as well as the dozen or so Slaves defecating in a distant corner. Sometimes, there was no need to see things so clearly.
With the number of people reaching the four-digit mark, defecating and urinating had become a significant issue.
In the wasteland, it didn't matter—they could relieve themselves when the train stopped. But in the cavern, they couldn't just do it anywhere. So, Lao Zhu had designated an area specifically for this purpose.
But...
With over a thousand people, nature's call couldn't always be ignored. Back when he was on Master Kun's train, it was common for Slaves to relieve themselves in the cars. If the train was moving at high speed, it wasn't feasible to stop just for one person's urgent need.
The train desperately needed a toilet.
But he had never seen a "Toilet" accessory blueprint. If necessary, he could craft two Refrigerators to serve as toilets. The space would be sufficient, and he could assign someone to clean them daily.
Though crude, it was feasible.
One must admit—
The "Refrigerator" is a fantastic accessory.
When powered, it's a large cold storage unit. Without power, it can be used as a warehouse, a dormitory, or even a toilet. And on days when he's in a bad mood, he could use it to make soap.
It's practically a jack-of-all-trades.
This reminded him that the train now had a large population and needed positions beyond "Thugs" and "Slaves," such as cleaning staff. Someone needed to regularly clean the cars.
When he went to check the "Oxygen Machine" in Car 10 of the Goblin Car today, it was so filthy he didn't even want to step inside.
He immediately grabbed the intercom.
"Lao Zhu."
"Yesterday, over 60 female Slaves chose to mine. Women aren't as effective as men in mining. Pick out ten capable ones to be responsible for cleaning the train."
"Also, choose a young, attractive, and quick-witted one—someone who isn't stubborn—to specifically clean my train cabin."
"Compensation will follow the Level 3 Slave standard, with promotions based on work duration."
"Understood."
After arranging this matter, Chen Mang turned his attention to the Train Panel.
The train currently had a little over 1,000 units of Iron Ore and 130,000 units of Copper Ore.
Originally, it was 140,000 units of Copper Ore, but several thousand were consumed in the Kunlun Mountains to kill those dozen or so pangolins. The Train Ballista could have handled it, but the Heavy Machine Gun was faster and more reliable.
Any slower, and those pangolins would have ended up in the belly of the "Rock Snake."
Copper Ore is meant to be used.
Hesitating to use it, only to miss opportunities, is foolishness.
The Iron Ore was almost depleted, but it didn't matter. Once these Slaves finished their work today, a large amount of Iron Ore would come in.
In the near future, he would need to cut some wood. There weren't many train accessories that required wood, but the "Clothing Customization Production Line" needed it to make clothes. His current outfit had been worn for a long time.
Though it had been washed several times, it was starting to feel inconvenient.
He would craft a fitting outfit for himself and, while he was at it, make new clothes for the Slaves and Thugs.
Thinking of this, Chen Mang couldn't help but laugh and shake his head. He had almost forgotten—this outfit was from his previous life. From the initial difficulty in accepting it to now, he had gradually integrated into this world, and memories of his past life had become increasingly hazy.
In a way, this world was freer.
Whatever he envisioned in his mind, he could turn into reality, provided he had the capability and means.
Soon—
The day ended. As over a thousand Slaves lined up to receive bread, Lao Zhu was nearly overwhelmed. When there were only 200 Slaves, Lao Zhu could handle distributing food alone, but now it was impossible.
At Lao Zhu's suggestion, ten women were selected from the mining group to handle miscellaneous tasks.
With the increase in train population, there were many more odd jobs to be done.
Chen Mang had no objections to this. The Stellar Train, which initially had only Slaves and Thugs, was gradually developing other roles, indicating that the train as a whole was subtly moving toward a more structured path.
One day.
The Stellar Train would become a small society.
And Chen Mang finally received today's harvest.
A whopping 110,000 units of Iron Ore.
The two Level 2 Iron Ore deposits, as estimated by the "Resource Detection Radar," contained 380,000 units of Iron Ore. At this rate, they would be fully mined in four days at most. This efficiency was far superior to what they had achieved in the Doomsday Abyss.
Though the new Slaves, even after training, weren't as efficient as the old ones, they were still much better than before.
Indeed.
Feeding the Slaves was costly, but when the harvest came, it all felt worth it.
"It's all worth it."
Chen Mang walked to Car 3, looking at the Refrigerators filled with Level 2 Iron Ore, his eyes filled with emotion and satisfaction. All the effort he had put in these past few days—rescuing Survivors in Taiping City, risking his life in the Kunlun Mountains to find the pangolins—what was it all for?
It was for this moment.
Seeing all this, the hardships of the past days vanished. It was all worth it.
So...
He smiled. Now it was time to start splurging!
First up was the "Wind-Fire Wheel." Originally at Level 5, upgrading it to Level 10 required 35,000 units of Iron Ore. Back then, he hadn't been willing to spend that much, but now that Iron Ore was plentiful, he immediately upgraded it.
In the wasteland.
Speed often equated to safety, sometimes even more so than Armor.
Theoretically, if you're fast enough, even lower-level Armor is acceptable.
Each level of the Wind-Fire Wheel increased its maximum speed by 20 km/h.
After upgrading to Level 10, the base speed jumped from 130 km/h to 230 km/h, solely from the "Wind-Fire Wheel" accessory.
Combined with the Level 2 train's base speed of 130 km/h.
The train's maximum speed reached 360 km/h.
Of course, this was theoretical.
Taking the train's weight into account, the "Train Auxiliary AI" on the control panel indicated that, with the Wind-Fire Wheel equipped, the Stellar Train's current maximum speed was—
322 km/h.
This speed could outrun nearly all monsters in the wasteland. In fact, even in the Kunlun Mountains, few creatures could catch up. However, the terrain there didn't allow for the use of the Wind-Fire Wheel; the "Spider Legs" were necessary, and they had a fixed maximum speed.
"Huh?"
Chen Mang immediately noticed that on the control panel's 3D train diagram, the wheel formed by white dotted lines was constantly flashing.
He stepped out of the train cabin and looked at the Wind-Fire Wheel beneath the Stellar Train, raising an eyebrow. "So cool?"
The originally pitch-black Wind-Fire Wheel had turned a deep red.
Paired with the train's all-black body, it looked quite striking. Historically, black and red have always been a classic color combination. The wheels had also grown slightly larger, and the rims looked more aesthetically pleasing.
At the same time.
He looked at the Wind-Fire Wheel's Supermodel Effect after reaching Level 10.
"Wind-Fire Wheel Level 10 Supermodel Effect": During gale-force winds, the Wind-Fire Wheel ignites, significantly boosting speed.
"Ignites?"
Chen Mang stared at this Supermodel Effect, momentarily confused. In the wasteland, with its dry, cracked soil, this wouldn't be an issue. But if they ever went to a grassland during a season of dry grass...
If the Wind-Fire Wheel ignited.
It would be like setting a wildfire.
Turning everything to ash, which would then become fertilizer.
This effect... is kind of cool.
Chen Mang rested his chin on his hand, deep in thought. He had only experienced one gale in the wasteland—during the recent tornado. Though the Doomsday Abyss wasn't affected, he could feel the strong winds.
The next time there was a gale in the wasteland, he would test it out.
See what happens when the Wind-Fire Wheel ignites. This Supermodel Effect was within his expectations. The type of accessory's Supermodel Effect usually aligned with its function.
For example, life-related accessories would have life-related Supermodel Effects.
Speed-related accessories would have speed-related Supermodel Effects.
It wasn't possible for a life-related accessory, like the "Refrigerator," to suddenly have a bomb-like Supermodel Effect, exploding wherever it was thrown. This was a fundamental rule of this world, with little room for deviation.
Of course, some unique accessories might produce bizarre Supermodel Effects.
This effect was pretty good.
He was quite satisfied.
In specific weather conditions, it could significantly increase the train's speed, making it more useful for both escaping and traveling.
Next, he turned his attention to the "Train Auxiliary AI" accessory.
This accessory could be considered the core functional component of the train.
Many accessories wer
e connected to the "Train Auxiliary AI."
Upgrading it from Level 5 to Level 10 cost 7,000 units of Iron Ore.
Upgrading from Level 1 to Level 5 had only cost 2,000 units of Iron Ore. The resource consumption for Level 5 to Level 10 had more than tripled.
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