"Phew..."
Biao took a deep breath with a serious expression, then spoke sternly: "Since everyone agrees, we won't run. Let's stick with Master Mang."
"With Master Mang's means and opportunities, he might even become a Level 3 Train in the future."
"Moreover, there are nearly 100 slaves here, as you all know, starting off with 100 slaves means the speed of acquiring resources is incredibly fast. Almost 1,000 units of iron ore can be obtained every day, and the resources are endless."
"But from now on, everyone listens to me, try to avoid saying things like that; no one likes their subordinates forming small groups."
"I'll certainly have your back, but watch what you say, and don't get too close to me on a daily basis to avoid being mistaken as only loyal to me and ignoring others."
"Especially when—"
"When Master Mang assigns you tasks, don't glance back at me, got it!"
Bringing up this point made Biao a bit angry because the reason he faced so much exclusion on the previous train section was that when they first joined, the Deputy Train Captain allocated a task to Heiwa.
Heiwa was that skinny, dark-skinned boy.
Heiwa stood still at that moment and simply turned back to look at him as if waiting for his permission.
At that moment, he felt doomed, and sure enough... Although the Deputy Train Captain said nothing, the most dangerous tasks subsequently all fell to him without exception.
If he weren't adept at saving his own life, grass would already be growing three meters high on his grave.
If he didn't know that Heiwa wasn't doing it intentionally, he might have wanted to kill Heiwa; wasn't that deliberately making things difficult for him?
"I understand... I understand..."
Heiwa lowered his head in shame and muttered, "I didn't think much at that time; just being in a strange environment made me hesitate, hoping Biao would watch my back..."
"I certainly won't do that again."
...
Having made up his mind.
Biao patrolled more diligently now, as he wasn't just working for Master Mang, but for his own survival. If he neglected his duty, and the zombies formed an encirclement before he noticed, not only Master Mang but he himself would be doomed.
In the wilderness, the entire train was a community of interests.
Any negligence from anyone could put the whole train in jeopardy.
At the same time, he was pondering a question. After all, he had just been promoted and hadn't yet reported this matter to Master Mang. Since he'd decided to work earnestly for Master Mang, figuring out how to gain Master Mang's trust was a problem he must consider.
If...
He was lost in thought as he turned his head to look at a thug not far away who was glaring at him with dissatisfaction. This thug had lost the competition for leader against him earlier and now seemed very displeased.
If he could find a way to incite this person to rebel, and then kill him instantly, would it be a step toward rising in rank?
Soon he shook his head and discarded the idea, too dangerous; if anything went wrong, he'd die along with him.
"Sigh..."
Then he sighed softly, turning to look at the train behind him, hoping Master Mang could upgrade to a Level 2 Train soon. A Level 1 Train lacked offensive accessories, offering too little security. Even though he'd decided to follow Master Mang, the Level 1 Train was still unsettling.
The current offensive vehicle accessories were only that heavy machine gun and the "Car Blade."
He knew about the "Car Blade"; he'd acquired this white accessory before and upgraded it to Level 2, but it wasn't much use, only effective against small-scale Corpse Tides.
"Eh?"
He was slightly stunned as he thought of this, wondering if it was just an illusion, but why did it feel like the "Car Blade" on this train seemed thinner and wider than the "Car Blade" on his previous train?
He quickly shook his head, dismissing the thought.
Probably remembered wrong; after all, making the "Car Blade" was something he did early in the Doomsday, and his memory was very fuzzy.
...
Inside the train room—
Chen Mang looked out at the sky and then at the clock inside the train room; it was already ten at night, time to let the slaves come up and prepare to rest.
Rest for the night and continue mining tomorrow morning.
And at this moment.
He realized through the information in the "Newcomer's Guide" that the resources in each "mine" were limited. When these resources were mined out, it would take several days for new resources to naturally regenerate in the mine.
He'd gone down the mine shaft before, and estimated that the mine could provide enough resources to extract for ten days to half a month without much issue.
Of course, that was the optimal scenario.
This required no disturbances for ten days to half a month, but that was obviously unrealistic. Maybe tomorrow a Corpse Tide or another train would come to contest him for this "mine."
If his train had enough firepower, he naturally wouldn't need to worry about this issue, but...
"..."
Chen Mang stared at the control panel, deep in thought.
Just like that.
About a few dozen minutes later, the slaves returned from the mine. After receiving food and water individually, they orderly returned to the slave carriages to prepare for sleep.
They also submitted all the iron ore they'd mined.
Adding his existing 250 units of iron ore, it now summed to 700 units, which was quite a good yield considering the slaves mined for half a day—it seemed they were quite motivated, like the first day on the job, eager to make a good impression.
As all the iron ore was stacked in the No. 2 cargo carriage, Chen Mang looked at the Train Panel displaying 800 units of iron ore, nodded contentedly, and planned not to touch this iron ore but to upgrade to a Level 2 Train entirely.
But just at that moment—
He suddenly saw a message on the "Newcomer's Guide," which was a red button on the control panel. Upon pressing it, a series of information would show up on the screen inside the control room, teaching how to be a competent Train Captain so the new Train Captain wouldn't be directionless.
Of course, that information was mostly basic.
The message was...
-
"All vehicle accessories unlock the first 'Supermodel Effect' when upgraded to Level 5."
-
"This..."
Chen Mang stared at this message, slightly stunned. The higher the grade of vehicle accessories, the higher the upgrade limit, and many white, green accessories didn't even have a Level 5 limit, making this information temporarily unusable.
But... he had this "Unlimited Upgrade" plugin!
If he upgraded a white vehicle accessory to Level 5, would it gain this Supermodel Effect?
That was an uncertain matter.
He computed that his white accessory "Car Blade" was now Level 3, consuming 100 units of iron ore to upgrade from Level 1 to Level 2, and 200 units from Level 2 to Level 3.
By calculating an increment of 100 iron ore units per level, it would require 700 units to reach Level 5.
And he currently had exactly 700 units of iron ore.
If he tried, the train might be upgraded to Level 2 a day later, but if he didn't try... he probably wouldn't get a wink of sleep tonight.
Chen Mang looked expressionlessly at the message on the "Newcomer's Guide;" he knew that on the path forward, there were always temptations. He just resolved to save all the iron ore for the train upgrade.
And then temptation struck.
But...
Who could resist that? Sure, upgrading the train to Level 2 was significant, but if upgrading the "Car Blade" to Level 5 granted a Supermodel Effect, it could make the "Car Blade" even more potent, and having a powerful offensive accessory would greatly aid him!
Plus, this experiment would affect his future resource allocation priority.
After hesitating for a moment, Chen Mang quickly made his decision; on this ever-dangerous wasteland, a strong offensive accessory was significantly more important, and besides, even if white accessories didn't have a Supermodel Effect, a Level 5 "Car Blade" would still be a fine offensive vehicle accessory.
Upgrade!
Upgrade the white accessory "Car Blade" to Level 5!