Alice walked out of the shop with a little steam engine in her arms, as if the burden on her shoulders had lightened a little, and looked up at the snowy sky.
Now, when she looked at the sky, what she saw was no longer the snowstorm itself, but the danger hidden behind it.
As Leo watched her leave, he saw that he had lost a total of 72 system points from a single round of sales.
Leo had bought the steam engine from the system for 100 points, and was forced to sell it to Alice for the price of 30 Ice Train coins.
There were two reasons for giving such a discount: to help the system accumulate experience points and to do a favor to a beautiful high school girl.
Poor Leo had no idea that the beauty in front of him, who looked like an anime girl, was actually a man, and he probably never would find out, but who cared?
At the same time, Leo was frantically browsing through the newly added items in the system. He had not forgotten his original goal yet.
He wanted to be Clark Kent, crying and whining just to live an ordinary life. That was why he was desperately searching the system shop for special items that would increase his power.
At the end of his research, he had found a few things, but…
[Mutant cell solution: 2080 system points.
- Must be used under extreme radiation
- 98% chance of death after use
- 1% chance of internal organ failure
- 0.5% chance of bone damage
- 0.4% chance of radiation induced organ mutation
- 0.09% chance of no effect
- 0.01% chance of a fifteen point increase in the strength stat]
Is this one of the Japanese' failed experiments? I do not think Nazi's human experiments would produce results this bad.
After examining all items that could be considered supernatural, Leo was only able to find a single purchasable item.
[Mechanical left arm: 1900 system points.
- Depending on the doctor's knowledge of neural pathways and surgical experience, the probability of successfully implanting the mechanical left arm into the user's body increases.
- After long term use, rust may occur on metal parts, which can lead to inflammation at contact points and iron poisoning related brain damage.
- Up to three weapons can later be optionally attached to the mechanical arm, as long as their total weight does not exceed 20 kilograms and their combined volume is less than one cubic meter.]
"Using only this product would be safe with enough preparation, but even if you successfully replace your arm, you will still need regular maintenance."
[Do not worry, sir. You only need to sell products worth 70 more system points to unlock additional items.]
"Anyway. Can I stay in this world as long as I want?"
[Technically yes, but after the safe period, which ends on the seventh day of the apocalypse, the security shields of all initial stations will be removed. Additionally, the station you are currently in is designed for 12 players. That means 11 more players will arrive within four days, assuming none of them die. After that, no one will probably come here anymore.]
"So that's all? Can I not harvest more from a world worth billions of points?"
[In exchange for a small amount of points, you can change your position in this world whenever you want, sir. My personal recommendation is to wait here for four days and then relocate to a new area at the third station. Once players reach the third station, they will be able to form teams. Additionally, the true brutality of the game will begin to reveal itself after the third station.]
"What do you mean by true brutality?"
[PvP and looting other trains. If a player kills another player, they obtain everything that player owns. If they capture them alive, they can force that person to sign a slavery contract that allows control over that person's life.]
"Fuck! Can I get slaves too?"
[Slavery contracts only for players.]
"Uh, whatever. War means money, little dragon. Cheer up!"
…
While Leo was waiting for another player to reach the station, everyone on channel 99 of the glacial apocalypse world was left in shock as they looked at a global announcement.
[Congratulations, player Alice "from channel 99" has become the first steam train owner in the world. To support the continued achievements of channel 99, the system will grant everyone a one-day assistance package.]
[Yu Feng: You are amazing, big sister Alice. Please allow me to massage your feet]
[Feng Quing: I knew you were the chosen one the first time I saw your profile picture in the trading area, big sister Alice]
[anonymous #1334: thank you, big sister Alice!!!]
[anonymous #1094: thank you, big sister Alice!!!]
[anonymous #9902: thank you, big sister Alice!!!]
[anonymous #2372: thank you, big sister Alice!!!]
[anonymous #9238: thank you, big sister Alice!!!]
Not everyone had rushed to the station as quickly as Alice, and because of that, many people were struggling with hunger.
There were also a few exceptional individuals who, in addition to hunger, were suffering from thirst as well, simply because they could not think of melting snow to obtain water.
Of course, not everyone was in the same situation.
Some people happened to be wearing thick clothes when the game started, and could leave their wagons for a few minutes without the risk of freezing.
One of these people in particular was an elderly hunter.
Ever since the game started, he had managed to kill snow wolves several times using the simple dagger provided by the system. The system immediately separated the hide and meat of the dead animal, saving the old man a great deal of effort.
At that very moment, the man noticed a trade request posted by Alice in the trading tab, which no one else had noticed yet.
[In exchange for one steam engine, I want either 100 Ice Train coins or a rare or higher-grade treasure chest]
The old man first looked at the hand pump standing in the middle of his wagon, then touched his aching lower back.
On the first day of the apocalypse, he had found a blue treasure chest located 50 meters away from his wagon. After long struggles, he had managed to obtain it, and by following the channel chat, he learned that this chest was very valuable.
Now, however, he was hesitating.
After a long moment of hesitation, the old man remembered the kids who had abandoned him years ago, and his wife who had cheated on him with their neighbor. It seemed that bad luck had followed him throughout his entire life.
Without thinking any further, the old man sent the blue chest to Alice. He sold the wolf meat in his possession in exchange for wood and iron, and finally used the wolf hides to upgrade his wagon.
To the old man's surprise, he received extra rewards as one of the world's first ten steam train owners. After that, using the ten kilograms of coal and ten liters of water he obtained from the system rewards, he started his train and headed at full speed toward Leo's station.
...
Don't forget to support with power stones. Every 100 power stones gets an extra chapter.