"A total of 1500 units of Iron Ore, 120 units of Copper Ore, and 100 units of Wood."
Chen Mang looked at the ore information on the note, lost in thought without speaking. The first thing to construct would definitely be the train cars. At least two cars needed to be built: one to serve as the Slave car, and another to store the ores, food, and other tools.
He also needed to establish a production line for the "Soaring Dragon Assault Rifle."
Without saying much, he walked alone into the train's interior, standing before the control panel and gazing at the fifth red button labeled "Train Construction."
Upon pressing the button.
Several lines of text instantly appeared on the screen.
"Construct a standard train car: requires 100 units of Iron Ore."
"Construct a train engine: requires 1000 units of Iron Ore."
This was part of train construction, not "Vehicle Components." Building an additional train engine would allow it to be installed at the end of the train, enabling the train to reverse direction without turning, directly using the other engine as a power source. This would significantly enhance the train's maneuverability.
He lightly tapped twice on the first option on the screen.
He felt a slight tremor within the train's interior. Stepping outside, he saw that the once solitary train engine on the desolate plain now had countless white light beams emerging from the hook at its end. These beams wove together to form two train cars.
As the light gradually faded, the two cars took their final shape.
They were now seamlessly connected to the train engine.
Looking again, his train had taken on a preliminary form.
The interiors of these two cars were bare, with nothing but metal sheets. But that was sufficient—what better treatment could one expect for a Slave car? In these times, it was already a stroke of luck for survivors to have a train to rely on.
Chen Mang stood before the train with a satisfied expression, admiring his creation. A sense of pride welled up within him, and he felt a deeper connection to this world. Perhaps one day, he could truly construct a roaring, dragon-like train that would traverse the wasteland in the apocalypse!
200 units of Iron Ore were consumed in this process.
He then walked into the second car, pulling out a blueprint for the "Soaring Dragon Assault Rifle" production line from his pocket. It was a translucent, light-blue sheet that felt like plastic to the touch and appeared somewhat fragile. Of course, he wasn't foolish enough to test its durability.
With the blueprint, he could manufacture some special vehicle components.
A train wasn't limited to the components displayed on the control panel. Those components didn't require any blueprints, but other, more specialized vehicle components could only be crafted with the appropriate blueprints.
This production line component was of green quality.
Constructing it would consume 500 units of Iron Ore.
After spending 500 units of Iron Ore, the blueprint shattered and transformed into green light particles, which formed several green light beams within the car. These beams slowly wove together, creating a production line about six meters long.
Its overall shape resembled the security inspection equipment found in subway stations.
For every 50 units of Iron Ore consumed, one "Soaring Dragon Assault Rifle" could be produced. Its design closely resembled the AK-47, and it required 5.56mm caliber bullets.
Unfortunately, he currently didn't have bullets of this caliber, nor did he have a production line to manufacture them.
However, on the bright side,
each rifle produced would automatically come with three fully loaded magazines, with each magazine holding 30 rounds.
This would suffice for now.
He would have to figure out a way to acquire a production line for this caliber in the future.
It took five minutes to produce one "Soaring Dragon Assault Rifle." He decided to produce twelve at once, spending another 600 units of Iron Ore.
It was worth noting that
any Iron Ore consumed in the process of constructing items within the train would automatically be deducted as long as the ore was on the train. There was no need to physically hold the ore or anything of the sort.
Afterward, Chen Mang exited the second car and stood on the desolate plain, hesitating for a moment before spending another 100 units of Iron Ore to construct another standard car.
There wasn't enough space.
His production lines, Iron Ore, and other materials needed a dedicated car, while the remaining living supplies, such as bread and bottled water, required another car.
Now he had three cars.
The second car was temporarily designated as the Warehouse Car, housing the production lines and ores. The third car was the Living Car, and the fourth car was the Slave Car.
he was left with only 100 units of Iron Ore, almost back to square one.
Everything required Iron Ore, and there was never enough of it!
As for the seven essential components needed for train upgrades, he hadn't constructed a single one. There simply wasn't enough spare Iron Ore. In fact, the train didn't even have a Circuit System yet, and the cars lacked even dim lighting, making them darker than the train itself.
When the Slave Car's door was closed, it became pitch black.
the "Circuit System" and the "Generator" both consumed Copper Ore.
After some consideration, he decided that these two items were necessary. He looked at the 120 units of Copper Ore he had acquired and immediately spent 110 units to construct both items.
The Generator was placed in the second Warehouse Car.
Occupying nearly one-seventh of the car's space.
Chen Mang stood in the second car, expressionless as he stared at the Generator.
"Activating the Generator requires one Energy Stone."
"Given the train's current power consumption, one Level 1 Energy Stone can provide power for approximately 300 days."
He immediately ran back to the train engine, standing before the control panel and reopening the beginner's tutorial to explore further. Soon, he found the source of Energy Stones.
After the world fell into apocalypse, traditional energy sources like oil lost their dominance, replaced by Energy Stones.
When the train was upgraded to Level 2, a new vehicle component, the "Fabrication Table," could be constructed.
Using the Fabrication Table, one could consume Iron Ore to produce Energy Stones.
there was almost no other way to obtain Energy Stones. Even the train's propulsion required Energy Stones as its energy source. When the train was first constructed, it came with one Level 1 Energy Stone. To activate this Generator, he would have to extract the Energy Stone from the train engine and install it in the Generator—but that was clearly not an option.
He then looked at the beginner's tips on the control panel.
"Currently, there are 3 cars, none of which have armor."
"It is recommended to construct train armor as soon as possible to maximize the protection of passengers in case of an attack."
"Energy Stone status: 100%."
"Given the train's current weight, it can travel at a maximum speed of 100 km/h for up to 100 hours."
"As the train's weight increases, its maximum speed will decrease, and the Energy Stone's consumption rate will accelerate."
"Please try to recruit as many survivors as possible to obtain sufficient resources."
These reminders would appear on the screen when no other buttons were pressed on the control panel.
It was somewhat similar to a game's beginner guide, directing new Train Conductors on what to do next.