After consuming 4,400 units of Iron Ore, Chen Mang upgraded the Refrigerator placed in his train compartment to level 10 and obtained two Supermodel Effects.
Not all upgrades come with corresponding improvements.
Whether it was the Car Blade or the Wind-Fire Wheel, each upgrade brought noticeable enhancements and changes. However, the level 1 Refrigerator and the level 10 Refrigerator showed almost no difference—it was still just a Refrigerator. Its size didn't increase, and the cooling and freezing temperatures remained the same.
It's a Refrigerator. No matter how much you upgrade it, it's still a Refrigerator.
The two Supermodel Effects were:
"Refrigerator Level 5 Supermodel Effect": Ultimate Freshness. Any food placed in this Refrigerator will be preserved at its peak freshness. When taken out, its taste and quality will remain almost unchanged.
"Refrigerator Level 10 Supermodel Effect": Universe Within.
Chen Mang's brows furrowed slightly. The first Supermodel Effect was clear, but what did the second one mean?
Soon, he thought of something and quickly opened the Refrigerator door. He was momentarily stunned by what he saw inside.
It was roughly what he had guessed.
From the outside, the Refrigerator still looked ordinary, but upon opening the door, it revealed a Universe Within—a cold storage area of about 100 square meters. Originally, the Refrigerator had two compartments: the upper one for refrigeration and the lower one for freezing.
After the upgrade, the two doors merged into one, resembling the entrance to a cold storage facility rather than a Refrigerator.
The interior was pure white, divided by a black line. The left side was the freezing area, and the right side was the refrigeration area. A cold mist drifted out from within.
"Whew," he exhaled softly, muttering, "Isn't this technology too advanced?"
He casually grabbed a few bottles of Cola and placed them in the refrigeration area of the cold storage. Notably, the Cola in his hand was branded as "Coca-Cola," produced by his own Cola Production Line.
He had also seen people selling Coca-Cola at gatherings.
This brand existed in this world, just as it did in his previous life. There were two possibilities.
First, the Coca-Cola company from his previous life might have been a hidden giant, extending its business to other planets, becoming an interstellar tycoon.
Second, this planet might have coincidentally given birth to the Coca-Cola brand, with identical trademarks and logos. This wasn't impossible. He preferred to believe this possibility. Zooming out to a cosmic scale, finding two identical leaves in the universe wasn't that difficult.
On the Iron Ridge Wasteland.
The Hometown Train was parked beside a Mine. Night had fallen, and the Slaves had returned to the Train with their pickaxes. The Train was temporarily stationed there.
Inside the Train compartment.
The Train Conductor was frowning as he tallied the day's harvest—a total of 881 units of Iron Ore, slightly less than the previous day. Recently, his Slaves had been mining fewer and fewer ores each day.
A few troublemakers always found ways to slack off, only managing to mine six or seven units of Iron Ore by the end of the day.
He wanted to make an example of them.
But now, these troublemakers were still providing dozens of units of Iron Ore daily. If he killed them, even those dozens of units would be lost, so he hadn't had the heart to act.
However, after seeing that the Conductor didn't punish those troublemakers, the other Slaves began to follow their lead.
This resulted in his daily Iron Ore harvest decreasing more and more.
"This can't go on," the man thought, his eyes flashing with anger and ruthlessness. These Slaves, under someone's influence, had become fully aware of their importance to the Train. Knowing the Conductor wouldn't dare kill them indiscriminately, they avoided outright rebellion but still committed minor acts of slacking.
He now regretted letting those troublemakers live. At dawn, he would make sure to eliminate them.
The Slaves were sleeping. Disturbing their rest would affect their efficiency the next day.
"Damn it!" Thinking of this, the man couldn't help but punch the control panel. He felt somewhat suffocated in his role as the Train Conductor!!!
Better not kill them. He could sell them at the next gathering to recoup some losses. Killing them outright would be a waste.
Hundreds of Trains on the Iron Ridge Wasteland were either stationed, fleeing, or searching for Mines. The wasteland was vast, so encounters with other Trains were rare. That night, some Survivors were fortunate enough to obtain Train Tokens and become Train Conductors, while others were surrounded and destroyed by the Corpse Tide.
Such events happened countless times over the days and nights.
Sitting at the control panel of the Stellar Train, Chen Mang paid no attention to these external events. Instead, he focused on the Train Auxiliary AI. He had upgraded this green-tier accessory to level 5. Compared to other green-tier accessories, it consumed fewer resources for upgrades.
Upgrading to level 5 only cost him 2,000 units of Iron Ore.
The accessory's upgrade effect enhanced the AI's intelligence, making it better at understanding his commands and possessing a certain level of autonomy. The Supermodel Effect unlocked at level 5 genuinely impressed him.
"Train Auxiliary AI, Level 5 Supermodel Effect": Hive Mind. It can connect the consciousness of up to 20 people to the Train Auxiliary AI, enabling instant and seamless communication. The link will automatically disconnect when they are more than 10,000 meters away from the Train. Prolonged use will cause excessive mental strain.
This Supermodel Effect was truly remarkable.
It meant that the next time Biao Zi and others needed to go out to search for supplies, he could use this effect to communicate with them instantly and seamlessly. Whether they needed the Train to provide long-range firepower or pick them up, the information could be conveyed accurately and immediately.
Moreover, for Biao Zi and the others, their coordination during battles outside the Train would become even more seamless under the Hive Mind.
He finally understood why it was called a Supermodel Effect.
Because each effect truly exceeded expectations.
A completely emotionless mechanical voice suddenly rang in his ears.
"The number of existing Trains has exceeded 50 million."
"The conditions for the first phase have been met."
"The first phase is about to commence. Before it begins, all Trains will be evaluated based on their Train level, accessory level, number of Survivors, and other factors to determine their comprehensive Power Value."
"The Power Value Ranking will be activated."
"Based on their Power Value, all Train Conductors will receive a c
ertain loan limit, ranging from a minimum of 1,000 units of Iron Ore to a maximum of 100,000 units of Iron Ore."
"Repayment will double after three months."
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