The Iron Ridge Wasteland was a low-level area, capable of accommodating up to Level 3 Trains and only spawning Level 3 monsters. When a Train reached Level 3 full configuration and prepared to advance to Level 4, it needed to head to a higher-level domain and begin preparing for a class change.
There were two class change directions:
Mechanical Train and Flesh Train.
Each level-up of the Train not only increased its base speed and unlocked more craftable Vehicle Components but also added one or several new functionalities.
For example, the new functionality upon reaching Level 2 was "Personalized Customization."
And the new functionality upon reaching Level 3 was—
Inheritance Value was exclusive to Level 3 Trains. A high enough Inheritance Value could grant more opportunities in advanced areas, such as encountering elusive black market merchants who might flag down the Train to sell rare goods or gaining access to certain black markets with Inheritance Value requirements.
Some special Accessory Blueprints also required a certain amount of Inheritance Value to install.
There were only benefits, no drawbacks.
There were several ways to obtain Inheritance Value.
Taking in a child under 12 years old: +1 Inheritance Value.
Having a couple who signed a contract with a "Doomsday Marriage Certificate" on the Train: +100 Inheritance Value.
A newborn among the passengers: +1 Inheritance Value.
Inheritance Value, as the name suggested.
Whether taking in children or having newborns, these passengers contributed little to the Train's strength and continuously consumed its resources.
"Inheritance Value" was the corresponding compensation.
A modest reward for those willing to consider the continuation of civilization in the apocalypse.
The reward wasn't too generous.
If it were too generous, reproduction would become a business.
The "Doomsday Marriage Certificate," a special item, could add a full 100 Inheritance Value if a suitable couple was found on the Train. He had no concept of Inheritance Value, but he did understand what taking in 100 children meant.
100 Inheritance Value was definitely not a small number.
Chen Mang regretfully shook his head and placed the Doomsday Marriage Certificate into the drawer beside the control panel. It wouldn't be useful for a while. The Stellar Train currently had no couples, let alone ones truly in love. Moreover, the Train hadn't reached Level 3 yet, so Inheritance Value wasn't needed for now.
He'd deal with it later.
After tallying the items dropped by the Red-Eyed Rabbit and the rewards from the boss's first kill, Chen Mang turned his attention to the remaining rewards.
The Level 3 boss, the Zombie King, not only dropped a white-tier Accessory Blueprint for a "Repeating Ballista" but also another reward.
"Handheld Zombie Perception Blocker."
This thing again. If he hadn't given one to the Train Conductor of the Bloodthirsty Mad Bull Train during their last transaction, he would now have three of these.
This item was only useful in specific situations.
Most of the time, its effect was quite limited since the wasteland monsters weren't just Zombies, and it could only block the perception of Level 1 Zombies. But having it was better than nothing. He tossed it into the drawer along with the Doomsday Marriage Certificate.
The final rewards were from the drops after killing the Corpse Tide.
The quantity was substantial.
928 units of Level 1 Corpse Meat.
23 units of Level 2 Corpse Meat.
Yes, killing Zombies only dropped these items, all of which were "Corpse Meat." It seemed to be a special resource, similar to "Spider Silk." Nothing else dropped.
No Accessory Blueprints that could utilize this special resource "Corpse Meat" were dropped.
The white-tier "Repeating Ballista" he had looked at didn't require Corpse Meat as a resource.
He still didn't know what these resources were for.
He dumped them all into a corner of the Refrigerator. The quantity was quite large, taking up space, and the bloody appearance was a bit disgusting. Storing them in the Refrigerator was just right.
Not only was there plenty of space, but it also kept them fresh and locked in the smell.
The odor wouldn't escape the Refrigerator, nor would it affect the taste of his chilled cola.
The rewards from tonight's journey were fully tallied. It was a bountiful haul, and he was quite satisfied.
In this world, killing monsters wasn't the mainstream method of development.
Except for Flesh Trains.
For Mechanical Trains, the most important resource was "Iron Ore." The status of other resources paled in comparison to Iron Ore. Even if his Train could now slaughter the Corpse Tide with ease, all he could obtain was more Corpse Meat.
Slaughtering the Corpse Tide wouldn't yield important resources like Iron Ore.
Mining was the primary path of development.
Dealing with monsters, avoiding them was the best approach.
Chen Mang stood up from the control panel, stretched his body with a long yawn, and then walked over to the bed, collapsing onto it. It was already late, and he was tired. He'd deal with the rest tomorrow after he woke up.
This time, he dreamed that his Train had hundreds of carriages, with one hundred of them being Open-Air Carriages, each equipped with four "40-Tube Cherry Blossom Rocket Launchers."
The Train was stationed in the wasteland, surrounded by hundreds of thousands of monsters roaring and charging.
Dark clouds blotted out the sun, and the ground trembled.
He merely sneered, waving his hand, and countless rocket launchers with orange trails instantly filled the sky. The piercing sound of their flight echoed across the heavens.
When the countless rockets landed among the monsters, flames soared into the sky, as if the gods were unleashing their wrath upon the world.
When the dark clouds dispersed.
Everything in sight was in ruins.
And the "Powerful Magnet" embedded in the Train's front, which he had upgraded to Level 100, emitted a strong white light, quickly sucking up the items dropped by the dead monsters into the carriages. At that moment...
He faintly heard an untimely sound.
"Brothers, get ready, we're here to mine."
"Mining takes effort, mining requires hard work."
"I'll call out one, mining requires focus."
"I'll call out two, mining requires teamwork."
"I'll call out three, swing your arms wide."
In the morning, Chen Mang, successfully woken up by the noise, had finished washing up and stood expressionlessly by the window inside the Train, looking out at the bustling scene outside. The sky was already bright, and the Slaves had started working. However... today was a bit different.
The Goblin Slave, Doba, was leading a work chant.
His voice was so loud it had seeped into the Train, waking him from his pleasant dream.
Doba swung his pickaxe while shouting the chant at the top of his lungs, and the other Goblin Slaves followed the rhythm, swinging their pickaxes and responding with equally loud voices.
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