He had done the math.
As long as he drank 3 bottles of Coke a day, he could extend his mining hours to 18 hours a day, needing only 6 hours of sleep, and still feel energetic. The Coke was very effective in restoring strength.
Calculated this way, he only needed to spend 1 Fixed Star Coupon every three days.
But in these three days, he could earn 3 Fixed Star Coupons through minimum guaranteed mining, equivalent to making a pure profit of 2 Fixed Star Coupons, which was very cost-effective!
He didn’t tell anyone about this at first. Initially, he was the only one doing it, but soon he realized that more and more people seemed to discover his secret and began to mimic him. It was annoying; didn’t these people have their own brains?
Inside the train compartment.
Trying to fall asleep, but kept awake by the clanging mining sounds outside, Chen Mang sighed deeply and got up with a complex expression, standing at the window looking at the group of people outside.
He really wanted to say something.
This is not how you work; the Great Wall wasn’t built in a day. Don’t work yourselves to death, where would he find so many survivors?
The "Coca-Cola Production Line" component had been almost continuously operating. His production cost of Coke was 1 unit of iron ore per bottle, with a store price of 1 Fixed Star Coupon for 10 bottles.
"Level 5 Supermodel Effect of Coca-Cola Production Line": Choose to produce sugar-free Coke, or regular Coke.
"Level 10 Supermodel Effect of Coca-Cola Production Line": Consuming it can slowly recover stamina.
This was the only type of food within the train that could restore stamina. Back in the Doomsday Abyss, every slave was issued a bottle daily, precisely to restore their strength.
Once put on the shelves in the store, it immediately sparked a rush to purchase.
Many people downed three bottles of Coke a day and started swinging their pickaxes vigorously!
Mining efficiency increased significantly!
Normally, within these three days, these residents would likely mine around 360,000 units of iron ore, but... they ended up mining 510,000 units of iron ore in these three days due to voluntary overtime.
Some added a few hours, while others only slept a few hours a day.
These two Level 2 iron mines had a total of just 520,000 units of iron ore, almost emptied in three days, leaving only 10,000 units, and at this rate, it would be fully mined by tomorrow before dawn.
Chen Mang sighed with some helplessness. Back when I gave each of you free Coke every day, I didn’t see you working this hard, but now that you’re buying Coke yourselves, the enthusiasm for work is quite strong.
This system reform initially seemed to have a significant effect.
It somewhat resembled the white-collar workers in his previous world, who had to buy coffee daily for work.
It had to be self-purchased to taste authentic; company-provided always felt lacking in flavor, not pure.
Now the units of iron ore stored within the train had reached—
655,000 units of iron ore.
Forget it, no sleep for now.
Chen Mang looked at the 3D diagram of the "Earth-Burst Missile" on the control panel, the most powerful firepower weapon within the train and the only large-scale red-grade firepower accessory.
Upgrading this accessory consumed iron ore, and crafting consumed copper ore.
Crafting a Level 1 "Earth-Burst Missile" required 10,000 units of copper ore.
Upgrading to Level 1 required 50,000 units of iron ore.
He calculated, upgrading this accessory to Level 5 would cost 750,000 units of iron ore, which he didn’t have for now, so he temporarily decided not to upgrade. Tomorrow he needed to find a new mine, being in urgent need of iron ore.
Currently, the missile in Train Carriage No. 14 was at Level 1.
It basically only served a deterrence function.
This level was too low to be effective against the vast majority of monsters, so he planned to light it up like a firework tomorrow during the day to see the effect.
Most people on the train were asleep, even Doba was ready to succumb to sleep after seeing the seven or eight humans still mining, with a trace of bewilderment flashing in his eyes.
Were they transformed into goblins by the train?
How could they mine better than them?
Won’t they survive until tomorrow?
Finally, morning arrived.
The Fixed Star Train resumed its journey; only after breaking through the ground did it switch to the Wind-Fire Wheel, racing towards the unknown to find new mines. Though work efficiency improved, he... was a bit outpaced.
Where to find so much iron ore.
The train gradually slowed down and eventually stopped on a plain. Under Old Pig and others’ urging, all the residents were driven off the train, staring blankly around the train.
Couldn’t see any mines, where were they?
Even the 400 survivors were driven off the train and stood with everyone else. During these days, these 400 survivors hadn’t worked, just given the most basic few pieces of bread and a bottle of water daily, making them hunger with eyes yearning at the other Fixed Star Train residents’ lives.
Let these people have an urgent desire to join the Fixed Star Train and become official residents, so they could work diligently.
Under everyone’s gaze, the mechanical gate at the top of the 14th missile carriage of the Fixed Star Train slowly opened amidst the sound of gears colliding. A pitch-black missile with terrifying might was slowly raised by a lift platform, pointing skyward at a 45-degree angle.
Upon seeing this scene!
Almost everyone involuntarily held their breath, eyes full of shock. This... was a missile? Did the Fixed Star Train even have missiles? Even the 400 new survivors joining the Fixed Star Train were full of disbelief; no wonder their train could be destroyed.
The missile was displayed here; who could stand against it!
The Earth-Burst Missile dormant on the launcher, accompanied by the unique metal friction buzz of the hydraulic system like a trapped beast grinding its teeth, and the external sound system on the train echoed the icy mechanical electronic voice of the "Train Assistance AI".
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When the countdown hit zero, the air within ten miles seemed to solidify like thick paper. A vast amount of white mist, like the breath of a giant beast, quickly enveloped the entire train, causing it to shudder due to the immense thrust, flames immediately dyed the white mist red!
A missile shot out of the flames with a piercing sonic boom, following an arc trajectory with an orange-red tail flame, soaring towards the sky!
On a plain thousands of meters away, blistering white flames erupted from the ground like a volcanic eruption, followed by a deafening explosion, like a thousand bronze bells resonating deeply in the marrow and body.
Mushroom-shaped gray clouds rose slowly.
All the residents who had disembarked the train, after witnessing the scene, nearly uniformly opened their mouths in disbelief and shock, looking at the distant scene, as if the residual warmth of that explosion lingered near their eardrums.
When the first cheer rang out, all train residents finally reacted, roaring and cheering excitedly in unison.
The launch of this missile informed all the residents of one thing.
The "Fixed Star" was powerful enough.
As long as they could remain on the Fixed Star Train, the train could protect all the residents to the maximum extent. This missile test boosted many residents’ confidence in the Fixed Star Train and added a sense of pride.
Could other trains boast the power of this train?
In these days, many people hadn’t been mining so diligently, mainly because they had been transferred among many trains, saw too many stories of trains perishing, and thought, what’s the use of earning Fixed Star Coupons if one day the train perishes, turning all into bubbles that burst easily.
No one had such thoughts anymore.
Everyone nearly firmly believed the Fixed Star Train could continue developing until it became the Noah’s Ark in the Doomsday, bringing them to find a pure land in this hope-less, full of despair world!