Chen Mang looked at the private message sent from "Bloodthirsty Bull Train" through the train radio. After roughly calculating, he realized he would need to upgrade "Spider Legs" to level 13 to navigate a ninety-degree slope freely, which meant he needed a total of...
units of level 1 Fine Spider Silk.
After he sent this number over, there was no response from the other side for a long time. A while later, a private message finally arrived.
Bloodthirsty Bull Train: "I don’t have that much. I only have 1500 units of level 1 Fine Spider Silk dropped by Cannibal Spiders. However, a few trains went to Taiping City some days ago to hunt Cannibal Spider hatchlings. They probably have some silk too. Let’s meet at the gathering then. What are you planning to trade?"
Chen Mang glanced at his train panel. It seemed he didn’t have anything worthwhile to trade; he was reluctant to part with his slaves and needed the resources himself. The only thing he could offer was Car Blade Fragments.
Once bound to a pickaxe head, it becomes a melee weapon capable of penetrating the defenses of level 3 and even level 4 monsters.
Although it’s only capable of breaking defenses, the power is something else entirely, yet it’s already quite impressive.
However... he didn’t want to reveal too much by trading this item.
At that moment, he realized he truly lacked items to trade. After hesitating for a while, he decided to reply that he would discuss it in person at the gathering. Perhaps he could trade using the Train Order, but he needed to first understand its market value at the gathering.
Chen Mang stopped paying attention to the train radio. Tonight, he’d have to camp here, still puzzled about the source of those headlights from that DJ-playing level 2 train, as they weren’t among the twelve vehicle accessories he could craft.
Currently, there were still 1230 units of iron ore in the train.
He had long planned how to use this iron ore.
First, he’d craft all necessary train parts, then upgrade selectively and gradually.
Since he decided to attend the gathering in seven days, he needed to craft several "Three-legged Cat Heavy Machine Guns" and install them on the train roof. Regardless of whether they had bullets, outsiders wouldn’t know how many bullets were stocked inside the train.
At least having a few of these gadgets would provide a significant deterrent, preventing potential troublemakers from targeting him.
Crafting a heavy machine gun ammunition line alone requires 500 units of copper ore, and he only had 10 units of copper ore on the train, far from enough.
He spent a total of 1100 units of iron ore to craft three parts, namely —
Train Assistance AI, Resource Detection Radar, Simple Medical Box.
The first two were green-grade parts, while the last one was white-grade.
After crafting the Train Assistance AI, an additional screen appeared on the control console. This AI would assist the Train Captain during movement and camping, such as calculating the slope of terrain ahead, monitoring the damage level of train components, and providing accurate information about monsters within radar range.
The part is quite useful.
Resource Detection Radar, similar to Target Detection Radar, has a detection range of one thousand meters radius at level 1. It emits an alert sound and displays on the screen when a resource point is detected within this range, although currently, there are no resource points nearby.
Simple Medical Box only consumes 100 units of iron ore.
It is a single-use item.
Inside, it contains some basic bandages, disinfectant, spray, and a kit for stitching wounds, primarily for treating external injuries. Additionally, there are some pain relief and fever medications.
Not a lot, roughly enough for three people.
Later, he planned to disinfect Biaozi, providing some human care as the Train Captain. Although it’s not easy for wounds to become inflamed due to the season’s cooler temperatures, it’s best to prevent it when possible.
He spent 100 units of wood to craft a new part, "Clothing Customization Production Line."
This was the only wood available in the train.
His current outfit was starting to smell slightly, having no clean clothes to change into. After crafting this production line, he placed it in carriage number 2.
This production line creates perfectly fitted clothing according to each individual’s body shape, offering over a dozen styles to choose from, all at a unified price. Manufacturing one outfit consumes 10 units of wood.
However, he had no wood left for now, so he could only shelve it temporarily.
He would have to make do with his worn clothes for the next few days. Before heading to the gathering, he would wash his clothes the night before and hang them out to dry. A day out in the open would suffice to dry them.
At home, appearances don’t matter much, but out and about, it’s important to look presentable.
Even under the doomsday circumstances, having a good outfit subtly signifies a person’s strength.
After finishing all this, Chen Mang picked up the medical box and crossed carriage number 2, heading to carriage number 3. At this moment, inside this living carriage, Biaozi was competing in push-ups with another young fellow.
Several other thugs around kept cheering them on.
Upon seeing Chen Mang approach.
The noise quieted down immediately, and Biaozi quickly scrambled up from the ground, looking slightly embarrassed as he softly said, "Master Mang."
Chen Mang waved for everyone to relax a bit, then walked over with the medical box to Biaozi’s side: "Roll up your sleeve, let’s disinfect your wound so it doesn’t get inflamed."
Biaozi’s mouth twitched slightly, glancing at Mountain Cat beside him, feeling a bit awkward since his wound had already scabbed... So why even bother with medicine?
If he rolled up his sleeve now, wouldn’t that give it away?
But he couldn’t disregard Master Mang’s orders, so he bit his lip and slowly rolled up his sleeve and unwrapped the bandage.
With a blank expression, Chen Mang looked at Biaozi’s left arm, examining the neatly scabbed wound. Then he glanced at the person in the carriage who had previously been against Biaozi, now getting along with everyone, and suddenly understood everything.
He took the disinfectant spray from the medical box, sprayed it symbolically, and replaced the bandage with a fresh roll, then lightly patted Biaozi’s shoulder, softly saying, "Be careful when on duty outside."
"Alright, you guys carry on."
Then he returned once again to his train cabin.
The neatly scabbed wound was clearly not caused by a Zombie Wolf or similar creatures, but rather seemed to be self-inflicted with Car Blade Fragments; he wasn’t particularly bothered by it.
There weren’t many entertainment options out in the wilderness.
Back in his train cabin, Chen Mang found himself with nothing else to do. He had long memorized the information on the Newcomer’s Guide, and soon overcome with sleepiness, he lay down and fell asleep.
If you insist on defining entertainment, maybe the only activity is the thrill of escaping from monsters’ jaws, that sort of adrenaline rush.
He suddenly recalled whether he had remembered to offer incense to Master Kun, who was indeed a good person. Having given him such a big newcomer package, he should express his gratitude.
But never mind, today he was too tired. He would postpone it until tomorrow.