"This way."
After thinking it over for a while, Chen Mang instructed, "Take these two women away and give them some light tasks."
"And there are several other women among our slaves, right? Tomorrow, carefully count their mining output. If their efficiency is far below the others, don't have them mine anymore. They can join the logistics team instead."
"Understood!"
Old Pig nodded seriously and took out a small notebook from his pocket. After he recorded Chen Mang's orders in the notebook, the two women were taken away by several thugs.
Chen Mang didn't talk much with this newly appointed "Thug Leader," only exchanged a few words and, after learning the other's name, let Old Pig and Biaozi leave.
His first impression of Biaozi was that he was full of vitality, with a robust physique, looking quite tough.
...
After the two left, Chen Mang lay on the bed in the train room and sighed softly, wanting a cigarette before sleep.
He needed a bit of a mental snack.
But...
He couldn't find a single cigarette in Master Kun's locomotive. This guy didn't smoke. Once the train upgrades to Level 2, he would have to visit the city ruins to see if he could find some cigarettes.
As for finding a woman for his physical needs, he'd wait until he got some cigarettes. After all, without the post-coital cigarette, he wasn't interested. A crucial part of the fun was missing.
In a drowsy state, he gradually fell asleep.
This was his fourth day in this world, and he slept better this night than the previous three nights.
He had many dreams.
There were scenes of him confidently operating the train, roaring unrestrained across the wasteland.
There were also scenes of the train being swallowed by a corpse tide, with everyone buried in corpses.
There were scenes of betrayal, leaving him isolated in the end.
There was even a scene of him piloting the train into the sky, soaring ten thousand meters high.
...
"Rustle... rustle..."
In his drowsiness, Chen Mang was awakened by a noise, opening his eyes to see rain drumming against the glass outside the train room, creating a pattering sound.
It's raining.
With that thought passing through his mind, he turned over and lay back on the soft bed, continuing to return to his dreams, feeling even more comfortable. For some reason, rainy days always seemed to suit sleeping well.
But then...
He suddenly thought he heard some untimely noises, like... the howling of an animal?
In the next moment—
Chen Mang instantly snapped awake, sleep instantly fading as he jumped from the bed, standing at the control console of the train, looking around to see that in the dark, rainy night, a pack of wolf-like creatures had surrounded the train, growling softly. Though they hadn't attacked, they were clearly encircled.
"Damn it!"
His expression changed slightly. He immediately sat at the control console, merging his thoughts with the train. As the locomotive's engine roared to life, the feeling of acceleration increased, and the train began to move forward in the dark, rainy night. Meanwhile, the Level 5 "Vehicle Blades" surrounding the train extended and began spinning rapidly.
The cutting sound of the blades mixed with the low growls of the wolf creatures, turning the previously quiet rainy night into an ominous scene.
Immediately!
The train gradually picked up speed, and those wolf-like creatures didn't dare to block the train and fled towards the sides. However...
"Slash!"
The high-speed spinning blades on either side sliced any approaching wolves into two.
After the train reached peak speed, Chen Mang didn't flee far. This was his mine; he had to protect this place and couldn't escape too far. Moreover, he saw that there were only twenty or thirty of these hungry wolves, far less terrifying than a corpse tide, and they were not impossible to handle.
In terms of speed, these hungry wolves were far inferior to the train.
Though quite agile, under Chen Mang's control, the train managed to ram into them several times. Soon... the last of the hungry wolves perished in the rainy night.
After the crisis was resolved.
Chen Mang slowly stopped the train and left the train room, stepping into the rainy night to stand next to a wolf's carcass, looking down expressionlessly. At this moment, Old Pig, Biaozi, and a group of thugs, armed with weapons, rushed out from Car No. 3, surrounding Chen Mang and vigilantly watching the surroundings.
"Master Mang!"
"..."
Chen Mang remained silent, just looking down at the dead wolf at his feet. He had seen this creature in the "Newcomer's Guide," it was a "Zombie Wolf," typically Level 1 monsters, usually feeding on decomposed corpses in the wild.
Like zombie corpses, human bodies, and other monsters' corpses.
Not very aggressive, though communal creatures, they weren't as overwhelming as a corpse tide. Their numbers wouldn't exceed a hundred. Even if he hadn't woken up, these wolves couldn't do anything to the train and would barely be able to tear through its metal skin.
But...
This incident served as a wake-up call that the train urgently needed vehicle accessories like "Radar." Without one available for now, someone must keep watch at night. This time it wasn't dangerous, but what if next time it was just a corpse tide?
Being surrounded entirely by a corpse tide would make it impossible to even start the train successfully.
And the spinning of the "Vehicle Blades" required "Energy Stone" from the locomotive to power them. Though they didn't consume much, they couldn't spin indefinitely. Over time, they would surely run out with the corpse tide besieging them to death.
"Biaozi."
Standing in the dark rainy night, Chen Mang glanced sideways at Biaozi and softly said, "Arrange some people for night watch. If we encounter something like this again, you and I might die here."
"Yes, such a mistake won't happen again."
Biaozi replied hoarsely, somewhat embarrassed. He actually... had arranged for someone to keep watch. It's just that other thugs didn't listen to him, so he could only arrange for his own man, Heiwa, to stand guard. But who knew that the damn dog would fall asleep!
He really couldn't admit this matter. Admitting it might cost Heiwa his life, so he had to take the blame himself.
Although Master Mang didn't instruct initially, this sort of task is something the Thug Leader should arrange independently.
Just then—
Old Pig stepped forward, squatting down in the rain, picking up a piece of shattered wolf meat, and after smelling it, he suddenly frowned in worry, "Mang, something's not right."
"Normally, such 'Zombie Wolves' are relatively easy prey among the monsters in the wilderness. They usually don't venture too far into the wilderness; they mostly wander the city ruins, looking for corpses to devour."
"Unless seriously injured or ill, an aged Zombie Wolf would be driven deep into the wilderness by the pack."
"However, this pack of Zombie Wolves was healthy, strong adult Zombie Wolves. They shouldn't be in this location under normal circumstances."
"Unless..."
"A more terrifying monster has appeared recently in the nearby city ruins, forcing them to migrate."
"If so, that city's survivors are in danger. Perhaps many survivors around the city are already fleeing, but for them, the rainy night wasteland can only be a grave."
"These survivors usually hide deep in the city ruins, making them hard to find. Right now, perhaps a train has already gone to rescue this batch of survivors."