Translator: Anubis Translations
Out of the seven essential train components needed for upgrading, Chen Mang had already crafted the Generator and Circuit System, though he hadn't put them into use yet due to a lack of Energy Stones.
He had tried to pry out the Energy Stone from Master Kun's train, but it proved impossible to remove. Clearly, this wasn't a detachable component. He didn't dare smash it with a pickaxe either; if he blew it up, he'd be stuck here for good.
Among the remaining five components—Pure Water Filter, Windfire Wheel, Steel Car Armor, Pickaxe Production Line, and Axe Production Line—he focused on the Windfire Wheel first. This would increase the train's speed, crucial for avoiding getting stranded mid-journey.
For now, he wasn't lacking in pure water, armor was too expensive, and he had plenty of pickaxes (many looted), so he didn't need to produce more. That left the Windfire Wheel as his only viable option.
When capturing enemy trains, some components could be removed, like the Third-Rate Heavy Machine Gun, but most, like armor and Windfire Wheels, were integrated and immovable.
Wait—
Just then, Chen Mang had a realization. While he currently had enough pickaxes, he wondered if upgrading the Pickaxe Production Line would result in pickaxes with faster mining speeds.
He quickly returned to the locomotive cabin and opened the Control Console's newbie guide. After scrolling through the screen for a while, he finally found the information he was looking for in a corner:
[ Pickaxe Production Line ], Green Grade, maximum Tier 3. Each upgrade allows the pickaxes produced to mine higher-tier mines.
Can only mine higher-tier mines?
Chen Mang stared at the text, his brow furrowing slightly. It wasn't entirely useless—after all, once he reached Tier 4, he'd be the only one who could freely mine Tier 4 and higher mines. Even if others managed to get Tier 4 pickaxes, it probably wouldn't be as effortless for them.
But it wasn't quite what he'd hoped for.
There was a slight discrepancy.
He wondered if Tier 4 Iron Ore could substitute for Tier 1 Iron Ore.
Soon—
He found the information he was looking for in the newbie guide.
10 units of Tier 1 Iron Ore = 1 unit of Tier 2 Iron Ore.
10 units of Tier 2 Iron Ore = 1 unit of Tier 3 Iron Ore.
10 units of Tier 3 Iron Ore = 1 unit of Tier 4 Iron Ore.
At the Crafting Table, you can synthesize 10 units of Tier 1 Iron Ore into 1 unit of Tier 2 Iron Ore, or decompose 1 unit of Tier 2 Iron Ore into 10 units of Tier 1 Iron Ore.
This time!
Chen Mang smiled in satisfaction. All he needed to do was find a Tier 4 mine and upgrade his Pickaxe Production Line to Tier 4. Then, every unit of Tier 4 Iron Ore he obtained would be equivalent to 1,000 units of Tier 1 Iron Ore.
Now the problem was much simpler.
All he needed to do was find a Tier 4 Iron Ore mine to solve his current resource shortage.
There were basically two ways to find mines:
Ask other Train Conductors through the Train Radio, or use the Resource Detection Radar to scan for nearby resource zones while the train was in motion. Both accessories were automatically available for crafting after upgrading the train to Tier 2.
In other words—
As long as he upgraded his train to Tier 2, all his current problems would be solved.
After breaking down the problem and refining it, he quickly arrived at the optimal solution.
This made his goals clearer, preventing him from flailing around like a headless fly, feeling like he was lacking everything and unsure what to prioritize, frozen in place.
After breaking down his goals and clarifying his logic,
he looked at the five essential accessories and finally chose three:
Pure Water Filter, Windfire Wheel, and Pickaxe Production Line.
He placed the Pure Water Filter in the third carriage (living compartment) and the Pickaxe Production Line in the 2nd Carriage( Warehouse ). The current carriage layout wasn't ideal, but he had no other resources to build additional carriages, so he had to make do for now. He'd reorganize everything once he had more resources.
These three accessories consumed 700 units of iron ore.
He was now completely broke, with not a single unit of iron ore left.
Producing a single pickaxe required 10 units of iron ore.
The Pure Water Filter could purify any liquid, such as urine or rainwater, into drinkable pure water. Its shape was also oddly disgusting, resembling a toilet. Once upgraded to Tier 2, it could directly produce mineral water, with each bottle requiring 1 slice of moldy bread.
The Windfire Wheel had already automatically replaced his existing ordinary wheels, significantly increasing the train's speed. However, its drawbacks were equally obvious: it was practically impossible to navigate through zombie hordes or rough terrain, greatly increasing the risk of overturning.
With this—
He now needed only two more essential accessories for the train upgrade: Steel Car Armor and the Axe Production Line.
The Steel Car Armor was the most expensive item here, requiring a full 1,000 units of iron ore. Worse still, it was priced per carriage, meaning that 1,000 units of iron ore could only armor a single carriage.
To armor all the carriages of the train would require even more iron ore. Fortunately, arming any single carriage would meet the Train Upgrade requirements.
No wonder Master Kun's train only had armor on the locomotive.
"Damn, this is frustrating."
Inside the locomotive cabin, Chen Mang gazed out the window at the mine, watching the slaves still laboring underground. They wouldn't be out anytime soon. He felt like grabbing a pickaxe and joining them himself.
He needed more slaves!
No, wait.
He needed to break this habit. According to Old Pig, he should be thinking about more passengers and survivors, not slaves.
This iron ore just wasn't enough.
It was a shame the Train Radio wasn't yet craftable. He really wanted to know how other Train Conductors managed when they were short on resources. There was just too little information exchange.
But then he suddenly remembered something. He wasn't sure if...
Could his Geothermal Core Furnace refine all the captured pistols and ammunition?
Without further ado, he stepped out of the locomotive cabin and activated the furnace. As its gaping maw opened, he tossed in a pistol. Moments later, he received 10 units of iron ore.
"Hmm."
Chen Mang pursed his lips. It was a bit meager, but not bad. Even a mosquito's worth was still meat. He proceeded to throw all the captured pistols and over 200 rounds of ammunition into the furnace, yielding a total of 250 units of iron ore.
He had kept the original "gls Pistol" he obtained, along with thirty-odd rounds of ammunition.
Though he no longer needed it, with his assault rifle being far superior, it was the first piece of loot he'd acquired in this world. Keeping it as a memento wasn't a bad idea.
He needed to build his own secure train as soon as possible. Otherwise, if another zombie horde surrounded him, he'd likely have to detach all the carriages and flee in disgrace.
But if his train were strong enough, he'd laugh at the idea of fleeing!
He'd slaughter the entire horde and might even score some decent loot in the process!
(End of the Chapter)
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