CHAPTER 29: CHAPTER 29: "YOUR TRAIN HAS BEEN UPGRADED TO LEVEL 2.

After thanking Heaven, Chen Mang opened his eyes and glanced at the pitch-black night outside. He couldn’t hold back any longer and couldn’t help but grin and nod continuously.

Finally, he had collected enough iron ore.

The train could finally be upgraded to Level 2.

All his conditions were met. The only thing left was to build another carriage, which he had promised to these slaves. As long as the daily mining output remained above 12 units for the next five days, he would build another slave carriage, providing them with a more spacious living environment.

At this thought, he willed it into action.

The 100 units of iron ore in cargo carriage number 2 instantly turned into powder and merged into the carriage. Immediately, several carriages formed from white dotted lines suddenly appeared at the back of the ’Fixed Star’ train on the wasteland.

Seconds later, when these white dotted lines, emitting a faint light, gradually dimmed, a brand-new carriage appeared at the rear of the ’Fixed Star’ train, linked together.

Thus —

The train acquired a fourth carriage, specifically, the 5th slave carriage.

Now, all conditions for the train’s upgrade were met. With a thought, 5000 units of iron ore turned to powder and merged into the carriage, as these were the essential resources needed for the upgrade.

Once all the powder was absorbed by the train.

The next moment!

A semi-transparent panel suddenly popped up in front of Chen Mang.

-

"Your train has been upgraded to Level 2."

"You will unlock more buildable accessories, with additional personalized and practical functions."

-

"..."

Full of anticipation, Chen Mang skipped this prompt panel and opened his "Train Panel."

Soon, a highly detailed panel appeared on the screen inside the train room.

-

"Train Name": Fixed Star.

"Train Level": Level 2.

"Train Accessories": Level 2 Earth Core Melting Furnace, Level 1 Wheel Changer, Level 5 Train Blades...

"Number of Carriages": 4.

"Ore Units": 913 units of iron ore, 100 units of wood, 10 units of copper ore.

"Upgrade Requirements": Requires 10 carriages, all six mandatory vehicle accessories must be crafted, consumes 5000 units of Level 2 iron ore, and all accessory levels inside the train combined must exceed Level 40.

-

"Finally upgraded to Level 2!"

Chen Mang quickly glanced at the twelve buildable vehicle accessories that appeared after the train was upgraded to Level 2. Six of them were mandatory to craft if he wanted the train to upgrade to Level 3, while the remaining six were optional.

He immediately spotted the "Train Radio" and "Workstation" he most desired.

Then he looked toward the new button that appeared on the control panel after the train upgrade.

"Personalized Customization."

Upon pressing this button, many personalized options appeared on the screen; there were nearly ten.

For example, customizing the internal structure of the carriage to create a hard seat or even a sleeper carriage like Master Kun’s, providing the thugs with a place for everyday living.

Or changing the exterior color of the carriage.

And having the train name painted on the carriage surface, etc.

It’s just that...

Chen Mang curled his lips; every option here consumed resources. Not many useful personalized options were available, and at least he didn’t think there would be any fool willing to waste resources on changing the train’s exterior color.

Just as he prepared to closely examine the twelve types of accessories that could be built after this train upgrade.

"Ooh!!!"

A sharp and dull train horn suddenly sounded from afar, abruptly reaching near. While studying the changes after the upgrade at the control panel, Chen Mang almost immediately jumped up and quickly grabbed the nearby telescope to look in the direction of the sound.

He saw a train, covered in dust and entirely black, quickly heading in his direction through the night!

It’s a whistle!

This horn had already sounded for several seconds and showed no sign of stopping. As the train approached, the sound grew increasingly loud!

Almost instinctively, Chen Mang grabbed a nearby walkie-talkie and, in a hoarse and rapid tone, said, "All slaves return to the carriage at the fastest speed, other thugs prepare for battle!"

He didn’t know what was happening.

But he knew one thing.

In the wilderness, most sudden situations were unlikely to be anything good.

Meanwhile.

The walkie-talkie also transmitted the urgent voices of Biaozi and others.

"Master Mang, everyone is in position, ready for battle at any time."

"Awaiting orders."

...

He didn’t know what the situation with this train was, but he didn’t intend to give up this mining field so easily. At least, he had to encounter it first; only if he was really outmatched would he consider escaping. After all, finding another iron mine wouldn’t be easy.

Through the telescope, this train was moving faster, and it didn’t show any sign of slowing down, speeding past him with a long whistle!

It quickly disappeared at the end of the horizon.

At the moment they brushed past each other, he noticed that the other train had only three carriages, and there were dents and bloodstains all over the outside of these carriages, with meat fragments hanging and fluttering in the wind.

It was clear to see that these three carriages had armor; otherwise, they wouldn’t be just dented and cracked.

Immediately —

Three more piercing horns sounded from afar!

As the sound became clearer, Chen Mang could clearly see three more trains racing in his direction from that same direction with horns blaring all the way!

He even recognized one of the trains.

It was the train that sped past him a few days ago, in the night, when he was attacked by zombie wolves. At that time, he was extremely envious of that train, which had as many as 13 carriages. Not only did each carriage have armored coverage, but there were also two heavy machine guns on top of each.

The train’s front had two large-caliber machine cannons.

Back then, in the night, this train, guided by high-beam lights, played DJ at maximum volume, arrogantly and recklessly speeding past him, even honking three short times as it passed by.

Since that time, this train had become his goal.

He swore then that one day, he would have a train with such configurations, roaring arrogantly across the wasteland.

However...

This very dream train of his was now fleeing helplessly towards him from afar. The original 13 carriages had been reduced to 8, significantly shortening in length. The surface of the carriages was full of holes, as if corroded by strong acid, and green viscous liquid covered the outside of the carriages.

The DJ wasn’t playing anymore.

The long whistle was blowing now.

The hoarse and piercing whistle instantly filled the once silent wasteland with an atmosphere of desolation and despair.

...

"Something’s happened."

Seeing this scene, Chen Mang’s face turned grave as he instantly realized, whether it was that first train or the subsequent three, they were clearly in a state of fleeing. Something terrifying, like a corpse tide, was undoubtedly chasing after them.

Although he saw nothing, perhaps due to the limited visibility in the dark night.

He still instinctively floored the accelerator, controlling the train to speed up to the maximum, aiming in the direction of the first train he’d passed, and sped away at full speed!

Even that near-fully equipped Level 2 train fled, so waiting for his just-upgraded Level 2 train to run was not an option.

"Damn it!"

Seeing that his train was clearly slower than the other trains, they soon outpaced him, leaving not even a shadow to be seen. His train had become the only one remaining on the wasteland, and Chen Mang couldn’t help but curse.

"Is Heaven a dog, dropping the ball right after being praised?"

"Or does Heaven go off duty at night and not answer prayers?"