Chen Mang didn't dwell on it. Standing in the doorway of the engine car, he glanced toward the distant slave carriage.

No commotion—good.

He turned his attention back to the cockpit controls.

Nearly a hundred slaves.

That was no small number. Hell, even a hundred charging pigs would be impossible to stop with just a pistol, let alone a group of slaves tough enough to survive the apocalypse.

But ammunition wasn't a problem anymore. He'd just collected plenty of pistol rounds from the abandoned carriages.

He focused on the birthmark on the back of his hand. A translucent panel materialized before his eyes.

[Newbie Train Captain Mission 1: Obtain a train within three months. (Completed)]

[Time Taken: Less than one day.]

[Reward: "Dragon Assault Rifle" Production Line Blueprint x1]

Chen Mang couldn't help but grin. An assault rifle. Fully automatic. Its power, range, suppressive ability, and accuracy all far exceeded a handgun's capabilities.

More importantly, according to the "Train Guide," weapons manufactured on a train's production line couldn't harm the Captain or Vice-Captain. He could arm his enforcers without worrying about mutiny.

There was one catch: the production line had to be built by the Train Captain himself. A salvaged production line from another train wouldn't have this safety feature.

Of course, this rule worked in his favor—he could still use weapons from his production line against his Vice-Captain if necessary.

He already had someone in mind for that role.

[Blueprint Name: Dragon Assault Rifle Production Line]

[Blueprint Grade: Green]

Besides the "Train Panel," "Train Crew," and "Vehicle Accessories" buttons, the control console had one more: "Train Guide."

Pressing it brought up the train's fundamental principles on the main screen—a handbook designed to guide survivors in their roles as Train Captains.

It included descriptions of the grades for vehicle accessories.

From lowest to highest: White, Green, Yellow, Blue, Purple, Red, Gold, Pink, and Rainbow.

White was bottom-tier. Of the fourteen craftable accessories for a Level 1 train, six were white—common as dirt. The higher the grade, the rarer the accessory. The seven essential accessories were all green grade. To upgrade the train to Level 2, he'd need to craft all seven.

These seven essential accessories were:

[Pure Water Filter]: Green Grade. Requires 100 units of Iron Ore.

[Windfire Wheels]: Green Grade. Requires 500 units of Iron Ore.

[Carriage Steel Armor]: Green Grade. Requires 1,000 units of Iron Ore.

[Electrical System]: Green Grade. Requires 10 units of Copper Ore.

[Generator]: Green Grade. Requires 100 units of Copper Ore.

[Pickaxe Head Production Line]: Green Grade. Requires 100 units of Wood.

[Axe Head Production Line]: Green Grade. Requires 100 units of Iron Ore.

Ores came in different levels—1, 2, 3, and so on. Each level of ore crafted and upgraded the corresponding levels of vehicle accessories. All the requirements listed were for Level 1 ore.

These seven were mandatory for upgrading the train. The remaining six white-grade accessories were optional:

[Single Bed]: White Grade. Requires 1 unit of Wood.

[Refrigerator]: White Grade. Requires 100 units of Wood.

[Cola Production Line]: White Grade. Requires 100 bottles of Mineral Water.

[Moldy Bread Slice Production Line]: White Grade. Requires 100 slices of Moldy Bread.

[Binoculars]: White Grade. Requires 10 units of Iron Ore.

[Steamed Bun Production Line]: White Grade. Requires 100 Steamed Buns.

As Chen Mang studied the information, a vision formed in his mind: the train could become a self-sufficient ecosystem. A mobile sanctuary. If he could upgrade the train and its accessories to a high enough level, he'd command a long, dragon-like fortress—a masterpiece of sci-fi brutalism.

The absurdity of needing 100 slices of moldy bread to build a production line for more moldy bread? He'd stopped questioning this world's logic after what he'd witnessed at the mine.

Time to take inventory of his resources and decide which accessory to build first.

He loaded his pistol, grabbed four extra magazines, and filled them all. Only then did he step out of the cockpit and walk toward carriage seven—the slave carriage.

Inside, there was no sign of a riot. The atmosphere was almost... harmonious. The slaves were methodically placing iron ore from their pockets onto a growing pile on the floor.

The moment Chen Mang appeared, Lao Zhu hurried over, pickaxe in hand. "Boss Mang, we've counted everything. Three hundred fifty-six units of iron ore."

"Good."

Chen Mang nodded, his gaze sweeping over every person in the carriage before speaking, his voice calm and measured. "A train needs enforcers. For the next three days, you're all under evaluation. The top ten performers will be promoted to enforcers—you'll get the right to carry weapons and receive better food. A full meal every day.

"Now, everyone, get to those abandoned carriages and collect all the scattered ore.

"I want you to understand something." His voice hardened. "I saved your lives. I don't need your gratitude—I just need you to know that if I have the power to save you, killing you won't be much trouble either.

"Now move out!"

As his words fell, light returned to the slaves' eyes. Their listless demeanor vanished, replaced by sudden motivation. They poured out of the carriage, scrambling to collect resources from the abandoned cars, completely unfazed by the filth and pools of congealed blood.

Out on the desolate plains, Chen Mang watched the slaves swarm through the wreckage like locusts, his expression unreadable. In the "Train Crew" panel, there were four basic roles: Captain, Vice-Captain, Train Patrol, and Survivor.

You could add custom roles, but these were the defaults.

"Train Patrol" was just a fancy name for an enforcer.

"Survivor" was a polite word for slave.