"Hmph."

Brother Biao took another deep, deliberate breath, his expression turning serious. "Alright, if we're all on the same page, then we're not running. We'll stick with Boss Mang and do this right."

"With Boss Mang's methods and his good fortune, we might even see this become a Level 3 train one day."

"Besides, we've got nearly a hundred slaves here. You both know what that means. Starting with a hundred slaves, the speed of resource gathering will be insane. We'll be pulling in close to a thousand units of iron ore every day. We'll have more resources than we know what to do with."

"But from now on, you listen to me. Cut the chatter about this stuff. No boss likes to see his men forming their own little cliques."

"I'll look out for you two, but you need to use your heads when you talk. Don't stick so close to me all the time, or people will get the idea you only listen to me and no one else."

"And especially—"

"When Boss Mang gives you an order, don't you dare glance back at me for even a second. Got it?!"

Bringing this up made Brother Biao's temper flare. The reason he was so ostracized on the last train was because when they first joined, the vice-captain gave an order to Hei Wa—the skinny, dark-skinned kid.

And what did Hei Wa do? He just stood there, frozen, and looked back at Biao as if waiting for his permission.

Biao's heart had sunk in that instant. He knew they were screwed. And sure enough, while the vice-captain didn't say anything at the time, every single one of the most dangerous missions after that fell on his shoulders. If he weren't so good at staying alive, the grass on his grave would be three feet high by now.

If he didn't know Hei Wa hadn't done it on purpose, he might have killed the kid himself. Wasn't that just deliberately trying to get him in trouble?

"I get it, I get it…" Hei Wa hung his head in shame and muttered, "I wasn't thinking. We were in a new place, and I was afraid to make a wrong move. I just wanted you to watch my back, Brother Biao…"

"It won't happen again, I swear."

Now that the decision was made, Brother Biao took his patrol duties even more seriously. After all, he wasn't just working for Boss Mang; he was working for his survival. If he slacked off and only noticed a zombie horde after it had already surrounded them, it wouldn't just be Boss Mang who died. He would die, too.

In the wasteland, the entire train was a single community of shared interest. One person's negligence could plunge everyone into crisis.

He was also pondering another problem. He had only just been promoted and hadn't even reported it to Boss Mang yet. Since he was committed to following him, he had to figure out how to earn his trust.

If…

He glanced thoughtfully at a nearby enforcer who was glaring at him with resentment. The man had lost to him in the competition to become the leader and was clearly not happy about it.

What if I could find a way to provoke this guy into starting a rebellion, and then I could crush him at the first opportunity? Could I use him as a stepping stone to solidify my position?

He quickly shook his head, dismissing the thought. It was too dangerous. If anything went wrong, he'd die along with everyone else.

"Sigh…"

He let out a soft sigh and looked back at the train. He hoped Boss Mang could get it to Level 2 quickly. A Level 1 train had almost no offensive accessories, and it didn't inspire much confidence. Even though he had decided to stay, this Level 1 setup still left him feeling uneasy. Their current offensive power consisted of a single heavy machine gun and the "Carriage Blades."

He knew about the Carriage Blades. He'd gotten that white-grade accessory himself once and upgraded it to Level 2. It wasn't very useful, though; it could only handle small-scale zombie hordes.

"Huh?"

As he thought about it, Brother Biao paused. He wondered if it was just his imagination, but did the Carriage Blades on this train seem… thinner and wider than the ones on his old train?

He quickly shook his head again, not dwelling on it. He must be misremembering. After all, it had been back in the early days of the apocalypse when he'd built that accessory. The memory was hazy now.

Meanwhile, inside the cockpit—

Chen Mang glanced at the sky outside, then at the clock on the wall. It was already ten at night. Time to let the slaves come up and rest. After a night's sleep, they'd continue mining in the morning.

He had learned from the "Novice Guide" that every mine had a limited amount of resources. Once depleted, it would take several days for the resources to regenerate. He had been down in the mine himself and estimated it would take them a good ten to fifteen days to clear it out.

Of course, that was the best-case scenario. It required ten to fifteen days without any interruptions, which was highly unrealistic. A zombie horde or another train could show up tomorrow to fight him for the mine. If his train had enough firepower, he wouldn't have to worry about it, but…

"…"

Chen Mang stared at the control panel, lost in thought.

Several minutes later, the slaves returned from the mine. They collected their rations of food and water, then filed back into the slave carriage to sleep. At the same time, they turned in all the iron ore they had mined.

Combined with the 250 units he already had, the total came to exactly 700 units of iron ore. The slaves had worked for the better part of the day, and their haul was impressive. They were clearly working hard, like new employees on their first day, trying to make a good impression.

After all the iron ore was piled in the warehouse of Carriage #2, Chen Mang looked at the 700-unit total displayed on the train panel and nodded in satisfaction. He decided he wouldn't touch this ore. It was all going toward the Level 2 upgrade.

But just then—

He suddenly noticed a line of text in the Novice Guide. The guide was a red button on the control panel; pressing it brought up all sorts of information on the main screen about how to be a qualified train captain, preventing new captains from running around like headless chickens. Of course, most of the information was fairly basic.

This particular line read—

[All vehicle accessories will unlock their first 'Advanced Effect' upon reaching Level 5.]

"This…"

Chen Mang stared at the message, stunned. The higher an accessory's grade, the higher its level cap. Many White and Green accessories didn't even have a level cap of five. For most people, this information was useless in the short term.

But he had his "Infinite Upgrade" cheat!

If he upgraded a white-grade accessory to Level 5, would it gain this Advanced Effect?

He couldn't be sure.

He did a quick calculation. His white-grade "Carriage Blades" were currently Level 3. Upgrading from Level 1 to 2 had cost 100 ore. From 2 to 3 costs 200 ore. Assuming the cost increased by 100 ore per level, upgrading to Level 5 would require another 700 units of iron ore.

And he had exactly 700 units.

If he tried this, it might delay his train's upgrade to Level 2 by a day. But if he didn't try, he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep tonight.

Chen Mang stared blankly at the message on the "Novice Guide" screen. He knew it. The road to progress was always full of temptation. He had just steeled his resolve to save all his ore for the upgrade, and now this.

But… who could possibly resist this? Upgrading the train to Level 2 was important, yes. But if upgrading the "Carriage Blades" to Level 5 unlocked an Advanced Effect, it would make the blades far more powerful. Having a strong offensive accessory would be a huge help!

This experiment would also influence how he allocated his resources in the future.

After a moment's hesitation, Chen Mang made his choice. In this wasteland where danger could strike at any moment, a more powerful offensive weapon was more important. Besides, even if the white-grade accessory didn't get an Advanced Effect, a Level 5 "Carriage Blades" would still be a decent weapon.

Upgrade!

Upgrade the white-grade "Carriage Blades" to Level 5!