The next second—

The 700 units of iron ore stored in Carriage #2's warehouse instantly dissolved into dust, merging with the train. Chen Mang immediately stepped out of the cockpit, his eyes fixed on the Carriage Blades mounted on either side.

The change was immediately obvious.

The blades were thinner, their cutting surface wider. They'd expanded from 50 centimeters to 70—a significant boost to attack range. Beyond that, two new lines of small text had appeared on the white-grade accessory's panel.

[Level 5 Advanced Effect]: The Carriage Blades can now rotate at high speed. 

[PS]: When this accessory reaches Level 10, a second Advanced Effect will be unlocked.

"They can rotate at high speed?"

Chen Mang stared at the new text—his very first Advanced Effect—and nodded thoughtfully. At the same time, he felt a new button materialize on the control console in his mind. He pressed it instinctively.

The blades on both sides of the Stellar immediately began spinning furiously around the carriages, fast enough to create an audible whoosh as they sliced through the air!

"Holy hell."

Chen Mang stared at the scene in a daze before a grin finally broke across his face. The ring-like blades were now spinning rapidly around both sides of the train. This meant the accessory would be incredibly lethal even when the train was stationary.

If he were moving, the damage would be even greater.

If he could just upgrade the wheels to handle rough terrain without the risk of flipping or getting stuck, he could treat any zombie horde like he was mowing the lawn.

He wouldn't have to worry about a thing.

Those 700 units of iron ore were well spent. The effect was phenomenal.

After studying it for a moment, Chen Mang stopped the rotation and retracted the blades back into the carriages. He had no idea where blades that wide were even stored, but who cared?

This was good.

With that done, Chen Mang returned to his cockpit, satisfied and ready for sleep.

The steel door to his cockpit could only be opened with his permission. In theory, staying here was completely safe. Of course, if a threat emerged that could wipe out the entire train, it wouldn't matter where he slept.

Out on the wasteland.

Brother Biao, who had been on his way to report to the vice-captain, froze as he witnessed the display. He stood there for a long time, his face blank, before finally looking away.

If he'd thought before that maybe his memory was just fuzzy, he was now absolutely certain of one thing.

The Carriage Blades on Boss Mang's train were nothing like the ones he'd built. His old blades hadn't been this thin or this wide, and they sure as hell didn't spin.

The lethality of a spinning blade was on a whole other level.

Just then—

Hei Wa came running over, panting. "Brother Biao," he said urgently, "today was the first time Boss Mang had this batch of slaves mining. The process wasn't smooth, and we didn't track how much each person dug."

"Four or five of the slaves reported that two of the women didn't do any work all day—just stood around chatting. But they still got the same amount of food, and the others aren't happy about it."

"Those two women were Boss Kun's. They were hiding in the engine at first, but after the fight, they were sent out to mine with the rest."

"Then the two of them came to me, saying they were going to be Boss Mang's women. They demanded to see him and told me not to get in their way, or once they became the captain's wives, they'd make my life hell."

"What should we do, Brother Biao?"

"This…"

Brother Biao's brow furrowed. Not daring to delay, he said, "Bring the two women with me. We'll go see the vice-captain together."

He knew who they were. They were indeed attractive, with good figures—a rare commodity in the apocalypse. To be blunt, there was a good chance they could become the captain's wives. If he handled this wrong, he might find himself on their bad side later.

After all, they were handpicked by Boss Kun.

They wouldn't be lacking in any department.

Inside Carriage #3, the living quarters.

Lao Zhu, who was busy organizing procedures, looked up to see Brother Biao reporting to him. He glanced at the two women standing there with arrogant expressions, paused, then immediately led the group through the carriages to the connection point between Carriage #2 and the engine.

Lao Zhu knocked on the door and said quietly, "Boss Mang, there's something you need to handle."

The next moment.

Clang.

The steel door slid open.

Chen Mang, who had been about to go to sleep, opened the door and looked at the group standing before him. His eyes swept over them one by one. "What is it?"

"This is Biao."

Lao Zhu first gestured to the man beside him. "He's the leader the ten enforcers chose."

"Boss Mang!"

Brother Biao stood ramrod straight, his expression serious and respectful as he shouted.

"Mm."

Chen Mang nodded, looking Biao up and down with a smile. "You look strong. To have that kind of vitality in the apocalypse, you must have been eating well. You don't look like you were a slave for long. Work hard from now on."

"And who are these two women?"

Lao Zhu glanced at Biao, who immediately understood and stepped forward, concisely explaining the situation.

After hearing the full story, Chen Mang's face darkened. He shot a nasty look at the two women standing behind Lao Zhu. "Are you telling me these two slaves didn't mine a single thing all afternoon?"

"As slaves, you don't mine, you just eat my food? What am I, a charity?"

Time was money.

That meant he had lost over a dozen units of iron ore.

"Boss Mang!"

Seeing Chen Mang getting angry, one of the more voluptuous women put on a practiced, worldly smile and sidled up to him, tugging at his sleeve. "Come on, Boss Mang, you know how it is," she cooed. "Mining is men's work. Look at our hands—they're so delicate. How could we possibly go mining?"

"We'd get calluses."

"Besides, everyone has their own talents. Not everyone is good at mining. Even if we went, we wouldn't produce nearly as much as the men."

"But…"

"We're very talented in… other areas."

The woman's finger traced a slow path down Chen Mang's chest, her eyes shimmering as she hinted suggestively, her voice soft and weak. "We sisters are quite a handful, you know. Boss Kun always said he had his hands full with us."

"…"

Chen Mang, who had been about to lose his temper, paused, a thoughtful look crossing his face. He turned to Lao Zhu. "She has a point. Even an ant colony has worker ants and queen ants. Everyone has their role."

"You have to do what you're good at to be efficient."