Time flew by.

In the blink of an eye, night had fallen. Chen Mang had spent nearly the entire day in the cockpit, studying the "Novice Guide" and analyzing his existing vehicle accessories.

Since he possessed the "Infinite Upgrades" ability, it was clear that even his high-grade accessories could be upgraded without limit. This meant that in the long run, a white-grade accessory could never truly compare to a higher-grade one.

He currently owned only two high-grade accessories, both Red-grade.

The Level 2 "Geocentric Furnace" and the Level 1 "Wheel Swapper."

Both were support-type accessories. The furnace was used to devour abandoned trains and break them down into ore, while the swapper allowed him to change wheels on the fly to adapt to different terrains.

However—

Upgrading the "Geocentric Furnace" from Level 1 to 2 had only cost 100 units of iron ore, but the jump from Level 2 to 3 required a staggering 10,000 units. Each level allowed it to devour trains of the corresponding level.

The "Wheel Swapper" needed a full 10,000 units of iron ore just to reach Level 2. Each upgrade would add another slot for a set of wheels.

According to the "Novice Guide," the higher an accessory's grade, the more resources it consumed per upgrade. His path forward was clear: in the early stages, while resources were limited, he would prioritize upgrading his white-grade accessories.

He didn't need to take them too high—just enough to unlock their game-changing effects, like the Level 5 "Carriage Blades," which had already undergone its first qualitative change.

This way, he could achieve the greatest possible boost with the fewest resources.

He would then leverage that power to plunder or mine more resources, continuously leveling up his train until he could afford to upgrade his high-grade accessories.

When that day came—

His train would undergo a true transformation.

"It's a beautiful plan."

Inside the cockpit, Chen Mang let out a long sigh and rubbed his tired eyes. The plan itself was flawless, but it was easier said than done. This wasn't a game where he could develop at his own pace. The constant threat of unexpected disasters could derail his plans at any moment.

All he could do was try to avoid trouble and focus on developing whenever he had the chance.

Just then, the last slave emerged from the mine. The mining session had far exceeded ten hours; most had worked for around twelve, and the longest-working man had been at it for a full fourteen hours.

It was far better than he had expected.

A small smile touched his lips. He stood up, walked out of the cockpit, and waved at Lao Zhu, who was waiting by the train's entrance. "Gather all the slaves."

"Understood."

Lao Zhu nodded respectfully and handed him a list he had already prepared. "Boss Mang, here are today's mining rankings for all the slaves."

Night fell.

Chen Mang stood alone on the roof of the train, facing the wind. Below, a crowd of ragged slaves gathered, their eyes filled with anticipation.

Though there were many of them, the vast, empty wasteland still created a profound sense of loneliness.

The enforcers stood guard around them, rifles in hand, watching for any potential danger. No slave would try to escape into the wasteland. There was a sliver of safety in numbers. To be stranded alone out here, on foot, was a death sentence. The feeling of hopelessness would be absolute.

Humans, no matter the era, were social creatures.

Even being a slave among other slaves was better than being alone in the wasteland.

Chen Mang's gaze swept over each person. He felt the cool night breeze on his skin and looked down at the list in his hand. After a moment, he couldn't help but smile. "You all did very well today. The person who mined the least still brought back eleven units of iron ore."

"Excellent!"

"What pleases me most is that none of you gave up just because you had no hope of taking first place. Every single one of you worked hard. A team is only as strong as its weakest link. I hope you can all maintain this pace and strive to do even better in the future."

"Tonight, everyone gets two extra slices of bread for supper."

"And furthermore—"

"First place, Zhang Haoping, mined a total of twenty units today."

"Step forward. Let me have a look at you."

As he spoke, a dark-skinned, middle-aged man stepped out from the crowd. He stood in the open space, looked up at Chen Mang, and said in a simple, quiet voice, "Boss Mang, that's me."

"Very good."

Chen Mang looked the man up and down. He could just make out in the dim light that the man's legs were trembling. He was clearly exhausted. Chen Mang smiled and waved his hand. "As I promised, you can choose one of these two women."

The simple-looking man didn't hesitate for a second. He pointed at the taller of the two women, a wide, excited grin spreading across his face. "Boss Mang, I want that woman. She's tall—I like that."

A few low chuckles rippled through the crowd, but no one dared to say anything aloud.

"She's yours for the night."

Chen Mang waved his hand again. The tall woman who had been standing before the slaves immediately sauntered over to the simple man like a cat. She leaned down, rubbing her nose against the man's forehead, her voice tinged with a smile.

"Still got any strength left?"

"I do, I do!"

The man, who had been on the verge of collapse just a moment ago, instantly straightened up, his voice hoarse with anticipation. "I've got nothing else, just a whole lot of brute strength."

Chen Mang watched with a smile, then turned his attention back to the list.

"Second place, Li Kui, mined sixteen units today."

"The remaining woman is yours tonight."

"And—"

"If, for the next five days, everyone can maintain a minimum of eleven units mined per day, then even when there is no mine to work, your daily ration will be guaranteed at five slices of bread. If everyone can maintain a minimum of twelve units per day, I will add another carriage to this train on top of that."

As he finished, another wave of excited cheers erupted from the crowd. This was a benefit that directly affected every single one of them.

Another carriage meant more space. They would no longer have to sleep curled up in a ball, and they wouldn't have to worry about people stepping on them on their way to the latrine corner.

After he was done, Chen Mang came down from the roof. Biao immediately waved his men forward to distribute the evening meal. Every slave received two extra slices of bread, while the top three were given warm steamed buns and pickled vegetables.

"Boss Mang."

Lao Zhu, who had been waiting below, approached him, his expression filled with wistful admiration 【TN: The original Chinese term "感慨" (gǎnkǎi) carries a complex mix of sighing with feeling, admiration, and reflection. 】. "I have to say, women are often the best motivators for morale."

"But you're also very generous, Boss Mang. Most train captains wouldn't be willing to give women who look like that to their subordinates."

"After all, makeup is hard to find in the apocalypse, and so are clean, nice clothes. A woman who still looks good without makeup and has a good figure is an absolute rarity."

"They're very precious."