Chen Mang came back to his senses and turned his attention back to the list of vehicle accessories on the control console screen. He still had 813 units of iron ore.

First, he'd upgrade the "Moldy Bread Slice Production Line" to Level 2.

See what happens.

After consuming 100 units of iron ore, the panel quickly updated.

[Accessory Name]: Bread Slice Production Line

[Accessory Effect]: For every 1 unit of Iron Ore consumed, 10 slices of bread can be produced.

[Upgrade Requirement]: Max Level Reached.

Not bad.

Chen Mang nodded lightly. After the upgrade, the quality of the bread had improved without any change in the resource cost. The level cap for most white-grade accessories was 2. Of course, that cap was meaningless to him, but he had no plans to upgrade it further for now.

This was enough.

It had gone from moldy bread slices to normal bread slices.

Theoretically, eating moldy food for an extended period could be life-threatening. But after his first business failed in his past life, he'd eaten moldy steamed buns for a month and hadn't died. You just had to cut off the moldy parts. In an environment like this, no one was really worried about a little mold, but it certainly wasn't a long-term solution.

The upgrade would reduce the chances of the slaves getting sick.

That Boss Kun, a Level 2 Train Captain, hadn't even been willing to spend 100 units of iron ore to upgrade this accessory. Hell, the guy hadn't even been willing to build a set of omni-wheels. He had no idea where that fool had spent all his resources.

"Omni-wheels" were a special accessory that greatly improved a train's maneuverability, allowing for a much tighter turning radius. At a high enough level, you could even parallel park the train.

It wasn't on the list of twelve craftable accessories.

It also couldn't be upgraded.

Its level automatically matched the current level of the train.

Next, he upgraded the Pure Water Filter to Level 2, and its panel changed accordingly.

[Accessory Name]: Pure Water Filter

[Accessory Effect]: For every 1 slice of moldy bread consumed, 1 bottle of mineral water can be produced.

[Upgrade Requirement]: Max Level Reached.

Although the requirement specified a slice of moldy bread, a normal slice worked just fine.

That meant 1 unit of iron ore could now produce 10 bottles of mineral water.

And with that—

The train's basic living facilities were more or less complete. While not luxurious, they at least no longer had to worry about food and water. In the apocalypse, that was more than enough to survive.

He had no intention of wasting any more resources on lifestyle accessories for now. He needed to focus on upgrading his offense and defense.

In the wasteland, crisis was always the main theme.

Deep in the mine, a middle-aged man, caked in dust, stopped his work with an ache in his body. He set his pickaxe on the ground, sat down on the handle, and carefully pulled a crumpled cigarette from his breast pocket.

He held it under his nose and took a long sniff, then exhaled with a look of pure, satisfied bliss before carefully tucking the cigarette back into his pocket.

He muttered to himself with a sigh.

"Before the apocalypse, I wouldn't have even looked twice at a cheap smoke like this. Now, I can't even bear to light it."

"Oh?"

A young man nearby also stopped working, shaking out his sore arms. He teased, "Sounds like you were quite a big shot back then, Uncle. So, from big shot to slave—how's that working out for you?"

"..."

The middle-aged man was silent for a moment before saying softly, "I wasn't a big shot. Middle-class, I guess."

"My income wasn't low. I earned in a year what a normal person makes in ten."

"But honestly, I was ten times more anxious than anyone. I was terrified my income would drop. I never wanted to go back to being an ordinary person. To maintain that outwardly glamorous life, my spirit had withered to the point where I often had this intense feeling like I was about to die."

"Being a slave now... it feels more grounded."

"Other than worrying if I'll see the sun tomorrow, I don't have to worry about anything else."

"Oh?"

The young man's interest was piqued. He scooted closer, curious. "You never thought about climbing the ladder? Becoming a vice-captain or something?"

The middle-aged man shook his head.

"It's not that easy to climb. Everyone wants to be a vice-captain, but someone has to be a slave for the train to run and develop. The power structure on this train is pretty much set. If you try to climb now, you'll probably just be made an example of."

"Besides..."

"This captain treats us slaves pretty well. Not only does he give us enough to eat every day, but he even handed out two cigarettes. In the apocalypse, that stuff is an absolute rarity now."

"That's true."

The young man patted the two cigarettes in his pocket and grinned. He was quite accepting of the apocalypse. Before it all went down, he was an orphan who couldn't afford a house, had no savings, and no parents. He made 2,800 a month 【TN: Likely referring to yuan, roughly USD 400 at the time】, and everyone looked down on him, calling him a loser.

After the apocalypse, everyone was a loser, so no one looked down on him anymore.

It was great.

He thought being a loser was just fine. He'd never had any ambition to get ahead in life. When the sky falls, the tall guys get hit first. 【TN: Chinese idiom meaning those who stand out are the first to face trouble】

Soon, as the sun rose and set, another day passed.

When the group of slaves returned, carrying their pickaxes and lining up in front of the train to receive their daily food, they also brought back a massive amount of iron ore.

"Huh?"

A man took his bread slices from Lao Zhu and was about to subconsciously pick off the moldy spots when he realized that today's bread was perfectly fine. Not only were there no mold spots, but it even gave off a faint malty aroma. He paused, then looked up at Lao Zhu, bewildered.

"Here."

Lao Zhu smiled and waved his hand, gesturing for the next person to come forward. "Boss Mang saw how hard you all have been mining. From now on, all the slaves will get bread of this quality. Work hard, and you'll have everything you need in the future."

The man quickly came to his senses. His eyes filled with gratitude and excitement as he stammered out a "thank you," then eagerly ran to a corner to savor his pristine slices of bread.

"..."

Inside the cockpit, Chen Mang pulled his gaze away from the group of slaves outside the window. It was around nine at night. Many of the slaves had worked for sixteen or seventeen hours straight today.

They'd started in the dead of last night.

He'd even had to send Biao down with a delivery of food and water midway through the day.

He was genuinely afraid his slaves would work themselves to death in the mine. God, these guys were animals. When there's work to be done, they really go all out!

Of course, the haul was immense. Today's total was 1,620 units of ore, the highest single-day total so far.

Combined with the ore he already had, the train was now carrying 2,251 units of iron ore.

That was enough to build a lot of things.

"Time to splurge!"

Chen Mang's eyes scanned the accessory names on the screen as he began to weigh his priorities.