The autumn night wind was starting to carry a real chill.

After sitting on the wasteland for a while, Chen Mang got up and headed back inside the train. He stripped off his clothes and was about to get into bed when a flicker in his peripheral vision caught his eye. Had the numbers on the control panel just changed?

"Hmm?"

He immediately walked over for a closer look. After a thorough inspection, he saw that the remaining capacity of the "Energy Stone" embedded in the engine had dropped to 61%.

Chen Mang stared at the number for a long time, his expressionless face.

He was sure it had been at 62% this morning. The train hadn't moved an inch all day, and the "Carriage Blades" hadn't been activated. How could the energy capacity have inexplicably dropped by 1%?

Thinking about it carefully, this Energy Stone issue seemed to have been there all along; he just hadn't had the time to notice it until now.

Based on his train's current weight, a single Energy Stone should last for about 100 hours of full-speed travel.

His trip to "Taiping City" should have taken about ten hours round-trip, dropping the energy from 72% to 62%, which was normal. An hour of full-speed travel consumed roughly 1% of the stone's energy.

But before his trip to Taiping City, he hadn't taken the train anywhere far. How could the battle with the Cannibalistic Spider have consumed nearly 30% of his energy?

He had initially assumed that the "Carriage Blades" were an energy black hole, since the power for their high-speed rotation came directly from the engine's Energy Stone. He hadn't thought much more of it.

But for the stone to lose 1% of its charge today, when he'd done nothing at all—that was a major problem.

Could the Energy Stone have been damaged in the fight?

Chen Mang walked over and carefully examined the "Energy Stone" embedded in the front of the train. There were no cracks or gaps. How could the energy just vanish? After a moment's hesitation, he decided against sleeping. Instead, he opened the "Train Radio," an accessory he'd just built, to see if he could find any information.

He put his clothes back on, sat at the console, and looked at a green button on the side.

After pressing it, a chatroom-style window materialized on the screen.

The top-right corner showed that there were 397 people in the chatroom.

Messages were already popping up on the screen.

"Bloodthirsty Bull Train": "Has that Level 3 Cannibalistic Spider in Taiping City left yet? I've noticed the area has been pretty quiet lately. Even saw some Zombie Wolves out and about."

"The Infinity": "It's probably gone. I'm not heading out to the barren wasteland anymore. Been spending my time over at the Mohe Hills."

"The Hell Train": "The Mohe Hills are a great spot for logging, but the terrain is terrible. My train can't handle it at all."

"The Infinity": "Mine can't either. I'm just parked at the edge, having the slaves go deep into the hills to chop wood and haul it back. It's inefficient, but what can you do? There are hardly any trees on the wasteland, and the city ruins, while they have some, aren't safe. Until I get confirmation that the spider is gone for good, I'm not going anywhere near Taiping City."

"The Hell Train": "I thought you had a Level 3 autocannon. Why are you scared of it?"

"The Infinity": "Hey, do you have any idea how expensive the shells for a Level 3 autocannon are? Why would I waste all those resources just to kill one boss? The spider is a fire-elemental boss, so it only drops fire-type rare resources and Fine Spider Silk. I don't need either of those right now. Wouldn't it be better to save my resources for something else?"

"Bloodthirsty Bull Train": "So you spend all that effort upgrading the cannon just to let it sit there? What a waste of resources. You should be like me and not upgrade at all."

"The Infinity": "What the hell do you know? There's a world of difference between having something and not needing it, versus needing it and not having it. If I get chased, at least I can fight back. You can only wait to die."

The chat log wasn't very long; it only showed messages from after he'd crafted the "Train Radio."

Everyone's name was their train's name.

This was a chatroom exclusively for Train Captains.

The members were likely all from this stretch of the wasteland, which meant there were at least 397 Level 2 trains in the area. That number was higher than he'd expected, considering how few he had actually seen.

After carefully choosing his words, Chen Mang typed a message into the chatbox.

"The Stellar": "A question for you all. Can the engine's Energy Stone suddenly lose 1% of its capacity without the train moving at all?"

He had been worried that no one would answer, but to his surprise, the people in the chatroom were quite enthusiastic, and replies came in quickly.

"The Infinity": "Hmm, that shouldn't happen. The engine's Energy Stone is basically just for powering the train's movement. Your other accessories that need power are usually supported by the generator. If you're having this issue, it probably means your electrical system isn't set up right, and you've connected some accessories that require constant power to the engine's stone."

"The Hell Train": +1. You must have just upgraded to Level 2 recently, right? Go check the wiring for your Search Radar or Internal Fire Control System—any accessory that needs to be on all the time. Is it connected to the engine's Energy Stone? Just switch the line and plug it into the generator."

"Bloodthirsty Bull Train": "The Electrical System is a mandatory build for Level 1 trains. Once you hit Level 2, it's best to rewire the whole thing. Make sure the engine's Energy Stone is only responsible for propulsion, and connect all other accessories to the generator. That's the better way to do it."

Chen Mang stood behind the console, his face expressionless as he stared at the wiring connecting the "Search Radar" to the "Engine Energy Stone." He couldn't help but let out a soft sigh.

It was just as they'd said.

Looks like Lao Zhu wasn't exactly a favorite on his old train; he clearly didn't know about this.

He immediately rewired the circuits for the "Carriage Blades" and "Search Radar," adjusting them all. Now, every accessory that required power was connected to the generator.

That should solve the problem.

He shouldn't see any more sudden drops in the Energy Stone's capacity.

This Train Radio was a lifesaver. If no one had told him about this, who knows how long it would have taken him to figure it out on his own?

"The Stellar": "Thanks, everyone. Problem solved. It was the Search Radar connected to the engine's stone. One more question: I was in a battle yesterday that lasted less than two hours, but my Energy Stone's capacity dropped by nearly 30%. Is that normal?"

The few people currently online in the chatroom seemed to be the only ones active, and he quickly received another reply.