Train Coin

Biodata

Functions

• Trade currency — Used by train conductors to buy food, water, ammunition, materials, extraordinary creations, and other goods through the trading channel. Early in the journey, one coin could be exchanged for 200 ml of water or 100 g of bread. 5
• Train modification cost — Each train-level increase unlocks three modification choices, which require Train Coins to implement. Modification prices vary by quality and effect; higher-grade modifications generally demand substantially greater payments. 9 480
• Train upgrade material — Train upgrades consume Coins alongside conventional resources. Advancing a train from Level 3 to Level 4 requires 10 Train Coins, the Level 5-to-Level 6 upgrade requires 500, the Level 6-to-Level 7 upgrade requires 2,000, and the Level 7-to-Level 8 upgrade requires 5,000. 105 334 350 545
• World Wonder fuel — World Wonders consume Coins when activated, including Go-When-You-Want, Fate Fork, and the Orbital Magnet. A spontaneous journey through Go-When-You-Want can cost 50 Coins, while activating the Orbital Magnet costs 100 Coins per train level. 59 79 240 531
• Service and information fee — Certain extraordinary artifacts require payment for their effects; the damaged Tracking Mirror costs 20 Coins per target search, while the Omnitrace Mirror costs 35. Platform intelligence can likewise be purchased for one Coin per platform inquiry. 143 171 226 433
• Platform-operation resource — Special visibility and routing plans consume Coins. During the Mist Season, the Basic, Advanced, and Full-Power visibility plans cost 20, 30, and 40 Coins respectively; Lu Xingyuan later selects Full-Power plans for 50 and 60 Coins under different operating conditions. 349 350 363 452
• Directed-travel cost — The Rusty Platform Coin can guarantee the next stop at a named platform, but requires the sacrifice of the item and 500 additional Train Coins. 434
• Installation and maintenance fee — Some train systems require ongoing or one-time payments, such as 50 Coins to install the Spacetime Flow-Guide Fin, one Coin per carriage per day for Climate-Controlled Carriages, and 50 Coins to install an Onboard Workshop. 106 346 528
• Artifact activation fee — Certain extraordinary creations consume Coins each time they are used, including the Dynamic DJ, which costs 10 Coins per activation; Hero's Entrance, which consumes one Coin per summoning; and high-level tracking or route-interference artifacts. 183 341 379
• Emergency-defense cost — The Level 7 Absolute Barrier makes a train invincible for 60 seconds, but every activation randomly deducts between one Coin and the user’s entire Coin reserve. 529
• Debt-backed payment — The one-use Train Credit can make the Train System cover an entire large purchase upfront, converting the cost into debt that accrues interest if not repaid by its deadline. 519

Acquisition

Major Expenditures

Economic Value

• Train Coins are scarce enough that many early conductors possess only one or none at all, making even basic water-for-Coin trades potentially life-saving. 5 59
• Their purchasing power varies sharply by item quality. By the time Intermediate Gene Enhancement Potions become market staples, each vial sells for roughly 15–20 Coins. 263
• Lu Xingyuan’s ability to obtain and spend large amounts makes his wealth notable among conductors: he exceeds 300 Coins before reaching Level 4, later accumulates 671, and surpasses 1,000 before advancing to Level 6. 105 248 334
• Coin reserves can decline rapidly despite large earnings. After major upgrades and expenditures, Lu Xingyuan’s available funds fall to only slightly more than 400 Coins. 360
• Major progression costs rapidly absorb wealth; the 2,000-Coin requirement for a Level 7 train upgrade remains a major obstacle even for Lu Xingyuan, while the Level 8 upgrade raises the requirement to 5,000 Coins. 350 545
• The value of Coins has inflated considerably by the later journey. High-grade modifications can cost hundreds of Coins, while the Myriad Dragons Alliance offers a 10,000-Coin bounty for Lu Xingyuan’s capture, dead or alive. 348 479
• High-level keys and rare items can command extraordinary prices. A Level 7 treasure chest key is listed for 3,000 Coins, despite a Level 7 chest normally containing only 60–100 Coins as a secondary reward. 359 471
• Coins can also be used as leverage in interpersonal exchanges, including Gu Wanqing’s request for a Coin after Lu Xingyuan’s Level 4 upgrade, Gu Wanqing’s later gift of 50 Coins, and Qin Zhirou’s attempt to repurchase her flying daggers for Coins. 105 414
• Coins are valuable enough to fund decisive intelligence and route control: Qin Zhirou spends nearly 200 Coins locating Lu Xingyuan’s camouflaged train, while a single-use platform-routing item demands a further 500-Coin payment. 369 434
• Even Lu Xingyuan treats Coin expenditure cautiously when it is tied to survival. He accepts the Absolute Barrier’s possibility of consuming his entire reserve because Coins can be earned again, whereas death cannot be reversed. 529
• By the time he reaches Level 7, Lu Xingyuan possesses nearly 7,000 Coins, and later earns several thousand more by selling surplus Extraordinary Creations. 529 545
• A Transcendent-grade Gene Enhancement Potion sells for a Level 4 Extraordinary Creation plus 100 Coins, illustrating the market value of rare consumables. 550
• Most ordinary monsters yield no reward when killed, making the Coins generated by Lu Xingyuan’s The Collector especially unusual. Bai Luoying is astonished when she sees him earn 521 Coins from a Zombie horde, a sum other conductors would struggle to obtain. 574 595

Notable Uses by Lu Xingyuan

• Uses five Coins from his early stockpile to install all three of his first train modifications. 9
• Trades food and supplies for Coins during the early journey, amassing 15 Coins after selling fruit acquired from Liangliang Fruit Wholesale Market. 12
• Spends 20 Coins on a dangerous Go-When-You-Want journey to Empire Graveyard, later questioning whether the rewards justified the cost. 62
• Pays 50 Coins to expand his upgrade selection through Extra Chance. 190
• Pays 500 Coins to advance his train from Level 5 to Level 6, using Extreme Iron Obsidian as a special upgrade material. 334
• Spends 80 Coins to install the Purple-grade Camouflage modification, significantly protecting his stationary train from detection. 335
• Uses Coin-funded Star Upgrades to turn low-value Basic Zombie Serum into Advanced Zombie Serum, selling each vial for at least 30 Coins after an initial nine-Coin investment. 368
• Pays 35 Coins to activate the Omnitrace Mirror and test whether Gu Wanqing’s Anonymous Player modification can defeat its tracking function. 480
• Plans to raise his train to Level 7 partly to repay Gu Wanqing’s kindness after she gives him 50 Train Coins. 414
• Compensates Gu Wanqing with 3,000 Coins after she gives him the Golden Modification Card obtained from her Level 8 treasure chest. 524
• Installs the Onboard Workshop for 50 Coins to provide Rumble with a proper manufacturing space, then spends 80 Coins on a roof-mounted 105mm onboard howitzer. 528
• Spends 788 Coins to obtain Absolute Barrier despite the risk that each use could consume his entire Coin reserve. 529
• Uses The Collector to generate nearly 300 Coins while exterminating Cyber Goblins, confirming that only his own kills can trigger its Coin-drop effect. 536
• Transfers Gu Wanqing 100 Coins so she can activate Anonymous State, allowing him to confirm that the Orbital Magnet cannot target her while she exists outside the system’s rules. 531
• Sells surplus Extraordinary Creations for several thousand Coins while preparing for the costly Level 8 train upgrade. 545
• Generates more than 100 Coins while clearing enemies in one battle, then obtains another 521 Coins by using the Six Luminary Annihilation Cannons against a Corrupted Zombie horde at Stardust Mine. 574 595