["Where did you all end up for your third stop? I was scared out of my mind just now. My third stop landed me in a cave full of spiders. I didn't even dare get off the train. It was terrifying!"]
["Hehe, I got lucky. I only ran into a few wild dogs at my third stop. With the gun I bought from the big shot, I barely managed to kill my way through, and I even got some meat to eat."]
["Sigh, I really envy you guys who managed to buy guns from Boss Ye. Speaking of which, why hasn't Boss Ye said anything? He's collected so many resources. Hasn't he reached level 2 yet?"]
["Boss, my ass. That Ye Qiyan is just a shortsighted fool! My bro Li Xiaosheng is about to upgrade to a level 2 train. Just you wait!"]
Huh?
He spotted a familiar name.
Li Xiaosheng.
Ye Qiyan remembered him saying he would finish upgrading within three stops.
And this was precisely the third stop.
Had he still not finished upgrading?
Just as Ye Qiyan was wondering about that, a message in the Chatroom suddenly caught his attention.
Li Xiaosheng: ["I've finished upgrading my train! Here are my upgraded train's stats and the upgrade options I received. As the first person to upgrade, I'm now inviting companions with Train Coins to join the Alliance I've founded! I'll provide today's food and water to those who join first."]
The Chatroom erupted.
["Holy shit! Boss, carry me!"]
["I'm screwed. I spent my one Train Coin on food and water. Who posted that trade? I'll return the water. Can you give me back my Train Coin?"]
["What's a Train Coin?"]
Ye Qiyan paid no attention to what Li Xiaosheng said. His attention was entirely on the screenshot the man had sent-or, more precisely, the upgrade options.
[1: Low-Level Carriage Blueprint (zero Train Coins)] [2: Wooden Automatic Fishing Rod Blueprint (one Train Coin)] [3: One-Day Recipe for Minimal Survival Rations (two Train Coins)] [4: Increase Train Stopover Time by One Hour (two Train Coins)]
Sure enough, the first and fourth options after upgrading were the same. Ye Qiyan was now completely certain of that.
"A fishing rod and survival rations. This guy's pretty lucky."
The rations were of little use to him, but the fishing rod was another matter.
If he ended up at a platform where he could fish someday, wouldn't he be left standing there helplessly without a fishing rod?
But there was no need to rush. He could buy something like that when he had a use for it.
With the Fork in Destiny, he could always learn about the platforms half an hour earlier than everyone else and make his choice.
"It's also time to use Ascension on the train again."
Aside from waiting for his stamina to recover, the main reason he had not continued using Ascension on the train was that he lacked the Train Coins to buy the items among the upgrade options.
After building the Acceleration Device, crafting two Acceleration Bullets, and inserting a coin to activate WALL-E, he had only one Train Coin left. Now that he had obtained three from the monster in the Silverware Shop, he had four Train Coins.
If WALL-E successfully found this stop's Treasure Chest, he could get even more from it.
Ye Qiyan felt he could certainly give it a try.
Just as he was about to try using Ascension on the train, the sound of moving treads outside made him stop.
He looked toward the sound.
He saw WALL-E wobble into the Recycling Device, holding a candy box stained with dark red marks.
"You're hurt?"
He saw several bite marks on WALL-E's body. Their depth was clearly beyond what ordinary animals could inflict.
Without time to examine what WALL-E was holding, Ye Qiyan looked up and out of the carriage.
A dozen or so Zombie Dogs had actually appeared outside the train and were slowly prowling around. Behind them, several monsters somewhat resembling the middle-aged zombie monster from the Silverware Shop were limping toward the train.
Thump-
Ye Qiyan helplessly knocked on WALL-E's head.
"You silly thing. You even led the monsters here."
WALL-E did not understand. It simply raised its hands silently and offered the candy box to Ye Qiyan.
"Fine, since you've earned your keep."
[Level 2 Chest] (can be opened)
Ye Qiyan picked up the Treasure Chest with a smile.
Although monsters had surrounded the train, he was not panicked in the slightest.
This was only a level 2 platform.
And on his train was a level 4 defensive structure.
The instant the monsters came within a hundred meters of the train, the red orb in the Guard Tower locked onto them.
Red circles formed beneath the monsters' feet, one after another.
The gun it was equipped with extended from the darkness.
Bullets fired in an unbroken stream, every shot precisely striking these monsters' weak points.
In a mere ten seconds, the humanoid monsters and Zombie Dogs had all fallen.
Ye Qiyan ate a Whiteforest Fruit as he watched, his expression showing little happiness.
[0:08:12]
Eight minutes remained until departure.
The gunfire just now had undoubtedly been louder than that at the Silverware Shop.
The monsters from the entire town would probably come.
As expected, more and more monsters surrounded the train from every direction.
Their bodies were fragile. The defensive device needed only one shot to shatter their skulls.
Even the larger humanoid monsters, whose defenses fell short of the Silverware Shop owner's, required only three shots.
He had to admit, the defensive device's marksmanship was far better than his.
[00:00:01]
The countdown was about to end.
With the monsters chasing behind, Ye Qiyan's train began moving forward.
It passed through empty space, and in the blink of an eye, the scenery of Doomsday Town vanished. That boundless wilderness once again came into Ye Qiyan's view.
Ding-dong!
The broadcast sounded at that moment.
[All survivors have left the third platform!] [Trading system restrictions lifted. Trading is now available within platforms!] [Newbie Protection Period ended. Survival Mode activated.] [Please take care when traveling at night.] [Survivors whose trains travel below 30 kilometers per hour will enter a state of danger!] [Please upgrade your trains as soon as possible.] [We wish you luck.] [May you] [Survive.]
The Chatroom erupted again.
And this time, the uproar was even louder.
["Fuck, fuck, fuck!!! What does this mean? Survival Mode? Danger at night? Monsters are going to appear in the wilderness too!?"]
["I'm screwed, screwed, screwed! I traded all my resources for food!"]
["Ah! Help me! Somebody help me! I don't want to die!"]
["Bro Li! Bro Li, save me! Please give me some upgrade materials! I joined your Alliance!"]
["Tch, a bunch of idiots. I knew this world wouldn't let us off so easily. I haven't sold any of the resources I collected over these three stops. Isn't the timing what we should really be concerned about? Why was the broadcast delayed by an hour again, just like after the first stop?"]
["Someone's already upgraded their train, right? Didn't that guy called Li Xiaosheng post a screenshot earlier? After reaching level 2, you can extend the platform stopover time, right?"]
["But there's no way someone upgraded at the first stop, right?"]
["Of course not. Nobody could have finished upgrading at the first stop. After all, the trading system wasn't even available inside the platform back then."]
["But didn't Li Xiaosheng just say he was the first person to upgrade? Looks like there are other experts out there."]
Before you continue