Successive Ascensions

"No matter who wants me dead, I absolutely won't give him the satisfaction."

"No matter how dangerous this place is, it's still only a level 4 platform."

After a bout of slaughter, the monsters' siege gradually subsided.

Ye Qiyan climbed onto the roof of the train and reached out to touch the Security Device, which was still firing nonstop.

"A level 5 Security Device should do pretty well against a level 4 platform."

"Ascension!"

[Spirit: 90 → 40]

[Ascension successful!]

[Security Sentry] (Level 5)

[After installation on the train, it can be equipped with up to nine weapons of any type (including melee weapons) and can appear freely anywhere on the train. Security range: 150 meters. All hostile targets within range are automatically locked onto and attacked. Locked-on targets have visual concealment effects such as invisibility/stealth/illusory forms dispelled.]

[Can briefly leave the train to pursue targets. Pursuit range: within a 150-meter radius of the train.]

[Freely choose whether to activate security.]

[Consume one Train Coin to activate overdrive mode, doubling all weapons' attack speed for 30 seconds.]

After Ascension, the Security Device had turned directly into a Security Sentry. Its description alone was enough to demonstrate its power.

The increase in its security range from 100 meters to 150 meters alone was already a huge improvement, not to mention its other additional features.

Ye Qiyan wasn't finished with Ascension yet.

The Security Sentry wasn't the only level 4 structure he had installed on the train.

He went to the third carriage, where the Watcher, which had seen little use, sat quietly.

Although it was also a level 4 structure, the Watcher had almost no opportunity to prove useful. The Security Sentry alone could handle outside threats, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

The Security Sentry's security range did not cover the train's interior.

If some monster really could evade the sentry's detection and enter the train, that would be the Watcher's time to act.

"Ascension."

[Stamina: 80 → 40][Spirit: 40 → 30]

[Ascension successful!]

[Enchantment: Illusory Monitor] (Level 5)

[Install in any carriage to monitor any part of the train. When a foreign entity intrudes, it will sound an alarm and inflict an illusory effect on the entity.]

The Watcher's effects after Ascension weren't as powerful as the sentry's. It had only gained an illusory enchantment, and he didn't yet know how much it could do.

After performing Ascension three times in a row, Ye Qiyan felt tired, but it still wasn't time to stop.

Returning to the front carriage, he brought both the Mithril Cross and the Pure Earthbound Stone to the front of the train.

The Watcher and sentry could handle physical intrusions, so he could only rely on these two for things like supernatural entities.

Moreover, the Pure Earthbound Stone's potential had not been exhausted, which meant Ye Qiyan could still perform Ascension on it once.

However, he had consumed too much stamina and spirit for now and needed some time to recover.

He put on his bulletproof vest and gripped the Blacklight Pistol tightly, making every preparation he could to the best of his ability.

He would never let the being that wanted his life succeed.

He was getting out of this station, no matter what!

Right, there was one more thing.

[WALL-E, activate.]

Since he was already here, wouldn't it be a shame to leave without taking anything?

After doing all this, Ye Qiyan still had one very important thing he had to do.

"I'm so hungry."

It was time to eat.

Taking some meat and vegetables out of the Storage Unit, he set up a barbecue grill outside the train and prepared his lunch to the occasional sound of gunfire.

He had been unconscious for a day. Surely he could at least have a meal.

"Oh, right. Now that the Fifth Station is over for everyone, is there anything new?"

Opening the system's message history, Ye Qiyan scrolled up and actually found something new.

[All Train Conductors have left the Fifth Station.]

[Restriction on private trading within stations lifted.]

[Restriction preventing items from being listed on the Trading Platform within stations lifted.]

[Number of item types all Train Conductors may currently list on the Trading Platform: 5.]

"The Trading Platform's been opened up?"

That was good news.

Having missed a travel period because he was unconscious, he had been regretting being unable to trade for some good items from people who had been through the Fifth Station.

The private chat interface was blinking faintly, indicating that a friend had sent him messages.

Shangguan Yingxue: ["Did you feel the shaking over there too?"]

["..."]

["Sorry for bothering you."]

Shangguan Yingxue's messages left him somewhat baffled. Shaking? What was that? Had it happened while he was unconscious?

The inexplicable apology afterward was even stranger.

Zhao Lin: [Brother Ye, thank you for helping me upgrade. I've entered the Sixth Station. It's a snack shop. If there's any food you need]

Attached below was a photo showing all kinds of snacks, drinks, and even alcohol.

After bad luck came good luck.

Although Ye Qiyan was very envious of her Sixth Station, he wasn't particularly taken with Zhao Lin's talent.

Luck Equilibrium-good luck was followed by bad luck too. There was no telling what her next station would be like. Perhaps she would enter a Slaughter Platform just as he had.

Li Xiaosheng: ["Have you thought about what I said? To tell you the truth, after the Sixth Station, I'll become the first Train Conductor to upgrade to a level 3 train. Join my Alliance, provide weapons, and we'll survive together. In the future, I can also help you upgrade your train."]

He wanted something for nothing. This guy wanted him to join an Alliance, yet offered no benefits whatsoever.

Had this guy been the boss of some lousy company before coming to this world? He was so good at making empty promises.

Previously, it had been for the sake of trading with him, but after the Fishing Rod incident last time, Ye Qiyan felt there was no need to trade with this guy.

[Friend removed.]

Continuing to look down the list, Ye Qiyan discovered that some names had turned gray. He remembered Shaya saying that a gray name meant the train had been destroyed-or, in other words, death.

After clearing all the private chats in the background, Ye Qiyan sent a message in the Public Chatroom.

[2453/10000]

["Buying gunpowder in bulk. Interested sellers, message me privately with your price."]

His message did not receive the many responses it usually did.

Aside from the number of people having decreased again, most people were now exploring their stations. They didn't have modules, so they could still only access the system interface at the front of their trains.

That was fine too. His message could stay up there for a while without being pushed out of view.

An hour into the stop.

Under the sentry's slaughter, the area within a hundred meters of the train had become the only safe haven nearby.

Ye Qiyan ate grilled meat with Whiteforest Fruit and the cold beer he had bought from Zhao Lin, as though he weren't on a Slaughter Platform but vacationing in a scenic forest.

Of course.

That was assuming he ignored the faint smell of rust in the air.