Newcomer Survival Incentive

["Quick, quick, quick, look! Oh my god! I almost got eaten!"]

["?"]

A burst of noisy notification chimes woke Ye Qiyan.

He opened his eyes and saw the messages Zhao Lin had sent him, feeling rather speechless.

["Would you look at the time? I'm sleeping..."]

["Sleeping? I can't sleep at all! Ye, look at this! That station was actually alive!"]

A photo came through. At the sight of the station engulfed in black sludge, Ye Qiyan perked up too.

["Oh, so you've been hiding a camera."]

["Uh, that's not important. Look at the picture I sent you, Ye! It scared me to death. Thank goodness I didn't go inside."]

["You didn't go inside? Don't tell me you never got into that station at all?"]

He picked up the pocket watch beside him and checked the time.

["You know how awful my luck is right now. It's only natural I couldn't get in... But I also have to thank you for telling me the stopping time was a trap. Otherwise, I definitely would've traded the last thing I had for a chance to enter the station earlier."]

["Then where are you now?"]

Zhao Lin blinked and looked around.

The station that had stood in the wilderness had vanished, leaving the way ahead clear.

The trains that had gathered together had all disappeared at some point too.

It was as though they had suddenly vanished from one another's worlds.

["The station disappeared, and so did all the other trains. There's only a track left on the ground. My train started moving again, as if... this station had never existed."]

["Ye, what's going on with this world? What does it want, bringing all of us here...?"]

"So it really is just as Shaya said? The world each conductor occupies is independent of the others. Whew, just how many worlds are there, then? It's unimaginably vast."

After that brief sigh of wonder, Ye Qiyan rolled over into a more comfortable position.

["Don't think so much. You'd be better off spending that time getting more sleep. Don't forget, we reach the next station at one tomorrow afternoon."]

["Oh, right. Good night!"]

The conversation ended there.

Out in the wilderness, beneath the night sky.

Only the rumble of the moving train echoed.

Who knew what would happen next?

Morning.

[6:30:30]

At that moment, the cold broadcast woke everyone who was still asleep.

[You will arrive at the Eighth Station today. Two stations remain before the beginner period ends.]

[Following completion of the Seventh Station, the Newcomer Survival Incentive will be distributed.]

[Amounts will vary according to the order of arrival at the Seventh Station, the Public Trading Platform.]

[The first person to reach the Public Trading Platform will receive 4 Train Coins.]

[Second place: 3 coins. Third place: 2 coins.]

[All other arrivals will receive 1 Train Coin.]

[Those who failed to enter the station will receive no reward.]

[Today's weather: clear skies.]

[People remaining in the current block: 1,204. Block merging will take place in three hours.]

Perhaps it was his imagination, but Ye Qiyan felt that the broadcast sounded more lively than before.

When he heard there were Train Coins to collect, his irritation at being woken vanished.

He cheerfully opened the system.

The mail icon flickered with a faint light.

Four Train Coins dropped into his palm. He hefted them a few times. Including these, he now had seven Train Coins, just three short of buying the chip.

Walking over to the sleeping WALL-E, Ye Qiyan bent down and patted his iron head.

"Hang in there, WALL-E. As long as I find another treasure chest at the next station, I'll have enough to get you a brain."

Not everyone shared his good mood.

Elsewhere, Li Xiaosheng's expression was grim.

"Why? Why did I get three? I was clearly the first! System! This isn't fair!"

He angrily sent a complaint to the system.

All he received was a cold reply.

["There is no error in the rankings. Conductor Li Xiaosheng, ID E-3-4409, you have been detected questioning the Train System. This is your first warning. A further offense will result in entry to the Punishment Platform."]

"Damn it! Who was it, then? Who could possibly have been faster than me?"

In contrast to Li Xiaosheng's reaction, Shangguan Yingxue fell into thought after receiving her two Train Coins.

"That guy was telling the truth. He really was the first to reach that platform. But why didn't he buy anything?"

She recalled the two level 3 item display cases she had seen in the Shopping Hall.

Li Xiaosheng had taken one of the items, while she had bought the other.

So what had Ye Qiyan bought?

She certainly didn't believe Ye Qiyan had no Train Coins. That profiteer was definitely the richest of them all.

"It really makes me curious. Just what kind of talent does he have?"

The girl murmured softly and casually brought up her light screen. Among the personal information she displayed was an entry called talent.

[Mirror Moon]: Consume mental energy to randomly obtain an item below the train's level.

Shangguan Yingxue rubbed her brow and sighed at the pile of deflated water balloons she had obtained through her talent.

"Another failure. After all these days, the only useful items besides the water purifier have been the phone. And the feeling after consuming mental energy... it's awful... If the self-doubt below 50 is already this terrifying, then any lower... could a human really withstand it?"

"I can't use my talent again for a while. And recovery is far too slow."

"Ascension."

[Mental energy: 120 → 110]

[Low-Level Carriage Blueprint → Comfortable New Carriage Blueprint]

[Required: 150 kg of wood, 200 kg of metal, 90 Mechanical Parts]

[Optional additional submission: 30 kg of glass and 20 kg of fiber for carriage modifications]

[Carriage construction successful]

[Current carriage count: 3]

Ye Qiyan had completed the ascension of the Low-Level Carriage Blueprint he had obtained at the very beginning.

Sure enough, he had been right not to ascend it back then.

The materials required for construction had increased considerably, but for him now, they did not amount to much.

Construction was complete.

He entered the carriage. Compared to the low-level carriage, it was cleaner and tidier, and everything was new. It was nothing like the low-level carriage, where no amount of cleaning could conceal the patches of rust everywhere or the teeth-grating noises.

But Ye Qiyan was not satisfied with that.

"Ascension."

[Mental energy: 110 → 95]

[Comfortable New Carriage → Planting Carriage]

[Planting Carriage]

[Equipped with temperature controls for different sections. Plants grown in this carriage will grow faster.]

[A Smart Chip can be installed for automated modifications. After modification, planting, harvesting, watering, and other tasks can be completed automatically.]

[Note: This carriage consumes electricity. It must be equipped with a power-generating device of any kind before use.]

"Planting? Not bad. I can move the White Forest Tree over there."