No one slept more soundly than Ye Qiyan that night.
Countless people had been unable to sleep at all because of the train's rumbling and the cold winds of the wasteland. Instead of recovering, their stamina and mental energy had fallen even lower.
[10:27]
He woke from his sleep.
Stretching his stiff body, Ye Qiyan checked the time and made a rough calculation.
"The arrival time at the first station yesterday was one in the afternoon, so we'll arrive at one today too? But how does that work for me?"
He had left the station an hour later than everyone else, so would he also arrive an hour later?
He left the first carriage and returned to the locomotive, where the temperature was considerably lower.
His control interface was already overflowing with private messages.
There wasn't much time left before they reached the second station. The train announcement had said that safety wasn't guaranteed there, and the closer they got, the more valuable firearms would become.
"Hm?"
Lu Zhou: ["Can I trade a blueprint?"]
There was no question how important blueprints were. Having one was like owning a lathe that could produce an unlimited number of items as long as materials were supplied.
Nobody was stupid. So far, even though the firearms were enticing enough, no one had been willing to trade Ye Qiyan a blueprint.
This person named Lu Zhou was the first.
"What kind of blueprint could it be?"
Curious, Ye Qiyan sent him a reply.
["Hello, what blueprint would you like to trade?"]
ID: E-3-9802
Lu Zhou was sitting blankly on the floor. The moment he heard the message notification from the control system, he got up and ran over.
After seeing the message, he hurried to reply:
["I'll send you a screenshot right away!"]
Soon, a blueprint's information appeared before Ye Qiyan.
[Level 1 Train Seat Blueprint] [Requires: 5 kg of metal, 3 kg of wood, 3 kg of plastic, 1 kg of fiber]
A chair?
Ye Qiyan was a little surprised.
It was hard to say whether this thing was valuable or not. At the very least, no one would be willing to spend resources buying it right now.
But regardless, it was still a blueprint, something he could use to manufacture items repeatedly.
Strictly speaking, in the world he had once lived in, guns and bullets would certainly have been more valuable. But to him, the gap in value between a low-level firearm that could depreciate at any moment and a blueprint that allowed continuous production would only grow smaller.
At least, that was how Ye Qiyan saw it.
He was the one who decided how much guns and bullets sold for.
He could sell to Li Xiaosheng for 150 kilograms of metal, or to Lu Zhou for a chair blueprint.
Ultimately, the price of these deals had never been fixed.
It depended on whether he needed what the other person offered.
Ye Qiyan was tempted. With a chair, at least he wouldn't have to sit on the floor, and he could rest better.
["We can trade, but I can only provide ten bullets. This blueprint really isn't that great, after all. If you need more bullets, you can buy them with other resources."]
The moment he saw the reply, joy instantly appeared on Lu Zhou's sweat-drenched face.
["Ten is fine! Thank you! Thank you! I'll send it over right away!"]
["You have no idea how important this gun is to me! Without it, I'll definitely die at the next station! Definitely, definitely!"]
Hm?
Reading Lu Zhou's messages, Ye Qiyan noticed something unusual.
He would definitely die?
Although safety was no longer guaranteed at the second station.
Surely that didn't mean he would definitely die?
Why had this person named Lu Zhou reached that conclusion?
A talent?
Looking at the trade notification the other man sent, Ye Qiyan chose not to refuse.
Just as before, he didn't care what others were hiding.
Everyone had secrets.
Once the trade was complete, Ye Qiyan looked at the blueprint in his hand, then went straight to the workbench to craft it.
A black chair appeared before him. Sitting on it gave Ye Qiyan the feeling that he had returned to civilized society.
"I never used to think a chair mattered so much."
He shook his head and continued his arms business.
By the time the countdown to the train's arrival at the second station reached its final hour, Ye Qiyan had successfully sold another fifteen rifles, along with 300 bullets.
He didn't plan to sell the rest. After all, the second station wasn't safe.
[Stamina: 98] [Mental energy: 100]
Looking at his stamina and mental energy, both restored to nearly full, Ye Qiyan picked up a Low-level Marksman Rifle.
"Ascension."
The familiar feeling of strength draining away returned, but compared with the Colt pistol from before, this rifle didn't cost much stamina.
[Stamina: 85]
"It used thirteen points? And its potential is already exhausted, so I can't ascend it any further."
Ye Qiyan wasn't disappointed. Looking at the rifle in his hands, now coated in a layer of golden luster, he opened its description in the Train System.
[Fine Marksman Rifle] (Level 2)
Low-level had become fine.
But the power of the bullets it fired had more than doubled.
Of course, it still fell far short of the Blacklight Enchanted Pistol after its Ascension.
"That should more or less do."
The countdown to the second station continued to tick down.
The atmosphere in the chat room grew increasingly tense.
Far fewer people were talking than before.
Ye Qiyan organized his equipment and waited quietly.
In the final thirty minutes before arrival.
The familiar screen of light appeared before him.
[Fork in Destiny triggered. Please choose one of the following two platforms to stop at.] [Platform 1: Goblin Camp (Level 2 hunting platform)] [Platform 2: White Forest (Level 3 collection platform)]
"It's different?"
Compared with its first appearance, his exclusive module now provided more information.
Platform levels, as well as special suffixes.
"Hunting and collection? Level two and level three. Did higher-level platforms appear because I upgraded the train? And it looks like the platforms the train can reach differ by one level. Was the Armory from before level two as well?"
"No, it should still have been level one. Everything inside was level one, after all."
Ye Qiyan shook his head. After thinking for a moment, he chose [White Forest] as his next platform.
"A collection platform. Judging by the name, it shouldn't be too dangerous."
[Platform selection complete.] [Please remain seated and hold on. The second station the train will arrive at is...] [White Forest]
Five minutes passed in a flash.
Spatial ripples swallowed the train, just as they had before.
Grayish-white light enveloped this world.
Looking out the window, he saw a grayish-white forest.
[Current platform: White Forest] [Remaining stopping time: 3:59:59] [Good luck.] [This station: Low danger]
"So the arrival time is still the same. Low danger..."
Taking a deep breath, Ye Qiyan placed the pistol at his waist and slung the rifle across his back. Carrying a backpack containing food and bottled water, he stood before the train door and pressed the open button.
The instant he stepped off the train, the entire world seemed to fall into deathly silence.
Ye Qiyan surveyed his surroundings. Every tree in this world had grayish-white trunks and leaves.
Had someone more timid come here, they probably would already have lost the courage to venture farther in.
Because it was too quiet.
Quiet enough to hear a heartbeat.
Together with the [Low danger] label that had appeared at the end, everything indicated that this place wouldn't let him freely gather and take things as the Armory had.
But Ye Qiyan didn't regret his choice. In fact, he had already prepared himself mentally when he chose this platform.
Come to think of it, it seemed not everyone could see this danger warning. He had lurked in the chat room all day and hadn't seen anyone mention it.
Those people who had already run out of things to talk about couldn't possibly have forgotten something like this.
So this was also an ability of Fork in Destiny?
Ye Qiyan set his thoughts aside and raised his eyes toward the deep white forest ahead.
"It was supposed to be a collection platform, but I can't see anything to collect here. Could it just be timber? Then it doesn't seem any different from an ordinary forest."
"There's a path?"
Before you continue