The train gradually slowed down.
As the rumbling noise faded, Ye Qiyan arrived at his first stop.
Standing before the train door, he took a deep breath, gripped the sublimated dagger tightly, and pressed the button to open the door.
The world outside was silent.
All around was pitch black, with only a massive building resembling a matchbox visible directly ahead.
He looked up; there was no sun here, yet both the road beneath his feet and the building were clearly visible.
"Space travel, such an incredible power. No wonder all train arrival times are the same."
Leaving the train, he reached the entrance in less than ten steps. The door was tightly shut, but with a pry of his dagger, it opened, and a musty smell rushed toward him.
Inside, he looked around. Wooden crates were neatly arranged, and the musty odor emanated from them.
Ye Qiyan pried open the rusty iron locks on the crates with his dagger. Inside, he found two bolt-action rifles half-buried in wood shavings.
[Basic Marksman Rifle]: Equipped with 20 Basic Bullets
Two guns, forty bullets.
That's what was inside one crate.
And there were many such crates in this armory.
"Good stuff."
After opening several crates, Ye Qiyan moved all his findings back to the train.
After several trips, the excitement-fueled strength was nearly exhausted.
[Current Stamina: 15 points]
After repeatedly using the sublimation ability, Ye Qiyan's physical strength had long reached its limit. Yet, perhaps due to excitement, his mental energy had recovered to 70.
During the three hours the train was docked, without energy replenishment, he estimated he wouldn't have much strength left to move these supplies.
After resting for a while, Ye Qiyan didn't continue moving supplies. Instead, he explored the armory, finding several sealed metal boxes on a shelf in one room.
In his previous world, he had watched some videos about military supplies, which included similar metal boxes.
Curious, he approached the boxes. The imprinted markings were blurred, only vaguely revealing square shapes.
"Could it be..."
Ye Qiyan swallowed. He pried open a corner of a metal box and saw neatly arranged compressed biscuits inside, resembling gold bars, emitting a faint milky aroma with a hint of fermented sourness.
"It really is!"
Regardless of whether these biscuits were expired, he grabbed one and stuffed it into his mouth.
"If only there was some water."
Although he had secured food for the upcoming period, he still wasn't satisfied.
He only ate one compressed biscuit, knowing that while it could fill his stomach, it would also make him thirsty.
In total, he found four boxes containing military rations, totaling eighty compressed biscuits.
Enough to feed a normal adult male for about half a month.
Additionally, he found some sealed barrels of water nearby, but unfortunately, the smell indicated they weren't drinkable.
Nonetheless, Ye Qiyan moved them onto the train.
This armory was a semi-enclosed space resembling a matchbox. The collapsed shelves, rotting debris on the ground, and the pervasive musty smell in the air made exploration particularly troublesome. The deeper he went, the stronger the musty odor became.
In over two hours, Ye Qiyan found only forty-two intact rifles. Most others were improperly stored, corroded, and rusted, only valuable for recycling through the processing bench.
Besides, he also loaded some easily transportable metal items and wood onto the train.
The train could be upgraded directly through sublimation, but manufacturing items also required resources. Even if he didn't use them, he could trade them with others.
Returning to the train with another load of supplies, he glanced at the countdown on the control system.
There were thirty minutes left until departure, enough time for one or two more trips.
"Let's go one more time. There should be enough time."
Looking at the now crowded train, Ye Qiyan thought the most necessary thing to build was the first ordinary carriage. The wood and mechanical parts from the crates and the processing bench recycling discarded firearms were sufficient, but he still lacked enough metal to construct it.
"These rooms, I haven't been in yet."
Back in the armory, he bypassed the mess and headed straight inside. He opened the few unexplored rooms one by one, their interiors suggesting they were once living and resting areas.
The first few rooms yielded nothing special, but in the last one, he found something unexpected.
Crunch.
The sound of bones being crushed underfoot.
Ye Qiyan slowly looked down. Beneath his foot, a small leg bone of a skeleton was crushed to pieces.
"Sorry, brother, I didn't mean to."
He wasn't afraid. Since childhood, even in horror movies, he only found them amusing. Seeing the swollen, bluish faces of the deceased at funerals never bothered him.
Retracting his foot, he was about to leave when he noticed a dust-covered paper file folder beneath the skeleton.
Finding a file folder in an armory wasn't strange. What was strange was its surprisingly intact condition. Even metal and wooden items had decayed, so why was this paper folder unscathed?
With curiosity, Ye Qiyan pulled the folder out from under the skeleton.
He didn't open it immediately but jogged back to the train. The control system in the carriage had an item identification function, which should detect any traps inside.
[Level 1 Treasure Chest] (Can be opened)
"This is a treasure chest?!"
Examining the thin, cracker-like folder, his face showed surprise and delight.
"Hey, thanks, brother bones. I'll make sure to give you a proper burial later."
He laughed, ready to open it, but suddenly paused.
"Wait, this treasure chest can be sublimated too, right?"
Just like when he sublimated the train, once the idea appeared, he couldn't shake it off.
He glanced at his current personal information.
[Stamina: 30] [Mental Energy: 80]
"Such a small bag shouldn't consume too much mental energy. Besides, with the compressed biscuits, eating another piece could restore some stamina. No problem."
Perhaps it was a peculiarity of this world.
After eating, stamina recovery was quite noticeable.
Moreover, when a person starts convincing themselves, it means they've already made up their mind.
So, Ye Qiyan silently recited the word in his heart.
"Sublimation."
Stamina and mental energy numbers steadily decreased.
[Mental Energy drops below 50, entering self-doubt state]
He lay motionless on the carriage floor like a fish out of water, staring at the slightly swaying ceiling light. After a while, he sat up.
[Stamina: 30→20] [Mental Energy: 80→50]
"It doesn't seem to feel like anything."
Ye Qiyan scratched his head.
Apart from physical exhaustion, he didn't feel any discomfort from the so-called self-doubt state.
Shaking his head, Ye Qiyan carefully examined the seemingly unchanged file folder in his hand.
Sublimating a Level 1 Treasure Chest to Level 2 consumed 40 points of stamina and mental energy, more than he had anticipated.
[Level 2 Treasure Chest] (Can be opened)
"It seems I can't continue sublimating it. Can such items only be sublimated once, or is there a special rule?"
"Whatever, let's open it first."
Rubbing his hands together, Ye Qiyan opened the folder in his hand.
[Opening Level 2 Treasure Chest]
[Obtained Train Coin: 4 pieces]
[Obtained: Colt M1911 Pistol]
[Obtained: Level 2 Blueprint: External Garbage Collector]