"Level 1 Treasure Chests contain two Train Coins, Level 2 has four, so Level 3 should have six, right?"
Compared to Level 2 Treasure Chests, the rewards from Level 1 are quite meager, but in this world, medicine is precious enough, not to mention the Train Coins.
"Hmm? What's this?"
Suddenly, a message caught Ye Qiyan's attention.
Li Xiaosheng: ["Anyone interested in metal? I have some available for trade, prioritizing weapons."]
Prioritizing weapons over food suggests this person isn't lacking in survival capabilities.
Compared to those who can't even temporarily satisfy their hunger, Ye Qiyan preferred dealing with someone like this.
Having made up his mind, Ye Qiyan contacted Li Xiaosheng.
Soon, a line of text appeared in the private chat interface.
Li Xiaosheng: "Hello, are you looking to trade metal?"
"How much do you have?"
"How much do you need?"
A cautious person, but from this question, it was clear he had a substantial amount of metal.
"Can you provide 150 kilograms of metal?"
The chat room fell silent for a moment.
Li Xiaosheng rubbed his eyes, looking at the text in disbelief.
One hundred and fifty kilograms? That's enough for the first upgrade of the train. What does this person need so much for? Could it be that he's already gathered the wood and Mechanical Parts? Moreover, what gives this Ye Qiyan the confidence to buy so much metal at once?
After a moment of hesitation, he sent a message.
"I can provide it, but what are you trading with? If it's the initial dagger, I can only trade ten kilograms with you."
"How about a rifle?"
The train's system had a fixed photo function. Ye Qiyan took a picture of a basic rifle in average condition and sent it over.
"One rifle, 20 bullets, for your 150 kilograms of metal. How about it?"
"A gun?! You have a gun!? I can trade with you, but isn't this price too high? You're robbing me! Even a gun isn't worth that much!"
Ye Qiyan toyed with a bullet, unsurprised by the reaction.
But right now, he was the only one selling guns.
He set the price.
"It's not expensive at all. You should understand how important a gun is at this time. Besides, who knows what dangers the next station might hold? Having a gun might just help you survive better, don't you think?"
Li Xiaosheng knew Ye Qiyan was right.
He had obtained over three hundred kilograms of metal and a Treasure Chest at the first station, thinking he was the luckiest among everyone.
But compared to the gun in Ye Qiyan's hand, it was nothing.
"Can you lower it a bit?"
"No bargaining."
Ye Qiyan rubbed his chin, squinting.
This Li Xiaosheng seemed to have a lot of metal, and he clearly showed a desire for the gun.
In that case, he could squeeze a bit more.
Looking at the photo on the screen, Li Xiaosheng swallowed, clearly wanting it.
"Can it be a hundred kilograms?"
Ye Qiyan toyed with a bullet.
"What do you think?"
Li Xiaosheng gritted his teeth, hesitated for a long time, and finally replied reluctantly:
"Let me think about it."
"Take your time, I'm busy..."
"..."
Li Xiaosheng wanted to ask what he was busy with. Everyone had already left the first station, and in the cramped space of the train, besides organizing their resources, they could only communicate through the Chat Room.
He wouldn't know that Ye Qiyan was still at the first station, nor could he guess that Ye Qiyan's goal wasn't to upgrade the train but to build his first carriage.
Li Xiaosheng took a deep breath, his expression resolute, clearly having made a decision.
"I've thought it over. I'm willing to trade with you, but I want to know, what do you need this metal for? Is it to upgrade the train, or do you have the blueprint to mass-produce these guns?"
"Of course, don't misunderstand, I'm not like those people in the Chat Room who want you to hand over the blueprint. I just want to say, if you want to trade again, you can come to me. I'm confident I can upgrade the train to Level 2 within three stations. By then, I can help promote these guns."
Where did this person get his confidence?
Ye Qiyan thought of his own Sublimation.
This Li Xiaosheng might also possess some kind of Talent.
What exactly it was, Ye Qiyan had no way of knowing, nor was there a need to ask.
Does upgrading the train within three stations make one a strong person?
Silently, he glanced at his train, which had already reached Level 2 before entering the station.
All he could say was:
For someone with such mysterious confidence, the best response was a single word.
Compliance.
"Let's trade."
This was Ye Qiyan's first trade, and he was curious about how it would work.
Following the instructions, he placed the basic rifle and 20 bullets on a piece of empty ground. Soon, a virtual halo swept over the rifle and bullets, and in an instant, they disappeared, replaced by a neatly stacked pile of metal ingots.
"So that's how it works. Quite convenient."
He wasn't worried about Li Xiaosheng trying to cheat because all trades were notarized by the Train System, ensuring no issues.
Looking at the resources in his hand, Ye Qiyan's eyes sparkled with excitement. He took out the Basic Carriage Blueprint and placed it on the Processing Bench.
A translucent light screen rose from the blueprint.
[Basic Carriage] (Constructible)
Required materials: 100 kilograms of wood, 150 kilograms of metal, 60 Mechanical Parts
[Proceed with construction - Yes/No]
"Yes."
The moment he pressed the option, all the required materials vanished into thin air within the train.
Then Ye Qiyan saw all the materials in the sky at the end of the train being continuously reassembled under a mysterious force, eventually forming the shape of a carriage.
The carriage fell from mid-air, landing steadily on the tracks and sliding forward, finally connecting with his train engine.
[Construction successful.]
[Glass and fiber can be consumed for modification.]
[Basic Carriage]
[Internal facilities: None]
[Carriage function: None]
[Modified: No]
This carriage had no door, requiring entry from the end of the engine.
The interior of the carriage was large, about ten meters long, and its height was roughly one and a half times that of an adult male, making it quite spacious and bright.
There were window frames, but unlike the engine, it didn't come with windows, which presumably required glass for modification.
"Now I don't have to store everything in the engine, and besides, just having an engine doesn't make it a train. Now it does."
Ye Qiyan nodded in satisfaction.
He glanced at his remaining stamina and Mental Energy, deciding not to consider Sublimation for the time being.
He moved all the resources piled in the engine into this carriage and checked the countdown to departure.
There were still a few dozen minutes left, enough time to move some more things onto the train.