The blue light point in his eyes flashed again. An Bai swallowed, his heart inexplicably beating twice just moments ago.
“They’re making it so mysterious.” An Bai racked his brain but could not figure it out, so he could only close the manual and get through this somewhat long Polar Night by sleeping.
The third day since arriving in this world...
【A new day, a new beginning. All survivors need to hurry and gather supplies.】
【The train’s initial energy will be depleted tonight.】
Still somewhat bleary-eyed, An Bai turned to the bronze shop page in the manual. The 200,000-kilogram coal reserve was rapidly shrinking.
Before the coal reserves ran out, An Bai exchanged 10 jin of pine resin for approximately 5 jin of coal. Along with what he had exchanged previously, he now had 14 jin of coal.
“If only I could find a coal ore deposit.” An Bai knew that this little bit of coal definitely would not be enough.
“Huh, what’s this?” The moment he opened the carriage door, he discovered a treasure chest sitting on a rock not far away.
Only after coming to his senses did he realize that this was the novice chest mentioned yesterday.
This time, the train had not stopped in the forest, but at the junction between a forest and a grassland. The nearby resources were still abundant.
The treasure chest was sitting on a rock in the grassland.
He quickly walked over and patiently carried the chest onto the train.
A little excited, An Bai rubbed his hands together and eagerly opened the treasure chest.
A golden beam shot directly out of the treasure chest and shone onto An Bai’s face. An Bai hurriedly raised his hand to shield himself.
【Golden legend! Congratulations to Survivor Andersen on obtaining a gold-grade chest.】
【Iron axe】
Description: “Plain and unremarkable. Survivor, you still need to keep working hard.”
【10 iron blocks】
Description: “For train upgrades only.”
【One medical kit】
Description: “The great need no further explanation.”
【Unknown crafting scroll】
Description: “When used with a level-two train, it may produce unexpected effects.”
【10 jin of compressed biscuits】
Description: “People are iron, and food is steel; if you skip a meal, hunger will leave you reeling.”
Although there were only five items, each one had been provided at exactly the right time—except for that scroll.
【The probability of obtaining a gold-grade chest is only one in a thousand; the probability of obtaining a silver chest is 1 percent; and the probability of obtaining a bronze chest is 25 percent.】
An Bai excitedly licked his lips. This time, he had really struck it rich.
【Survivor Andersen has enough items for a train upgrade. Upgrade?】
“Yes!”
A burst of yellow light flashed by. An Bai felt his feet grow light, and for an instant, he felt as if he were about to fly.
Fortunately, the feeling lasted only a moment. As the yellow light gradually dissipated, the train also completed its upgrade.
【Train 1567 has been upgraded to a level-two train. Congratulations!】
Level: 2
Speed: 8 m/s
Protection: 15
Power: steam engine
Area: 15 square meters（3×5）
Height: 3 meters
Durability: 1,000 kilometers（The previous durability loss has been refreshed after the upgrade.）
Description: “Survivor, you still need to work hard to upgrade your train. The journey ahead will be even more dangerous.”
In fact, the changes following the train upgrade went far beyond those listed above.
The train’s originally rusty iron-plated shell had become completely renewed. Not a trace of its supposed history remained, though it still looked dull and lifeless.
The swaying wooden bed had also become much sturdier, and lying on it was considerably more comfortable than before.
The train had also been divided to create a small 3×1 room. After a little consideration, An Bai decided to turn this room into a planting area.
【The Unknown scroll is a Coal-Making Scroll, a Level-One crafting scroll intended exclusively for use with a level-two train.】
“A Coal-Making Scroll!” An Bai’s recently calmed emotions surged once again.
Breathing heavily, he carefully examined the scroll, which had just manifested its words.
Five jin of wood could be used to produce one jin of coal, a ratio of 5:1.
If this scroll were put on the trading market, it would surely be bid up to an astronomical price!
It took quite a while for him to calm down. An Bai estimated that this was probably a reward exclusive to gold-grade chests, and even a gold-grade chest might not produce one.
He opened the chat channel. Many people had received bronze-grade rewards.
For example, 50 jin of coal, large quantities of food, and the like—these were all things people needed most at present.
Very few people had obtained a high-level reward like An Bai’s.
A few familiar names had also opened some decent items. For example, that desert brother had obtained a glass-making scroll.
“Isn’t sand the raw material for glass?”
“It really is infuriating to compare yourself to others!” Quite a few people made sour remarks about him, but because of the distance, there was nothing they could do about the guy.
“That’s all for now, bro. Daytime is precious—I still have to gather sand.”
Desert brother also realized that the atmosphere in the chat channel had become somewhat strange, so he hurriedly went offline.
“I just feel like the atmosphere in the chat channel has become a little strange.”
An Bai keenly sensed that people were undergoing a transformation. Because of the scarcity of supplies, their predatory instincts were gradually awakening.
They had already begun to slowly “evolve.” Having left earth, they were no longer the same humans they had been before.
Perhaps the dangers they would face on the journey ahead would not be limited to nature.
Putting those thoughts aside, An Bai spent the next half hour organizing his horribly cluttered carriage.
Once he had made up his mind to act, he quickly moved the soil pile for planting potatoes into the small room at the back, then properly arranged the remaining items.
“This looks much more comfortable now.”
Without wasting any more time on the train, An Bai walked out through the carriage door and continued gathering supplies.
The trees in the forest at the junction were not very tall. An Bai easily felled one with his iron axe.
After working for roughly five and a half hours, he gathered approximately 400 jin of wood in total.
An Bai sat on the ground with his back against the train’s wheel, holding a cup of water in one hand and a piece of compressed biscuits in the other.
He was starving!
After eating and drinking his fill, An Bai began using the crafting scroll to turn the wood into coal.
This took another two hours or so. The Coal-Making Scroll also had its drawbacks: it could only transform five jin of wood into coal at a time.
Any more than that would overload it.
“By my calculation, I have 94 jin of coal. That should be enough to keep the train running for a day, right?”
There was still about half an hour before dark.
After resting for five minutes, An Bai used the remaining time to identify the unique plant species in this world with the manual’s function for photographing and recognizing physical objects.
Memorizing them himself felt more reassuring than letting someone else control the manual. Who knew whether this function might be disabled later?
“Green luminescent grass? Clears heat and detoxifies?”
“Blue Fern. Poisonous. Must not be consumed.”
“Flying Fruit. Sour and astringent, unpleasant to eat, but nonpoisonous.”
An Bai: “......”
After identifying more than a dozen plant species, it was almost completely dark.
Mist began to roll in slowly. An Bai felt a chill down his back, as if something within the mist were watching him.
An Bai casually tore off several stalks of green luminescent grass, then swiftly ducked into the carriage and shut the door.
He collapsed onto the wooden bed, and soon entered dreamland under the influence of exhaustion.
✦✦✦