Train Survival: You're really trying to survive!

"The newbie period is over." Su Li sighed.

He opened the chat room and found that everyone was discussing the system announcement from earlier.

However, for the time being, no one had seen any changes.

Zuli closed the manual and stopped reading.

"Instead of chatting, let's focus on living our own lives."

Zuli walked to the boiler, took out the wood shavings he had previously cut, and then struck them with flint to start a fire.

He actually started a fire just now; he was just practicing his fire-making skills.

After a few collisions, sparks fell into the sawdust. Su Li quickly scooped up the sawdust and blew into it.

She was a little clumsy at first, but after a few tries, Su Li has become quite skilled. Today, she was able to successfully light the fire on her first try, which made her very happy.

After lighting it, Zurich began throwing branches into the boiler.

Actually, the best fuels are charcoal and coal. However, at present, both are very useful. Charcoal can be used to purify water, and coal is most cost-effective for burning iron ingots. Of the remaining two fuels, wood has a wide range of uses, while branches have a narrower range, mainly used for basic processing such as making stone tools and torches.

"Honestly, if you have the skills, it's more cost-effective to take out the wood and make those logging tools directly. For example, an iron axe requires 2 iron ingots and 2 pieces of wood, but if you have the skills, you can save one piece of wood and one iron ingot."

But what can you do when the system's synthesis is so convenient?

Lost in thought, Su Li began stuffing branches into the boiler.

He then discovered that the combustion efficiency had indeed increased.

Originally, 1 piece of wood/branch = 5 kilometers, but now 1 piece of wood/branch = 7 kilometers.

Zuli didn't want to throw in the charcoal and coal. As for tree branches, they only seem to be useful for making tools, so they don't feel bad about using them.

And if there are no branches available, wood can be processed into sticks to replace them.

Now that the abundance of wild resources has decreased, Su Li guesses that the situation of dozens of trees forming a forest will probably not occur again.

So it's unlikely that we'll encounter the same kind of ore pile again.

With a whistle, the train in Zurich slowly started moving.

Su Li stood by the window, watching the scenery outside slowly recede into the distance.

He had 100 branches, kept 30 as spares, and 70 were enough to drive 490 kilometers.

The train kept moving forward, and Zuli didn't sit idle either; she started making things.

With an iron axe, an iron pickaxe, and an iron two-handed sword, he only had 4 iron ingots left and 2 iron ore. Su Li kept the two iron ore for now, in case he needed to craft some items.

After finishing the weapon, Su Li crafted two chairs and used the workbench as a table. She placed them by the window so she wouldn't have to stand all the time.

Su Li sat in the chair, flipping through the illustrated guide in her hands, glancing outside every now and then.

Suddenly, he stood up abruptly and stuck his head out to look outside.

Outside, several kilometers away, he saw a train moving.

"Is it another player? Holy crap, what a huge front end."

Su Li exclaimed in amazement as she looked at the locomotive.

The locomotive in the distance looks to be at least 25 meters long, several times the size of the one in Zurich. It's also incredibly tall. Unlike the old-looking trains in Zurich, this one resembles a steel fortress.

Zuli glanced to her left, where another train appeared in the wilderness.

The train on the left was getting closer and closer to Zuli's train. Zuli had a bad feeling.

"Holy crap, could they be highway robbers?"

As the train drew closer, Su Li glanced at it and felt less afraid. Judging from its appearance, it was a train that hadn't yet been upgraded.

Su Li quickly closed all the doors and windows. The person opposite her had the same thought. The two of them, wary of each other, drove side by side for a while before parting ways.

Su Li breathed a sigh of relief, then ran to the right window and looked at the very high-class train.

Then he saw that the luxury train seemed to have collided with another train, and a moment later he heard an explosion behind him.

Su Li squinted and vaguely saw flames rising from the high-class train.

"Damn, artillery? Good thing we didn't run into that high-class vehicle."

Su Li breathed a sigh of relief, then flipped through her manual.

It seems no one in the chat area is discussing the issue of trains running side-by-side.

"This shows that not everyone has encountered trains running side by side. I'd better not talk about it. If I do, someone might be able to pinpoint my location."

Su Li felt that the best way now was to remain invisible and reduce other people's attention on her.

Some players have found great items in treasure chests, such as crossbows. If he's too high-profile, others will remember him, and when they're walking alongside him, they might think of themselves and realize they have plenty of resources. It's not impossible that someone who was previously hesitant might suddenly decide to plunder.

After confirming that the train had left her sight, Su Li sat back down in her chair, drank some strange-tasting water, and looked at the encyclopedia for a while longer.

After finishing her water, Zuli suddenly heard the train's announcement.

It was a beep, not a piercing alarm. Zuli knew that the train had spotted a crossing.

Su Li walked to the control panel to check the train information.

[After 10 kilometers, the train will reach a fork in the road. Please choose your path accordingly.]

Su Li glanced at the information on the control panel; there was a Y-shaped intersection ahead.

Su Li peeked out and looked into the distance.

To the left of the train, in the distance, there seemed to be a range of undulating mountains. Su Li guessed that there should be minerals in those areas. To the right of the train, however, there was nothing but a flat expanse.

"The left side leads to the mountains, and the right side is a plain. Let's take the mountain route instead."

"Where there are mountains, there must be ore. Let's collect some ore. Let's go to the left."

After selecting it, Su Li started browsing the chat room to pass the time. After a short while, the changes brought about by the version update were already apparent.

Su Li glanced at the number of people on the screen; the number had dropped to 7.

"Holy crap, I ran into a pack of hyenas. Luckily, I ran fast. The hyenas followed me for a while and then left."

—I encountered vultures. These birds are so annoying; they perched on the roof of my car and pecked at it for quite a while.

—Haha, I encountered a hot spring gushing out. It sprayed directly onto my arm. Now my left hand is covered in blisters. The thought of potential infections makes my scalp tingle. I feel like I'm going to die.

Su Li looked at all the bad news and memorized all the information.

However, there was also good news in the chat room.

—You won't believe it, but it's raining here!

—Then you've struck it rich! Bro, could you get me a basin of water?

Haha, it's started raining here too! Oh well, I'm going out for a shower!

—It's going to rain! Hahaha, let's see how Lin Feng tries to fleece us again!

—Is there a kind older brother who can help me get a basin of water? I can send you some used xx (scented product).

—My God, three days of 48-degree heat without changing clothes, I can't even imagine how smelly this must smell.

—Hehe, I really like this. I'll use it to make tea today.

—Get out of here, you traitor! My eyes are dirty!!!

Su Li was also a little envious. "Rain, oh, I wish it would rain here too."

He sniffed himself and smelled a sour odor; he really had become a stinky brat.

A rain shower would be nice, washing his clothes and body. He was covered in dried sweat, a mixture of oil and sweat, making him feel sticky all over.

"But if it rains, the price of water will plummet. Luckily, I traded water in advance."