"Huh. This guy’s pretty fast."

Bai Cheng was a little surprised. She thought that she had arrived early. After all, she had been traveling by steam train.

Yet, Tang Yan had managed to reach Station One before noon on the fifth day, relying only on a manual rail cart.

"This guy must’ve used some kind of talent."

Of course, Bai Cheng was only mildly impressed.

After a brief glance, she averted her gaze and descended the steps, returning to her own train.

"There’s still nearly an hour left, enough time to organize supplies."

The transported goods, along with the rewards she had obtained, were now piled haphazardly inside the standard carriage, leaving Bai Cheng with barely any space to stand.

The connection between the carriage and the locomotive wasn’t a proper corridor, but a crude passageway without railings on either side. One misstep, and she could easily fall off.

This was also the only door in the entire carriage. The rear of the train was simply a sealed wooden plank.

Is this design even human?

Bai Cheng had initially considered adding another door for easier access, but unlike the manual rail cart, the wooden panels of the carriage couldn’t be dismantled. They could only be upgraded.

"Forget it, I’ll just get rid of the useless stuff first."

She scanned the interior. The most abundant and most useless items were the spoils from defeating the Infinite Raiders.

Not that they were completely useless. They were just useless to her.

Without hesitation, she returned to the locomotive and listed them all on the Exchange.

[Trader: Bai Cheng]

[Items for Trade: Iron Hammer ×2 (10 remaining) / Riding Saddle ×1 (10 remaining) / Canned Meat ×2 (22 remaining) / Boar Meat ×2 (40 remaining)...]

[Request: Any White Employee Card ×1]

The locomotive counted as one carriage, and Bai Cheng now had a second one, meaning that she could recruit a second employee.

Trading useless items for someone else’s equally useless employee cards seemed like a fair deal.

After all, most survivors who had made it this far probably had their own employees.

"This’ll also help me clear out the junk."

With Chi Yan around, Bai Cheng didn’t even need to stockpile food. As long as she lured and killed a beast during the day, it would be enough to last her until the next.

Next, she crafted several iron crates for storage.

Although the steam train had significantly increased carrying capacity, space was still limited. Once a certain weight was reached, speed would inevitably be affected.

She stacked the crates in a 3×3 grid vertically against the carriage wall, occupying most of the side space.

Then, she relocated some structures from the locomotive, such as the workbench and furnace, to the carriage and placed them on the opposite side.

Only a narrow pathway remained in the middle1, just wide enough for Bai Cheng to lie down.

"There’s still not enough space."

She sighed as she surveyed the now tidy carriage.

Honestly, she really wanted a bed. Waking up on the floor every day left her whole body sore.

But the cramped pathway couldn’t even fit one.

"Just hold on a little longer. Once I get a second carriage, I’m definitely building myself a bedroom!"

Although she could squeeze in a bed if she really wanted to, Bai Cheng still had many blueprints left unbuilt. She needed to reserve space for those.

After storing all the scattered supplies, she took stock of her current inventory to plan her next upgrades.

[Basic Materials: 200 Scrap Iron / 100 Fine Leather / 100 Iron Ore / 250 Charcoal2 / 450 Coal / 320 Infinite Coins]

All 1,100 units of space across nine iron crates and her backpack were completely full.

As for materials like fine wood, Bai Cheng didn’t keep any, submitting them all to the upgrade list.

This included the boiler and furnace. After all, she was about to depart the station, and the next one was definitely more than 100 km away.

These were just the leftovers after her upgrades.

[Blueprints: Fine Leather Bed / Kiln / Flower Pot]

[Facilities: Water Generator ×2 / Furnace / Workbench / Iron Crate ×9 / Wooden Table]

[Items: Spatial Backpack / Infinite Flashlight / Fatal Edge / Silver Axe / Silver Pickaxe / Infinite Lantern / Beast-Repelling Powder / Beast-Attracting Powder / Infinite Lighter / Multifunctional Wristwatch / Towel / Mirror / Wall Lamp / Sun Hat / Door Lock / Survival Dagger...]

The miscellaneous items were far too numerous.

Most had been obtained from treasure chests, although Bai Cheng had also purchased some from vending machines.

Aside from consumable items, almost all of them could be upgraded via the Book of Cheng to gain attribute points.

This was Bai Cheng’s only method of growing stronger outside of gaining experience through combat.

She stood still and summoned the Book of Cheng.

[Silver Pickaxe: 20/100]

"Who knows when the pickaxe will upgrade next?"

Fortunately, this enhancement had been achieved through natural progression, so Bai Cheng hadn’t wasted her daily opportunity to switch upgrade targets.

After scanning her items, she chose the easiest one to upgrade first.

[Sun Hat: 0/20]

All she had to do was wear it repeatedly.

Bai Cheng took the sun hat into the driver’s cabin and checked the remaining time on the screen. There was less than half an hour left.

She immediately started the train and released the brake lever.

"Let’s go!"

Whooo—!

The steam train roared to life, slowly lurching forward.

At the same time, the massive triangular curtain ahead disintegrated into ashes, replaced by a blinding flash of light.

As the train left the station, the world opened up before her.

Once her eyes adjusted, Bai Cheng immediately looked out the window.

The sky was gloomy. There were giant dead trees scattered around, unidentifiable green substances emitting faint glows, and the surroundings were muddy.

It was silent. Desolate. Like the end of the world.

"Is this... a swamp?"

She pressed closer to the window, scrutinizing the area.

The air was thick with humidity. The ground was riddled with mud pits of varying sizes, some had fallen trees bridging them, their rotten trunks covered in moss.

At first glance, the place merely seemed barren, devoid of danger.

But upon closer inspection, murky shapes slithered beneath the muddy waters, lurking unseen.

In the distance, an enormous black bird perched on the trees, nearly blending into the environment. Only its piercing eyes remained fixed on the train.

"Young Lady, I detected traces of my kind," Chi Yan suddenly spoke.

Bai Cheng’s expression darkened instantly.

Chi Yan’s ’my kind’ couldn’t possibly mean another lion. It had to be a magical beast.

Which meant... this swamp had magical beasts roaming about.

The safety period was over. Neither Bai Cheng nor the train had any protective barriers now.

And this endless swamp offered no resources. There was only treacherous, muddy terrain and obstructing dead trees that could hinder the train’s progress.

Panic began to set in. With only Chi Yan to protect her, she wasn’t sure if it would be enough.

Her gaze fell on the scattered white employee cards from completed trades.

She made up her mind.

"No choice—I need to upgrade the second employee now!"