Early the next morning, Bai Cheng woke up on the tracks.
Whether it was because she had adapted to the survival conditions here or due to her enhanced physique, she no longer felt the full-body soreness from before.
Although her body could handle it, her mind was exhausted.
These past few days, Bai Cheng hadn't slept well, and she couldn't wash up or bathe. To save space, she hadn't even built a bed, sleeping directly on the floor.
Now, Bai Cheng's hair was a tangled mess, and her eyes were tired.
The first thing she did after waking up wasn't putting on her shoes but adding fuel and scrap iron to the furnace.
Only after finishing that did she rub her eyes, put on her socks and shoes, and step out of the wooden cabin.
Last night's luck hadn't been great. She hadn't encountered a single uncommon treasure chest. However, Bai Cheng had to maintain the fuel supply no matter what, and the rail cart couldn't stop. Even if she found an uncommon chest, she wouldn't stay put until dawn.
After taking care of her bodily needs, Bai Cheng returned to the cabin with a treasure chest, her face twisted in disgust.
"Wasn't it said that a goddess's poop smells like strawberries?"
Hm. Clearly, she hadn't reached that level yet.
Now awake, Bai Cheng quickly started the rail cart and sped away from the foul-smelling area.
As for why it stank, don't ask.
Most survivors prioritized traveling as far as possible during the day, so the moment Bai Cheng restocked, the chat channel quickly buzzed with activity again.
Even though Xiao Ran had taken half the burden, plenty of people still sought Bai Cheng out to smelt iron ingots for them.
She couldn't help but wonder, Where are these people getting their scrap iron from?
She kept the same pricing as before, but this time, Bai Cheng didn't hoard materials. Instead, she periodically restocked the ingots after smelting them.
A few hours later, the two wooden crates on the railcart were successfully upgraded to iron crates.
The stone pickaxe was casually tossed out the window, replaced by the more efficient iron pickaxe.
Of course, there was also her old companion, the stone spear.
After separating it from Fatal Edge, Bai Cheng finally put a sock back on her bare foot and tied her hair into a high ponytail with a hairband.
Her stomach growled in fierce protest, so she stopped to prepare lunch.
[Manual Piston-Pressurized Drive System: 112/200]
"I'll be able to upgrade the drive system again this afternoon." Bai Cheng was brimming with motivation.
The feeling of doing nothing but focusing on traveling was intoxicating.
She tossed out the stone spear and crafted an iron spear.
Nearly all the tools on the railcart had been renewed. Even the wooden walls could be reinforced with iron ingots.
However, Bai Cheng didn't bother to do so. If not for shelter from wind and rain, she would've torn them down long ago. Why would she add unnecessary weight?
While roasting meat outside, Bai Cheng multitasked, using the silver axe to gather lumber.
Then, she opened the common treasure chest she had picked up earlier.
Honestly, she didn't expect much. She wasn't lacking anything at this point.
[Opened Common Treasure Chest: Obtained wristwatch ×1, sugar-free bread ×1, scrap iron ×2.]
"Huh. Looks like the less I care, the better my luck gets."
Her mood improved as she picked up the wristwatch. It was a black mechanical wristwatch that didn't need time adjustment.
The time displayed was [11:10].
Since she hadn't eaten breakfast, an early lunch was inevitable.
She tried it on, but the watch was clearly designed for men. Her wrist was too slender, leaving it hanging loosely.
"Whatever." Bai Cheng sighed. Now wasn't the time to upgrade it, so she just set it on the table.
Once the meat was done, she split the bread and made a makeshift wilderness burger.
"Who would've thought that bread would show up in a chest (munch munch)…"
Maybe it was her enhanced physique, but before, she could only eat small amounts of a 1 kg portion of meat. Now, she could finish most of it in no time.
"Hope I don't gain weight."
After wolfing down lunch, Bai Cheng returned to trading with channel members.
Even after upgrading all her tools, she still had 20 iron ingots left in her backpack by noon.
But this time, she wasn't trading for scrap iron. She needed the last four employee cards.
[Trader: Bai Cheng]
[Item: Iron Ingot1 (Remaining: 4)]
[Request: Any employee card.]
Since most considered 1 iron ingot as equivalent to 3 scrap iron, trading a useless employee card for an ingot was a steal.
After all, no survivor wanted a worthless employee, making the cards unsellable.
And Bai Cheng's demand was for any employee card.
Before she could even check the chat, all four ingots were snapped up in moments.
In exchange, four employee cards appeared before her.
A quick glance revealed designs like a fox and a field mouse. She neatly stored them with the rest of her collection.
"14 white, 1 green… Finally enough to synthesize a legendary employee!"
Excitement surged, but she held back the impulse.
"The drive system is less than 100 km from its next upgrade. I'll finish that first before switching to the employee card."
Even if the drive system wasn't maxed out yet, Bai Cheng believed that the upgrade alone would make reaching Station One effortless.
Even if her legendary employee couldn't pull the cart for her.
Too impatient for idle chat, Bai Cheng went full speed ahead.
She wanted to complete the upgrade as soon as possible, then synthesize the legendary employee.
Even if she didn't reach Station One today, having an employee would let her grind EXP at night.
Either way, she would benefit from it.
Hours flew by. Outside, the sky had darkened.
Bai Cheng knew that today, night would fall at 3 PM, and the train's safe zone would shrink entirely to the cart's size.
While managing the furnace, her backpack now held 50 iron ingots and nearly 100 units of coal.
Her goal was to fill both her backpack and iron crates with ingots and coal!
"The days are too short. Guess Station One will have to wait until tomorrow."
She sighed as she glanced at the dimming light.
However—
A flash of purple light erupted before her, violently flinging her back, causing the rail cart to slow down.
Bai Cheng froze.
A massive machine now occupied most of the interior.
At the same time, messages flooded her screen:
[Congratulations! You have gathered all required materials. Would you like advance your train now?]