[Name: Bronze Axe]
[Grade: Blue]
[Durability: 50]
[Evaluation: As a standard axe, it can be used to chop down most trees.]
The heavy, bluish iron axe in her hand transformed into a smoother, lighter bronze axe.
Bai Cheng hefted it, finding it even more comfortable to wield.
"Fifty trees… If I chop while traveling, I should be able to completely upgrade it today."
But she quickly shook her head. "No, I can't waste all my time during the day. Resources are most plentiful at night."
Still, at this stage, her priority was to trade for that employee card from Tang Yan first.
With a goal in mind, she felt invigorated.
Bai Cheng pushed the rail cart, leaving no trees standing wherever she passed.
Before long, the small cart was piled with nearly a hundred pieces of wood, and she struggled to push it further.
Unlike nighttime, the patches of trees during the day were sparse, and the time spent chopping was almost outweighed by the time spent traveling.
Glancing at the sun overhead, Bai Cheng estimated that it was nearly noon.
She was feeling hungry too. Wiping the sweat from her brow, she decided to eat something and take a short break.
Scrolling through the trade orders on her screen, she noticed that most people were listing unappetizing meats.
Herbivore meats or compressed biscuits were rarely traded, with everyone keeping them for themselves.
Bai Cheng didn't have many options. In the end, she traded 20 wood for a portion of wolf meat.
Carnivore meat generally tastes terrible. Omnivores taste slightly better.
"Hopefully, wolf meat tastes similar to dog meat," she sighed, even though she had never actually eaten dog meat.
Lighting a campfire, she skewered the meat and began roasting it. She then rummaged through a crate and took out four pieces of scrap iron.
Staring at the irregular, palm-sized iron chunks, she had a hunch that they could be smelted into iron ingots.
After all, she hadn't found any minerals along the way.
For now, Bai Cheng decided to craft the Pulley Gearshift Device first. Without it, transporting wood would be exhausting.
[Name: Pulley Transmission System]
[Required Materials: Scrap Iron ×4, Leather ×2]
As Bai Cheng clicked [Use], the control lever in front of her flashed white. A new, seemingly simple device appeared before her.
The principle was straightforward. Originally, the rail cart was driven by pushing the lever up and down. Now, with the addition of chains and gears, she could pedal it like a bicycle, making it far less strenuous.
"Not bad." She gave it a test run. Using her legs was indeed easier than using her arms.
Plus, this way I won't end up developing Qilin arms.
By the time the meat was done grilling, she sprinkled some salt on it and finished her modest lunch.
Although she was exhausted, Bai Cheng still hadn't met her goal. Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to continue chopping trees.
Soon, she gathered 50 pieces of wood without trouble.
She successfully traded with Tang Yan for the second employee card.
"Twelve more to go." She sighed.
She planned to upgrade the Employee Card to gold once she collected them all.
This time, Tang Yan didn't even speak. Bai Cheng knew that there would be no further collaboration between them.
She wasn't surprised. To her, this protagonist wasn't just lazy when it came to chopping trees, he was also arrogant. She strongly suspected he was a Long Aotian type.
So far, he had traded 250 units of wood from her. He was now only halfway to the 100 fine wood needed to upgrade the train.
Bai Cheng guessed that he would likely trade other resources for the remaining wood.
Out of habit, she opened the trade interface, only to be stunned by the first listing.
[Trader: Tang Yan]
[Trade Item: Employee Card (Rabbit) ×1]
[Demand: 150 wood]
"How do you still have more!?" Bai Cheng was shocked. She seriously wondered if all the animals had flocked to Tang Yan.
"Is this the protagonist halo? It's so terrifying."
To hunt so many beasts, he must have a way.
Bai Cheng could only attribute it to his Talent.
"Seems I'm not the only one with a Talent. But for now, survivors with Talents must be rare."
Muttering to herself, she went back to chopping trees.
This time, she knew that he wouldn't bargain. After all, the price was already 50 cheaper than before.
Just as she suspected, he was gathering materials to upgrade the train.
And he was trading useless employee cards for them.
Bai Cheng suddenly felt that the other party was a profiteer, swindling survivors who had never seen employee cards before.
An hour later, she had gathered over 100 pieces of wood.
She immediately traded for the card.
At the same time, her actions caught Tang Yan's attention, and he replied almost instantly.
But he wasn't here for small talk. Instead, he extended an olive branch to her.
Tang Yan:
"So you're a Talent user too. I apologize for my earlier rudeness. How about joining me? As a gesture of goodwill, I'll give you an employee card for free."
His words confirmed Bai Cheng's suspicions.
But she had no intention of teaming up with anyone, and she had no interest in men either.
Moreover, this guy had zero social grace. Without hesitation, she fired back:
"We're each on our own trains. What's the point of teaming up?"
Tang Yan:
"You don't understand the rules of Infinite Train yet. Haven't you noticed? Resources along the way are limited."
"The entire route before reaching Station One is like this. The steam engine… That's the reward for those who can secure a station and survive."
"Teaming up will be possible later. I admire you. You're capable, and you're beautiful."
As soon as he finished speaking, a notification popped up on Bai Cheng's screen.
[Survivor Tang Yan has sent you a mail!]
Bai Cheng instinctively opened it, only to find an employee card inside.
And the image on the front wasn't one of the small animals he usually traded, but a mighty white rhinoceros!
This was a card that could genuinely be used as a survivor's first employee.
"This guy…" Bai Cheng's eyes narrowed. "He's really full of himself!"
Another message from Tang Yan appeared:
"You can keep the card for now. We can discuss teaming up after securing Station One. It's fine even if you refuse—consider it a friendly gesture."
A rhinoceros employee card could fetch far more resources than the previous ones.
But he actually gave something like this away?
Clearly, this guy hadn't been after her wood.
"Hah." Bai Cheng promptly rejected the mail and replied:
"I appreciate the offer, but I'm probably not worthy of being your teammate. Let's just skip it."