Chapter 2 Chapter 2: Talent is indispensable!
"Ouch, my head hurts so much..."
Bai Cheng sat up from the ground and rubbed his still dizzy head: "I think I had a strange dream, I dreamt that I traveled through time again."
She chuckled, speechless. "Heh, how could this be... Holy crap?!"
Bai Cheng jumped up in surprise, her back pain and leg soreness gone.
"Are you kidding me!"
Bai Cheng looked around and found himself in a spacious but dimly lit indoor room.
The wall lamp cast a dim, yellowish light, illuminating a wooden table directly below, on which sat a simple black backpack.
In addition, behind Bai Cheng, which is connected to the three walls, is a huge triangular curtain, but it is not moving and looks more like a wall.
Below it is a dilapidated-looking human-powered railcar.
Upon seeing the section of rail under the wheels, Bai Cheng's pupils contracted, and the dream he had just experienced suddenly became clear.
"Holy crap, I actually time-traveled."
Having already traveled through time once, Bai Cheng accepted it quickly. She sighed and decided to make the best of it.
"Survival game? Infinite train?" Bai Cheng carefully checked the room again. Apart from the so-called newbie gift pack, there was nothing else helpful in the room.
She stepped forward and opened the black backpack, inside which were two packs of compressed biscuits, two 500ml bottles of mineral water, a small dagger, and a box with only twenty matches.
Bai Cheng shook his backpack, refusing to believe it, and found it was indeed empty.
She remembered that the safe period lasted for five days, but the food was clearly only enough for one day.
"There's nothing here at the starting station. I can't waste any more time here." Bai Cheng immediately slung his backpack over his shoulder, grabbed the only wooden table in one hand, and headed toward the human-powered railcar.
She remembered clearly that everyone had to reach Platform 1, 500 kilometers away, within a five-day safety period, or else they would face a fatal accident.
Staying here for even a second longer is a waste of life.
Stepping onto the decaying wooden steps, Bai Cheng struggled to lift the table onto the manual railcar.
The space inside the track vehicle is not large, estimated to be only about six square meters.
The vehicle has only a single fixed power joystick and a brake lever. The floor is made of steel frames and fixtures, and you can even see through the flat panel to the wheel hubs and tracks below.
Yet, this simple and rusty human-powered railcar has a surprisingly modern screen at the front.
"The system of the Infinite Train?" This was not difficult for Bai Cheng, who was well-versed in online novels, to understand.
She went to check, and the screen lit up automatically.
The first thing you see is a few minimalist modules: 【Channels】, 【Trades】, 【Notifications】, 【Email】, 【My Trains】, and 【Personal Information】.
"It smells like that." Bai Cheng immediately began to examine each item with curiosity.
First, I opened the channel, and a screen full of information immediately flooded in.
"What the hell did I come here for?! Is this still in China?!"
"Hey bro, I'm taking a dump right now, I haven't even wiped my ass yet, what am I going to do now, let it air dry?"
"Sigh, a paralyzed mother, an alcoholic father, a good-for-nothing brother, and a cheating wife—maybe coming here is a good thing..."
"Damn! I begged my girlfriend for ages and she finally agreed to be with me, but I'd barely pushed her down and hadn't even gotten inside her, and you're telling me I've time-traveled?"
"Aaaaah, I haven't even had a chance to use my newly arrived Spring Breeze Sprite yet!!!"
"......"
It's clear that everyone was complaining the moment they arrived, showing no sense of urgency about survival.
Chat messages scrolled by incredibly fast, and everyone's profile picture was a close-up of their own face, all registered under their real names.
Bai Cheng looked at the bottom right corner, which displayed "【Regional Channel: 10,000 people】", while the bottom left corner showed "【Daily Remaining Speech Count: 10 times】".
"It seems that if you're lucky, you might still run into someone you know."
She wasn't in the mood for chatting and instead started looking at the remaining modules.
The transaction was also a regional transaction, and many people had already listed their items when Bai Cheng opened it.
【Trader: Cai Zhongfen】
【Item for trade: One pair of overalls】
【Requirement: One 500ml bottle of mineral water.】
Besides these, there were useless items like compressed biscuit wrappers and hair ties, but I didn't see anything like the original flavor.
Bai Cheng also saw several people selling tables, specifically the small wooden table that was currently placed on her track car.
"Well, in a sense, this can also be considered part of the newbie gift pack."
Bai Cheng then clicked on the 【Prompt】 module, where two messages were clearly displayed.
【1. 5 days remaining in the safe period.】
2. Please arrive at and secure Platform #1 before the end of the security period.
【A reminder: Platform #1 is collapsing and your train will begin self-destructing!】
The train self-destructed, resulting in the loss of both the train and its occupants, which clearly signifies that Bai Cheng will face death.
As the name suggests, the 【Email】 module is empty when opened; the only additional function is adding friends.
Bai Cheng continued to open "My Trains," and detailed information about the human-powered railcar immediately appeared on the screen.
【Train: A dilapidated manual railcar】
【Level: Cannot be upgraded!】
【Armored Core: None available】
【Employees: None】
【Advanced Requirements: 0/50 Fine Leather, 0/100 Fine Wood, 0/200 Iron Ingots, 0/1 Steam Engine.】
In addition to displaying this information, the screen also presents a dynamic view of the track vehicle that can be swiped left and right, with each location marked with a component that can be added or modified.
For example, walls, floors, and even power levers and brake levers can be replaced.
There's also an item catalog in the bottom right corner, which Bai Cheng guesses is used to unlock construction.
"I feel like there are a lot of upgrade materials..." She pouted and clicked on the last personal module.
It's basically the same as "My Train," except this time it presents Shirai's detailed and data-driven personal information.
【Train Conductor: Bai Cheng】
【Level: Not yet unlocked. Defeating monsters will grant experience points.】
Strength: 3 (Standard 10)
Physical Strength: 4
【Spirit: 5】
【Talent: Clear Book (Any item without an upgrade path can be enhanced through use.)】
"What is that?" Bai Cheng looked at the last column of talent with a puzzled expression.
But as soon as she had a thought, an old-fashioned book with a black cover and yellowed pages appeared in Bai Cheng's hand.
"Oh ho?" Bai Cheng's face lit up with joy. "Looks like this is my cheat code!"
She eagerly opened the book, and the first page she saw was a strange item selection page.
"Items without an upgrade path?" Bai Cheng looked at his box of matches. "Does this count?"
At the same time, a picture of the box of matches suddenly appeared on the screen, along with a line of small print below it.
There is a 24-hour cooldown after replacing or upgrading items.
"...??"
Matches: 0/20
Bai Cheng roughly understood that his talent was that he would be enhanced after using items a certain number of times.
The key point is that there are only 20 matches in this box!
Isn't this just making yourself use it all up?
They used up the fire source before even starting the journey; do they think their survival difficulty is too low...?
"Damn it, whatever!"
"If something as absurd as time travel can happen, then talent can't be a lie!"
Bai Cheng immediately pulled out a match and started to light it.
The 20 matches lit quickly by friction, and the matchbox was emptied in no time.
The progress on the Chengshu (澄书) has successfully reached 20/20.
The next second, the matchbox in Bai Cheng's hand flashed a white light and turned into a white lighter.
"Holy crap?!"
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