Chapter 37 37 Chapter - Night Falls, Channels Merge
37 Chapter - Night Falls, Channels Merge
Bai Cheng immediately checked the time; it was still a few minutes before five o'clock.
“Does it get dark at five? That’s two hours later than before.”
She recalled carefully, vaguely remembering that someone in the channel had said that it got dark at six in the afternoon on the first day.
But no matter how Bai Cheng pondered, she couldn’t find any pattern.
The surrounding fog grew thicker, and as the sky gradually darkened, visibility became even lower.
After a day of travel, the train's fuel was also almost depleted.
Just as Bai Cheng was about to add coal to the boiler, a loud bang suddenly echoed.
Boom—! The train shook violently, and Bai Cheng stumbled.
“What’s going on?!” she exclaimed, then noticed that the train’s speed had significantly slowed.
At the same time, two notifications immediately popped up on the screen.
“Warning! Train damaged!”
“Durability -1%”
“Miss, our train hit a tree trunk blocking the way,” Chiyan reported immediately after observing.
What surprised Bai Cheng even more was that the train could actually be damaged?
“Chiyan, can you clear it?” she asked immediately.
Then came another thud, the lights flickered, and dust fell from above, making Bai Cheng frown.
“Durability -1%”
“Miss, there are many tree trunks blocking the way. I’m afraid my clearing speed can’t keep up with the train’s go ahead speed.” As he spoke, he uncharacteristically frowned, looking as if he had something to say but was hesitant.
“So we still have to stop, right?” Bai Cheng rubbed her chin, seeing his expression, she was a bit puzzled, “What’s wrong?”
“Miss, I have already sensed living beings approaching. Your safety must be prioritized,” Chiyan finally said, “I do not recommend going to clear those tree trunks.”
Bai Cheng instantly understood and nodded.
She thought it was something else; it turned out to be just his own thoughts, but they seemed difficult to express.
After all, Chiyan had always answered every question, rarely saying anything superfluous, like a true employee, always holding reverence and respect for his superior.
However, this also precisely proved that he was a thinking “person,” not a tool, and certainly not a beast.
“Chiyan,” Bai Cheng called out.
“At your service.”
“You don’t have to be so formal. I’m not as difficult to get along with as you think,” Bai Cheng mused, continuing, “Just do your job well when there’s an order. Other times, you can be at ease, no need to be so tense.”
After speaking, Bai Cheng went directly to the control panel and pulled down the brake lever.
The wheels immediately screeched against the rails, sparks flew, and the speed slowly began to decrease.
Chiyan remained frozen, gazing at Bai Cheng’s back, his expression changing, finally settling into a respectful: “Yes, I understand.”
The current situation indeed necessitated stopping.
Just as Chiyan said, even with his Elite-grade strength, he still couldn’t simultaneously clear the obstacles ahead while also protecting the train and Bai Cheng’s personal safety.
Silent Night had arrived. Through the window, Bai Cheng could only see a hazy expanse, the surroundings completely enveloped by mist.
She guessed that this time was different from the last; the surrounding scenery hadn’t changed.
But it was certain that the night had become more dangerous.
“If it’s just beasts, there’s no need to worry, even a pack,” Bai Cheng muttered.
But seeing Chiyan’s vigilant state, she worried that things might not be that simple.
Now that there was no safe period, the train could even take damage; there was no way to travel at night, what a crappy system!
Bai Cheng cursed inwardly and immediately checked the train’s information to see if the lost durability could be repaired.
After all, here, the train’s life was her life!
“Train Durability: 98% (Repair)”
Bai Cheng breathed a sigh of relief and immediately clicked on repair.
“Consume Iron Ingot * 2, Fine Wood * 2 to repair the train?”
“I should have known…” Bai Cheng rolled her eyes, then linked it to the idea that if beasts attacked the train, its durability would likely decrease.
This not only clearly indicated that one couldn’t travel at night but also prevented survivors from hunkering down inside the train.
But guarding the train at night, and with the short daytime hours, if she slept, there would be no way to travel. This system was completely inhumane!
All the Fine Wood inside the train had been submitted by Bai Cheng for upgrade materials, so now to repair the train, she needed to get off and chop wood.
She looked at Chiyan, “I need two Fine Wood to repair the train.”
“Yes, Miss,” Chiyan immediately turned and opened the train door, a rush of dampness and coldness greeting them.
Bai Cheng turned on her flashlight and shone it outside the train, watching him jump off and step into the mist. Only then did she gain a clearer understanding of this Silent Night.
The enveloping mist was gray, so dense it seemed almost solid, as if touching it would completely swallow a person.
Neither sight, light, nor anything else could penetrate it.
They remained quietly not far in front of Bai Cheng. At this distance, she couldn’t see any trees, only a constantly bubbling half-submerged mud pit on the ground.
Turning to look behind the train, unlike the surrounding environment, Bai Cheng could completely see her entire train, as if an invisible barrier prevented the mist from further encroaching.
Soon, two sounds came from the mist. Chiyan seemed unaffected by the mist and quickly returned with the wood.
After repairing the train, Bai Cheng prepared her dinner while Chiyan began to stand guard around the train.
He set fire to some of the surrounding trees, but the flames still couldn't disperse the mist, and because it was a swamp, the fire couldn't spread either.
Bai Cheng looked at the scene before her and increasingly felt that she needed to recruit a second employee as soon as possible.
She had traded for a total of 46 White Employee Cards from various miscellaneous materials, a thick stack, enough to be a deck of playing cards.
Bai Cheng didn’t even bother to check the channel for entertainment. After quickly finishing her roasted meat, she immediately started to upgrade the dagger in her hand.
While upgrading, she also didn't forget to complain, “It’s all because of this Assassin upgrade, otherwise, I would have my second employee today.”
“Darn it, darn it!”
This time, Bai Cheng didn't pull her own hair to cut; instead, she was cutting raw meat.
After five hundred cuts, upgrading to Legend required two thousand cuts.
Her hand was cramping, and she didn’t know how much time had passed. Outside, Chiyan’s sounds of killing beasts could be heard from time to time.
Finally… a golden light flashed!
Bai Cheng’s numb and tired eyes immediately rekindled with brightness, becoming joyful and excited.
At this moment, the time was exactly 00:00.
Before she could carefully examine the dagger in her hand, several notifications suddenly appeared on the screen in front of her.
“Channel Announcement! Congratulations to everyone for successfully arriving at First Station!”
“Due to a significant decrease in the number of survivors, channels will be merged, and the 【Team】 function will be opened simultaneously!”
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