110: End of protection period

More than half an hour later.

Luo Chen let out a heavy breath.

Xi Yue stood up, gasping uncomfortably, and gave Luo Chen a resentful look.

“Not bad! You’ve improved a lot since last time, but you still need more practice,” Luo Chen said, pulling Xi Yue into his arms and comforting her.

“Hmph, my mouth is so sore right now! It’ll be inconvenient for the trial later,” Xi Yue complained, rubbing her aching cheeks.

Luo Chen handed the water to Xi Yue again and said with a slight embarrassment, “Actually, the god of hunting’s trial is very simple. As long as you observe carefully, you can complete it easily… The first time I went, I just swam a lap…”

Subsequently, Luo Chen recounted his experiences from his several trials.

Listening to Luo Chen’s explanation, Xi Yue felt much more at ease.

Suddenly, her gaze caught sight of a figure appearing not far away, and she excitedly called out, “Hey! Noya, you’re back! How do you feel?”

Noya’s eyes were a little red, as if she had been crying.

Hearing Xi Yue’s concerned question, she forced a smile and said, “I’m fine, I’ve successfully awakened! The trial process was very simple, don’t worry.”

“Really! No way! I want to try it right now, I feel incredibly strong.” With that, Xi Yue grabbed the hunting token in front of her and excitedly entered the trial space.

Watching Xi Yue’s disappearing figure, Luo Chen shook his head helplessly.

Then, he looked at Noya and asked curiously, “Ya Ya, what’s wrong? You look like you’ve been crying.”

“It’s nothing! There was too much sand inside, and it got into my eyes.” Noya waved her hand, indicating she was fine.

After hearing her explanation, Luo Chen didn’t ask any more questions.

Afterward, with nothing else to do, the two chatted about everyday matters.

Soon, Xi Yue successfully passed the trial, reaching the first stage of Awakening.

At this moment, four people inside the Train had completed their Awakenings.

Xue Shang, Awakening Stage Four.

Luo Chen, Awakening Stage Three.

Noya, Awakening Stage Three.

Xi Yue, Awakening Stage One… At 24:00, the Train broadcast sounded punctually.

The second merger has been completed. The post-merger number is: 10086E00. The merger rewards are distributed as follows:

Reward One: Obtained (19+16) * 5 = 175 train coins;

Reward Two: Obtained (98+95) * 50 = 9650 star coins;

Reward Three: Before the merger, your overall ranking was first. Rewards: two purple cores, four white cores, ten energy crystals.

Rewards have been distributed. Please check the gift package delivery box. For detailed reward distribution rankings, please click for details.

The regional ranking function has been updated. Please go to the chat room module to view it.

Attention, Train Conductors, the protection period has officially ended. The Train’s safety protection function and carriage temperature control function have been disabled.

The true journey officially begins. I wish all Train Conductors a good night and sweet dreams. I am your protection system, Starscar. The next stop will be in five days, at an unspecified time. Please prepare yourselves, Train Conductors.

Five days later?

Doesn't that mean no more early morning classes every day?

And a five-day long holiday.

Luo Chen took out the prizes from the nearby delivery box.

The white cores were placed separately; now that he had plenty of train coins, these items didn't seem so precious.

The two purple cores were activated one by one, and they were again duplicate cores.

Central Air Conditioning Modification (Purple) and purification water tank Core (Purple).

The only thing that could excite him was the ten energy crystals. Adding the previous sixteen, and having just used two, he now had a total of 24 energy crystals.

After putting them all away, Luo Chen opened the chat room.

At this moment, the number of people had increased to 29669, with a total of 16 different group numbers.

In addition to the Japanese and Northern people before the merger, new additions included people from Tianfu, Xijiang, and Goryeo in China, as well as Russians, Europeans, and Indians from Pakistan.

Almost all countries in the Northern Hemisphere were included.

“Got another ‘Thank you for participating’ award!”

“Hehe! Last time I got a participation award, this time I got eighth place. (Humble, humble)”

“No, buddy, how did you improve so fast?”

“It's simple, if you can't beat them, join them!”

“Has anyone felt the Train getting colder inside?”

“It’s alright! I just finished fencing with my good brother, and I still feel a bit warm.”

“I have a thermometer. The temperature inside the Train is only 25 degrees now. It was 26 degrees before, and the temperature is still dropping, though very slowly.”

Watching the messages about the temperature drop constantly popping up on the screen, Luo Chen got up and wandered around inside the Train for a while, clearly feeling the Train’s temperature slowly decreasing.

Seeing this, Luo Chen quickly turned on the central air conditioning. With the activation of the central air conditioning, the Train’s temperature returned to its previous level.

And compared to before, he could freely set the temperature of each carriage, the only cost being one star coin per carriage per day.

However, he had plenty of star coins now, so he didn't care about this small expenditure at all.

Slightly lowering the temperature, Luo Chen poured himself a cup of hot water and continued browsing the chat room.

“Why is the temperature dropping! Can’t it go up?”

“I'm an astronomer. I just took a look outside. We are currently near something similar to the Kuiper Belt in the solar system. We are too far from the star, and the stellar radiation we receive is very weak. Without a constant temperature system, the Train will gradually cool down.”

“Then will it reach absolute zero and we’ll freeze to death?!”

“Are we going to die?”

“No! I want to go home. I’m not playing anymore.”

“Everyone, don’t panic. The Train’s operation generates heat. If the Train’s insulation is good enough, the temperature won’t drop too low. You can burn some wood to maintain the temperature.”

“No! I don’t have any wood! I used it all for upgrades yesterday, and now I don’t have a single piece. Can any brother give me some?”

“Buy it in the Train shop using star coins.”

“I knew there was a reason why the supply store sold such expensive wood. It turns out they were waiting for this.”

“What if I don't have star coins?”

“Then you're going to die.”

“Sisters, what if the wet wood won't light?”

“You’re silly! Use the feeding area! The feeding area will automatically dehydrate it for you. Put it in and take it out, and it’s dry wood.”

“Seeking to buy wood. Interested parties please private message.”

For a time, the chat room was in chaos, flooded with messages seeking to buy various types of wood.

Luo Chen watched, and with nothing else to do, he also listed some wood, preparing to exchange it for star coins for future air conditioning use.

Wood: 1 star coin for 6kg of wood. Those interested, please place an order directly.

The supply store only offered 5kg of wood for 1 star coin, so the trading price couldn't be more expensive, otherwise no one would buy it.

As soon as the trade was listed, a large number of successful trade messages instantly popped up on the screen:

Trade successful: star coins +1, Wood -6

Trade successful: star coins +1, Wood -6

...

At the same time, coins clattered onto the floor, making a jingling sound.

Luo Chen quickly used the bronze treasure chest to catch the star coins.

Looking back at the screen, a heated debate was once again taking place in the chat room.

“The number one on the leaderboard truly has class, I’m a fan!”

“The fact that he’s ranked first, I have nothing to say.”

“Those capitalists from the Northern Country are truly scumbags. One star coin only gets you 5.5 kg of wood, what a rip-off!”

“What are you talking about? The entrepreneurs from Great Xia are the real scumbags. Damn it, one star coin only gets you 5.01 kg of wood, just barely above the minimum standard of the supply store. If they weren’t limited to two units, they’d probably add a few more zeros.”

“Even the capitalists of the Northern Country shed tears after seeing that.”

“Train Conductor ECB05240 is truly the light of humanity. I suggest everyone prioritize buying supplies from him in the future.”

“All my water is exchanged from him; it’s safe and guaranteed.”

“Hey! Buddy! I just merged over. Can you all exchange water here? We all have to buy it.”

“Buddy! You’re from Xijiang, right?”

“Yes, water that cannot be drunk directly can be purified by Train Conductor ECB05240 for only a 20% purification fee, which is quite a bargain. However, the water cannot be too dirty, otherwise, you will be blacklisted.”

“Thank you, friend!”

“That’s great, finally I don’t have to buy water from that scumbag anymore.”

As the news of the purified water trade was pinned, a string of trade requests popped up on the screen again:

ECT***** has initiated a 'Hungry Now' order to you. Please process it as soon as possible.

ECX***** has initiated a 'Hungry Now' order to you. Please process it as soon as possible.

...

Luo Chen looked at the sudden surge in water purification orders, finding it somewhat amusing.

He hadn't expected that casually selling some wood would inadvertently boost his water business.

He quickly understood the reason. In reality, the current chat room was no different from the internet, so the internet's traffic-generating methods were equally effective.

Moreover, because the chat room was closely tied to life, every Train Conductor couldn't do without it, giving it almost 100% user stickiness.

Luo Chen looked at the continuously surging 'Hungry Now' orders, glancing left and right at the empty driver's seat, feeling a bit helpless.

Just as he didn't know how to handle these water purification orders, Luo Wan Ning and Shirasawa Erina walked over, their eyes heavy with sleep.

The two had been busy with trades all day and had gone to bed early after 10 PM.

It wasn't until just now that the frantic alerts from their personal wristbands woke them from their sleep.

“What’s going on? Why are there suddenly so many 'Hungry Now' orders?”

Luo Wan Ning rubbed her sleepy eyes, asking in confusion.

“Now that the Train has lost its carriage constant temperature function, the temperature is continuously dropping, and everyone in the chat room is looking to buy wood. I casually sold some wood, and I didn't expect it to inadvertently boost the purified water business.”

Luo Chen spread his hands, explaining with a hint of amusement.

“Is the temperature dropping now? How come I haven’t felt it?”

Shirasawa Erina tightened her pajamas, her curvaceous figure fully exposed to Luo Chen’s eyes, with two small points visible at the top of the silk.

Feeling Luo Chen’s gaze, Shirasawa Erina’s face flushed, and she quickly released her hands, allowing her clothes to return to a loose state.

The alluring sight was fleeting, and Luo Chen reluctantly averted his gaze.

He hadn't expected this Japanese woman, despite not being tall, to have such a fiery figure, with a wasp waist and perky buttocks, without an ounce of superfluous flesh.

He needed to find a time to ‘eat’ her.

During this period, he wasn't lacking women, which had delayed him from making a move on her. Now, perhaps it could be put on the agenda.

Collecting his thoughts, Luo Chen slowly explained, “I previously got a central air conditioning unit, and now the central air conditioning is working.”

“No wonder! I feel like the temperature isn’t as high as before,” Luo Wan Ning suddenly realized.

Shirasawa Erina had already sat down in front of the driver’s seat, watching the alerts constantly popping up on the screen, and excitedly exclaimed:

“No! I need to go wake up the others for overtime. We can’t miss out on so many orders. Besides, with so many new customers, if we don’t seize them, they could easily go to someone else.”

After speaking, she looked at Luo Chen, waiting for his opinion.

Luo Chen nodded.

Shirasawa Erina was overjoyed at this, and excitedly ran downstairs to drag the others out of their sleep.

Luo Chen smiled slightly. Shirasawa Erina's Wealth Envoy-level skill allowed her to receive a 20% cashback on every transaction, and this opportunity could not be missed.

Furthermore, the top three were all rewarded with two purple cores, meaning they very likely also received the purification water tank core. It was crucial to secure new customers early.

In fact, it was just as he had thought… On the Great Xia Interstellar Federation Train.

Xia Liang was holding an emergency meeting with his ministers.

At the conference table, the ministers were all drowsy. They had just fallen asleep with their beautiful wives and concubines when soldiers forcibly dragged them from their beds.

Chen Qingming, as the only non-Train Conductor, was also among them.

Xia Liang, as an Envoy-level Order Envoy-level, needed Chen Qingming to formulate laws to help him maintain order, which was also why Chen Qingming, as a remnant, was able to quickly enter the new management layer.

Xia Liang sat at the head of the table, and after scanning left and right, he slammed his hand on the table, angrily exclaiming, “I didn’t call you here to sleep! All of you, wake up!”

The ministers were startled by Xia Liang's table-slamming, and instantly, most of their sleepiness disappeared.

Xia Liang glanced around, and seeing that everyone was awake, he slowly began, “This time, the rewards included two purple cores: a purification water tank core and a central air conditioning modification.

The protection period has ended, and the Train has now lost its constant temperature function. The temperature in other Trains is already close to zero degrees. I used the central air conditioning modification, which is why you can all lie in your beds and sleep soundly.

I called you here because there is still one purified water core left, and I want you all to discuss how to maximize profits.”

With that, he took out a purple core and placed it on the table.

“Your Majesty is wise!” the ministers quickly exclaimed gratefully.

Xia Liang waved his hand, a slight smile on his face; he loved this feeling: “Alright! Now tell me, what ideas do you have?”

“Your Majesty! I think we can sell water. After purifying our domestic sewage, we can resell it to others. We can sell it at the supply store’s price of five star coins per liter,” a minister said.

No sooner had he finished speaking than someone immediately retorted, “That won’t work. Qin Mengyue has already done that.”

“Then we’ll just take it from her.”

“No! According to the intelligence department’s estimates, Qin Mengyue is very likely an Envoy-level Wealth Envoy-level. She gets a 40% cashback on every transaction. If we engage in a price war, we won’t win.”

Xia Liang shook his head, rejecting the idea.

He had considered this method before but had dismissed it, and he hadn't expected someone to bring it up again.