Inside the command car, Chen Mang tossed the pistol and its magazines into the Geocentric Furnace. As for the Zombie Perception Blocker and the Train Token, he cleaned them off and stored them away. They'd make good trade fodder at the gathering in a few days.
However, there was one issue he couldn't quite decide on, and he needed to discuss it with Lao Zhu.
"Lao Zhu," Chen Mang began, sitting thoughtfully at the control console. "I'm planning to attend the gathering in six days to trade for materials. What do you think we should do with these new slaves? Keep them, or sell them off?"
"Boss Mang," Old Zhu began tentatively, "are you worried that adding a group of outsiders will disrupt the good atmosphere we have now? The current slaves are working hard, and you're concerned the newcomers might give them... ideas?"
"Exactly," Chen Mang nodded. That was precisely his concern.
"You don't need to worry too much about that, Boss Mang."
Lao Zhu took a deep breath and began to explain. "First of all, the way we treat our slaves is among the best in the entire wasteland. If the apocalypse had just started, sure, a lot of people might get restless. But our current slaves have likely been passed through the hands of several captains. They know exactly how bad conditions can be on other trains. We don't have to look far—Boss Kun was just a few days ago."
"Besides," he continued, "we'll have to gradually phase out the term 'slave' anyway and replace it with something that fosters cohesion and boosts productivity, like 'passenger.' But before we do that, I think we can establish a three-tier system for the slaves."
"For example, Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 slaves.""The higher the tier, the better the treatment they receive."
"We can use the total amount of iron ore they turn in as the basis for promotion. Later, when the train is more developed, we can easily transition this to Tier 1 Passenger, Tier 2 Passenger, and so on."
"As for this new batch, we'll start them as Tier 3 slaves, and our original crew will become Tier 2. That way, once our old hands get a taste of their improved status, they'll be much harder to incite. The price of rebellion won't be the same for everyone."
"And we're definitely going to be taking in more people in the future. We can't just turn them away because of their origins. Out here in the wasteland, manpower is an incredibly scarce resource. Besides, how many people who manage to survive out here have a 'clean' background anyway?"
"With this system in place, it'll be much easier to absorb new people and integrate them into the Stellar."
"On top of that," Lao Zhu added, "I can also set up a rewards system. Once they reach certain contribution milestones, they can exchange their points for things like women, delicious food, or a day of rest."
"..."
After listening patiently, Chen Mang suddenly broke into a smile. He finally understood why even the greatest leaders needed brilliant advisors. He'd vaguely considered a similar idea himself but had felt uncertain about it. After hearing Lao Zhu lay it out so clearly, his confidence soared. Sometimes, you just need a little external validation.
"Excellent."
"Let's do it that way. Go ahead and draft the specifics for the promotion system and contribution values."
"You'll be in charge of receiving this new batch of slaves. Give them some basic training."
"Understood," Lao Zhu said with a serious expression. "I'll get on it right away."
Six days passed in the blink of an eye.
It was now late at night, and the slaves were returning from the mine, hoisting their pickaxes over their shoulders. They had to depart early the next morning for the gathering at coordinates (239, 1923), a journey of over 600 kilometers. It would take hours, so an early start was essential.
The past few days had been relatively peaceful. Aside from being chased off by zombie hordes twice more, there had been no major incidents.
In total, they'd acquired 8,100 units of iron ore. With the addition of the new slaves, their mining speed had increased significantly.
Chen Mang had already spent most of it.
The Stellar now consisted of four carriages in addition to the locomotive: #2 Cargo Car, #3 Living Quarters, and #4 and #5 Slave Cars.
Chen Mang had spent a whopping 4,000 units of iron ore to outfit all four carriages with Carriage Steel Armor.
"..."
Standing in an open patch of the wasteland, Chen Mang leaned on his cane and gazed at his train. The thick, dark armor covering its entire length gave it the appearance of a monstrous iron dragon. He was deeply satisfied.
With the new plating, the train had shed its novice look, taking on a far more ferocious and formidable appearance. It looked powerful now.
Of course, the armor was only Level 1. He didn't have the 5,000 units of iron ore needed to upgrade it to Level 2.
In addition, he'd crafted three more heavy machine guns. Combined with the one he'd previously captured, he now had one mounted on top of each carriage. It was an impressive and intimidating display of firepower, even if it cost him 1,500 units of iron ore. He only had a few hundred rounds of ammunition, however, so the guns were mostly for show—a deterrent.
He'd also spent 1,000 units of iron to install a Level 1 Internal Fire-Control System. This mounted a heavy machine gun on the ceiling at the rear of each carriage. While they were the same type of weapon, this system was far more cost-effective than the external mounts, with the caveat that it could only fire inside the carriages. For now, they were also unloaded and served mainly as a warning.
Until he found a source of copper ore, all of his heavy weapons were essentially bluffs.
He'd now crafted most of the available Level 2 train components. The next step was to focus on upgrading them. With 1,600 units of iron ore remaining, he spent another 1,000 to upgrade the Search Radar to Level 2, increasing its detection range to a 2,000-meter radius.
He left the final 600 units of iron ore in reserve. It would be used for the daily production of food and water. He couldn't risk spending everything, only to be unable to find a new mine or another train to trade with. If that happened, everyone would starve.
"Hooo..."
After taking stock of his recent gains, Chen Mang turned his gaze to the nearby mine, which was already beginning to collapse. He felt a pang of reluctance. With the slaves gone, the mine had reached the end of its life. Its resources depleted, it was now being reclaimed by the wilderness.
Perhaps, after some time, it would re-emerge.
But for now, they needed to find a new quarry.
Chen Mang took a deep breath, stuck his nearly finished cigarette into the dirt, and stood with his hands clasped and eyes closed.
"Let the heavens be kind," he muttered. "Let tomorrow go smoothly."
"As long as I can trade for enough spider silk at the gathering, I can head to the Apocalypse Abyss to mine Level 2 iron and Level 1 copper."