108: The second district merger

At 8 PM, the Train broadcast sounded a timely reminder:

“Good evening, Train Conductors! Please note, tonight at 24:00, the second regional merger will take place. Four areas will merge into one, and the protection period will end promptly at 24:00.”

“We wish you a successful survival.”

“At that time, merger rewards will be distributed based on the actual circumstances of each Train Conductor.”

“Reward rules are as follows:

Reward One: Receive Train Level * 5 train coins;

Reward Two: Receive Train Carriages * 50 Star Coins;

Reward Three: The top three Train Conductors in overall performance in this region will receive a God's Blessing reward, which includes two purple cores, four white cores, and ten energy crystals.

Train Conductors ranked fourth to tenth in overall performance will receive a God's Gaze reward, which includes two blue cores, two white cores, and five energy crystals.”

It was the usual reward, but there was an additional energy crystal reward?

Is it to help us improve our strength?

Luo Chen's mind flashed with a hint of doubt.

Immediately, Luo Chen opened the chat room.

At this time, the number of people had dropped to 7,842, and the previous leaderboard only went up to 4,399th place, which meant the number of Trains had once again fallen below 5,000.

In other words, out of the initial 40,000 Train Conductors, nearly 90% had been eliminated.

If the protection period passed, the reduction would likely be even faster.

By then, most of the Blue Star civilization would be gathered on a few Trains.

In the chat room.

“Wuwu! The official finally distributed relief supplies. Praise the gods! Thank the gods!”

“Hehe! Praise the great god of fertility, tonight I'm ordering a chicken.”

“Hehe! Praise the great God of Pleasure, tonight I'm also ordering a duck.”

“The two upstairs, are the chicken and duck you're talking about legitimate?”

“Of course they're legitimate! Otherwise, in this space, with no villages or shops, you can't order anything illegitimate!”

“All you veteran drivers, do you still recognize me? I'm Ma Susu, anyone want to chat? 30 star coins for fifteen minutes, can be airborne (I'm an emissary of Mischief).”

Luo Chen looked at the familiar name on the screen. He didn't expect the domestic master to look like this; it was beyond his expectation, quite ordinary.

“Goddess! I want to extend my time!”

“Brother, you guys are really playing it wild, you didn't even let out a peep.”

“Bodhisattva sister, I want to pre-order at a higher price, 32 star coins.”

“Damn it! Don't you guys inflate the prices!”

“Such a beautiful lady, I'm a foreigner, can it be cheaper!”

“Beauty! Does the God of Mischief know you're using his bestowed ability to do this line of work?”

“As a fellow follower of the God of Mischief, I feel ashamed for you. Great God of Mischief, please bestow upon her the punishment she deserves.”

Luo Chen watched the increasingly restricted topics in the chat room, his face darkening.

Sure enough, when netizens talked about lewd topics, life pressure disappeared, prospects disappeared, and the future was no longer considered, only the immediate pleasure.

“Does anyone know what energy crystals are?”

“Oh no! I got so caught up chatting that I forgot why I opened the chat room. Thanks, brother, for bringing me back!”

“Yeah? Does any big shot know?”

At the same time, Wang Mazi looked at the leaderboard in front of him, his face flushed with anger, smoke rising from his head.

When he first entered the Train, he looked at the beginner's survival guide in front of him and thought he had become the protagonist. Just as he was about to make a big move and establish his own kingdom, marrying three thousand beauties for his harem.

Reality played a huge joke on him; there were actually two other people who had the same guide as him.

Although this advantage was not so obvious, it was still much stronger than most people, but he didn't expect to be ranked over a hundred this time, which was truly a disgrace.

After self-reflection, he vaguely found the reason for his lagging behind. It was because he had no prestige on the Train, leading to very few people willing to merge with him, which caused him to fall so far behind.

After much painful deliberation, he decided to be a good person again and share some beginner's guide issues in the chat room. But each time, he failed to touch upon key issues, so the response was not significant.

At this moment, in front of the driving screen nearby, a somewhat chubby otaku was intently staring at the rapidly scrolling chat messages, even occasionally replying to a couple of them.

When he was on Blue Star, he was a seasoned novel enthusiast, reading at least 18 hours of novels a day, and had long developed the ability to read ten lines at a glance.

After being caught by Wang Mazi and forced to merge, he took on the job of monitoring the chat room, responsible for capturing important information from it.

Suddenly, he turned his head and shouted excitedly, “Boss! Someone in the chat room is discussing energy crystals.”

Wang Mazi froze, then came back to his senses and hastily shouted, “Quick! Send out the information about energy crystals quickly, don't let those two bitches get ahead of us!”

The otaku's hands flew across the screen, and soon a message was sent out:

“energy crystals are the stones that were previously placed in treasure chests. They can help improve strength and also extend lifespan. However, this stuff cannot be used directly, otherwise, you will turn into a monster or even die. You need to use the token of the corresponding deity to complete the awakening.”

The words sent out from Wang Mazi's account immediately stirred up a thousand waves. The Train Conductors who were originally discussing physiological topics instantly shifted their discussion to energy crystals.

energy crystals could not only improve strength but also extend lifespan. At this moment, neither men nor women could resist its temptation.

“Extending lifespan, doesn't that mean living for hundreds of years isn't a problem?”

“So that's what energy crystals are. I got five of them before and exchanged all of them for food. What a loss!”

“It's okay! Sister! energy crystals can only theoretically let you live for hundreds of years, but food can let you live in the present, so it's not a loss!”

“It's you! Quick! Give it back to me! I don't want your food anymore!”

“@ECB02222, you're such an idiot! Why didn't you say anything earlier when you knew the information? It made me exchange two energy crystals, and those were my lifespan!”

“RNM, pay up! No! Pay energy crystals.” * N

The otaku looked at the chorus of condemnation in the chat room, wiped a bead of sweat, and turned his head back nervously, immediately meeting Wang Mazi's eyes full of rage.

Soon, he felt his vision go dark as Wang Mazi slapped him on the head, instantly causing his head to bleed. “Why is it that when those two bitches post, everyone praises them, but when I post, it's all condemnation and abuse?”

No one answered his question. The other people in the Train saw the otaku lying on the ground, silent as cicadas in winter, not even daring to breathe loudly.

Inside a Train with chrysanthemums painted on its exterior, a man with a crescent moon headband was proudly looking at the screen in front of him:

“Chusheng-kun, well done! Those who disrupt our collection of energy crystals should be punished.”

The man called Chusheng-kun turned his head and said with some concern, “With him saying that, our plan to acquire energy crystals at a low price will be ruined!”

The man with the crescent moon headband stroked his chin, shook his head, and said:

“It's fine, we already have enough energy crystals for our use. Now that he's revealed it, it might even help us find information about the tokens.”

“Moreover, even if we don't have enough energy crystals, we can just take them.”

Chusheng-kun smiled upon hearing this, fawning, “Xinjue-kun is brilliant!”