135: Sanshan's goodwill

It was only a day later, after combining various pieces of information he had gathered, that Lu Yang gradually pieced together a general understanding of this perplexing matter.

"Are you saying that the prerequisite for a Level 4 train to upgrade to a Level 5 train is to have two or more Level 5 components on board, and that the Crow's previous Level 5 components were the Death Multi-barrel Rotary Heavy Machine Gun and the Rapid-fire Mortar?!"

Train Captain Liu Lei of the Three Mountains, sitting opposite, nodded.

Half a day earlier, Train Captain Liu Lei of the Three Mountains, after an intense internal struggle, finally decided to seek out the Xinhuo Train.

He had 'personally witnessed' the Xinhuo Train destroying the Crow on his radar.

Although it lacked the shock of seeing it firsthand, watching the red dot symbolizing the Crow instantly vanish from the enemy-seeking radar, and then a new train signal appear in the same nearby location, Liu Lei, having survived so long in the apocalypse, knew what had happened. Even an idiot would.

So he was immensely grateful that he had sent a message of goodwill to the other party at the time, otherwise he would now be worrying about whether he would meet the same fate as the Crow and perish in the wilderness at any moment.

After all, the master on the other side possessed the ability to appear and disappear like a ghost, and the train's anti-detection coating was also top-notch.

His radar had probably been upgraded to Level 5, gaining special characteristics.

Otherwise, it would be difficult to explain how he managed to lead Luo Rong of the Crow in circles, leaving Luo Rong clueless about the Xinhuo Train's exact location until his death.

In fact, Liu Lei's Three Mountains also found it very difficult to detect any trace of the Xinhuo Train.

So he resorted to an old method—"leaving a message."

He left a message expressing his desire to befriend the other party.

This was one of the essential rules for survival when facing a powerful, high-level train.

If you didn't actively seek to befriend the other party...

If the high-level train made even the slightest misjudgment of your actions, the final outcome could only be the same as the Crow's—instant annihilation.

Fortunately, the outcome was good, as evidenced by Liu Lei's ability to sit safely in the Xinhuo Train's Train Captain's reception room at that moment.

Liu Lei: "Train Captain Lu, you must have been a formidable individual who possessed multiple Level 5 vehicle components even at Level 3, otherwise you wouldn't have overlooked this requirement for upgrading a Level 4 train to Level 5."

"Another Level 6 Train Captain I knew previously, Meteor, also had multiple Level 5 characteristics at Level 3, and his questions were almost identical to yours."

Lu Yang: "Meteor also had multiple Level 5 characteristics at Level 3?!"

Liu Lei nodded: "Yes, he was a celebrity train in Longhe Valley at the time, and only he had the strength to lead other trains into large secret realms for exploration. Once, I was lucky enough to tag along, obtaining two blue-grade upgrade stones, which gave me the chance to upgrade to a Level 5 train."

Lu Yang: "What about Meteor now? Is it still in Longhe Valley?"

Liu Lei replied: "It has already advanced to a Level 7 train and moved on to higher-level areas."

"In the month that Meteor was promoted, several Level 6 trains also completed their promotion missions and advanced to higher-level areas, causing quite a stir."

"Train Captain Lu, you probably arrived in Longhe Valley after that, so it's perfectly normal that you wouldn't know."

After some small talk, Lu Yang stopped being polite and got straight to the point: "The message Train Captain Liu Lei left earlier mentioned an instance that he wanted to invite me to explore. What kind of instance is it?!"

Upon hearing this, knowing that they were getting down to business, Liu Lei said seriously: "To be honest, Train Captain Lu Yang, it's a medium-sized underground instance."

"As you know, small instances can be explored by a single train, but medium-sized instances require at least two trains. When I discovered that instance, it was still in an unactivated, dormant state."

"However, I knew my own strength was limited. If I invited ordinary Level 4 trains, even if we reached the maximum exploration limit of five trains acting together, I wouldn't have much confidence."

"After all, according to custom, medium-level instances usually feature a certain number of Level 6 enemies in the final stage. Without Level 6 weapons, no matter how many Level 4 trains go, they would only be a burden."

"I originally came here to gauge the Crow's strength and see if he had Level 6 weapons. Although he had previously driven me away from Sifang County, you know that in the apocalyptic wilderness, there are no eternal enemies. After all, the previous conflict was over profit, and now with a greater potential profit, shaking hands and making peace is not impossible."

"I just didn't expect that he would provoke you."

"And be easily eliminated by you."

"In this regard, I should also thank Train Captain Lu Yang for sweeping away the lingering frustration in my heart."

With that, Liu Lei raised a cup of tea in respect.

Seeing this, Lu Yang waved his hand, his expression unchanged: "No need for such formality. Those who do evil will eventually perish by their own hand. The Crow's end was a result of his habitual tyranny; even if the Xinhuo Train hadn't been here today, he would have encountered other high-level trains later and still wouldn't have escaped his demise."

"As for exploring the instance, the Xinhuo Train does have Level 6 weapons. Not only do we have them, but their power is considerable. If you want to invite me to explore the instance together, as long as the timing doesn't conflict, I have no problem."

"However, the matter of loot distribution must be settled in advance. Otherwise, if conflicts arise due to uneven distribution, I cannot guarantee that I won't take drastic measures."

Hearing this, Liu Lei said ingratiatingly: "Of course, of course."

"Based on the experience of many trains that have explored medium-level instances before, after completion, there are usually one to two orange blueprints as rewards, three to seven purple-grade and lower-quality upgrade stones, and various other low-quality blueprints and special ores."

"Although I discovered this medium-level instance, I also know that with the Three Mountains' strength alone, it would be extremely difficult to clear it. So I propose this distribution; what do you think?"

"If the loot is three to five upgrade stones, I only want one blue-grade upgrade stone. If the highest quality upgrade stone in the loot is only blue-grade, I will settle for one green-grade upgrade stone. If the loot is more than five upgrade stones, I will take one blue and one green, and all other loot, except for what the Three Mountains obtains from exploring independent instance branches, will belong to the Xinhuo Train. What do you think?!"

In reality, if multiple Level 4 trains were gathered to explore the instance, the Three Mountains would certainly have more initiative.

However, there was a problem: the possibility of failing the instance exploration.

After all, the Three Mountains, as a Level 5 train, didn't even have Level 6 weapons, so it was even less likely for other lower-level trains to have them.

But exploring with the Xinhuo Train was different.

The Xinhuo Train had just clearly stated that it possessed powerful Level 6 weapons, and judging by its performance in destroying the Crow, its firepower was certainly sufficient for exploring a medium-level instance.

The only uncertainties were what exactly was inside the medium-level instance and the final loot.

So the Three Mountains adopted a very humble stance, only asking for the most basic portion.

If Lu Yang didn't even agree to this...

Liu Lei would still agree to accompany him to explore the medium-level instance, but he would have to find an opportunity to escape midway.

Otherwise, the outcome might not be good.

However, to Liu Lei's surprise, Lu Yang agreed with exceptional straightforwardness.

Lu Yang: "No problem, this distribution plan greatly favors me, so I will also contribute more effort."

With that, Lu Yang smiled: "Now, I have another matter I'd like to discuss with Train Captain Liu. Are you interested?!"

Liu Lei replied anxiously: "What is it?!"

"Arms trade, including Level 6 weapons!!"

"What?!" Liu Lei shot up in surprise.

In Longhe Valley, there had been quite a few Level 6 trains before, but whether they had reached some agreement among themselves, no one was selling Level 6 weapons that could also harm Level 6 trains.

So, a few months ago, after a large number of Level 6 trains were promoted, the number of Level 6 weapons in Longhe Valley greatly decreased, leading to many areas experiencing zombie horde rebounds.

Because Level 6 zombies were unmanageable.

But now, the Train Captain of the Xinhuo Train had actually proposed selling Level 6 arms.

This made Liu Lei even happier than obtaining upgrade stones.

After all, even if the Three Mountains was lucky enough to obtain a purple-grade upgrade stone from an independent instance branch mission after this medium-level instance exploration, and upgraded its most powerful Poison Dragon Heavy Sniper Rifle to Level 6, it would only possess the basic power to deal with Level 6 monsters.

But Level 6 zombie hordes numbered in the tens of thousands; relying solely on the Poison Dragon Heavy Sniper Rifle, it would take an eternity to shoot them all!

However, if he could purchase some Level 6 area-of-effect weapons from the Xinhuo Train, that would be a game-changer.

Afterward, if he discovered another medium-level instance, leading the exploration himself would not be impossible.

This Xinhuo Train is truly a great person!!!