33: Train Rally (Part 1)

Without the Dragon Tooth blocking their way, Train Captain Lu Yang drove the Xinhuo Train at full speed, reaching the San Dao Town ruins in less than half an hour.

The gathering point was a large farm before the disaster, with the two red characters 'Jinyuan' still remaining on the grand archway at the entrance.

Train Captain Lu Yang was among the early arrivals.

It was not yet eight in the morning.

Fewer than ten trains were parked in the large open space in front of Jinyuan Farm.

They were all spaced several hundred meters apart.

This was according to the arrangements for the Train Assembly and for safety considerations.

At the Train Assembly, Train Captains mostly did not appear in person.

Instead, their subordinates would set up stalls with samples of their produced goods.

It was similar to a trade show before the disaster.

However, the exhibition booths at the Train Assembly were somewhat rudimentary, with only designated empty plots for stalls.

The specific design of the booths had to be built by the Train Captains themselves, using their own personnel.

The Black Knight and a few other sponsoring Level 3 trains, having arrived early, had already constructed several decent, semi-open structures.

Although all were made of prefabricated panels, at least they offered some shade.

Several other early-arriving Train Captains had also chosen plots and were building their exhibition booths.

The Train Captain of one such Level 3 train, the Shiyuan Train, had already erected a large, three-meter-tall billboard, ostentatiously displaying one of his products: a 'pleasure massage chair' lifestyle item.

Many of its components were quite suggestive.

From another Level 3 train, the Qingfeng, dozens of female slaves descended, each dressed alluringly and scantily clad, their diverse range of erotic lingerie dazzling to behold.

This quickly attracted the attention of several Train Captains.

However, no one was in a hurry to trade; the primary activity was observation.

After all, it was still early, and when making a purchase, it was always more cost-effective to compare goods from multiple vendors.

——

The Xinhuo Train chose to park at the closest location to the Black Knight.

Train Captain Lu Yang had already given his initial approval of Train Captain Gao Feng's character.

Furthermore, the two were about to conduct a transaction.

It was simply more convenient to be closer.

Upon seeing the Xinhuo Train, Train Captain Gao Feng of the Black Knight was clearly also very pleased.

Before the Xinhuo Train had even fully stopped, Train Captain Gao Feng of the Black Knight sent a short-frequency communication.

This time, it included a holographic image.

"Train Captain Lu Yang, long time no see! Good morning!!"

Train Captain Lu Yang connected the communication image.

Immediately, a tall, thin young man in his early twenties appeared on the screen, wearing black-rimmed glasses, looking like a college student, and greeting with a smile.

"Train Captain Gao Feng, good morning!!"

Train Captain Lu Yang had specially prepared a sharp, custom-tailored suit today, making him appear tall and imposing, with an extraordinary demeanor.

This immediately left a deep impression on Train Captain Gao Feng.

"Train Captain Lu Yang, quite a few Train Captains I know will be coming to the Train Assembly today. Some of them have quite deep connections with me. I'll introduce you to them later."

"Many of them are coming with large orders, you know?!"

Upon hearing this, Train Captain Lu Yang smiled: "Train Captain Gao Feng, your true intention isn't in the wine!"

"Don't worry, your batch of orders has already been manufactured. I'm just waiting for your notification and can send them over anytime."

"Really?!" Train Captain Gao Feng's lips curved upwards.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's trade immediately!"

"I'm still waiting to get the goods so I can show them off to those old acquaintances of mine."

"Last time, they spent a fortune to get a few disposable four-hole rocket launchers from a Train Captain in the Intermediate Zone, and they didn't stop showing off to me."

"This time, I'm going to get a good hold of them."

"Oh, and when I show off the grenade launcher later, I'll need Train Captain Lu Yang to cooperate with me. Once I've thoroughly impressed them, I guarantee I'll give you a good advertisement."

Train Captain Lu Yang smiled and nodded: "Train Captain Gao Feng, please rest assured, I will cooperate with you fully."

"With you, one of the host Train Captains of this assembly, giving me a live advertisement, my order volume might just explode, and I won't be able to keep up with production."

Train Captain Gao Feng laughed after hearing this: "How much you can sell depends on Train Captain Lu Yang's ability."

"Besides, you have so many good things there; even if I don't advertise, everyone will still see them."

"So, I'm just going with the flow."

Train Captain Lu Yang nodded.

Then, suddenly remembering something, he said: "Oh, Train Captain Gao Feng, I just heard you say that someone got a disposable four-hole rocket launcher from a Train Captain in the Intermediate Zone. How is that? Can you still contact Train Captains in the Intermediate Zone?"

To this, Train Captain Gao Feng just gave a bitter smile: "It was just good luck to run into them and be rescued. If we weren't forced, who would go to the Intermediate Zone for no reason? Any zombie or mutated beast there is Level 4 or above; we simply can't deal with them."

"Moreover, buying things from High-level Train Captains requires a considerable price. They don't lack ordinary resources; they only want strange and rare materials, many of which are related to train upgrades. Even a seasoned Level 3 Train Captain can't guarantee how much they have."

"Can you buy items above Level 4?" Train Captain Lu Yang asked.

Train Captain Gao Feng shook his head: "Useless!!"

"Useless?!" Train Captain Lu Yang was a bit surprised.

"Those items might be Level 4 or Level 5 in the Intermediate Zone, but once brought back to the Donglin Plain, they automatically degrade to Level 3 items. They won't even produce a generation gap effect against the iron armor of Level 3 trains."

"After realizing this, if a Level 3 Train Captain was lucky enough to encounter a High-level Train Captain again, they would only buy high-power, destructive Level 3 weapons from them. Anyway, the power is the same when used back in the Donglin Plain, but the price can be significantly cheaper."

After explaining this, while there was still some time, Train Captain Gao Feng chatted with Train Captain Lu Yang about some more secretive information that only seasoned Level 3 Train Captains would know.

This cleared up many of Train Captain Lu Yang's doubts.

After a while, as more and more trains arrived at the Train Assembly, the two quickly ended their conversation.

The Black Knight, after all, was one of the four major Level 3 trains acting as hosts. There was a lot of work to be done today, and if Train Captain Lu Yang hadn't arrived relatively early, he wouldn't have had much time to chat with him.

And taking advantage of the time the two were chatting, the passengers on the Xinhuo Train and the Black Knight also finished transporting the follow-up items from the previous two transactions, completing the subsequent matters of the trade between the two Train Captains.

The back-and-forth between them attracted the attention of many Train Captains.

However, most people generally assumed that the Xinhuo Train was purchasing items from the Black Knight.

At the same time, they were curious about the relationship between the two.

After all, the Black Knight was a Level 3 train, no matter how you looked at it.

It had more basic vehicle blueprints and a greater chance of acquiring other vehicle blueprints.

Unlike lower-level Train Captains, who mostly struggled just to survive.

This was also the intention behind Train Captain Gao Feng and the other Level 3 Train Captains organizing this Train Assembly.

By facilitating mutual exchange among Train Captains, they aimed to improve the survival capabilities of lower-level Train Captains as much as possible.