94: Finally got some work to do!!

It was afternoon.

A sudden thunderstorm washed away the scent of blood in the dense forest.

A sparkling drop of water fell from a vibrant green leaf with a plop.

A slight chill landed on Liu Zexue's neck.

Under a colossal, towering tree, a team of over a thousand people was systematically entering the forest under the direction of Train Police wearing blue and white Train Police Squad uniforms.

After clearing out the Golden Ringed Hornet, Lu Yang was finally able to fully occupy this composite gathering point.

He planned to stay here for one day.

If all went well, they could even begin their return journey tomorrow morning, harvesting the previously marked timber collection points along the way.

By the time they returned to Donglin Plain, they would essentially have enough to cover the shortfall for constructing the red-quality Magic Net Core Blueprint.

"Xiao Li, how long do you think we'll be working this time?"

"It's been about a week since we last worked, hasn't it?"

"Every day it's either sitting or lying down; I feel like my whole body is going to waste."

Liu Zexue chatted with Li Dong, who was beside him, carrying a heavy axe.

Li Dong nodded in strong agreement: "Who isn't?"

"No work means no work points. Last time I saw Liu Fei, she asked me why I didn't go find her."

"I didn't even know how to answer her."

"It's not that I don't want to, my friend, but with such shallow pockets, how dare I mislead a beauty?"

"But it's a good thing that monster Wang Iron Hammer was selected by the Train Police Squad, otherwise, I'd never get 'first place of the day' in my life."

"Old Liu, I'm telling you, I'm definitely taking first place today. Before I came out, I specifically went to the cafeteria and used my only work points to buy a new version of the 'Passenger Meal,' 15 work points. It came with a fried drumstick, three steamed buns, and a bottle of iced cola."

"Although it's a bit expensive, as long as I can take first place, that's a whole night of exclusive service worth 100 work points, a nearly 7-fold return on investment. It's actually very worthwhile."

"As long as I get close to Liu Fei a few more times, once she's 'in my shape,' there might even be a possibility for further development in the future."

Liu Zexue pushed up his glasses: "'In your shape,' you little braggart."

"I heard that the first time you were in Liu Fei's room, you came out in less than half an hour."

"Subtracting the shower, undressing, and foreplay, I suspect you didn't even spend three minutes on the main event, did you?"

Li Dong's face turned red: "What do you know? I went back to my seat to get something at the time."

"Didn't you know I went back later and stayed the whole night?!"

"And I was the first one on the Xinhuo Train to enter Liu Fei's room. You old man didn't get Zhang Hong's first time and you still want to criticize me? Do you still want me to rub your back next time?"

Liu Zexue: "Alright, alright, 'in your shape' it is. Although I didn't get Zhang Hong's first time, I got Wu Xue's! In terms of looks, she's even prettier than Zhang Hong, and her personality is very soft and compliant. She does whatever I say. If I weren't afraid she couldn't handle it, I'd definitely exercise with her all night."

Li Dong: "If you can't, you can't. Don't make it sound so good."

"If you have nothing to do, buy more steamed buns to eat. I heard that stuff has the function of revitalizing a man's vigor. Last time, people from the Giant Whale Train bought dozens of baskets."

Seeing Liu Zexue about to kick him out of frustration, Li Dong quickly ran two steps forward, and his personal terminal wristband buzzed.

"Alright, no more fooling around, I've reached my workstation."

"Xiao Xin said that level four oak trees are harder to chop. We can chat about anything else when we get back."

With that, Li Dong spat into his hands.

Then he pressed the switch of the civilian mechanical exoskeleton at his waist.

As the machinery perfectly conformed to his waist, abdomen, arms, and other areas, Li Dong swung his axe, and with a boom, it struck the level four oak tree where the beehive had previously hung.

Without time to alleviate the jarring numbness in his hands, he pulled out the axe, aimed at the same spot, and with the aid of the civilian mechanical exoskeleton's correction, another axe blow landed in the same position, finally carving a small notch in the level four oak.

From then on, he just had to keep chopping until the notch expanded to a palm's depth to obtain one unit of finished wood.

It wasn't Li Dong's first time, so he was very experienced at it.

Moreover, with Liu Fei on his mind, every swing was full of power.

Seeing Li Dong so serious, Liu Zexue stopped fooling around.

He quickly ran to his own workstation nearby.

Being able to fell a small number of level four timber was a privilege granted by the Xinhuo Train to its early, veteran passengers like them.

The work points earned could be calculated at 1.05 times the normal rate.

This was Xiao Xin's suggestion to Lu Yang.

Because, according to calculations, the density of level four oak was much higher than level three pine, and the difficulty of felling increased linearly.

The average number of axe swings was estimated to be 1.5 times that of level three pine. Also, if the feller's strength was too low, they might even find that they couldn't break through the 'defense,' meaning they wouldn't be able to obtain one unit of level four wood even after chopping for a whole day.

That's why Lu Yang equipped all veteran passengers felling level four oak, such as Li Dong and others, with civilian mechanical exoskeletons.

The actual results were roughly consistent with Xiao Xin's calculations.

The felling speed for level three pine averaged one unit per hour. For level four oak, even Li Dong, the most diligent worker, chopped with all his might for 1.3 hours to obtain one unit. Liu Zexue, with less physical strength and power than Li Dong, took longer, at 1.45 hours.

This was already them being at their most proactive.

And they also had the help of civilian exoskeletons.

Without civilian exoskeletons, not only would the unit felling time be longer, but overall efficiency would also decrease.

Because everyone is flesh and blood; they get tired.

The more tired they get, the slower their axe-swinging frequency and the weaker their strength.

This difference was not very obvious when collecting low-level minerals.

But when facing level four intermediate materials, it would clearly feel like their strength was insufficient.

Seeing this, Lu Yang, based on Xiao Xin's suggestion, immediately increased the reward for felling one unit of level four wood to 1.5 work points.

Even so, after Li Dong continuously chopped for 5.2 hours and felled four units of level four wood, he stopped his axe.

His hands trembled slightly.

He truly couldn't chop anymore.

However, unlike Liu Zexue, he didn't choose to switch shifts and rest.

Instead, he rested on the spot, taking out the fried chicken drumstick, steamed buns, and iced cola he carried with him.

After finishing a large chicken drumstick, eating a bun, and drinking half a bottle of cola.

Li Dong felt his whole body suddenly filled with strength again. (Hehe, it was actually the strength bonus buff from the chicken drumstick.)

Then he swung his axe and began a new round of felling and collecting.

Every time he felt his strength waning, he would eat a steamed bun and drink some cola to rest for a bit.

After a short break, he would start a new round of collection.

Midway, Liu Zexue swapped shifts with someone nearby.

Seeing Li Dong still working, his face was filled with shock.

"Xiao Li, you're really serious about this."

He looked down at the real-time work point ranking for the day on his personal terminal wristband.

Li Dong was indeed in first place, as expected.

He was 3 work points higher than the second-place person.

Just then, Li Dong happened to collect another unit of level four wood, and his points instantly jumped up by 1.5.

"What's up, Brother Liu?"

Li Dong had been diligently felling wood just now and hadn't clearly heard what Liu Zexue said.

Seeing Li Dong covered in sweat and looking satisfied, Liu Zexue shook his head and said, "Nothing, let's keep chopping."

"Let's try to finish before 12 AM. Master Yang issued a new notice, saying that as long as we can finish before 12 AM, everyone's work points will be calculated at 1.1 times."

Upon hearing this, Li Dong was excited: "Really? Then what are we waiting for? Let's do it!"

Work points on the Xinhuo Train could not only be accumulated to increase passenger levels but also had actual purchasing power.

1.1 times didn't sound like much.

But as long as everyone didn't slack off, a workload of 10 work points would result in 11 work points in hand.

This was equivalent to getting an extra third of a steamed bun.

If calculated as part of a meal, one could get half a steamed bun.

The actual purchasing power was very worthwhile.

Especially for someone like Li Dong, who had many work points, the bonus he received was even greater.

It also made him work with more vigor.