"One tree, one point of durability?"
Bai Cheng inspected the logs that had fallen to the ground. There were ten in total, and there was also a branch that fell.
She had also counted earlier. She swung her axe ten times in total.
But since the trees varied in thickness and each swing had different force, it didn't necessarily mean that trees had a fixed chopping threshold.
In any case, the greater the strength, the faster it would fall.
This wasn't good news for Bai Cheng.
After about half an hour of chopping down a few more small trees, she suddenly realized a serious problem.
Standing before the rail cart, she surveyed the cramped space. It was currently occupied by two wooden crates, a chair, and the starter pack table.
On the ground lay a stone pickaxe and a stone spear, while the remaining materials were piled at the rear of the cart, with 25 pieces of wood and 8 stones in total.
The sheer volume of resources already reached her calves. Forget whether the two crates could hold them all…
The real issue was that even if they were stored in crates, these items were still heavy!
Bai Cheng tried pushing the rail cart and found out that it required significantly more effort than before.
Frowning, she muttered in frustration, "What kind of joke is this? Damn game designers!"
Excessive resource accumulation would further slow the already sluggish rail cart, while stopping to focus on development would invite danger. It was a vicious cycle.
For a moment, it even made her think that the muscular guy's strategy might have been the right one.
She turned to check the guide, wondering if she could make better use of these materials.
They weren't important, but she had put in effort, and Bai Cheng wasn't about to waste it.
"Fine wood? Requires five logs to craft…" Her gaze shifted to the upgrade requirements for the train. "I wonder if I can submit resources in advance."
At the very least, one piece of fine wood shouldn't weigh as much as five logs, right?
Bai Cheng converted 20 logs into 4 pieces of fine wood and clicked submit resources.
Instantly, the four pieces vanished from the rail cart.
[Advancement Requirements: 0/50 Refined Leather, 4/100 Fine Wood, 0/200 Iron Ingot, 0/1 Steam Engine.]
"Huh, looking at it this way, the materials aren't too hard to gather?" Bai Cheng rubbed her chin. The only real challenge should be the steam engine.
The ability to submit resources in batches was a relief. She wouldn't need to haul these heavy loads around.
As for the basic tools crafted from wood and stone, Bai Cheng had already made everything except the wooden bed.
The wooden bed required thatch and leather, materials she hadn't found yet.
But this isn't a game. Beds wouldn't respawn players, and sleeping on an open-air rail cart exposed to the elements was hardly safe anyway.
It's better to save space and weight than to build something useless.
As for building walls for the rail cart, Bai Cheng also hesitated due to weight concerns.
After all, she's weak. If it was too heavy, she wouldn't even be able to push the cart…
As for the stones, she tossed them out without a second thought. They were just picked up randomly, after all.
Squeak
—
Prepared, Bai Cheng pushed the rail cart forward again.
She remembered someone in the chat mentioning that treasure chests could be found along the roadside.
That might be the key to breaking this monotonous situation.
This time, Bai Cheng pushed the manual rail cart farther than ever, even longer than her first two trips combined.
The tracks materialized before her as the scenery on both sides slowly went past. The grassland stretched endlessly, as if no one would ever be able to escape it.
A gentle breeze brushed against a strand of Bai Cheng's white hair, and the bangs on her forehead were stuck together with sweat.
But she didn't stop.
The scenery remained unchanged, confirming what that person in the chat had said. Resources were scarce, and everything was repetitive and dull…
Aside from branches and stones, there was nothing else on either side.
Bai Cheng had no idea how far she had pushed the cart or how much time had passed.
As exhaustion crept in, she decided to take a break. "I can't possibly waste most of the five-day safe period just traveling, right?"
Just then, Bai Cheng froze, causing the unruly tuft of hair on her head to twitch.
Two o'clock ahead of her, a faint glow emanated from a small grove of trees!
Unlike the white shimmer of her match or dagger, this light was richer, more vivid.
At this distance, Bai Cheng couldn't even see the branches or stones on the ground.
Her face lit up. "A treasure chest?"
Suddenly reinvigorated, she channeled her inner energy source and shoved the control lever with both hands.
As she drew closer, the chest came into view. It was smaller than she had imagined, barely a quarter the size of a simple wooden crate.
But its aesthetics far surpassed its practicality.
Its ornate green patterns radiated a vivid emerald halo, unmistakably marking it as uncommon quality!
"Finally, some luck!" Bai Cheng grinned.
The chest sat just a few steps away, tempting her to dash out and grab it.
Gripping her knife, she spent two and a half minutes nervously scanning the surroundings but found no signs of danger.
"Maybe… treasure chests aren't always dangerous?" she reassured herself.
Still, even with no visible danger, Bai Cheng remained wary of snakes or insects.
After all, unseen threats are the deadliest.
As she peered past the small trees, she noticed that the ground around the chest was completely barren.
Weeds grew everywhere else, yet this patch was nothing but hard, yellowish soil.
Claw marks scarred the earth, and the black lumps near the edges looked suspiciously like animal droppings.
Seeing this, Bai Cheng relaxed instead.
"Looks like I'm in luck—the beast guarding this chest isn't home right now."
After one last check, she sprinted forward, snatched the chest, and bolted back to the rail cart.
Not daring to linger, she immediately pushed the cart into motion, fearing that the unknown beast might pursue her.
But before the cart could pick up speed, a hyena with mottled brown fur appeared before her.
Bai Cheng froze for a moment, but her hands kept pushing. In fact, they moved even harder now.
"What? Are you cosplaying a speed bump?"
It was under the safety period protection. The rail cart is an absolute safe zone. She had nothing to fear.
Soon, the cart accelerated to its blistering top speed of 9 km/h, barreling straight toward the hyena.
The creature stood its ground, seemingly waiting to pounce the moment the cart closed in.
But the next second, it collided with an invisible barrier and was sent flying, landing hard on the ground.
Undeterred, the hyena gave up on attacking but began trailing Bai Cheng closely, refusing to leave.
Glancing back, Bai Cheng frowned.
"Annoying. Now I've got a Proctologist tailing me."
With this thing around, she couldn't focus on development.
As for outrunning it, hyenas had surprisingly high stamina. Bai Cheng would tire out long before it did.
Her eyes darkened as she stopped pushing.
"I need a way to deal with it." Her gaze fell on the green treasure chest.
"I hope whatever's inside can help."