[The train is about to depart. May you all endure for eternity.]
"Where am I?"
Thump-thump, thump-thump...
Ethan Ye woke up inside a train carriage, pressing his hands against his aching head as he forced his eyes open.
"A train car?"
Ethan couldn't recall anything that had happened yesterday. His final memory was staying up late to watch anime when his vision suddenly went pitch black. There was a jagged fracture in his memory.
"I didn't actually die from overworking and end up in hell, did I?"
Just then, the voice from a moment ago resonated once more.
[All survivors have awakened.]
[Distributing Basic Train Regulations.]
[1. It is forbidden to discard your train!]
[2. Every 24 hours after departure, all trains will arrive at a new platform.]
[3. Upon arrival, the train may dock for three hours. You may choose whether or not to disembark.]
[4. Please collect resources. Resources can increase the train's level. Each level increase will trigger upgrade module options.]
[5. Do not leave the train before reaching a platform.]
[6. Live.]
[The regulations are as follows.]
[Please, you must comply!]
[The first station will be reached in one hour. Please be prepared.]
This long string of broadcasted announcements caused Ethan to subconsciously pinch his own cheek.
"Hiss... so this really isn't a dream?"
The dull ache in his brain gradually receded. He braced himself against the cold floor and stood up, scanning his surroundings. Just as he had seen upon waking, this was a single train carriage. Through the windows on either side, an endless wasteland retreated into the distance.
The only thing in the car worth noting was an oval-shaped apparatus at the very front. Hovering above it was a light screen, glowing with the words: "Train Control System."
Without hesitation, Ethan stepped forward and reached out to touch it.
[Train System at your service.]
[Current controllable options: Conductor Info, Train Details, Chat Room, Trading Platform.]
"A chat room?"
[Current Population: 10,000/10,000]
["Who—who the hell are you people? Let me out of here! I have money! My godfather is incredibly rich! Let me go back right now!"]
["Medicine... where is my medicine!"]
["Honey? Honey, where are you? It's Sarah!"]
["What is actually going on? Did I just get isekai'd?"]
["Hahaha! Good riddance! I finally don't have to go to work and look at my boss's face tomorrow!"]
A massive flood of dialogue scrolled past. Suddenly, one line of text caught Ethan's eye.
["Heh, what a bunch of morons. You're acting the part well enough, but do you take me for a fool? This has to be some reality TV show, right? I've seen documentaries about this. Before it was space, now it's a train. How unoriginal. I'm getting off right now. I bet you don't have the guts to let me get hurt!"]
["Buddy, stay calm! What kind of production crew could kidnap ten thousand people at once?"]
["Let him try. Maybe it's real."]
["The guy above me is Moron Number Two."]
In less than a minute, that person never spoke again. However, the population count in the chat room flickered from 10,000 to 9,999.
Is he dead?
Ethan shook his head, pushing the thought aside.
He closed the chat room and dragged the light screen to the Train Details page.
[Level 1 Train]
[Carriages: None]
[Speed: 20 km/h]
[Workbench: Level 1 (Can recycle and decompose resources/items)]
[Chassis: Level 1]
[Wheels: Level 1]
[Floorboard: Level 1]
[Upgrade Requirements: 100kg Wood, 150kg Metal, 50 Machine Parts]
Speed?
If the arrival time at the platforms was fixed at twenty-four hours according to the regulations, what was the point of the train's speed?
Furthermore, what struck him as even stranger was that if everyone arrived at the station simultaneously—ten thousand people meant ten thousand trains—how massive would a platform have to be to hold them all?
Ethan sensed a hint of oddity. He instinctively looked through the window at the seemingly infinite wasteland outside.
"Does it mean... if the speed is too slow, something will catch up to us?"
He continued scrolling and opened the Personal Information interface.
[Conductor Name: Ethan Ye]
[ID: E-3-1102]
[Owned Train: Level 1 Train]
[Spirit: 100 (Below 80: Mental Fatigue; Below 50: Self-Doubt; Below 20: Dissipating Sanity; Below 10: Mental Frenzy; Below 1: ???)]
[Stamina: 100 (Can be recovered through eating or resting. Below 0: Extreme Sloth)]
[Abilities: None]
[Talent: Sublimation]
[Train Modules: None]
"Talent? What's this?"
[Sublimation: Can consume Stamina or Spirit to evolve any existing entity. No limit on category, level, or state of repair.]
He quickly reopened the chat room and used the search bar for the keyword "Talent." He found no one talking about it.
If the vast majority of people possessed a similar Talent, there would inevitably be some loudmouth who couldn't keep their feelings to themselves. Since there was nothing, it meant Talent holders were a minority—perhaps even a tiny fraction.
Ethan fell into deep thought. Why did he have this? Was it his "cheat"?
Come to think of it, he really had been a bit different from others back in the old world. For instance, a computer on the verge of being scrapped would suddenly be able to run AAA games after he touched it, or an ordinary car would somehow reach the speeds of a supercar.
His friends joked that he could please the "Machine Spirit," but Ethan had always brushed it off as a series of coincidences.
However, the "Talent" on this status screen seemed to be telling him those were no accidents.
"Sublimating everything? How do I do it?"
Pondering, Ethan walked over to the workbench in the carriage. On it sat a bottle of water, a loaf of bread, and a small knife.
These were things everyone possessed—likely a "newbie kit" of sorts.
[Low-Quality Knife] Level 1
"Sublimation."
Ethan murmured the word in his mind.
In the next instant, an invisible force brushed over the shoddy knife.
His personal Stamina dropped from 100 down to 90.
[Sharp Enchanted Dagger] Level 2
"It worked!"
Gazing at the dagger in his hand, which now shimmered with a chilling, sharp light, Ethan's eyes brimmed with excitement.
"This Talent can actually do something like this. And the Stamina consumption wasn't too high—it's manageable."
He swung the dagger. The sharp blade whistled through the air with a series of keen rings. It was clear that after a single Sublimation, the quality of this weapon far surpassed its previous state.
It was hard to imagine what kind of junk this dagger had been just moments ago.
"Wait, if that's the case!"
Ethan suddenly looked up, staring at his surroundings.
To be precise, he was looking at the head of this train.
"The train... it should also be capable of Sublimation, right?"
The Talent description said any "existing entity" could be sublimated. The train should naturally be included in that.
Ethan took a deep breath, his eyes wide with curiosity and the thrill of the unknown.
He stepped up to the control console. It was as if a voice in his heart was telling him exactly what to do. He pressed his hand against the oval device.
"Sublimation."