Chapter 90: Chapter 90: Train Merge function activated! (Bonus Chapter)

[Team functions fully unlocked, Train Merge function activated!]

[Train Merge: You and your teammates must be at the same station. Utilizing this function will upgrade and merge two separate trains into a single unit.]

[Status after merge:

1. All supplies will be transferred. Blueprint-type structures will be automatically dismantled along with any redundant or obsolete equipment from the absorbed train (excluding unused blueprints).

2. The host train will gain one carriage. For every existing carriage the absorbed train possessed, the newly added carriage will automatically be upgraded by one corresponding level.]

[Hint: Carriages added via merging will not increase employee recruitment slots for the Conductor.]

[Employee Enhancement: Regardless of whether the absorbed train houses one or multiple employees, only a single employee can be selected for transfer. However, that chosen employee’s level will automatically increase by one (excluding Epic tier and above).]

[Other status changes: Upon boarding, team members will share the exact same status as the Conductor and bind permanently to the host train, sharing entirely in both prosperity and decline.]

[Pioneer Title Adjustment: If any of your teammates possess the Pioneer title, their titles will automatically be rescinded.]

[Other additions: Train merging has no time limit, but a single train can accommodate a maximum of 7 merges. If you are the designated team leader, you can perform 1 additional merge.]

High above the frigid snow mountains, the train cut smoothly through the biting winds.

Bai Cheng stared at the notification messages with genuine surprise as they completely flooded her primary monitor. Originally, when Leng Ningxue had mentioned the concept of train merging, Bai Cheng hadn’t expected it to be this complex. Furthermore, because the system had remained completely silent after she left the station, she had assumed it was nothing more than an unverified rumor.

But now, it was clear that Tang Yan’s predictive ability was absolutely genuine.

A hostile adversary who could literally foresee the path ahead was a massive headache. Bai Cheng silently vowed that the moment she got another clean opportunity, she would permanently eliminate that hidden danger.

After a moment of quiet contemplation, she focused back on the text to dissect the mechanics. The notification contained a massive wall of text, but once organized, it was fairly simple to digest.

Although the system called it a "train merge," it was essentially teammates bringing a spare carriage and their single strongest employee over to join a unified crew. Because that added carriage still fundamentally belonged to the incoming teammate, the primary Conductor wouldn’t receive extra employee recruitment slots. In exchange for that limitation, however, the employee brought aboard would receive a free level upgrade.

As for the forced removal of a teammate’s Pioneer title, Bai Cheng guessed it was because the system treated a merged train as a single cohesive entity. Whether there would be new Pioneer perks added for unified teams later remained to be seen.

Finally, Bai Cheng’s gaze drifted down to the absolute bottom of the report.

"Merging seven times means a single train can hold a maximum of seven people..." But when she hit the clause about a team leader gaining an extra slot, a realization struck her. "Wait. After you merge, you can still continue to form broader alliances!"

Seven times seven was forty-nine, plus the leader. That meant a fully realized, maximum-tier faction would scale up to fifty players in the future.

The sheer scale of that number gave Bai Cheng pause. That was no longer just a small survival squad; it was explicitly a guild, a militarized alliance. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

She closed out the prompt, and as she recalled the Infinite Marauders she had slaughtered earlier, the pieces finally clicked into place. No wonder those guys all possessed blue-tier employees. They weren’t naturally rare recruits—they were simply green-tier employees that had been artificially forced upward through the merge mechanic.

A sudden surge of adrenaline rushed through her. Once train merging became standard practice, she would finally no longer have to traverse these isolated, icy tracks completely alone.

Without a shred of hesitation, she opened her console to message Yu Nian.

"Nian Nian must have seen the system prompt by now. She’s probably ecstatic."

Given their history, sharing a single train wouldn’t cause any friction or power struggles. Furthermore, because the merge system forced a permanent bond where players shared the exact same fate, betrayal or fractured loyalty wasn’t even a factor worth worrying about.

But right as Bai Cheng was about to type, her eye caught a brand-new UI metric sitting quietly in the upper left corner of her screen.

[Train Prosperity: 468]

There was a small information icon hovering right next to the number. Intrigued, Bai Cheng clicked it open.

[Prosperity Points: First unique facility crafted +1. Common grade items +1. Fine grade +2. Excellent grade +3. Epic grade +5. Legendary grade +10. Immortal grade +50. Steam Locomotive baseline +20. Each attached carriage +10...]

Bai Cheng raised an eyebrow. After scanning the rest of the UI, she couldn’t find any practical application or exchange shop for the stat.

"So it’s just a numerical scoreboard to show off development progress. Makes it easier to vet potential teammates or flaunt your status."

A useless vanity metric. Bai Cheng pouted, closing the sub-menu, and fired off her message to Yu Nian.

Naturally, Bai Cheng wasn’t the only player buzzing with excitement. Compared to the grim, survival-focused server announcements of the past, this update was treated like an absolute carnival by the wider player base.

Being able to pool resources, bring personal employees onto a single train, and build a mobile fortress collaboratively was an astronomical buff to survivability. The human survivors would finally scale up in power, giving them a fighting chance against whatever horrifying monstrosities awaited them at the upcoming stations.

An aggressive, chaotic recruitment wave instantly tore through the world chat.

"Looking for a Pioneer to merge with! I have an S-tier utility talent!"

"This merge function is a godsend! Any pretty girls want to climb aboard? Student demographics preferred! I’m 180cm, athletic, and very easy on the eyes!"

"The idiot above completely forgot this game uses real-name registration, didn’t he? Also, what the hell is a ’Wei Zhenzu’? Get lost, you absolute clown!"

"Need a solid teammate for a seven-stack. We already have a Pioneer. Pulling into the next station shortly, join immediately upon arrival!"

"Sob, sob... I used to be a famous streaming actress, highly proficient in multiple... practical skills. Please, Big Brother Tang Yan, take me under your wing!"

The global chat scrolled by at a blinding velocity as tens of thousands of players scrambled to secure their ideal combinations. Before long, the massive pool of over sixty thousand scattered survivors would be completely carved up, reorganized into countless independent, hyper-competitive factions.

Back in her cockpit, Bai Cheng stared at her direct messages, her brow furrowing into a look of pure disbelief.

Yu Nian: "I just secured an Armored Core from a drop, and my locomotive went through a massive evolution! My top speed can hit 100 km/h now, and my Prosperity score is already over a hundred!"

Yu Nian: "How about it? Terrified yet? Tell you what, Xiao Cheng—let’s have a race. Whoever pulls into the next station first gets to absorb the other person’s train. Deal?"

Lü Duo, who was standing quietly behind the captain’s chair, caught a glimpse of the text and went stiff with panic. "Young Lady... she’s not planning to abandon us, is she?"

Bai Cheng didn’t even have to deliberate. She would never throw away the loyal powerhouse employees she had spent so much effort cultivating. She genuinely wondered what kind of delusional fantasy was running through Yu Nian’s tiny brain right now.

"Boring. And absolutely not."

Yu Nian: "Oh, come on, I’m just teasing! Your crew is terrifyingly strong, there’s no way you’d ditch them. But seriously, we are racing. If I take first place at the next platform, you have to promise to do one thing for me."

The corner of Bai Cheng’s mouth twitched. "Are you serious right now?"

Yu Nian: "Dead serious! It’s time to officially inspect your academic qualifications!"

Academic qualifications?

A massive mental question mark popped up over Bai Cheng’s head. Weren’t their educational backgrounds literally identical?

A distinct, deeply unsettling feeling began to creep up her spine.