Chapter 74 – Besieged by Bone Demons, A Hard-Won Escape

In the Survival World, living long isn’t primarily about personal combat prowess. The key factors determining life and death are control and rational utilization of resources, along with critical decision-making at pivotal moments.

Xiao Wuwang understood this well, which was why he didn’t envy players from later eras who possessed formidable individual strength.

Instead, the true Big Shots lurking in the shadows were all masters skilled in strategy and planning, adept at manipulating resources and information with ease. These were the figures Xiao Wuwang genuinely revered and aspired to emulate.

This was also why he felt so strongly drawn upon seeing the two Talents: King of Chests and Chosen Miner.

Chosen Miner was a visible, tangible resource-generating Talent. In future development, as long as mineral deposits were found, it could continuously yield substantial returns.

King of Chests carried a hint of uncertainty, yet it offered limitless possibilities. With this Talent, as long as there were enough chests, he could continuously Synthesize higher Quality chests, thereby obtaining rarer Items and resources. There was even a chance to unlock pivotal Items that could alter fate.

Xiao Wuwang stood still, his eyes flickering as he quickly weighed the pros and cons of these two Talents in his mind.

He knew all too well that in this brutal Survival World, every choice could influence the future trajectory, leaving no room for carelessness.

After an intense internal struggle, Xiao Wuwang ultimately decided to first Plunder the King of Chests Talent.

With his own Talent and the Artisan Workbench working in tandem, he could continuously produce Equipment, potions, and Items of various Grades. He had plenty of ways to acquire various mineral resources, but the rare Items from high-Grade chests might not be obtainable even with money!

[Ding!]

[Talent successfully Plundered — King of Chests!]

As the Talent Plunder Card dissipated, Xiao Wuwang felt a strange power surge into his body, then vanish in an instant.

Opening his panel, he indeed saw King of Chests added to the Talent section!

With the Talent matter settled, Xiao Wuwang’s gaze fell upon the eight trains.

The locomotives certainly couldn’t be taken away. Without hesitation, Xiao Wuwang Reclaimed them all.

Breaking Down the eight locomotives yielded him considerable resources: Wood24000, Iron1600, Copper240, Mechanical Parts120.

Unfortunately, used Train Upgrade Shards were not refunded.

Looking at the carriages, among these eight trains were three Living Carriages, one Storage Carriage, one Armament Carriage, one Breeding Carriage, and six other special carriages; the rest were Ordinary Carriages.

It would be a pity to Break Down the special carriages, so Xiao Wuwang took them all.

He didn’t have a Breeding Carriage yet, so this could supplement his setup. One more Armament Carriage was never too many, and an extra Living Carriage was definitely needed—it could be converted into a gym and Cultivation room.

As for the remaining two Living Carriages and one Storage Carriage, after upgrading them a few levels, they could be sold to people in the group chat.

He also took two Ordinary Carriages for unforeseen needs, and Broke Down all the rest.

After Breaking Down all the Ordinary Carriages, he obtained: Wood1200, Iron360.

These resources were better than nothing, though Xiao Wuwang didn’t pay them much mind.

With everything arranged, the sealing time of the Boundary Sealing Stone was almost up.

Next, there was still a tough battle to fight!

Looking at the train with its twelve carriages in total, Xiao Wuwang couldn’t help but feel a headache coming on.

Once the Boundary Sealing Stone broke, half an hour would pass, and outside, a massive horde of Bone Demons would surely have gathered. The Order 4 carriages were manageable, given their higher Durability, but the newly acquired carriages were mostly Order 2. He feared these carriages wouldn’t hold up before they could break through the Bone Demon encirclement.

Xiao Wuwang checked his Fatigue Points, which were barely depleted, still at 97.

So, he upgraded the newly acquired Living Carriage, Breeding Carriage, and Armament Carriage—which he would need in the future—along with his own existing Armament Carriage, all to Order 3.

As long as these carriages could withstand this wave of attacks, he could find time later to upgrade them one more level, restoring their Durability to full.

As for the other carriages, he placed them all at the rear. If they were destroyed, he’d have no choice but to reluctantly abandon them.

Just as he finished arranging everything, the space trembled slightly—the Boundary Sealing Stone had shattered!

“Lao Tie! Full speed ahead! And use another Intermediate Acceleration Card!” Xiao Wuwang commanded.

“Understood, Master!” Lao Tie diligently carried out his orders.

Xiao Wuwang’s train had a speed of 60 km/h. The Intermediate Acceleration Card increased speed by 50% for 8 hours.

Soon, Xiao Wuwang’s train accelerated to 90 km/h.

With no Boundary Sealing Stone to block them, the countless Bone Demons gathered outside surged madly toward Xiao Wuwang’s train.

Standing at the train’s head, Xiao Wuwang stared intently at the approaching horde of Bone Demons.

“Xiao Wu! Open fire!”

At his command, the already charged Antimatter Particle Beam Turret suddenly emitted a faint, eerie glow.

The glow swept silently across the front of the train, reducing all Bone Demons and even matter in its path to dust!

This was the lowest setting of the particle beam!

Fortunately, the tracks were Rule Items and couldn’t be destroyed, or Xiao Wuwang’s train would likely have derailed.

With the path ahead cleared, the train passed through smoothly.

However, the surrounding Bone Demons surged like a tide, filling the brief gap with renewed ferocity.

“Bang, bang…”

The guns on the Armament Carriage and the Viper-S Autocannon at the train’s head fired simultaneously, slaying the Bone Demons climbing onto the train one by one.

Eventually, too many Bone Demons clambered aboard, forcing Han Xing to join the fray as well.

Even so, some Bone Demons managed to inflict damage on the train before dying.

Watching the Durability of some carriages steadily drop, Xiao Wuwang couldn’t help but sigh inwardly—his accumulated strength was still too thin.

If his armed forces were stronger, or if he could acquire defensive Modules like Shields, the train’s safety would be much better guaranteed.

But this was only the seventh day. Once he derived the Order 4 Crafting Station Blueprint tomorrow afternoon, he would enter a phase of rapid development!

Lost in thought, a loud “Bang!” suddenly echoed, and the train shuddered.

Xiao Wuwang looked and saw that the last Order 2 Ordinary Carriage had finally been completely destroyed by Bone Demons, breaking away from the train.

At that moment, the train’s head finally broke through the dense Bone Demon zone, and fewer Bone Demons would be able to climb aboard from then on.

After a few more minutes of travel, not a single Bone Demon could climb onto the train anymore. The crisis was finally resolved!

Xiao Wuwang finally let out a long sigh of relief.

He couldn’t understand why the group ahead, without even assessing the situation clearly, dared to attack him. Even if they managed to defeat him, their Level 3 train likely couldn’t break through the Bone Demon horde, and they would still be doomed in the end.

How could they come up with such a foolish, suicidal move?!

Probably greed was to blame, after all.