Qi Xiao went to bed very early yesterday to ensure he had enough energy for today's 'zero-dollar shopping spree'.
He woke up early, ate and drank his fill, and adjusted himself to his best condition.
When the Train arrived at the station and the doors opened, Qi Xiao threw the handbag filled with 'fertilizer' out of the carriage.
Only three hours, he had to be fast!
Turning left upon exiting, he saw neatly arranged shopping carts, and Qi Xiao grabbed one.
First, he had to find the food section!
Qi Xiao sprinted all the way, finding the fresh food section.
There was an abundance of water and food, with shelves almost entirely full.
But there was one problem: the food section was the furthest area from his Train!
The straight-line distance was probably over a hundred meters.
The good news, however, was that the kitchenware and daily necessities section, which contained large quantities of metal, plastic, and wood for upgrade materials, was closest to the Train.
He would still follow last night's plan: first, collect materials and upgrade to Level 2!
Because only by upgrading could he increase the number of carriages.
It was hard enough to encounter a supermarket; one carriage simply wouldn't be enough.
He would use one hour to collect materials for the upgrade, and if the progress didn't meet expectations, he would use the remaining two hours to hoard water and food.
Qi Xiao quickly made up his mind, filled the shopping cart he had pulled with mineral water and bread, and quickly pulled it back to the Train.
Then, he pushed a new, empty shopping cart towards the kitchenware section.
Qi Xiao swiftly took down the cutting boards hanging on the shelves; these were all wood and plastic!
A small cart full of cutting boards was pushed by Qi Xiao into the feeding area, and the wood collection progress reached one hundred kilograms.
Very good, now only plastic was left.
Qi Xiao checked the time; it was 8:20, and progress was fast.
Thanks to the kitchenware section not being far from the carriage.
Qi Xiao pushed two more shopping carts, and this time he loaded them entirely with plastic cutting boards.
With these two carts, the plastic collection progress reached eighty-two kilograms.
It was 8:57, only three minutes left until the scheduled time, but he was still a long way from enough plastic.
Was it too late?
The plastic cutting boards were already all taken; other plastic cups and basins took up too much space and weren't heavy enough.
Qi Xiao looked at the rows of shopping carts.
That's right, these also contained plastic.
Each shopping cart had about one jin (approx. 0.5 kg) of plastic, and he still needed sixty-eight kilograms, so at most, pushing another 140 shopping carts would be enough!
Those rows of shopping carts were pushed by Qi Xiao into the feeding area.
The feeding area was like a bottomless, gaping maw; shopping carts just kept going in, but it could never be filled.
This was so convenient; no need to search or carry.
The plastic collection progress was rapidly increasing.
Eighty-five kilograms...
Ninety-seven kilograms...
One hundred twenty-six kilograms...
One hundred forty-seven kilograms...
When only a dozen or so shopping carts were left, a message popped up on the screen.
"Upgrade materials collected. Upgrade now?"
"Yes \ No"
Finally, it was enough. Upgrade!
Level 2!
"Obtained one common carriage."
"Maximum stopover time extended by one hour. You can still choose to depart at 11:00."
"Train Modification Module Unlocked."
The second carriage appeared out of thin air, connecting to the original one.
Qi Xiao pulled open the door between the first and second carriages; the newly added carriage had no windows or doors, looking exactly like an ordinary container, except for a light on the top.
The broadcast had mentioned that upgrading could add carriages, but what Qi Xiao didn't expect was that the maximum stopover time was extended by an hour!
It was 9:15 now, with two hours and forty-five minutes left until departure.
Qi Xiao rolled up his sleeves and started working!
...
Qi Xiao chewed on a chocolate bar, sprinting and pulling a small cart into the carriage.
It was 11:58; this was playing at the extreme.
Looking at the supplies piled up to more than half of the first carriage, Qi Xiao sat on the ground and laughed.
Was this the joy of 'zero-dollar shopping' in the beautiful country?
The Train doors closed, and the Train started.
Qi Xiao leaned against the Train window, looking at the shelves outside with a hint of reluctance.
If it weren't for the day when everything would eventually run out, staying here wouldn't be bad either.
Stretching, Qi Xiao began to tally today's spoils.
First, water: sixty cases of 596ml 'Hahaha' mineral water, twenty-four bottles per case.
Also over three hundred bottles of various beverages.
About ten bottles of high-proof liquor.
Qi Xiao didn't like drinking alcohol; he primarily took it for sterilization and disinfection in case of injury.
He hadn't found medical alcohol, disinfectant, or similar items.
Mainly because there wasn't enough time; this supermarket was simply too big.
He could only, within the limited time, move as many supplies as possible that were right in front of him.
For instant noodles, Qi Xiao only took the bagged ones; the boxed ones took up too much space and were not considered.
He took forty cases of various flavors, twenty-four packs per case.
For fruit, Qi Xiao chose two types that stored well: apples and oranges.
Fifty jin (approx. 25 kg) per basket, four baskets of each type.
Then, these shopping carts were also filled with various items.
In the first shopping cart were high-energy, space-saving foods like chocolate and candy.
The second shopping cart contained various meat products: cured meat, cured sausages, dried meat, bagged roasted duck and chicken, and pork floss.
The third shopping cart held various canned goods: beef jerky, luncheon meat, and yellow peach.
In the fourth shopping cart were five 50-kilogram bags of rice and dozens of packs of dried noodles.
Five 10-liter barrels of blended oil, a dozen or so packs of salt, a dozen or so packs of sugar, and about ten bottles of various types of chili sauce.
There was everything: Laoganma, mushroom sauce, beef sauce, chopped chili sauce, and so on.
Although he couldn't cook now, he still had to stock up on grains, oil, rice, and noodles.
Unfortunately, the kitchen appliances in the supermarket, such as rice cookers, induction cookers, and microwave ovens, all required electricity to operate.
This Train didn't have electricity to power them!
But Qi Xiao still took them, just in case he could use them in the future.
As for instant self-heating hot pots, rice, potato chips, and similar items, Qi Xiao only symbolically took one cart's worth and not much more.
Mainly because they weren't very filling, and one shopping cart couldn't hold much.
Finally, in the shopping cart Qi Xiao pulled in, various men's clothes—T-shirts, work pants, boots, slippers, socks, underwear—were haphazardly stacked at the bottom, and there was even a snow down jacket.
This was a hint given to Qi Xiao by the guy in the snowy area; no one knew if the next stop would be a cold snowy mountain or a scorching desert.
The main idea was to be prepared for anything.
On top were also two washbasins, two trash cans, one barrel full of trash bags, and one barrel full of tissues.
Also, four packs of toilet paper and five packs of sanitary napkins, which Qi Xiao grabbed while taking toilet paper; there were both purple and pink ones.
Two pillows, two wool blankets, and one air-conditioning quilt.
The only decent weapons Qi Xiao could find in the supermarket were kitchen knives, and he grabbed a few.
Unfortunately, he didn't see any machetes or similar items in the fresh food section; otherwise, those would have been more exciting.
Oh well, something is better than nothing.
As the saying goes, 'My neighbor hoards grain, I hoard guns; my neighbor is my granary.'
Although he couldn't hoard guns, he couldn't just hoard grain either.
After counting, Qi Xiao nodded with satisfaction.
The slightly crowded carriage now gave him a full sense of security.
A smell of sweat wafted into Qi Xiao's nose.
Qi Xiao took off his clothes, twisted open a bottle of mineral water, wet a towel, and wiped his body.
After cleaning himself, Qi Xiao changed into new clothes.
He took an apple, sat on a chair, and studied the screen while munching.
"Train Conductor: Qi Xiao"
"Train Level: 2"
"Number of Carriages: 2"
"Initial Carriage × 1"
"Common Carriage × 1"