Chapter 2
"Whoa.."
I marveled as I flicked through the panels this way and that.
The train that had taken something precious from me had pretty decent specs.
[The train's body nullifies external physical or other impacts.]
[Intruders from outside cannot enter without the passenger's permission.]
"...Thank goodness."
One of the things I had been worried about, so reading that eased my mind a little.
'...Worth what I gave it, I guess.'
It was a complicated feeling—bitter, yet oddly generous.
In other words, no matter how the monsters danced around outside, inside this thing I was absolutely safe.
But it was too early to relax.
No matter how sturdy a fortress is, without the power to keep it running, it's nothing more than a hunk of scrap.
"Then the fuel..."
I carefully tapped the energy management tab.
I tensed, worried it might once again demand some part of my body or memories, but thankfully there was no such horrifying message.
[Current fuel efficiency : Excellent - A high-efficiency engine was installed thanks to the initial cost paid. If fuel is supplied, long-term operation is possible.]
[Available fuel : 1. Magic stone (recommended) 2. Monster cores and byproducts 3. Other metal-containing substances]
[Current fuel : 13 hours 01 minute of operation remaining]
"So there are things called magic stones..."
I nodded.
A cliché from fantasy and monster novels.
The stone that drops when you kill a monster. It seemed even the monsters roaming outside had those too.
Thanks to the huge initial investment, it looked like even random monster byproducts or bits of metal would keep it running for quite a while.
"And there's one more thing I need to check—"
I turned my gaze to the empty minibar and kitchen.
Swoooosh—
For some reason, electricity and water kept flowing just by turning them on, but the refrigerator was miserably empty.
Having water was a huge plus, but food would have to be procured separately.
"Food..."
Growl.
Right on cue, my stomach growled.
The train could protect me, but in the end, whether it was to get the magic stones that served as fuel or the food to fill my stomach,
I would have to go outside for a while.
I looked out the window.
The train was still moving through the night streets.
Whenever a huge monster came into view, the world outside this train looked like another world.
And far away, the next station came into view.
"...Could I really do it?"
I thought, taking deep breaths.
There was no need to hunt monsters.
Food and metal; that would be enough.
So let's just sneak around near the station and hurry back.
Screeeech—
The moment I decided to stop, the train came to a halt with a sharp screech of friction.
Outside the window was a quiet station near the outskirts of the city.
Beyond the collapsed fence, the sign of a convenience store with its lights off hung precariously.
It looked like it had been hit by a typhoon.
Haa...
I flopped down in the driver's cab for a moment and rubbed my face.
My growling stomach was forcing me back to reality.
"Still, it would be nice to have a weapon or something...?"
With trembling hands, I manipulated the holographic panel.
[Internal Customization] - [Furniture/Props]
"Please, there has to be something usable... huh?"
My finger stopped scrolling.
When I selected the basic tool set and pressed the place button, a red metal toolbox fell to the floor with a thud in a burst of light.
I hurriedly opened the toolbox.
Among the assorted tools—screwdrivers, pliers, and the like—I picked up the heaviest-looking one.
"Fits my hand perfectly..."
It was a hammer with a grip just right for one hand.
The red-coated hammer looked strangely stylish.
Maybe because it had been generated by the train, it was a little different from an ordinary hardware-store hammer.
"Hoo, let's go..."
I steeled myself and pressed the door-open button.
Chiiii—
The moment the door opened, cool night air swept in.
I took my first step with solemn determination.
"Ah!"
But the moment I set my foot down, my body lurched.
It should have been a stride I could normally have taken, but my legs had become subtly shorter, throwing off my step.
I flailed about and barely managed to catch my balance.
"Ah, that startled me..."
I still wasn't used to this changed body.
My line of sight was lower, and my legs were shorter.
Even my gait felt awkward, like walking in someone else's shoes.
Sure enough, the shoe size didn't fit.
'At this rate, could I even run away properly?'
I wondered if I should stop by a clothing store or shoe store too, if there was one nearby.
Carrying my anxiety, I passed through the fence and headed toward the convenience store.
Just then.
Grrrr...
An eerie growl came from the darkness beside the convenience store.
My body froze stiff.
A calf-sized stray dog, its fur fallen out to reveal hideous red skin, was glaring at me.
'...It's big. It's just one, though—'
How many times in my life would an ordinary office worker like me ever have to face a beast like that?
My legs trembled.
I knew I had to run, but my feet wouldn't come off the ground, as if glued there.
It kicked off the ground and sprang at me.
"Aaaah! Stay away!"
The moment its jaws were right in front of my face, I screamed, squeezed my eyes shut, and swung the hammer wildly.
But then.
Whoosh-
Because of my shorter arms and weaker strength, the hammer struck only a glancing blow around its shoulder instead of its head.
'I missed.'
I thought I was dead now.
KWAAM-!
"Huh?"
It wasn't a dull thud; it sounded like a watermelon exploding.
I thought I'd only brushed it, but the monster's upper body had been crushed beyond recognition and sent flying far away to crash into something.
The door of a parked compact car had been crumpled like paper along with the monster's corpse.
"I did this...?"
Dazed, I looked back and forth between my pale hand and the hammer.
My wrist hadn't even felt the impact.
There wasn't a single scratch on the hammer, and even the blood on it disappeared cleanly when I flicked it off.
"How...?"
I was the kind of person who got muscle soreness the next day just from going up and down the stairs a few times at work.
And with my body having changed to a woman's, I should have been even weaker—
[A correction bonus has been applied to the train maintenance hammer.]
Only after seeing the message floating in the air did I let out a dry laugh.
"So it's item boost, huh?"
My fear instantly turned into relief.
I approached the crushed monster's corpse.
Then the corpse slowly dispersed into black smoke, leaving behind only a purple magic stone.
"So this is a magic stone."
After pocketing the magic stone, I held the hammer carefully again.
The hammer, which until a moment ago had felt like little more than a minimal safety measure, now felt incredibly reassuring.
My steps into the convenience store were much lighter than before.
In the glass reflection, a short-haired girl was holding a hammer and smiling faintly.
"Jeez."
No matter how many times I saw it, I still couldn't get used to it.
This is me, right?
I stared blankly at the window for a moment, then came to my senses and went inside.
The inside of the convenience store was a wreck, but it was more stocked than I expected.
Thanks to that stray-dog monster I had blown away earlier acting like a sort of gatekeeper, it seemed other survivors hadn't been able to get close.
Thank goodness.
First, I opened the convenience store storeroom door, where boxes of snacks and ramen were likely piled up.
And luckily, I found a blue plastic trolley abandoned in the corner.
Nice.
Now that I even had a wheeled cart, there was nothing to hesitate over.
I began raiding the storeroom and the shelves.
Canned goods, instant rice, jerky, chocolate, ramen.
Long shelf-life, high-calorie foods were my top priority.
"Let's skip the water."
I picked up a pack of bottled water, then put it back down.
The purified water from the train kitchen sink I had checked earlier was gushing out in torrents.
There was no need to waste space carrying heavy water.
It was better to stuff in more tuna cans and Spam instead.
Boxes and food piled up like a mountain on the cart.
Just in case, I grabbed some other daily necessities too.
"Hup."
I lightly pushed the cart and left the convenience store.
The wheels of the cart I was pulling rang out cheerfully.
It felt like I was out grocery shopping alone at a hypermarket.
Fortunately, I didn't run into any monsters on the way back.
Thud-thud.
Once I got back to the train, I dumped the loot inside.
One corner of the once-empty living room was now filled with groceries, and just looking at it made me feel full.
"Now to put in the fuel."
I pulled the magic stone I had picked up earlier from my pocket.
I was standing in front of the driver's cab, wondering where to put the lustrous purple magic stone, when a small compartment suddenly sprang open.
"Here...?"
When I threw the magic stone into the opening,
Wooooom-!
The engine vibrated softly, and a pleasant operating sound came from it.
[Fuel supply confirmed : 1 lowest-grade magic stone]
[Fuel efficiency optimization complete.]
[Current operating time remaining: 7 days 10 hours (178 hours)]
"A week?"
My eyes widened.
I had expected it to last only about a day at most, but the efficiency was pretty good.
But the surprises didn't end there.
Ding!
[Some of the locked items in Internal Customization have been unlocked.]
With the new notification, the menus on the cab panel were activated.
I touched the screen with curious eyes.
[Expansion & Modification]
1. Furniture/Facility Crafting: Consume fuel to instantly generate the furniture or amenities you want.
2. Train Car Expansion: Consume fuel to increase the number of train cars.
3. External Module Fabrication and Attachment: Attach special equipment to the outside of the train.
"It really can do everything..."
Fuel wasn't just for moving.
It seemed to be used for upgrades too, like a kind of currency.
If I had enough fuel, I could strengthen this train even more.
I stared blankly at the screen.
The fuel I had left now was enough for a week.
What should I modify or create,
I decided to think it over slowly while eating the snacks I brought from the convenience store.