Afterward, the Bald Man cherished the walkie-talkie like a treasure as he returned to his train compartment. Sitting in front of the control panel, he caressed it several times before carefully placing it to the side. Then he spoke.
"Mom."
"When this walkie-talkie beeps and emits a red light, turn the train's sound system to maximum volume!"
"No matter what I'm doing at the time—sleeping or even taking a dump—wake me up!"
The next moment—
A mechanical, pleasant voice echoed through the train compartment.
"Received."
Every Train Conductor could name their "Train Auxiliary AI" to make it easier for the AI to receive commands. He had named his AI "Mom." His real mother had passed away after multiple unsuccessful chemotherapy treatments before the apocalypse.
After completing all this, the Bald Man finally relaxed, leaning back in his chair, grinning with anticipation as he stared at the walkie-talkie on the table. He hoped it would soon emit that piercing sound, allowing him to quickly claim the nearly free reward.
As for not being able to find a train to descend upon, that was perfectly normal.
The S-Rank Job Change Quest for the "Mechanical Train" was absurdly difficult, almost impossible for a human to complete. Only a fool with a death wish would choose it, even though there were two chances to select a job change quest.
But to complete an S-Rank Job Change Quest, one would have to invest a lot of time, energy, and resources.
In the apocalypse, no one would be foolish enough to waste so much effort on a nearly impossible task.
But...
He wasn't worried. After all, in this world, there was no shortage of stubborn people. He believed it wouldn't be long before some Train Conductor stubbornly chose that S-Rank Job Change Quest, and he would gleefully deliver a painful and despairing blow to that Train Conductor!
Making them realize what reality truly was!
"30 Murphy Stones..."
The Bald Man stared at the three-dimensional train diagram on the control panel screen, biting his fingernails with a furrowed brow. "How should I spend them? Maybe use two on the 'Makeshift Heavy Machine Gun.' Using Murphy Stones on green-tier Vehicle Components is the most cost-effective. Just two Murphy Stones can give it a Supermodel Effect."
"No, no, having just one Level 5 'Makeshift Heavy Machine Gun' isn't enough. Plus, I'd need two more for the Heavy Machine Gun Bullet production line."
"This is such a headache..."
"I've never fought a battle with such abundance. It's so hard to decide."
"Mom, do you have any suggestions?"
"I suggest waiting until you have the 30 Murphy Stones before thinking about this," the Train Auxiliary AI's voice came through the sound system.
"Alright, Mom, you're dismissed. Go play."
The next day.
Chen Mang woke up from his sleep, stretched lazily, and then looked out the window at the gathered slaves, smiling with satisfaction. He had slept well last night.
The train had successfully leveled up to Level 3.
And he had also found a way to complete the S-Rank Job Change Quest.
This put him in a particularly good mood.
He glanced at the Train Panel. Including the Iron Ore the slaves had brought back yesterday, the train now had 196,000 units of Iron Ore.
Today, his task was to craft and upgrade the components for the Level 3 train.
In two words: splurge.
These two Iron Ore mines were almost depleted. The Resource Detection Radar showed there were still about 30,000 units left to mine. They would likely finish by noon and move on.
The Resource Detection Radar also showed that 5,000 meters below, there was a high-level rare resource mine.
A Level 3 "Crimson Heartstone" mine.
It was estimated to yield 1,800 units of Level 3 Crimson Heartstone.
Although he didn't currently need this resource, nor did he know which component it could be used for, he still planned to mine the "Crimson Heartstone" after finishing the Iron Ore mines.
Mainly because... the quantity was so small.
Only 1,800 units.
With so many slaves, they could mine it in an hour or two. It would be a quick task, and then they could head to other Iron Ore mines in the afternoon. The Iron Ridge Wasteland was rich in Iron Ore, enough for them to mine at a leisurely pace!
After planning all this, he finally turned his gaze away from the window and casually said to the door, "Come in."
Soon.
A young woman carrying a tray carefully pushed the door open, placed the tray on the control panel, and whispered, "Lord Mang, Vice Train Conductor Zhu asked me to prepare breakfast for you. From now on, I will be responsible for delivering your breakfast, lunch, and dinner."
"Hmm."
Chen Mang glanced at the woman and said indifferently, "You may leave."
A few days ago.
He had asked Lao Zhu to select ten women to clean the train and one specifically to clean his compartment. This woman was the one Lao Zhu had chosen for him. She was responsible for his daily meals and tidying up his compartment regularly.
Her looks were decent.
Even without makeup, her skin was smooth. However, her clothes, though washed many times, still looked old and worn, which didn't leave a great impression.
Yesterday, he had tried to exchange Iron Ore for wood on the Train Radio, but...
In the Iron Ridge Wasteland, there were only two ways to obtain wood. The first was to go to the "Mohe Hills" to cut down trees. There were large logging areas there, which were part of the Iron Ridge Wasteland, not a separate region, just a local name.
But the terrain there was too uneven for the train to navigate, making mining difficult and costly.
The second method was to occasionally find a few scattered trees in the Iron Ridge Wasteland. Cutting them down could yield a hundred or two hundred units of wood.
It wasn't much, but it was enough.
After all, Level 1 and Level 2 trains didn't require much wood. For those minimal needs, cutting a few trees in the Iron Ridge Wasteland would suffice.
His demand, however, was significant.
The "Clothing Customization Production Line" needed a lot of wood to produce two sets of clothes for over a thousand people. His plan was to outfit every slave and thug with two sets of clothes.
Then, the colors of the clothes for Level 1 slaves, Level 2 slaves, and so on would differ.
This would clearly define the hierarchy, and adding a Stellar Train arm patch to the clothes would make it more uniform and official.
The Train Radio didn't have enough wood to offer.
Later, they would head towards the Mohe Hills, mining Iron Ore along the way until they reached the Mohe Hills.
After breakfast, Chen Mang had Li Shiji, who had been waiting at the door, come in. He lit a cigarette, leaned back in his chair, and frowned at the blueprint Li Shiji handed him.
To be honest.
He wasn't nearsighted, but looking at this blueprint, he felt like he was seeing double.
The blueprint had a large cube outlined with dotted and solid lines, marked with several "1," "2," "3," and so on, along with numerous dotted lines.
In the bottom right corner, there were corresponding annotations.
"1": Refrigerator.
"2": Mirror.
"3": Sound System.
"4": Curse Words.
A minute later.
He put down the blueprint and looked at Li Shiji, who was standing nervously in front of him. "Relax. I understand the refrigerator and mirror on this blueprint, but what do the curse words mean?"
"Lord Mang, it's like this."
Li Shiji took a deep breath and explained, "The robot we're dealing with has intelligence far beyond a human's. Since it possesses such extraordinary intelligence, it must have some human emotions."
"And human emotions have many negative aspects that can be exploited."
"For example... doubt."
"When the robot encounters a fork in the road with three paths, we can mark the left path as a dead end and actually make it a dead end by not placing any refrigerators there. It would be an obvious dead end."
"After doing this a few times, the robot should start doubting itself when it sees these signs."
"Also, mockery."
"We can write mocking slogans on the walls, like 'A maze I made with my foot is as hard for you as a carp leaping over the Dragon Gate!' This will affect the robot's state of mind. When people are frustrated, they often lose rational judgment. If the robot has human emotions, it will surely be affected."
"Even if the robot has no human emotions, it's just a few extra lines of useless text on the wall. It doesn't hurt, and it might help."
"..."
Chen Mang silently looked down at the maze blueprint again. Suddenly, he felt like this was a bit over the top?
At first, he thought the S-Rank Job Change Quest for the "Mechanical Train" was nearly impossible.
But when he remembered he had a Level 10 Refrigerator, he suddenly felt it wasn't entirely out of reach.
Now, after hearing Li Shiji's idea, he began to wonder if the half-hour time limit was too short.
After a while.
He looked up at Li Shiji again. "In a few days, I'll have a new carriage built for you along with 100 refrigerators. You'll need to fully construct the maze from this blueprint in that carriage."
"If you have any other ideas in the next few days, feel free to add them."
"No problem, Lord Mang."
Chen Mang watched Li Shiji leave, his eyes narrowing slightly. Although he thought the maze blueprint was already perfect, it was still just a theoretical sketch. Once the maze was built, he would have a few slaves test it to see how long it took them to get out.
Then he shook his head.
Turning back to the Train Panel, he prepared to start crafting the components that could be made after the train reached Level 3.
At that moment—
Outside the train, the slaves were gathered together.
Lao Zhu stood below the carriage, holding a piece of paper with Lord Mang's handwriting. He looked up at the slaves, his voice amplified by the Car Audio.
"These are the ten rules that all members of the Stellar Train must follow. Violators will be punished."
"1: Rape or molestation of any female, male, Goblin, or any other creature that joins the train in the future will result in death."
"2: Stealing Iron Ore, food, or other resources from others will result in ten lashes and a demotion in treatment level."
"3: Those who engage in fights will be punished—ten lashes for the instigator and a demotion in treatment level."
"4: Rioting or inciting rebellion will result in death."
"5: Unauthorized taking of another's life will result in death."
"6: Hiding Iron Ore, Copper Ore, or other resources will result in ten lashes and a demotion in treatment level."
"7: Carrying weapons, Train Tokens, or other items while on external duties will result in death."
"8: Leaking any confidential information about the train to the outside world will result in death."
"9: Attempting to escape will result in death."
"10: Strictly follow and execute every word Train Conductor Lord Mang says. Disobedience will result in death."
After reading out the ten rules of the Stellar Train that Lord Mang had decreed.
Lao Zhu put away the paper and looked at all the slaves with an expressionless face. "Now that you know the rules, start mining."
Then he handed the paper to a woman beside him.
"Make four copies and post one in each Slave carriage."
"Understood."
With these ten rules—or rather, laws—the Stellar Train finally became a bit more formal. In this lawless and chaotic world of the apocalypse, having some rules provided a sense of security rather than just being constraints.
"This is great."
Biao Zi grinned as he watched all this, his eyes filled with satisfaction. He had truly witnessed the Stellar Train grow from just one carriage to now having eleven carriages and over a thousand slaves.
And the Stellar Train was already a Level 3 train.
"By the way."
Lao Zhu stopped Biao Zi, who was about to go on patrol. "Lord Mang is planning a major reform for the train soon. He mentioned it to me. We'll need two more teams of thugs. You're the first team. We'll need a second and third team."
"Each team will have ten members, including the captain."
"Your current manpower is a bit insufficient. With over a thousand slaves, there's a lot to manage every day."
"Lord Mang wants you to select some candidates from the slaves."
"Hmm..."
Biao Zi frowned, deep in thought for a while, then glanced at a muscular woman among the slaves and hesitantly asked, "Can we have female thugs?"
"You mean her?"
"She's not a bad choice. Find a few more backups. If Lord Mang says no, we'll have replacements."
"Alright."
"Uncle Li, do you really think someone would rape a Goblin?"
In the group of slaves heading towards the mining area, a young man walked beside Uncle Li, resting his pickaxe on his shoulder. He glanced at the Goblins also heading towards the Iron Ore and shrugged.
"But it's quite something."
"Never thought the first time I'd see a law against raping males would be in the apocalypse."
"It feels a bit surreal."
"..."
Uncle Li narrowed his eyes without speaking. He seemed to have thought of a new plan... The most important piece of information in these ten rules was the demotion in treatment level!
Currently, there were only three treatment levels on the train.
Level 1 Slave Treatment, Level 2 Slave Treatment, and Level 3 Slave Treatment.
Thugs didn't have treatment distinctions.
Even Li Shiji, who rose through his expertise, only had Level 1 Slave Treatment. Lord Mang couldn't let Le
vel 1 Slave Treatment be the highest, nor could he avoid differentiating thug treatments.
From the information revealed.
He vaguely guessed that Lord Mang was likely planning a major overhaul of the train, with the core being the treatment levels, clearly defining the treatment everyone received.
This also meant that if he seized the opportunity, he could rise during this overhaul.
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