At that moment.
A massive light screen appeared in the sky above the Mechanical City.
"The Fortuitous Encounter map, Tower of Heaven, has officially opened. Maximum capacity of Trains is 8, participating Trains: 2."
"This Fortuitous Encounter map has a total of five levels."
"The difficulty of each level increases progressively, from D, C, B, A, to S."
"Each level cleared will grant a reward for the clearance."
"The first level is—"
"D-level difficulty, Doomsday Sprint."
In the next instant—
The traffic lights situated beside the eight roads suddenly began to flicker. When the green light emerged and remained lit, the previously foggy Mechanical City seemed to come alive in an instant, with all the lights turning on simultaneously. The entire city was instantly enveloped in neon lights.
From behind the Azure Dragon Train and the Stellar Train, two platforms slowly rose. On these platforms stood two mechs, each wielding a heavy sword!
Each mech stood a towering ten meters tall.
Exuding an overwhelming presence.
Without the slightest hesitation.
Chen Mang pushed the control lever to its limit. Accompanied by a roaring sound, the Train's speed rapidly increased as it shot down the asphalt road towards the Mechanical City!
Meanwhile, several lines of text flashed quickly on the control screen.
"This mech model is the Stellar Gen 3 Mech. The heavy sword it wields can pierce level 7 defense, and the mech itself also boasts level 7 defense."
"Reaching the finish line within ten minutes means a successful clearance."
At the same time, several routes appeared on the screen, serving as navigation for this Fortuitous Encounter map. Xiao Ai's voice urgently echoed inside the Train.
"Choose the third route."
Chen Mang, in the control room, looked ahead at the approaching fork in the road. Without hesitation, he steered the Train onto the rightmost route, entering the interior of the Mechanical City.
Tall buildings made of mechanical parts swiftly passed by on both sides.
"Boom, boom, boom!"
The sound of violent collisions rang out. Even with the Universal Wheels, which allowed for tighter turns, the rear of the Train still slammed into the walls due to the high speed, creating a trail of sparks and flashes.
Thanks to the Armor, the Train remained undamaged.
With the Permanent Shock Absorption, the passengers inside didn't feel their heads buzzing.
At this moment—
Xiao Ai finally had the chance to explain: "The third route has a fifty-meter-wide cliff. The Train can completely cross it using Spider Silk. Compared to the other routes, this one is the optimal choice. The first route—"
"No need to explain."
Chen Mang interrupted Xiao Ai: "I believe in you, just give me the conclusion."
He then glanced at the rearview mirror, where the pursuing mech, towering like a small building and wielding a heavy sword, was rapidly closing in. Chen Mang licked his lips, adrenaline surging, and couldn't help but grin: "I like this map."
He then firmly pressed a button on the control panel.
Immediately after!
From Car 12, eight Repeating Ballistas were pushed out by the lifting platform. The ballistas quickly adjusted, and with a piercing whistling sound, eight bolts shot towards the pursuing mech!
They hit their mark.
However—
The eight bolts, upon impact, didn't even scratch the mech's paint, let alone cause any damage. They simply lost momentum and fell to the ground.
"This thing."
Chen Mang suppressed the urge to test whether the Train Stunt could take down the mech. He just glanced somewhat dissatisfied at the eight Repeating Ballistas on the Train's 3D map: "I'll replace you sooner or later. You're too useless."
Level 7 defense.
His Train Stunt might not be able to take it down. Although his Drill Bit and Car Blade are level-overpowered, level-overpowering only means they can penetrate defense. Whether they can actually cause damage is another matter. He felt they couldn't do much damage.
But that heavy sword smashing into his Train—that would be a direct hit every time!
His Armor couldn't block that.
At this moment—
A sinkhole suddenly appeared on the straight asphalt road ahead. However, the Stellar Train didn't slow down at all. As it approached the edge of the sinkhole, two strands of Spider Silk shot out and anchored on the other side, allowing the Train to drive across.
In the blink of an eye, it reached the other side of the sinkhole.
It continued to speed down the asphalt road of the Mechanical City, while the mech in the rearview mirror simply bent its knees slightly and made a huge leap, effortlessly keeping up.
"Impressive."
Chen Mang calmly continued to look ahead. A leap that could cover fifty meters—quite the jump.
"Choose the second route ahead."
Another fork in the road appeared.
Chen Mang steered the Stellar Train onto the second route. As soon as it entered this street, he saw a massive Corpse Tide in the distance, charging forward with ferocious expressions, almost completely filling the street. They were all level one and two Zombies.
"Buzz, buzz, buzz."
The Car Blades on both sides of the Train, as well as the Drill Bit at the front, quickly extended and began spinning at high speed!
The Stellar Train continued at full speed, crashing into the Corpse Tide. Upon contact, numerous Zombie limbs were flung into the air, and sticky blood splattered across the windshield, completely blocking the view.
"..."
Chen Mang frowned slightly. He'd have to get a windshield wiper or something in the future. But for now, he couldn't worry about that. He immediately climbed up through the sunroof and onto the roof of the Train, sitting on the front and holding his cane, using his mind to take over control.
The overwhelming stench of blood hit him instantly.
Any Zombie that got close to the Train was instantly torn into pieces, unable to cause the slightest damage to the Train.
He looked back.
The mech was still charging forward on the blood-soaked asphalt road, closely following. This mech had no ranged weapons, only the heavy sword in its hand.
"Prepare to jump!"
"The width is 150 meters. At maximum speed, the Spider Legs can cover 155 meters—just enough."
From inside the Train, Xiao Ai's voice roared.
At this moment, another sinkhole appeared in the distance at the end of the road. This one was over 150 meters wide, exceeding the range of the Spider Silk, which could only shoot 100 meters.
However—
As the Train approached the edge of the sinkhole, the wheels instantly switched to Spider Legs. Using the momentum, the Train leaped from the edge, soaring into the air!
When it landed again.
It crashed heavily on the other side of the sinkhole and continued speeding down the asphalt road. Three seconds later, Chen Mang saw the finish line—a square surrounded by a yellow circle. As the Train rushed into it, it felt like entering a thick, viscous air.
The Train, which had been moving at high speed, instantly came to a halt.
The Azure Dragon Train had already arrived first and was waiting for him.
The control screen also displayed several lines of text.
"First level, successfully cleared."
"Reward for this level: 10,000 units of Iron Ore. The second level will begin in ten minutes."
Chen Mang looked in the rearview mirror at the mech, which had silently turned back after he entered the finish line. He then sat on the roof of the Train and looked down through the sunroof at Xiao Ai: "Tell Lao Zhu to send someone to clean the front of the Train."
He then turned to Er Dan, who was grinning beside him.
"Pretty fast."
"Not bad," Er Dan, inside the Train, stuck his head out, a hint of pride in his smile. "After all, it can fly. It's a level 5 Train—gotta have something you don't, right?"
"Nice."
He sat on the roof of the Train, lit a cigarette, and looked around at the Mechanical City made of mechanical parts. It was a spectacular sight, one he was seeing for the first time.
Lao Zhu was already leading a team to clean the sticky blood off the windows. The Train's basic accessories needed to be sorted out. Not even having a windshield wiper—this was unacceptable.
Ten minutes quickly passed.
The yellow circle gradually faded, and a light screen appeared before everyone once more.
The screen displayed a line of text and two flat maze maps.
"Second level, C-level difficulty, Mechanical Maze."
"Reach the end of the maze within 10 minutes to successfully clear the level."
"You have one minute to memorize the maze's layout. The level will officially begin in one minute."
At the same time.
Two dark entrances slowly appeared on a tall building in the square ahead. Clearly, these entrances were the maze's entrances.
"Li Shiji, come to the control room immediately!"
Almost as soon as the light screen appeared, the AI, controlling the Train's Sound System, blasted the message at maximum volume into Li Shiji's ears as he was still leaning out the window, enjoying the scenery!
Hearing the call, Li Shiji didn't hesitate for a second. He took off running towards the control room.
He ran so fast that he tripped, but he didn't have time to worry about that. He scrambled on all fours towards the front of the Train!
Li Shiji rushed into the control room and looked at the two flat maze maps on the light screen outside the window. His brain worked furiously. With only 20 seconds left, the urgency made his lips tremble slightly, and his fingers twitched as he traced the air.
Soon—
The countdown ended!
"Did you memorize it?" Chen Mang turned to Li Shiji.
"I memorized both maze maps. Which one is ours?"
"The one on the right. You take the lead from here."
Chen Mang suddenly remembered something. He picked up the Train Radio's intercom and found it still working. He turned to Er Dan, who was anxiously watching from inside the Train, and frowned: "Can you make it? If not, I can help you?"
"Thank you!" Er Dan's excited and hurried voice quickly came through the intercom: "I've got a damn phobia of mazes now."
Chen Mang didn't linger. He steered the Train into the black entrance on the right side of the tall building.
Inside, it was pitch black.
When the Headlights turned on, they revealed a large passage made of black steel. The passage was enormous, standing ten meters tall, and the forks in the road were also wide enough to allow the Train to turn even without Universal Wheels.
"Turn left!"
Li Shiji urgently called out as they approached a three-way fork. He then glanced at the Train's speed on the control screen and quickly spoke into the Train Radio intercom: "Keep your Train's speed at 50 km/h. Not faster, not slower."
"In three seconds, you'll reach the first fork. Turn right."
"Then follow my lead."
He then looked back at the passage ahead: "Lord Mang, at the next fork, we'll turn right."
Three minutes later.
"Woo!"
With a honk, the Stellar Train successfully exited the maze and came to a stop on another square. The control screen displayed several lines of text.
"Second level, successfully cleared."
"Reward for this level: A random white-tier Accessory Blueprint. Randomizing... Randomized to 'Iris Chip.' The third level will begin in ten minutes."
"PS: All Accessory Blueprints obtained in this Fortuitous Encounter map can only be obtained through the Tower of Heaven Fortuitous Encounter map."
"Not bad."
Chen Mang turned to Li Shiji, whose body was trembling slightly from the intense concentration. There was a hint of surprise in his eyes: "I can understand you memorizing the flat map, but you had no idea what was happening around Er Dan. How did you manage to direct him correctly?"
At this moment, the Azure Dragon Train slowly emerged and pulled up beside him.
Li Shiji, now relaxed, explained somewhat shyly: "Although the two maze maps were different, the flat maps had scale markings. As long as the Train Conductor kept the speed at 50 km/h, the same as the Stellar Train, I could use the Stellar Train's progress to infer where the other Train would be in its map."
"But I didn't know the specific rules, so I had that Train arrive at the finish line a bit later. I'm not sure if there's any benefit, but it shouldn't hurt..."
"Impressive."
Chen Mang patted Li Shiji's shoulder and signaled for him to return: "After this is over, there'll be a reward."
He then turned to Xiao Ai.
"With your computing power, couldn't you have memorized this maze's flat map and quickly deduced the path?"
"Of course I could."
Xiao Ai's mechanical voice echoed in the control room: "But you'd need to input the maze's flat map data into the Train Auxiliary AI first. That way, I can process it quickly. This robot's information reception equipment is too poor to absorb information quickly."
"However, there are many damaged machine parts here. Maybe we can find some components later to upgrade this robot."
"Then I'll be able to do it."
"My processing speed is fast, but my download speed is slow."
At this moment—
The Train Radio crackled with Er Dan's excited and grateful voice: "Bro, thank you, really. I've got a real phobia of mazes now. If it weren't for your help, I wouldn't have made it through this level."
Chen Mang, sitting at the control panel, turned to Er Dan on the Azure Dragon Train and waved with a smile.
"No problem."
"If it weren't for you providing the coordinates, I wouldn't have made it here either."
"There are still several levels ahead. Let's keep going."
Soon, the waiting time passed again, and the third level began!
Another light screen appeared in the square.
"Third level, B-level difficulty, Desperate Enigma."
"Solve the riddle, find the way out."
"Time limit: three minutes."
Immediately after—
As soon as the light screen appeared, the sound of countless gears turning rang out. The two squares where the Stellar Train and the Azure Dragon Train were parked began to slowly rotate.
With each rotation, the squares grew larger.
They gradually split into two separate squares, separating the Stellar Train and the Azure Dragon Train.
Then, numerous nozzles resembling Stellar engines emerged from the ground at the edges of the two circular squares. A blast of cold air shot out, forming sharp, sword-like structures that pierced the sky!
(End of Chapter)