"..."
In Guard Car No. 7, Lao Zhu sat at a table with a headache, staring at the screen displaying Biao Zi's account of the events in the Serendipity Map "Neon City."
He now served as half a historian.
The textbooks for the children were all written by him, with teachers responsible for explaining them.
Of course, the textbooks required some embellishment.
Like now...
He was pondering how to polish this part of the story. It couldn't be omitted—after all, the gains this time were enormous, significantly boosting the Train's strength. But how to phrase it was another question.
He couldn't just write that Lord Mang took Biao Zi to throw a massive party, could he?
A party with over 3,000 girls—the largest in history.
Everyone had an absolute blast.
Before the apocalypse,
a gathering of that scale would usually be called a stampede disaster.
After a long silence, he finally began typing on the keyboard.
"By this time, a year and a half had passed since the apocalypse. On this day, the Stellar Train faced another crisis. But as Lord Mang once said, a crisis is where danger and opportunity coexist."
"It can be peril, or it can be a chance."
"This time, Lord Mang personally led the charge, taking Biao Zi, the First Guard Team, and Li Shiji into the Serendipity Map 'Neon City'—a Fortuitous Encounter where risk and reward walked hand in hand. Nearly 100 Train Conductors had brought their own forces to participate."
"...Under Lord Mang's watchful gaze, they swiftly navigated the map's entertainment district via off-road motorcycles... Li Shiji's brilliant performance secured them their first pot of gold."
"Then, thanks to Lord Mang's keen insight..."
"...When faced with danger, Lord Mang decisively made the most correct choice..."
"Upon returning to Sun City, Lord Mang secured its free usage rights through his own means. He looked into the eyes of his subordinates—eyes filled with exhaustion from surviving the apocalypse for so long, eyes lost about the future."
"Then he turned his gaze to the other Train Conductors in the casino. In every pair of eyes, he saw nostalgia for the old world. Not a single one wished for the apocalypse to have come."
"Lord Mang fell silent. He saw what was missing in everyone's eyes."
"Hope."
"Under the collective gaze, Lord Mang stepped onto the high platform, microphone in hand. His solemn expression and leader-like aura commanded attention as he spoke in a deep voice."
"'No one likes the apocalypse.'"
"'You don't. Neither do I.'"
"'May today's party in this apocalyptic world reignite your hope for the future...'"
"...Every Train Conductor and Stellar Guardian was moved to tears. All along, it had been Lord Mang who gave them hope..."
"...Sister Qi, the owner of Sun City, admired Lord Mang's actions and threw herself into his arms. Lord Mang tactfully declined, firmly stating that until humanity was restored, he would never marry..."
"Hmm..."
Lao Zhu suddenly frowned, deep in thought. This phrasing might be problematic—what if Lord Mang actually married someday? The textbooks couldn't be revised. He immediately deleted the last line.
He typed again.
"'Those not of our kind will always harbor ill intent. You—'"
No, no, that wouldn't work either. Rewrite.
"'Until humanity is restored, I have no heart for matters of romance.'"
"Mm."
Lao Zhu exhaled in relief, stretching his arms as he looked over the draft on the screen. This should do—it was nearly perfect.
This "Train Development History" isn't just for teaching the children.
Many things need to be explained to the train residents regularly as well.
There's no rush to bring it over yet.
The lecture progress over there is slow and detailed—they're still on the "Iron Ridge Wasteland" and haven't even reached the Shahe Plain yet. No need to hurry. He's been revising it these past few days, checking if some words could be replaced with more appropriate ones.
He used to work in clerical duties.
This kind of thing was always part of his job, so having him write this was practically perfect.
A perfect professional fit.
Beside the computer lay a book bound with A4 paper, its title reading:
"Train Development History."
If the train truly reached great heights in the future, this history wouldn't just be seen by these children—many others would witness it too.
"Hmm..."
Lao Zhu nodded thoughtfully. When the chance arose later, he'd take a photo of Lord Mang and use it as the book's cover. That would be even better.
Two hours later.
Chen Mang, groggy and half-asleep, was jolted awake by the sound of the train's sound system. Only then did he realize he had dozed off at some point. Glancing at the targeting radar, he saw the Azure Dragon Train speeding toward him.
"Fell asleep?"
Chen Mang rubbed his bleary eyes before shooting an annoyed glance at the still-playing movie. It was unbearably boring—so much so that it had nearly suffocated him.
The plot revolved around a couple: the woman was blind, and the man donated his corneas to her before leaving without a word, leaving himself sightless while she regained vision.
The rest of the story followed their countless chance encounters, neither recognizing the other.
He really wanted to rant.
Is your sensitivity to sound really that low? Doesn't their voices sound familiar at all?
He didn't know when he had fallen asleep, but he made sure to remember the screenwriter's name.
"Zhang Yiren."
What a name.
If he ever got the chance to meet this writer in the future, he'd make sure to give them a taste of what a beating with a cane felt like—and ask why they wrote such a brain-dead and nauseating script.
He didn't even need to guess the ending. It was obvious—they'd finally recognize each other, reunite, fall in love again, and roll credits.
He turned off the movie playing on the screen.
Outside the window, the Azure Dragon Train was rapidly approaching.
"Two extra carriages and a few more automatic cannons, huh."
Chen Mang studied the fast-approaching train. Seems like this guy had been doing well lately.
Soon—
The Azure Dragon Train came to a stop right in front of him.
Er Dan, his face twisted with urgency, rushed to the side of the Stellar Train and shouted up at the train compartment's window: "Bro! Hurry up and bring that AI of yours down here! It's an emergency!!!"
"Seriously, I can't take it anymore."
Chen Mang opened the train compartment door, leaning on his cane as he stepped down with Xiao Ai in tow. He sighed at Er Dan. "Keep it down. It's not that big a deal—no need to panic."
"It really is urgent!"
Er Dan's expression was pained. "Just come take a look inside my train compartment and you'll see."
At the entrance of the Azure Dragon's compartment, Chen Mang leaned on his cane, his face blank as he stared into the open doorway. Inside, the lights flickered incessantly while the sound system blared chaotic noise.
"Son... son... son..."
"..."
Chen Mang remained silent for a moment before speaking up, "Why isn't it an electronic voice?"
"I found some recordings of my mother before she passed away, fed them into an AI, and made the AI mimic her voice. Brother, hurry up already."
"That's kinda dark."
He waved his hand dismissively, "Xiao Ai, wrap this up quickly. It's giving me a headache."
Ten minutes later.
"Whew—"
Er Dan let out a long sigh, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and then turned to Chen Mang with an awkward, bitter smile. "Bro, sorry you had to see that. Just dealing with some ridiculous nonsense myself, sigh."
"That Serendipity Map was way too absurd."
Chen Mang shook his head, pulled out a cigarette, and flicked it into his mouth. With a snap of his fingers, he casually asked, "So, what's the deal with your 'Eternal Confinement Cell' Serendipity Map?"
Er Dan nodded and was about to speak when he saw Xiao Ai walk over to Chen Mang, extend a finger, and produce a small flame to light the cigarette in Chen Mang's mouth.
The words stuck in his throat as he stared dumbfounded at the scene.
"Wh-what is this?"
"Oh."
Chen Mang chuckled and waved it off. "Just some little tricks, nothing worth mentioning. Go on, tell me about that 'Eternal Confinement Cell.'"
"Right, right." Er Dan scratched the back of his head and continued, "I do like exploring Serendipity Maps, but this was an accident. The Zombie Basin doesn't have any cities. I've been mining these past few days, and when I ran out of ore yesterday, I started looking for new veins."
"I passed by what looked like a village."
"Didn't expect there to be Survivors hiding inside."
"They were holed up in something like a giant capsule. The Targeting Radar couldn't even detect them. I only noticed because I saw someone come out to scavenge for food with my own eyes. So, I brought them all with me."
"Hold on," Chen Mang interjected thoughtfully. "Did you bring that giant capsule with you?"
"Yeah, but I couldn't figure it out. If you want to study it, I'll hand it over to you later."
"We'll talk about that later. Go on."
"Alright. So, I found several Survivors hiding in that village. One of them, named Zhang Yiren, told me—"
"Wait!"
Chen Mang cut in, his expression blank. "I have to interrupt again. You said Zhang Yiren—is that Zhang as in 'article' and Yiren as in 'Ten Steps to Kill One Person'?"
"Yeah, that's him. What, Lord Mang, you know him?"
"And he's a screenwriter, right?"
"Exactly."
Chen Mang suddenly grinned, though his eyes gleamed with something sinister. "Alright, call him down here right now. We'll put your story on hold for a bit—I've got something to say to him."
"Sure."
Three minutes later.
Chen Mang looked calmly at the gaunt man standing before him. "Zhang Yiren, is it?"
"Yes."
"You wrote the script for the movie 'Love One,' didn't you?"
"I did."
Unaware of what was happening, Zhang Yiren stood trembling, glancing up at Chen Mang nervously. "Big bro, are you... a fan of the show?"
"A fan of your mother's show."
Chen Mang took a deep breath. "Tell me, do you think the script you wrote is interesting? Where's the story? Just making the male and female leads keep running into each other without recognizing one another until the grand finale where they fall in love?"
"Did you really think filming that garbage for hours was entertaining?"
"That's not it, boss. There's a twist at the end."
"Oh? Tell me, what's the twist?"
"In the end, the two don't end up together. After searching fruitlessly for the male lead for three years, the female lead starts a new relationship with his best friend. When the male lead accidentally finds out, he chooses to bless them. Later, the female lead learns the truth and immediately abandons her already-married boyfriend to run back to the male lead. Her current husband, for the sake of love, donates his corneas to the male lead. Just as the female lead and male lead are about to put the past behind them and start anew, the nurse who'd been taking care of the male lead all this time—"
"Enough!"
Chen Mang couldn't help but laugh angrily as he picked up the walkie-talkie: "First team, get your asses down here now!"
"Time to work!"
Then he pressed his cane against the man's face and roared:
"I just wanted to relax and watch a damn movie! Do you know how rare it is to watch a film in the apocalypse? And you give me this garbage!"
"Thank god I fell asleep—if I'd actually seen that ending, you'd have given me a damn stroke."
"Er Dan, does this guy matter to you? I want him."
"Useless." Er Dan replied at lightning speed, quickly distancing himself: "He's just a Slave on my Train. I don't know him, never spoke to him. If Lord Mang wants him, take him."
This was the first time he'd seen Lord Mang this furious.
Mainly because...
Even he felt pissed listening to that. What kind of crap were they making? Before the apocalypse, haters would just curse at you. After the apocalypse? Well... enjoy the consequences.
Biao Zi and others who rushed out from the Train immediately went to Lord Mang's side, hoisted the man named Zhang Yiren onto their shoulders, and marched toward the Train.
"Hah..."
Chen Mang exhaled deeply, looking apologetically at Er Dan: "Sorry you had to see that. You know how it is—humans are emotional creatures. Sometimes we lose our temper. You were saying?"
"Understood, completely understood. I was just saying when I passed that village, I met a few Survivors, including that Zhang Yiren. Then Zhang Yiren told me—"
Right then—
A terrified, blood-curdling scream from Zhang Yiren pierced the air:
"Boss! I'm just the screenwriter! You can't blame me for everything—the director changed most of my script!"
"The director's on the Train too! He should take at least half the blame!"
"Brother, sorry to interrupt again. If it's convenient, could you hand over that whole batch of Survivors from that village to me?"
"No problem."
Er Dan wiped sweat from his nose and urgently turned to yell at the Thugs behind him: "Quick! Bring down the newest Slaves!"
For some reason...
Even though Lord Mang hadn't threatened him, he still felt terrified. Why was he sweating so much?
Soon—
Three or four men and two women were dragged down.
One obese man glared at Zhang Yiren, who was already being carried away, and cursed: "You heartless bastard! If I hadn't pulled you into my safehouse back then, you'd be dead! And this is how you repay me?!"
"Can you blame me? I told you back then that the script would get criticized if filmed that way, but you insisted on making those changes, saying the harsher the criticism, the higher the buzz. If it weren't for you, I would've written the male and female leads getting together the first time they met."
"If we'd written it like that, what would be the point of making the movie? We might as well just end it with one sentence!"
"That's your problem. You're the director, not me."
"Well..."
Listening to the argument, Er Dan wiped the cold sweat from his forehead again and timidly asked, "Should I continue?"
"Go on."
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