Waking up at this hour had completely flipped his sleep schedule again.
But it was what it was.
Outside the window, the roar of the Doomsday Cannon echoed intermittently. The Targeting Radar displayed thousands of red dots, with hundreds of monsters actively attacking them.
High-level monsters were cleared by the Doomsday Cannon.
As for the low-level ones—
Biao Zi led the first squad, while the Third Squad Leader commanded the third squad, holding the line.
They were practically slaughtering their way through.
The sheer number of monsters meant that if they wanted to mine in peace, they had to stop the Train and engage the creatures head-on. The mining operation was under immense pressure.
If even a single Zombie slipped through and reached the residential area, chaos and casualties would follow.
It was a messy situation.
And if everyone stampeded back to the train in panic, a large-scale trampling incident would be inevitable.
"...Hah."
Chen Mang jumped off the train, stretched his limbs, then lit a cigarette and stood beside the train, gazing blankly at the starry sky in the distance. He did nothing—just spaced out.
His eyes were unfocused.
In his peripheral vision, he could see Zhang Yi, Zhang Er piloting the Thunder mech, cutting down monsters near the train under the cover of night, ensuring none broke through to the crowd.
Meanwhile, the Third Squad Leader controlled the Leech mech, picking off any monsters that breached the defenses with precise shots.
Their coordination was seamless.
Though each squad usually trained separately, after an afternoon of combat, the two teams had developed a surprising synergy.
Other squad members without Armor wielded Tidal Gatling Guns, mowing down the creatures.
"Rat-tat-tat!!"
"Boom-boom-boom!!"
"Clang-clang-clang!!"
The sounds of bullets firing, bombs exploding, and pickaxes striking Iron Ore blended together like a symphony—oddly harmonious.
After standing there in a daze for a long while, Chen Mang finally returned to the train's control room.
He turned his attention to the screen displaying details about the Military Factory.
This wasn't an Accessory—
It was a function of the train.
The monster flesh he'd collected had exchanged for 170,000 Merit Points. The higher the monster's level, the more points its flesh was worth.
Military Factory
-
Can
develop, forge, or purchase
various
firepower or defense-related Accessory Blueprints
.
-
Requires the
Train Auxiliary AI
to be at least
Level 10 or higher
.
-
Each development, forging, or purchase consumes
Merit Points
.
Currently available development paths—
-
White-grade Firepower Accessory Blueprint
: 1,000 Merit Points
-
Green-grade Firepower Accessory Blueprint
: 10,000 Merit Points
-
Yellow-grade Firepower Accessory Blueprint
: 50,000 Merit Points
-
Blue-grade Firepower Accessory Blueprint
: 100,000 Merit Points
-
...
"Not bad."
Defensive Accessory Blueprints cost twice as much as offensive ones.
The development time depended on the AI's computational power—the faster the processing and the fewer tasks running, the quicker the development.
With this train function,
They now had another way to obtain Accessory Blueprints.
"First, develop five white-grade firepower accessories and five white-grade defense accessories. Let's see how they perform."
"Understood!"
Xiao Ai's voice promptly responded through the train's Sound System.
In addition, there was that red-tier component, the "Armed Black Hole Robot Production Line." This component occupied a vast area and was placed inside the Space Gate of Carriage No. 2—Xiao Ai's exclusive workshop.
It could manufacture offensive "Black Hole Robots."
These robots could be controlled by AI or programmed to operate autonomously for tasks like attacking or patrolling.
The exact number of "Black Hole Robots" an AI could control simultaneously depended entirely on its computational power, which was determined by the level of the "Train Auxiliary AI."
Chen Mang stood up and walked into the Space Gate of Carriage No. 2.
His eyes were met with an array of instruments, overhead racks, and piles of materials stacked to the side.
"Train Conductor."
A robot covered entirely in mechanical structures strode toward him. Suddenly, its mouth gaped open, and a small Gatling Gun extended from within, its barrel slowly rotating.
"This is a Level 1 robot produced by the Level 1 'Armed Black Hole Robot Production Line.'"
"Both its Armor and weapons are Level 1."
"It can be used for patrolling, guarding, and similar tasks."
"There's a small compartment at the back of its head where it can store large amounts of copper ore, used to manufacture bullets for the Gatling Gun and other various weapons."
"This production line is customizable."
"There are multiple weapon options to choose from, such as chainsaws, shoulder-mounted rockets, or footstep mines."
"The Armor level can also be customized."
"Different robots have different manufacturing costs."
"..."
Chen Mang didn't speak. Instead, he strode over to the "Armed Black Hole Robot Production Line." It was the largest component he had ever seen—far bigger than the Ground Burst Missile, almost resembling a small Armory.
Both upgrading and manufacturing required copper ore.
This was a good thing.
And he needed it badly. With so many monsters around, relying solely on the Guardians was proving difficult. Supplementing with armed robots would make a significant difference.
After a moment of contemplation, he immediately spent 540,000 units of copper ore to upgrade it to Level 10 in one go.
The upgrade cost wasn't too high.
The real expense lay in manufacturing.
A standard Level 8 robot, equipped with Level 8 Armor and three Level 8 weapon components, cost 500,000 units of copper ore.
That was quite expensive—and that was just the standard version. Adding special components like a "Night Vision Device" or "Level 1-3 Smart Chips" would drive the price even higher.
But those extra components weren't necessary. He could simply leave everything to Xiao Ai's control.
Xiao Ai, using the "Mechanical Eye" combined with the "Targeting Radar," was far more effective than any Night Vision Device. Xiao Ai's perspective was different from a human's—in some ways, it was like having a god's-eye view. With his immense computational power, he could process multiple scenes simultaneously.
The Train currently had a decent amount of copper ore—351,000 units in total. But that was only enough to manufacture six Level 8 robots, which wouldn't make much of a difference.
However...
This "Black Hole Armed Robot Production Line" was customizable and not rigidly fixed. If he opted out of Level 8 Armor—or even Level 1 Armor—then manufacturing a standard Level 8 robot would only cost 50,000 units of copper ore.
A full 450,000 units less.
The price plummeted instantly.
He didn't need robots with high defense—what was the point of giving a long-range attack robot such heavy armor? Even if they got destroyed, he could just build new ones.
Immediately consuming 2 million units of copper ore, he produced 40 Level 8 robots.
"Now that's perfect."
Chen Mang nodded with a smile, then turned to Xiao Ai. "The rest is up to you. Place another 50,000 units of copper ore behind each robot's head—that should be enough ammunition. Can your current computing power handle controlling this many robots at once, or do I need to set patrol commands?"
"Absolutely. Without adding any other tasks, my remaining computing power allows me to control up to 500 robots simultaneously. Forty is more than manageable."
"That high?"
A flicker of surprise crossed Chen Mang's eyes before he waved dismissively and headed out.
"Alright, keep at it then."
"I'm off."
He wasn't sure why he told an AI to "keep at it"—maybe because Xiao Ai genuinely seemed busy. With these 40 Level 8 robots, the residents' mining operations were now absolutely secure.
The most impressive thing about this production line?
Two Supermodel Effects.
—
「Armed Black Hole Robot Production Line Level 5 Supermodel Effect」: Intact robots can be recycled at full price. Damaged robots can be recycled at a discounted rate based on their condition.
「Armed Black Hole Robot Production Line Level 10 Supermodel Effect」: Robot ammunition consumption is halved.
—
Recyclable!
Intact robots could be recycled at full price.
Damaged robots could be recycled at a discount based on their condition.
In other words, even if these Level 8 robots became obsolete later, he could simply recycle them all to manufacture higher-level robots. Finally, he understood why this component was hailed as a heavy firepower accessory.
In some ways, it was even more impressive than the 「Ground Burst Missile」!
With enough copper ore, he could create an entire robot army—each one disciplined, fearless, and under Xiao Ai's control, perfectly coordinated.
If he could also feed Xiao Ai's database with large-scale combat tactics...
That would be perfection.
One man, an entire army!
What's more, these robots were incredibly cheap—especially if armor wasn't a priority.
Add the 「Ammunition Consumption Halved」 Supermodel Effect, and it was flawless.
This was, by far, the most satisfying red-tier component he'd ever obtained.
The 「Ground Burst Missile」 was impressive too, but it was too expensive—he couldn't bring himself to use it. If it had been even slightly cheaper, he would've carpet-bombed the area the moment the 「Zombie Volcano」 erupted!
Under the night sky,
40 pitch-black, identical robots filed out of Carriage No. 2, rifles in hand, and strode into battle. Their precise shots picked off the monsters charging toward the train with flawless coordination.
Not a single bullet was wasted—no two robots ever targeted the same monster at once.
The 40 robots fanned out around the residents, forming a protective wall-like perimeter.
"Graceful. Precise."
Inside the train carriage...
Chen Mang observed the scene before him, silently offering two evaluations in his mind: not a single bullet wasted, raising the gun to aim and fire with crisp efficiency. Though there was almost no tactical maneuvering, the entire process was rather pleasing to the eye.
A charm unique to mechanical civilization.
Biao Zi and the others, who had been barely holding on, instantly found relief as these 40 robots joined the battlefield.
"Forty isn't enough."
After watching for a while, he murmured in a dazed whisper.
He wanted to own an army of robots!
At least...
A thousand or so.
These robots weren't designed with synthetic skin—their exposed structures were standard steel machinery, unmistakably robotic at a glance, completely different from those in Neon City.
At least these robots were genderless.
No dicks, no pussies.
Pure killing machines!
Just then—
All the robots suddenly froze in place, swiftly slinging their rifles behind their backs before spreading their arms. With mechanical shifts, their arms transformed into two Gatling guns.
In perfect unison, they aimed at the monsters ahead.
The next moment—
"Rat-tat-tat!"
The deafening roar of Gatling fire erupted across the wasteland, clearing the surrounding monsters in an instant—an overwhelmingly effective display!
The sight of 40 robots with Gatling arms was nothing short of awe-inspiring.
Except...
Chen Mang blinked. "Xiao Ai, what the hell are you doing? There aren't that many monsters. Rifles would've been enough. Why pull this stunt? Save the copper ore!"
"Ahem."
Xiao Ai's slightly embarrassed voice came through the train's sound system. "I saw you were pretty engrossed, Train Conductor, so I thought I'd show off something even cooler."
"But it's fine. Didn't use much ammo."
"These are low-level monsters. Making low-tier bullets doesn't cost much copper ore, especially with the Supermodel Effect halving ammo consumption."
"Focus on patrol and vigilance. Don't actively attack monsters that aren't approaching the train. Save iron ore—no more flashy moves!"
"Understood! Copy that!"
"What's going on?"
The Third Squad Leader, piloting the Leech mech, stared blankly at the scene and muttered, "Am I out of a job?"
"Pretty much."
Biao Zi's voice echoed from the mech's cockpit. "You should be glad Director Ai can't pilot mechs, or you'd really be unemployed. I bet Director Ai would handle a mech better than you."
"No shit! With that kind of processing power, he could multitask like crazy."
"I can't even read a novel while taking a dump without getting constipated."
"Heh."
Biao Zi, piloting the Executioner mech, chuckled at the sight but didn't say more. Didn't affect him anyway—his mech was a brute-force gravity type. He wasn't getting replaced.
Having these robots was a good thing.
Now he'd have time to train in the Combat Training Virtual Space. He'd been so busy lately he hadn't had a moment to spare. He was itching to improve his Physical Fitness Index so he could request the Thunder mech from Lord Mang.
The Stellar's strength had clearly increased another notch.
Every time they survived a crisis, the train always grew a little stronger.
His sense of honor towards the Stellar grew stronger by the day.
Night gradually deepened.
All residents had already returned to the Train, and all Guardians were back aboard as well. There would be no patrols or vigilance outside the Train tonight.
Or rather—
For a long time to come, there would be no night watches outside the Train.
The number of monsters was simply too overwhelming. On one hand, the Guardian squads couldn't hold them off, and on the other, there was no need to—with all residents back in their Carriages, what was there left to defend?