The dormitory gradually fell silent.
The two drifted off to sleep amidst their conversation, occupying only a tiny space within the Stellar Train. Among its current population of over 5,000 residents, they were utterly inconspicuous.
Yet.
They represented a microcosm of all the train's inhabitants.
After a year of displacement in the apocalypse, everyone cherished their current lives dearly, striving for better days as hope for the future rekindled in their hearts.
A small flame born amidst the despair and oppression of the end times.
Though faint, this spark would grow stronger with time, spreading like wildfire.
Admittedly.
Not all was perfect among these residents, but such was human society—each person had their own thoughts, and not everyone could embody pure goodness, especially survivors who'd endured a year of apocalypse.
Yet it was enough. So long as the overall direction was positive, individual differences could be accommodated.
Soon—
Dawn broke as the train stopped beside two level-2 iron ore deposits. Residents hoisted pickaxes and filed out orderly into the mines under the morning sun to begin their day's work.
Next came sixty robots, leaping from the train to form a defensive perimeter outside the residential area, eliminating approaching monsters.
Teams Two and Three also disembarked.
A new day had begun.
Everyone settled into their tasks.
Meanwhile, Chen Mang—who'd slept slumped in a chair all night—stretched drowsily upon waking, only to discover an unfamiliar blanket draped over him. Frowning slightly, he checked the Train Log while questioning Xiao Ai.
"Did you put this blanket here?"
"No. Xiao Fang brought you breakfast this morning and covered you when she saw you sleeping in the chair—last night's low was -4°C after all."
"Weren't you concerned she might've brought a dagger instead?"
"Conductor, your cabin ceiling mounts ten Makeshift Heavy Machine Guns. Had she made one wrong move, I'd have ensured not even fist-sized remains survived—like stones crushing eggs, just shell casings left. Your concern is unnecessary."
"Hmm."
Chen Mang nodded without further comment, glancing at the rice noodle roll on his desk. After closing the Train Log and washing up, he returned to his chair. Between bites of breakfast, he examined yesterday's other white accessory's Supermodel Effect.
Last night's Train Log showed no major issues—all systems operated normally.
-
[Band-Aid Production Line Lv.5 Supermodel Effect]: Rapid blood clotting.
[Band-Aid Production Line Lv.10 Supermodel Effect]: Size flexibility—larger sizes consume proportionally more iron ore.
-
"Unlimited size scaling?"
Chen Mang nodded thoughtfully. The clotting function was mediocre—the Simple First Aid Kit worked better—but the size-adjustment effect could prove invaluable in specific scenarios.
Not immediately useful though.
Time to begin the day's work.
He grabbed the train radio to contact the Traveling Frog, intending to check on its progress, but after sending several messages, there was no response. Clearly, it had already lost contact.
"That efficient?"
A flicker of surprise crossed his eyes. It had only been a few days—had it already found the Serendipity Map? Were these maps really that easy to locate?
"By the way—"
Chen Mang suddenly remembered something and turned to Xiao Ai. "How's the research going on those things I mentioned last time?"
"Progress is swift."
Xiao Ai's voice came through the train compartment's sound system. "Although the body material of this robot attached to the S-rank Mechanical Train Job Transfer Mission is somewhat average, it contains an extremely unique accessory that allows an AI to inhabit and control it directly—rather than through accessory manipulation."
"However, it requires careful disassembly. I haven't located the accessory yet, but once I find and decode it, I can transfer a portion of my AI code into this body. Even outside the Targeting Radar's range, I'll be able to operate this robot."
"Then I can stay inside the refrigerator and accompany you, Train Conductor, to the Serendipity Map in Neon City."
"Excellent."
Chen Mang nodded in satisfaction. "Keep at it. I have high hopes for you."
Done!
His tasks were complete—simple yet unremarkable. He stretched his limbs and headed back toward the Combat Training Virtual Space. His previous attempts at the Doomsday Paradise had ended in failure multiple times, but he was ready to try again.
Ten days passed.
During this time, the Stellar Train had only done two things:
Mining and killing monsters.
Now, the train's resources had reached impressive levels.
-
[12.98 million units of Iron Ore, 1.87 million units of Copper Ore, 2.39 million units of Timber, 4.48 million units of Crimson Heartstone]
-
The iron ore count had surpassed ten million.
This was the highest stockpile the Stellar Train had ever held. With fewer trains left in the Zombie Basin, vast quantities of untapped iron ore were ripe for the taking. But because so many trains had vanished, no one was left to purchase daily necessities from him.
Clearly, after recent events, all remaining trains had prioritized upgrading their defensive and offensive capabilities.
Other accessories and daily necessities were no longer worth spending iron ore on.
"Hmm."
Seated in the train compartment, Chen Mang glanced at the Train Radio to confirm his Traveling Frog hadn't met an untimely end before turning his attention to the control panel screen.
He had lost contact with Er Dan for ten days now.
A question weighed on his mind:
Should he upgrade to Level 10 Armor first, or Level 9 Train?
-
[Upgrade Conditions]:
1.
All mandatory vehicle accessories must be fully crafted.
2.
150,000 units of Level 2 Iron Ore must be consumed.
3.
All accessory levels within the carriage must exceed 160.
4.
Possess five Supermodel Effects.
-
Upgrading to a Level 9 Train required 1.5 million units of iron ore.
The conditions for Level 9 were nearly identical to Level 8—only the iron ore cost differed. Once upgraded, he would finally uncover why those Level 9 trains couldn't leave the Zombie Basin.
As for upgrading from Level 8 to Level 9 Armor, the cost was 500,000 units of iron ore per carriage.
The cost to upgrade from Level 9 Armor to Level 10 is 700,000 units of Iron Ore per carriage.
The Stellar Train has a total of 16 carriages.
That means a total of 11.2 million units of Iron Ore are required.
Adding the Iron Ore needed to upgrade the train to Level 9 brings the total to 12.7 million units—just enough.
In that case, there's no need to make a choice. I'll take it all.
The next moment—
Several lines of text appeared on the control panel screen.
-
「Your train has been upgraded to Level 9.」
「No additional craftable accessories are unlocked at this time.」
-
Level 9 Train!
No new functions were added, not even a single new craftable accessory.
But when he saw the conditions for upgrading to Level 10, he suddenly had an epiphany. He finally understood why Level 10 was such a hurdle.
-
「Upgrade Conditions」: The train must complete any B-rank or higher difficulty mission and kill 3 Level 9 monsters in the area before leaving.
-
These upgrade conditions were indeed relatively harsh.
B-rank difficulty wasn't easy to complete—no wonder so many trains were stuck at Level 9, unable to leave. They must have failed to meet at least one of these two conditions.
Moreover, upgrading to Level 10 didn't require any Iron Ore, nor were there any restrictions on Accessory Levels or the Supermodel Effect.
In that case,
the 「Anime Train」 must have met the first condition, given that it was an A-Class Potential train.
The 「Traveling Frog」 also qualified—it had S-Class Potential.
All he needed to do was severely injure 3 Level 9 monsters before leaving and leave them for this train to finish off.
As for him—
He had already met both conditions, meaning he could upgrade to Level 10 anytime and leave this area for higher-level regions.
The next moment,
he spent 11.2 million units of Iron Ore to upgrade all of Stellar's Armor to Level 10. Now, the train only had 280,000 units of Iron Ore left. The stockpile he had accumulated over this period was wiped out in an instant.
The cost of upgrading defensive accessories was truly exorbitant.
Next, he just needed to mine for a while longer, clear out most of the monsters in this area, wait for Er Dan to return from the secret realm, and help Er Dan break through to Level 10. Then, he could leave this region and head to higher-level areas.
Perfect!
Everything was progressing smoothly.
"..."
Chen Mang glanced out the window. Today was a rest day for all residents. At noon, everyone was sitting cross-legged outside the train, while Lao Zhu and the others had hauled out the steel frames from the 「Armor Research and Development Center」 once again.
They were using mechs as cranes to complete the final assembly of a massive screen.
The movie was already finished.
Today was the premiere.
That enormous screen had been produced using the 「Custom Screen Production Line」. While it could also be made with the Mechanical Eye, the production line version was cheaper and even came with naked-eye 3D effects.
The screen alone was a hundred meters wide.
Before the apocalypse, such a massive screen was rarely seen outside of ultra-large cinemas. The viewing experience was immersive, with an overwhelming sense of presence.
This screen had cost him 500,000 units of Iron Ore!
If not for this screen, he'd still have 780,000 units left.
Oh well.
"..."
Chen Mang curled his lips and suggested everyone watch a movie to relax—no need to be so stingy at a time like this. Then, he turned his gaze to the level 10 Supermodel Effect of the "Carriage Steel Armor."
He had quite a few level 10 Supermodel Effects.
But this accessory's level 10 Supermodel Effect was undoubtedly the most expensive one!
"Carriage Steel Armor Level 10 Supermodel Effect": Upgrade cost halved.
"Divine!"
Chen Mang took a deep breath, stepped off the Train, knelt on the ground, lit three cigarettes, and stuck them into the earth. With solemn and sincere reverence, he clasped his hands together, looked up at the cloudless sky, and murmured:
"Old Heaven, it seems I've been a bit neglectful lately, forgetting to offer you incense."
"Let me make it up to you now."
"May the level 20 Supermodel Effect still be cost reduction."
Then he stood up, grinning with satisfaction. He was extremely pleased with this Supermodel Effect. The only thing that could have made it better was if this effect had appeared at level 5 instead.
Imagine how much Iron Ore that would have saved him!
His Armor would've been at least level 12 by now!
But this was enough.
He was content.
For some reason, the air today felt especially fresh, and his mood was unusually bright. He couldn't stop smiling as he leaned on his cane, gazing at the horizon. Even that lingering fear of the unknown in the "Blue Zone" had faded somewhat.
Soon, he'd upgrade the "Doomsday Cannon" to level 20 too.
Who knew? Maybe its level 20 Supermodel Effect would also halve the cost. It might be wishful thinking, but he'd only know by trying.
At least he only needed Iron Ore for upgrades.
Others had to gamble with Murphy Stone. No one would reveal their Supermodel Effects—if they wasted Murphy Stone on a useless upgrade, they'd be left crying!
Just then—
Zhang Yiren approached cautiously from the side. "Lord Mang, the movie preparations are complete. Vice Train Conductor Zhu asked me to fetch you. We're ready to start as soon as you arrive."
"Alright."
Chen Mang smiled, leaning on his cane as he walked toward the other side of the Train.
Behind him, the Train stood parked on the wasteland, alongside a massive screen ensuring all 5,000-plus residents could clearly see the film.
"This…"
Zhang Yiren scratched his head, watching Lord Mang's retreating figure. Was Lord Mang in such a good mood? Had he already seen the movie and liked it?
Could that be?
Was he really that good?
At that moment—
Er Dan's voice suddenly crackled over the Train Radio. Chen Mang, who had just reached the Train compartment, paused and turned back. "Xiao Ai, delay the movie for a bit."
Then he picked up the walkie-talkie.
"What's the situation, Er Dan?"
"Everything's smooth!" Er Dan's excited voice came through. "We've hit the jackpot, Lord Mang! Where are you? Send me your coordinates—I'll come find you!"
"Oh?"
Chen Mang raised an eyebrow, glancing at the three still-burning cigarettes outside the Train. Good things came in pairs!
What kind of day was this? A lucky day?
He immediately sent his coordinates.
"Sent you the coordinates. Hurry over—the movie's about to start. We'll watch it together when you get here."
"Copy that."
After handling the matter, Chen Mang took three cigars from the drawer and stepped outside the train, his expression tinged with a hint of apology. "Seems I've been a bit petty. Here, Old Heaven, today we feast in style."
He planted the three cigars in the ground.
Then, gripping the Man-Portable Flamethrower, he aimed at the clipped ends of the cigars and abruptly pulled the trigger!
A fierce blaze erupted.
In mere seconds, the cigars were lit.
Cigars take longer to light—using a lighter would require patience—but the flamethrower made the process quick and effortless. This was thanks to a recent acquisition: the Man-Portable Flamethrower Production Line.
(End of Chapter)