The two Supermodel Effects obtained by upgrading this accessory to level 10 were both "Halved Consumption."
When used against enemies, its attack range was relatively short.
But it worked quite well for lighting cigars or stoking the stove in the Private Kitchen, making it a decent oversized lighter.
"Not bad."
Chen Mang gazed with satisfaction at the three cigars standing upright on the ground. Without moving away, he quietly watched as the tobacco inside the cigars gradually unfurled under the flame, slowly turning to ash and releasing its fragrance.
Some perish in the flames.
Some bloom in the flames.
After waiting for about seven or eight minutes,
he saw a train in the distance hurtling through the sky toward them at an exaggerated speed. It soon arrived directly above the Stellar Train before landing nearby, the sonic boom belatedly echoing in his ears.
No sooner had it come to a stop
than Er Dan rushed down excitedly and ran toward him: "Lord Mang, we've hit the jackpot! The past few days had me under so much pressure—I was terrified I wouldn't find a Serendipity Map and would let down all the resources you gave me."
"But now we've finally struck gold! Let me give you a quick rundown, Lord Mang."
"No rush."
Chen Mang smiled. "The movie's about to start. Let's watch it first, and we'll talk afterward. This film was shot by those people you introduced to me last time. Let's see how they've improved—you can give your thoughts on whether they've made progress."
"Huh?"
Er Dan froze momentarily, only then noticing the massive screen standing behind the Stellar Train. He then said urgently, "Lord Mang, how about I give you the quick version? If I don't get this off my chest, I won't be able to focus on the movie at all—I'll be fidgeting the whole time!"
"Fine."
Chen Mang decided not to tease Er Dan any further. Truth be told, he was quite eager to hear the news himself—he'd just wanted to mess with Er Dan a little, seeing how worked up he was. "Go ahead, then. What's the situation? Judging by your expression, you must've cleared an S-rank difficulty?"
"No."
Er Dan took a deep breath before answering seriously, "It wasn't a challenge-based Serendipity Map, and there was no difficulty selection. It was an open-world Serendipity Map."
"Let me first tell you how I found it."
"After leaving that day, I went to that village. I noticed a line of ants foraging, but even though they were moving in a straight path, they all avoided a certain spot. So I grabbed a pickaxe and hacked at it for ages but found nothing."
"Just as I was about to leave, something occurred to me, and I instinctively looked up at the sky."
"Then I started maneuvering the Train through the air."
"Sure enough, when the Train reached a certain point in the sky, I suddenly felt something solid ahead. The next thing I knew, the Train had entered this Serendipity Map."
"It was a Serendipity Map resembling an amusement park."
"First, I... then... and in the middle, I encountered... Luckily, I resolved it perfectly... Just when I thought I had it in the bag, something else happened... But in the end, I overcame all obstacles and finally succeeded in getting out of that Serendipity Map!"
"And the rewards were substantial!"
Er Dan, his throat parched, pulled out a bottle of mineral water from his chest and downed it in one go. He then wiped the droplets from his mouth with his sleeve and took a deep breath. "That's pretty much how it went. And that Serendipity Map seems to appear randomly at certain spots. When I went back later, there was no trace of it at that location."
"A purple-grade Accessory Blueprint!"
"..."
Chen Mang took the purple-grade Accessory Blueprint for the "Weather Control Device" that Er Dan handed over, his lips curling upward once more. Tucking the blueprint into his chest, he slung an arm around Er Dan's shoulders and grinned broadly.
"This gift pleases me."
"No need to stress so much. Relax. We've pretty much cleared all the Serendipity Maps in the Zombie Basin. For the next few days, just stay here."
"Watch a movie."
"Do some mining, kill some monsters, and then we'll head to the Blue Zone. That's where you'll really get to shine."
"Got it!"
Er Dan didn't hesitate, grinning and nodding emphatically. His mind was much more at ease now—not because of Chen Mang's reassurance, but because he'd actually found something valuable. Showing up empty-handed would've been downright embarrassing.
Though a minor hiccup had delayed things briefly.
Once Chen Mang took his seat, the screening began as scheduled. Chen Mang, Lao Zhu, Biao Zi, Er Dan, and the rest of the management team sat about thirty to fifty meters from the screen—front row seats—while the other residents sat cross-legged on the barren ground behind them.
The air was chilly.
A cold wind howled past.
But perhaps because this was the first movie screening since the apocalypse, many were buzzing with excitement.
"Pity," Chen Mang muttered, shaking his head slightly as he sat cross-legged on a fur blanket. He motioned for the girl beside him to go join the others at the back. "If only we had a 'Popcorn Production Line,' it'd be perfect."
"And you."
He turned to Lao Zhu and sighed. "Don't pull stunts like this again. I'm not that kind of creep."
"This blanket is plenty comfortable. No need to have a girl sit on someone's lap, understand?"
"Understood."
Lao Zhu nodded solemnly, pulling out a small notebook and jotting it down.
No popcorn, but they did have a "Sunflower Seed Production Line." The only catch was its steep price—100 units of Iron Ore for just one pound.
Gritting his teeth, Chen Mang spent 50,000 units of Iron Ore to produce 500 pounds of sunflower seeds.
Distributed freely, everyone got their share. One pound for every ten people was more than enough—way more. Watching a movie without something to munch on just didn't feel right.
Still, it stung a little.
But since they'd decided to unwind today, they might as well go all out. Let all the residents enjoy a full day of rest—a proper holiday. After all, a well-rested crew would mine even harder later.
Soon—
The movie began.
Without any prelude, the screen lit up with a familiar scene—the male protagonist and female protagonist in a hospital. The visuals were hyper-realistic, the screen massive, creating an immersive experience. Chen Mang could almost smell the antiseptic in the air.
The car audio system enveloped the crowd in sound.
The viewing experience was near flawless.
"Not bad at all," he remarked.
Chen Mang nodded with satisfaction, grinning as he watched. The work capabilities of his subordinates seemed to exceed his expectations. With the limited resources available on the train, they had somehow managed to construct a massive cinema in the midst of the apocalypse.
Even the Guardians had come to watch the film. The Doomsday Cannon and a group of robots were responsible for patrols and security on the outskirts—poor Xiao Ai was stuck with that duty.
And this time, the male protagonist didn't seem blind anymore—his eyes weren't wrapped in bandages.
"Xiao Mei."
Sitting by the female protagonist's bedside, the male protagonist gazed at her with deep affection, gently stroking her cheek as he murmured in a daze, "You know, I really love you. You're in a semi-anesthetized state right now, so you should still be able to hear me."
"Three minutes from now, the apocalypse will begin."
"In my past life, I donated my corneas to you so you could regain your sight. When the apocalypse came, I dragged you around, struggling to survive for over a year. But who would've thought that when we encountered zombies, you'd heartlessly push me into their arms and run off with some other bastard? That's when I realized you'd been betraying me for years!"
"Perhaps Heaven had eyes—it gave me a second chance at life!"
"In this life, I won't donate my corneas to you. Instead, I'll use my foreknowledge of the future to become the King of the Apocalypse!"
With that—
The male protagonist abruptly stood up, all traces of tenderness vanishing from his eyes, replaced by cold indifference and a flicker of killing intent. He glanced at the clock on the hospital wall and said icily, "But before that, I'm going to enjoy myself first."
"Three minutes is enough."
Then he pounced on the female protagonist lying on the bed.
"Whoo!"
The audience erupted into cheers at the scene, clearly thrilled.
"..."
Chen Mang stared expressionlessly at the movie playing on the screen, then turned to Zhang Yiren, who stood nearby looking rather uneasy. Yeah, you should be uneasy—you've earned that. Finally, he glanced at Lao Zhu beside him. "If I recall correctly, you were in charge of directing this film?"
"Uh..."
Lao Zhu also seemed a little nervous as he whispered, "Lord Mang, didn't you say we should make a movie the people would enjoy? That this film was meant for the residents to relax, and that a good movie is one the audience likes?"
"So I went around asking for their opinions."
"They all wanted to see something... exciting."
"No."
Chen Mang shook his head. "This is a bit absurd, but the absurdity is understandable. What I really don't get is—how did the male protagonist, who was blind in his past life, manage to keep the female protagonist alive for a whole year during the apocalypse?"
"And how did he see her running off with another man right before he died?"
"Did his vision suddenly recover at the last second thanks to some hidden potential?"
"Uh..."
Lao Zhu froze in place, his eyes flashing with confusion. He hadn't thought about that. Immediately, he waved Zhang Yiren over. "Come explain this to Lord Mang."
"Because of supernatural abilities. The male protagonist awakened his powers in his past life and regained his sight."
"Nice."
By now, the three minutes were up.
Zombies were already crashing through the windows, and the hospital room's TV once again played the fragmented emergency news broadcast. The shift in background music intensified the sense of impending crisis.
Meanwhile, the male protagonist in the film casually pulled up his pants, glaring coldly at the zombie outside the window as he muttered.
"In my past life, I've lost count of how many zombies like you I've killed."
Then, with a casual motion, he snapped the woman's neck.
Pulling a fire axe from under the bed, he charged forward with large strides!
Thus began the movie plot.
Two hours later.
The movie ended. Chen Mang sat dazedly on the ground, surrounded by piles of melon seed shells. He swore that if this film had been released before the apocalypse, it would never have passed censorship.
The male protagonist in the movie was somewhat excessively insane.
He'd already forgotten the plot.
It could basically be divided into three parts.
One-third killing zombies, one-third revenge, and one-third... intimate encounters with women.
It wasn't exactly bad.
Just a bit too wild.
But...
He glanced back at the excited residents behind him, still eagerly discussing the movie's plot, and didn't say much. With a light sigh, he leaned on his cane and walked away from the crowd toward the train compartment.
At least the goal was achieved.
Everyone seemed to be having fun. As long as they enjoyed it, that was enough.
Though he strongly suspected that watching movies in the apocalypse was inherently exciting—even a bad film could spark enthusiastic discussions.
The amount of dopamine an activity provides largely depends on the environment.
Next up was a song and dance performance.
A cute little girl in a performance outfit took the stage and sang a song in a crisp voice.
"Clap your hands up."
"The little girl beside me is the moe type."
"Skilled dance steps to dubstep."
He didn't recognize the girl, but he had to admit it sounded nice. With so many residents on the train, it was impossible to know everyone. Chen Mang didn't participate in the following activities. Instead, he sat in the train compartment, staring at the purple component of the "Weather Control Device."
It had cost 10,000 units of iron ore to craft.
Upgrading it to level 10 would require 550,000 units of iron ore, which he wasn't keen on doing just yet.
The effect of this component was to create weather within a certain range. The higher the level, the wider the range. At first glance, it didn't seem particularly impactful.
But his Wind-Fire Wheel had two overpowered effects:
-
"Wind-Fire Wheel Level 5 Overpowered Effect": Can activate a potential state, doubling the train's maximum speed. Rapidly consumes energy stones and causes some damage to the Wind-Fire Wheel.
"Wind-Fire Wheel Level 10 Overpowered Effect": When racing with the wind during stormy weather, the Wind-Fire Wheel ignites, granting a significant speed boost.
-
With the "Weather Control Device" component, he could ensure his train was always in stormy weather with a tailwind. In other words, his Wind-Fire Wheel would always be in a boosted state!
Combined with the Wind-Fire Wheel's level 5 overpowered effect, the top speed could reach over 1,000 km/h.
Though it still couldn't quite match the "Traveling Frog," the Traveling Frog was a bit too extreme.
"Not bad."
Chen Mang reclined in his chair, quite satisfied. He wondered how Mundo had been doing lately. Mundo hadn't returned to the Stellar Train for ten days, busy trading outside. Chen Mang was starting to worry if the guy had been killed.
Next, it was time to prepare to upgrade the train to level 10 and head to the Blue Zone.
The residents' carnival soon came to an end, with everyone still buzzing about the festivities.
To be honest, there wasn't much plot worth discussing about this movie, but everyone still wanted to talk about something—especially the newcomers who had just boarded the Train. They used this as an entry point to try and integrate into life aboard the Train.
It was like a transfer student joining a new class. When their desk mate started gossiping about other classmates, they'd lean in to listen even if they weren't interested.
Were they really listening for the gossip?
No—it was all about understanding social dynamics.
Seven days later.
During these seven days, Chen Mang had been alternating between mining and monster hunting. The residents mined during the day, while he drove the Train at night to eliminate monsters. This brought the Train's Iron Ore reserves back up to "7.82 million units"—production efficiency was sufficient.
The only problem was that no more Level 3 Iron Ore could be found; only Level 2 deposits remained.
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