That was all the information available.
"..."
Chen Mang narrowed his eyes slightly and slowly pushed the control lever. As the drill bit extended, he prepared to test whether they could drill their way out. Another question piqued his curiosity—why did something like a "Train Dungeon" even exist?
Wouldn't it be more appropriate to just imprison the Train Conductor directly in a dungeon?
There wouldn't even be a need to build such a massive dungeon.
And given the Train Conductor's own abilities, without access to the train, escaping the dungeon would be virtually impossible.
If they could capture the train, they could certainly capture the Train Conductor.
The next moment—
"Boom!"
The Stellar Train slammed heavily into the iron bars. The Level 50 drill bit sparked upon impact, yet the bars showed no signs of wear. The strength of these iron bars was absurdly high.
He then tested the surrounding walls.
They appeared to be made of earth.
But when struck, not even a speck of dust fell.
"..."
Chen Mang picked up the walkie-talkie with an impassive expression. "Lao Zhu, Li Shiji, Biao Zi—get off the train. Xiao Ai, you come down too. Let's figure out how to get out of this dungeon."
It was clear.
Barging their way out wasn't an option, so the only path left was wit. And when it came to wit, more minds were always better—everyone could contribute ideas.
Inside the dungeon,
the Train Dungeon sat parked to the side.
Lao Zhu stood puzzled by the iron bars, hesitating before speaking. "Lord Mang, the gaps between these bars are a full meter wide. Even Zhang Da Mei could slip through. This thing can only stop the train, right?"
"It definitely can't stop people."
"Hold on, don't rush out yet."
Li Shiji furrowed his brows, carefully examining the patterns and clues in the dungeon's corners as he analyzed, "Based on the information we have, that train back then escaped this Train Dungeon within 24 hours of being captured."
"And to this day, Mechanical Civilization still doesn't know how it managed that."
"I think I've figured out the origin of the Serendipity Map now."
"It's likely related to 'Anchor Points.'"
"Anchor Points?" Chen Mang, leaning on his cane, nodded thoughtfully.
"Yes, Anchor Points!"
Li Shiji nodded earnestly. "For example, when you humans reflect on your lives, you can't possibly remember every single memory clearly. You only retain fragments of the most impactful ones."
"Like the first time you were rejected after confessing your feelings."
"The first time you embarrassed yourself in front of a crowd."
"The first time your boss tore into you like you were worthless."
"Couldn't you mention something positive?" Biao Zi grumbled. "And what do you mean by 'you humans'? Aren't you human?"
Li Shiji showed no reaction to the remark, continuing his search for clues as he spoke. "Humans tend to remember painful memories more vividly than happy ones."
"And I really am different from you all."
"I can recall nearly every memory from the moment I became conscious. In that regard, I've already strayed far from being human."
"Hyperthymesia?"
"Not that extreme. It's nowhere near hyperthymesia."
"These Anchor Points support the human lifeform. In other words, if these Anchor Points were suddenly erased from someone's mind, that person might as well start over—their memories of their past life would be mostly wiped clean."
"And these Serendipity Maps we've been visiting are somewhat similar to the 'Anchor Points' of mechanical civilization."
"Didn't you notice?"
"Whether it's the 'Tower of Heaven,' 'Neon City,' 'Geocentric Nuclear Bomb,' or the current 'Train Dungeon,' they all represent significant anchor points in the history of mechanical civilization."
"It's somewhat like..."
"Well, if you dissect a human's anchor point, it resembles something akin to an obsession."
At this point.
Li Shiji withdrew his gaze from the Train Dungeon and turned to Chen Mang: "Lord Mang, there aren't many clues, but I've figured out what kind of Train was imprisoned here—it was a Flesh Train."
"Judging from this dungeon and the information we've gathered before..."
"It's quite clear."
"When a Flesh Train reaches a certain level of upgrade, the Train Conductor can no longer leave it—or rather, they become one. This explains why the Train Dungeon exists and why the gaps between the iron bars are so wide."
"..."
Chen Mang remained silent. He had already considered this point—it wasn't hard to deduce. But since Li Shiji hadn't found any other clues inside the dungeon...
They would have to explore outside.
Leaning on his cane, he led the way, stepping through the iron bars and into the corridor outside the Train Dungeon. Dim lights cast faint glows on the ground. The corridor was exceptionally high and wide, easily accommodating several Mechanical Trains side by side.
On either side of the corridor were rows of Train Dungeons.
However, the "iron bars" of these dungeons were all in a state of disrepair, as if forcibly destroyed. Their dungeon was the first one on the far right of the corridor, and the path only led left.
No clues were found along the way.
The corridor stretched several hundred meters.
At the end, they encountered the first unopened "Train Dungeon." Its iron bars showed no signs of damage, and in the corner of this dungeon crouched a massive Flesh Train.
Yes, crouched...
A normal Mechanical Train wouldn't curl up in a corner like this.
It seemed this Flesh Train had been out of commission for a long time. The flesh armor on its carriages had blackened and withered, and the dungeon itself was devoid of any signs of life.
Chen Mang looked down at the keycard in his hand.
Perhaps this Access Card was meant to open this dungeon? But since a person could easily pass through the iron bars, the card seemed somewhat redundant.
He handed the Access Card to Zhang Yi beside him.
The lock was too high—he couldn't reach it.
Zhang Yi took the card and pressed it against the "access lock" on the iron bars. After three seconds, nothing happened.
"Lord Mang, let me go in and take a look."
At that moment—
Biao Zi volunteered, his expression serious: "There might be some clues inside."
"I'll go too," Li Shiji added.
"Alright."
Chen Mang frowned slightly. "Be careful, both of you."
"Yes!"
Ten minutes later.
Biao Zi and Li Shiji emerged from the Train Dungeon, shaking their heads.
"No clues at all."
Li Shiji shook his head and said, "I stepped on Biao Zi's shoulders and peeked into the train compartment. It was completely empty inside. This Flesh Train seems more like a living organism, giving the impression not of being scrapped but already dead."
Chen Mang nodded to indicate he understood.
He then turned to face the staircase behind him and strode up to the next level.
At the end of the corridor, opposite the Train Dungeon where the Flesh Train curled up in the corner, was a staircase leading to the upper floor. It seemed the clues must be on the next level.
There were no stairs leading down—only up.
This floor.
Again, it was a corridor with Train Dungeons on both sides, all of them destroyed beyond recognition.
After searching for a long time.
They found an extremely small "dungeon" in the corner of the corridor, clearly not on the same level as the surrounding ones. The dungeon was only about 2 meters high, with an area of roughly ten square meters.
The gaps between the iron bars of this dungeon were only as thick as a thumb.
Absolutely impossible for a human to pass through.
Moreover.
It was unusually narrow. In normal human prisons, the gaps between bars are usually around 10 centimeters. Anything thinner would be pointless, as this width is already enough to prevent most humans from squeezing through.
On the iron bars was an "access lock."
Chen Mang took out the access card and pressed it against the lock.
The next moment—
The access card in his hand suddenly shattered, turning into countless specks of light that merged into the lock. Immediately after, a crisp cracking sound was heard as the lock split in two and fell to the ground.
The iron bars instantly retracted into the floor.
The previously sealed dungeon was now completely open.
Inside this cramped and narrow dungeon, there was nothing except a humanoid mummy, a small bed, and a table beside it holding a chip and a blueprint.
A steel plate hung on the wall, inscribed with four large characters:
"Flesh Cage."
"..."
Chen Mang thoughtfully surveyed the surroundings. This place somewhat resembled a warden's quarters, except this warden seemed almost human. Aside from the chip and blueprint, there was another access card on the table—likely the one that could unlock their cage.
Additionally.
A few sheets of A4 paper were piled on the table, recording a fair amount of information. However, due to the passage of time, the writing had become completely illegible. With the slightest touch, the papers crumbled into dust and vanished into the air.
It seemed all the answers must lie within that chip.
After another glance around and finding no further clues, he frowned, picked up the "access card," and headed straight for the lower floor to test whether it could truly unlock the door.
When Zhang Yi placed the access card against the "access lock"—
The next moment!
The surrounding scenery suddenly began to shatter. When everything settled again, they found themselves back at the location they had been before entering the Serendipity Map.
"How was it, Lord Mang?"
Er Dan's voice came through the train compartment's sound system. "I remember this map had a 24-hour time limit. You guys came out so fast—did you clear it?"
"Not sure."
Chen Mang shook his head with a strange expression. To say he had cleared the level, yet there were no rewards—only that one blueprint and a chip. Most importantly, he still hadn't figured out this Serendipity Map.
There were simply no clues.
To clear this Serendipity Map, one must possess the "Dungeon Access Card." Otherwise, there was no way to retrieve the access card from the warden's dungeon, making it impossible to complete.
Wait—
He realized what was odd. It should have been the warden's office, so why had the warden designed his own office like a dungeon?
It seemed he would have to wait until Xiao Ai fully absorbed the chip's contents to understand the specifics of this Serendipity Map. Hopefully, it contained some useful information.
The Stellar Train set off once again!
No matter what.
At least there were no regrets left in the "Zombie Basin." All the resources that could be obtained had been secured. Now, it was time to head toward the Blue Zone—"Crisis Valley."
This time—
The Stellar Train didn't stop at all.
It charged straight toward the direction of "Crisis Valley"!
He felt a faint sense of anticipation for this new area.
About ten minutes later.
Xiao Ai's voice came through the sound system in the speeding Stellar Train as it raced across the wasteland.
"Lord Mang, I've finished absorbing the information from the chip."
"Well, here's the thing..."
"This map isn't meant for us. We came to the wrong place. This is a Fortuitous Encounter map for a 'Flesh Train.'"
"A long, long time ago, a Flesh Train escaped from here. The warden discovered that the way it escaped was by transforming into a thin layer of flesh armor that covered the Train Conductor."
"Though human, it possessed the defense and strength comparable to a Flesh Train—truly superhuman."
"It effortlessly slipped through the gaps of iron bars."
"And smashed open all the dungeons, releasing all the Flesh Trains. As for why the one in the corner wasn't freed, no one knows."
"The iron bars in the warden's dungeon were protective measures. If anything went wrong in the prison, they would activate to ensure the warden's safety. But they couldn't be opened from the inside—rescue had to come from outside."
"However, it seems the mechanical civilization didn't have the energy to deal with this mess. The warden just... died in there."
"This chip contains his final message."
"And that blueprint..."
"It was left behind by the Flesh Train that escaped back then. A purple-tier accessory—when installed, it allows a Flesh Train to maintain as much rationality as possible and gain the upper hand in conflicts with other Flesh Trains."
"From the looks of it now—"
"The end goal of specializing as a Flesh Train is essentially merging with the train itself. But with certain accessories, even after merging, one can retain their consciousness. For example, this accessory could eventually allow reaching the level of that train—transforming the Flesh Train into armor, achieving apotheosis through flesh!"
"And the only way to open that warden's dungeon is with your 'Access Card,' Lord Mang."
"Most likely, the one who traded that Access Card for your Murphy Stone was a Flesh Train. Logically, this opportunity was theirs—but they sold it."
"..."
Chen Mang's expression turned slightly odd again. This time, he understood. Then, he tucked the accessory blueprint into a drawer.
Confirmed, this Flesh Train is indeed a trap.
Let's see when this thing will come in handy.
Nearly an hour later.
The Stellar Train arrived at the border between the Zombie Basin and Crisis Valley.
A massive light screen stretched across the divide between the two regions, with three enormous characters floating in the air:
Crisis Valley.
Meanwhile, lines of text slowly appeared on the train's screen.
-
"Ahead lies the Blue Zone: Crisis Valley."
"Maximum threat level: 12. Current train level: 10. High danger coefficient. Proceed with caution."
-
"A new journey begins."
Seated in the train cabin, Chen Mang gazed at the light screen ahead and slowly pushed the control lever. The Stellar Train rapidly accelerated, piercing through the light screen and charging straight into Crisis Valley!
He smiled.
Once again, he felt that exhilarating rush of adrenaline.
"Hope the journey ahead goes smoothly."
"Master Kun above."
"Bless me with safe passage. After all, in a way, I've carried your dream this far."
"Without you, there would be no me today."
"Consider this my gratitude for your guidance. Next time, I'll burn some incense for you, old man."
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