Ahead in the tunnel, two massive signboards appeared suspended mid-air on either side.
Their size resembled highway billboards.
Written in bold characters were the words:
「No Entry for Flesh Trains」.
Dozens of large-caliber automatic cannons and high-speed cameras were mounted beside the billboards. Clearly, if a Flesh Train were detected, those cannons would open fire immediately.
Except...
The dust covering those cannons had nearly fossilized into amber. Could they still activate normally? Their grade level was impossible to determine.
"..."
Chen Mang narrowed his eyes slightly, withdrawing his gaze from the billboards as he gradually slowed down. One thing was now certain—this was no civilian train tunnel but a wartime military passage.
But the current issue was...
According to Xiao Ai's alert, just a kilometer ahead lay the junction between 「Crisis Valley」 and 「Zombie Basin」. He needed to reduce speed to avoid slamming headfirst into an invisible barrier and knocking himself senseless.
Yet the tunnel still showed no sign of ending.
"What a shame."
He sighed softly in regret. He hadn't expected this tunnel to lead to Zombie Basin. As a Level 10 train, high-tier trains couldn't enter low-tier zones—one of this world's fundamental rules.
The only thing that puzzled him was that he'd once ventured over 20,000 meters into the heart of Zombie Basin. How had he failed to detect this train tunnel back then?
The next moment—
In the time it took for his mind to wander, the Stellar Train had already raced several more kilometers.
"Huh?"
Chen Mang froze momentarily, staring at the control panel screen in disbelief. "Xiao Ai, we should be inside Zombie Basin's territory now, right?"
"Correct. We've returned."
Without any resistance from an invisible barrier, they had effortlessly glided straight from the train tunnel back into Zombie Basin.
The control panel screen now displayed their location as... Zombie Basin.
"What the hell..."
He rubbed his eyes, bewildered as he gazed into the still-endless depths of the tunnel. Had they just slipped back in like that? Where was the territorial barrier? Had it been ignored?
But soon, a glint of intrigue flickered in his eyes.
This train tunnel clearly defied logic—and the more illogical it was, the more it hinted at something extraordinary lurking within.
After nearly two more hours of travel...
The incandescent lamps lining the tunnel walls finally gave way to flashing red warning lights, as if signaling an unusual danger ahead.
The Stellar Train slowed once more.
Soon, a massive train elevator came into view on the right side of the tunnel.
This still wasn't the end of the 「Train Tunnel」—just a minor branch.
"Train Conductor, should we order Biao Zi and the others to scout ahead?"
"No need."
Chen Mang shook his head. "This is a train elevator. Any crisis here would likely be train-level. There's no way Biao Zi and his team could handle that."
He then carefully maneuvered the train toward the entrance of the 「Train Elevator」.
The moment they came to a stop...
A long funnel extended from the elevator door, pressing directly against the train compartment's window. Beside it, a sign bore a clear line of text.
"Please insert a Level 2 Energy Stone."
5,000 units of Iron Ore.
Not too expensive.
He took a freshly forged Level 2 Energy Stone from Xiao Ai beside him and inserted it.
The next moment—
The constantly flashing red warning light above the center of the "Train Elevator" instantly turned solid green. Then, accompanied by the sound of steel cables retracting, the elevator doors slowly opened.
A cloud of dust billowed out from inside.
It had clearly been unused for a long time.
In the corner, he even spotted tattered spiderwebs.
"Impressive."
Chen Mang pushed the control lever with admiration, guiding the Stellar Train into the unknown elevator before him—who knew where it led? They were 30,000 meters underground, yet spiders had somehow found their way here to spin webs. How had they even discovered such a remote nook?
What did they even eat?
This elevator hadn't operated in ages. He could only hope no accidents would occur.
"Creak..."
With the sound of mechanical gears turning, the elevator began ascending rapidly. There were no control buttons inside—it seemed this elevator only led to one destination.
Ten minutes later!
The elevator stopped.
When the doors opened, Chen Mang's jaw dropped slightly as he took in the sight before him, his eyes filled with shock.
Ahead of the train lay the ruins of a mechanical city. Countless buildings had collapsed, with steel, concrete, and debris scattered across the devastated urban wasteland—as if the place had been bombarded by nuclear strikes.
That's right.
This was none other than the "Geocentric Nuclear Bomb" Serendipity Map!
The Train Elevator he had just exited was concealed within a small hill. He could even see the surrounding earth on either side of the elevator, as well as the "Supersonic Tunnel" he had used to escape back then—though its entrance was now blocked by rubble.
"Damn it..."
"These two are connected?!"
Chen Mang steered the Stellar Train out of the elevator in disbelief. Behind him, the doors slowly closed, blending seamlessly into the hillside. There was no visible difference, and even the Targeting Radar couldn't detect the presence of a hidden Train Elevator inside the small mountain.
In other words...
Back when he was still in the "Geocentric Nuclear Bomb" Serendipity Map, if he had found this Train Elevator, he could have directly traveled to "Crisis Valley" with his Level 6 train!
Though bypassing the Serendipity Map's rewards would have made the trip pointless.
A Level 6 train in the Blue Zone? What would be the point?
But the passage existed.
Now, the Train Elevator displayed a funnel again, prompting him to insert another coin. If he did, the doors would reopen.
"..."
With a complicated expression, Chen Mang piloted the Stellar Train toward the "Supersonic Train Tunnel"—the very one he had used to escape this Serendipity Map. The drill bit spun rapidly, clearing the rubble blocking the entrance before the train shot upward along the tunnel.
The tunnel's destruction had rendered the supersonic effect unusable, and the passage was nearly clogged with dirt. But with the drill bit leading the way...
Ten minutes later.
The Stellar Train hovered above the Zombie Basin. Below lay the small hill—the same one he had emerged from that day.
Not far away was the site where the "Zombie Volcano" had erupted.
"Not bad."
Chen Mang silently glanced around. This small hill was an exit—only for leaving, not entering.
The next moment—
"Boom!!"
Under the effect of the Weather Control Device's components, dark clouds gathered above the Stellar Train. A storm arrived in the blink of an eye, with rolling thunder echoing across the sky. Lightning occasionally streaked through the clouds.
Beneath the thunderstorm,
the clouds under the Stellar Train quickly darkened as well.
This was the Level 10 Supermodel Effect of the Bunny Cloud Wheels:
"During thunderstorms, the clouds transform into storm clouds, drastically increasing speed."
The train accelerated to its limit!
Once again, it raced north toward Crisis Valley, burrowing deep underground until it found the same hole it had emerged from earlier. It re-entered the Train Tunnel at a depth of 30,000 meters, then turned south and sped onward.
Soon,
it crossed the border between Zombie Basin and Crisis Valley once more.
This time, Chen Mang didn't hold back—the train hurtled underground at peak speed. With the Weather Control Device's effects, fierce winds enveloped the train, and the Wind-Fire Wheels ignited, propelling it even faster.
Before long, the incandescent lamps along the tunnel walls flickered red again, flashing urgent warnings.
They had returned to the entrance of the Train Elevator in the Serendipity Map for the Geocentric Nuclear Bomb.
But this time, Chen Mang didn't stop.
He maintained full speed, plunging deeper into the tunnel. The path gradually curved, no longer perfectly straight.
On the control screen, his location kept shifting—
from Zombie Basin to the Kunlun Mountains, then to a frozen wasteland.
Soon, the tunnel's incandescent lamps dimmed, replaced by pulsing red warning lights.
"..."
Chen Mang stepped out of the train cabin, wrapped in a woolen blanket over his sweater. He gazed at the endless snowy landscape below, momentarily dazed, then pulled out a cigarette and snapped his fingers.
The next moment—
Xiao Ai's left arm suddenly stretched out from the train window, crossing several meters to reach Chen Mang. With a pfft, it spat out a small flame.
Chen Mang glanced back at the arm retracting like Luffy's and murmured, "Upgraded again?"
"Mm-hmm, just a little."
Chen Mang didn't reply. He sighed softly, rubbing his temples with his knuckles as pale blue smoke curled into the air. The cold sharpened his thoughts.
He now stood atop a collapsed snow-capped mountain—
the very same one belonging to the Level 7 Mechanical Zombie King.
The Train Elevator in the tunnel led directly to the secret mechanical factory buried beneath the mountain.
This was a green zone.
For his Level 10 train to appear here felt surreal.
This Train Tunnel clearly held something major, though he hadn't found it yet. The mere fact that it bypassed the world's fundamental rule—preventing high-level trains from entering low-level zones—meant this tunnel was extraordinary.
The secret factory had already been stripped bare.
Nothing remained.
Without lingering, he finished his cigarette and once again took the elevator back to the train tunnel. This still wasn't the end, so he continued speeding along the tunnel.
About half an hour later.
The train emerged above a towering structure.
Yes.
This was the "Tower of Heaven," located in the Shahe Plain.
After he and Er Dan cleared this Serendipity Map last time, the barrier outside it had changed to:
-
"Area ahead is a restricted zone: Tower of Heaven."
"Staying longer than ten seconds will result in severe retaliation."
-
So when Chen Mang realized that taking the "Train Elevator" in the tunnel had brought him to the top of the Tower of Heaven, his expression shifted slightly. He quickly prepared to return to the train tunnel—he had no intention of facing any "severe retaliation."
But first, he had to drive the train out of the elevator and complete the coin insertion process before the train could operate again.
This was the preset procedure.
Though rigid, there was no way around it—he had to follow the steps.
However.
Even though he moved as fast as possible, the entire process was time-consuming. Before he could even drop the Level 2 Energy Stone into the funnel, ten seconds had already passed.
Frowning, Chen Mang placed his hand on the train's special ability, "Absolute Defense," ready to activate it at any moment to block the unknown retaliation.
But—
After waiting tensely for several more seconds.
Nothing happened. No severe retaliation, not even the slightest disturbance—just utter silence.
"Huh?"
Puzzled, he sat in the train cabin and looked around. Perhaps because he hadn't illegally trespassed but had entered this restricted zone through a hidden procedure, there was no punishment?
Once this thought crossed his mind.
He relaxed.
His gaze then turned to the "Mechanical City" atop the Tower of Heaven. After they cleared it back then, the city's self-destruct system had activated, reducing the entire place to ruins amidst explosions. Now, nothing remained.
"Shahe Plain, huh."
Chen Mang checked the leaderboard, but his name wasn't there. Clearly, the Stellar Train didn't officially belong to this region at the moment. He couldn't connect to this area's Train Radio, nor could he link to the "Crisis Valley" region's Train Radio.
In other words.
He was currently in a "blacklisted" state—or more accurately, a bugged state. Theoretically, no other region could detect the underground train tunnel except for "Crisis Valley." And even if they did, it wouldn't matter—the tunnel's outer shell was incredibly tough, making entry impossible.
Unless you had a Level 100 Drill Bit.
Coincidentally.
He actually did.
For an average person, obtaining a Level 100 Drill Bit would only require spending 98 Murphy Stones.
Not too much—just clear the S-rank difficulty of the Underwater Labyrinth four times.
"..."
With a sigh, Chen Mang piloted the train away from the Tower of Heaven, descending toward a speeding Level 4 train below. He planned to give them a fortuitous encounter—say, dropping 50,000 units of Iron Ore.
Let them experience what it meant to be utterly bewildered.
He still held some sentiment for the Shahe Plain. After all, it was here that he met his only friend, Er Dan, and stumbled upon many opportunities.
Well, now Er Dan wasn't just a friend anymore—he'd become an affiliated train.
Great. Now his only friend was gone too.
However, when the Stellar Train landed and intercepted this Level 4 train, he realized it was actually an old acquaintance.
"The King of Electronic Music Train."
The first train that had left a deep impression on him.
That very train which had arrogantly blasted DJ music as it sped past his own train in the desolate wilderness late at night!
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