Inside the starting point shop, discussions broke out in a clamor.
Some Train Conductors tried pushing the door open but found it wouldn't budge, while a line of text appeared on the nearby screen.
-
"Open every Monday, all-day operation."
"Visitors prohibited at other times."
-
The middle-aged man who had spoken first quickly scanned the room and spotted something labeled "Self-Service Machine" in a corner. Each Train Conductor could take up to 20 free "Neon City Tickets" at most.
And they could only claim them once a week.
Beside it, another screen displayed several lines of text.
-
"Visitor Invitation Rewards."
"Please enter your train's name."
"1: Invite one new visitor who has never been to 'Neon City.' When they enter Neon City and provide your train's name, both you and they will receive 500 Stellar Coupons as a reward."
"2: Special rewards will be given when the number of invited visitors reaches 10, 50, or 100."
"3: Each visitor can only be invited once."
-
"..."
The middle-aged man's eyes lit up at the sight. He quickly grabbed 20 Entry Tickets and stuffed them into his pocket—wasn't this just a referral bonus?
How easy!
A quick trip to the Convocation, and he could round up a batch in no time. Simple.
Stellar Coupons must be the currency in this Serendipity Map. He also spotted an exchange machine nearby.
It clearly stated:
"1 unit of iron ore exchanges for 1 Stellar Coupon."
"1 unit of copper ore exchanges for 1 Stellar Coupon."
"Currently, only these two resources are supported for exchange. Stellar Coupons can be used for spending within Neon City."
"And Stellar Coupons can be exchanged back for iron ore and copper ore at the same rate."
The man started counting on his fingers, muttering to himself.
"So, if I bring in one person, I earn 500 units of iron ore. If I bring in 20, that's 10,000 units—equivalent to mining out an entire Level 1 iron ore deposit!"
"This is a goldmine!"
"How can there be such a good deal?!"
Just then—
A commotion erupted from the crowd.
The tall woman from earlier was pressing against the glass, excitedly pointing at a shop across the street: "There's actually a 'Mechanical Train Parts Store' here! Look at their sign—Murphy Stones are on discount this Monday, only 1 million Stellar Coupons!"
"1 million Stellar Coupons, which is 1 million units of iron ore. What a steal!"
"That's seriously a bargain, damn!"
"Huh?" The middle-aged man from before squeezed over, confused. "What's a Murphy Stone? Spending 1 million units of iron ore for one—is that really worth it? How long would it take to mine that much?"
"It's totally worth it."
The tall woman said earnestly, "Although I once bought a Murphy Stone for as low as 700,000 units of iron ore, these things are scarce and their prices fluctuate. Sometimes when you're in urgent need, the price can skyrocket. I once paid 1.8 million units of iron ore for one. But if you're not in a hurry and take your time, you might snag a bargain."
"It all depends on luck."
"But having a fixed price here means if you're desperate and others are charging exorbitant rates or it's unavailable elsewhere, you can always come here to buy."
"And you might not know this yet, but I bet you don't dare use a heavy machine gun right now? Copper ore is expensive. But if you upgrade the 'Doomsday Cannon' to level 10 with a Murphy Stone, the bullet consumption drops significantly—even lower than a heavy machine gun."
"Heavy machine gun? I haven't even crafted one. Right now, when I see zombies, I just run."
"Keep running. I was the same during my beginner phase. You'll grow stronger as you go."
"Over there's the 'Flesh Train Parts Store.' Finally, they're treating us Flesh Trains like equals. But the problem is, I can only exchange Stellar Coupons with iron ore. How are we Flesh Trains supposed to get iron ore to earn those coupons?"
"No idea. Seems like they still don't see Flesh Trains as equals."
"You Flesh Trains often hunt bosses, right? You must have plenty of Murphy Stones. There's a recycling shop where you can sell them and then use the Stellar Coupons to buy stuff from the Flesh Train Parts Store."
"Oh damn, you're right! I've got a bunch of Mechanical Train accessory blueprints I haven't sold yet. I'll dump them all in the recycling shop later."
"..."
Standing by the floor-to-ceiling window of Sun City's high-rise, Chen Mang gazed down with a complicated expression. The initial conversations played through the sound system beside him, allowing him to hear everyone's discussions.
In the end, he had decided to peg Stellar Coupons to iron ore at a fixed exchange rate.
This would undoubtedly create some pressure early on, but as all accessories required more iron ore for higher upgrades, he needed vast amounts to strengthen his train—his only chance of surviving this apocalypse.
From the start, his goal had been to expand "Neon City" as much as possible.
As big as it could get.
As long as no accidents occurred—no trust crises sparked by agitators leading to mass iron ore redemptions—the financial chain wouldn't break. With steady operation, growth would come naturally.
After all, in this apocalypse, his Neon City was one of a kind.
It was now 11 p.m. on Sunday, just an hour away from Monday. Clearly, none of the Train Conductors intended to leave, instead waiting for Monday's opening. Many had already come and gone from Neon City multiple times.
"Lord Mang," Xiao Ai explained helplessly from the side, "Those Train Conductors going back and forth are all running Level 1 or 2 trains. Either they haven't crafted the 'Train Auxiliary AI' accessory yet, or their AI level is too low."
"They don't dare stay away from their trains for long."
"They're afraid the trains might get surrounded by the Corpse Tide or that their passengers will riot."
"Hmm."
Chen Mang nodded. This was indeed a problem, but it wasn't one he could solve. He could only wait for these people to level up their trains and handle it themselves.
Soon—
Midnight arrived. With a crisp sound of unlocking doors, the Train Conductor and others from the initial shop rushed out in a swarm, while Xiao Ai quietly recorded the bugs and rule loopholes that emerged.
In this world, the starting point of anything is always rough. No one drafts a perfect plan from the outset. You roughly sketch a beginning, start executing, and gradually refine it along the way.
The same went for Neon City.
Tonight marked Neon City's first official trial run.
Chen Mang felt a slight tension as he watched everything unfold.
"Are you sure this isn't the Stellar Train's doing?"
A young man frowned as he glanced around. He was the owner of an 8-level Mechanical Train from Zombie Basin. If there was one thing that had left the deepest impression on him recently, it was undoubtedly the Stellar Train.
And the currency of this city was called Stellar Coupons.
So his first thought was that this must be the Stellar Train's creation. But after stepping out of the initial point and seeing the bustling streets and brightly lit city, he began to wonder if he was overthinking it.
After all—
A city of this scale couldn't possibly be the Stellar Train's doing.
He looked down at the "Neon City Free Entry Ticket" in his hand.
-
「Special Item」: Neon City Free Entry Ticket.
「Effect」: An entry ticket for the Serendipity Map 'Neon City.' Crush this ticket anytime, anywhere to enter this Serendipity Map. Can bring up to 10 Train Crew members.
-
It was undoubtedly a genuine Special Item.
It even had panel information.
There was no way the Stellar Train could manufacture Special Items, right?
That just didn't make sense. The young man didn't dwell on it further and simply followed the crowd into the "Mechanical Train Parts Store." As he gazed at the dazzling array of products on the walls, he froze, a hint of confusion flashing in his eyes.
This has to be the Stellar Train, right?
It's you, isn't it, Chen Mang!
There were many products, but some of them looked extremely familiar—like the "Space Pouch" and "Level 10 Refrigerator."
These were items the Stellar Train had sold back in Zombie Basin. He had even bought some of them—several Space Pouches, in fact.
Soon—
He noticed the information displayed on the screen beneath these products.
「Level 10 Refrigerator」: A white-tier accessory with absolute freshness preservation and a "Universe Within" effect. Internal space of 100 square meters, ideal for storage or even housing people. Price: 100,000 Stellar Coupons. Consigned by 'XX Train.'
"Consignment, huh."
The man nodded thoughtfully. That made sense. It must have been consigned by the Stellar Train. Who else would have stuff like this?
"All top-tier goods..."
The middle-aged man, leader of a Level 2 train, had entered Neon City alone without any thugs. Standing in the Mechanical Train Parts Store, he looked around with a weathered expression.
His eyes were full of resignation.
Everything here was high-quality.
But he couldn't afford any of them—the prices were too steep, downright unfriendly for someone like him. Meanwhile, many Train Conductors had already begun leaving the Mechanical Train Parts Store, disappearing into the Neon City.
Clearly, they'd gone home to fetch more money.
Soon—
At the starting point, seven or eight Train Conductors returned, this time with Thugs carrying Storage Boxes on their shoulders. They tossed the boxes into the wall passage, and empty containers were quickly sent back out.
When the Train Conductors placed their wrist devices on the nearby machine, the numbers on the displays rapidly flickered before settling at 1.87 million.
"Phew."
The tall Woman waved her hand excitedly, her eyes gleaming as she led the seven or eight burly Strong men toward the Mechanical Train Parts Store. "Let's go—time to spend!"
Just then—
A beggar on the street suddenly blocked the Woman's path, speaking meaningfully, "Young lady, this old man hasn't eaten in so long. Would you spare some Stellar Coupons for a meal?"
"Any amount will do."
"Get back here!"
The Woman, initially annoyed and ready to curse, suddenly paused. She yanked the beggar back, her expression turning odd as she hesitated before finally saying, "How about 1,000 Stellar Coupons for your meal? Enough?"
"Plenty, plenty."
"Uh... how do I give it to you?"
"Just tap your wrist device against mine, enter the amount, and confirm."
The process was simple and quickly completed.
"Thank you, kind soul."
The tattered beggar immediately shuffled forward along the street, leaning on his cane.
"Wait!"
The Woman hurriedly stopped him, anxious. "Old man, what happens next?"
"Next? I'm going to eat—I'm starving."
"You—!"
Her face darkened as she nearly lashed out, but a glance at the patrolling Armed Black Hole Robot and the rules displayed upon entering the Serendipity Map made her swallow her anger. She'd thought this was some hidden quest.
Turns out it was just a damn scam!
"..."
Standing by the high-rise, Chen Mang watched the scene unfold, a faint smile tugging at his lips. The beggar was a little Easter egg he'd designed.
Those willing to give might—with a very, very small chance—receive something good in return.
As for the Armed Robot?
It was an Armed Black Hole Robot he'd brought from the Train.
In truth, the wrist devices didn't just store Stellar Coupons—they also contained a small energy module that deployed an Energy Shield if attacked. Of course, this was meant to defend against other Train Conductors, not his own robots.
But having a few Armed Robots around made the deterrent more obvious.
It nipped any foolish ideas in the bud.
"Off to a decent start, it seems?"
Chen Mang took the tablet Xiao Ai handed him, which showed 3.89 million Stellar Coupons had already been distributed. In other words, 3.89 million units of iron ore had been deposited.
With just over thirty Train Conductors and such a short time, this result was already impressive.
No rush.
Aim for a billion a day!
"So far, the results are quite good, and it's also quite friendly to those lower-tier Trains. Although they can't afford to buy anything, they can earn Stellar Coupons by bringing in new users and exchange them for Iron Ore."
"For them, it's an additional source of Iron Ore."
"For us, it means many new users."
"Mhm."
Chen Mang nodded, handed over the tablet, and after observing for a while longer, he said softly, "Let's go. After upgrading Er Dan's Train, we'll head to the purple zone."
"Got it."
There was nothing more to observe here for now.
Returning to the Stellar Train's interior, Chen Mang picked up the walkie-talkie and looked at Lao Zhu. "Find someone obedient and efficient. I need them to stay in Neon City for an extended period."
"Understood."
Communication between Neon City and the Stellar Train is highly delayed.
He needed Xiao Ai to have a physical presence in Neon City for supervision, but since Xiao Ai isn't part of the Train Crew, crushing a "Neon City Free Entry Ticket" would be pointless. So, he needed a Train Crew member to specifically carry a Refrigerator and stay by Xiao Ai's side.
In case of any emergencies,
They would immediately stuff Xiao Ai into the Refrigerator, exit Neon City, and report the information to him.
This could be considered a special position.
--Support me in Patreon for more chapters 35+ chapters in there
patreon.com/LegendaryTL
Thanks!