Translator: AnubisTL
Chen Mang retrieved the items emitting a faint white glow from the goblin merchant's pouch and placed them on the control panel.
There were two items in total:
A yellow-grade Vehicle Component Blueprint: "Off-Road Motorcycle Production Line."A special item: the "Cosmic Pouch."
"Huh?"
After picking up the yellow-grade Blueprint and examining it, Chen Mang's eyes flickered with surprise. Its effect was quite powerful. As the name suggested, this component would allow him to produce Off-Road Motorcycles, significantly expanding the train's exploration range.
For example, the train could remain stationed in one location while his thugs rode the Off-Road Motorcycles to explore city ruins or other Zones to complete missions.
This was a valuable find, and it was also his first yellow-grade train component. As he Tiered up, the Overpowered Effects he would gain should greatly enhance the motorcycles' overall attributes.
The second item was the goblin merchant's Exclusive Weapon, possessing a similar effect to a Refrigerator. Inside, it contained a roughly 27-cubic-meter cubic space—3 meters long, 3 meters high, and 3 meters wide.
While its storage capacity was smaller than a Refrigerator's, the Cosmic Pouch's portability made it far more practical for gathering supplies. After all, one couldn't exactly carry a Refrigerator on their back while scavenging. Even Chen Mang's thugs wouldn't...
But the advantage was that it could be carried around. When searching for supplies, this thing would be incredibly convenient. You couldn't exactly carry a refrigerator on your back while scavenging. Biaozi and the others weren't superhuman; carrying a refrigerator while searching for supplies would leave them exhausted before they even started.
However...
"..." Chen Mang mused, this actually sparked an idea. Once he built the off-road motorcycle, he'd attach a Tier 10 Refrigerator to the back seat. That would make searching for survivors much easier.
He could just stuff any survivors he found directly into the refrigerator.
The oxygen inside would last for quite a while.
Three more days passed.
During these three days, nothing unexpected happened. After a few scattered goblins arrived on the second day, no more goblins came.
On this day, all the goblins' injuries had fully healed, and they were ready to start work at any moment.
As dawn broke, the slaves, already familiar with the routine, rose from their carriages, shouldered their pickaxes, and lined up to receive their daily rations before beginning their work. The goblins gathered nearby, looking up at Chen Mang standing on top of the carriage.
But...
Most of the goblins had vacant eyes and blank expressions, looking nothing like intelligent creatures. Occasionally, their faces would contort into mechanical, stiff grimaces.
Only the goblin standing at the front remained motionless, his eyes filled with anticipation as he awaited instructions.
"..."
Chen Mang surveyed the assembled goblins before him. There were 121 in total, including five goblin merchants. This was his greatest achievement in recent days. In the wasteland, the most valuable commodity was always the same: labor.
Everything else took a backseat. Even high-grade Accessories were useless. The higher the grade, the more resources they required. Without sufficient labor, even the train conductor himself would struggle to mine much Ore in a day, no matter how hard he worked.
Compared to the yellow-grade Vehicle Blueprint, these 121 goblins were far more valuable to him.
After a long pause, he spoke softly.
"Welcome to the Stellaris train. This will be the launch of your dreams. When the Goblin Clan shines brightly once more, you, as pioneers, will be remembered as the most glorious chapter in Goblin history."
"Now, Old Pig, distribute pickaxes and food. Let's get to work."
He didn't bother with further speeches. These goblins lacked intelligence and wouldn't understand what he was saying anyway. Only the small goblin knew what he meant, so even if he wanted to inspire them, it would be futile. They simply wouldn't comprehend.
He couldn't be bothered to waste his breath.
Anyway, the little goblin seemed enthusiastic, clearly brimming with anticipation for rebuilding the Goblin Clan.
But...
He knew in his heart that it was nearly impossible. With only one goblin left, and in such a half-dead state, rebuilding Goblin Civilization was utterly out of the question. Forget about the goblins—even the humans were teetering on the brink of extinction.
But that's life: you can be pessimistic about the future, but you have to act with optimism.
"Yes," the goblin replied, taking a deep breath before speaking solemnly. "I will not disappoint the Human Seer."
With that, he eagerly rushed off to claim his delicious bread.
Just then, Chen Mang called out to the goblin, beckoning him over. He then descended the ladder at the back of the carriage, circled around, and stood before the goblin. "Do you have a name?"
"Yes, I'm called Doba."
"Doba... hmm, not bad," Chen Mang nodded, looking down at the short goblin. After a moment's pause, he continued, "Old Pig has already explained this to you, right? You goblins are all receiving Second-Tier Slave treatment—a high rank on the Stellaris. Typically, newly acquired slaves start at Tier Three."
"The reason I gave you a higher Tier than new recruits from the start," Chen Mang said, "is because I value your goblin clan's natural talent for mining. Don't disappoint me."
"Rest assured," Doba replied, his expression as serious as if he were issuing a military order. "Goblins are the most diligent and united race. Mining is what we excel at."
"Oh, right," Chen Mang suddenly remembered something, his brow furrowing slightly. "Where was your Goblin Train built? Does its ability to move rapidly underground come from its drill? And why can't the Target Acquisition Radar detect it?"
Since the goblins joined the Stellaris, Chen Mang hadn't spoken to them much.
His past life's entrepreneurial experience had taught him that as a boss, he only needed to chat casually with his employees from time to time. Work assignments should be left to management. Not only would they handle it better, but employees always resent their jobs. Even if they're dissatisfied, their first target of resentment will always be management, not him.
When chatting with employees, it's best to keep the conversation general, treating them as a collective. Overly detailed conversations can lead employees to mistakenly believe the Boss values them individually, which might embolden them to act in bizarre ways.
For this reason, he had largely ignored the specific work processes and daily statistics of the slaves and goblins. He hadn't spoken to any slave individually, leaving those tasks to Old Pig.
Old Pig had indeed handled these responsibilities admirably, with no major issues arising to date.
"Oh, right," Doba said, scratching his head. "The Goblin Train was built in that pitch-black space. There's no light there, and that's where goblins go to sleep after they die. It's full of resources."
"There's iron ore, copper ore, and many other resource mines I've never even seen before."
(End of the Chapter)
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