Translator: AnubisTL
Inside the Train Radio
The group was still discussing the goblin incident from a few days ago. No one had yet found the elusive goblin merchant. Moreover, the zombie horde seemed to have grown even more violent in recent days, no longer just attacking trains and humans but also hunting down lone monsters.
Of course, none of this concerned Chen Mang. Let the outside world be shrouded in dark clouds; he only needed to develop peacefully in this Doomsday Abyss. This location offered near-absolute safety. Aside from the goblin monster he'd encountered a few days ago, no one else had come here.
"..."
Inside the train, Chen Mang gazed at the Stellaris's score on the Regional Rankings.
"Total Score: 1491 Points."
Ranked 46th on the Leaderboard, up one place. The main points came from the hundred-plus goblin slaves, who were now officially listed as "Survivors" on the Train Panel.
This surprised him.
He had expected to find a loophole or bug, but the train actually acknowledged the goblin slaves' status.
Dawn was just breaking.
Chen Mang took an ice-cold Cola from the Refrigerator, took a sip, and stood by the window, watching the goblin slaves diligently working at the open-air iron ore mine. Each one was putting in maximum effort.
He had been trying to find a lazy slave to make an example of, but for some reason, not a single one slacked off.
It made him feel like he was missing a step in the process.
Couldn't one of them be careless enough to let him "kill the chicken to scare the monkeys"?
He looked down at the cold Cola in his hand. In the apocalypse, it was a great way to replenish sugar. He set the bottle aside and headed straight for Living Compartment 4, intending to use the remaining iron ore to upgrade the Cola Production Line and Steamed Bun Production Line to Tier 10.
White-grade Accessories required far fewer resources to upgrade than those of other grades.
After consuming a total of 8800 Units of iron ore, he gained four new Overpowered Effects.
Cola Production Line Tier 5 Overpowered Effect: Choose to produce either sugar-free Cola or regular Cola.
Cola Production Line Tier 10 Overpowered Effect: Consuming Cola slowly restores stamina.
Steamed Bun Production Line Tier 5 Overpowered Effect: Choose between two fillings: meat sauce or spicy sauce.
Steamed Bun Production Line Tier 10 Overpowered Effect: Long-term consumption slightly increases physical fitness.
"..."
Chen Mang narrowed his eyes slightly. Not bad. These effects were all quite practical. It seemed he'd need to add an extra midday meal for the slaves. With more energy, they could mine for longer.
As for the sugar-free Cola, that was pure nonsense. It was the apocalypse; who would be picky about such things? Having anything to drink was good enough.
The upgraded Steamed Bun Production Line would improve his diet. He could finally eat something with flavor and meat. All he'd had for days was steamed buns with the spicy sauce Ci Biaozi had brought back, or bread. He was almost sick of it.
Long-term consumption would also slightly boost his physical stats.
But...
He wondered when he'd finally get stir-fried dishes. Though he liked steamed buns, eating them every day was getting unbearable.
As of now, most white-grade train components inside the Stellaris had already reached Tier 10. Next came the resource-intensive ones, like the Steel Car Armor and Windfire Wheel. Just upgrading a single carriage of the former to Tier 3 required 10,000 Units of iron ore.
And he had a total of eight carriages.
"Foolish humans," he muttered.
On the open-pit mine, Doba glanced at the human slave working beside him, relying solely on brute strength. He couldn't help but sneer and say, "That's not how you mine. There's a proper technique to it."
"Grasp the handle with both hands, one in front, one behind."
"Don't grip the very end. When you swing down, don't use all your strength. Let the pickaxe fall naturally with gravity and inertia. And don't just use your arms. Channel the force from your waist through your arms. You have to..."
Biaozi, the patrol and supervision officer standing nearby, watched this scene with a slightly odd expression. He pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and put it to his lips without speaking. This guy was indeed skilled at mining.
But... something felt off.
An Elite Monster, coming to this train to work as a slave miner? It just seemed utterly bizarre.
Five days passed like this, marked by an eerie calm.
The group of goblin slaves gradually adapted to life aboard the Stellaris.
No.
To be precise, only Doba had truly adapted to life on the Stellaris. The other goblins, lacking intelligence, simply followed his orders, burying themselves in their work. Night had fallen.
Inside Human Slave Car 7, a young man sat in a corner, pounding his shoulder and complaining, "Uncle Li, ever since those goblins arrived, our mining shifts have gotten even longer. Are those goblins insane? Sixteen hours of mining a day?"
"How can we compete with them?" Uncle Li sighed.
"Don't they need to sleep?"
No one had ordered them to match the goblins' mining schedule, but whenever they were ready to knock off, those goblin slaves were still clanging away, making them subconsciously extend their own shifts.
At this rate, those newly arrived goblin slaves would definitely reach Tier 1 Slave status long before they did.
The deputy train conductor had clearly defined the promotion system: mine 1,000 Units of iron ore to become a Tier 1 Slave. It didn't matter if it was Tier 1 or Tier 2 iron ore—1,000 Units was all that mattered. At the usual pace, it would take about 100 days. With extra effort, it could be done in sixty or seventy days.
By this standard, those goblin slaves would reach Tier 1 status in just thirty or forty days.
They really work themselves to death.
"Mm."
The middle-aged man sitting beside them sighed softly. "There's nothing we can do. Those goblins are naturally skilled at mining—it's their specialty. Even before the apocalypse, people with the right skills advanced faster than outsiders like us. That's perfectly normal."
"What I mean is..."
The young man paused slightly before whispering, "Uncle Li, didn't Lord Mang become a slave overseer after killing a slave? Master Kun took notice of him then, and that's how he started his rise to power."
"There are no slave overseers on the Stellaris yet."
"Why don't you follow his example, Uncle Li? Kill a slave too?"
"..."
Uncle Li's face stiffened slightly. He turned his head and rasped, "Kill who? You?"
"Are you insane?"
"Back then, Master Kun's slaves were practically starving to death. He wouldn't even give them enough to eat. They were constantly on the verge of rioting from sheer hunger. That's why Master Kun needed a slave overseer to keep them in line."
(End of the Chapter)
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