Translator: AnubisTL
"Awesome."
Chen Mang, who had witnessed the entire scene, offered his assessment.
On the control panel screen, several lines of crimson, formal script continued to flash.
[Beep. Tier 3 zombie detected. Potential threat to the train.]
[Tier 5 Third-Rate Heavy Machine Gun locked onto the zombie. Ready to fire. Awaiting train conductor's order.]
"Open fire."
Without the slightest hesitation, the next moment—
The heavy machine gun embedded in the roof of Carriage No. 2 instantly swiveled and locked onto the massive zombie, a red flash momentarily erupting from its muzzle.
Tutututu
Chen Mang had initiated the attack first. The deafening, jarring gunfire echoed across the night-shrouded wasteland as a stream of bullets streaked straight toward the Tier 3 zombie's head.
The Tier 3 zombie reacted with lightning speed.
In an instant, it raised both palms to shield itself. Almost all the bullets struck its palms, and in the blink of an eye, when the gunfire subsided, the intimidating zombie's arms had been blasted to shreds.
It was now an armless zombie.
"That's some serious firepower," Chen Mang murmured, watching the scene unfold. But then he noticed the heavy machine gun had fallen silent and stopped firing. Suddenly, a thought struck him. He instinctively glanced at the Train Panel. Sure enough, the 200 Tier 3 Bullets he had just crafted had been completely depleted.
And at that moment—
The enraged Tier 3 zombie, now armless and writhing in pain, charged directly at him!
"..."
Chen Mang's lips twitched slightly. He had spent 2,000 units of copper ore to craft those 200 Tier 3 Bullets. Gone in a flash?
Without hesitation, Chen Mang immediately maneuvered the train, preparing to evade the Zombie Boss's attack.
However, the train's initial acceleration was inevitably slower.
Boom!
Before Chen Mang could fully react, the Tier 3 zombie, towering at a full ten meters tall, had already charged alongside the train. Its face contorted into a grotesque grimace, like a soccer player in mid-kick, as it slammed its foot against the train with tremendous force. The impact produced a deafening crash and a piercing, agonizing shriek.
That kick landed squarely on the rapidly spinning Vehicle Blades.
A massive, bloody gash ripped across the zombie's toes. Overcome with pain, the creature went berserk, repeatedly kicking the train in a frenzy. After several more kicks, its right foot was essentially destroyed, and it lost its balance, collapsing onto the ground.
"..."
Inside the Train, Chen Mang, seated at the control panel, watched the scene unfold. Only after receiving Old Pig's report confirming that none of the slaves had been injured did he finally exhale in relief. His Stellaris train had been shoved sideways across the wasteland by those few kicks, sliding several meters in the process.
That was quite a kick.
Though his Armor had completely absorbed the zombie's attack, the train's vibrations were unavoidable. The impact left his chest feeling heavy and constricted.
At this moment, the zombie was sprawled on the ground, shrieking incessantly. It was clearly unable to launch another attack for the time being. Now it was Chen Mang's turn to strike.
Chen Mang narrowed his eyes slightly and immediately steered the train, aiming for the Zombie King that had fallen to the ground. He repeatedly rammed the train into the creature, using the Vehicle Blades on the sides of the carriages to slowly shred it.
Ten minutes later, the battle ended. The Tier 3 zombie was nearly dismembered, its head and tail separated and scattered across the wasteland. This was significantly faster than killing the Tier 3 Man-Eating Spider.
This was mainly thanks to his Tier 3 Armor, which allowed him to ram the zombie without hesitation or worry. Additionally, the zombie's overall size was smaller than the spider's.
Under the cover of night, Chen Mang stepped out of the train alone, leaning on his cane as he stood on the wasteland. The air was thick with the stench of blood. At a glance, there wasn't a living creature in sight—only he stood alone on the desolate plain.
During the battle, the Tier 3 zombie had devoured the hundreds of zombies to heal its wounds, but it was all in vain.
"Vehicle Blades are still the best," Chen Mang sighed, glancing at the scattered bullet casings. The Tier 3 Bullet-equipped Heavy Machine Gun was powerful, but its consumption was exorbitant. In the blink of an eye, 2,000 Units of copper ore had been spent—who could afford that?
Vehicle Blades were far more economical.
Consuming only a negligible amount of energy, it was practically as good as no consumption at all.
Energy stones were cheap, costing only 500 units of iron ore to craft one.
He finally understood why the train with the Tier 3 Heavy Machine Gun from the old "Train Radio" broadcast had fled from a Tier 3 Man-Eating Spider, even though it had the firepower to kill it. To kill that spider would have required an enormous amount of copper ore, and whether they could even recoup the cost was completely uncertain.
If there was a chance to escape, they had to take it.
The Tier 3 bullets they had stored were for survival in critical moments, not for killing bosses and looting rewards.
In this world, the Tier system was extremely strict.
When Tiers were suppressed, it was impossible to break through defenses, let alone deal any significant damage. For example, a Tier 1 Vehicle Blade couldn't even pierce the defenses of a Tier 2 zombie. Only when Tiers were equal or when the attacker had a Tier advantage could they break through the defense. The resulting damage would then depend on the accessory's combat effectiveness.
Vehicle Blades were good, but they were still white-grade accessories with only melee attacks and limited attack methods. It would be ideal to have a white-grade offensive accessory with ranged attack capabilities. White-grade accessories generally consumed very little energy.
And—
Though both were Tier 3 Bosses, the Zombie King's presence exerted far less pressure than the man-eating spider's.
He knew the reason, of course.
This Tier 2 zombie had ascended to Tier 3 Zombie King by consuming the Flesh stored within the zombie horde's bellies. However, he had slain nearly ninety percent of the zombies along the way, leaving the newly ascended Zombie King far from its peak condition.
Tier 3 zombies could heal their wounds by devouring other zombies.
But only a few hundred zombies had managed to reach this point, far too few to sustain the Zombie King.
By sheer coincidence, he had inadvertently increased his chances of victory.
Fortunately, he had crafted Tier 3 Bullets beforehand. Without blasting off the Zombie King's hands, he suspected the creature would have simply grabbed the Stellaris and swung it like a whip, repeatedly slamming it against the ground. The train could withstand such impacts, but the people inside certainly couldn't.
He needed to keep developing. The Stellaris still had many shortcomings.
He also understood why the zombie hordes had been rioting across the wasteland these past few days: they had been frantically gathering Flesh to prepare for the Zombie King's ascension.
This Boss wasn't the First Kill. If it had been, corresponding information would have appeared on the control panel screen.
"..."
A night wind swept across the wasteland.
Standing alone, Chen Mang tightened his coat and turned back to the train, intending to check what the Zombie King had dropped. After that, it was time to return to the Doomsday Abyss to continue mining.
Although he hadn't encountered any new Boss monsters this time, he hadn't expected to. His current haul was more than enough. It was time to get back to mining.
If only...
If only he could find a Tier 2 Copper Mine. With tens of thousands of Tier 3 Bullets stockpiled, he could slaughter every Boss on the Iron Ridge Wasteland.
But Tier 3 Bullets were already so expensive. He could only imagine how much Tier 4 and Tier 5 Bullets would cost in higher-Tier zones.
He'd have to rely on white-grade offensive accessories. Perhaps he could find some white-grade offensive accessory Blueprints at the next Gathering.
Just then—
Inside Carriage No. 2, Chen Mang glanced down at the Component Blueprint dropped by the Zombie King in his hand. His eyes widened in disbelief as he muttered, "Speak of the devil..."
(End of the Chapter)
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