Translator: AnubisTL
"That's right."
Old Pig sighed. "That girl probably knew your stubborn mule-like personality, which is why she left without saying goodbye. But if that's true, I don't think she'd have gone far. She might even have rented a place nearby, watching you all this time."
"First, she wanted to see you a few more times before she left this world."
"Second, she was worried you'd do something foolish."
"Think about where you lived before leaving Taiping City. If she was lucky, she might still be alive, hiding somewhere nearby."
"I..."
Wildcat stood frozen, his eyes instantly turning red. He immediately knelt before Old Pig, his voice trembling with a mixture of panic and hoarseness. "Trainmaster Zhu, could you... could you ask Lord Mang to take me to search near that factory on the outskirts of Taiping City? She... she might really be waiting for me there."
"I... I'd give my life for this. If the train ever needs someone to complete a suicide mission, I'll be the first to volunteer. Can I... can I do that?"
"Get up first."
Old Pig waved his hand, signaling Biaozi to help Wildcat to his feet. After a moment of silence, he spoke: "I'll find an opportunity to mention this to Lord Mang, but the train's top priority right now is mining. Don't get your hopes up too high."
"All I can promise is that I'll find a chance to discuss this with Lord Mang."
"Alright."
Wildcat shakily returned to his bunk, burying his head in his chest, lost in thought. His body trembled slightly.
"Sigh."
Biaozi glanced at Wildcat but said nothing. He pinched out his nearly extinguished cigarette between his fingers, letting out a low sigh. He had only a bedridden father to worry about, nothing else to tie him down.
But it had been a long time since he'd thought about it.
When the apocalypse first struck, he'd still been determined to save his father.
Later...
Later, he'd basically accepted his father's death in his heart. Everyone in the train had family, but in this apocalyptic environment, they all tried their best not to dwell on such things.
Fate will bring us together again in Hell.
Slave Car No. 7
Uncle Li, feeling the steady rhythm of the train beneath him, finally exhaled a sigh of relief. He glanced at the dim overhead lights in the carriage, then regretfully stubbed out his cigarette.
"If I'd known I wouldn't die, I wouldn't have smoked this. What a waste."
"Uncle Li," the young man beside him whispered, "are you really so reluctant to smoke those two cigarettes Lord Mang gave you?"
"Wrong," Uncle Li shook his head softly. "I'm not addicted to nicotine. It's just that this thing makes me feel like I still have some connection to the modern world, like I wasn't born a slave."
"It reminds me of my former glory, makes me feel human again."
"Uncle Li, you don't want to be a slave?"
"..."
Uncle Li glanced at the young man. Isn't that obvious? If he had a choice, who would choose to be a slave? A flicker of helplessness crossed his eyes. "Do you?"
"Not really," the young man replied.
The young man scratched the back of his head. "I used to work as a contractor for a courier company. Honestly, I don't find this job too demanding. There's not much pressure."
"My life can be summed up in fourteen characters."
"Every hurdle I face, I stumble. Every endeavor I pursue, I fail."
"This is actually pretty good now."
"..."
Uncle Li remained silent, merely withdrawing his gaze. He had already devised a plan to climb the ranks and join management. He had the strategy in place, but he needed an opportunity.
He had to wait.
Wait for the next batch of slaves to board the train.
Then, his moment to shine would arrive.
Under a sky ablaze with stars, the Stellaris train glided smoothly across the wasteland, maintaining its steady pace for a full half-hour.
The trick was simple: maintain top speed at all times.
"..."
Chen Mang glanced in the rearview mirror at the two short, menacing Red-skinned Rabbits that had been relentlessly chasing the train through the night. They had been pursuing him for a full half-hour now.
Their speed was astonishing, nearly matching the Stellaris's top speed.
Beep Beep. Tier 3 Unknown Monster detected. No relevant information found in the Information Database.
Attention, Train Conductor.
These red words flashed incessantly on the control panel screen.
It's a long story.
Half an hour ago, he was driving the train toward the coordinates of the Doomsday Abyss. The journey had been uneventful until a sudden thump—it felt like the wheels had run over something, similar to a speed bump.
Then, in the rearview mirror, he saw the two rabbits, originally one atop the other, struggling to separate before turning into snarling, relentless pursuers, their expressions filled with murderous intent.
If he had to guess...
He'd probably run over them while they were mating.
In that case, their anger was understandable.
An Unknown Tier 3 Monster likely meant a newly added Monster Boss, and his heart leaped with excitement.
A potential First Kill of a Boss was right before him.
But the Vehicle Blade was mounted a meter above the ground, while the rabbits were only thirty centimeters tall—too low for the blade to reach. For the moment, he couldn't think of a good way to kill them. Though he'd run them over once, they didn't seem to be injured.
He wasn't worried about his own safety.
Even if the train stopped, its Tier 3 Armor would be more than enough to withstand attacks from these two rabbits.
Moreover—
The Tier 5 Overpowered Effect of the "Windfire Wheel" doubled the train's speed at the cost of significant energy stone consumption. If he wanted to escape, these two rabbits, currently in heat, wouldn't stand a chance of catching him.
The reason he was still locked in this stalemate was simply because he had decided to kill them.
He planned to lure the rabbits to the Doomsday Abyss, where he had chosen their final resting place.
"Huh?"
Just then, Chen Mang, sitting at the control panel, noticed that the rabbits, perhaps realizing they couldn't catch up, had stopped chasing and were now mating right where they stood.
"Not chasing? That won't do at all."
Without hesitation, Chen Mang immediately turned the train around and charged at them again.
Of course, having anticipated the attack, the rabbits dodged with incredible agility this time. But this only reignited their fury. Their faces contorted into snarls, fangs bared, eyes blazing with rage as they charged forward, relentlessly pursuing the train's tail.
"That's more like it."
Chen Mang nodded in satisfaction, glanced at the Doomsday Abyss's coordinates—still half an hour away—and concluded that his First Kill was all but assured.
He had just finished an experiment.
He loaded the Tier 5 Third-Rate Heavy Machine Gun with Tier 1 bullets and, with the Train Auxiliary AI's lock-on effect, fired a hundred rounds. Every single shot missed. The two rabbits were simply too fast, dodging left and right so nimbly that he couldn't hit them.
He decided against crafting more Tier 3 bullets. The train still had 510 units of copper ore, enough to produce 51 Tier 3 bullets.
Given the rabbits' small size, if all 51 Tier 3 bullets hit, they would likely be dead.
However, he needed to find suitable terrain that would restrict their movement, forcing the heavy machine gun bullets to connect. The Doomsday Abyss seemed like a good location.
These two new Tier 3 Bosses were likely only found in low-Tier regions. If his heavy machine gun, with its lock-on effect, couldn't hit them, other low-Tier region trains would have an even harder time against these agile and incredibly fast Bosses.
His train, enhanced with numerous high-Tier accessories, could reach a top speed of 254 km/h. Yet, the rabbits were still keeping pace, which proved their exceptional speed among Tier 3 Monsters—far faster than the Tier 3 Man-Eating Spider.
(End of the Chapter)
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