Translator: AnubisTL
Iron Ridge Wasteland
The Stellaris roared through the wasteland, speeding towards Taiping City!
About three hours later, the faint skyline of Taiping City's ruins finally appeared on the horizon. During the journey, they had encountered only two other trains. However, upon spotting the Stellaris, both trains had immediately turned and fled at maximum speed in the opposite direction, as if they had seen some unspeakable monster.
The Stellaris gradually slowed, coming to a smooth stop beside a container factory on the edge of Taiping City's ruins.
Meanwhile, the Target Acquisition Radar, which had been running continuously, displayed detailed information on all living beings within a 10,000-meter radius on the control panel screen.
"Hmm?" Chen Mang frowned slightly, studying the scattered red dots on the screen. There were fewer survivors in Taiping City's ruins than he had expected—only a little over a hundred, scattered across two zones.
Could it be because this area was on the outskirts? Or had it already been looted by numerous train conductors?
He didn't dwell on the matter. Instead, he pulled the Component Blueprint for the Off-Road Motorcycle Production Line from his drawer. He had obtained this Blueprint after killing the goblin merchant, and it was finally about to be put to use.
Crafting this accessory required 1,000 Units of iron ore.
Soon, a large lathe appeared in Production Line 2 Carriage, taking up a spot near the edge. Each off-road motorcycle required 500 Units of iron ore to produce.
The off-road motorcycle's top speed reached 180 kilometers per hour, exceeding even some Tier 1 Trains.
Not too slow.
However, each motorcycle needed a Tier 1 Energy Stone embedded within it. Fortunately, these stones weren't too expensive, costing only 500 Units of iron ore each. They could last for over a hundred days of continuous use, long after the motorcycles themselves would have become obsolete.
He produced ten off-road motorcycles in one go, along with ten Energy Stones, totaling 11,000 Units of iron ore.
The Train Auxiliary AI's Tier 5 Overpowered Effect, Cluster Mind, could link the thoughts of up to twenty people to the control panel, enabling seamless real-time communication within a maximum range of ten thousand meters.
This perfectly matched the range of the Target Acquisition Radar.
He could sit inside the train, monitoring the radar's information in real-time and issuing commands accordingly.
Soon!
The heavy iron plate on the side of Production Line 2 Carriage slammed to the ground with a resounding "Boom!"
Ten thugs, armed with Soaring Dragon Assault Rifles, revved their off-road motorcycles and leaped from the train. They then sped deep into the city ruins. The roads in the city ruins were largely blocked by abandoned vehicles overgrown with weeds, making off-road motorcycles the only vehicles capable of navigating the narrow paths and accelerating their search.
"Turn right at the next intersection."
"Pass that collapsed red low-rise building and head down the next street."
"There are three Tier 1 Zombie Wolves inside."
Biaozi expertly maneuvered his off-road motorcycle, dodging obstacles as he followed Chen Mang's instructions in his mind. His focus was razor-sharp, yet his thoughts drifted uncontrollably.
Lord Mang had been constantly surprising him lately.
Having served as a train conductor several times, Biaozi was familiar with the standard configurations of Tier 1 and 2 trains. But Lord Mang's Tier 2 train was beyond anything he could have imagined. It was as if Lord Mang's train token was completely different from the one he had received.
To start with, he had never seen a Target Acquisition Radar with a 10,000-meter range.
Logically, Target Acquisition Radars could only be upgraded to Tier 3, with a maximum range of 3,000 meters. The unusual accessories he had encountered lately made him suspect that Lord Mang was hiding many secrets.
This was his second field mission.
The mission this time was to rescue survivors.
The next moment—
"We're here. Thirty-eight survivors are hiding inside this container factory."
"..."
Coming to his senses, Biaozi looked at the container factory before him. Hundreds of stacked containers littered the open ground, resembling a series of carriages. It was indeed an excellent hiding place.
All they had to do was hide in the innermost container.
Then, from the inside, they could secure the surrounding containers by closing and locking their doors. This would effectively create nearly a hundred layers of protection, making it extremely difficult for the scent to escape and thus preventing detection by the zombies or zombie wolves roaming the city ruins.
"Move in!"
Biaozi jumped off his off-road motorcycle and retrieved the pickaxe strapped to the back seat. After hefting it in his hands, he strode directly to the first container and slammed the pickaxe against the lock.
After several brutal strikes, the iron latch shattered. He kicked the door open, revealing no survivors inside—only a floor covered in dusty footprints. At the far end of the container stood another container.
And so—
Three men stood guard with their guns drawn, while the remaining seven swung their pickaxes, systematically breaking down doors along the shortest route to the innermost container where the survivors were hiding.
Bang!
As the last container door was kicked open, Biaozi immediately retreated. In the darkness, with no flashlight, Lord Mang's commands were his only source of information.
He didn't hesitate.
He quickly reversed his grip on the Soaring Dragon Assault Rifle slung across his back, flipped off the safety, chambered a round, and immediately aimed at several dark figures lunging toward him. He squeezed the trigger.
Tutututu
The muffled gunfire echoed through the darkness, the sound of bullets piercing flesh almost completely drowned out by the screams. A beam of light from a flashlight in the container shone directly on Biaozi's blood-stained, angular face.
Through the trembling beam, it was clear the flashlight's master was far from calm.
"...Drop the flashlight," Biaozi said emotionlessly, his muzzle trained on the source of the light. "Three...two..."
Before he could even count to one, the flashlight was hurled out of the darkness. Biaozi picked it up and shone it on the two survivors who had been hiding behind the door, fireaxes in hand, and had just attacked him. Only then did he turn the beam toward the container's interior.
There were about thirty survivors inside.
Men and women alike.
But now, each of them was huddled in a corner, their faces etched with fear, their eyes filled with helpless desperation. The container floor was covered in discarded clothes and blankets, and the air was thick with a nauseating stench of decay.
"Everyone, stand up immediately."
"Follow me."
Biaozi scanned the room, then hefted his Soaring Dragon Assault Rifle, his voice a low rumble. "Don't make me repeat myself."
Besides those two, there were no other immediate threats. If there had been, Lord Mang would have warned him.
(End of the Chapter)
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