Translator: AnubisTL
After regaining his composure, Chen Mang slowly exhaled, stretched his limbs, and felt a wave of drowsiness wash over him. It was nearly dusk, and he had no energy left to work.
He immediately stopped the train where it was and drifted off to sleep on his bed.
The next morning, after washing up and feeling refreshed, Chen Mang stretched contentedly. Old Pig had already gathered all the slaves in the open space, waiting for his speech—his first official address to the new slaves.
Once this speech was over, preparations for the mine would begin.
Chen Mang stood on top of the train, leaning on his cane, and surveyed the vast crowd before him. Over a thousand people stood before him. The last time he had addressed such a large group was when he had read his confession under the school flag.
The scene was initially chaotic, but as the slaves saw Chen Mang, the noise gradually subsided.
Biaozi and his thugs stood nearby, holding Soaring Dragon Assault Rifles with cold expressions, maintaining order.
A moment later.
"Let me introduce myself. My name is Chen Mang."
His voice, amplified by the External Speaker, reached every slave on the train.
"I've always treated my slaves well. You 800 new recruits to the Stellaris should have already noticed this. What you're currently enjoying is only the lowest Tier 3 slave treatment."
"Yet you receive ten stuffed, fluffy, and fragrant bread slices every day, along with two bottles of pure mineral water."
"Compare this to your previous living conditions. You should know the difference yourselves."
"See that woman over there? Ji Chuchu?"
"The top celebrity before the apocalypse. You all recognize her, right?"
"I promised you that if you worked hard, I would bring Ji Chuchu to the Stellaris. I kept my word. As slaves here, you'll enjoy benefits even other train conductors can't offer."
Standing beside him, Ji Chuchu smiled at the slaves and waved without the slightest hint of shyness. She even turned and swayed her hips twice, her face devoid of any coquettishness. Even the playful bite of her tongue added a touch of mischievousness, yet it exuded an indescribable allure.
She was a natural beauty.
"And—"
Chen Mang paused calmly before continuing, "The Stellaris is currently the strongest train in the Iron Ridge Wasteland. As long as you stay on board, you'll be protected by the train. You'll never have to worry about your safety again."
"Food, water, shelter."
"These are all provided by me."
"All I ask in return is a little effort. Use all your strength to mine. Everyone's daily mining output will be recorded, and I won't shortchange anyone who works hard."
"Now, all the women, step forward."
As his words fell, the women among the slaves exchanged uneasy glances before stepping forward.
"Hmm."
Chen Mang scanned the group, roughly a hundred women—a small minority. After a moment's pause, he spoke again. "Everyone on the Stellaris must contribute. Those who want to mine alongside the men, stand to the left. Those who prefer an easier task, stand to the right."
Soon, over sixty women had moved to the left.
The remaining forty-odd women went to the right.
"Hmm?"
Chen Mang frowned slightly, glancing at a woman standing on the right. She was a towering 1.8 meters tall, her body a mass of muscle, her shoe size at least 45, and even her face was covered in thick flesh. He couldn't help but say, "I said those who want to mine, stand on the left."
"I don't want to mine."
This woman, who stood out like a crane among chickens, quickly forced a smile she thought was alluring and said urgently, "I want something easy, something easy."
"..."
Chen Mang took a deep breath before waving his hand. "Biaozi, take her to the left. With that physique, she shouldn't be doing easy work. Professionals should stick to their specialties."
After handling this minor interruption, he turned back to the crowd.
"Once you reach a certain mining quota, you'll advance to Tier 2 slave, and eventually to First-Tier Slave. From then on, you'll never have to worry about running out of ore to mine."
"Upon reaching Tier 2 slave status, you'll gain the right to rest and relax."
With his speech concluded, Chen Mang stepped down from the carriage and instructed Old Pig to bring forth the couples among the slaves. There were two pairs in total.
The first pair was a middle-aged couple.
On the other side of the train, Chen Mang stood on the wasteland, leaning on his cane and gazing at the middle-aged couple before him. He felt confident this pair would pass. A middle-aged couple who had remained together through the apocalypse must have genuine affection for each other.
He took out the Doomsday Marriage Certificate and handed one to each of them.
After patiently waiting for several seconds, there was no reaction.
"..."
Chen Mang waved his hand, not disappointed, simply signaling for them to step down.
Soon, the second couple, a young pair of lovers, was brought up, but they too failed.
"Sigh."
He sighed softly, putting the Doomsday Marriage Certificate back in his pocket. It seemed this item would be difficult to use anytime soon. Finding a truly loving couple in the apocalypse was proving to be an impossible task.
At that moment, Old Pig handed him a note.
"Lord Mang, these are the Train Rules drafted according to your instructions. Please take a look."
"Mm."
Chen Mang glanced at the note, then tucked it back into his pocket. A few rules still needed adjustments. The train needed clear regulations, but right now, the most important thing was to return and craft the Drill accessory.
Inside the Train.
Chen Mang pulled the white-grade Vehicle Component Blueprint, "Drill," from a drawer and slammed it onto the control panel. As the Blueprint dissolved into white light and consumed 100 units of iron ore, the next moment—
A massive drill appeared at the front of the locomotive, capable of extending and retracting freely.
Without hesitation, he consumed 4,400 units of iron ore in one go, directly upgrading the white accessory, "Drill," to Tier 10.
"What a bargain," Chen Mang couldn't help but remark. 4,400 units of iron ore was only enough to feed his slaves for three days. Though it felt expensive when he was feeding them, once he reached the high-grade resource mine deep underground, their production efficiency would explode.
By then, his train would have an inexhaustible supply of iron ore.
Among all the trains in the Iron Ridge Wasteland, he was likely the only one with the "Drill" accessory. This meant he was the sole operator capable of mining the high-grade resource mine deep underground, with no competition.
Unless other trains could also venture to Kunlun Mountain, find a pangolin, and obtain the Drill Component Blueprint.
Once the resource mines deep beneath the Iron Ridge Wasteland were fully depleted, his train wouldn't be as vulnerable even in high-level zones.
The upgrades to the Drill accessory primarily manifested in two aspects:
Drill Hardness: This ensured that as long as the Drill's Tier was high enough, virtually no rock formation underground could impede the train's progress. If the Drill's Tier was too low, the train would have to detour around particularly hard rocks.
And its rotational speed, this determined the efficiency of the drilling process, essentially dictating the train's speed as it traversed the underground tunnels.
Underground travel would inevitably be slower than surface travel, but a higher Drill Tier and faster rotational speed would allow the train to maintain greater speed underground.
"Let's go!"
Chen Mang didn't linger. He gathered all the slaves onto the train and steered the Stellaris toward the coordinates of the Doomsday Abyss.
Several hours later, the Stellaris successfully reached the Doomsday Abyss. Switching to its "spider leg" configuration, it began descending the cliff face, inching its way down the steep slope toward the valley floor. As it neared the bottom, the Drill extended and began spinning at high speed.
The entire train, glistening like a hot knife slicing through butter, swiftly plunged into the earth and vanished.
Underground, it was pitch black.
Not a single ray of light penetrated the darkness.
Relying solely on the Resource Detection Radar, the train slowly navigated toward the two Tier 2 Iron Ore deposits located near the underground river, 2,000 meters below the Doomsday Abyss. Chen Mang glanced at the train data displayed on the control panel.
Current speed: 170 kilometers per hour.
Not bad, pretty fast.
The train's Drill carved a tunnel for passage, compressing the soil to either side. As the train passed, the soil slowly shifted back into place behind it, creating a temporary underground tunnel that couldn't be used for long-term travel.
It's worth noting that this time, Chen Mang wouldn't have to mine in complete darkness. Although he still hadn't acquired a Headlight accessory, during his search for survivors in the ruins of Taiping City, he had also scavenged a considerable amount of supplies.
These included canned goods, cigarettes, white liquor, and even some entertainment items like paper books, video tapes, and a few battery-powered industrial flashlights—though not many, they were enough to get by.
Soon.
Chen Mang, seated in the control room, heard the sound of rushing water. The Stellaris train had finally reached the underground river.
"..."
Chen Mang was the first to jump off the train, using his flashlight to scan the surroundings. The beam swept across every corner of the massive cavern, the air thick with moisture. In the darkness, the constant crashing of the underground river against the rocks echoed around them.
The river channel wasn't wide, occupying about a quarter of the cavern's width. The water level was lower than the adjacent open space, but a sudden downpour could easily flood the entire cavern.
The air seemed breathable enough. At least Chen Mang felt no discomfort breathing alone. But with so many people, he wasn't sure if the oxygen would last. They'd start mining and see how it went. If they ran out, he'd check the train radio to see if any train conductors had oxygen-generating accessories. He could buy one.
In the remaining three-quarters of the cavern, two glistening Tier 2 Iron Ore veins sat like the most alluring courtesans in a brothel, their beauty captivating the eye.
Meanwhile, under the guidance of Old Pig and the others, the slaves had lined up to receive their pickaxes and daily rations. They began entering the mine in batches, swinging their pickaxes to extract the ore.
Finally—
The crisp, melodious clang of the drill echoed frequently in Chen Mang's ears once more.
"Truly the most beautiful sound in the world," he murmured, a satisfied smile spreading across his face. His arduous journey to Kunlun Mountain, where he had faced death countless times, had been worth it. He was more than pleased with the reward.
Now, it was time for him to reap the harvest.
Inside the Train, while the other slaves were already hard at work, Chen Mang sat alone, his feet propped up on the table. He lit a cigarette, inhaled deeply, and leisurely watched a film from this world.
It was surprisingly good.
And refreshingly novel.
An apocalypse movie, it was incredibly immersive and engaging. If the train were currently surrounded by a zombie horde instead of deep beneath the Cavern, the immersion would be even stronger.
When the slaves were busy, he had nothing to do.
But when the slaves had free time, he had to get busy.
That was the Train Rules.
The train conductor set the overall direction, while the others carried out the detailed tasks—each role indispensable.
Chen Mang turned his attention to the two overpowered effects of the Drill accessory after reaching Tier 10.
Drill Tier 5 Overpowered Effect: Extremely durable, increased rotation speed.
Drill Tier 10 Overpowered Effect: Even more durable, even faster rotation speed.
To be honest, this was the first time he'd seen such a pure overpowered effect—no mechanisms, just a simple and pure numerical beauty.
The original effect of upgrading the Drill was to increase its durability and rotation speed.
Yet both overpowered effects specifically enhanced these very attributes.
It was easy to imagine: with a Drill accessory of this caliber, even if other trains also had Drills, his train would still far surpass them in speed while traveling Underground.
And...
"..."
Chen Mang pondered. If this Drill was both incredibly durable and incredibly fast, it should be capable of more than just tunneling through the earth. He could potentially use it to ram other trains. If their armor wasn't strong enough, they'd likely be unable to withstand the impact.
He quickly dismissed these thoughts. He'd been working tirelessly for days and didn't want to think about such things right now. This was his time to relax.
He turned his gaze back to the apocalypse movie playing beside him.
In the film, the male lead was surrounded by zombies, trapped in a desperate situation. Just as Chen Mang was fully engrossed, wondering how the male lead would escape, a translucent panel suddenly popped up in front of him.
A line of small text appeared on the panel:
Ding! You have unlocked the Kill Zombies to Get Stronger System.
"Damn it," Chen Mang muttered, momentarily stunned before cursing under his breath. "Do all movies in this world have to be this cliché?"
(End of the Chapter)
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