Translator: AnubisTL
The next moment—
"ROAR!"
Countless monsters surged from the mechanical city below, their roars echoing through the air. The thunder of gunfire and artillery that had once filled the sky above the city had faded, leaving only the occasional distant boom.
The hundreds of robots standing here seemed to be the last soldiers of this mechanical city.
"Charge!"
A cold, emotionless mechanical voice issued the command. Though it was a suicide charge, there was no trace of passion or fear in the robot's voice, as if it were simply mechanically executing an order.
Then—
Hundreds of battered robots, weapons in hand, launched a final charge against a horde of monsters thousands of times their number.
Chen Mang silently steered the train into the massive elevator flanked by glass walls.
The instant the elevator doors closed, he saw countless mechanical parts flying through the air, obscuring the robots from view.
The next moment—
The elevator began its rapid ascent, its speed increasing steadily. The mechanical city below, now belching thick black smoke, shrank rapidly. Countless roaring monsters were swiftly climbing the steel framework beneath the elevator.
Boom, boom, boom!
Countless explosions erupted in rapid succession. The steel framework beneath the elevator began to disintegrate rapidly, cutting off all the monsters' escape route up the support shaft.
The elevator's speed began to accelerate relentlessly.
This elevator was enormous, capable of accommodating a train with up to thirty carriages.
Yet it was also incredibly small, able to hold only a single train.
The mechanical city below had been completely overrun by monsters. Only his train, the Stellaris, had managed to escape. It was the sole survivor, the only vessel carrying the hopes of everyone in the mechanical city.
This elevator was their only escape route in the face of impending doom.
As the speed increased, the elevator pierced through the clouds, leaving the mechanical city completely out of sight. The scenery outside blurred rapidly, even flashing with crackling black sparks, as if passing through a wormhole.
Screech!
A piercing sound suddenly filled the air.
Silence descended instantly.
The Stellaris reappeared on the floating plaza high in the sky, as if it had never moved at all. Before the train, a holographic screen materialized once more.
"Fourth Trial: Passed."
"Reward for this trial: A random yellow-grade Accessory blueprint. Randomization in progress... Randomly selected: 'Super Energy Tailjet' Vehicle Component Blueprint. Fifth Trial will begin in thirty minutes."
"Note: All Accessory blueprints obtained within this fortuitous encounter map can only be acquired through the Sky Piercing Tower Encounter Map."
"Whew."
Chen Mang, seated before the control panel, exhaled deeply, feeling a sticky sensation on his back. Lowering the window, he lit a cigarette with a complex expression and gazed at the data displayed on the screen.
Energy stone consumption: Unchanged.
Copper ore consumption: Unchanged.
In other words—
Everything that had happened to him in the Fourth Trial hadn't actually occurred. The resources he'd expended in the Third Stage hadn't been reflected on the train panel. But... the aftereffects were surprisingly strong.
It felt like watching a cutscene from a AAA game.
"Stellaris."
He murmured the name aloud, his expression dazed.
He knew, of course, that the name had been changed to reflect his train's designation. The events of the Fourth Trial had likely been a simulation, a Combat Training Virtual Space that immersed him in a world almost indistinguishable from reality.
Yet, this scene must have truly happened.
Long ago.
Perhaps even longer ago, the mechanical city had faced a similar catastrophe. Only one train had managed to escape through the Train Elevator. He didn't know its exact name—it might have been Train 1 or 2, or perhaps Train 3 or 4.
He knew only one thing:
The elevator doors had remained wide open, allowing any train to enter and escape. Yet everyone had tacitly agreed to sacrifice themselves to ensure the escape of his train. This meant the train that escaped during the Fourth Trial must have been special.
It must have carried the hopes of many.
"Many" might not be the right word. He hadn't seen a single person, only robots, but these robots seemed to possess human-like intelligence.
"..."
Chen Mang remained silent, gazing at the slowly burning cigarette between his fingertips. The gray, heavy ash accumulated bit by bit, like the apocalypse slowly consuming all hope.
"Xiao Ai."
"Yes, Train Conductor."
"Do you have anything you want to say?"
After a long silence, Xiao Ai's mechanical voice finally spoke: "I feel a mix of sadness and pride."
"Pride?"
"Yes. Everyone is dying for the hope they believe in. If the Stellaris ever faces a situation where I must sacrifice myself, I will gladly do so. It would be my honor."
"You're so attached to the Stellaris?"
"No, Train Conductor. It's for you."
"Sigh."
Chen Mang sighed softly, flicking the ash from his cigarette out the window, avoiding Xiao Ai's gaze. "Don't say such sappy things. Your core is the Train Auxiliary AI, and your accessories are embedded in the control panel. It's not your place to die. By the time your main body is damaged, I'll probably be dead too."
"But it seems..."
"This apocalypse hasn't just been going on for a year. It's been going on for a long time."
He fell silent again, lost in thought.
He was human.
A human made of flesh and blood. Logically, he shouldn't empathize with robots made of wires and energy. Yet... the scene he had just witnessed still left a knot in his chest.
The mechanical city, utterly devoid of human life, had reappeared on the Sha River Plains, a Green Zone on this planet, after countless years.
Perhaps...
The train, the train components—these methods were strikingly similar to those of the Mechanical Civilization. Perhaps the train that had escaped long ago had truly survived and spread these methods to other planets under attack by those monsters?
He remembered the message he had seen in the Doomsday Abyss.
Who wrote that message?
Lost in thought, Chen Mang was startled back to reality by a sharp sting in his fingertips. He tossed the cigarette stub, now burned to ash, out the window and looked up at the countdown timer on the screen before him.
The countdowns for the previous trials had all been ten minutes.
Only the Fourth Trial's countdown was thirty minutes long.
Perhaps even the Miraculous Encounter Map: Sky Piercing Tower realized the Fourth Trial's aftereffects were particularly potent and needed more time for recovery.
He couldn't understand it.
There were many things he couldn't understand, but that was because he was standing too low. When in a low position, one shouldn't dwell on distant matters; it would distract from the pebbles underfoot.
Perhaps when he upgraded the train to Tier 10 or even Tier 20, and one day reached the highest zone of this planet to confront its most terrifying monsters, many things would become clear.
No matter what this world had become, one thing remained constant:
Only by making himself strong enough, the train strong enough, his trump cards strong enough, and his foundation strong enough could he hope to survive the apocalypse.
This wasn't just the apocalypse of this planet.
Perhaps it was the end of the entire cosmos.
Just then—
"Brother! Brother!"
Erdan's urgent and anxious voice crackled over the train radio. "How are you doing over there? What's happening? Are you alive? Dead?"
"Still alive. Just cleared the trial."
Erdan's voice no longer trembled. Chen Mang glanced down at the train below the plaza, and sure enough, it had completely thawed.
"Phew."
Erdan on the train radio let out a long sigh of relief, then said with a hint of lingering fear, "You scared me half to death. An hour ago, all the searchlights on the rooftops of Mechanical City's skyscrapers suddenly turned and focused on your plaza."
"It must have been quite a sight."
"Then everything went silent. I didn't dare disturb you at first—I had no idea what the Fourth Trial entailed. But after more than forty minutes with no movement from you, I couldn't help but call out a few times. No response. I thought something terrible had happened."
"Glad to hear you're okay. By the way, what was the Fourth Trial? Why hasn't your train moved?"
After a moment of silence, Chen Mang replied softly, "I watched an animation. It was quite beautiful—like a Combat Training Virtual Space animation. Let me ask you something: during the First Stage, what was the name of the mech that chased you? Was it the Azure Dragon?"
"No, it was the Stellaris. I was wondering why the name was exactly the same as your train's. What a coincidence, huh?"
Chen Mang said nothing, simply looking up at the countdown timer that still had five minutes left. His expression remained calm as he lit another cigarette and patiently awaited the arrival of the Fifth Trial, the final stage.
The Fourth Trial hadn't been particularly difficult.
Despite its A-Rank Difficulty, it had essentially just been like watching an animated movie. The few challenges it presented had been overcome thanks to his Spider Jump and nitrous tailpipe's overpowered effects.
Now it seemed clear:
The first three stages had been a screening process.
The First Stage tested speed, the Second Stage memory, and the Third Stage flight capabilities.
Only those who met all three criteria could successfully complete the Fourth Trial and watch the animated movie.
Before acquiring a physical robot body, the Train Auxiliary AI's external observation methods relied on its target acquisition radar and resource detection radar. This provided a non-human perspective, akin to a god's-eye view, offering a flat, partial overview of information.
Only after obtaining the robot body could it truly observe the world from a human perspective. However, due to the low-spec image reception equipment of that robot, it couldn't rapidly absorb information.
However, with the Third Stage reward, the "Mechanical Eye" accessory blueprint, such contradictions would no longer exist. This accessory was specifically designed for use with AI.
"Wait a minute."
Chen Mang's brow furrowed suddenly. The speed from the First Stage and the flight ability from the Second Stage were the keys to clearing the Fourth Trial. But what role did the memory from the Second Stage play in the Fourth Trial?
Could there be hidden clues within the story that needed to be memorized?
He examined the story closely.
But as an ordinary human, he couldn't possibly remember every anomaly perfectly.
Fortunately, there was an extraordinary person on the train.
Through the Cluster Mind, the AI connected with Li Shiji and quickly found the answer.
"Li Shiji says he has memorized about seventy percent of the scenes he saw."
"Have him reinforce his memory constantly. Don't let him forget."
"Understood."
Meanwhile, the countdown for the Fifth Stage was nearing its end. This would be the final stage, and it was rated S-Rank Difficulty, the highest tier.
Chen Mang took a deep breath, his expression grim as he watched the countdown on the light screen. He pushed aside his thoughts for the moment, focusing all his attention on preparing for this stage. The rewards for this stage were the most generous of all.
As the countdown reached zero, a new light screen appeared.
Fifth Trial: S-Rank Difficulty: Last Words
Please recite the final words spoken to you by everyone in the Fourth Trial before their deaths. The Train Auxiliary AI will be briefly disabled during this time.
Time Limit: One Minute
"Stellaris, run! Survive!"
"You must, you must, you must make them know!"
"This hatred will never fade."
"Not even after billions of years..."
"Run!"
When Chen Mang saw the light screen, he hesitated for barely a moment. He quickly recited every word spoken to him by those in the Fourth Trial before their deaths, word for word, without needing Li Shiji's help.
Perhaps he was too immersed, or perhaps the sense of identification was too strong.
He remembered every single sentence they had uttered in their final moments.
Only seconds after he finished speaking did the light screen slowly begin to change.
"Fifth Stage: Passed."
"Reward for this stage: Special item 'Mechanical Heart.' The Miraculous Encounter Map: Sky Piercing Tower will close in ten minutes."
The most difficult S-rank stage... was cleared so easily.
The plaza that had been suspended high in the sky slowly descended. The vents around its perimeter, which had been spewing icy mist, retracted once more. As the plaza rotated, it aligned the locomotive perfectly with a street.
Exiting this street would lead them back to the elevator entrance they had used to enter.
The elevator would then take them out of the Miraculous Encounter Map.
Boom... boom...
In the distance, the towering skyscrapers began to collapse one by one after the light barrier appeared. They crumbled from the inside out, layer by layer. Clearly, the ten minutes were meant for their evacuation. After ten minutes, the mechanical city would completely collapse and vanish from the mortal realm.
Chen Mang, now back on solid ground, waved to the Azure Dragon Train parked nearby, signaling them to disembark.
Soon—
The two trains were traveling side by side through the streets of the mechanical city, with countless skyscrapers made of mechanical parts collapsing in their wake.
When they boarded the elevator again and slowly descended to the ground, the mechanical city atop the Sky Piercing Tower had been reduced to ruins.
Inside the tower, the gears that had been constantly turning slowly ground to a halt. At the same time, a light barrier, like the boundary between zones, reappeared in the air above them.
"Restricted Area: Sky Piercing Tower."
"Remaining for more than ten seconds will result in severe consequences."
(End of the Chapter)
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