Translator: AnubisTL
"Hmph."
Chen Mang sighed softly, turning his head to look out the window at the train residents already starting their meal. He lit a cigarette, gazing up at the pale blue smoke drifting across the ceiling, his expression complex and silent.
He had entered the coordinates into the control panel.
They were indeed coordinates for the Kunlun Mountain Region.
His first thought had been: Could this be a trap laid by the Purple Cloud Train in collaboration with other Tier 6 trains, intending to ambush me?
First, he wasn't particularly close to the Purple Cloud Train.
Why would someone on the verge of death spend so much time talking to me? Doesn't he have any friends?
Second...
The guy had said far too much before dying. The monster was already gnawing at his body, yet he could still talk so much? His mental fortitude was astonishing.
Logically, such excruciating pain should have already rendered him unconscious.
Even if he hadn't passed out, his mind should have been blank, leaving him with no strength to speak, let alone ramble on like that.
It defied common sense.
But on closer consideration, the possibility of a trap seemed unlikely. There was no bait, and the person had died instantly. Their name in the chat window had immediately grayed out, a state that couldn't be faked.
Without even a lure, it was virtually impossible for it to be a trap.
Yet—
The temptation was undeniably strong.
"..."
Chen Mang narrowed his eyes slightly. His Groundburst Missile had already reached Tier 6. No matter how many monsters were hiding in that valley, or even if there were several Tier 6 monsters, a single missile strike would clear the entire area.
Moreover, according to the Purple Cloud Train Captain, the valley was teeming with monsters.
Even at the price of 300,000 units of copper ore for a single Tier 6 missile, it was impossible to lose money.
The more monsters there were, the more he would profit.
It was indeed very appealing, but no one knew he possessed missiles. They couldn't use that as bait to lure him into the valley.
After a moment of thought, he said, "Have all residents return to the train. Prepare for departure."
"Understood, Train Conductor."
Beneath a sky ablaze with stars.
The Stellaris train was speeding across the Sha River Plains toward the Kunlun Mountain Region, its destination the coordinates sent by the Purple Cloud Train Captain before his death.
The distance was considerable. The mountain range lay at the northernmost edge of the Sha River Plains, beyond which stretched another White Zone. The Kunlun Mountain Region was located at the westernmost edge.
Three hours later.
The Stellaris train gradually slowed, then deployed its spider legs to enter the Kunlun Mountain Region.
Just as the train radio had reported, there were no monsters in sight. The target acquisition radar showed no red dots either. This was Chen Mang's second time entering the Kunlun Mountain Region, and it was completely different from his first. The last time, monsters had swarmed everywhere, chasing him relentlessly.
He kept the train's speed at 100 kilometers per hour, weaving rapidly between the mountains.
Half an hour later.
"..."
Chen Mang narrowed his eyes slightly and slowly brought the Stellaris train to a halt. The coordinates were now within the target acquisition radar's range, but the radar showed nothing—no monsters, not even a single red dot.
A hoax?
After a moment of silence, recalling the Purple Cloud Train Captain's dying words, he decided to abandon his advance.
There were only two possibilities.
The first possibility—that the Purple Cloud Train Captain had lied to him—had already been dismissed as unlikely.
That left only the second possibility.
The coordinates truly did harbor a monster, but his Tier 15 target acquisition radar couldn't detect it. The fact that his radar, despite its advanced level, remained blind suggested a significant anomaly at the coordinates.
This wasn't entirely unprecedented.
Back in Sha River City, a structure resembling a giant Amoxicillin iron can had rendered creatures within it invisible to his radar.
Now, he faced only two options:
Maneuver the Stellaris closer to the coordinates and visually confirm the presence of monsters in the valley. Or retrace his route and leave the Kunlun Mountain Region.
But he chose a third path.
Buzz... buzz... buzz...
The sound of gears turning slowly echoed from Carriage 14. Hydraulic supports unfolded like the skeletal frame of a steel behemoth, and a Tier 6 missile, entirely black, was slowly raised by an elevator.
He chose to launch a Tier 6 missile directly at the coordinates first. Whether monsters lurked there or some trap awaited him, a single missile would end it all.
It was only 300,000 units of copper ore.
He had mined so diligently to avoid unnecessary risks. If, after all that mining, he still had to drive over to investigate the danger himself, what was the point of mining in the first place?
In the next moment—
The missile's silver warhead gleamed with a cold, deathly light under the moonlight. A torrent of orange-red flames erupted from its tail, roaring toward the horizon. The ground beneath even faintly cracked into a spiderweb pattern of scorch marks.
A deafening explosion suddenly shattered the silence of the starry mountain range.
Like a crimson meteor streaking across the sky, the missile, trailing flames, plunged toward the valley at the coordinates at an almost vertical angle.
Then—
In the darkness, a blinding white light instantly engulfed the distant valley. The visible shockwave, like a transparent wall of water, surged outward in waves.
The mountain range, once eerily silent and desolate, seemed to have been paused by a Divine hand, then abruptly fast-forwarded.
At that moment, the delayed thunderous roar of the violent explosion finally reached them, echoing like a church bell tolling a mournful dirge.
In the night sky, a mushroom cloud slowly billowed upward.
"How beautiful," Chen Mang murmured, momentarily forgetting his mission as he gazed at the mushroom cloud rising above the distant valley.
The sudden shift from absolute stillness to explosive chaos, combined with the accompanying sound and light effects, made the scene appear as if Satan himself had descended to paint a masterpiece on the canvas of the mortal realm, an exquisite, brutal spectacle.
Truly worthy of a Tier 6 missile.
Just in terms of destructive power, it far surpassed the Tier 1 missile he had used before. His previous missile hadn't produced such a grand display, though that might also be because it was nighttime, when missiles always looked more impressive.
"Whew," he exhaled after a moment, then relaxed and resumed piloting the Stellaris toward the coordinates.
This should be safe now.
That's the advantage of having plenty of copper ore: when faced with unknown dangers, just blast them away with missiles. No matter what lurked ahead, the missiles would teach them the meaning of Satan's personal touch.
Ten minutes later, the Stellaris slowly glided along the side of the valley and came to a halt.
The valley had been completely transformed into a massive crater. At the bottom, still-cooling stones emitted a faint crimson glow, like countless stars reflected in water. Scattered everywhere were the shredded remains of monsters, their flesh and blood splattered across the landscape.
Even more monster flesh had been vaporized on the spot.
In addition, numerous glowing white items lay scattered across the crater floor.
The Purple Cloud train captain had been right: the crater concealed a vast number of monsters. But for some reason, they were completely undetectable by the target acquisition radar.
He suddenly felt grateful for his impulsive decision to launch a missile.
Missile launches took only a few seconds, but if he had waited to see the monsters before firing, it would have been too late. They would have already charged out of the valley to pursue him, and the attack wouldn't have been as widespread as it was now. Some would have inevitably escaped, making them much harder to deal with.
Letting even a few Tier 6 bosses slip through would have been a major headache.
He wasn't worried about the missile's impact on himself.
As a Tier 6 armored train, he was immune to all attacks of Tier 6 and below. Theoretically, even if he had launched the missile directly onto his locomotive's roof, only the external accessories would have been damaged. The train itself and its residents would have remained completely unharmed.
Of course, this is purely theoretical.
Anyone with a sound mind wouldn't actually launch a Tier 6 missile at their own head just to test a theory.
While his spider legs and external speaker accessories were of relatively high Tier, they weren't defensive components like armor, which could completely negate damage from attacks of equal or lower Tier.
Even a Tier 30 spider leg or external speaker would still be damaged by a Tier 6 missile.
However, the higher the Tier, the greater the attack intensity they could withstand without reaching zero durability. If the durability didn't drop to zero, mechanical nanospiders could repair them. Once it hit zero, a new one would have to be crafted from scratch.
You can't expect an audio system to withstand a missile—that's just unrealistic.
The Stellaris's current powerful magnet, a green-grade accessory, was at Tier 5. It could collect all dropped items from monsters within a 500-meter radius into the carriages.
After consuming 19,500 units of iron ore, he instantly upgraded the accessory to Tier 20, expanding its absorption range to 2,000 meters.
He also gained two additional overpowered effects.
[Tier 10 Powerful Magnet Overpowered Effect]: Flesh from slain monsters can be absorbed directly.
[Tier 20 Powerful Magnet Overpowered Effect]: Possesses a powerful magnetic effect. The strength of the magnetism depends on the grade of energy stones consumed.
"Not bad," Chen Mang chuckled, maneuvering the Stellaris train around the cliffs on either side of the valley. He used the powerful magnet to suck up all the items dropped by the monsters into an empty refrigerator on the train. He also absorbed all the monster flesh into another refrigerator.
Monster flesh was inedible.
Someone had tried it once before, and they died instantly.
This monster flesh wasn't like "corpse meat," which was a material drop. It was genuine chunks of flesh, only useful for the flesh train. Since the Stellaris had plenty of refrigerators, Chen Mang collected it all anyway.
Maybe he could use it in a trade with the flesh train someday.
In reality, there wasn't much flesh left. Most of it had vaporized, and only a few higher-Tier monsters had left behind scraps.
After absorbing all the dropped items and flesh using the powerful magnet, Chen Mang turned to Xiao Ai and said softly, "Have all the guards disembark and check the train's underside for anything unusual. Give each of them a Train Ticket."
Chen Mang turned to Xiao Ai beside him and said softly, "Have all the guards disembark to inspect the train's undercarriage for any anomalies. Issue each of them a Train Ticket."
"Understood."
The eerie atmosphere here was undeniable. These monsters had gathered inexplicably, and it would be a miracle if nothing was amiss. Yet the target acquisition radar had detected nothing. In such a situation, the only option was to send people to investigate.
With the protection of Single-Soldier Skeletal Armor and Train Tickets, major incidents were unlikely.
Chen Mang had no intention of leaving. He wanted to uncover the truth behind what had happened here.
"First team, all members, assemble!"
The Stellaris train, parked along the side of the valley, had its Guard Car No. 7 door slammed open. Biaozi, clutching his Soaring Dragon Assault Rifle, stood in the doorway, scanning the faces of the nine First Squad Members one by one before speaking in a low voice.
"President Ai, I, and the other two captains have joined the Cluster Mind. If we get separated during any unexpected events, I'll issue immediate orders through your Iris Chips. Stick close to me."
Only then did he take a deep breath and jump off the train, leading the nine members of the First Squad down into the valley. Although Lord Mang's missiles had already scoured the area, his order to descend meant something unusual must remain.
He felt the scorching heat in the air and the acrid stench of gunpowder and blood. Gripping his flashlight cautiously, he advanced step by step, leaving no trace unexamined.
The nine members behind him followed suit.
Lord Mang had equipped them all with Individual Exoskeleton Armor. While it offered no defensive capabilities, it significantly enhanced their comprehensive physical fitness, effectively doubling their strength and agility.
An opportunity for glory had arrived.
The number of talented freaks on the train was growing, and to maintain his position, he needed to distinguish himself. Discovering the anomaly would be a merit, but resolving it would be a great achievement.
"Second team, assemble! Let's move out too."
At the door of Guard Car No. 7, Zhang Damei tightened her combat suit and cinched her belt even tighter. With a cold expression, she then leaped down, wielding a massive cleaver. The other members of her team followed close behind.
This great cleaver was custom-made for her by President Ai.
By combining car blade fragments with a pickaxe handle, it was an odd-looking weapon, but its lethality was undeniable.
She was already naturally strong, and the Individual Exoskeleton Armor amplified her strength even further, allowing her to wield this weapon with devastating power.
"Sigh..."
"It's the third team again, bringing up the rear."
A handsome young man, his features almost too delicate, glanced at the two leading squads, already more than ten meters ahead. He sighed softly, then checked the number of magazines in his pockets before leaping out of the carriage, a Soaring Dragon Assault Rifle in hand.
His delicate features rivaled those of the fresh-faced idols brought back from the Iron Ridge Wasteland. He looked like the type who, if he got a paper cut, would immediately call the crematorium to reserve a furnace slot.
But...
The fact that he held the position of third squad captain, and that none of the nine members behind him showed any sign of resentment, spoke volumes.
On the Stellaris, anyone who managed to rise to the top was anything but ordinary.
(End of the Chapter)
📖Read [MAT] ahead on Pa.treon@AnubisTL upto c214. [+4/+9.4k]
🎁All [2] Novels can be accessed for just $6/mo.
🔥Translated [700+] Chapters and [1.42M+] Words.
[MASS RELEASE: +25 | 31JUL25] ✍REQUESTING REVIEWS🙏