Translator: AnubisTL
The skeletal remains were scattered haphazardly across the area—hand bones, leg bones, and skull fragments littered the ground, many partially buried with only sharp edges protruding.
Chen Mang had initially speculated that the Goblin's Tomb might be a circular space.
Instead, it was a perfect square.
He had traced the perimeter of the walls, finding each side to be equal in length, with perfect right angles. It was a textbook square. After drilling 6,000 meters underground, he encountered the same horizontal wall that marked the edge of the map.
The Stellaris train could only fly up to 5,500 meters, so its maximum operational altitude was likely capped at 6,000 meters.
The entire Goblin's Tomb was confined to this limited area—a compact, isolated pocket dimension detached from the planet. It lacked sunlight, clouds, and weather variations, yet maintained a breathable atmosphere.
Chen Mang returned to his coordinates, leaned back in his chair, and pondered in silence.
He hadn't found any Tier 4 Iron Ore; the highest grade he'd discovered was Tier 3. There was no point in searching elsewhere; this location would suffice. All that remained was to wait patiently for another forty-odd hours.
He glanced at the train radio.
The train cabin had been silent for days. Ever since entering this zone, Chen Mang had lost all contact with the outside world.
After a long, languid stretch, he turned toward the Combat Training Virtual Space.
Time for some training to boost my comprehensive physical fitness.
A man needs to be tough.
Soon enough—
Forty-eight hours had passed.
The moment the countdown reached zero, a colossal portal, over thirty meters tall, reappeared before the Stellaris. Its central area resembled a miniature cosmos, deep and mesmerizingly beautiful, like a swirling nebula.
All the train residents were already on board, waiting in anticipation.
As the portal materialized, the Stellaris surged through it.
Emerging from the portal, the Stellaris found itself back on the Sha River Plains. As the portal vanished, the night sky blazed with countless stars, and an eerie silence descended. The past two days felt like a fleeting dream.
If not for the train's cargo hold overflowing with iron ore from their successful expedition, Chen Mang might have dismissed it all as a mere fantasy.
"Not bad at all," he murmured, glancing at the train panel, which displayed 4.9 million units of iron ore. A slight smile curled his lips. The Goblin's Tomb hadn't just contained iron and copper mines; it also housed a lumber mill. He had prioritized iron ore over copper, recognizing its greater value.
Unfortunately, these were the only three types of mines available, lacking any rare resources like Red Heart Rock.
It was a pity that entry was restricted to once a month.
If only I could go again...
Wait a minute—
His gaze fell upon the Civilization Token in the control panel drawer. If I could complete another run through the Goblin Ruins and finish an S-Rank Mission, wouldn't I obtain another Civilization Token, allowing me to re-enter?
Of course, he couldn't go himself.
But he could send another train.
Without hesitation, he immediately instructed Xiao Ai to summon Biaozi to the locomotive cabin.
By now, all the residents had fallen into a deep slumber. Even with an unlimited supply of Cola, working continuously for 48 hours had taken a severe toll on their minds and bodies. At this point, they'd sleep through the apocalypse.
Humanity's most primal desires boiled down to three: hunger, sleep, and sex.
Among them, hunger reigned supreme, while sexual desire took a distant third place. Only a full belly could ignite lust.
Only Biaozi and Old Pig, who took turns resting in shifts, remained relatively alert.
Biaozi stood before the locomotive cabin, awaiting instructions.
Biaozi anxiously reviewed everything he'd done in recent days, meticulously checking for any mistakes. As he confirmed his record was clean, a sudden realization struck him: Could it be about his near-fatal exploration of the Crypt's cavern system?
Was Lord Mang about to reward him?
Although he hadn't achieved any significant feat during that venture, his courage was undeniable, and his unwavering loyalty to the train had been flawlessly demonstrated.
With this thought, Biaozi's anxiety dissolved, replaced by a surge of excitement. He eagerly pushed open the locomotive cabin door and turned to Lord Mang, who was seated in a chair, a hint of anticipation in his voice. "Lord Mang, you summoned me?"
"Yes."
Lord Mang tossed a token-like object into Biaozi's lap. He instinctively caught it and examined it closely, only to discover it was a Train Token. A flicker of confusion crossed his face.
What does this mean?
Before he could ponder further, Lord Mang's voice echoed again.
"Use it to build a train. You'll be its conductor."
The words had barely faded when Biaozi snapped to full alertness. His legs buckled, and he immediately dropped to his knees. His eyes reddened, and his voice broke into a choked sob as he wailed, "Lord Mang, my loyalty to you and the train has never wavered! I never dreamed of striking out on my own!"
"Some treacherous bastard must have been poisoning your ears with lies behind my back!"
"Lord Mang, please have me investigated! I swear I'm a loyal subject!"
Chen Mang gave Biaozi a speechless look, then said impatiently, "Get up. Why is a grown man crying like a woman?"
"I'm not telling you to strike out on your own."
"This is the Green Zone. You think you can just take a train token and start your own faction? You'd be dead before you knew what hit you."
"Take this card too. I have a mission for you. I'll take you to the Goblin Ruins fortuitous encounter map. Insert this card into the control panel to gain entry."
"Once inside, you'll face five missions of varying difficulty."
"The most challenging is the S-Rank Mission. The reward is a Civilization Token, and the objective is to shelter fifty goblins on the train. Go find Doba and have him cram sixty goblins onto your train for a while."
"After completing the S-Rank Mission, return to the Stellaris."
"You're the only one on the entire train who's ever been a train conductor. You're undoubtedly the best candidate for this. Understand? Any questions?"
"W-well..."
Biaozi finally grasped the situation. He wiped the tears from his eyes with his sleeve and hesitantly asked, "Lord Mang, when I get back... will I still be the captain of Guard Team One?"
"Don't be ridiculous. As long as you survive in there, it's still yours."
"No problem! I guarantee mission success!"
"Go."
Chen Mang exited the Goblin Ruins Map and activated the Civilization Token. Upon emerging from the Goblin's Tomb, he found himself exactly where he had started, with the entrance to the Goblin Ruins fortuitous encounter map—the small mountain—directly behind them.
Within moments, a brand-new Tier 1 train was constructed. It was incredibly rudimentary, consisting of only a locomotive and two carriages, each packed with thirty snoring goblins, including Doba, who was still groggy and barely awake.
Goblins weren't machines. No one, not even an iron man, could withstand forty-eight consecutive hours of digging.
Huff
Biaozi sat in the control panel chair, mentally operating the Tier 1 train. For some reason, he felt like he was sitting on pins and needles, especially with the Stellaris looming behind him, making him deeply uncomfortable.
Without hesitation, he inserted the card into the control panel. The small mountain before him split open down the middle, revealing a passage wide enough for the train. With a sudden shove of the control lever, Biaozi drove the train into the dark tunnel.
"Let's hope this works."
Chen Mang glanced at the reactivated Goblin Ruins map, then tilted his head toward the pile of train tokens stacked in a nearby drawer. In the past forty-eight hours, they had mined not only iron ore but also a considerable amount of other materials from the ground.
Yet the only intact blueprint they had unearthed was the Mecha Blueprint.
They had uncovered several other blueprints, but all were damaged or in a scrap condition, along with a hodgepodge of miscellaneous junk. Chen Mang had collected everything instead of discarding it, reasoning that one day he might find accessories to repair the blueprints.
After all, he had plenty of refrigerator space.
He collected anything that wasn't utter garbage, figuring it might come in handy someday.
He had, however, acquired a good number of train tokens. Combined with his existing tokens, he now had fourteen stored in the train.
Not bad at all.
If only these tokens could be combined three at a time, he would already have an Exquisite Train Token.
If Biaozi returned safely, these fourteen tokens could be exchanged for fourteen Civilization Train Tokens, ensuring Chen Mang could stay in the Goblin's Tomb around the clock and mine to his heart's content!
Thirty minutes later, the Goblin Ruins fortuitous encounter map slowly reactivated. The train Biaozi had built emerged and parked beside Chen Mang. Soon, Biaozi leaped down from the train, his face etched with shame as he knelt on the ground.
"Lord Mang, the mission failed."
"Failed?" Chen Mang frowned, pushed open the door, and walked down to Biaozi, looking at him in confusion. "Didn't I give you sixty goblins? How could you fail?"
"The S-Rank Difficulty Opportunity has already been completed and can't be selected anymore."
"Only the A-Rank to D-Rank options are available."
"I see." Chen Mang paused briefly, not overly disappointed. He helped Biaozi to his feet and casually patted his shoulder. "It's fine. It was just a trial run. If it failed, it failed."
"Just take these goblins back."
"Um..."
Seeing that Lord Mang wasn't too angry, Biaozi cautiously handed over an accessory blueprint. "That C-Rank Difficulty option is also unavailable. Only A, B, and D-Rank options remain."
"I figured even if the S-Rank Opportunity was gone, we shouldn't leave empty-handed since we came all this way."
"The A and B-Rank Missions were too difficult. I wasn't confident, so I chose the D-Rank Mission instead."
"Even though the reward is the lowest..."
"I thought it was better to have something than nothing, to at least minimize our losses."
Chen Mang stared blankly at the white-grade accessory blueprint in his hand, his face expressionless. After a long silence, he looked up at Biaozi, patted him on the shoulder, and said softly, "Biaozi..."
"You've sacrificed far too much for the Stellaris. You really didn't have to go this far."
"It's what I should do," Biaozi replied.
"You've worked hard. Go get some rest."
"Yes, sir!"
Only after Biaozi had left did Chen Mang sigh wearily as he looked at the white-grade accessory blueprint in his hand. Biaozi's logic was sound: since the mission had failed, they couldn't return empty-handed.
Every little bit helps.
But...
Wasn't Biaozi being too harsh on himself?
If Chen Mang were in his shoes, he would never have made such a significant sacrifice for a mere white-grade accessory blueprint. At the very least, it would require something like another Civilization Token to even make him consider it.
---
Accessory Name: Red Heart Nut Production Line
All the accessories obtained from this map were exclusive to the goblin train. The Red Heart Nut was a favorite snack among goblins, though he'd never seen it before. He figured he could craft some for Doba and the others later. He wondered if its overpowered effect would enhance their physical fitness.
Biaozi's situation had reminded him of something.
He summoned Li Shiji again and pressed another train token into his hand. "Go in and complete that B-grade Opportunity."
Ten minutes later, he glanced at the single-locomotive train and nodded in satisfaction. If he remembered correctly, the B-grade Opportunity involved watching a cutscene depicting the goblins' downfall, memorizing key details, and answering at least four out of five comprehension questions correctly to pass.
Entrusting this task to Li Shiji was perfect; it was right up his alley.
Exchanging a train token for a yellow-grade train component was well worth it.
Chen Mang decided to skip the A-Rank Difficulty Opportunity. The difficulty wasn't the main issue; it was the 30-day time commitment, which he couldn't afford.
Thirty minutes later, Li Shiji emerged successfully from the Goblin Ruins, handing Chen Mang a yellow-grade accessory blueprint.
Everything had gone smoothly.
According to Li Shiji, the S-rank and D-rank missions within the ruins had already been completed and were no longer available.
"Not bad," Chen Mang muttered, glancing at the yellow-grade accessory blueprint in his hand with a smile. He then maneuvered the Stellaris to devour the two trains parked nearby.
Both were fortuitous encounter maps, but the Sky Piercing Tower and the Goblin Ruins operated differently. The Sky Piercing Tower was a single-run challenge map; once cleared, it became a Restricted Area, inaccessible again. In contrast, the Goblin Ruins could be accessed repeatedly as long as one possessed its coordinates and a Key Card.
Once a mission of any difficulty is completed, subsequent trains can no longer select it. This applied to Chen Mang's S-Rank Mission, Biaozi's D-Rank Mission, and Li Shiji's B-Rank Mission.
As for the original owner of this Key Card, he was likely the first to enter this fortuitous encounter map. Erdan had mentioned that the first entrant receives preferential treatment, meaning that even if they only completed one of the five missions, that mission would remain available.
The yellow-grade accessory blueprint in Chen Mang's hand was also exclusive to the goblin train. It could only be obtained from places like the Goblin Ruins and similar locations, making it exceedingly rare.
Goblin Ticket
Effect: Equivalent to a Train Ticket.
The key difference lies in range. Train Tickets require the user to be within 10,000 meters of the train to teleport back, while Goblin Tickets can transport the user back from anywhere.
However, they are restricted to goblin use only. Humans cannot use them.
(End of the Chapter)
📖Read [MAT] ahead on Pa.treon@AnubisTL upto c220. [+6/+14.3k]
🎁All [2] Novels can be accessed for just $6/mo.
🔥Translated [700+] Chapters and [1.42M+] Words.
[MASS RELEASE: +3231JUL25] ✍REQUESTING REVIEWS🙏