Translator: AnubisTL
The evening of the following day arrived.
That night, all the residents were busy, but not with mining. Instead, they were preparing tables, chairs, and benches for Lord Mang's wedding ceremony for Wildcat and his girlfriend, Meijia, scheduled for noon the next day!
Everyone was excited.
Though they weren't the main characters of the wedding and didn't even know the couple, the very concept of a "doomsday wedding" felt profoundly incongruous.
The apocalypse represented despair and the fall of life.
Marriage, on the other hand, symbolized hope and the birth of new life.
A doomsday wedding.
For those who had struggled to survive in the apocalypse for over a year, this wedding offered a brief respite from the grim reality, allowing them to immerse themselves in the celebration.
Inside the Stellaris train's locomotive cabin:
Over the past two days, they had mined 210,000 units of iron ore, bringing their total reserves to 670,000 units.
Chen Mang had already spent 400,000 units of iron ore to upgrade the Stellaris train to Tier 6.
Soon—
A line of text appeared on the train control panel screen.
Your train has been upgraded to Tier 6.
More craftable accessories have been unlocked.
"Tier 6 train now," Chen Mang murmured, gazing silently at the screen. Just a few months ago, when he first transmigrated here, he had acquired his first train. After months of development, it had finally reached Tier 6.
Each time a train leveled up, it gained a special function.
He wasn't sure if this happened at every tier or only the first few.
At Tier 5, the train had gained the "Mech Crafting" function, which enhanced the individual combat capabilities of the train crew. Now, at Tier 6, a new button had appeared on the train control panel.
?
The button was simply a question mark, offering no further information.
He wasn't in a hurry. He'd ask Erdan about it tomorrow at the wedding. Tier 6 trains rarely spoke on the train radio, and no one had discussed this particular feature.
After all, Tier 6 trains were exceedingly rare.
The immediate priority was preparing for Wildcat and Meijia's wedding tomorrow, which would earn him another 500 Legacy Value points. Combined with the 100 points he hadn't spent yet, he'd have a total of 600 Legacy Value points—enough to buy some truly valuable items from the black market merchant.
He'd been tempted by that white-grade accessory blueprint priced at just 10 Legacy Value points.
While white-grade accessories might be useless for other trains, they could be incredibly effective for his!
By spending just a little iron ore, he could unlock numerous overpowered effects. Even seemingly mundane accessories like a Tier 10 Refrigerator could have surprisingly potent applications.
But he was afraid that if he spent even a few points, he might miss out on a 600-point treasure later and regret it. So he'd been saving up, waiting until after tomorrow's wedding to start shopping.
Chen Mang glanced at the requirements for a Golden Wedding.
Golden Wedding.
The wedding ceremony must be witnessed by 1,000 guests. Three trains of the same tier must participate in the banquet, and food and wine must be provided for all attendees. Basic necessities such as a wedding dress, red carpet, artificial flowers, and fireworks must also be prepared.
Successfully hosting a Golden Wedding will grant the train 500 Legacy Value and 20 Reputation Value.
He had enough residents to meet the population requirement. Erdan had arranged for three trains of the same tier. He also had food and wine, the latter gifted by Erdan. He used his Mechanical Heart to create artificial flowers—the Mechanical Heart could still produce inanimate objects. These Iron Flowers looked nearly identical to real ones, only slightly more three-dimensional.
The iron ore cost was minimal.
For the wedding dress and suit, he spent 1,000 units of Wood to craft high-quality versions for the couple.
As for fireworks...
He prepared a Tier 1 missile.
Tier 1 missiles were cheap. They could serve as a deterrent at the start of the wedding banquet and later be used as fireworks. He had prepared everything.
Although the other two trains belonged to Erdan's friends, he didn't know them personally.
The wedding was to be held on the Sha River Plains. If those trains attacked his residents during the ceremony, it would ruin the occasion. Therefore, he needed to show his teeth from the start, intimidating them into submission.
Dare to attack me?
Think about whether you'll leave this place alive.
Old Pig had already taken charge of the wedding arrangements, leaving him with nothing to worry about except waking up naturally.
By now, the night was deep.
Old Pig, walkie-talkie in hand, gazed out the train window at the wedding preparations underway, shouting instructions:
"That damn board's crooked!"
"Hurry up with the truss! We're short on supplies—no starlight decorations. Just use the fake flowers."
"And those four Landmine Balls by the red carpet? Tomorrow, you're on detonation duty. Set them off the instant the couple walks past, got it?"
He wasn't exactly an expert in wedding arrangements.
But as the second-in-command, he'd had plenty of dealings with event setups. After all, there was plenty of profit to be made in that business. Through osmosis, he'd picked up a decent grasp of wedding decor—nothing fancy, but good enough.
He was also scheduled to host the ceremony tomorrow.
"Um..."
Wildcat, standing beside him, lowered his head, looking embarrassed. "Trainmaster Zhu, you really don't need to go to such lengths. I-I'm not that important on the train, am I?"
"This is Lord Mang's order," Old Pig said, clapping Wildcat on the shoulder with a grin. "Just accept it. Even before the apocalypse, most weddings weren't this lavish. You two are the first couple to marry on the Stellaris—it's a good omen."
"But now that you're getting married, you're forbidden from going to the Red House anymore, understand?"
Wildcat's face instantly turned anxious. "Trainmaster Zhu, you can't just say things like that!" he protested urgently. "I've never been there! Ask Brother Biao—he'll vouch for me. I've never set foot in that place!"
"Meijia, you have to believe me! I swear I've never been there!"
The Red House was a refrigerator in the Stellaris's Resident Car where pleasure workers gathered to meet clients. A red cloth hung outside the refrigerator, serving as a makeshift sign, which led the residents to jokingly call it the Red House.
Meijia, her cheeks flushed with a mix of shyness and anticipation for tomorrow's wedding, leaned against Wildcat's shoulder. She gave his lower back a playful pinch before whispering, "It wouldn't matter if you had gone. I wouldn't mind."
"Ouch!" Wildcat hissed, sucking in a sharp breath. His voice rose with agitation. "Trainmaster Zhu, where's Brother Biao? I need him to testify that I've never been there! What do you mean it wouldn't matter? I've never been there!"
"Alright, alright," Old Pig chuckled, patting Wildcat's shoulder again. He glanced at Meijia with a helpless expression. "He really hasn't been there. I was just teasing him. He spends all his time training. Don't bring this up again, okay?"
"I just noticed he seemed a bit nervous, so I was trying to lighten the mood."
"Your mission tonight is to get a good rest. You need to be in top form for the wedding tomorrow. Other trains will be arriving for the banquet, so make sure you present yourselves with dignity in front of the guests."
"Um..." Wildcat hesitated before whispering, "What about the ancestral rites?"
"We'll pay respects to the Stellaris instead," Old Pig replied. "That should do."
"Okay."
After this brief exchange, the newlyweds seemed less tense as they headed into the train. Only faint murmurs drifted back to Old Pig on the night breeze.
"Meijia, I really haven't been there before. I swear."
"I believe you."
"You really believe me?"
"Mm-hmm. Remember our first time on the Stellaris? You finished so quickly. That usually happens when someone hasn't been with anyone for a while."
"You might as well not believe me, damn it!"
"Forget it. I'll buy some nuts for tomorrow night."
Standing there, Old Pig watched the couple's retreating figures with a wistful expression. How wonderful, he thought. Seeing this kind of scene in the apocalypse is rare. For these two, the end of the world has become their paradise.
Not only was his ALS cured, but Lord Mang was also arranging his wedding and even providing a honeymoon suite.
Damn.
Before the apocalypse, where could anyone have enjoyed such treatment?
The next day—
The Azure Dragon Train met up with two other Tier 6 trains on the Sha River Plains, arriving ahead of schedule to prepare for the joint journey to the wedding.
The three train conductors stood on the plains, discussing the arrangements.
"Remember this," Erdan said, his expression serious as he addressed the other two conductors. "This wedding invitation was originally for me alone. I only agreed to bring you two along because we've gotten along well in the past."
"Once we're there, keep your mouths shut and your ears open. Just be observers."
"And absolutely no suspicious movements. Don't fucking drop a gun from your coat while clapping and then try to tell me it's perfectly reasonable for a train conductor to carry a firearm."
"Understood?"
"Understood." The conductor of the Only Love One Train, his face solemn, pounded his chest in assurance. "You know me. In my worldview, there are only three types of people: ants, Dao companions, and seniors."
"When I'm around seniors, I'm always extremely well-behaved. The Stellaris train is definitely a senior, so I'd never provoke it."
He then suddenly chuckled, a bit embarrassed.
"Um... if I lick him like you do, would he give me some goodies too?"
"That's exactly what I was thinking!" The conductor of the "Ten Steps, One Kill Train" exclaimed, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "With so many overpowered effects, he must have tons of murphy stones. Maybe he'll casually toss a couple our way as a reward!"
"..."
Erdan rolled his eyes at them, exasperated. "I can't even be bothered to criticize the ridiculous names you two gave your trains. Hey, I've always wondered—would you ever fight over who gets to claim ownership of the 'one' in your train names?"
"Murphy stones? Keep dreaming!"
"You're just going to see the world and mooch a meal. Whether you can connect with Chen Mang afterward depends on your skills, but judging by your pathetic behavior, you've got no chance. You're acting like beggars."
"Still..."
Erdan licked his lips and looked at the two of them, sighing, "I brought you to the wedding because you're both as cautious as I am, and you won't cause any trouble."
The two exchanged glances, amusement flickering in their eyes.
"I became the conductor of a Tier 6 train solely through my excellent character—being cautious enough."
"Same here."
"Alright, everyone get on board and prepare for departure."
The sun hung high in the sky, marking midday.
Chen Mang gazed at the control panel screen. He detected the three trains when they were still over ten thousand meters away and immediately instructed Xiao Ai, "Alert everyone to prepare. Raise the missiles and Cherry Blossom Barrage Rocket Launchers."
"Have the mechs come out for a warm-up too."
"Let's get moving."
"Understood."
Only then did he rise and walk to the mirror to check his outfit. He had redesigned his clothes for the colder weather. While his original Temperature Lock suit was effective, it still let in drafts.
He wore a bright orange sweater over his upper body and plain trousers below—a casual ensemble.
"Hmm."
"What was that saying again, ttod? Or was it cttod?"
"Forget it, I can't remember. It's all nonsense anyway."
"Huh?"
The train conductor of the Only Love One Train twitched his lips as he glanced at the target acquisition radar. Over a thousand red dots blazed across the screen ahead. This guy, he thought, I knew Stellaris's slave count would be astronomical!
After all, Stellaris was the undisputed overlord of the Sha River Plains, dominating all three major leaderboards: the Power Value Ranking, the Overpowered Effect Count Ranking, and the Reputation Ranking. The gap between Stellaris and the second-place contenders was particularly staggering in the Overpowered Effect Count Ranking.
He now strongly suspected that even in the Yellow Zone, Stellaris would still hold the top spot. Not even the flesh train could amass such a quantity of murphy stones.
Where did this guy even get them all?!
Soon enough—
He spotted a train like a mechanical dragon parked in the wasteland ahead. Around it, over a thousand slaves bustled about with beaming smiles and palpable excitement, preparing a grand feast.
Though Erdan had told him Stellaris's slaves were treated well...
Is this... too good?
He'd never seen his own slaves working with smiles on their faces.
"Wait."
The man froze, his gaze fixed on the Stellaris train. Missiles, rocket launchers, heavy machine guns, and Doomsday Cannons had risen from the train's hull, their barrels now trained on his own train.
"Hey, buddy, I'm here for a wedding, not a funeral."
"You're scaring me with all this."
But soon, the weapons swiveled away, clearly showing no hostile intent. The man breathed a sigh of relief, gradually slowing his train to a halt about a hundred meters from the Stellaris.
He leaped down, followed by his trusted aides and subordinates, and strode toward the young man standing before the Stellaris, his face beaming with a welcoming smile.
The man leaning on a cane must be Chen Mang.
He seemed remarkably approachable.
No airs of superiority—the man had even expected them to wait outside for a while.
Strange. The top-ranked train conductor on all three lists is this approachable?
"Welcome, travelers from afar."
Chen Mang smiled at Erdan and the two men beside him. "These must be Erdan's friends?"
"Today, food and drinks are on the house."
"Why don't you invite the rest of your train crew to join the festivities?"
"I don't think so," Erdan replied with a wry smile. "After just a brief encounter last time, I could already sense a change in how they looked at me. If they spend any longer here, I'm afraid they'll mutiny."
"It's not the poor treatment they fear—it's the comparison."
"To be honest, I treat them pretty well, but it's nothing compared to what you offer."
(End of the Chapter)
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