Translator: AnubisTL
"What a thing to say."
The train conductor of the "Only Love One" Train tilted his head, his face filled with puzzlement, and looked at Erdan. "The more people at a wedding, the merrier! How many chances do we get to celebrate a wedding in the apocalypse? Can't we even give the slaves a day off to relax?"
"Indeed," the train conductor of the "Ten Steps, One Kill" Train chimed in, nodding in agreement. "Erdan, slaves are people too. They may be under our train's protection, but they've also mined a lot of resources for us. Letting them unwind together is a good thing."
Following their remarks, the thugs who had been standing behind the two train conductors returned to their respective trains. Soon, the slaves from both trains were being herded down, jumping off the carriages with a mixture of fear and numbness in their eyes as they surveyed the chaotic scene before them.
"..."
Erdan remained silent, his expression blank. He had no intention of offering any explanations; they'd understand soon enough, after the wedding.
"Alright then," Chen Mang said with a smile, not pressing the matter further. He gestured toward a table that had already been set up nearby. "The ceremony doesn't officially start for a while. Shall we sit there and wait?"
"Of course, the guest follows the host's lead," Erdan said with a serious nod.
He then followed Chen Mang to a nearby, already-set table, unable to resist glancing around at the ongoing wedding preparations. This might be the first wedding in this post-apocalyptic world.
The atmosphere is truly wonderful.
"Just a small token of goodwill, nothing too fancy."
The train conductor of the Only Love One Train pulled a green-grade accessory blueprint from his coat pocket and nervously slid it across the table. "Um... Brother, you must accept this. It's not for you, but for the child... I mean, the newlyweds."
"Mine too!" The train conductor of the Ten Steps, One Kill Train hurriedly fished out a small card from his pocket and handed it over. "Just a little something."
"Huh?" Erdan stared blankly at the two men. What's going on? We didn't discuss bringing gifts on the way here! When did you two prepare these? I completely forgot about that.
But it was clearly too late to go back to the train to retrieve anything. He couldn't lose face now.
Gritting his teeth, he immediately detached the badge from his uniform and slid it across the table. "This is my gift, Brother—a special item. You must accept it. No refusal!"
"Old Pig."
Chen Mang waved to Old Pig, signaling him to take the badge. Then, smiling at the others, he said, "You've all gone to such trouble. I'm truly embarrassed."
"Come on, have some nuts."
"Just a little snack—nothing fancy, but they taste pretty good."
The table was set with nuts, chilled beer, and various cold braised dishes.
In this post-apocalyptic world, such a spread was considered a lavish extravagance.
The braised dishes were instant meals Yan Yao had in her apartment when they rescued her, containing ingredients like pickled mustard greens, vegetarian tripe, broccoli, chicken cartilage, and duck intestines. Simply tear open the package, drizzle on the included chili oil, and they were ready to eat.
Simple and convenient.
Only the four train conductors took seats. The confidants and thugs brought by the other two conductors lingered in a corner, their eyes darting around with curiosity.
After all, this banquet was meant to be relaxed. In the apocalypse, such relatively warm and convivial moments were rare treasures, and everyone cherished them, refraining from bringing subordinates to stand behind them—that would have seemed too pretentious.
After three rounds of drinks, the atmosphere livened up considerably.
The train conductor of the "Only Love One" Train, his eyes filled with admiration and sincerity, raised his glass to Chen Mang. "Brother, before meeting you, I never imagined a train conductor of your caliber could be so approachable. This drink is in your honor."
"Hey, Brother," he continued, "there's something I wanted to ask. Has anyone from Heavenly Balance contacted you?"
"..."
Chen Mang picked up a chopstick of edamame and popped it into his mouth, his brow furrowing slightly as a flicker of displeasure flashed in his eyes. "Did you three come here to recruit for Heavenly Balance?"
"Uh..."
Sensing the shift in mood, Erdan quickly interjected, "Absolutely not! Heavenly Balance approached me too, but I ignored them. They contacted these two as well, but they're still undecided about joining. That's why we asked you, Brother—we wanted to see what you chose so we could copy your answer."
"Like this," Chen Mang said, shaking his head. "I didn't join. The Heavenly Balance's principles are actually pretty good. According to their network, everyone could get what they need and support weaker trains, helping human civilization survive better."
"But first, I don't want to be bound by anyone."
"Second, the resources they offered are meaningless to me and would just waste my time."
"Third, I didn't like the person they sent to negotiate with me."
"That makes sense," Erdan nodded in deep agreement. "I've thought about it carefully. That network would keep the top-tier providers constantly at a loss, with no one able to reciprocate. It just seems unrealistic."
The train conductors gathered to chat idly, sharing stories from their journeys, reminiscing about the hardships they faced before becoming conductors, recounting amusing incidents from fortuitous encounters, and recalling the tragic heroism of the apocalypse's early days.
They talked about many things.
But not a single one asked, "Chen Mang, where did you get so many murphy stones?"
They knew what questions to ask and what questions to avoid.
Once you reach their level, you'll understand—these are the kind of secrets you'd hide even from your own wife, the kind of life-or-death trump cards you'd never reveal to anyone, let alone a group of acquaintances .
Meanwhile, amidst the bustling wedding preparations:
The thugs from the "Only Love One" Train crouched in a corner, their faces etched with complex emotions as they watched the wedding festivities unfold.
"We're both Tier 6 trains, but the difference is staggering, isn't it?"
One thug, squatting on the ground, gazed at the two patrolling mechs in the distance, his eyes burning with envy. "Hey, why doesn't our train have mechs? Can Tier 6 trains even build mechs?"
"I'm not sure," the thug next to him replied quietly, shaking his head. "Probably requires a ton of resources. Look at those Doomsday Cannons—our train only has five, but this train has ten. And even the paint on theirs looks thicker and more imposing. Their Tier is definitely higher than ours."
"And those missiles and rocket launchers... terrifying."
"No wonder the slaves on this train seem so happy. If I were stuck in the apocalypse and had a chance to live on a train this heavily armed, I'd be happy too. Who wouldn't be happy to survive?"
Just then—
Biaozi approached with his two teammates, handing out cigarettes with a grin. "Have you guys eaten yet?"
"Uh..."
The thug who had been squatting on the ground hurriedly stood up, looking a bit awkward. "N-not yet. We're waiting for mealtime."
Although they were both thugs and worked on Tier 6 trains, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was somehow inferior to Biaozi. When the difference in train strength was this vast, even those with the same rank couldn't help but feel a bit intimidated.
"That's a nice knife you've got there," Biaozi said, eyeing the dagger at the man's waist with a smile. "Looks like it'd be perfect for cutting meat or chopping vegetables."
"Alright, I'm heading back to patrol. If you need anything, just come find me. I'll do what I can to help."
"..."
The man watched Biaozi's departing figure, then glanced down at the dagger in his hand. After a long moment, he turned to his companion and muttered, "Was that guy mocking me?"
"I think so."
Meanwhile, inside a carriage of the Stellaris—
A female teacher in the classroom glanced at the clock on the wall before smiling at the children seated below. "That's all for today. Everyone, get ready to attend Wildcat and Meijia's wedding!"
"Today we finished the story of how the train conductor successfully upgraded the train to Tier 2, ensuring everyone's safety."
"Tomorrow, we'll begin the tale of how the Tier 2 train conductor instantly killed the Tier 3 boss monster—the man-eating spider!"
As soon as she finished speaking, the classroom erupted in a commotion.
A girl couldn't resist raising her hand and asking, "Teacher Qiu, didn't you say today that after the apocalypse, the world became strictly tiered, and Tier 2 attacks can never break through Tier 3 defenses? How did the train conductor manage it?"
"Well..."
Teacher Qiu paused with a mischievous smile, leaving them hanging. "You'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out!"
"Alright, everyone, tidy up and get ready. The students chosen as flower girls and pageboys, please wait for me in the dormitory. We'll enter together shortly."
Though the children's faces still showed their eagerness to know what happened next, they obediently rose from their seats and filed out of the classroom, heading toward their dormitories to change into their new clothes for the wedding.
These children were nothing like ordinary mischievous youngsters.
Here, nearly every child had witnessed the brutal death of a loved one with their own eyes. Among all the ways to grow up, this was the most agonizing, yet also the fastest.
"Teacher Qiu."
One child lingered behind, taking a deep breath before speaking in a low, teary-eyed voice, his eyes rimmed with red. "Didn't you say today that we'll all have three possible paths in the future: management, combat, and specialization?"
"Can I become a combat specialist?"
"I want to kill more monsters to avenge my father."
"It's too early to be thinking about that," Teacher Qiu replied, gazing at the child who was already as tall as she was. At just eleven or twelve, he had grown remarkably fast. She gently patted his head and smiled, "You're still young. You need to graduate smoothly before you can be assigned to a role that suits you."
"Besides, you don't necessarily need to be a combat specialist to avenge your father."
"Everyone on the train contributes in their own way. Take the mining uncles, for example—every ore they mine becomes a bullet fired at monsters. That's also a form of revenge."
"But I haven't contributed anything to the train yet. I feel a bit useless."
"..."
The woman fell silent for a moment before murmuring, "Attend the wedding first. Join them. The train is nurturing you now so that you can give back to the train and the Train Conductor in the future. You're not capable of repaying the Train Conductor yet. Study diligently, and you'll be able to better serve the train later."
"Go now."
The woman watched the boy's retreating figure before lowering her gaze to the textbooks on the table—over seventy pages in total.
They had been handwritten and compiled by Trainmaster Zhu, detailing the crises the train had faced since its inception and the desperate choices Lord Mang had made to revive it from the brink of collapse.
The handwriting was neat and orderly.
As Trainmaster Zhu's direct liaison, she enjoyed First-Class Resident Status.
Before the apocalypse, she had a husband and children of her own. But after the apocalypse, they were all gone—her husband and children had died. For a long time, she drifted in a daze, unsure how she had even survived.
A moment later...
She shook her head, cradled her textbook, and headed into the dormitory. As a resident of the women's quarters, her living conditions were now vastly improved compared to before.
As a soothing love song drifted from the train's external speakers, all the train residents had gathered around low tables, seated cross-legged on the floor. The tables were laden with nuts, bread, Cola, steamed buns, and a large platter of Meat Crumble Stir-Fried Vermicelli.
The vermicelli was left over from the previous day's stew. The meat crumble was made by scooping the meat sauce out of the steamed buns and stir-frying it with the vermicelli in a big pot, giving it a smoky, savory flavor.
"Distinguished guests," Old Pig announced, looking uncharacteristically formal in his white suit. Holding a microphone, his voice boomed through the train's external speakers as he stood on the ceremonial platform, smiling at the crowd below.
"Today marks a pivotal moment in human civilization—a turning point worthy of being recorded in history."
"This is not merely a wedding ceremony."
"It is the intersection of civilization and barbarism."
"Now, let us welcome the newlyweds to the stage!"
A thunderous wave of applause erupted, and some bolder train residents even began whooping and cheering loudly.
Below the ceremonial platform, a red carpet stretched across the plain, flanked by rows of artificial flowers—metallic flowers crafted using the Mechanical Heart. These metallic blossoms added a layered, three-dimensional effect. The platform itself was supported by four sturdy girders.
The trusses above were similarly adorned with artificial flowers. These trusses, salvaged from the mechanical ruins of Ice and Snow Paradise, had been reassembled to form the elevated structure.
Had this wedding taken place in peacetime, it would undoubtedly be considered simple. Even the officiant's remarks were too brief, making them seem rather unprofessional. But against the backdrop of the apocalypse, this ceremony was undoubtedly the highest possible standard.
A thunderous wave of applause erupted.
All eyes turned toward Carriage 11 of the Stellaris train, positioned at the far end of the red carpet.
Under Xiao Ai's control, the music volume surged again.
Finally—
Meijia, radiant in a pristine white wedding gown and veil, her eyes slightly reddened, emerged from Carriage 11 arm-in-arm with Wildcat, who wore a sharp suit. Stepping onto the red carpet, they began their slow procession toward the altar under the rapt gaze of everyone present.
Trailing behind them were four children in formal attire, silently carrying the bride's train.
Further back came four flower girls, each holding a basket overflowing with blossoms, scattering petals high into the air as they walked.
"Woo-hoo!!"
The cheers from the train residents surged to a fever pitch once more.
(End of the Chapter)
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