Translator: AnubisTL
Perhaps seeing that Lord Mang and the guards hadn't intervened, the train residents who had initially hesitated to join the commotion now found themselves swept up in the atmosphere, rising to peer over the crowd and shout their encouragement.
"That kid," Biaozi said, gazing at Wildcat in his suit on the red carpet from his perch on the shoulder of Li Shiji's "Leech" mech. "When he gets serious, you have to admit, he looks quite dignified."
"Trainmaster Zhu is quite dignified too," Li Shiji's voice echoed from the mech's speakers.
"Trainmaster Zhu?"
"His belly's about to burst his suit! Where do you see any dignity in that?"
As Meijia and Wildcat walked down the red carpet toward the Ceremonial Platform, Old Pig finally turned to face them, pausing for a moment. When the surrounding cheers had gradually subsided, he glanced down at the card in his palm before looking back at the couple.
"Two new souls," he began. "Meijia and Wildcat. If you are fortunate enough to survive until dawn, plant the seeds of your love in the light of the new day. If you perish tonight, do not despair. You will be buried together, and a tombstone will be erected to remind those who come centuries later that even in the apocalypse, humanity used love to fight the cold darkness of the night."
"Now, please, the two newlyweds, accept this 'Doomsday Marriage Certificate,' a symbol of your love."
Wildcat, his eyes also red-rimmed, took the certificate with Meijia.
The next moment—
Boom! Boom!
Several explosions erupted as the landmine balls placed around the red carpet detonated, sending hundreds of colorful balloons soaring into the sky.
Immediately after, hundreds of rocket launchers fired into the air, exploding in a dazzling display of fireworks. Then, the missile on Carriage 14 roared to life, soaring into the sky with a thunderous boom!
It detonated mid-air, spewing forth a torrent of fiery orange flames.
At that moment, the music reached its crescendo.
The entire banquet's atmosphere reached its peak.
The marriage certificate in Wildcat's hand burst into white light particles, vanishing into thin air, leaving only a tiny heart-shaped mark on each of their wrists.
"Now, let the feast begin!"
As the words fell, the train residents, their eyes red-rimmed and noses twitching, turned to the radiant newlyweds on the stage. They clapped and cheered with all their might, not knowing what to say, but suddenly feeling an overwhelming urge to cry.
Marriage.
What a long-forgotten and unfamiliar word.
Memories from the year after the apocalypse flooded everyone's minds once more.
The most emotionally affected were the Train Slaves from the other two train cars, whose eyes, once numb and filled with fear, were now brimming with tears.
"Has the apocalypse... ended?"
A Train Slave who had been in a daze suddenly snapped his gaze away from the bowl of Meat Crumble Stir-Fried Vermicelli on the table. Craning his neck, he stared at the newly married couple on the Ceremonial Platform in a daze.
But at that moment, the Train Slave sitting at the same table, upon hearing the words "Feast Begins," immediately plunged his hand into the bowl. He grabbed a large clump of vermicelli mixed with meat crumbles, ignoring the heat, and stuffed it into his mouth, wolfing it down in huge gulps.
The first Train Slave, who had just been overcome with emotion, suddenly snapped back to reality. His expression changed drastically. Ignoring everything else, he tossed his iron chopsticks aside and joined the scramble.
Clearly, the apocalypse was far from over.
"How wonderful."
At the table closest to the Ceremonial Platform, the train conductor of the "Only Love One" Train gazed at the semi-transparent panel that had popped up before him with a complex expression.
[Sha River Plains Regional Broadcast]: Congratulations to the Stellaris train for becoming the first train on the Sha River Plains to host a wedding for survivors. In the depths of the Polar Night, only love and courage can bring forth the dawn.
Just as he was about to say something, he turned to look at the banquet hall and his face immediately darkened.
The slaves from the Stellaris train were all gathered around the tables, using chopsticks to eat the Meat Crumble Stir-Fried Vermicelli. Meanwhile, the slaves from their own train were simply grabbing the food with their hands, behaving like bandits.
He felt a twinge of embarrassment, but held his tongue. He couldn't order his thugs to beat up the slaves on this joyous occasion. It wouldn't be fitting.
With a slightly awkward expression, he turned to Chen Mang. "Forgive the spectacle, Brother. These people lack proper discipline."
"No matter," Chen Mang replied, a satisfied smile spreading across his face. This effect was excellent—it was like giving his train residents another political lesson.
At that moment, Wildcat and Meijia approached with glasses of wine to offer a toast.
"Alright," Chen Mang said, rising to accept the beer Meijia offered. He downed it in one gulp before turning to Wildcat with a smile. "Has Old Pig arranged everything for you—the house and all?"
"Yes, everything is arranged," Wildcat replied, his eyes reddening and his voice trembling. "Lord Mang, I..."
"Alright, go rest now. No need to say anything more."
"Yes, sir."
Cough.
At the banquet, a man who had just picked up a chopstick of Meat Crumble Stir-Fried Vermicelli, intending to quickly stuff it into his mouth, suddenly noticed the slaves at nearby tables devouring their food with their hands. He coughed lightly, then slowly and deliberately brought the vermicelli to his mouth.
Several train residents who had also been planning to eat heartily noticed this and subtly adjusted their eating habits to appear more refined.
"Judging by their appearance, they probably don't get to eat much good food normally."
"True. Look at how pale and gaunt they are. The bread they eat is probably moldy at best and offers no nutritional value."
"It's worse than that. They probably don't even get enough bread. Isn't it true that their train conductor doesn't even give the slaves enough to eat?"
"Poor things."
"You said those women aren't Lord Mang's women?"
The leader of the thugs from the "Only Love One" Train, standing beside Biaozi, gazed at the table of elegantly dressed women chatting in soft voices. He asked incredulously, "They're dressed so beautifully? And they're not Lord Mang's women, just pleasure workers?"
"How can they be so happy about being pleasure workers?"
"High salary, yet you're unhappy? There aren't many on this train who earn more than them," Biaozi said, rolling his eyes. "Lord Mang's women are far more beautiful. Didn't you see those two over there? Those are Lord Mang's women."
"High salary...?"
The man froze, turning to look at the Train Slaves among his train residents. Each train had a small group of women and men who worked as stress relievers, but the women on his train all looked dazed and numb, lacking the vitality of the other group.
He hadn't played with them in ages.
Their dead-fish faces and corpse-like expressions were utterly unappealing.
They lacked the lively energy of those women. Moreover, he recognized a few minor celebrities among them. As for Lord Mang's two women...
Ji Chuchu and Yan Yao.
How could he not recognize them? They were top-tier actresses before the apocalypse!
"If..."
The man glanced around, gritting his teeth and whispering, "If we betrayed Lord Mang, would he accept us?"
"Of course not," Biaozi said, shaking his head and grinning. "Don't even think about it. It's impossible. You think anyone can join the Stellaris? It's all about fate."
"Besides, with how easily you guys betray, Lord Mang wouldn't trust you either."
"I was just joking. Don't take it seriously."
The man glanced enviously and jealously at the group of women and the Stellaris train parked nearby. Women he couldn't even play with were apparently slaves' playthings on the Stellaris? As fellow thugs, how could the gap be so vast?
The banquet soon ended.
This "Apocalypse Wedding" had reached its finale.
After tearfully bidding farewell to Chen Mang, the other two train conductors returned to their own trains, leading their slaves and thugs back the way they had come. But whether it was just an illusion, both felt their slaves and thugs were now looking at them with strange expressions.
"Poor kids," Erdan sighed, watching the two trains pull away. "I hope there won't be any riots. When I came down, I didn't bring anyone, not even a single thug. These two fools even brought their slaves."
"It's only because you, Brother, have no ulterior motives," Chen Mang said. "Otherwise, I doubt those two would have made it out of here alive today. You wouldn't even have to lift a finger. Just a word from you, and the rest of their crew would have swarmed them and killed them on the spot."
"What are your plans now?"
Chen Mang stood still, leaning on his cane, and glanced at the setting sun on the horizon. "We'll take a full day off tomorrow to prepare for our trip to the Yellow Zone's Zombie Basin. Want to come with me?"
"Sure," Erdan said, trying to suppress a laugh. "I've been waiting for you to say that, Brother. With you by my side, the Yellow Zone suddenly doesn't seem so scary after all."
"Alright, alright," Chen Mang said, waving his hand dismissively. "Do you have anything else to take care of? If not, we'll rest here tonight and head to the Zombie Basin together tomorrow."
"Sounds good to me!"
After the wedding, the scene was a mess.
The trusses needed to be dismantled and returned to the Mecha Research Center. The artificial flowers, iron chopsticks, and iron tables had to be collected and fed to the Geothermal Core Furnace, which would yield some resources in return. But Chen Mang didn't need to worry about any of that; Old Pig would handle it.
Chen Mang didn't linger. He headed toward the locomotive cabin to check the wedding's spoils.
Darkness quickly fell. Not a single piece of waste remained at the scene; everything had been fed to the Geothermal Core Furnace, which was excellent at cleaning up trash.
All the train residents had returned to their carriages, but the memory of the day's wedding left them feeling somewhat unfulfilled.
In Guard Car No. 7, a refrigerator stood, serving as Old Pig's wedding gift for Meijia and Wildcat.
In the center of the room, three Single Beds were pushed together to form a large bed.
Simple furniture like a refrigerator, tables, chairs, and benches were arranged around the room.
"Meijia."
Tears welling in his eyes, Wildcat lifted Meijia and carried her to the bed. He gently laid her down, propping himself up on his elbows to gaze at her, his voice a low, passionate whisper: "We're finally married, even in the apocalypse."
"I..."
Lying on the bed, Meijia felt the surge of hormones flooding her mind. Her cheeks flushed, and she fidgeted slightly, her voice barely audible: "I... I should take off my wedding dress first."
"No."
Wildcat looked down at Meijia, pulled a handful of Red Heart Nuts from his pocket, and stuffed them all into his mouth without a word. Then he grinned savagely. "Let's see if I'm still up to the task this time!"
Thirty minutes later...
Meijia, her nose beaded with sweat, lay in Wildcat's arms. Her fingertips traced lazy circles on his chest as she whispered, "Would it feel different if I were wearing a wedding dress?"
"Mm."
"Um..."
"What is it?"
"Could we buy more Red Heart Nuts later?"
"What do you mean by that?!"
Wildcat immediately flipped over, pinning Meijia beneath him. He began tickling her armpits, feigning anger. "Do you look down on me?!"
"No, no!" Meijia giggled, dodging his tickling attacks, her scheme having succeeded.
After a while of playful wrestling, they finally settled down again. Meijia leaned contentedly against Wildcat's chest, her expression dreamy as she imagined their future life together. "We'll earn lots of stellar coupons and buy pots, pans, and dishes. I'll cook you special meals here every day."
"If we cook the meat sauce and steamed buns separately, it'll taste even better. It'll be so delicious."
"And when we have children, we can buy them a little bed."
"Hehe."
Wildcat just grinned foolishly, saying nothing.
"Wildcat."
"Mm?"
"When you go on missions in the future, please be extra careful. Promise me you won't die, okay?"
After a long silence, Wildcat spoke softly.
"Mm."
"Go to sleep. It's late."
Stellaris, locomotive cabin.
Chen Mang glanced at the train panel. The regional broadcast from earlier in the day had added another 20 Reputation Value to his total. Combined with the 500 Legacy Value and 20 Reputation Value he'd earned for successfully hosting the wedding, he now had 120 Reputation Value and 600 Legacy Value.
He hadn't yet found a use for Reputation Value, but he already had plans for the 600 Legacy Value. He spoke softly, "Xiao Ai, have Doba and Mundo come here."
"Yes."
Whenever he called for Mundo, he had to call Doba along too. Whenever Mundo didn't understand something, Doba would step in to translate.
While waiting for Mundo, Chen Mang looked at the three items on the table: a green-grade blueprint, a card, and a badge.
These were the gifts Erdan and the two train residents had prepared for him as wedding presents. To be honest, he was quite surprised. He hadn't expected them to bring gifts, and it made him feel a bit awkward.
Before leaving, he gifted each person a set of high-precision custom-made clothes as a parting gift.
The weather had turned cold.
They would find them useful.
During this period, the train's central air conditioner ran almost non-stop, along with other accessories like the oxygen machine, which also operated around the clock.
(End of the Chapter)
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