Translator: AnubisTL
This item was controlled by the man in the tracksuit, the same one who had obtained it.
There were only four of them here.
They were still missing one train.
Their original plan had been to wait until the man's younger brother reached Tier 6 and arrived in the Zombie Basin before using it.
But...
Now, his brother hadn't arrived yet, but his brother's enemy had come first.
Moreover, he came aggressively.
Not only had he seized the Raging Bull train's tobacco business, but he had also taken the top spot on the Zombie Basin Overpowered Effect Count Ranking, practically carving "I'm so arrogant" on his forehead.
Most importantly—
The man in the tracksuit possessed a Special Vehicle Skill called "Forced Pull." When entering a fortuitous encounter map, this skill could forcibly pull another train from the same zone into the map, provided there were still open slots and the target train's name was known.
Now, it was clear the man intended to use this skill to settle the score, planning to finish off his enemy within the fortuitous encounter map.
"I don't think this is wise," the middle-aged man in the military overcoat said, shaking his head after the man in the tracksuit had left. "I mean, you should try to talk him out of it. We don't know what kind of fortuitous encounter map it will be—whether it's a competitive, survival, or cooperative type."
"What if it's a cooperative map?"
"I trust the Stellaris's strength. Even though it's only a Tier 6 train, it has so many overpowered effects that it's not far behind a Tier 8 train. But... do you think we'll still be able to cooperate properly then? Is there even a chance of cooperation?"
"This is a fortuitous encounter map that requires five trains to clear. Now we're going in with only four. The death rate will skyrocket."
"That's not wise."
"It's a bit too impulsive. Even if you want revenge, you can take your time searching for him in the Zombie Basin. Why waste a spot in the fortuitous encounter map?"
"I don't mind," shrugged a man with a buzz cut wearing a down jacket. "Even if we don't bring the Stellaris, he'd still want to bring his brother. It's not much different."
"Besides, with the four of us—three Tier 8 trains and one Tier 7 train—there's no fortuitous encounter map that can stop us."
"And most fortuitous encounter maps aren't actually that dangerous. They're just hard to find. Even if we fail, there's usually no real risk of death."
"..."
The group exchanged glances, but none of them had a good idea. Finally, they all sighed softly in unison, tacitly agreeing with the man in the tracksuit's plan. After all, he was the strongest among them, and the special item was his. Since he was determined to proceed, they had no choice but to comply.
"Actually," the man in the buzz cut and down jacket suddenly chuckled, lowering his voice, "those two brothers both have A-Rank potential, yet they spend all day clinging to women like they can't let go. I think that guy wasn't wrong to curse them out. A train conductor spending his days tending to an AI's emotions? It's worse than being a slave."
"Shhh, keep your voice down! Don't let them hear you."
"I know, I'm just whispering."
"Alright, everyone, head back to the train and prepare."
As night fell, stars twinkled in the sky.
By now, the open-air iron ore mines nearby had been completely excavated. Chen Mang was already preparing for bed, having instructed the AI to pilot the train in search of more mines. He had just stubbed out his cigarette when a loud alarm suddenly blared through the locomotive cabin.
"Beep beep beep!"
"Beep... beep beep!"
The piercing alarm echoed sharply through the cabin.
Two lines of text rapidly flashed across the control panel screen:
"The Second Dimension Train is using its Special Vehicle Skill, 'Forced Pull,' to invite you to the fortuitous encounter map, 'Geocore Nuke.'"
"The opposing train's Tier is higher than yours; you cannot refuse."
"In thirty seconds, the entrance to the Geocore Nuke's core area will appear in front of the Stellaris."
"..."
Chen Mang narrowed his eyes slightly, staring at the words that had just appeared on the train's screen. The Second Dimension Train... the name was familiar. It was the Misanthrope Train's brother, the one who had sent him a private message earlier.
So eager to kill him, were they?
They had even dragged him into a fortuitous encounter map.
Couldn't they have just looked for him in the Zombie Basin? Did they have no patience at all?
And the map's name sounded familiar... Geocore Nuke.
He glanced down at a special item in his drawer.
Special Item: Laboratory Access Card
Item Effect: When in the "Geocore Nuke" fortuitous encounter map, this card can be used to unlock the door to a specific laboratory within the map.
This item was a gift from the "Ten Steps, One Kill" Train during Wildcat's wedding over ten days ago. Chen Mang had already stashed the card away, figuring he wouldn't encounter this fortuitous encounter map anytime soon.
Yet, just over ten days later, the map had come to him unbidden.
"So be it."
Chen Mang didn't dwell on it. He simply gazed at the Portal that had materialized in front of his train. A powerful suction emanated from within. Without resisting, he gently pushed the control lever and allowed the Stellaris to be drawn into the Portal.
Whether it's a donkey or a mule, we'll know when we pull it out for a ride.
Think you can touch me?
Let's see if you can even keep up.
As the Stellaris entered the Portal, the surrounding scenery began to shift rapidly. When the images finally stabilized, the train found itself inside a massive elevator, similar to the one Chen Mang had encountered in the mechanical city.
The difference was that the previous elevator had ascended skyward, while this one descended deep into the earth.
The elevator's walls were transparent glass.
Chen Mang could clearly see that he was deep underground, facing a massive Deep Pit. Five elevators were slowly descending at the same speed along the pit's inner wall. He could see that the other four elevators each carried a train.
The Deep Pit was cylindrical.
They continued to descend.
Faintly glowing incandescent lamps were embedded along the pit's inner wall, but the light was insufficient to see what lay above or how much further they had to descend to reach the bottom.
No holographic screen materialized.
It seemed the fortuitous encounter map would only officially begin once the elevator reached the bottom. Right now, they were like... well, like a progress bar. The map would only start once the progress bar reached its end.
"..."
Chen Mang glanced at the target acquisition radar screen, which clearly displayed detailed information about the other four trains: their accessories, accessory tiers, and current condition.
"Whoa."
"Three Tier 8 trains and one Tier 7 train. That's formidable."
"But their armor is all quite low. Only the 'Second Dimension Train' has a Tier 7 Zaibatsu Energy Shield. The other two Tier 8 trains have Tier 6 Zaibatsu Energy Shields, and the Tier 7 train is using a Tier 5 energy shield!"
"That's true. Blue-grade defensive components... just thinking about the price makes me shudder."
He suddenly chuckled, feeling no real threat. While these trains were all Tier 8, their foundations were clearly lacking. They were only high-Tier in name.
Their firepower accessories, however, were quite impressive. All four trains were equipped with Tier 8 Hell Cannons.
They were all identical.
Of course, they weren't the same as his Doomsday Cannon. The Hell Cannon was a blue-grade firepower accessory available when a train reached Tier 4, so it would naturally be prioritized for upgrades. Once they reached Tier 5, they discovered another blue-grade firepower accessory, the Doomsday Cannon.
They wouldn't bother crafting the Doomsday Cannon.
Since both were blue-grade and could be upgraded to Tier 8, they had already invested resources in the Hell Cannon. It made sense to stick with that, minimizing resource expenditure.
But...
The Hell Cannon lacked the overpowered Half Consumption effect, and its firepower was inferior to the Doomsday Cannon.
"Hmm..."
Chen Mang gazed at his control panel screen, lost in thought. If the Elevator could start attacking soon, he could activate his Special Vehicle Skill, Absolute Defense, and unleash full firepower. With his copper ore reserves, he should be able to eliminate all four trains.
It's possible they'll suffer massive blood loss.
All the copper ore he'd accumulated would have to be dumped.
Even with two "Half Consumption" overpowered effects, the Tier 8 Doomsday Cannon's cannonballs wouldn't be cheap—they'd be extremely expensive.
Suddenly, he realized how audacious these people were.
Daring to wander around the Zombie Basin with only a Tier 5 energy shield, and even daring to provoke him? If he only had Tier 5 armor, he wouldn't even dare set foot in this zone, let alone provoke anyone.
It was all because defensive components were too expensive to upgrade.
This had led to almost all trains being typical high-attack, low-defense builds.
He possessed the overpowered effect of the Target Acquisition Radar, allowing him to see detailed accessory information for other trains. However, other trains couldn't see his accessory information. Even before the battle began, his hidden strength was already on full display.
In the dim, bottomless Deep Pit, five Elevators maintained a steady descent. After ten minutes, there was still no sign of reaching the bottom.
Finally—
The next moment!
As the light grew brighter, they finally reached the bottom.
Click-click.
Countless gears whirred as five elevators came to a halt on the highway. Trains slowly emerged from the elevators and stopped on the road. Clamps flipped up from the highway, securing the train wheels to the ground.
Each train was separated by a pale yellow Air Wall, temporarily preventing them from attacking each other.
Then—
A shimmering light curtain slowly materialized in front of the five trains.
Long, long ago, a city of refuge was built here to preserve the embers of Civilization in times of crisis.
But they found this place.
And cruelly slaughtered every living thing they encountered along the way.
Since then, this city has been abandoned, a desolate ruin.
Hidden within this city lies a Geocore Nuke, powerful enough to obliterate the entire place and bring those monsters down with it. But the crisis came too swiftly; the nuclear bomb was never activated.
This mission: activate the Geocore Nuke and escape.
"Damn."
The moment he saw the light curtain, a man in a military overcoat on the train let out a sigh of resignation. He picked up his walkie-talkie and said wearily, "A cooperative fortuitous encounter map. What do we do now?"
By this point, the light curtain had gradually faded away, replaced by a 60-second countdown.
"Follow my orders."
The train conductor of the Second Dimension Train, his face cold and stern, said, "This pale yellow Air Wall is only a hundred meters away. That means when the countdown ends and the fortuitous encounter map officially begins, we just need to drive off this highway and into the ruined city to attack the other trains."
"The four of us will prioritize taking down the Stellaris train first."
"Then we'll work together to clear this fortuitous encounter map."
"No problem."
"I hope so." The man in the military overcoat's expression darkened as the turret on top of the train slowly began to rotate. "This is a life-or-death fortuitous encounter map. I don't want to get stuck here because we lost a train."
"It won't happen."
"Similar to the mechanical city?"
Chen Mang gazed thoughtfully at the ruined city at the end of the highway. The towering skyscrapers were still constructed from gears, bearing a striking resemblance to the architectural style of the mechanical city. The countdown was nearing its end.
He was trapped in the middle.
Two trains flanked him on either side.
Seeing the cannons on those four trains constantly swiveling, he knew what they were planning.
But...
It didn't matter.
The next moment!
The countdown ended.
Without the slightest hesitation, he pushed the control lever forward. The Stellaris train surged forward, accelerating along the highway toward the heart of the city. Simultaneously, the other four trains raced ahead, shoulder to shoulder with him, as if fearing he might escape.
The Air Wall, just a hundred meters ahead, was quickly passed.
Almost the instant they crossed the barrier—
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!!"
The cannons on the four surrounding trains opened fire simultaneously, unleashing a torrent of cannonballs that rained down on the Stellaris like a deluge, creating a scene reminiscent of the apocalypse.
Yet—
A thin, pale yellow membrane had already enveloped the entire Stellaris train. All the cannonballs striking the membrane merely caused ripples, unable to penetrate its surface and harm the train within.
Special Vehicle Skill: Absolute Defense.
"What the hell?!"
Inside the Second Dimension Train, the man in sportswear watched the scene with a flicker of surprise. For a moment, he couldn't quite grasp what the pale yellow membrane was.
But the Stellaris's counterattack had already begun.
The ten Doomsday Cannons mounted on the Stellaris's roof roared to life, unleashing their full firepower for the first time. They instantly locked onto the four trains beside it, completely disregarding the copper ore consumption, and opened fire with everything they had!
Even the never-before-used 40-Tube Cherry Blossom Fall Rocket Launcher roared to life at the same moment!
This was the Stellaris's first time going all-out.
Countless Tier 8 cannon shells instantly engulfed the locomotives of the four surrounding trains.
Copper ore consumption?
No one cared.
The other four trains lacked the Absolute Defense Special Vehicle Skill. The Tier 7 train with only a Tier 5 energy shield was annihilated almost instantly. Its locomotive was reduced to a fireball soaring through the air, and the carriages, like headless flies, careened off the highway.
They crashed into nearby ruins, the carriages colliding with each other in a chaotic mess.
Tier 8 cannons versus a Tier 5 energy shield?
It was like a father beating his son—one shot, and the son was silenced.
(End of the Chapter)
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