Translator: AnubisTL
Train Special Skill: "Absolute Defense."
When activated, this skill combines the levels of the train's "Steel Car Armor" and "Energy Shield" defensive components to form a higher-tier energy shield. It lasts for ten seconds and has a ten-day cooldown.
His armor was Tier 7, and his energy shield was Tier 3.
When combined, the pale yellow energy shield reached Tier 10 defense—a level far exceeding the standard for a Yellow Zone, even if it only lasted ten seconds.
But—
That was more than enough!
This was a battle between trains, each equipped with numerous firepower accessories. Ten seconds could decide everything.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!!"
The five trains, which had been racing side by side, opened fire almost simultaneously. The Tier 7 Train, the lowest-ranked of the group, was the first to have its locomotive explode into a fireball, leaving only its headless carriages to crash uncontrollably into the roadside.
The remaining three trains fared little better.
Only four seconds had passed when the two Tier 6 Zaibatsu Energy Shield trains followed suit, their locomotives erupting into fireballs and soaring into the sky!
Just then—
"I refuse to accept this!!!"
A furious roar, laced with venom, erupted from the external speaker of the Second Dimension Train. Its Tier 7 energy shield was the highest among the trains, and it had endured the longest.
But that was all it could do. The energy shield was now shattered, and the so-called Tier 7 energy shield had only bought the train conductor enough time to leave a final message.
Without needing to disperse, the ten Doomsday Cannons swiveled their barrels and unleashed another barrage of fire at the Second Dimension Train.
"Boom! Boom!!"
Countless crimson cannonballs rained down like a torrential downpour, engulfing the Second Dimension Train. Its locomotive, like the others, transformed into a fireball and soared into the sky.
At this moment, only seven seconds had passed since the battle began.
Three seconds remained until Absolute Defense expired.
It was too late.
The Stellaris train slowly came to a halt.
Inside the locomotive cabin, Chen Mang watched the flaming locomotive head plummet from the sky, now beginning its descent to crash heavily onto the ground below.
"That train flew really high," Chen Mang muttered, glancing at the fortuitous encounter map information on the screen.
Mission: Activate this nuclear bomb and escape this place.
There was no time limit.
Or rather, there was no time limit until the nuclear bomb was activated.
No need to rush then. He'd clear the map first. After eliminating all remaining resistance from the survivors on these few trains, he could take his time exploring the map.
"What a bunch of good people," Chen Mang couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle. They'd given him a fortuitous encounter map, supplies from four trains, and so many survivors. It almost made him feel embarrassed.
What kind of people were these?
They upgraded the trains but not the accessories?
Did they expect him to fight battles based on train Tier alone?
Firepower accessories consumed a lot of resources. In most cases, when trains encountered monsters, they'd rather flee than engage in combat. His ten cannons had long been upgraded to Tier 10, but this was the first time he'd ever fired them. He'd never faced a situation that required him to unleash their full firepower before.
But once unleashed, the instantaneous explosive power was terrifying.
Just like now.
In just seven seconds, four high-tier trains were instantly annihilated.
The Doomsday Cannon, though a Tier 10 cannon,'s actual firepower depended on the tier of cannonballs used. The cannon's tier only determined its firing rate and range; its power was determined by the cannonball's tier.
Chen Mang had chosen Tier 8 cannonballs.
The price of a single Tier 8 cannonball was 500 units of copper ore.
However, thanks to the Doomsday Cannon's two consecutive Half Consumption overpowered effects, the price of a Tier 8 cannonball was reduced to just 125 units of copper ore.
In those seven seconds, all ten cannons had been fired at their maximum rate without holding back. Combined with a volley from the 40-Tube Cherry Blossom Fall Rocket Launcher, they had consumed exactly 500,000 units of copper ore.
The train now had only 25,000 units of copper ore remaining.
Almost zero.
"This war is really expensive," Chen Mang muttered, glancing at the resource balance on the train panel. He felt a pang of regret. He had saved up so much copper ore, only to squander it all in seven seconds of combat. He hadn't been able to afford a Tier 8 missile earlier; a Tier 8 missile cost 1 million units of copper ore.
Otherwise, dropping a Tier 8 missile directly on his own head would have been quite effective.
No more firing.
Just detonate it in place.
But that would likely destroy the accessories on his train, including the resources in the other trains. The losses would be even heavier. The cannon was a better option.
The next moment—
The door of Guard Car No. 7 swung open, and Guard Team One, Team Two, and Team Three—all three guard squads—disembarked, ready to receive survivors from the other trains, eliminate any resistance, and gather resources.
Biaozi, the first to leap from the train, tossed his briefcase into the air with a cold expression. The briefcase instantly exploded mid-air, rapidly transforming into an "Executioner" mech. Its cockpit quickly descended to the ground.
Biaozi strode forward and settled into the cockpit. As the cockpit rose back into the mech's abdomen with a crisp click, the mech's external speaker crackled to life.
"First Squad Members, follow me."
Though his voice sounded somewhat cold, the barely concealed excitement was unmistakable.
Biaozi finally lost his composure, grinning as he gazed at the cockpit's various buttons. He finally had his own mech! Several nozzles on the mech's body erupted in pale blue flames, propelling it toward the Second Dimension Train!
This train is the highest Tier, and the meat is the fattest!
It must be their team's.
Zhang Yi and Zhang Er exchanged glances and simultaneously activated their mechs, striding after Biaozi.
During their mining period, they had been learning to control their mechs. While they couldn't claim complete mastery, they could execute basic maneuvers without much difficulty.
Each of their mechs carried a refrigerator on its shoulder.
The captain had arranged this in the train. One was for supplies, the other for survivors.
The remaining two squads grumbled at Biaozi's claim on the fattest meat, but they had to admit that the first team's current strength made them the most suitable to handle it. After all, only the locomotives of these trains had been blown to smithereens; the Enforcer Cars remained intact, posing a significant risk of encountering enemies.
"Third Squad, follow me."
The Third Squad Captain, seated in his "Leech" mech, led his team, each member carrying a refrigerator, toward the other trains.
Mechs were too tall to enter the trains.
Biaozi, wielding his Giant Axe, methodically cleaved through the "Second Dimension" train's armor, peeling it back like an orange. He killed any resistance immediately, then had his squad members search for supplies.
The train's armor was Tier 3, but his Giant Axe was Tier 4—completely unstoppable.
With a single swing, the Train Armor was smashed open, leaving a deep pit.
The process had been relatively smooth.
The Second Dimension Train's thugs were still alive, but none resisted. They all knelt, raising their firearms above their heads, their eyes filled with terror as they begged for mercy and surrendered. This was understandable; in this world, a single person's strength was insignificant.
No one could possibly stand against a train alone.
With the train conductor dead, what was the point of struggling?
Even if they weren't killed, being left here meant certain death once the Stellaris departed.
Surrender was their only hope of survival.
"Was it really that easy?" Zhang Yi said, a hint of dissatisfaction in his voice as he scanned the empty carriage. He had already tossed everything he could see into the refrigerator on his shoulder and removed his armor.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up.
He strode to a corner of the carriage and gleefully picked up half a bag of potato chips, stuffing it into his shoulder refrigerator as well.
"This is a real treasure," Zhang Yi said, patting the refrigerator with satisfaction. "If I'd had this on the last train, I can't even imagine how much stuff we'd have brought back from our scavenging runs. We'd have practically looted the entire city!"
"Indeed," his companion agreed.
Zhang Er, one arm wrapped around a refrigerator, grabbed the shivering thug curled up in the corner. With one hand, he lifted the thug by his ankle, dangling him upside down and shaking him a few times until everything fell out of his pockets. Only then did he casually stuff the refrigerator into his chest.
The entire process flowed seamlessly, imbued with an eerie beauty.
"Next time Lord Mang sends us out to scavenge, you carry a refrigerator, and I'll carry a refrigerator. Then we'll each put ten more refrigerators inside our refrigerators. Let Lord Mang watch us."
"We could empty the whole city."
"Let's do it!"
"Get to work!"
The two worked with great enthusiasm. First, they were full and brimming with energy. Second, their new tool was incredibly convenient. If they'd had this on the previous train, they wouldn't have had to carry the treadmill all the way from the city back to the train at the edge of the wasteland. They could have just stuffed it in the refrigerator and carried it back effortlessly.
"Everyone, strip naked!"
"Throw away your underwear, socks, everything. You'll get new ones later."
At the entrance to the Second Dimension Train's slave car stood a refrigerator.
Members of Guard Team One stood watch, observing as all the Second Dimension Train slaves lined up to enter. Everyone, male or female, had to strip completely naked to ensure they weren't hiding any contraband. If someone managed to conceal a weapon and suddenly attacked, it could be a major disaster.
"Hurry!"
Biaozi, piloting the mech, slammed the axe heavily onto the ground in a show of intimidation. A surge of satisfaction welled up within him. This mech was truly impressive—well worth the near-death experience he'd endured in the "Resident Evil" map. It was worth it!
The trick of pretending to inject an adrenaline serum to deceive his brain had been taught to him by Li Shiji.
According to Li Shiji, the human brain was a remarkable and even somewhat idealistic organ. Often, things that seemed impossible could become real if you tricked your brain into believing they had already happened.
For instance, after pretending to inject the serum, Biaozi had genuinely felt better. Some subconscious effect made him feel stronger and more energetic.
However, Li Shiji had warned that this method shouldn't be used too often, as it could deplete one's vital essence.
Biaozi didn't understand what "vital essence" was, but it didn't matter. He considered Li Shiji a genius and a good person—someone worth befriending.
The other trains had reached a similar stage in their progress.
After their victory...
Old Pig had already completed the comprehensive SOP for searching the train's supplies and distributed it to each captain.
This procedure ensured minimal casualties while maximizing efficiency.
Even so, searching the four trains still took nearly an hour.
"..."
In the Stellaris's locomotive cabin, Chen Mang sat in his chair, staring at the supply list Old Pig had handed him. After a long silence, he sighed deeply and tossed the list into a nearby drawer.
What the hell is this fortuitous encounter map even for now?
Can't we just turn back the way we came?
The loot from these four trains was more than enough to fill his belly. He was stuffed, truly stuffed, and couldn't eat another bite.
1.491 million units of iron ore, 340,000 units of copper ore, 290,000 units of wood, 120,000 units of Red Heart Rock.
One white-grade accessory blueprint, four murphy stones.
124 packs of cigarettes, various other supplies, various rifle ammunition, and one special item.
Hundreds of vacuum-packed Salted Duck packages and various figurines.
Over 1,900 survivors.
...
What could he say? It was exactly what he'd expect from a Tier 8 Train—pure opulence!
After ten days of mining, he'd only managed to gather over 2 million units of iron ore. Yet in just seven seconds, he'd earned nearly 2 million more units. The Stellaris's total iron ore balance now stood at 3.54 million units.
With a bit more iron ore, he could upgrade to Tier 8 Armor.
If he'd already had Tier 8 Armor, he wouldn't have needed to use the train's special skill, "Absolute Defense," at all. He could have just tanked the hit. But that skill had a ten-day cooldown—he couldn't use it again for the next ten days. It left him feeling a bit vulnerable.
In those seven seconds, he'd consumed 500,000 units of copper ore.
But he'd recovered 340,000 units.
The copper ore alone had almost paid for itself.
And then there were the Wood, Red Heart Rock, blueprints, murphy stone, and a whole host of other resources. It was worth it—absolutely worth it.
"..."
Chen Mang stepped out of the locomotive cabin, leaning on his cane as he gazed at the futuristic city stretching before him. After a long sigh, he lit a cigarette, brought it to his lips, and turned to look back at the Stellaris, a mechanical dragon of a train.
A slight smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.
This was his lifeline in this world.
The 1,900 survivors had all been forcibly placed in refrigerators for the time being. He didn't have time to deal with them yet. Once this fortuitous encounter map ended, he would begin implanting Iris Chips in each of them, officially making them members of the Stellaris train crew.
They would all start as Third-Tier Residents.
Later, he would identify those with talent or special skills and assign them to suitable positions.
Under Chen Mang and Old Pig's joint design, the Stellaris had developed a complete process for receiving survivors.
(End of the Chapter)
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