Translator: AnubisTL
"Their mental power readings have been normal so far. We haven't encountered anyone like Li Shiji."
Biaozi sighed, sounding disappointed. "I'm not expecting another Li Shiji—that kind of talented freak is rare. But even someone like the Third Squad Captain would be fine. With so many people, are they all just... ordinary?"
"Ordinary is the norm, it's that Li Shiji's an anomaly."
That night was destined to be extremely busy. Distributing over 1,900 survivors wasn't a simple task. For the next three days, these survivors wouldn't have to work, but they also wouldn't be fed properly. They'd only receive basic rations to keep them from starving.
This was standard procedure on the Stellaris. Newcomers were starved for three days to observe the lives of the train's residents. Then, after three days, they'd be informed of the train's rules and promotion process.
Over time, they'd gradually integrate into the community.
The next day, as dawn broke, the train had already stopped near a Tier 3 Iron Mine. Train residents were disembarking to begin mining, while Chen Mang sat inside, studying the blueprint for the Cardiotonic Injection Production Line.
Yellow-grade Accessory
Requires 46,000 units of iron ore to craft and upgrade to Tier 10.
Cardiotonic Injection Production Line (Tier 5 Overpowered Effect): Consumption halved.
Cardiotonic Injection Production Line (Tier 10 Overpowered Effect): Consumption halved.
This injection was the same one Biaozi had used in the Resident Evil map. It was a singular use item, incredibly useful during field operations. Upgrading it had no effect. The original cost was 1,000 units of iron ore to produce one injection.
After two consecutive overpowered effects, the price dropped to 250 units per injection.
He manufactured three injections for each guard, storing them in their tactical vests. During field operations, these injections would significantly increase their survival rate.
And—
He glanced at the line of text on the control panel screen, the reward for successfully completing the "Geocore Nuke" fortuitous encounter map.
"You have successfully escaped the 'Geocore Nuke' fortuitous encounter map."
"You have received the following rewards:"
1,000,000 units of iron ore1,000,000 units of copper ore1,000,000 units of Wood
Extremely straightforward rewards.
This was the most direct reward Chen Mang had ever seen from a fortuitous encounter map, but it wasn't bad. All the resources were quite useful, except for the 1,000,000 units of Wood. Wood had limited applications beyond crafting clothing. Still, having it was better than nothing; he'd find a use for it eventually.
Crafting a set of high-precision clothing required only 500 units of Wood.
Moreover...
After pondering for a moment, Chen Mang sent another pinned message over the train radio:
"Selling warm clothing. Bulk orders accepted. Payment in copper ore or iron ore."
Winter had arrived.
The temperature was already dropping, and the clothing produced by other trains' Clothing Customization Production Lines lacked temperature regulation capabilities. Making slaves work in the biting wind was already a difficult task.
After a while, no one inquired about the clothes. The response was far less enthusiastic than when he had sold cigarettes.
Chen Mang quickly realized the reason. Whether making short-sleeved shirts or cotton overcoats, the material cost was the same: one unit of Wood.
Moreover, the trains had no need to purchase insulated clothing.
Simply crafting a cotton overcoat would suffice. If it got cold, they could just layer up—a few more units of Wood at most. There was no need to spend iron ore on temperature-regulating clothes. While wearing fewer layers might make work more convenient, it was clear no train conductor was willing to pay for such a minor efficiency gain.
He posted another message:
"Selling Murphy Stones. Make offers. Remote transactions possible."
This time, the train radio exploded. Within moments, four people had sent him private messages. Clearly, the demand for Murphy Stones was much higher.
"Not bad," Chen Mang muttered, examining the four items in his hand. After some deliberation, he sold ten Murphy Stones, leaving him with six.
Though the Murphy Stone is powerful, it requires a certain quantity to be truly effective—at least three or four. Otherwise, its impact is limited.
With two Murphy Stones, a green-grade accessory can gain a Tier 5 overpowered effect, while a blue-grade accessory can gain a Tier 10 overpowered effect.
They can also be used to upgrade defensive and offensive accessories, allowing them to skip the intermediate defensive or offensive accessories of the next stage, saving considerable resources.
For example, upgrading an "Energy Shield" directly to Tier 7 or 8 eliminates the need for a "Zaibatsu Energy Shield." After the train reaches Tier 9, you can immediately use the next defensive accessory, saving the resources required to craft the "Zaibatsu Energy Shield."
Selling the ten Murphy Stones earned him:
600,000 units of iron oreA green-grade Vehicle Component BlueprintA small cardAn entry ticket to a fortuitous encounter map
The blueprint was for a "Cigar Production Line."
The card was similar to the one he received from the "Ten Steps, One Kill" Train.
Special Item: Dungeon Access Card
Item Effect: When in the fortuitous encounter map "Eternal Imprisonment," this card can be used to unlock a dungeon door within the map.
The laboratory access card had already given him a taste of its benefits, so when the other party offered to trade this item, he quickly agreed and left it in the drawer.
If he ever needed it, it would be a stroke of luck.
Rather than letting the murphy stone gather dust in his drawer, he figured this item might as well do the same.
As for the entry ticket to the other fortuitous encounter map, it was quite special.
Special Item: Neon City Entry Ticket
Item Effect: Entry ticket to the fortuitous encounter map 'Neon City'. When this ticket glows red, crush it to enter the map.
Besides the 600,000 units of iron ore and the Cigar Production Line, the remaining two items were just gathering dust.
Who knows when I'll ever use them?
Chen Mang tucked the access card into a drawer and placed the entry ticket under the walkie-talkie on the table, so he wouldn't miss its red glow if he'd stashed it away.
He'd brought the walkie-talkie (it was the consciousness transmitter) from the Underwater Labyrinth. It hadn't found a suitable candidate yet, because no one had received the job advancement quest for the S-Class Mechanical Train.
But he wasn't in a rush.
There's always someone stubborn enough to try, he thought.
The Stellaris currently had Tier 7 Armor.
Upgrading a carriage's armor from Tier 6 to Tier 7 cost 200,000 units of iron ore, while upgrading from Tier 7 to Tier 8 cost 300,000 units.
Therefore, upgrading the entire Stellaris to Tier 8 Armor would cost a total of 4.8 million units of iron ore.
The train's current iron ore balance was 4.844 million units.
Just enough.
Without hesitation, Chen Mang withdrew 4.8 million units of iron ore and upgraded the Stellaris's armor to Tier 8.
At this point—
The Stellaris train, now consisting of 15 carriages and the locomotive, was fully equipped with Tier 8 Armor. If it were to face another crisis like last night's "Geocore Nuke," Chen Mang wouldn't even need to activate the train's special ability, "Absolute Defense." He could simply tank the hit directly and emerge unscathed.
At most, some external accessories might be damaged and require repair.
Tier 8 Armor could completely nullify attacks of Tier 8 and below.
Of course, the cost was that the train's iron ore reserves had dwindled to a mere 44,000 units.
For a train with over 3,000 residents, this meager amount of iron ore wouldn't last long if anything went wrong. Fortunately, being in the Yellow Zone, Tier 3 Iron Mines weren't too difficult to find.
The train was currently parked beside a Tier 3 Iron Mine, waiting to finish mining it. Once complete, they would gain another million units of iron ore.
His "Steel Train Armor" was a green-grade accessory, so upgrading it consumed relatively few materials.
Energy shields, in contrast, would have required far more resources.
Consider the few Tier 8 Trains equipped with "Zaibatsu Energy Shields." Only one was Tier 7, while the rest were Tier 6, and one Tier 7 Train even had a Tier 5 energy shield.
Defensive Components consume more resources than any other type, without exception.
"Is that the Stellaris train?"
On a nearby hilltop, a man stood beside his own train, raising a Telescope to observe the train below, which was mining iron ore. "It really does look like it," he murmured.
He had gathered information from the Sha River Plains: slaves on the Stellaris train wore orange-red uniforms.
The slaves near the train in the distance were indeed wearing orange-red.
"It must be," he confirmed.
Satisfied, the man returned to his locomotive cabin and sent the coordinates to the Wild Bull Train. The Wild Bull Train had already announced over the train radio that anyone who could provide the Stellaris train's coordinates and lead them to it would receive an immediate reward of 100,000 units of iron ore.
Not a small sum.
Since he had encountered the Stellaris train, there was no reason to pass up this opportunity for wealth.
He was currently over 10,000 meters away from the Stellaris train. At this distance, the Stellaris's target acquisition radar shouldn't detect him, while he could observe it perfectly with his Telescope.
He held an inherent advantage.
Telescope
Tier 1 Train White Accessory
Ordinary and unremarkable.
Since the advent of the target acquisition radar, train conductors rarely use telescopes anymore.
But—
The telescope in his hand was found in a fortuitous encounter map and was Tier 10. He didn't know which idiot had wasted eight murphy stones on this accessory. It pained him to see it, but it didn't matter; it was free anyway, and it was quite useful.
When the distance was great and there were no obstructions, he could use the telescope to observe.
The train radio soon crackled with a reply from the Wild Bull.
"Alright! If I don't kill him today, he won't know the meaning of the word 'Mang'(Wild)!"
"Mm."
The man hesitated, then raised the telescope again to observe the Stellaris. The ten Doomsday Cannons mounted on the carriages were clearly of no low Tier. Frankly, he doubted the Wild Bull could defeat the Stellaris.
But he still needed to provide emotional support, since he'd be asking for a favor later.
"Good luck," he said.
He glanced at the target acquisition radar. The horde of zombies was approaching again. He had to flee. He immediately pushed the control lever, accelerating away from the area.
The Tier 3 Iron Mine below had been his first to discover.
But just after he started mining, the horde of zombies drove him away. He had planned to escape their encirclement and return later to continue mining. When he returned, however, he found the Stellaris train had already begun extracting iron ore from his mine.
"..."
Chen Mang casually glanced at the departing train on his target acquisition radar screen. It was a Tier 7 train with a Tier 6 Zaibatsu Energy Shield—no threat at all. He couldn't figure out why it had been staring at him for so long.
Meanwhile, on the other side...
Thousands of red dots were rapidly closing in on the Stellaris train.
It was a zombie horde.
Though a small one, it included a Tier 8 zombie—the highest-level zombie he had ever encountered. This one was far more powerful than the Mechanical Zombie King, which, despite its Tier 7 panel, was actually only a Tier 6 zombie.
The Mechanical Zombie King had left a deep impression on him, towering as tall as a skyscraper and exuding immense dominance.
In contrast, this Tier 8 zombie appeared much smaller.
Standing at about thirteen meters tall, this Tier 8 zombie was a behemoth among the zombie horde, but it paled in comparison to the Mechanical Zombie King.
"Hmm..."
"How should I kill it?"
Chen Mang stared at the control panel screen, lost in thought. The train was currently equipped with Tier 8 Armor, which meant even Tier 8 zombies couldn't penetrate its defenses. There was no immediate danger, but how to kill the zombie was the question.
Use the Doomsday Cannon? Hmm... save the copper ore.
Use the train's special skill, Death Spin?
Let's see how much damage the Tier 50 Drill and Tier 50 Vehicle Blades can inflict on a Tier 8 zombie.
The next moment—
With the zombie horde still nearly ten thousand meters away, the Stellaris train roared to life, gradually accelerating as it charged straight toward the horde, its target locked on the Tier 8 zombie at the center!
As it closed in, the train suddenly leaped into the air, extending its Tier 50 Drill and Tier 50 Vehicle Blades from the carriages. The blades began spinning at high speed, ready to strike!
Each vehicle blade was ten meters wide.
The double-sided vehicle blade spanned 20 meters. Adding the train's width, it looked like a massive, 20-meter-wide steel blade spinning at breakneck speed. The rotation was so fast that the train itself was barely visible, only flashes of cold light.
"Roar!"
The Tier 8 zombie roared, spewing a large glob of green slime onto the train.
However, that was all it could manage. The high-speed train slammed directly into the zombie's chest. The moment the drill touched the zombie's skin, a cloud of flesh fragments erupted into the air.
The Tier 8 zombie's physical strength was formidable.
The drill didn't pierce through instantly, but it was only a matter of time.
Three seconds later, the drill had forced its way thirty centimeters deep into the zombie's body.
Writhing in agony, the zombie roared and slammed both fists against the drill-like train spinning in its chest. The fists struck the vehicle blade with a deafening clang.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
The sound of metal colliding with bone echoed loudly. The zombie's arms shattered instantly, blood spraying everywhere.
(End of the Chapter)
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