Translator: AnubisTL
"..."
Chen Mang walked over to where the two were looking, reached out, lifted Ji Chuchu's chin, and murmured, "She's quite beautiful, isn't she?"
"Her beauty is truly remarkable."
"..."
Under the moonlight:
Raising my cup to invite the moon, my shadow and I make three.
An hour later:
Chen Mang returned to the locomotive cabin, leaned back in his chair, and exhaled deeply. He propped his feet on the table, lit a cigarette with a languid air, and gazed absently at the starry sky through the skylight.
As the train conductor, he couldn't stay cooped up in the cabin all the time. He needed to check on the crew and the lower levels periodically.
This inspection had given him a clearer understanding of his train. While the control panel displayed a three-dimensional model, nothing could compare to seeing the actual structure firsthand.
He glanced at the upgrade requirements for the Tier 7 train.
Upgrade Requirements: All three essential train components must be crafted and 50,000 units of Tier 2 Iron Ore consumed. All accessories within the carriage must be Tier 140 or higher, and the fortuitous encounter map must be cleared once.
These requirements had already been fully met.
With 732,000 units of iron ore remaining in the train, far exceeding the upgrade requirement, all conditions were immediately satisfied.
Without hesitation, he chose to upgrade.
After consuming 500,000 units of iron ore,
the next moment—
a panel appeared on the control panel screen.
[Your train has been upgraded to Tier 7.]
[More craftable accessories have been unlocked.]
Whenever his train met the upgrade requirements, he would immediately upgrade it without hesitation. Others might wait, fearing that upgrading the train too early would waste resources, as each upgrade required 500,000 units of iron ore.
After upgrading, the train itself showed virtually no improvement.
However, investing those 500,000 units of iron ore into any accessory would yield tangible enhancements. Therefore, many train operators prioritized upgrading accessories until they were nearly maxed out before upgrading the train's tier.
He had no such concerns.
His foundation was exceptionally strong, and his iron ore acquisition rate far surpassed that of others. This stemmed from multiple factors: his train's superior speed, the extensive range of his resource detection radar, his large resident population, and numerous fortuitous encounters like the Goblin's Tomb.
Most importantly, his strength was unmatched.
No one dared challenge his claim to iron ore deposits. Even when zombie hordes attacked, he didn't need to flee; he simply slaughtered them all. Unlike others who had to abandon their mining operations midway through when a horde appeared, he could continue uninterrupted.
These combined advantages made his train virtually invincible among its peers.
He didn't need to waste resources on Transitional Components.
Of course.
Not that there weren't gamblers out there. Take the Tier 7 train he destroyed in the Geocore Nuke fortuitous encounter map, for example. Refusing to waste resources on transitional components, even though the train was Tier 7, its defensive component, the Energy Shield, was only Tier 5.
Such trains had virtually no combat capability and would be annihilated at the slightest sign of danger. That's why he was so surprised when this train dared to attack him in the fortuitous encounter map.
Not everyone had the means to detect other trains' components. This was the overpowered effect of his Tier 10 Target Acquisition Radar.
This meant many people didn't realize they were essentially throwing an egg against a rock.
Chen Mang sighed helplessly as he looked at the control panel. "Seriously?"
When his train reached Tier 6, a "?" button appeared on the control panel. Now that his train was Tier 7, the "?" button hadn't changed at all, as if it were permanently stuck.
Normally, after upgrading to Tier 6, the new button should have been "Team Voice Chat," not a "?". But it didn't matter much. He didn't need Team Voice Chat anyway, and even if it never appeared, so what? He refused to believe that button would remain a question mark forever.
After upgrading to Tier 7, the train gained no new functions or buttons.
For days, Chen Mang had been monitoring the train radio, observing the communications between other trains.
He only replied to the Wild Bull because it had been spamming the group chat with endless pleas for mercy, severely disrupting his ability to gather information. He wanted to see what other trains were discussing, but all he saw was the Wild Bull's manic apologies and desperate pleas.
Forced to respond, he told them to stop flooding the chat.
The Wild Bull acted like a lunatic, as if they would continue spamming until he replied.
Upgrading to Tiers 7, 8, and 9 added no new functions or buttons.
Tier 10 was the major hurdle.
Reaching Tier 10 would bring about earth-shattering changes, according to the train radio.
What those changes were, he didn't know. All he knew was that several Tier 9 Trains in the Zombie Basin had refused to venture into the Blue Zone to upgrade to Tier 10 for this very reason.
Chen Mang didn't dwell on it. Instead, he focused on the new craftable accessory that had appeared after upgrading to Tier 7.
This time, there was only one accessory.
Space Stasis: Purple-grade accessory. Crafting requires 10,000 units of iron ore.
This was the first purple-grade accessory he had ever seen. Purple-grade accessories could be upgraded to Tier 10, meaning anyone who crafted this accessory would gain two overpowered effects.
But he couldn't quite grasp its purpose.
At Tier 1:
Activating this accessory would freeze all living beings inside the train—including the AI—for 30 minutes, except for himself.
Time itself wasn't frozen; it continued to flow.
Only everyone's minds and bodies would be frozen in place, completely preserving their state before Space Stasis was activated. Upon resuming, they would have no memory of the frozen period, simply experiencing a sudden jump of 30 minutes.
Chen Mang frowned slightly as he sat in his chair, pondering the accessory's effects. It couldn't be useless; this was a mandatory crafting component for the train, so it must have some purpose.
Every mandatory train component so far had proven useful.
But...
Even the AI was frozen during this period, while time continued to flow outside. Was this a 30-minute window for the train conductor to think undisturbed?
It was a purple-grade accessory.
The only use he could imagine for this accessory was for A-Class Mechanical Trains: it could instantly freeze the minds of everyone on board, including the AI. During this time, the "Train Auxiliary AI" accessory could be removed and a new one created.
This would sever the AI's romantic relationship with the train conductor.
It was essentially a forced divorce.
Under normal circumstances, attempting a forced divorce would likely lead to the AI and the conductor committing suicide together.
However, for other trains, this accessory seemed completely useless. If its purpose was to enhance control over the train, the existing regulations and the "Built-in Security System" were already more than sufficient.
He shook his head and stopped thinking about it.
He stood up and walked toward the "Combat Training Virtual Space." When the time came, he would naturally figure out how to use it. For now, he wanted to practice in the "Resident Evil" map again.
He had already cleared the Resident Evil map on normal difficulty five times.
He had mastered all the key points, following a standard route similar to the one Biaozi had initially discovered.
He planned to complete a few more runs before tackling the Resident Evil map on Extreme Difficulty. If the members of Guard Team One could clear it, there was no reason he couldn't. He just wanted to familiarize himself with the route for added assurance.
After all,
though he hadn't fought in a long time, he hadn't established his foothold in this world through mere words.
He couldn't let them mistake him for a powerless train conductor, could he?
"Lord Mang... you're so fierce," Ji Chuchu murmured, lying wearily on her side in bed, clutching the blanket between her legs. She glanced at Yan Yao, who was tidying the sheets across the room, and couldn't help but chuckle. "You're so old-fashioned. I've only ever seen girls collecting bedsheets stained with their maidenhood in movies and dramas."
Yan Yao remained silent, biting her lip as she continued her task.
"You remind me of a friend I used to have. She was an escort."
"Once, she found a wealthy client she wanted to keep. So she used her period blood as 'proof' of her virginity. She was immediately exposed and got a few slaps for her trouble."
"When she told me about it, I almost died laughing."
"But in the end, whether it was superstition or something else, that sugar daddy's business actually started to decline."
Ji Chuchu didn't mind Yan Yao ignoring her. She just continued talking to herself, a dazed smile on her face as she rambled on.
Before she knew it, she had fallen asleep.
Yan Yao remained alone, sitting on the bed and gazing out the window, lost in thought.
Dawn broke.
The train had stopped at a Tier 3 Iron Mine and was preparing to resume its mining operations for the day.
"Was that really necessary?" Chen Mang asked Xiao Ai, who stood beside him, his tone irritated. "Such a trivial matter—did you have to tell everyone?"
This morning, when Chen Mang went for a stroll, he noticed that all the guards were treating him with even greater respect, their eyes practically overflowing with admiration. At first, he couldn't figure out what was going on, but after asking around, he learned the truth.
Xiao Ai had broadcast an announcement to the Iris Chips of all guards and management personnel earlier that morning.
Lord Mang has successfully cleared the Resident Evil map on Extreme Difficulty.
"Train Conductor," Xiao Ai's mechanical voice echoed from a corner of the locomotive cabin. "This is a directive you set: whenever a train crew member demonstrates commendable behavior, it must be announced to the entire train to encourage others."
"As Train Conductor, you risked your own safety to clear the Resident Evil map on Extreme Difficulty."
"This is an entirely commendable act."
"Would you like to revise the directive so that announcements about your own actions are no longer required?"
"Hmm..."
Chen Mang paused before clearing his throat. "That won't be necessary. It was just a minor thing, and I didn't pay much attention to it. But since it's already been announced, it might boost morale."
Last night, after clearing the Resident Evil map on Normal Difficulty twice more, he had plunged straight into Extreme Difficulty. It went smoothly; he hadn't resorted to any brain-tricking methods. He had simply been cautious, minimizing injuries by using spatial manipulation to maintain his positioning.
He had already attempted these locations countless times on normal difficulty.
Aside from the increased psychological pressure, there was nothing particularly challenging about them.
The psychological pressure was far greater than when he had first arrived in this world. Back then, with nothing to lose, he had dared to fight recklessly, accepting death as a possibility. But now, as the conductor of a Tier 7 train, the negligible improvement to his physical fitness offered no real advantage. He didn't even need to set foot on the map.
Yet—
He couldn't shake the feeling that both train conductors and guards had to maintain a constant sense of vigilance.
When a conductor became timid, afraid to confront crises head-on, the train's progress would inevitably slow.
This applied only to the Resident Evil map, however. He had no intention of tackling the Extreme Dragon Fortress anytime soon. After watching Biaozi's full playthrough, he realized it was like walking on a razor's edge, with several near-death experiences. It was simply too dangerous.
"Achoo!"
In Guard Car No. 7, Biaozi sneezed, rubbed his nose, and muttered, "Am I getting sick, or is someone thinking about me?"
He then drained the dark, murky liquid in his hand in one gulp.
This was a new concoction he had created, which he had named "Man's Drink."
He mixed Cola and mineral water, then steeped tea in the mixture to produce this peculiar beverage.
It was a desperate measure.
Long-term consumption of mineral water could enhance physical fitness.
Long-term consumption of tea could boost mental power.
Long-term consumption of Cola could also improve physical fitness.
But with a limited daily fluid intake, how could he possibly drink so much water every day? His solution was to combine all three into one concoction and gulp it down.
The taste was... odd.
But the effects were remarkable.
He couldn't help but envy Zhang Yi and Zhang Er. Long-term consumption of steamed buns could also enhance physical fitness, but the human stomach had its limits. Even if one ate themselves to death, how many buns could they possibly consume in a day?
Yet every time he saw Zhang Yi and Zhang Er, they were always stuffing themselves with them.
At that rate...
The comprehensive physical fitness gained by these two through mere "dietary supplements" far surpassed their own, putting them leagues ahead.
He had always loathed a particular saying:
"To those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who have nothing, even what little they have will be taken away."
Yet, infuriatingly, this was the very law governing the world's development.
If Zhang Damei ate this much, her two brothers must consume even more.
Stellaris, locomotive cabin.
Chen Mang leaned back in his seat, pondering the purpose of the newly crafted purple-grade accessory. Perhaps it was designed for entities like "black market merchants"—luring them onto the train, then activating Space Stasis to plunder their goods.
Or perhaps it would trigger a 30-minute, pinpoint-accurate barrage from the Built-in Security System.
Moreover, the accessory specified "all living beings within the train," not just the train crew. This strongly suggested it wasn't intended for the crew members, but rather for something that might later infiltrate the train.
(End of the Chapter)
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