Translator: AnubisTL
Chen Mang stared at the two items Biaozi handed him. The tomb was now completely empty, and about thirty seconds after the items were taken, the bronze door began to slowly close.
It didn't disappear.
He tentatively entered a random string of numbers.
A line of text reappeared on the screen:
"Incorrect password. Two attempts remaining."
After pressing the "Confirm Open" button again, the bronze door slowly swung open. This confirmed that the space wouldn't disappear; his earlier experiment had proven its exceptional durability.
In a worst-case scenario—stranded alone in the wilderness or surrounded by a zombie horde with no escape—he could hide inside. Lying down for a minute would automatically seal the bronze door, ensuring absolute safety within. Barring unforeseen circumstances, it should withstand a Tier 8 missile without issue.
Of course, the bronze door couldn't be opened from the inside. Without food or an oxygen generator, being trapped inside would be akin to being buried alive. However, if someone outside could assist in opening the door, he could escape again.
Consider it a small hidden bonus.
The contents of the space were now gone and wouldn't respawn. Even if someone else opened the bronze door later, they'd find nothing of value.
Only then did Chen Mang turn his attention to the two items in his hands:
Blue-grade Mecha Blueprint: "Thunder"4th-Tier Red Heart Rock Mine Refresh Ticket
"Not bad," Chen Mang murmured, a smile spreading across his face as he examined the items. This was exactly the kind of opportunity he liked—the more, the better.
Currently, the Stellaris only had two mechs:
Yellow-grade Mech: "Leech," specializing in long-range fire support.Green-grade Mech: "Executioner," excelling in close combat.
Now, they had acquired a higher-grade blue-grade mech, "Thunder." Its stats were excellent across the board, and it was even more aggressive—a purely violent close-combat mech.
"Thunder."
"A violent melee mech."
"All ranged firepower configurations have been removed, maximizing the mech's close-combat capabilities."
"The external armor and Thunder Battle Hammer are Tier 7. Maximum speed reaches 280 km/h. A Tier 4 Energy Stone allows for 100 hours of full-power combat. Detailed mech specifications are as follows."
"The Thunder Battle Hammer can be thrown, delivering devastating strikes against distant enemies."
"Requires a pilot with a comprehensive physical fitness score above 19.0. Full power can be unleashed with a score above 19.5."
"No mental power requirements."
"Construction cost: 280,000 units of Red Heart Rock."
Tier 7 armor, Tier 7 Thunder Battle Hammer!
These were utterly absurd stats!
The data seemed almost too good to be true.
To put it plainly, if Zhang Yi had possessed this mech during the Geocore Nuke fortuitous encounter map when those Tier 8 Trains attacked the Stellaris, he could have nearly taken on all four trains single-handedly!
Of course, only nearly.
After all, it was just Tier 7, not Tier 8, but even that was ridiculously impressive.
After all, mechs weren't the trains' primary attack method; they were more like tentacles, extending the trains' attack range and serving as one of their combat tools.
With this mech, Zhang Yi could single-handedly take on all the trains in the Sha River Plains without any trouble.
This was the true value of high-level zones: access to superior resources, more fortuitous encounters, and stronger accessories.
Even if you mined in the Sha River Plains for a lifetime, you'd never find a blue-grade Mecha Blueprint.
Chen Mang grinned, his smile radiating pure joy. Although the crafting cost was steep—a single Thunder Mech required a staggering 280,000 units of Red Heart Rock, far exceeding the train's current reserves—the blueprint came with a 4th-Tier Red Heart Rock Mine Refresh Ticket.
This item had only one effect: it could instantly create a 4th Tier Red Heart Rock Mine at any location.
This was Chen Mang's second time obtaining a similar item. The first was a Tier 2 Copper Mine Refresh Token he'd acquired in the Iron Ridge Wasteland.
Jackpot!
Chen Mang grinned with delight.
He failed to notice Biaozi beside him, who was on the verge of tears. With a comprehensive physical fitness requirement of 19.0 to pilot the mech, it was practically guaranteed to go to Zhang Yi and Zhang Er—all that was missing was engraving their names directly onto the machine.
Biaozi had been pushing himself relentlessly these past few days, supplementing his diet and training to the point of exhaustion. Yet his comprehensive physical fitness had barely reached 15.5, still a long way from the required 19.0. For the foreseeable future, this mech remained completely out of his reach.
He had already given it his all.
When he first emerged from the Sky Piercing Tower fortuitous encounter map on the Sha River Plains, his physical fitness had been a mere 12.1. In such a short time, he had already raised it to 15.5.
Huff.
Biaozi took a deep breath, suppressing his envy. He still had unclaimed rewards from three standard-difficulty Dragon Fortress maps and two Extreme Difficulty Dragon Fortress maps.
Keep pushing!
One day, he too would pilot a blue-grade Thunder Mech!
After a brief interlude, the train resumed mining operations. This time, a Tier 4 Red Heart Rock Mine had appeared next to the Tier 3 Iron Mine.
The resource detection radar estimated that fully exploiting the Tier 4 Red Heart Rock Mine would yield approximately 5 million units of Red Heart Rock, enough to construct 17 Thunder Mechs.
For Red Heart Rock, this Tier 4 mine boasted an exceptionally high concentration.
Generally, rare resource mines contain limited quantities.
For instance, the Tier 3 Red Heart Rock Mine encountered in the Iron Ridge Wasteland yielded only 180,000 units after complete extraction.
Finally, mining could resume.
The residents worked with renewed enthusiasm. The sight of over 3,000 people swinging pickaxes in unison was truly awe-inspiring. His train likely housed the largest survivor count among all trains in the Zombie Basin.
This was largely because he didn't need to worry about sustaining such a large population.
While other trains mined intermittently, alternating between mining and fleeing zombie hordes, his routine was simple: mine, mine, mine. When a zombie horde arrived, he'd crush it and resume mining.
It was rare for them to go too long without mining enough resources to avoid starvation.
Every resident wore orange-red clothing. From a distance or high vantage point, despite the apocalypse and the complete absence of modern civilization, with the air thick with desolation and death, the residents and the train parked nearby radiated a vibrant sense of life.
Like saplings emerging from the scorched earth after a wildfire, they were a glimmer of hope amidst the disaster.
Soon—
The train panel displayed 300,000 units of Red Heart Rock. Chen Mang immediately spent 280,000 units to construct the Stellaris's first Thunder Mech. Though it was midday and the residents were still working, he couldn't wait to see the mech in action, so he ordered the miners to send him small batches of Red Heart Rock as they were mined.
He then leaned back in his chair, watching Zhang Yi familiarize himself with the Thunder Mech through the window, a satisfied smile spreading across his face.
Tier 7 Armor, Tier 7 Thunder Battle Hammer.
With further upgrades at the Mecha Research Center, the armor could be directly upgraded to Tier 8.
This was the true strength of his Stellaris.
Any random person who jumped out of the train could single-handedly take on a Tier 8 Train.
The Thunder Mech was a violent, close-combat mech, it was approximately 8 meters tall.
It was the tallest mech on the Stellaris and it could shrink to the size of a briefcase when deactivated.
Its armor was jet-black, with a deep blue lightning bolt streaking from its head to its abdomen, like a lightning-struck tree. Even standing still, it radiated an overwhelming aura of terror.
Inside the cockpit, Zhang Yi was learning and practicing how to operate the mech.
Whirr...
The Thunder Mech leaped into the air. Blue flames erupted from multiple nozzles on its back and palms. Steel wings suddenly unfurled from its back, each wing embedded with four tail jets.
Including the eight tail jets beneath the wings, the mech boasted a total of fourteen tail jets.
The entire machine accelerated rapidly through the air, vanishing over a distant mountain peak in the blink of an eye.
"It can fly... it can fucking fly! This goddamn mech can actually fly!"
Standing beside the train, Biaozi watched the spectacle, his chest tightening as if he couldn't breathe. Staring at the Thunder Mech disappearing over the mountain, his eyes reddened, on the verge of tears.
Goddamn it!
This mech can actually fly!
Flight has always been one of humanity's greatest dreams. Although trains can also fly, sitting inside a train is nothing like piloting a mech soaring through the air!
He couldn't even imagine how happy he would be if he were piloting this mech himself!
Even in the Extreme Difficulty "Dragon Fortress" simulation, he had never felt this suffocating, breathless agony!
Meanwhile, Zhang Yi, piloting the Thunder Mech high above, was filled with exhilaration and awe, experimenting with various combat maneuvers in the sky.
He selectively ignored the flashing warnings on his Iris Chip:
Warning! Warning! You are about to fly out of the Stellaris's communication range.
Warning! Warning! Turn back immediately!
Warning! Warn—Fuck you! If you keep flying, I'll lose contact with you! What the hell are you doing? Defecting?!
If you don't turn back now, I'll blast you with a Tier 8 Missile! You think I'm kidding?!
The next moment—
A line of crimson text flashed across his Iris Chip:
You have been locked onto by a Tier 8 Missile from the Stellaris. Prepare to die! Prepare to die!
Only then did Zhang Yi realize what had happened. Hearing President Ai's familiar voice over the cockpit audio system, he hurriedly apologized and turned his craft around, heading back toward the green dot on the map representing the Stellaris.
President Ai isn't an AI, is she?
She's even swearing now.
"Huff."
Inside the Armored Research Center in Carriage No. 2, Xiao Ai plopped down on the floor, her cheeks puffed out as she took deep breaths to calm herself. She wondered if the train conductor's promotion of her to Tier 20 had something to do with it.
She had discovered that she could now sense human emotions, especially anger.
Previously, she had emotions, but they were merely strings of code mimicking human behavior—stiff imitations. Now, however, she felt genuine human anger, arising naturally within her.
No wonder human civilization has swear words.
In many situations, swear words were truly irreplaceable. Repeated warnings clearly lacked the impact and directness of a single "fuck you," which conveyed the warning far more forcefully.
She could only contact train crew members through their Iris Chips within the range of the target acquisition radar. Beyond that, communication was impossible. Her concern wasn't so much about Zhang Yi defecting, but rather about him getting lost and being unable to find his way back home.
This might not be true for everyone, but when it came to Zhang Yi, it was practically a certainty.
As for the warning that he had been locked onto by a Tier 8 Missile and should immediately prepare to die, that was a complete fabrication.
Without Lord Mang's authorization, he had no authority to manufacture Tier 8 Missiles, let alone lock onto the Thunder Mech and launch one. But even if he couldn't actually do it, scaring Zhang Yi was still possible.
"I'm so mad!"
Xiao Ai took a deep breath. She had installed a small bellows in her throat to simulate the sound of human breathing, making her seem more human. Only then did she resume sitting on the ground, studying her experiments.
At the same time, she was responsible for monitoring all residents' Iris Chips, target acquisition radar detections, train radio transactions, resident store operations, and a host of other tasks.
As her Tier increased, her computational power had grown exponentially. She could now handle multiple tasks simultaneously.
She was currently devising a plan to create a custom-made megaphone that could accurately convey her emotions. Otherwise, her robot body's voice remained cold and mechanical, utterly incapable of expressing her feelings.
Perhaps it was like all infants.
The moment he realized she possessed human emotions, she desperately wanted others to perceive them.
Whether joy, sorrow, or most importantly, rage!
Piloting the Thunder Mech, Zhang Yi flew back to the Stellaris and landed on the Tier 3 armored carriage Lord Mang had specially built for testing. Raising the Thunder hammer high, he roared and slammed it down with all his might.
Boom!
The deafening impact flattened the armored carriage where the hammer struck.
Seized by excitement, Zhang Yi swung the giant hammer repeatedly. In just a few strikes, the carriage was reduced to a neatly flattened sheet of metal.
He then let out another furious roar.
With a mighty heave, Zhang Yi hurled the Thunder Battle Hammer toward a massive boulder a hundred meters away. The hammer struck with devastating force, shattering the rock into dust. As the mech and the steel cable at the hammer's end rapidly retracted, the Great Hammer was swiftly drawn back into the mech's grasp.
"I can't watch... I can't watch anymore," Biaozi muttered, staggering slightly as he clutched his chest. His expression dazed, he stumbled toward Guard Car No. 7, determined to resume training until he collapsed.
He had been so happy these past few days.
Finally piloting the Executioner mech, he had become the first member of the train crew to clear both the Resident Evil and Dragon Fortress maps on Extreme Difficulty. His comprehensive physical fitness had been improving at an astonishing rate.
He had felt like he was finally standing tall.
But after witnessing the Thunder Mech in action, he felt like he had been knocked back down.
Compared to the Thunder Mech, his Executioner mech was like...
Like the difference between the Azure Dragon and the Stellaris—there was simply no comparison!
(End of the Chapter)
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