Translator: AnubisTL
Outside the Law Enforcement Bureau.
Chen Mang straddled his off-road motorcycle, opened his map to lock in the direction, and prepared to return to his starting point to begin shopping at the Mechanical Train Parts Store.
The time for shopping had finally arrived!
He had worked so hard to earn all this money precisely for this moment!
But just then—
"Wait!"
A breathless voice called out from behind them.
A dealer in a red bikini came jogging up, panting heavily as she looked at Chen Mang and his group. "Sirs, our Boss wants to see you."
"Would you mind coming back with me?"
"Good grief," Biaozi muttered, glancing at the dealer's sky-high heels. "Impressive! Chasing us all this way in those things? Don't you have phones or something?"
"..."
Chen Mang turned to look at the dealer, his brow furrowing slightly. "Your Boss? Which entertainment city?"
"Sun City."
After a moment's thought, Chen Mang waved his hand. "Get on the bike. Zhang Yi, take her."
He sensed the familiar scent of a Story Mission.
But with only four hours remaining, would they have enough time?
The bikini-clad dealer hurried toward Zhang Yi, but before she could speak, he grabbed her and shoved her into the refrigerator. The group then mounted their motorcycles and roared back toward Sun Entertainment City.
They had already visited the other two entertainment cities.
Each had its own unique decor and advantages.
However, the mini-games on the third floor were identical across all three cities. Whether Sun Entertainment City had spread the word or not, the group found themselves blacklisted from participating in any of the mini-games at the other two entertainment cities.
The city wasn't large.
With the throttles wide open, they reached Sun Entertainment City again in half an hour.
A familiar place.
The only difference this time was that they weren't alone. As they entered the casino, they saw about seventy or eighty other people—train conductors leading their subordinates. After dozens of hours of exploration, many conductors had discovered their own special locations, like this one.
The dealer who had found them earlier led the way.
They followed closely behind.
As they passed, many train conductors cast curious and questioning glances their way. We're all casino guests, their eyes seemed to ask. Why do you have a dealer escorting you? Why don't we?
They arrived at the seventh floor.
Before a massive hotel suite stood four muscular men in suits and sunglasses, their waists bulging with concealed weapons.
"This is a big one," Chen Mang murmured, his eyes narrowing slightly. This Story Mission was clearly a major operation. How much they could buy before leaving depended entirely on how much they earned from this job.
"Our boss is waiting for you inside," the dealer said with a smile, pushing open the door and gesturing for them to enter.
Biaozi instinctively poked the dealer in the back.
"Sir, care to join? 100,000 points."
As expected.
They stepped inside.
Their eyes fell upon a massive sofa where a woman in a bathrobe sat, swirling a glass of Champagne and gazing at them with a knowing smile. Her legs were crossed elegantly, revealing no hint of impropriety.
Flanking the sofa stood eight muscular men in suits and sunglasses.
"Welcome, everyone," the woman said.
"Let me introduce myself. I'm the Boss of Sun City. You can call me Sister Qi."
"Understood, Sister Qi."
Chen Mang strode into the suite without hesitation. He sat down on the sofa, glanced at the remaining time on his wristwatch, and looked up at the woman with a serious expression. "What can I do for you?"
This woman seemed to possess a higher level of intelligence, and most importantly, she had her own name.
Though she appeared indistinguishable from a normal human, she was undoubtedly a robot.
"Heh."
The woman's ambiguous smile swept across the room, finally settling on Zhang Yi. "In all the years Sun City has existed, this is the first time we've encountered someone who can punch a '15' with their bare fists."
"I need your men to fight in a black boxing match for me."
"Win, and you'll be rewarded."
"Even if you lose, there will be no penalty. However, all black boxing matches end only when one fighter dies in the ring."
"I don't like being refused. I suggest you consider your answer carefully."
"When does it start?"
Chen Mang glanced at his wristwatch again. "I'm on a tight schedule."
"In one hour."
"When will it end?"
"That depends on your fighter's skill."
"What are the rules?"
"No rules. Just a free-for-all brawl with no weapons allowed."
"What's the opponent's strength?"
"His strongest punch registered a '12'. He's Ziyang City's top black boxing thug, known as 'Devil's Arms'—a formidable martial artist!"
Chen Mang turned to Zhang Yi, who nodded. He then said softly, "Alright, I'll take the job."
The woman drained her glass of Champagne, set it down on the table, and rose to her feet. She walked to the suite's floor-to-ceiling window, gazing down at the city below. "You have guts, but I need to warn you: while the opponent's comprehensive physical fitness may be inferior to your man's, he's been fighting in the ring for years."
"He's won 37 consecutive matches since his debut, with no losses."
"His combat experience is extensive."
"This black boxing match is crucial for Sun City. If you win..."
"I can offer you one million."
Chen Mang chuckled.
"Anything else I should be aware of?"
"That's all. Do you have any questions?"
"What tier is your Smart Chip?"
The woman standing by the floor-to-ceiling window slowly turned to face Chen Mang, a smile playing on her lips. "Tier 4."
"You haven't heard of it, have you? It's the highest-tier Smart Chip, granting me not only human-level intelligence but also a degree of independent thought."
Just then—
Biaozi, who had quietly approached the woman, cautiously poked her arm with a finger.
"..."
The air froze.
After a long silence, Biaozi sheepishly retreated, muttering, "A 4-Grade Smart Chip is different, huh? No need to negotiate."
The woman glared at Biaozi, her voice icy.
"Do you think I'm like those other women, who would say, 'Welcome, sir'?"
"I am a Tier 4 Smart Chip."
"I am one of the highest-ranking administrators. My core programming lacks such protocols. Disappointed?"
"You may leave now."
"Return to this suite in one hour. The black boxing matches will officially begin then."
As they left the suite, Chen Mang and his group headed toward the first-floor casino, planning to wander around and kill time until the event started.
"A Tier 4 Smart Chip is pretty impressive, huh?" Biaozi said, awkwardly trying to justify his earlier behavior. He felt like a pervert, and swore he wasn't one. It was just that this city had made him want to poke every woman he saw, just to see if they'd react. Apart from this one, none had ever failed to respond.
"Meh, it's alright," Chen Mang said casually, strolling through the casino. "Still not as good as Xiao Ai. But the body's well-made—curvy, long legs, and the heavy makeup looks decent."
"With so few people left in this city, who's even watching the black boxing?"
"These robots are just running pre-programmed routines, after all. Their logic is still a far cry from how humans think."
"Zhang Yi."
"Feeling confident?"
"No problem, Lord Mang!" Zhang Yi grinned, flexing his right arm to show off his muscles. "I've never lost a fight."
"Don't worry," Biaozi chimed in, vouching for Zhang Yi. "I've been giving these two brothers special training in the Combat Training Virtual Space. They've got plenty of combat experience now."
"How much is 'plenty'?"
"I taught them everything you know, Lord Mang."
"That's quite impressive."
Just then—
"Brother!"
An excited voice called out from behind them. Chen Mang turned to look but saw no one, only constantly moving service staff and the smiling dealer watching them.
"Look down, here."
He instinctively lowered his head and was surprised to find a dwarf standing before him. A flicker of recognition flashed in his eyes.
"You? The train conductor from the King of Electronic Music train?"
"That's me."
The dwarf exclaimed excitedly, "I can't believe it's really you! When the race started, I thought those motorcyclists looked familiar."
"I never imagined you'd remember me. I'm already a Tier 4 Train now, just arrived at the Sha River Plains."
"I didn't expect you to be even faster, already upgraded to a Tier 6 Train and heading to higher-tier zones."
Chen Mang chuckled, picked up the dwarf, and set him on a nearby chair. He then casually took two glasses of Champagne from a passing waiter's tray and placed them on the table, pushing one toward the dwarf.
"We must be fated to meet. This is our fourth encounter already."
"Fourth time?"
The dwarf scratched his head. "Isn't this only our second time meeting? I thought we only crossed paths once at the Iron Ridge Wasteland gathering."
"Fourth time," Chen Mang corrected, slowly lighting a cigar with a faint smile. "Our first encounter was at night. You were a Tier 2 train, blasting DJ music as you recklessly sped past my train in the darkness, showing off. Back then, I thought, 'Someday, I want to be as carefree as you.'"
"The second time was when you were being chased by a Tier 3 man-eating spider, honking frantically as you raced past me."
"Huh?" The dwarf paused, then exclaimed in disbelief, "That Tier 1 train risking its life mining for days—that was the Stellaris?"
"So it was you all along?!"
"When the spider was chasing me, I wanted to contact you and tell you to hide in the mine. The spider was too big to fit inside, so you would have been safe. But you didn't have a train radio, so I couldn't reach you."
"I felt a little sorry for you back then. I never imagined that train was the Stellaris."
"But..."
"But I remember you didn't hide in the mine. You tried to outrun it, right? Your train was clearly too slow to escape a Tier 3 man-eating spider. How did you survive?"
"Wait!"
A flicker of horror flashed in the dwarf's eyes. "The Iron Ridge Wasteland still doesn't know which train killed that Tier 3 man-eating spider in Taiping City. Could it have been your Stellaris?"
"Mm-hmm," Chen Mang nodded with a smile. "A swift and effortless kill."
"But you were only a Tier 1 train back then! How did you manage that?"
"I had just upgraded to Tier 2. Let's call it a Tier 2 train."
The dwarf took a deep breath before gazing at Chen Mang with a complex expression. "I just realized we've met four times now, including this. Your development speed is astonishing."
"Not bad, I suppose."
Biaozi, standing nearby, scratched the back of his head in confusion. It was clear Lord Mang was enjoying this conversation with the dwarf, but they had praised Lord Mang countless times before without ever seeing him this happy.
Huff
The dwarf calmed himself, though a hint of disappointment lingered. He had once been ahead of the Stellaris, a respected figure in its eyes. He never imagined being surpassed so quickly.
"You're already a Tier 6 train, while I'm still just Tier 4. The gap between us is widening..."
"Tier 7," Chen Mang quietly corrected. "I've already been upgraded to Tier 7."
"Tier 7 already? Then you'll be Tier 8 soon! When you reach Tier 8, no other train in your tier will stand a chance against you."
"I've already destroyed three Tier 8 trains that provoked me."
"Huh?"
"This happened when I was still a Tier 6 train."
"Huh?"
The dwarf stood frozen for a long moment before muttering, "Bro, your bragging is so blunt. Can't you be a little more subtle?"
Chen Mang burst into laughter, clapping the dwarf on the shoulder. "I've always been straightforward."
"The map's almost over. How'd you enjoy it?"
"It was alright, I guess."
The dwarf sighed, his expression darkening. "At first, it was really fun. I went to a 'Private Custom Brothel' and got a three-meter-tall girl. I even helped a little girl find her cat, and she gave me a 'Free Ticket'."
"This Free Ticket allows you to have anyone in Neon City serve you."
"I tried it, but it only works on robots. It doesn't work on other train conductors or their thugs."
"I was saving it for when I left, but... I've been feeling weak lately, so I won't need it. The map's almost finished anyway. Here, take it."
He pulled a Free Ticket from his pocket, placed it on the table, and slid it across.
"Weak?"
"Yeah, you know how it is. As you get older, your body just starts failing. Last time I was halfway through when I sneezed, and I just went limp. You get what I mean, right?"
"No, I don't. I'm still young."
Chen Mang shook his head and gestured for Zhang Yi to come over. He pulled a large bag of Red Heart Nuts from the refrigerator and handed it to him. "Take these home and enjoy them. They're very nutritious. You won't find anything like this outside. Only I have them here."
He casually pocketed the Free Ticket from the table, smiling.
"I'll accept this gift."
"I could actually use it."
(End of the Chapter)
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