Translator: AnubisTL
Waking up at this hour had completely reversed his jet lag.
But that was all there was to it.
The booming of the "Doomsday Cannon" echoed intermittently from outside the train. The target acquisition radar displayed thousands of red dots, with hundreds of monsters launching attacks against them.
High-Tier monsters were being cleared out by the Doomsday Cannon.
Low-Tier monsters were being held back by Biaozi's first team and the Third Squad Captain's third team.
They were practically going berserk.
The sheer number of monsters made it impossible to mine in peace without stopping the train and directly confronting them. The pressure was immense.
If even one zombie slipped through and reached the residents, it could cause chaos and casualties.
It was a major headache.
And if everyone panicked and rushed back into the train, a large-scale stampede would inevitably ensue.
"...Whew."
Chen Mang jumped off the train, stretched his limbs, lit a cigarette, and stood beside the train, gazing at the starry night sky. He simply stood there, lost in thought, doing nothing.
His eyes were unfocused.
Chen Mang could see Zhang Yi and Zhang Er piloting the "Thunder" mecha, relentlessly slaughtering the monsters near the train in the night, ensuring none breached the crowd.
The Third Squad Captain, meanwhile, was piloting the "Leech" mecha, precisely targeting monsters that had broken through the defensive lines.
Their coordination was surprisingly seamless.
In the past, each squad had trained separately. But after an afternoon of fighting, the two squads had developed a natural synergy.
The squad members without armor wielded "Giant Wave Gatling" guns, mowing down monsters as well.
"Tutututu!!"
"Boom boom boom!!"
"Clang clang clang!!"
The sounds of gunfire, explosions, and pickaxes striking iron ore mingled together like a symphony, surprisingly pleasing to the ear.
After standing motionless for a long time, Chen Mang finally returned to the locomotive cabin.
He gazed at the control panel screen displaying detailed information about the "Military Factory."
This wasn't an accessory. It was a built-in function of the train.
The monster flesh he had collected had earned him a total of 170,000 Merit Points. The higher the Tier of the monster flesh, the more Merit Points it yielded.
Military Factory
Can research, craft, and purchase blueprints for various firepower or defense-related accessories.
Requires the Train Auxiliary AI to be at least Tier 10.
Each research, crafting, or purchase consumes Merit Points.
Current research directions:
White-grade Firepower Accessory Blueprint: 1,000 Merit Points
Green-grade Firepower Accessory Blueprint: 10,000 Merit Points
Yellow-grade Firepower Accessory Blueprint: 50,000 Merit Points
Blue-grade Firepower Accessory Blueprint: 100,000 Merit Points
...
"Not bad."
Defensive accessory blueprints cost twice as much as offensive ones.
The development time depends on the AI's computing power. The faster the computing power and the less process it occupies, the faster the development speed.
With this train function, there's now another way to obtain accessory blueprints.
"First, develop five white-grade Offensive Components and five white-grade Defensive Components. I want to see how they perform."
"Yes!"
Xiao Ai's voice immediately echoed from the locomotive cabin's Audio System.
There was also the Red-Tier Accessory, the "Armed Black Hole Robot Production Line." This accessory occupied a massive amount of space and was housed within the space gate of Carriage No. 2, Xiao Ai's exclusive workshop.
It could manufacture offensive "Black Hole Robots" that could be controlled by the AI or programmed for automated combat, such as attack or patrol routines.
The number of "Black Hole Robots" the AI could control simultaneously depended entirely on its computing power, which in turn depended on the Tier of the Train Auxiliary AI.
He stood up and walked into the space gate of Carriage No. 2.
Before him lay a vast array of machinery, along with elevated platforms and piles of materials stacked nearby.
"Train Conductor."
A robot covered in mechanical structures strode toward him. In the next moment, its mouth snapped open, and a small Gatling gun emerged, its barrel slowly rotating.
"This is a Tier 1 robot produced by the Tier 1 Armed Black Hole Robot Production Line."
"Both its armor and weapons are Tier 1."
"It can be used for patrols, guarding, and other duties."
"The robot has a small compartment behind its head that can store a large quantity of copper ore for manufacturing Gatling gun bullets and other weapons."
"This production line is customizable."
"You can choose from various weapons, such as chainsaws, shoulder-mounted rocket launchers, and foot-mounted landmines."
"Armor Tier can also be selected."
"The manufacturing cost varies depending on the robot's configuration."
"..."
Chen Mang remained silent, striding toward the Armed Black Hole Robot Production Line. This was the largest accessory he had ever seen, far larger than a Groundburst Missile—almost a miniature Armory in itself.
Upgrading and manufacturing both required copper ore.
This was a valuable asset.
He desperately needed them now. With so many monsters, the guards were struggling to hold them back. The addition of armed robots would make a huge difference.
After a moment's thought, he immediately spent 540,000 units of copper ore to upgrade the production line to Tier 10.
The upgrade cost wasn't expensive.
The real cost lay in manufacturing the accessories themselves.
A standard Tier 8 Robot, equipped with Tier 8 Armor and three Tier 8 weapon accessories, cost 500,000 units of copper ore.
That was already quite expensive, and that was just for the standard version. Adding special accessories like "Night Vision Goggles" or a Tier 1-3 smart chip would drive the price even higher.
But he didn't need those special accessories. Xiao Ai could handle everything directly.
The combination of the Mechanical Eye and target acquisition radar gave Xiao Ai far superior capabilities than any night vision goggles. Xiao Ai's perspective differed from a human's; in a sense, he possessed a godlike view, coupled with immense processing power that allowed him to simultaneously analyze multiple screens.
The train currently had a decent amount of copper ore—a full 3.51 million units. But that was only enough to build six Tier 8 Robots, which wouldn't make a significant impact.
But...
This "Black Hole Armed Robot Production Line" is customizable and not rigid. If you don't need Tier 8 Armor, or even Tier 1 Armor, building a standard Tier 8 robot would only cost 50,000 units of copper ore.
That's a savings of a full 450,000 units of copper ore.
The price plummeted instantly.
He didn't need his robots to have any defense. What use was such high armor for a ranged attack robot? Even if one was destroyed, he could just build another.
He immediately spent 2 million units of copper ore to produce 40 Tier 8 robots.
"Perfect," Chen Mang said with a satisfied nod. He turned to Xiao Ai. "The rest is up to you. Load each robot with 50,000 units of copper ore in the back. That should be enough ammunition. Can you control this many robots simultaneously with your current processing power, or do I need to set up patrol commands?"
"Absolutely. Without adding any extra workload, my remaining processing power can handle up to 500 robots at once. Forty is more than sufficient."
"That many?" Chen Mang's eyes flickered with surprise before he waved his hand and walked out. "Alright, then keep up the good work."
"I'll be going now," he said, though he wasn't sure why he'd said "You stay busy" to an AI. Perhaps it was because Xiao Ai really did look busy. With these forty Tier 8 Robots, the residents' mining operations were now completely secure.
The most overpowered aspect of this production line was its two overpowered effects.
Tier 5 Overpowered Effect of the Armed Black Hole Robot Production Line: Intact robots can be recycled at full price. Heavily damaged robots can be recycled at a discounted rate based on the extent of their damage.
Tier 10 Overpowered Effect of the Armed Black Hole Robot Production Line: Robot ammunition consumption is halved.
Recyclable!
Intact robots can be recycled at full price.
Heavily damaged robots can be recycled at a discounted rate based on the extent of their damage.
In other words, even if these Tier 8 Robots became obsolete in the future, he could simply recycle them all to manufacture higher-tier robots. He finally understood why this accessory was called a Heavy Firepower Component.
In a way, this accessory was even more overpowered than the Groundburst Missile!
As long as he had enough copper ore, he could create an entire robot army. Each robot would be absolutely disciplined, fearless of death, and under Xiao Ai's control, their coordination would be flawless.
If he could just add some large-scale war command tactics to Xiao Ai's database, it would be perfect.
One person, one army!
More importantly, these robots were incredibly cheap. Ignoring the cost of their armor, they were remarkably affordable.
Combined with the overpowered "Ammunition Consumption Halved" effect, it was perfect!
This was the most satisfying Red-Tier Accessory he had ever obtained.
The Groundburst Missile was also perfect, but its high price made him reluctant to use it. If it were just a little cheaper, he would have carpet-bombed the Zombie Volcano the moment it erupted!
Under the cover of night, forty identical black robots, each armed with a rifle, emerged from Carriage No. 2 and strode onto the battlefield. Their rifles fired precise, controlled bursts at the monsters charging the train.
Their coordination was impeccable.
No two robots would ever waste ammunition by firing at the same monster, preventing any damage overflow.
Forty robots spread out around the perimeter of the resident area, forming a protective wall.
"Elegant. Precise."
Inside the locomotive cabin, Chen Mang watched the scene unfold, silently offering these two words of praise. Not a single bullet was wasted. He raised his rifle, aimed, and fired with crisp efficiency. Though there were virtually no tactical maneuvers, the entire process was aesthetically pleasing.
It was the charm of Mechanical Civilization.
Biaozi and the others, who had been struggling to hold their ground, found instant relief with the arrival of the forty robots.
"Forty isn't enough," he muttered, his expression somewhat dazed after observing for a moment.
He wanted an army of robots!
At least...
He'd need a thousand, wouldn't he?
These robots didn't use synthetic skin. Their standard steel mechanical structures were fully exposed, making it immediately clear they were robots—completely different from the ones in Neon City.
At least these robots were sexless.
No dicks, no pussies.
Pure killing machines!
Just then—
All the robots suddenly froze in place. They swiftly tossed their rifles behind them, then spread their arms wide. With a mechanical transformation, both arms instantly morphed into Gatling guns.
In perfect unison, they leveled their Gatling guns at the monsters ahead.
The next moment!
"Tutututu!"
Firing simultaneously, the deafening roar of the Gatling guns echoed across the wasteland. In an instant, they annihilated all the surrounding monsters, the effect utterly devastating!
The sight of 40 robots with arms transformed into Gatling guns was truly awe-inspiring.
But...
Chen Mang blinked in surprise. "Xiao Ai, what are you doing? There aren't that many monsters. Rifles would have been enough. Why go all out like this? We need to conserve our copper ore!"
"Cough..."
Xiao Ai's slightly embarrassed voice emerged from the locomotive cabin's Audio System. "I saw the train conductor watching with such fascination, so I wanted to show off and give the train conductor a more impressive display."
"But don't worry, we didn't use much ammo. These are all Tier 1 monsters, and manufacturing Tier 1 bullets doesn't consume much copper ore. Besides, we have an overpowered effect that halves ammo consumption."
"Prioritize patrol and alert duties. Don't engage monsters unless they approach the train. Conserve iron ore and avoid unnecessary maneuvers!"
"Understood! Acknowledged!"
"What does that mean?"
The Third Squad Captain, piloting the "Leech" mecha, looked at the scene with a bewildered expression. He muttered, "Am I about to be out of a job?"
"Looks like it's coming soon."
Biaozi's voice crackled over the mecha's comms: "You should be grateful President Ai can't pilot mechas. Otherwise, you'd really be out of a job. I bet President Ai would handle a mecha better than you ever could."
"Of course! With President Ai's processing power, she could do a dozen things at once!"
"I can't even finish reading a novel while taking a dump. I get so engrossed I can't push it out."
"Hehe."
Biaozi, piloting the "Executioner" mecha, glanced at the scene and chuckled without saying anything more. It didn't affect him anyway. As a Brute-Type Gravity Mecha, he wasn't about to be out of a job.
Having these robots was a good thing.
Now he had time to train in the Combat Training Virtual Space. He'd been so busy these past few days that he hadn't been able to stop, let alone train. He was eager to improve his comprehensive physical fitness and then apply to Lord Mang for the Thunder mecha.
The train's strength had noticeably increased by another ten percent.
After each crisis, the Stellaris would finally grow a little stronger.
And his sense of pride in the Stellaris grew stronger with each passing day.
Night deepened.
All residents had returned to the train, and all guards had also retreated inside. There would be no patrols or sentry duty outside the train tonight.
Or rather—
For a long time to come, there would be no night watch outside the train.
The monsters were simply too numerous. Not only could the guard squad not hold them off, but there was no point in trying. With the residents all back in their carriages, what was the point of holding the line?
(End of the Chapter)
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