Translator: AnubisTL
"..."
Erdan stood bewildered in Carriage No. 2 of the Stellaris, staring at the hundred heavy machine guns mounted on the carriage ceiling above him. His eyes were filled with confusion. This wasn't his first time inside the Stellaris.
But...
He remembered that the interior had been quite extravagant the last time he'd been here, but he was sure there had only been ten Heavy Machine Guns.
Why had the number increased to a hundred?
He knew about the "Built-in Security System" accessory, a Tier 2 train accessory that every train had. But it was only a green-grade accessory. Even at max level, it only equipped each carriage ceiling with three Heavy Machine Guns.
That was already more than enough.
Don't let the number fool you. These Heavy Machine Guns weren't primarily meant for monsters; they were for slaves—humans wearing cloth clothing, confined in a small, enclosed space. If someone truly wanted to cause trouble, one Heavy Machine Gun would be more than enough to wipe them all out.
Was a hundred machine guns a bit overkill?
Could it be...
A thought flashed through Erdan's mind: "Lord Mang, did the slaves from my original batch cause trouble after arriving on the Stellaris?"
"No, they didn't."
Chen Mang chuckled. "The Stellaris hasn't had a single riot or disturbance so far. Everyone is getting along harmoniously and behaving quite well."
"That's true."
Erdan nodded. He clearly remembered how excited the Azure Dragon slaves had been when they parted ways, practically ecstatic. There was no way they'd cause trouble.
But if this carriage had 100 Heavy Machine Guns, that meant the other carriages were similarly equipped.
With a total of 15 carriages plus a locomotive, that meant a staggering 1,600 Heavy Machine Guns inside the train alone.
Excellent.
He really wanted to consult history. He wondered what scale of battles in the past had ever required 1,600 Heavy Machine Guns.
"Wait!"
Erdan finally snapped out of his shock. He looked at Chen Mang with confusion. "Uh, Lord Mang, aren't we here to complete my fortuitous encounter map mission?"
"Follow me."
Chen Mang leaned on his cane and walked towards the space gate on the inner wall of Carriage No. 2—the Armored Research Center. Erdan hurried to follow.
The moment they pushed open the door, Erdan froze in place, staring at the space gate before him, which seemed unusually large. How could it be so much bigger than my own space gate? He quickly realized that if it was Lord Mang, this was entirely understandable.
But when he saw the contents within, he froze again.
Mechs, hundreds of robots, experimental instruments he couldn't even begin to understand, and various materials neatly stacked to one side.
He had never seen any of these things before. Are these even included in the train's upgradeable accessories, or are they all just blueprints?
"Um... Lord Mang, isn't this supposed to be a top-secret facility?"
"Am I allowed to look around?"
"It's fine to take a look."
Chen Mang didn't seem to mind. He tapped the red instrument beside them with his cane and chuckled. "This little gadget is a Cosmic Receiver. I won't bore you with the technical details."
"It's actually a bit complicated to explain."
"In short, it can produce Low-Grade Iron Ore. Making a Tier 1 Iron Ore for you is quite simple."
"Let me see."
Chen Mang glanced at the red device's screen, where a progress bar was displayed.
"67%."
"It's moving pretty fast. It's already at 67% in just a moment. Let's go sit outside the train and chat for a bit. It should be done by then. Once it's finished, I'll temporarily transfer some of my residents back to your train. You can then go mining, and the mission will be complete."
"Sounds simple enough."
"The mine will be generated inside the train?"
"Yep."
"..."
Crisis Valley, outside the Stellaris train.
Chen Mang sat in a camping chair, admiring the train he had been building over the past few days as if it were a work of art.
"Lord Mang..."
Erdan, sitting beside him, sighed deeply, filled with emotion. "I'm suddenly so grateful I joined the Stellaris. Just imagining my old Azure Dragon Train competing against a train like this gives me immense pressure."
"Not even in the same league."
"Not bad, I guess."
Chen Mang chuckled without saying more.
Too bad.
The dwarf wasn't here. For some reason, Chen Mang felt the emotional value he'd gotten from the dwarf was the highest. It wasn't because the dwarf was particularly flattering; it was probably just because the dwarf's train was the first truly powerful train he'd seen since arriving in this world.
A senior, in a way.
That kind of awe-inspiring impact from a senior was the most satisfying.
He'd have to find a chance to chat with the dwarf later, once he'd made even greater breakthroughs.
About fifteen minutes later, the Tier 1 Iron Ore was completely processed.
In Carriage No. 2, Chen Mang pointed through another space gate to a mine inside: "This is the Tier 1 Iron Ore mine."
Then he waved his hand.
The residents, who had been waiting outside the carriage, immediately charged in, pickaxes in hand, and quickly entered the space gate one by one.
By this point, these residents were already slaves of the Travel Frog.
"Hey."
Just then, Erdan spotted a burly man passing by and stopped him. "Aren't you Big Mao? How's it going on the Stellaris? Settling in alright?"
"..."
The burly man, who had been hunched low in the crowd, instantly wore a bitter expression. He had already tried to blend in, hoping to remain unnoticed, yet here he was, caught anyway.
With no choice, he straightened up and addressed Chen Mang in a deep voice: "Lord Mang, good day."
Then, turning to Erdan hesitantly, he stammered, "Dan... Dan..."
"That's enough. His name is clearly Erdan. You're about to turn him into 'Third Dan'!"(TL: Er is two in Chinese)
Chen Mang couldn't help but chuckle. He patted the burly man's shoulder and said, "Just call him Boss Dan."
"Phew!" With Lord Mang's command, the burly man visibly relaxed, exhaling a long breath. "Boss Dan, good day."
Then, with a swift movement, he vanished into the crowd, pickaxe in hand, and slipped through the space gate.
"Sorry for the trouble," Erdan sighed, a hint of helplessness in his voice. "That guy used to be my slave overseer. I still remember him quite well."
"No worries. With so many residents entering a Tier 1 Iron Ore, it should be mined out in about half a day. Shall we go back outside and sit for a while?"
"Sounds good."
"You go ahead. I'll grab something from the Locomotive."
"Alright."
Alone in the locomotive cabin, Chen Mang turned his attention to the data displayed on the screen. The Tier 1 Iron Ore contained approximately 10,000 units of iron ore, and it took half an hour to mine. Extrapolating from this rate, they could produce roughly 480,000 units of iron ore per day.
"Not bad," Chen Mang said. "That's equivalent to a monthly baseline of over 10 million units of iron ore."
Just then, Xiao Ai's voice came over the locomotive cabin's Audio System: "Lord Mang, perhaps I really am quite clever. The experiment you had me continue is actually starting to yield results. While I can't produce Tier 5 iron ore in the short term, with further refinement..."
"We can increase the receiver's absorption rate."
"This would drastically shorten the time required to create iron ore."
"Even better," Chen Mang said, nodding with satisfaction. "You need to believe in yourself. I've always thought you were capable. You have to try things to discover what you're truly capable of."
"Oh, and one more thing."
"That Big Mao fellow from earlier..."
"I like that kid. Promote him to Second-Tier Resident status."
"Understood."
Afterward, Chen Mang took some cigars, Cola, and a few vacuum-packed bags of salted duck downstairs.
"Here," he said, sitting in a camping chair and handing over the bags of spicy salted duck. "I got these a few days ago. They're quite tasty. Try some."
"I will!" Erdan eagerly accepted the bags with both hands, tore open a package, and tore off a strip of duck meat. His eyes lit up as he popped it into his mouth. "It's dry and chewy, full of flavor! Delicious! I haven't had this in ages."
"Is it spicy?"
"Not really. I don't feel much heat."
"Eat more if it's not spicy."
"Then I won't stand on ceremony, Lord Mang."
"Don't be polite, just dig in."
Chen Mang leaned back in his chair, picked up a chilled bottle of Cola, and took a slow sip. Watching Erdan devouring the Salted Duck with gusto, he felt like he was watching an eating show. His eyes narrowed slightly, and he smiled without speaking.
He wasn't eating.
He had a trauma from this cursed thing.
Just then!
After seven or eight bites, Erdan vaguely sensed something wasn't right. He picked up a bottle of mineral water and took a sip, but didn't think much of it. He continued eating the Salted Duck with impressive determination, talking as he chewed: "Lord Mang, let me tell you about these past few days..."
A minute passed.
Erdan's neck and cheeks were completely flushed red, sweat beaded across his forehead, and he kept panting and sticking out his tongue.
"Spicy?"
"Spicy."
"Didn't you say it wasn't spicy at first?"
"It wasn't at first!"
"Drink more water."
Meanwhile—
In Carriage No. 2's Tier 1 Iron Ore mine, Big Mao, swinging his pickaxe, suddenly saw a line of text flash across his Iris Chip:
[Ding! Resident Announcement]
[Resident ID 4998, you have earned Lord Mang's joy. Your Resident Benefits have been upgraded from Tier 3 to Tier 2, and your progress toward Tier 3 Resident Benefits will be retained at Tier 2.]
"Keep up the good work. The Stellaris is becoming better because of you."
"Huh?"
Big Mao froze, still disbelieving even as the words began to fade. He frantically focused his mind on the historical announcement, making the lines reappear several times. Only after carefully reading each word did it sink in: he had actually been promoted to Second-Tier Resident status?
And without having accomplished anything!
Just because of Lord Mang's joy?
In the next instant, excitement and elation flooded his mind. He stood there, leaning on his pickaxe and grinning like an idiot, counting on his fingers. Since his progress toward Third-Tier Resident status had been preserved at Second-Tier, his path to First-Class Resident Status would be significantly shortened. He would soon be able to earn stellar coupons.
Only First-Class Residents could earn stellar coupons.
In other words, only upon reaching First-Class status could one truly integrate into the Stellaris. Everything before that was essentially an internship, albeit a more humane one than before the apocalypse.
They wouldn't make you do a seven-day trial period and then fire you without pay if you weren't a good fit.
Here, if the internship wasn't a good fit, they provided after-sales service. Someone would see you through to the end of your life, ensuring you lived out your days in peace.
"Brother Mao, what's wrong? Why are you grinning like that?"
At that moment, a gaunt man with sunken eyes hurried over, panting heavily. "Aren't you trying to get promoted to First-Class Resident Status quickly? We need to dig faster! Everyone else is digging so fast, we'll run out of ore soon. There's only so much here, and with so many people, there won't be enough to go around."
"I..." Big Mao hesitated, wondering whether to tell the man about the situation. He had been a slave overseer on the Azure Dragon Train, and this man was one of his most trusted subordinates. But he worried that if he told him, the man might do the same thing he had done—approach Chen Mang and deliberately stammer, unable to speak.
That would only make things worse. It would be too obvious. Instead of receiving the notification:
Ding! Lord Mang is pleased.
He might end up with:
Ding! Lord Mang's punishment.
Deciding on the spot, Big Mao shook his head with a smile. "It's nothing. Let's just get back to mining."
Taking a deep breath, Big Mao glanced at his Resident Panel. As he swung his pickaxe, he couldn't help but grin, his lips curling uncontrollably.
On the Azure Dragon, he had been a slave overseer, a minor official. Here, he was just an ordinary resident. Yet for some reason, he felt more comfortable and energized here.
Name: Big Mao
Resident ID: 4998
Train: Train Resident
Position: None
Balance: 0 Stellar Coupons
Benefits: 2nd-Tier Resident Benefits
Advancement Progress: 23%
Mental Power: 11.4
Comprehensive Physical Fitness: 11.6
Perhaps because of the Resident Panel, he felt a stronger sense of belonging on the Stellaris than he had on the Azure Dragon Train.
How to put it?
To put it accurately, the Stellaris gave him a sense of purpose—a feeling of rebuilding from the ground up—while the Azure Dragon Train was purely about surviving the apocalypse.
The Resident Benefits Advancement System works like this:
Each day, residents must mine at least 10 units of iron ore. This is the baseline requirement. Any additional iron ore mined is used for Resident Benefits advancement. Once a certain amount of extra iron ore is mined, a resident's benefits will be upgraded.
Once you advance to First-Level, any additional iron ore you mine will be converted into stellar coupons.
At that point, you'll be eligible to shop at the Resident Store.
Rumor has it that this progress bar didn't exist before.
Lord Mang and President Ai implemented it later. The progress bar gives residents a clear visual of how close they are to their next advancement, making it feel like leveling up in a game.
This system motivates residents to work tirelessly.
To be honest, before the apocalypse, such a quantified, transparent, and streamlined advancement mechanism would have been unimaginable.
Any company that adopted this system would undoubtedly see its employees working their hardest.
Big Mao, lost in thought, continued swinging his pickaxe.
The only sound in the space was the rhythmic clang of pickaxes striking iron ore—not perfectly synchronized, but strangely pleasing.
(End of the Chapter)
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