Translator: AnubisTL
Today.
The Stellaris train was undergoing maintenance, sorting through the recent acquisitions and giving the residents a day of rest.
Except for the residents mining within the space gate in Carriage No. 2, everyone else was occupied with their own affairs.
With the train's reform, the original four Resident Cars—Nos. 8, 9, 10, and 11—had been compressed into just two: Nos. 8 and 9.
Carriage 11 now housed a separate space gate, within which resided an entire civilization: the Goblin Civilization.
Doba, the first resident to purchase a house on the train, had moved all the goblins into his residence, establishing his own Palace. Besides the space gate, Carriage 11 also featured the Resident Store.
Residents typically visited Carriage 11 to purchase goods. It was the only shop on the Stellaris. Notably, the shop had expanded from a single clerk to a staff of 24, divided into three shifts of eight people working around the clock.
The Resident Store had also grown from a single refrigerator to four separate refrigerators, each dedicated to different product categories.
Each refrigerator was 100 square meters, so four refrigerators totaled 400 square meters. This was no longer a Resident Store; at this rate, it might as well be called a Resident Supermarket.
Each team consisted of eight people responsible for four refrigerators, meaning two people per shop.
Carriage 12, which originally housed eight rapid-fire ballistas, had been stripped of these weapons. It was now temporarily used to store the receiving end of the Cosmic Receiver. Carriage 13 contained four 40-Tube Cherry Blossom Fall Rocket Launchers.
This was the ultimate weapon at first.
But before it could unleash its full power, the Groundburst Missile stole the spotlight. Later, the Doomsday Cannon overshadowed it once more.
In terms of firepower, it couldn't match the Groundburst Missile.
In terms of cost-effectiveness, it couldn't compete with the Doomsday Cannon.
Only under specific conditions would this firepower accessory truly shine, such as when used as supplementary firepower.
Carriage 14 housed the Groundburst Missile, the Stellaris's trump card.
Carriage 15 was Uncle Li's Breeding Carriage.
Further ahead, Carriage 7 served as the Guard Car, Carriage 6 housed male Advanced Talents, and Carriage 5 housed female Advanced Talents.
Carriage No. 4 was the Living Compartment, housing production lines for essential supplies like the Moldy Bread Slice Production Line and the Red Heart Nut Production Line, as well as storage facilities.
Carriage No. 3 was the Storage Compartment, where daily collections of supplies and mined iron ore were stored in refrigerators.
Carriage No. 2 was the Research Center.
It housed large production lines, such as the off-road motorcycle production line, and the Armored Research Center. Xiao Ai spent most of his time in this carriage.
This was the overall structure of the Stellaris train.
Simple and straightforward.
As for the vacant Former Resident Carriage 10, Chen Mang temporarily repurposed it as the Entertainment Compartment. It currently contained only two space gates.
One space gate was intended to house entertainment equipment, but it remained empty for now, as no equipment had been prepared yet.
The other space gate was specifically designed as a Film Studio for Zhang Yiren, intended for movie filming.
"Come on, hold your pose! Imagine you're really flying!"
In Carriage 10, the "Film Studio," Zhang Yiren, holding his Mechanical Eye, shouted at the resident floating in the air nearby: "Come on, hold it! Keep holding it!"
Inside the train, a yellow-grade Accessory called "Holographic Projection" was installed.
This accessory was rarely used, capable of creating a completely realistic virtual environment, similar to the animation of the Mechanical City. Currently, it was being used for filming a movie.
At this moment, in the Film Studio, a young woman was suspended in the air by a large drone. She wore a long dress and appeared to be flying on a sword, her eyes fixed forward with an angry expression. The Holographic Projection created the background.
At first glance, it looked like a female cultivator was truly flying on a sword!
The effect was remarkably realistic.
"This is a big production," Old Pig, who had been wandering through the train, remarked as he gazed at the scene. "Do a good job. Your movies are getting bigger and bigger. That screen Lord Mang spent 500,000 on last time has been gathering dust in the warehouse since we dismantled it. Once you finish this movie, we can finally put it to good use."
The drone they were using was the one they had salvaged from 70,000 meters beneath the surface.
"But..." Old Pig continued, "I thought you were a screenwriter. When did you start directing?"
"Trainmaster Zhu," Zhang Yiren replied, rushing over with a smile and a slightly embarrassed expression. "Normally, directors dabble in screenwriting, but screenwriters rarely direct. I just happen to know a bit about directing."
Zhang Yiren, still holding the Mechanical Eye recording, hurried over with a smile, explaining somewhat sheepishly, "Generally, directors choose screenwriters, and screenwriters don't usually direct. But I happen to know a bit about directing."
"The last film did well, and the original director decided to assist me, so I became the director."
"Trainmaster Zhu, please sit down. Xiao Mei, quickly pour Trainmaster Zhu a cup of tea."
"No need," Old Pig said, shaking his head with his hands clasped behind his back. "I'll just take a stroll. You all keep working hard and try to make a good movie. By the way, what's the script this time? Is it the same as last time—fighting, killing, and sex?"
"This time it's different. It's more refined, with a more compelling plot."
"Tell me about it."
When it came to his professional expertise, Zhang Yiren immediately became serious. "This time, the plot is in the Immortal Hero genre."
"It's about a man who's achieved nothing in life. After work every day, he likes to play an adult-rated game. He spends his evenings doing things to relieve stress with a fairy from the game on his computer screen. Then one day, the fairy suddenly flies out of the game and starts furiously chasing him."
"The man begins a long escape, but he's eventually caught."
"Hmm, sounds good. What happens next?"
"Next, the Fairy starts repeatedly raping the male lead."
Old Pig fell silent for a long moment before hesitantly asking, "In your script, how much of the film's runtime is devoted to the scene where the male lead releases his stress?"
"One-third."
"And the chase scene?"
"One-third."
"And the rape scenes?"
"One-third."
"So it's still just fighting, killing, and fucking, isn't it?"
"Huh?"
Zhang Yiren froze, then lowered his head to stare at the script in his hands for a long moment before murmuring, "It seems that way."
"Um, Trainmaster Zhu, I'll revise it."
"Revise it seriously. While you need to cater to popular tastes, even popular tastes aren't this vulgar. Can't you add some plot-driven elements? Have you seen Goose City? Something like that would be so much more compelling."
Zhang Yiren stood rooted to the spot, pointing at his nose in disbelief. "Me... direct Goose City?"
"Why not?"
"I'll try."
After Old Pig left, Zhang Yiren stared at the script in his hand with a complex expression. Goose City was a pre-apocalypse classic, a film with a permanent place in cinematic history. He was just a third-rate screenwriter. Was Old Pig being overly optimistic about his abilities?
With his limited intellect, he could only produce something like "Aliens vs. Nascent Soul Cultivators."
He took a deep breath, violently tore the script in his hand, and turned to the crew. "Break it up, break it up! We're not filming today. I'll rewrite the script over the next few days."
"Xiao Mei! Where the hell are you going?"
"Huh?"
Xiao Mei, already halfway through the space gate, tilted her head and asked Zhang Yiren in confusion, "Didn't you say we were done for the day? I'm going to see clients."
"You're an actress, not a pleasure worker!"
"I know, but can't I have a side hustle?"
"Fine." Zhang Yiren sighed wearily. "Go ahead. I'll come with you."
"Director, where are you going?"
"The Red House."
"Who are you seeing?"
"You."
"I'll give you a discount."
"Go see your mom! I'm going to ask the residents what they want to see and find some inspiration."
"Oh, oh."
"That's my plan."
"Or perhaps my vision."
Outside the Stellaris train, Chen Mang leaned back in his camping chair, his feet resting on another chair. Ji Chuchu knelt beside him, quietly massaging his calves. His fingers, holding a cigarette, drifted absently as he gazed at the distant horizon and murmured, "This apocalypse is more dangerous than either of us imagined."
"The train is our only barrier."
"But how can a single train survive this catastrophe? In the future, I want to turn the Stellaris into a hub for human civilization, and even for all civilizations."
"All races friendly to humanity, like the goblins, can come to the Stellaris to trade with us."
"I want the stellar coupon to become a universal currency in the cosmos."
"This way, I can acquire more resources through resource integration. The rate of resource acquisition will far surpass that of mining operations. And by bringing everyone together, I can issue bounties for any task or accessory resource I need, letting them complete it on my behalf."
"..."
Erdan frowned, deep in thought for a long moment before finally speaking. "I think I understand your plan, Lord Mang. You're not trying to directly manage them, but rather to integrate these resources through a collaborative approach, putting them at your disposal."
"But there are three major challenges."
"First, communication between different zones is difficult. Without pre-established fixed radio stations, even transmitting information is a struggle."
"Second, integrating so many trains might strain the Stellaris's space. It requires a vast, unified space, not hundreds of scattered spaces like refrigerator compartments."
"Third, the Stellaris must possess something no other train has—absolute scarcity—to increase the value of stellar coupons and gain recognition from others."
"Mm."
Chen Mang leaned back in his chair, stubbing out his cigarette in a Cola can and murmuring softly, "I've considered all three points you mentioned. I have contingency plans for the latter two, but I'm still working on the first. I have some ideas, though."
Neon City was the perfect hub to meet this condition.
The city was built specifically for trains.
Every aspect—roads, building spacing, parking lots—was designed with trains in mind. The shops in Neon City also offered extremely rare goods, like the Memory Bank, though he hadn't figured out how to restock it yet.
Some of the Stellaris's accessories, such as the Clothing Customization Production Line upgraded to Tier 1000, could also be considered scarce commodities.
As for the first point:
Since the Train Tunnel could traverse different zones, it proved that inter-zone travel was possible. If he could understand how these zones were formed or mass-produce Neon City Entry Tickets, this plan would become much more feasible.
This was a long-term plan.
He didn't know if it would ever come to fruition.
But if he truly started working on it step by step, and if the value of stellar coupons was recognized, then despite appearing to have only one train, he would actually command the strength of a thousand armies!
"It's difficult," Erdan said after taking a deep breath, his face filled with admiration as he looked at Chen Mang. "But it sounds incredibly inspiring, Lord Mang. Seriously, you're the first person I've met in this apocalypse who dares to think so far ahead."
"For some reason, I feel this plan will ultimately succeed."
"Then... am I considered a pioneer of this plan?"
"Of course you are," Chen Mang said, patting Erdan's shoulder with a smile. "You're my test subject and my Train No. 1. Besides consolidating the power of other trains, I'll need Subsidiary Trains to carry out specific missions for me."
"I believe that even though the apocalypse is a time of despair, where everyone has lost their homes..."
"If we keep striving forward..."
"Perhaps one day we can rebuild our own homes in the cosmos."
"The word 'apocalypse' inherently carries not the meaning of 'death,' but of 'reconstruction.' Shouldn't that be its true essence?"
"Yes."
Erdan looked at Lord Mang with a solemn expression. "A few days ago, when I was exploring the fortuitous encounter map, I thought I was working for you. Now, I realize I'm not just working for you, but for the survival of all humanity."
"Lord Mang, you're setting the stakes a bit too high."
"It's fine."
Chen Mang stretched his limbs before smiling. "You sit here for a while. They should be finishing up the iron ore mining soon. I'm quite curious about what rewards you'll receive for completing this S-Rank Difficulty Mission on the fortuitous encounter map."
"I hope it's useful."
"Alright."
Chen Mang then put his arm around Ji Chuchu and entered the locomotive cabin.
The dust-free glass made it impossible to see what was happening inside. Chen Mang leaned against the control panel, his index finger lifting Ji Chuchu's chin. He gazed at her slightly trembling eyelashes and crimson lips, a half-smile playing on his face.
"Thinking about it?"
Ji Chuchu's cheeks flushed slightly, her eyes darting away as she murmured, "Mhm."
The wind howled, and thunder crashed overhead.
An hour later, Chen Mang leaned against the locomotive cabin, studying the accessory information on the train panel. He decided to upgrade some of the accessories, such as the Solar Energy Panel.
(End of the Chapter)
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