Translator: AnubisTL
As dusk approached, the sky turned a cold blue, with clouds still clearly visible.
Above the Stellaris train, a massive character formed from black smoke mixed with flames—
"Mang."
The train conductors of all the trains present were completely stunned. For a moment, no one even spoke their thoughts over the train radio. They could only stare blankly and dazedly at the giant character in the sky.
"Did I overdo it recently?"
One train conductor murmured, staring at the scene in a daze. "Did I hallucinate this? No, why would a missile write a character in the sky? Is that even possible?"
"And such a complex character, 'Mang'..."
"How did they do that?"
The stunned weren't limited to the other trains. Even the Iron Dragon train was frozen in place, and its shock was even greater than the others'!
The other train conductors didn't have missile accessories, so they had no idea how they worked. They were simply stunned, perhaps even assuming this was how the accessory was meant to be used.
But not him. He was an S-rank potential mechanical train.
Originally, he was the only one in Crisis Valley.
Now, there were two.
The Stellaris had joined the ranks.
As for whether there was a third train, he didn't know. The Blue Zone leaderboard had no rankings. If an S-Class Potential Train existed but didn't speak on the train radio, he wouldn't know about it.
He recognized the accessory.
The "Groundburst Missile."
When he reached S-Class Potential Train status, he had also randomly obtained this accessory. He had used it before, so he knew better than anyone that this accessory—
Shouldn't be able to fly in the sky like this!
It was a missile!
What did they think it was?
A calligraphy brush? Was this Chen Mang's missile?
Inside the Stellaris.
The scene outside was being transmitted through the Mechanical Eye to screens in front of every resident. Everyone watched with bated breath, as the dozens of trains surrounding the Stellaris seemed to harbor no friendly intentions.
"One against many!"
In the classroom, Teacher Qiu was explaining the scene on the screen to the children. "On the path of progress, there are always setbacks. Today, the Stellaris finds itself in crisis once more. Dozens of trains are circling it like wolves eyeing their prey. Lord Mang..."
Meanwhile, in the Residential District, the novelist clutching his laptop clenched his fist and roared with excitement.
"Stellaris, declare war on the Iron Dragon Train!"
"Stellaris, declare war on the Divine Being Train!"
"Stellaris, declare war on the One-Man Train!"
"Stellaris, declare war on..."
Even Old Pig was in the guard carriage, watching the screen and scribbling notes.
History of Train Development
Today, under siege by numerous trains, Lord Mang, using missiles as his brush, fury as his ink, and the heavens as his canvas, officially announced his name to the world: Mang!
Thus began the Mang Era. Today is the first day of the Mang Era.
"Hmm."
After a moment of thought, Old Pig crossed out the last sentence in his draft. It was a bit too dramatic. Exaggeration was acceptable, but not excessive.
The entire process took only an instant.
As the giant character "Mang" still lingered in the sky, the ten Doomsday Cannons atop the Stellaris had already locked onto the crimson train nearby. With a deafening roar, countless shells erupted like a steel storm, instantly engulfing the Crimson Train's locomotive!
The overwhelming barrage of shells instantly drew everyone's attention back to the battle.
This was Stellaris's counterattack.
Lord Shen must have been wondering how to respond.
"Finally decided to strike back, eh?"
In the locomotive cabin, Lord Shen watched the sky-filling barrage. He casually glanced at the control panel screen before activating the Star Ring Energy Shield. He had tested his opponent once, and they had survived. Now it was their turn to test him.
This was fair. It was the first time he had ever engaged in such an equitable duel, and he liked it.
Locomotive Cabin
A piercing alarm blared urgently, and a red warning light flashed incessantly.
"Wait!"
Lord Shen suddenly realized something and snapped his head back to the control panel screen.
Detecting rapidly approaching hostile fire. Estimated time of arrival: two seconds.
Attack intensity: Tier 13.
Recommended response: ...We're doomed!!!
"Tier 13?!"
Lord Shen shot up from his chair in disbelief, shouting, "That—!"
But it was too late.
He knew Tier 13 attacks would obliterate the train.
Reacting almost instantly, he grabbed a special item from his side and slammed his fist on the "Immediate Ejection" button on the control panel. The locomotive cabin's skylight quickly opened, and just as the train was about to be swallowed by countless missiles, he was ejected.
In an instant, he soared thousands of meters into the sky.
As his parachute deployed, Lord Shen looked down at the train now engulfed in flames with a despairing gaze. It was finished. He was still alive for now, but probably wouldn't last long. Without the train, he could only...
"Get in here."
Before he could react, two large mechs had flown up beside him. Each seemed to be carrying a refrigerator.
He felt himself, parachute and all, being stuffed into one of the refrigerators like a dumpling, with brutal force. Then, the world went dark.
"Brother, how'd you move so fast?"
"I flew here first, so of course I caught him first. What's wrong with that?"
"Then why did Lord Mang call both of us out? You could've caught him alone. Why not just have you come?"
"You were supposed to provide escort."
"I'll escort your mother."
"Isn't my mom your mom too?"
"..."
Zhang Er sat fuming in the "Thunder" mech, watching his big brother fly far ahead. He'd never caught anything that could fly before, and he wanted to experience the thrill.
He also wanted to grab that guy and stuff him in the refrigerator.
But he wasn't as fast as his big brother, so he'd just ended up taking a leisurely stroll, never even getting a chance to intervene.
He glanced down at the refrigerator in his arms.
If only it were bigger.
He could chase after his big brother right now and shove him inside.
He was furious.
Zhang Er scanned the surrounding trains, pulled out a meat sandwich, and stuffed the whole thing into his mouth, chewing furiously to vent his frustration.
The door to Guard Car No. 7 of the Stellaris train had already opened.
Led by Biaozi, several men on off-road motorcycles were rapidly closing in on the wrecked train, preparing to eliminate any survivors and retrieve the original residents.
They completely ignored the trains surrounding them.
The entire process took only a blink of an eye.
"Now then..."
The man's voice echoed through the crowd again. The door to the Stellaris train's locomotive cabin opened, and a man in a yellow sweater stepped out, leaning on a cane as he chuckled at the assembled train conductors.
"The clown has been dealt with. I believe we can now proceed with our pleasant transaction."
"..."
The train conductors of the surrounding trains fell silent, frozen in place. Before coming, they had considered many possibilities, including the Stellaris train making a strong showing. But they hadn't anticipated it ending so quickly.
Insta kill.
Chen Mang's act of stepping off the train was also a gesture of good faith. As everyone knew, a train conductor's greatest source of confidence was their train. Leaving the train voluntarily often meant their control over it was at its weakest.
Just then—
A train suddenly sounded its horn and slowly began to move, approaching the Stellaris. When it was about a hundred meters away, a middle-aged man emerged from the middle of the train and walked toward the Stellaris alone.
Then—
More and more trains began to sound their horns.
This was the signal for a "gathering."
According to protocol, gatherings were usually attended by deputy train conductors or the leaders of the thugs. While everyone tacitly agreed not to attack during the gathering, many still sent their subordinates to handle the situation, controlling them remotely via walkie-talkie as a precaution.
Some had even given this practice a rather elegant name: "When Kings Meet, One Must Fall."
Fitting.
Ideally, there would be "When Generals Meet, One Must Fall," and "When Soldiers Meet, One Must Fall," so the world could finally know peace.
A gathering initiated by the Stellaris had begun.
However, it was clear that the primary objective for many was the Tier 1 Iron Ore. The Stellaris had proven its right to sit at the table and even serve the meal. Now, the task was to conduct fair trade.
"Are you Lord Mang?"
"Yes."
The middle-aged man's expression subtly stiffened, his eyelids twitching almost imperceptibly. After clasping his hands in a formal bow, he rasped, "For a train conductor to personally leave the train to preside over this gathering... that's quite a risk."
"Rules are often established to be broken."
"Not everyone will strictly adhere to them."
"No matter."
Chen Mang stood his ground, leaning on his cane. Behind him, the third team members watched the middle-aged man and the other arrivals with smiles. "We'll talk once everyone has arrived."
Yet his hand never left his cane.
With the cane in hand, coupled with the powerful magnet and the train behind him, he could still manage this large-scale operation.
Just then—
Two Tier 12 Mechanical Trains slowly approached and stopped beside the Iron Dragon. A man, seeing the crimson train billowing black smoke in the distance, lowered his window and frowned at the middle-aged man sitting inside the Iron Dragon Train.
"What's going on?"
"Lord Shen died?"
"Not yet, but it's close," the Iron Dragon Train's conductor said with a complex expression. "You arrived a little too late. Lord Shen has already been dealt with. We're no longer needed. The situation is a bit complicated, how should I put it..."
"Generally speaking, everyone prioritizes high attack over defense."
"So they avoid direct combat unless absolutely necessary, as it's a mutually destructive strategy."
"Lord Shen's greatest advantage was his speed. Yet he completely failed to utilize his train's speed advantage. I have no idea what he was thinking. Perhaps he underestimated the Stellaris, a train that had just entered Crisis Valley for the first time."
"It was like those old street thugs, standing face-to-face, trading blows."
"He struck the Stellaris first, but the Stellaris withstood the blow."
"Then the Stellaris struck back, and now he's in this state."
"..."
After a long silence, the man who had rushed to provide support finally spoke. "So, did I come here for nothing?"
"Not entirely. While we couldn't corner Lord Shen, there's a gathering organized by Lord Mang that I think would be interesting to check out together."
"What Tier energy shield does Lord Mang's Train have?"
"I don't know. He didn't activate his energy shield earlier. He tanked the hit with his armor—Tier 10 armor."
"Tier 10 armor?"
"Yeah."
"That must have cost a fortune in murphy stones."
"I'm not sure. He probably stumbled upon some opportunity and earned forty or fifty murphy stones. He then spent them all on upgrading his armor."
"That was a waste. He should have upgraded his Doomsday Cannon instead—that would have been a much better investment."
"True. Let's go check it out together."
"What do you mean? Are you suggesting the three of us train conductors go in person?"
"Yes. Lord Mang is hosting the gathering himself, and I'd like to make his acquaintance."
"Isn't that a bit risky?"
"We'll bring some thugs along. Lord Mang shouldn't mind. Sometimes, no matter how many times you chat on the train radio, it's still better to meet in person."
"Alright, I'll do as you say."
Perhaps because the three Tier 12 Mechanical Train conductors had taken the lead, more and more conductors, for reasons unknown, also disembarked from their trains.
"Everyone," Chen Mang said, his expression serious as he addressed the crowd from the highest seat in the hastily erected gathering space near the Stellaris. "Many of you are train conductors who came here personally. I can assure you all that your safety is guaranteed within this gathering organized by me."
"Let that ease your minds first."
"I didn't initially intend to hold a gathering; I just wanted to sell some goods. But things have evolved in an unexpected yet positive direction. Since this is a gathering, feel free to display your wares and state your needs. I have Tier 1 Iron Ore available. If you're interested, come find me for inquiries."
As Chen Mang finished speaking, the train conductors and their thugs, no longer strangers, immediately began exchanging information with those around them. Though they hadn't come expecting a gathering, what did it matter?
Since we're already here...
(End of the Chapter)
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