Translator: AnubisTL
The next moment—
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Fireworks rained down from the sky, dozens of shells engulfing the little creature in a fiery embrace.
Half a minute later, the white smoke cleared, revealing a zone scarred with craters and debris. Yet the little creature remained unharmed, still soundly asleep in a crater, not even a single speck of dust clinging to its fluffy fur.
Truly impenetrable.
Chen Mang strode forward, cradling the little creature in his arms as he examined it from head to toe. A surprised smile spread across his face. Now he was certain—this little creature truly possessed Tier 12 defense.
The only question was whether it was the Tier 12 defense of a train or that of a monster.
Train Armor's Tier 12 defense could completely nullify Tier 12 attacks, only succumbing to Tier 13 attacks.
Monster defense, on the other hand, could be breached by Tier 12 attacks.
That was why he had used Tier 11 shells.
He hadn't dared to use higher-tier shells, fearing he might accidentally kill the little creature.
"Let's give you a name," Chen Mang murmured, cradling the little creature in his arms with obvious affection. "Hmm, let me think... what name would suit you best?"
Standing nearby, Xiao Ai remained expressionless, inwardly muttering, 'If I had to guess, it'll probably be Xiao Lu.' (Little Green)
He was already quite familiar with the train conductor's naming style.
"Completely pale green... let me think..."
"As the ancients said, 'Clear skies like a washed jade, green like clouds, a verdant expanse that soothes the heart.'"
"Or, 'Rippling emerald waves, green like jade, verdant mountains and waters delight the eye.'"
"Since ancient times, green has been associated with vitality and vigor."
Xiao Ai stood frozen for a moment. Was the train conductor actually going to put this much thought into the name this time? Then why had he just casually named him Xiao Ai? He wanted a name like that too, something poetic and high-class.
"In that case, let's call you Xiao Lu."
As expected.
Xiao Ai stood behind Chen Mang, pouting inwardly. Although the process was slightly different, the outcome was the same. Reciting those two lines of poetry had been a waste of time. They might as well have just named him Xiao Lu from the start.
What connection did the name Xiao Lu have to those two lines of poetry? They both had the word "green" in them?
He'd imagined something like "Yunyu" (Cloud Jade), since "green like clouds" and "green like jade" sounded quite elegant.
"Perfect."
Chen Mang held the little creature in his arms, beaming with satisfaction. "He's actually quite adorable, isn't he? From now on, he'll be Xiao Lu. Once the train reaches Tier 12, we'll see what he looks like when he awakens."
"Not bad, all that iron ore wasn't wasted after all."
"At Mechanical Civilization prices, this A-Rank potential Starry Sky Giant Beast Cub should be worth at least ten Neon Cities, right?"
"At least a hundred," Xiao Ai added quietly. "Neon Cities are rare, but they can be replicated. They seem exotic to us, but they're mostly made from renewable resources. But this A-Rank potential Starry Sky Giant Beast Cub is completely irreplaceable, incredibly rare even across the entire cosmos."
"I don't know how high the train can level up, nor do I know what Tier Mechanical Civilization trains reach. But a cosmic beast that can reach Tier 120 upon maturity is definitely a cosmic overlord."
"That's true."
Chen Mang stroked the cub in his arms contentedly. "But what if this little guy grows too big? The train's maximum expansion is only a hundred meters tall. As you said, some cosmic behemoths are hundreds of thousands of kilometers long. How could the train possibly contain one?"
"I don't know. The experimental data doesn't mention anything about that."
"Hmm."
Chen Mang nodded. He felt that Xiao Lu was probably a small-sized Cosmic Behemoth, since it didn't look like it would grow very large. But at last, the missing Carriage 16 had been found!
With this, the Stellaris finally had its full complement of 15 carriages and a locomotive.
Xiao Lu was Carriage 15, also known as the "Giant Beast Car."
However, it wouldn't be attached to the back of the train. Instead, it would stay in Chen Mang's locomotive cabin, serving as a mascot for the time being, since the little guy was still asleep.
"Let's head back to the train."
From now on, the little guy wouldn't have to sleep in the locomotive anymore. Instead, he'd stay in the warm locomotive cabin.
In the wilderness, the voices of Chen Mang and Xiao Ai faded into the wind.
"Wait a minute, Xiao Ai. When I upgraded the train's armor before, I didn't account for this Giant Beast Car. It only appeared recently. Could it be that it was upgraded to a higher Tier on another train before?"
"That's likely. Before Master Kun, it was probably on another train."
"That makes sense. Although there was a glitch, we've basically resolved it perfectly."
"Yes, Lord Mang."
In the locomotive cabin, Xiao Ai had returned to his Armored Research Center, leaving only Chen Mang and Xiao Lu.
"Good," Chen Mang said, gently poking the little creature's nose. "From now on, you'll be called Xiao Lu. Although you're still asleep, I'll tell you your name when you wake up."
"By the way, Xiao Ai, what's the general intelligence level of Cosmic Behemoths?"
"Not very high," Xiao Ai replied after a brief flash of white light in the cabin. "Typically, Cosmic Behemoths are associated with brutality, bloodlust, and mindless instinct. They possess virtually no intelligence, acting solely on biological instincts. This has nothing to do with their potential. Of course, there are exceptions. Some Cosmic Behemoths are rumored to have surprisingly high intelligence."
"Regardless of their intelligence, any Giant Beast Car will remain loyal to its train conductor. However, this loyalty is ingrained in their bloodline, not absolute."
"It's still possible for them to disobey orders or even kill their conductor. After all, while patricide and matricide are rare, they're not unheard of. But in most cases, as long as the Cosmic Behemoth isn't abused, it won't resort to such extreme measures."
"Xiao Ai."
"Yes."
"You only need to flash a white light to alert me when you speak to me unexpectedly. When I ask you a question first, no white light is necessary."
"Understood."
"And in emergencies, you can alert me directly without flashing a white light."
"Understood!"
Chen Mang then looked down at the furry little creature in his arms. He was naturally delighted to have this new companion, but unfortunately, it couldn't be traded. Otherwise, he would have sold it in a heartbeat and exchanged it for iron ore.
How much iron ore would that get me?
He didn't dare to imagine.
Moreover, how could an A-Rank potential starry sky beast cub have appeared on Aquablue Star? Cosmic Behemoths wouldn't abandon their young casually. These beast cubs were usually stolen through violent means, and this planet didn't seem capable of such a feat.
Did it fall from the sky?
Or was it a daily check-in reward from Master Kun's cheat?
Chen Mang was increasingly convinced that Master Kun had a cheat.
He was just a bit slow-witted.
If he hadn't been so reckless and had confronted the train head-on, perhaps he wouldn't have met such a tragic end.
Poor, miserable child.
He had a cheat code but didn't know how to use it.
After playing with Xiao Lu for a while, Chen Mang placed the little green creature on a nearby chair. It remained completely still, still in a deep sleep.
He had just examined it.
He couldn't find any gender organs.
He couldn't tell if it was male or female—it was impossible to distinguish. It looked just like people from a certain region in his previous life.
It had no scent, neither foul nor fragrant.
He also couldn't find any excretory organs. It seemed as if it didn't need to defecate at all. It was just a round, plump creature with only a nose, mouth, and eyes. It didn't even have ears.
It didn't seem like something that could exist in the real world.
"Sleep well," he murmured.
Then he turned his attention to the train panel. The train originally had 3.2 million units of iron ore. Adding the 7.5 million units he earned from selling Tier 1 Iron Ore earlier, plus 700,000 units from selling other miscellaneous items like cigarettes and nuts (after deducting costs), the train now had a total of 11.4 million units of iron ore.
The Stellaris train required a total of 14 million units of iron ore. It was still a bit short. This time, he examined the Train Expansion costs carefully: 14 carriages + 1 locomotive, excluding the Giant Beast Car.
This little guy didn't need expansion.
But...
The control panel screen still displayed that the Built-in Security System had a total of 1,600 Heavy Machine Guns.
That meant the Giant Beast Car also contained 100 Heavy Machine Guns.
And the Giant Beast Car was where Xiao Lu lay sprawled on a chair.
With a slightly strange expression, he tilted his head to look at Xiao Lu. Could this little guy really have 100 Heavy Machine Guns in his belly? If so, did he also have vehicle blades?
If he wasn't mistaken...
The Giant Beast Car wasn't just for shortening the Starry Sky Giant Beast Cub's growth period, was it? It might also be for adding firepower accessories to the beast. Perhaps in the future, the adult Starry Sky Giant Beast could even have large firepower accessories mounted on its back?
Like a Comet Main Cannon?
He was already impatient to upgrade the train to Tier 12 to see what this little guy would look like when he woke up.
"Mm."
Chen Mang looked at the requirements for upgrading the train to Tier 11.
Upgrade Requirements: All three required train components must be fully crafted, 20,000 units of Tier 3 Iron Mine must be consumed, all accessories in the carriages must be at least Tier 200, and the train must possess ten overpowered effects.
The conditions weren't too harsh.
20,000 units of Tier 3 Iron Mine meant 2 million units of iron ore.
Chen Mang hesitated. Should he upgrade his train directly to Tier 12 in one go, or should he expand it first? Most of the people attending this gathering had already expanded their trains.
He still didn't have enough iron ore—only 11.4 million units.
If only I had a bit more...
Just then, a private message suddenly popped up on his train radio.
"I was at your gathering earlier. I didn't bring enough iron ore then, but I've gathered 1.5 million units now. Do you still have Tier 1 Iron Ore for sale?"
"Yes, same coordinates."
"Great, I'll be there soon."
Huh?
Chen Mang's expression turned slightly odd. Are they really here to give me money, or are they looking for trouble? But he had confidence and wasn't worried.
He made his decision.
Train Expansion and Train Upgrade would have to wait.
The train's armor was upgraded to the next tier.
While this zone was a Blue Zone where the highest-level monsters were only Tier 12, the armor was more than sufficient against them. However, it was completely inadequate against the other trains. Upgrading firepower accessories for those trains was far cheaper. According to the conductor of the Iron Dragon Train, several trains already had Tier 13 firepower weapons.
Upgrading the armor to the next tier would provide a greater sense of security.
Even if a Tier 13 firepower weapon could penetrate his armor, it wouldn't instantly destroy it. His armor would still hold for a while. But it was still better if the armor remained impenetrable.
Upgrading from Tier 12 armor to Tier 13 armor cost 2 million units of iron ore per carriage.
Upgrading the armor of 15 carriages plus the locomotive from Tier 12 to Tier 13 would cost a total of 32 million units of iron ore.
With the upgrade cost halved, that would be 16 million units of iron ore.
Still not enough.
Chen Mang's lips twitched slightly. He glanced out the window at the trains still mining his Tier 1 Iron Ore. Once those guys finished digging, he'd have to hurry and find Tier 4 Ore. He was running out of iron ore!
If only a hundred million units of iron ore would fall from the sky right now...
Patiently waiting...
Suddenly, a wild idea sparked in his mind.
How is iron ore formed?
It's formed when "core energy" from deep within a planet leaks to the surface and solidifies. Cosmic Behemoths, soaring through the cosmos, feed on this escaping core energy.
The so-called Zerg's relentless attacks are also driven by their hunger for core energy.
Cola, cigarettes, and steamed buns are all formed from core energy.
Everything, absolutely everything, is core energy.
Core energy is this world, the resource everyone is desperately trying to plunder!
And where is core energy located? At the planet's core!
What if he drilled directly into the heart of Aquablue Star and mined the core energy directly? Wouldn't that solve the problem?
Other trains couldn't convert core energy directly into iron ore—they lacked the necessary accessory and capability. But he could! He had the Cosmic Receiver. If it could convert scattered core energy from the cosmos into iron ore, couldn't it do the same with the core energy deep within the planet?
That conversion speed must be far faster than on the surface!
Without hesitation, he shared this brilliant idea with Xiao Ai, asking her to assess its feasibility through data analysis.
Straight to the heart of the matter!
"Hmm," Xiao Ai's voice soon echoed through the locomotive cabin. "Train Conductor, that's an excellent idea. However, I need to supplement some data based on information I obtained from the 'Library' in the city ruins."
"The radius of Aquablue Star is 28,371 kilometers, or 28.371 million meters."
"As we delve deeper, the train's speed will decrease due to the increasing density of the Earth's core. Based on the speed decay data from the surface to a depth of 70,000 meters, the train can only penetrate a maximum of 280,000 meters below the surface."
"By this calculation," Xiao Ai continued, "we still need to descend another 371,000 meters to reach Aquablue Star's core and collect its core energy."
(End of the Chapter)
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