Translator: AnubisTL
"..."
Chen Mang remained expressionless as he asked, "28,371,000 meters, minus 280,000 meters... does that equal 371,000 meters?"
"That was supposed to be a joke, Train Conductor."
"Not funny at all."
"Understood, I'll keep learning."
This brilliant plan, barely conceived, had to be abandoned. A Tier 100 Drill could only penetrate the ground to a depth of 280,000 meters, and even that would take an unknown amount of time. The drilling speed would continuously decrease. To reach the Earth's core, a Tier 1000 Drill might not even be enough.
And that was just considering the drill itself.
It didn't account for other factors, such as whether the train could withstand the immense pressure and extreme temperatures at the Earth's core.
This idea was essentially dead in the water.
In that case, he'd have to wait until this transaction was complete and then search for Tier 4 Iron Ore, or follow the Train Tunnel to the Mechanical City to see if any opportunities awaited him there.
"..."
On the Iron Dragon Train, parked beside the Stellaris, a man with a black dragon tattoo on his arm complexly stroked the design, gazing at the distant Stellaris.
Sharing too much too soon is a grave mistake.
Lord Mang hadn't revealed many details to them, so naturally, they wouldn't share any information about their own assets.
For example, his tattoo.
It wasn't pre-apocalypse; he'd gotten it after the apocalypse, and it was a special item.
This was his trump card, so he naturally wouldn't tell anyone about it. He was currently mining that Tier 1 Iron Ore deposit, but in reality, he'd already completed the S-Class Adventure Mission long ago and received the reward. He'd subtly hinted at this to Lord Mang. The only reason he was still buying ore was to show support.
After all, he'd noticed few people were buying, and he didn't want Lord Mang to feel awkward, so he bought one of the deposits.
Earlier, he'd seen Lord Mang get out of the car carrying a fluffy toy, set it aside, and then unleash a barrage of cannon fire. The plush doll remained completely unscathed.
No surprise there.
It was definitely another special item.
The Stellaris seemed to be hiding a vast collection of treasures, far more than he had.
At least, the white gloves Lord Mang had been wearing earlier, the cane he carried, and the badge on his chest were likely all special items. He looked like he was practically stuffed with them. How many fortuitous encounter maps had he cleared to amass so many items?
"You're not mining anymore?"
"And how did you get this method for producing Tier 1 Iron Ore? Is it an accessory effect?"
"If you can produce Tier 1 Iron Ore, shouldn't you be able to produce higher-tier iron ore too?"
A strange light flickered in his eyes. To be honest, if reason hadn't held him back, he would have loved to test whether he could instantly kill Lord Mang with a sudden attack and seize the Stellaris train.
But reason told him that if he attacked, he was more likely to be the one who would die.
Meanwhile, in the locomotive cabin, Chen Mang narrowed his eyes, gazing at the message still pinned to the top of the train radio:
"Tier 10 Mechanical Train, Stellaris: Selling Tier 1 Iron Ore mining rights. Complete iron ore, clear ownership. Only three mines available. First come, first served. Highest bidder wins!"
There was nothing wrong with this message.
His business model was sound too, but he wasn't attracting many customers.
He had considered two strategies.
The first was to sell the special item, the Drill Manipulation Token, which would have directly targeted a specific customer base. Those who needed it would definitely buy it, but most customers wouldn't.
The second idea was to directly sell an unknown S-rank reward. This would effectively use an S-Rank Difficulty Mission as backing to sell expectations, attracting more customers.
But—
Just now, he had a third idea.
It struck him when he saw the Upgrade Requirements for a Tier 11 Train.
He remembered that one of the conditions for upgrading to a Tier 10 Train was completing a B-grade difficulty mission. Any mission would do—those from fortuitous encounter maps, job advancement quests, and so on—but this single requirement had already blocked many people.
After all, B-grade difficulty wasn't easy to achieve.
The Tier 10 Train was a watershed moment, stopping all trains with high Tiers but weak foundations!
His third idea was to create demand!
Who knew if future Train Upgrades would require completing an S-Rank Difficulty Mission?
Given the precedent, it wasn't impossible.
But S-Rank Difficulty Missions, whether found in fortuitous encounter maps or job advancement quests, were extremely difficult to complete. Few could manage it.
Yet here—
Just 1.5 million units of iron ore to complete an S-Rank Difficulty Mission, secure his future, avoid getting stuck later, and receive an S-Class Adventure Mission reward.
Wasn't that tempting enough?
He immediately reposted the advertisement.
The effect was immediate.
Within minutes, four or five train conductors messaged him, saying they were en route to the coordinates. However, the explosion of interest he had hoped for still hadn't materialized.
"..."
Chen Mang frowned slightly. Wasn't this a good deal?
1.5 million units of iron ore for an unknown S-Class Adventure Mission and future security—wasn't it worth it? If it were him, he'd buy it in a heartbeat!
Several minutes later, he lit a cigarette in silence. He realized the problem: there was demand, but no market.
The "Adventure Mission" was a public quest, available only once per train. Many trains had already completed it, so even if they wanted to buy it, they weren't eligible.
Fine, he thought. Once these four or five train conductors arrive and pay, I should still make around 10 million units of iron ore. Not bad.
10 million units of iron ore was a significant amount. Before arriving in Crisis Valley, that much iron ore would have practically crushed him. But his needs were too vast, and he had too many places to use it. It simply wasn't enough.
Tier 12 armor doesn't feel secure enough. Tier 13 armor is the only way to be truly safe.
One day later.
The Stellaris train was once again speeding across the wasteland of Crisis Valley. All transactions were complete. The five train conductors who had arrived later had only come after accepting their missions, and another 7.5 million units of iron ore had been deposited into Chen Mang's account.
After delivering everything, Chen Mang parted ways with them and began speeding across the wasteland, searching for Tier 4 Iron Ore.
He was already starting to look down on Tier 3 Iron Ore. He would only consider it if he couldn't find Tier 4. After all, the total output of Tier 3 Iron Ore was only around 2 million units.
For a train, 2 million units of iron ore was just a drop in the bucket. It wouldn't even quench its thirst, let alone fill its belly.
The train was driving itself.
Night had fallen again. Under the cover of darkness, the Stellaris train raced across the wasteland. Chen Mang leaned back in his chair, his feet propped up on the control panel, staring at the list in his hand.
Old Pig stood beside him, reporting. "Lord Mang, these are all the materials seized from Lord Shen's Train."
"Hmm."
Chen Mang carefully examined the list in his hand.
5,634,000 units of iron ore 3,580,000 units of copper ore 120,000 units of wood
Various survival supplies
Over 1,200 survivors
...
The iron ore haul was substantial. Combined with the iron ore obtained from the Solar Energy Panels yesterday, the train now held a total of 25,010,000 units of iron ore.
Finally back over the 20-million mark!
This much iron ore could accomplish a lot.
The shells he had used to attack Lord Shen's Train were Tier 13 shells.
Tier 13 shells were quite expensive.
The Doomsday Cannon's manufacturing cost for a 9th-tier shell was 700 units of copper ore.
A Tier 10 shell cost 1,000 units of copper ore.
Tier 11: 1,500 units.
Tier 12: 2,000 units.
Tier 13: 2,500 units.
Each shell cost 2,500 units of copper ore, enough to deplete a Tier 1 Copper Mine in just a few shots.
However, he possessed three overpowered effects that halved the cost.
Factoring in these effects, the actual cost of a Tier 13 shell was only 312.5 units of copper ore.
Acceptable.
His Doomsday Cannon is Tier 20 and possesses three overpowered effects. Most others only have two. If upgraded to Tier 13, a single Tier 13 shell would cost 625 units of copper ore.
Not too expensive.
This is why many people use murphy stones to upgrade their Doomsday Cannons.
Because among all firepower accessories, the Doomsday Cannon isn't the most powerful, but it's definitely the most affordable.
What makes a good product?
One that the people can afford!
At the time, he fired over two thousand shells in one go, completely depleting his 750,000 units of copper ore in a single barrage!
He had to make a statement!
This wasn't the time to worry about expenses.
However, he also seized 3.58 million units of copper ore, not only recouping his investment but also making a substantial profit. In these times, while frugality is good, dying with unspent wealth is a rather painful prospect.
Thus—
The train panel's overall resources had reached a rather abundant state.
25.01 million units of iron ore, 4.65 million units of copper ore, 2.57 million units of wood, and 4.48 million units of Red Heart Rock.
The only pity was that the man's train had no murphy stones or blueprints. He didn't seem foolish; he would have used them immediately, not saved them. So, he hadn't managed to salvage anything.
"There were some special items too," Old Pig explained, standing nearby. "But before he immediately ejected, he took all the special items with him. Then he blew himself up in the refrigerator, destroying them all."
"Did he die too?"
"No, he ran away. He's fine. Uncle Li has requested him, saying he wants to 'recycle' him for experiments—you know, that Zombie Grinding Cage I mentioned last time, Lord Mang."
"Hmm." Chen Mang narrowed his eyes, recalling Old Pig's previous mention of this matter. "Keep a close eye on Uncle Li's project. If he can really build this thing and maintain a decent refresh rate, give him First-Level Advanced Talent treatment."
"Huh?"
A flicker of shock crossed Old Pig's eyes. Almost instinctively, he asked, "Is this thing really that useful for the train?"
Currently, only three people on the train enjoyed First-Level Advanced Talent status: himself, Biaozi, and Mundo.
He had always thought Uncle Li's idea was brilliant, but he hadn't realized it was worth First-Level Advanced Talent status. Lord Mang had only granted Mundo that status after he brought back a massive amount of iron ore, including the potential for future profits.
Was this Zombie Grinding Cage really worth it?
"Very useful," Chen Mang said with a smile, "but I doubt we can actually build it. The formation of these zombies is far more complex than you think. Xiao Ai, go tell Uncle Li about our findings from the lab later."
"Yes."
There are three types of zombies:
Zombies from Zerg Monsters.
Zombies formed from core energy.
Ancient zombies.
The first two types are common, while the last is rare, often appearing as bosses.
The first type of zombie is nothing special, so I won't dwell on it.
But if we could mass-produce zombies formed from core energy, what would that mean? It would be like adding a "juicer" and a "converter" to the back of this "Zombie Grinding Cage"—it would essentially become a "Cosmic Receiver"!
Drawing core energy from the cosmos.
What's the difference between that and extracting core energy from zombies?
There's no difference at all.
Both involve three steps: absorption, compression, and conversion.
The only problem is that zombies formed from core energy, though they have genders, aren't truly living beings in the strictest sense. Getting them to reproduce seems like a pipe dream. However, Uncle Li's progress has been surprisingly good—he's even managed to make the zombies react to the opposite sex.
That's a breakthrough.
We should try it.
"Keep an eye on Uncle Li's progress. For any nut-related experiments he needs, just have the train cover the costs. He shouldn't have to pay out of his own pocket—the train can afford it."
"Even though the chances of success aren't high..."
"The train is still evolving."
"This thriving atmosphere is exactly what I wanted to see. At least everyone has drive, their own goals, and a desire to improve the train. If everyone on the train were listless, it would be on the brink of collapse, a sign of extreme pessimism about the future."
"Having ideas is a good thing."
"Try not to restrict the ideas of those below you too much. In the apocalypse, there are no absolute truths. Excessive restrictions will stifle creativity."
"Encourage experimentation, even if it means making mistakes. Failure is a crucial part of progress."
"Do you understand?"
"Yes, Lord Mang," Old Pig replied with a solemn nod. "Rest assured, I understand."
"Good. You may leave now."
After Old Pig departed, Chen Mang turned his attention to the train control panel. Since they had enough iron ore, it was time to upgrade. First, the armor.
In the next moment, countless iron ore stored in the refrigerators of Carriage No. 3 shattered into white motes of light that merged with the carriage. The refrigerators were instantly emptied.
16 million units of iron ore vanished in an instant!
After consuming 16 million units of iron ore, the train's armor finally reached Tier 13!
Tier 13 Armor!
Unique in the entire Blue Zone Crisis Valley!
"Hmm."
Chen Mang nodded with satisfaction. He felt much safer now, but... if he could get Tier 14 armor, that would be even better.
(End of the Chapter)
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