Translator: AnubisTL
Daylight broke.
Yesterday was Christmas Eve.
The Stellaris train sat on the wasteland of Crisis Valley, beside two Tier 3 Iron Mines. Residents had already begun swinging their pickaxes with all their might, but anxiety was etched on every face. Their pickaxes swung so fast they seemed to be flying.
The truth was...
There were too many residents and not enough mines.
If they didn't scramble to dig, there wouldn't be enough for everyone.
With so many wolves and so little meat, competition was inevitable.
Whoosh
Chen Mang stretched languidly as he got out of bed. After washing up in the refrigerator, he lit a cigarette and sat down to review the day's Train Log.
This was almost a daily ritual for him.
Wake up, smoke a morning cigarette, then check the Train Log to see what had happened while he slept.
The Train Log recorded everything in great detail.
As usual, the residents had already started working. The first team of guards, along with eighty armed robots, had begun patrolling the perimeter to keep monsters away, while the remaining guards were tackling ordinary missions in the Combat Training Virtual Space.
A plate of steamed rice noodle rolls had appeared on the table again, left there by Xiao Fang.
Everything was almost exactly the same as yesterday.
This fixed and monotonous life, which would have been utterly boring before the apocalypse, now brought an inexplicable sense of peace.
Stability, besides its monotony, also offered reassurance.
"Not bad," Chen Mang mumbled as he casually ate a few bites of his steamed rice noodle roll. He was starting to tire of it; the food options on the train were still too limited. He wondered if he could set up more production lines to diversify the menu.
He gazed out the window.
The weather was pleasant today, with a cloudless sky and a gentle warmth in the crisp air.
He picked up Xiao Lu, who was sleeping peacefully beside him, and began to rub the creature affectionately. Surprisingly, its fluffy fur felt quite cute and comfortable in his arms, making him want to squeeze it repeatedly.
"Cosmic Behemoth?"
He held Xiao Lu up in the air, examining it closely. "I really can't see any resemblance to a Cosmic Behemoth at all," he murmured. "I wonder what you'll look like when you grow up."
Once the train reached Tier 12, the little creature would awaken.
It would no longer feed unconsciously; he would have to feed it himself. He hoped it wouldn't consume too many of his resources.
He then checked his Iron Ore Balance: 9,010,000 units.
Once the two Tier 3 Ore mines were exhausted, he could finally expand the train.
Time passed slowly.
This day, nothing of significance occurred.
Chen Mang sat languidly in the locomotive cabin, basking in the sun. He spent the entire day watching movies on his chair—mostly old classics he had collected earlier. He had already watched most of them once, so he rewatched them.
When he grew tired of watching movies, he strolled through the other carriages.
In Carriage 5, he played a few rounds of "Double-Layer Burger," letting off some steam. TL: NANI!?
Then, in Carriage 7, he chatted with Old Pig, Biaozi, and the others for a while.
He also visited Carriage 10, where he gazed at the yet-to-be-developed "Entertainment Base" in thought. He decided to use the Mechanical Heart to build an amusement park for everyone in the near future, complete with a roller coaster. He didn't care if others wanted to ride it; he just wanted to experience it himself.
He had always dreamed of riding a roller coaster since childhood, but as an orphan, no one ever took him. As he grew older, he felt too embarrassed to go on one. This seemingly trivial matter had become a regret from his past life, and he was determined to fulfill this wish in his current life.
He checked the progress of the "Film Studio" and casually offered a few instructions.
Finally, he visited Carriage 11, where Doba proudly led him on a tour of the goblin tribe's territory. It was rather primitive, but it had a certain charm. He also inquired about Mundo's progress, learning that he was still out trading and hadn't returned yet.
Returning to the locomotive cabin, Chen Mang passed Carriage 5 and played another round of "Double Phoenix Pecking Rice." TL: (‾⌣‾ )
Evening was approaching.
The two Tier 3 Iron Mines were nearly depleted. With nearly 6,000 mining residents working together, the efficiency was remarkable.
However, it came at the cost of numerous bandages.
Many residents had been struck on their bodies, feet, and heads by pickaxes wielded by their fellow residents. Fortunately, they had been eating plenty of bread and Cola, giving them decent comprehensive physical fitness. Otherwise, there might have been a funeral tonight.
"Huu..."
Night had fallen.
Standing in the locomotive cabin, Chen Mang watched the scene of residents gradually finishing their work outside the train. He stretched contentedly and murmured, "What a fulfilling day. Being a good train conductor isn't easy. You have to look after every corner, every aspect."
Most trains had few slaves. The largest number he had encountered was on Gentleman Ye's train, with just over 1,200 slaves.
Slaves, when present in small numbers, can double efficiency with each increase in quantity. However, as the number grows, the efficiency gains diminish noticeably.
His train might have the highest survivor count of any train in the Blue Zone.
Of course, there were definitely more survivors across the entire planet.
After all, there were 50 million trains.
Just then—
A flash of white light suddenly erupted within the train, followed by Xiao Ai's voice: "Train Conductor."
"Hmm?"
"You patrolled the entire train today, visiting almost every zone. When you passed Carriage 14, you even stood in the aisle, admiring the Groundburst Missile for quite some time."
"So? Is there a problem? Don't you think it's cool to see a missile lying there so peacefully? What's wrong with taking a moment to appreciate it?"
"Nothing, but you passed Carriage No. 2 twice today and never thought to stop by the Armored Research Center to see me."
"Oh..."
Chen Mang's lips twitched slightly. He immediately grabbed his cane and rose to his feet, heading toward Carriage No. 2, which connected to the back of the locomotive cabin. "I'll go see you right now."
Could it be because he had upgraded the Train Auxiliary AI too high?
The last time he upgraded the AI to Tier 100, its thinking abilities seemed to have grown increasingly sophisticated.
Soon...
Chen Mang pushed open the door and saw Xiao Ai standing beside a machine he'd never seen before, a screen on each cheek displaying the characters "Pride" and "Arrogance," his face beaming with pride.
"What is this machine?"
Chen Mang shifted his gaze from Xiao Ai to the device, examining it from top to bottom. It resembled a massive Meat Grinder, but it was far too large—a cylindrical structure roughly ten meters wide!
The entire machine was made of steel, except for one side made of glass, allowing a clear view of its internal workings.
At the center of the cylinder stood a steel pipe embedded with countless car blade fragments. Each of these fragments was Tier 100—it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they could slice through iron like butter and sever a hair with a single stroke.
It was obvious: once the machine was activated, this Meat Grinder would pulverize any device that fell into it.
"So, what do you think?" Xiao Ai asked proudly. "This is the result of my 22-hour effort from last night to today. Based on the data in my database, I ran a simple simulation last night, and Uncle Li's Zombie Grinding Cage plan has only a 0.9% chance of success."
"The information in the database tells me this shouldn't be possible."
"But..."
"I've already built this meat grinder in advance, designed to be the next step after the Zombie Grinding Cage. It will pulverize all the zombies produced by the cage into mush. I've connected the meat grinder to the red Cosmic Receiver via pipes."
"This meat grinder doesn't just grind zombies. At the top, there's a massive piston, like a giant straw. Once a tank of zombies has been reduced to pulp, the piston will forcefully squeeze out all the core energy from their bodies. This energy will flow through the pipes to the Cosmic Receiver, where it will be converted into iron ore and materialize as corresponding iron ore within the space gate on the other side."
"Everything is ready on my end. As soon as Uncle Li's Zombie Grinding Cage is complete, we can activate the system immediately!"
"Impressive," Chen Mang said, surprised after listening to Xiao Ai's explanation. "Not needing sleep is a real advantage. You built this massive meat grinder in just a day? And you did it all yourself? You're superhuman!"
"Of course I didn't do it alone."
Xiao Ai shook his head. Immediately, a dozen robots emerged from the Meat Grinder, and dozens more peeked out from behind the Cosmic Receiver. Some people who had been modifying mecha robots on a nearby elevated platform stood up.
"To be precise, there are 198 of us. Some of the robots we brought back from 70,000 meters underground were beyond repair. I salvaged their parts and reassembled them, ultimately repairing 197 robots. Adding my original one, that makes 198."
"What powers the engine in this machine?"
"It's connected to a generator through a circuit system, consuming energy stones."
"And the engine itself?"
"I salvaged it from an off-road motorcycle."
"I don't recall upgrading that accessory. It's only Tier 1, so the rotational speed probably isn't fast enough, right?"
"It's a bit slow, but it's barely sufficient."
Chen Mang shook his head and immediately spent 175,000 units of iron ore to upgrade the yellow-grade Accessory, "Off-Road Motorcycle Production Line," to Tier 20 before continuing. "It just reached Tier 20. The rotational speed should be adequate now."
"I'll go change it later."
"What about the mech under the elevated highway over there?"
"Biaozi and the others' mechs are a bit too low-Tier for the Blue Zone. Biaozi's comprehensive physical fitness isn't quite up to handling the 'Thunder' mech yet. We're currently modifying it, welding on higher-Tier armor."
"Mm."
"There's one more thing, Train Conductor. After bringing back so many robots last time, I disassembled several of them and finally found the module within this robot that can host an AI. I can now accompany you to Neon City."
"Oh?"
Chen Mang raised an eyebrow slightly. "That's good news. With your overpowered effect that allows you to hack into networks, we can freely enter many restricted areas in Neon City. But if the train comes under attack while you're in Neon City, will you still be able to execute your pre-programmed defensive commands?"
"Yes. It might be impossible at Tier 10, but at Tier 100, I can split myself in two. The main AI will remain on the train to execute its pre-programmed defensive and counterattack commands."
"Excellent. Prepare over the next few days. We'll set off again for Neon City in a few days."
"Yes!"
Chen Mang returned to the locomotive cabin, sat back in his chair, and let out a long sigh of relief. Xiao Ai had just bombarded him with so much information. That guy was becoming more and more human-like, even trying to take credit for his work.
Back when his Tier was lower, this would have been relayed directly through the locomotive cabin's Audio System.
Instead, Xiao Ai had pouted about not being visited.
The two Tier 3 Iron Mines had been completely depleted, bringing the train's total iron ore resources to 14.215 million units.
The Tier 100 Solar Energy Panels could now fully cover the train's daily energy consumption and generate an additional 180,000 units of iron ore per day.
The train consisted of 14 carriages and one locomotive.
The expansion cost was 14 million units.
Chen Mang immediately sat back in his chair and pressed the "Train Expansion" button again, adjusting the parameters to: one carriage, 10 meters wide, 30 meters long, and 10 meters high.
In the next instant, a line of text appeared on the control panel screen:
[Train Expansion will begin after the countdown ends. Until then, please ensure everyone has evacuated the train to prevent accidents.]
[00:29:59.]
Do we still need to leave the carriage?
Chen Mang didn't say much, simply picked up his cane and carried Xiao Lu toward the locomotive cabin. The train's screens all lit up simultaneously, and a piercing alarm blared throughout the train.
Xiao Ai's mechanical voice quickly announced, "Train upgrade in progress. All residents, please evacuate in an orderly manner. Residents of residential districts 1 and 2, please exit the carriages first. Remaining residents, remain in your respective districts and do not move around unnecessarily."
Despite the large number of residents, the sight of the hundred heavy machine guns mounted on the ceiling slowly rotating and swiveling, as if itching for a target, kept everyone remarkably compliant. They followed instructions without hesitation.
The Tier 100 "Built-in Security System" might seem redundant, but it wasn't entirely useless. Without those hundred machine guns, the residents wouldn't have been so obedient.
The train was too small.
The train doors were too small as well. The movement of over 6,000 residents through the carriages was overly crowded. It was indeed long overdue for an expansion. While the space gate offered ample space, residents couldn't stay there indefinitely. Even a quick trip to the resident store would leave them drenched in sweat from the crush!
Soon—
All residents, including the creatures from the Breeding Carriage, were brought down. The Stellaris was now completely devoid of life.
Everyone stood in place, gazing at the Stellaris train before them.
In the distance, a line of armed robots and guards had spread out, forming a defensive perimeter.
Uncle Li, leading a procession of various livestock—cows, sheep, pigs, and even a man and numerous zombies—on iron chains, became the center of attention. Many residents stared at him with curiosity. The train had gained many new residents, most of whom had never seen Uncle Li before. However, the older residents remembered him from the period when he had recorded their stellar coupons.
But he had soon become unemployed.
(End of the Chapter)
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