Translator: AnubisTL
"That's not what I meant. I was asking, if the Stellaris faced a dire crisis, which carriage would Uncle Li prioritize abandoning?"
"That's a tough one to guess."
"It definitely wouldn't be Breeding Car 15, right, Uncle Li?"
"..."
Uncle Li fell silent, his lips twitching slightly before he finally spoke. "If that ever happened, you'd be an idiot. Wouldn't you just run to the front carriages?"
The expanded Stellaris train had become a behemoth.
Yet...
In the nearly 100-meter-high train tunnel, it still looked like a miniature toy, hardly noticeable. This time, the Stellaris wasn't heading south; it was heading north!
Its destination: the Mechanical City Ruins!
Though the Mechanical City Ruins had been thoroughly scavenged by countless trains, leaving almost nothing behind, he believed the Mechanical City accessible through the Train tunnel still held treasures untouched by others.
It's worth noting that...
The Stellaris had undergone the most extensive expansion Chen Mang had ever seen. While other trains had also expanded, none had done so on such a massive scale. Although he was still short on iron ore, at least he didn't face the same pressure as other trains when upgrading defensive components.
Hundreds of millions of units of iron ore...
Just thinking about it gave him a headache.
The train sped through the tunnel, the incandescent lights lining the walls still burning brightly. He had traveled this tunnel many times before and knew it well.
After about an hour.
The incandescent lights on either side of the tunnel began flashing red warning signals.
This meant he had arrived at his stop.
Sure enough, a massive train elevator soon appeared on the left side of the tunnel, easily capable of accommodating his train. And this wasn't even the end of the tunnel.
"..."
Chen Mang narrowed his eyes slightly but didn't overthink it. He pulled out a Tier 2 Energy Stone and dropped it into the funnel extending from the train elevator. As the elevator doors slowly opened, the Stellaris rolled inside.
Let's hope the rest of the journey doesn't require any iron ore.
That's it.
It was truly empty now. The train was completely deserted.
If they really found an iron ore deposit, he'd have to make an emergency sale through the train radio or request some iron ore from the Travel Frog. It was unsettling to explore without a few million units of iron ore on hand.
The elevator began ascending rapidly.
It was spacious enough.
It could easily accommodate the 400-meter-long train with plenty of room to spare.
The target acquisition radar showed the Mechanical City Ruins—the "Red Zone"—above them, with three or four other trains currently exploring the area.
The elevator continued its ascent.
Ding.
With a chime, the train elevator stopped. The elevator walls slowly retracted into the ground, revealing the train in a flat indoor plaza a thousand meters beneath the Mechanical City.
A laboratory?
Flickering incandescent lights on the walls, dried bloodstains on the floor, shattered glass containers nearby, and scattered monitors all suggested this place was far from safe!
"Roar!"
Just then, a roar pierced the air. Hundreds of zombies suddenly burst from the surrounding rooms of the plaza, roaring as they charged toward the train!
But...
The train was too high.
Only a few zombies managed to climb up the Windfire Wheel, clinging to the uneven surfaces of the carriages. The majority could only rage uselessly, hopping up and down in frustration.
"Tier 4 zombies?"
Chen Mang frowned slightly. He hadn't seen zombies of such a low Tier in ages. Just as he was about to press the red button on the control panel to eliminate the horde, Xiao Ai's voice suddenly echoed from the locomotive cabin.
"Train Conductor, Uncle Li wants to study these zombies. He says that since this is a nearly sealed environment, these zombies have survived for an unknown period. Their survival must be due to some unique trait."
She added, "I considered this urgent, so I didn't use the flashing light."
"Understood."
Chen Mang immediately retracted his hand. Instead, he picked up the walkie-talkie and said, "Biaozi, dismount and capture them alive."
"Yes, sir!"
Biaozi's voice crackled back through the walkie-talkie.
While information transmitted through the Iris Chip was faster and more convenient, Chen Mang sometimes preferred issuing commands via walkie-talkie.
The battle ended quickly.
Biaozi and his team, clad in mechs, swiftly broke the zombies' limbs, tying them up like crabs and tossing them into the Breeding Carriage.
Only then did they continue their mission, exploring the surrounding rooms.
One zombie was brought to the locomotive cabin.
"..."
Chen Mang rose and approached the zombie, its eyes white and lips tinged green. Had Uncle Li not pointed it out, he wouldn't have noticed that this group of zombies had clearly been here for a long time. Their lips showed no fresh blood, indicating they hadn't eaten in ages.
How had they survived without food?
Just by starving?
Couldn't zombies starve to death?
Yet they didn't look emaciated.
"Don't move!"
Suddenly, Xiao Ai's excited voice echoed through the locomotive cabin!
"Are you trying to die?!"
Startled, Chen Mang turned to the Train Auxiliary AI at the control panel and couldn't help but curse. He tossed the gun he'd just drawn onto a nearby table, nearly shooting the zombie in fright.
For safety's sake, he always carried a Giant Wave Gatling in his pocket.
"Train Conductor," Xiao Ai continued, his voice trembling with excitement, "Biaozi and the others found a warehouse filled with materials. They were about to start rummaging through them, but I told them not to touch anything."
"The materials in this warehouse are all Fiber Copper Templates!"
"What are they used for?" Chen Mang frowned, glancing at the image transmitted by the Mechanical Eye on the control panel screen. The warehouse wasn't large, about the size of a basement beneath an apartment building. He'd never heard of this material before and had no idea what it was for.
"The receiving end of a Cosmic Receiver is made from this material!"
"Ah, I see."
Chen Mang silently pulled out his walkie-talkie and calmly ordered, "Leave this shipment untouched. We'll return here after clearing the entire zone. Second team and third team, disembark immediately. Second team, secure the shipment. Third team, explore the remaining areas."
After issuing the simple command, he turned back to the screen and couldn't help but smile. With these materials, they could manufacture more Cosmic Receivers, which was far superior to Solar Energy Panels.
After spending millions of units of iron ore to upgrade the Solar Energy Panel to Tier 100, he discovered it now generated 180,000 units of iron ore per day.
His first reaction was:
Expand.
Anyone who's ever run a business knows the process is actually quite simple. First, you create a business model—one that requires a 100-yuan investment and generates stable profits after recouping the initial cost. Then, all you need to do is scale up the operation.
Business might sound complicated, but it's essentially just amplifying the 0-to-1 step into a 1-to-100 process.
Unfortunately, 70% of people fail at the 0-to-1 stage, and the remaining 30% struggle through it.
So his first instinct was to hoard iron ore and manufacture 100 Solar Energy Panels. The train's progress would undoubtedly stall in the short term, but once the system was fully operational, it would generate 18 million units of iron ore per day!
Compound interest, apocalypse capitalist!
But alas.
While most accessories within the train could be duplicated, this particular component could only be manufactured once.
His newly hatched plan was strangled in its cradle.
Unexpectedly, when the willows darken, the flowers brighten, revealing another village. Although the plan to replicate the Solar Energy Panel had been rejected, the plan to replicate the Cosmic Receiver—which he hadn't even considered—had coincidentally succeeded.
"Excellent."
Chen Mang beamed as he gazed at the warehouse full of materials. He had no idea how many Receivers these materials could produce. But soon, his smile faded, replaced by a frown and a flicker of anger in his eyes.
The materials at the front of the warehouse had been gnawed nearly to nothing!
It was clearly the work of those damned zombies!
"Don't worry, Train Conductor. These materials don't require perfect integrity. Even if they've been gnawed on, the remaining intact parts can still be used. It won't have a significant impact."
"That's good."
After a pause, he continued, "Can you read my thoughts?"
"Of course not. But I can infer them from your expressions."
"Next time, don't guess."
"Understood."
Chen Mang sat in the locomotive cabin, watching the images of Biaozi and the others exploring the zone on the control panel screen. The area wasn't large—it was clearly an underground laboratory, though its exact purpose remained unknown.
The zone had been completely cleared.
There was only one upward-bound elevator.
It served as both the sole entrance and exit. The train itself couldn't enter; it could only accommodate about twenty humans at most—it wasn't a "train elevator."
All the zombies had been eliminated.
The zombies that had charged out earlier were nearly the entire zombie population in this area. The few that had been hiding in dark corners had been wiped out by Biaozi and his team.
"All clear!"
Biaozi, having sprinted to the base of the locomotive cabin, looked up and shouted at the cabin above.
Soon after—
The locomotive cabin door slowly opened.
Chen Mang, his expression calm, leaned on his cane with one hand, Xiao Lu cradled in his arms. He stepped into the air as if walking on solid ground, as if treading on an invisible staircase, and descended step by step from the sky to the ground without looking back. He murmured softly, "Let's check out that warehouse."
"..."
Biaozi stood rooted to the spot, his eyes wide with shock. After a long moment, he finally snapped out of it and hastily replied, hurrying to catch up. The First Squad Members behind him rubbed their eyes, wondering if they hadn't slept well and were hallucinating.
Lord Mang... did he just walk in the air?
Without any armor, he was flying in the air?
Lord Mang really is a cultivator.
Underground Laboratory
Chen Mang stood calmly in the square, leaning on his cane as he walked toward the warehouse. His face was expressionless, his eyes filled with indifference, but inwardly, he couldn't help but chuckle.
Climbing down a ladder?
He, a train conductor, Lord Mang himself, had just turned his back on his subordinates and climbed down a ten-meter ladder.
The posture was utterly undignified.
He hadn't even planned to come down, but then a brilliant idea struck him.
He used his Mechanical Heart to create two steel plates and slipped them into his shoes. He then created more and tucked them into his waistband. By remotely controlling a powerful magnet with his cane and coordinating his movements, he successfully achieved the illusion of walking in mid-air.
Perfect.
Without a few steel plates in his waistband, he'd lose his balance.
The Tier 100 "Powerful Magnet" accessory was truly invaluable. Every train conductor should have one!
At that moment—
Having reached the warehouse door, Biaozi strode ahead, passing Lord Mang to open the door first. "Lord Mang, this is the warehouse," he announced.
"..."
Chen Mang surveyed the warehouse filled with materials, nodded in satisfaction, and waved his hand with a smile. "Move everything to the Armored Research Center Area in Carriage No. 2. Be careful not to damage anything."
"Yes, sir!"
He then proceeded to another warehouse, much larger than the first. This warehouse was piled high with iron ore!
And they're all Tier 3 Iron Mines!
Each iron ore is equivalent to 100 units of iron ore.
This warehouse was packed with iron ore, but instead of being stored in Storage Boxes, it was simply piled up inside.
"..."
Chen Mang stared expressionlessly at the iron ore in the warehouse. Zhang Yi and Zhang Er were rapidly moving the iron ore, and finding a warehouse filled with iron ore should have been good news. But he couldn't quite bring himself to be happy.
Because more than half of the iron ore had been eaten.
Yes, eaten by those damn zombies!
Damn it!
How dare they! As zombies, they should just wait to die! Why were they eating iron ore? Did they even deserve to eat it? Weren't zombies supposed to eat flesh and blood? Why were they eating iron ore too?
If it weren't for those zombies, all the iron ore in this warehouse would be his.
Soon, the inventory was complete.
"Train Conductor, this warehouse contains a total of 3.4 million units of iron ore."
"Approximately 12 million units were eaten by zombies."
"...Hmph."
Chen Mang took a deep breath, trying to suppress his anger as much as possible. Damn it... they'd eaten 12 million units of his iron ore! Rotten bastards!
Then he turned and strode towards the locomotive cabin.
As he neared the cabin, he leaped into the air and effortlessly landed on the roof.
Not bad.
I earned a batch of materials and 3.4 million units of iron ore. With these 3 million-plus iron ores as a safety net, the train will feel much more secure as it ventures forth. It's just a shame I could have gotten even more if it weren't for those damn zombies!
As for that single-person elevator, there's no need to go there.
According to the target acquisition radar, the elevator leads directly to the outskirts of the Mechanical City Ruins. Mechanical City itself probably has nothing left to explore—it's been thoroughly picked over by countless others.
Next, I'll check out the train tunnel to see what lies ahead.
Taking the road less traveled is the only way to reap extraordinary rewards.
While others take the water route, you take the land route.
While others take the land route, you take the water route.
Seeking common ground might keep you fed, but only by seeking difference can you strike it rich.
Of course, there's also a significant chance you'll starve to death.
(End of the Chapter)
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