Translator: AnubisTL
The moment the two-headed monster's mace, after spinning continuously for seven hours, was flung away!
The monster, who had moments ago been utterly despairing, instantly regained a glimmer of clarity in its eyes. It immediately scrambled to its feet, desperately lunging for its mace.
However...
After kneeling for seven hours, the sudden movement caused its legs to buckle, and it stumbled, collapsing to the ground.
In its final moments, the monster turned to face the countless shells that had already enveloped it, roaring in despair.
But it was too late!
The instant the mace was flung away, Chen Mang immediately switched from Tier 1 Shells to Tier 17 Shells. With a single volley, the shells, each as thick as a human leg, rained down like feathers, piercing the monster's body and exploding within.
In an instant!
Countless blood blossoms erupted across the monster's surface, and shredded flesh rained down from the sky.
The scene was utterly gruesome.
The cavern was filled with the despairing gaze of the two-headed monster. It hadn't even survived a single volley of shells before its body, like a small mountain, crashed heavily to the ground. Even in its final moments, its eyes remained fixed on the massive mace nearby.
The battle was over!
The Stellaris train, which had been suspended from the cavern ceiling, slowly descended. The moment it touched down, hundreds of residents, under Biaozi's command, charged out, each armed with a car blade fragment, ready to dismember the Tier 15 Boss!
This was standard procedure.
The flesh of high-Tier monsters had to be carefully divided and stored in refrigerators for emergencies.
"I'm exhausted," Chen Mang muttered in the locomotive cabin, glancing at the Time display on the control panel. It was already six in the morning, almost dawn. He had truly been working all night.
The last time he'd endured such a prolonged battle was on the Iron Ridge Wasteland.
But he had to admit...
This was perhaps the essence of a duel between experts. Killing the Tier 15 Boss left him with a sense of accomplishment and deep satisfaction.
This was a Tier 15 Boss! The highest-level monsters in the Blue Zone were only Tier 12. Even in the Purple Zone, a Tier 15 Boss would be a dominant force!
Yet he had defeated it single-handedly!
Fortunately, those trains had sent him a large shipment of copper ore. Without it, he wouldn't have been able to finish the job today and would have had to leave and return later.
Now it was time for the harvest—
At this moment, countless residents had already emerged from the carriages, pickaxes in hand, and were heading toward the nearby Mining Area. Each resident's eyes gleamed with excitement!
It had been so long since they'd seen so much ore!
How many stellar coupons would they earn from this haul?
Although the entire battle had been livestreamed inside the train, keeping many awake all night, who cared? Two bottles of Cola and it was time to get to work!
Chen Mang also activated the purple-grade "Stamina Fragrance" accessory to help the residents quickly recover their stamina.
There were dozens of mines here.
"Four Tier 4 Iron Ore mines, one Tier 4 Copper Ore mine, and one Tier 4 Titanium Crystal Mine."
"Nine Tier 3 Iron Ore mines and two Tier 3 Copper Ore mines."
"Fourteen Tier 2 Iron Ore mines and eleven Tier 2 Copper Ore mines."
This was the most densely packed resource zone he had ever seen—bar none!
What more could he say?
He wouldn't leave until these mines were exhausted. He would stay here for the next period, entering a closed-door cultivation. When he emerged, his train would have reached Tier 12!
Three oxygen generators began working furiously, transforming the cavern into a high-oxygen environment to boost productivity.
The train's headlights blazed at full power, illuminating the entire cavern as bright as day.
The scene of brutal combat had seamlessly transitioned into one of bustling production, brimming with vitality and prosperity!
Though he was exhausted, Chen Mang couldn't help but smile at the sight. It was worth it!
He had spent an entire night searching Crisis Valley the night before and hadn't found a single Tier 4 Iron Ore mine. Here, he had found four!
Chen Mang then turned his attention to the three items in his hand.
These were rewards for defeating the highest-level boss he had ever killed.
The rewards were naturally quite generous.
1: Red-grade Accessory Blueprint: Magnetic Levitation.
2: Special Item: Hell Hat.
3: Purple-grade Mecha Blueprint: Pope.
The rewards were ridiculously generous, perhaps because he had challenged a boss far above his level, or because it was a hidden boss in an uncharted zone. But the rewards were so lavish that he felt almost undeserving.
The first reward was Magnetic Levitation.
A type of wheel.
Similar to the accessory, there was also the red-grade Infernal Wheels, craftable on a Tier 10 Train. Both were red-grade wheels, but Infernal Wheels were slightly faster.
The advantage of Magnetic Levitation was that it eliminated the need for wheels altogether, allowing the train to hover directly above the ground and ignore minor obstacles.
Hills, swamps, or anything else—it simply didn't matter.
Theoretically, it could even partially replace the Rabbit Cloud Wheel, though its maximum hovering height was limited to three meters. It couldn't fly too high, making it seem like a worthy competitor to the red-grade Infernal Wheels!
But—
The red-grade Accessory Blueprint for "Magnetic Levitation" explicitly stated that combining it with a Tier 100 "Powerful Magnet" accessory would produce unexpected special effects.
What more could he say?
"Excellent."
Chen Mang nodded with satisfaction. Next was the second item, the "Hell Hat"—a dome-shaped hat that granted its wearer the same Defense Rating as the train's armor within a 10,000-meter radius.
Even better!
In his mind, this special item was almost on par with the "Hell Staff" as the most powerful item he had ever obtained.
He had previously acquired another item called "Hell Shades," which slightly enhanced his comprehensive physical fitness. Since all three items had similar names, they couldn't possibly be part of a set, could they?
He thought renaming the train "Heaven" might bring better luck.
The last item was even more remarkable: a purple-grade Mecha Blueprint for the "Pope"!
Biaozi hadn't even piloted the blue-grade "Thunder" mech yet, and here was the purple-grade Pope mecha already.
In truth, Biaozi's growth rate had been remarkably swift.
He had also worked incredibly hard.
Yet, regrettably, in the train's rapid development, individual growth seemed somewhat insignificant.
That concludes the entirety of this expedition's gains.
Chen Mang, smiling warmly while cradling Xiao Lu and leaning on his staff, stepped through the air, descending step by step to the cave floor. He surveyed the cavern with a cheerful disposition. On his left, residents were butchering the boss monster's carcass; on his right, others were mining.
The scene was harmonious.
Everything was waiting to be rebuilt.
Excellent.
The cave's original oxygen content had been extremely low. It was unclear how long the monster had resided here, yet it had survived without needing oxygen. There were no other exits, suggesting the creature had been dormant here all along.
No traces of waste were found.
Did it sustain itself solely on iron ore, like those zombies?
"Lord Mang!"
Biaozi rushed over from a distance, his face flushed with excitement. "We've finished butchering the entire carcass!"
"Well done," Chen Mang said, nodding with a smile.
"Lord Mang, there's one more thing. I've completed all the normal difficulty maps, including Dragon Fortress, and cleared the remaining two Extreme Difficulty runs of Dragon Fortress. My comprehensive physical fitness has reached 19.9."
"I want to..."
Biaozi scratched his head, a mix of excitement and embarrassment in his voice. "I want to apply for a 'Thunder' Mech."
A blue-grade Mech, the Thunder.
Requires Operator comprehensive physical fitness above 19.0; achieves full power at 19.5 or higher.
He'd been working tirelessly toward this goal these past few days!
He'd also been guzzling down his homemade "Man's Drink" like crazy.
With the combined aid of technology and sheer effort, his growth had been nothing short of phenomenal.
He'd finally caught up with Zhang Yi and Zhang Er.
"..."
After a moment of silence, Chen Mang patted Biaozi's shoulder gently and asked, "You've been training Zhang Yi and Zhang Er these past few days. Have you been keeping track of their current comprehensive physical fitness?"
"N-no, I haven't."
"Your application has been approved, but I have another piece of news for you. The train now has a purple-grade mecha called the 'Pope,' which is even more powerful than the 'Thunder.' So far, only the two of you are authorized to use it."
"Also, tell them to visit Xiao Ai later to claim their new mechas."
"You can choose whichever one you prefer from the ones they've retired."
"Go now."
With that, Chen Mang didn't linger, continuing to patrol the cavern. His black, dome-shaped hat gave him a profound sense of security, a feeling he hadn't experienced since arriving in this world.
This was the first time he had ever left the train to wander around so peacefully.
He had actually wanted to conduct an experiment.
Since the hat provided the same defense as the train's armor, what would happen if he jumped from a height of 100 meters?
After some thought, he concluded he'd probably die.
After all, he didn't have a "Permanent Shock Absorber" accessory installed in his body.
He'd still need to run from larger monsters, but against attacks like gunfire, if the weapon's Tier wasn't higher than his Train Armor's, he should be able to ignore them. He'd test this later.
"..."
Chen Mang left, leaving Biaozi standing alone, his body frozen in place, his eyes filled with confusion. The smile slowly faded from his face. After a long moment, he finally reacted, looking down at his hands with despair.
Why me?!
He had given it his all!
After finally catching up, he had thought he could finally have a "Thunder" Mech like Zhang Yi and Zhang Er. But then the train had introduced the "Pope," a purple Mech.
He was still outmatched.
Just then, Zhang Yi and Zhang Er walked past him side by side, munching on sandwiches and muttering to each other.
"Boss, President Ai wants us to pick up our new Mechs. I think it's called the Pope. I'm not really eager to get it. I'm used to the Thunder Mech and don't want to switch."
"Me neither, but we have to. President Ai said our Thunder Mechs are being retired for Brother Biao to use. If we don't switch, Brother Biao won't have one."
"Alright then. Why doesn't Brother Biao want the Pope Mecha?"
"Probably because he doesn't like it."
Sigh
Biaozi clasped his hands in front of his chest, took a deep breath, and watched Zhang Yi and Zhang Er's retreating figures. He forced a smile. "It's okay, it's okay. Biaozi, don't worry about what others do. Didn't you want the Thunder Mech in the first place?"
"You've achieved your dream and completed it perfectly. What others do has nothing to do with you."
"Nothing to do..."
In the end, he couldn't contain his anger and slammed his fist into the ground. His face flushed with fury, he strode towards Carriage No. 2. After claiming the Thunder Mech, he would tackle the Extreme Difficulty levels of the remaining maps!
He now had a new goal!
He would become the Pope too!
As captain, how could he let his subordinates constantly outshine him? He couldn't stabilize his Dao Heart until he vented this frustration!
...
In the cave, Chen Mang watched Biaozi's angry departure and shook his head, chuckling wryly. It would be incredibly difficult for Biaozi to catch up to those two talented freaks, but that was actually a good thing.
Without those two targets ahead of him, Biaozi wouldn't have improved so quickly.
Just a few months ago, Biaozi was nothing more than a pre-apocalypse construction foreman with slightly more combat experience than the others. He hadn't stood out much. But now...
It hadn't been long at all.
Biaozi was already capable of holding his own.
His growth rate was actually incredibly rapid, but Biaozi seemed oblivious to his own progress. He was solely focused on catching up to the two talented freaks, completely unaware that his rapid growth was putting immense pressure on the First Squad Members!
As a result, the First Squad Members were forced to maintain a similarly rapid pace of growth.
And the First Squad Members didn't realize that their growth rate was also putting immense pressure on the members of the other two squads!
Thus, under this competitive pressure, everyone was forced to maintain an incredibly rapid pace of growth—except for... except for those two憨憨.
Their talent was simply too overwhelming. There was nothing anyone could do.
Especially under Biaozi's leadership, with his innate talent and relentless training intensity, there was no way he could keep up with Biaozi's rate of improvement.
"Hey," Chen Mang said suddenly, sighing softly as he sat back down in the locomotive cabin. He smiled wryly. "Let's build Biaozi a new 'Thunder' Mech. Give the two discarded ones from Zhang Yi and Zhang Er to the others. Several First Squad Members are close to qualifying."
"That guy's been looking forward to the 'Thunder' Mech for so long."
"Let's give him a new toy to play with."
"Understood," Xiao Ai's voice echoed from the locomotive cabin.
Chen Mang then looked up at the shimmering mine not far away. It was a unique mine, similar in structure to an iron ore mine, with angular resource mines piled up on the surface.
But instead of being pitch-black or bronze-colored, they were transparent, sparkling beautifully under the lamplight.
This was a Tier 4 Titanium Crystal Mine.
He had never seen this ore before and had no idea what it was used for, but he knew it was a rare resource that might prove useful later.
It was just like when he first mined Red Heart Rock—he had no idea what it was for, only to later learn it was used to build mechas.
"Good enough," Chen Mang muttered.
Back in the locomotive cabin, he finished washing up and went to his bed, ready to sleep. He hadn't slept all night and was exhausted.
The remaining tasks didn't require his attention.
His work here was done.
Once they left this mine, they would be on a Tier 11 Train, likely able to upgrade directly to Tier 12.
(End of the Chapter)
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