Translator: AnubisTL
After that sleep, Chen Mang slept for a long time.
In his hazy state, he had a dream where he was fighting a gunman in a high-rise building. After a long struggle, he finally killed the gunman, only to discover the gun was fake.
"What a stupid dream," Chen Mang muttered, rubbing his eyes. After getting up, washing, and getting ready, he lit another cigarette and sat down to check the Train Log. He had slept for twelve hours—quite a long time. His body still felt a bit sore.
A flash of white light filled the locomotive cabin, followed by Xiao Ai's voice.
"According to data I obtained from the city ruins, there's a theory about dreams. It suggests that during sleep, brainwaves enter a unique and stable state, potentially resonating with the brainwaves of other beings in the cosmos, thus giving rise to dreams."
"..."
Chen Mang ignored Xiao Ai. He felt her analytical abilities were still lacking. Not every statement needed a comment, and he certainly didn't want one for that particular statement, especially a speculative one like that.
He glanced out the window.
The train was brightly lit.
A group of residents were mining in the Mining Area beside the train, with the third team of guards maintaining order. The remaining guards were in the train's combat training virtual space.
His sleep had been uneventful, with no unusual incidents.
The only anomaly was that it was now 7:00 PM.
His biological clock was out of sync again.
Though in the apocalypse, a disrupted biological clock seemed less significant.
His plan for today was to modify the train!
The Train Expansion had introduced numerous issues that required his meticulous attention. For instance, the expanded carriages now had doors at the very top, over ten meters above the ground, requiring ladders for access.
He needed to relocate the doors of all carriages except the locomotive to the bottom, bringing them down to just under two meters from the ground for easier access.
"Hmm."
He sat at the control panel, pressed the Custom Carriages button, and began making adjustments on the three-dimensional model of the train displayed on the screen.
Several minutes later...
Chen Mang quickly finished adjusting the train. The carriage doors were now located at the bottom of the carriages. He had originally planned to use his Mechanical Heart to create a ladder, but the Custom Carriage interface had pre-made escalator templates available for purchase at a reasonable price.
He spent 1,400 units of iron ore to install escalators on both sides of every carriage except the locomotive. The escalators could extend up to 30 meters wide, almost covering the entire carriage.
This made things much more convenient.
Next, he focused on space modifications. The primary function of "Train Expansion" was to accommodate large firepower accessories and enable rapid deployment of ground troops to combat zones. For example, mechs could now fly directly out of the carriages when the doors opened.
However, this came with a drawback: a distorted sense of space. The original locomotive cabin, though small, had been cozy. Now, the cabin was much larger and felt empty and unsettling. He needed to redesign his locomotive cabin.
"Hmm..."
Chen Mang stood in place, directing Xiao Fang: "Fill the left shelf entirely with Cola. Put the cigarettes on the right shelf, and fill the cigar cabinet with cigars. Oh... let me see..."
The locomotive was 10 meters wide and 21 meters long.
But the locomotive cabin was only 10 meters wide and 12 meters long.
The locomotive itself took up 9 meters.
The cabin covered roughly 120 square meters, larger than the area of a refrigerator. Chen Mang had used his Mechanical Heart to create two shelves for snacks and other treats. Two shelves were enough; any more would make it look like a shop.
"Hmm," Chen Mang muttered, arms crossed, brow furrowed in slight dissatisfaction as he surveyed the surroundings. He still wasn't entirely satisfied. His control panel took up about 2 meters of width and was covered in screens.
In front of the control panel sat a chair.
There were levers, throttles, and other controls, but operating the train was primarily done through mental commands. These physical controls were there to provide a sense of realism, preventing the experience from feeling hollow and offering tangible feedback.
To the right of the control panel was a larger screen.
Chen Mang usually used this screen to watch movies, and it also displayed information-dense content.
In addition to these, the cabin also contained a refrigerator, a Combat Training Virtual Space, and a space gate.
That was everything in his locomotive cabin.
Most importantly!
The train's interior was 10 meters high, but perhaps for the train conductor's better view, it was divided into two levels: the first level at 7.2 meters and the second at 2.8 meters.
The control panel and other equipment were located on the first level.
This arrangement allowed the train conductor to oversee the surroundings with a superior view. Consequently, during Train Expansion, all carriage doors were defaulted to the top, accessible via ladders.
Chen Mang had no intention of altering the locomotive cabin.
He found it perfectly satisfactory, with excellent visibility.
After a moment of contemplation, Chen Mang walked to the control panel and selected "Create Floor-to-Ceiling Windows" on the Custom Carriages interface. He decided to install floor-to-ceiling windows around the entire second level for maximum transparency.
The defensive capabilities were equivalent to armor, but the cost was steep, consuming 300,000 units of iron ore.
"Hmm," Chen Mang murmured.
Once this was done, he walked to the edge of the cabin and gazed down at the residents working diligently below. The view was indeed quite satisfying. He then created a Tier 1 Missile and instructed Biaozi and the others to bring one into the locomotive cabin and place it on the custom-made rack.
He built another rack to display the ten Giant Wave Gatling guns.
That should be about it.
It looks much better now.
He really had no talent for interior design.
Getting from Carriage No. 2 to the locomotive cabin had become a rather complicated affair.
Lord Mang's locomotive cabin was on the second floor. To reach it from Carriage No. 2, one had to climb a nearly 8-meter-tall ladder before finally reaching the second floor.
"The sense of depth is quite strong," Chen Mang mused, standing at the edge of the second floor of the locomotive cabin, looking down at Carriage No. 2 and its surroundings. He didn't feel like he was inside a train cabin at all; it felt more like being in a massive space station.
Like some kind of military base.
He could clearly see the production lines set up inside Carriage No. 2, as well as the space gates embedded in the carriage walls.
He immediately used his Mechanical Heart to create an elevator at the junction between Carriage No. 2 and the locomotive cabin, allowing Xiao Fang and the others who usually came to see him to easily reach the locomotive cabin.
The Mechanical Heart was designed for creating such basic life support accessories, and it could be connected to the circuit system and generator.
"Not bad," he thought.
Chen Mang stood at the edge of the second floor of the locomotive cabin, looking down at the interior of the carriage. He liked the feeling of being in a space station. It was worth mentioning that after the expansion of the No. 14 Missile Carriage, its storage capacity had increased from one missile to a maximum of eight.
Theoretically, he could launch all eight missiles at once if he wanted to, but such a scenario was unlikely unless he achieved copper ore freedom.
Time slowly passed, and two days later, many residents were still mining. Some had taken naps, waking up to continue their work. Chen Mang hadn't set specific work hours; they could rest whenever they wanted.
It didn't matter.
Work hours were entirely flexible; they could even choose not to work at all.
However, he hadn't seen anyone slacking off yet. It seemed everyone preferred earning their food through their own labor, finding peace of mind in the satisfaction of their efforts.
During these days, he had made some minor improvements to the Stellaris, mainly focusing on improving the living environment. As for the "amusement park" he had planned, he had already tasked Li Shiji with designing it.
Now, he sat at the control panel, gazing at the train panel's resource display with a satisfied smile.
---
Train Name: Stellaris
Train Tier: Tier 10
Train Accessories: Tier 100 Vehicle Blade, Tier 100 Drill, Tier 13 Steel Car Armor, Tier 100 Vehicle Audio System
Number of Carriages: 14
Ore Units: 30.87 million units of iron ore, 2.57 million units of Wood, 1.17 million units of copper ore, 4.48 million units of Red Heart Rock
Legacy Value: 50
Reputation Value: 180
Upgrade Requirements: All three required train components must be fully crafted, 20,000 units of Tier 3 Iron Mine must be consumed, all carriage accessories must be Tier 200 or higher, and the train must possess ten overpowered effects.
---
In the past two and a half days, under his orders, the residents prioritized mining the four Tier 4 Iron Ore deposits. Nearly 6,000 residents worked tirelessly, and in just two and a half days, they completely exhausted two of the Tier 4 Iron Ore deposits.
The main reason was that there were too many people; the mines couldn't accommodate them all. The rest had to settle for mining lower-Tier iron ore deposits nearby.
In total, they obtained 28 million Ore Units of iron ore!
Of this, 20 million Ore Units came from the two Tier 4 Iron Ore deposits.
"Excellent!" Chen Mang nodded with satisfaction, unable to suppress a smile. Good fortune always brightens the spirit. First, he'd upgrade the train, then focus on getting it to Tier 11!
He immediately spent 150,000 Ore Units to craft the three red-grade accessories: the Star Ring Energy Shield, the Comet Main Cannon, and the Infernal Wheels. He didn't upgrade them yet, just crafted them to meet the train's upgrade requirements.
It was too expensive. He couldn't afford to upgrade them right now. He definitely wanted to upgrade the Comet Main Cannon eventually, but it wasn't a high priority. He'd revisit it later if he had extra iron ore.
Once all the upgrade requirements were met, he spent another 2 million Ore Units to upgrade the train.
The next moment, a line of text appeared on the control panel screen:
"Your train has reached Tier 11."
"More craftable accessories have been unlocked."
Tier 11!
The Stellaris was now a Tier 11 Train.
His first instinct was to check the craftable accessories. This time, there were only two, but both were Red-Tier Accessories.
Dark Matter Resonator: Red-Tier Accessory, requires 50,000 units of iron ore to craft.
Resource Tracker: Red-Tier Accessory, requires 50,000 units of iron ore to craft.
This accessory is an advanced version of the Target Acquisition Radar and can be upgraded to higher tiers, unlike the Target Acquisition Radar, which can only reach Tier 3. This means it offers a significantly longer detection range.
However, it wasn't essential for him.
His Resource Detection Radar and Target Acquisition Radar were already at Tier 100, with a detection range of 100,000 meters. He wouldn't be replacing them anytime soon, planning to wait until later.
After all, red-grade wasn't the highest grade for accessories.
Above it were Gold, Pink, and Seven-Colored grades. He'd start replacing them once he acquired Seven-Colored Accessories, as that would be more cost-effective.
Furthermore!
After the train reached Tier 11, a new button appeared on the control panel.
"Hmm?"
Chen Mang looked thoughtfully at the new feature, "Dream Manifestation." It collected the dreams of the train crew each night and stored them in a hand-shaped ornament on the control panel, resembling a "sunshine doll." TL: search for Teru teru bōzu, it is the sunshine doll here....
Once the progress reached 100%, a "Dreamstone" would be created.
The more complete and longer the dream, the greater the progress gained.
"Dreamstone?"
He picked up the weather doll-like hand ornament with curiosity, turning it over and over. No one had told him what it was for. Oh well, he thought. I'll ask the other trains when I get back to Crisis Valley. Maybe someone will know.
He was currently in an unknown zone and couldn't connect to the Crisis Valley Zone's train radio.
It's definitely not something bad, he reassured himself.
After finishing with the Dreamstone, he turned his attention to the other accessories that needed upgrading.
For example, the Magnetic Levitation system.
This accessory could replace the Windfire Wheels, which were nearing the end of their service life. Though he was actually quite fond of the Windfire Wheels.
Before crafting the Magnetic Levitation system, he spent 980,000 units of iron ore to upgrade the Wheel Changer to Tier 10 in one go.
This increased the number of wheel slots from three to twelve, allowing him to seamlessly switch between twelve different types of wheels.
He also gained two overpowered effects:
Tier 5 Wheel Changer Overpowered Effect: Grants wheels a Defense Rating equivalent to defensive components like armor or energy shields, using the highest value.
Tier 10 Wheel Changer Overpowered Effect: Can consume wheels to enhance other wheels, increasing their speed. There's a very small chance of inheriting the consumed wheel's overpowered effect.
"Damn!"
Chen Mang's mouth hung slightly open. After a long moment, he couldn't help but grin. He'd never upgraded this Red Accessory before, mainly because it seemed useless, and he had enough slots. He never expected the upgraded effect to be this powerful.
He was extremely satisfied with both overpowered effects.
The wheels now had a Defense Rating equal to armor.
This meant he no longer had to worry about armor blocking shots and the wheels being blown to smithereens.
Especially the second overpowered effect:
He'd just been lamenting the retirement of the Windfire Wheel, but now it could shine again so quickly! Not only could it be consumed to enhance other wheels, but there was also a tiny chance of inheriting the devoured wheel's overpowered effect.
What a pity.
Why did such a great overpowered effect appear on the Wheel Changer?
If it had been on another accessory, like the Comet Main Cannon, he could have fed the Doomsday Cannon to the Comet Main Cannon until it inherited three "Halve Consumption" overpowered effects.
Invincible!
(End of the Chapter)
📖Read [MAT] ahead on Pa.treon@AnubisTL upto c310. [+2/+12.2k]
🎁All [2] Novels can be accessed for just $6/mo.
🔥Translated [900+] Chapters and [1.79M+] Words.
======== (PLEASE LEAVE REVIEWS)========
🎯For Every 1 Review, I will Upload 4 Extra Chapters0/4 reviews reached.