Translator: AnubisTL
In terms of raw power, the Doomsday Cannon couldn't compare to the Comet Main Cannon.
At the same Tier, the latter would completely crush the former. After all, they weren't even in the same league in terms of caliber and grade. But the main issue was cost-effectiveness.
Chen Mang didn't overthink it.
He immediately slapped the blueprint for the Red-Tier Magnetic Levitation Accessory onto the control panel.
After consuming 50,000 units of iron ore, he manufactured it.
Then, in one go, he spent 10,450,000 units of iron ore to upgrade it to Tier 20.
Accessories that increased train speed often came with a hefty price tag.
Red-Tier Accessories could only be upgraded to Tier 20 at most, so this upgrade maxed it out!
The Tier 20 Magnetic Levitation Accessory itself provided the train with a speed boost of 2,000 km/h.
Adding this to the speed increase from the Tier 10 green-grade Nitrous Tailpipe, the speed boost from the Tier 10 yellow-grade Super Energy Tailjet, and the base speed of the Tier 11 train itself...
Now—
The control panel screen showed that the train's maximum speed could reach 1,980 km/h!
This was an absolutely terrifying number!
At the time, he was in the Magnetic Levitation Tunnel of the Geocore Nuke, where his maximum speed was only 2,120 km/h. Now, his train could consistently maintain its top speed at this figure!
Erdan's Travel Frog train could reach a maximum speed of 6,000 km/h.
But that was only with its special train skill activated.
Without the skill, its normal top speed was just 3,000 km/h—still slightly faster than his train, but Erdan's train was just a tiny locomotive, while his was a mechanical dragon.
They weren't even in the same league.
It was like comparing someone who could run 100 meters in under 10 seconds—incredibly fast—to someone who could run a 30-kilometer marathon at a pace of 100 meters every 11 seconds.
The former represents the limits of human capability.
The latter would require Divine intervention.
The base speed of the Magnetic Levitation Accessory was only 100 km/h, but each upgrade increased it by 100 km/h. Furthermore, reaching Tier 20 in one go granted three overpowered effects.
Magnetic Levitation Tier 5 Overpowered Effect: Halves energy consumption during travel.
Magnetic Levitation Tier 10 Overpowered Effect: Halves energy consumption during travel.
Magnetic Levitation Tier 20 Overpowered Effect: Halves energy consumption during travel.
Meanwhile, two lines of information appeared on the screen:
"Train's maximum speed is about to exceed 2,000 km/h. Ensure Tier 9 Armor is equipped or a Tier 9 Energy Shield is continuously active during travel at this speed to prevent uncontrollable incidents."
"Tier 100 powerful magnet detected. This can synergize with the Magnetic Levitation Accessory."
"The Magnetic Levitation Accessory allows the train to achieve equilibrium with the planetary magnetic field, suspending it in mid-air. This drastically reduces friction, enabling rapid forward movement. Possessing a Tier 100 powerful magnet allows for more precise manipulation of magnetic field fluctuations, resulting in smoother travel and more agile control."
"Furthermore..."
"So that's how it works..."
Chen Mang nodded thoughtfully, the gist being that a Tier 100 powerful magnet would allow for more precise control over the Magnetic Levitation accessory, enabling the train to move freely, stopping exactly where it was commanded. Furthermore, the Train Auxiliary AI needed to be at least Tier 10 to have sufficient computing power for real-time calculations during operation.
This made perfect sense. He understood completely.
But the most crucial part came next!
"...Moreover, by twisting the magnetic field with the powerful magnet, the train can achieve instant acceleration, going from 0 to its top speed of 1,980 km/h in just 0.6 seconds."
This is pure rocket launch!
He had never seen such rapid acceleration before. Even Erdan's train couldn't match this speed. Without a Built-in Space Stabilizer, such acceleration in an unprotected environment would undoubtedly kill all the train residents in the carriages.
Acceleration was, in fact, a major weakness of all trains.
The reason he was attacked by the Two-Headed Monster when he first entered this cavern was largely due to the train's slow acceleration. He sensed the danger, but the train was simply too large and unwieldy to accelerate instantly.
If he had this thing earlier, he definitely wouldn't have been hit.
Just...
smashing into the cave wall at that speed would have rattled his brain.
Without hesitation, he immediately consumed 2.62 million units of iron ore to max out both the Permanent Shock Absorber and the Built-in Space Stabilizer at Tier 100!
He gained four brand-new overpowered effects!
Permanent Shock Absorber Tier 20 Overpowered Effect: None.
Permanent Shock Absorber Tier 50 Overpowered Effect: None.
Permanent Shock Absorber Tier 100 Overpowered Effect: None.
Built-in Space Stabilizer Tier 20 Overpowered Effect: Makes space-based accessories like the space gate within the carriage more stable.
Built-in Space Stabilizer Tier 50 Overpowered Effect: When the train enters a Temporal Rift, members inside the train will not be negatively affected by the passage of time.
Built-in Space Stabilizer Tier 100 Overpowered Effect: When the train initiates a Wormhole Jump, the interior of the train will remain unaffected.
The Permanent Shock Absorber accessory didn't even have an overpowered effect at Tier 5.
From start to finish, not a single overpowered effect.
Purely numerical stat boosts.
A Tier 100 Permanent Shock Absorber looked much more reassuring. Even if the train slammed into a cavern wall at nearly 2,000 km/h, it wouldn't give the train crew a concussion.
But...
"..."
Chen Mang stared at the overpowered effect of the Built-in Space Stabilizer with a strange expression. Could this thing really maintain spatial stability during Temporal Rifts and Wormhole Jumps?
Was this really just a yellow-grade Accessory?
It looked like it should be at least red-grade!
But for now, it was useless.
He couldn't access such things yet. He might need it later, but definitely not anytime soon. However, the overpowered effect that made accessories like the space gate more stable was still quite practical.
Not bad.
He'd just dumped over ten million units of iron ore into it.
"Hmm..."
After pondering for a moment, Chen Mang decided to make today a speed-focused day. Since he'd already built the Magnetic Levitation system, he might as well upgrade the tailjets too.
The Stellaris currently had two tailjets:
A green-grade accessory: the Nitrous Tailpipe.A yellow-grade accessory: the Super Energy Tailjet.
He directly spent 1.98 million units of iron ore to max out both accessories at Tier 100!
The speed increase from the nitrous tailpipe reached 1,020 km/h.
The speed increase from the Super Energy Tailjet reached 2,040 km/h.
"This is completely overpowered," Chen Mang sighed, a hint of helplessness in his voice. The Red-Tier Magnetic Levitation Accessory had a base speed of 100 km/h, with each level adding another 100 km/h.
The Green-grade Nitrous Tailpipe had a base speed of 30 km/h, adding 10 km/h per level.
The Yellow-grade Super Energy Tailjet had a base speed of 60 km/h, adding 20 km/h per level.
On paper, the Magnetic Levitation Accessory seemed to completely dominate.
But Chen Mang had a cheat code.
He used Infinite Upgrade, spending 1.98 million units of iron ore to increase the speed by 3,060 km/h!
The train's maximum speed now reached 5,040 km/h!
This was its top speed in a completely normal state, without activating any train skills or overpowered effects—purely numerical.
At this speed alone, it was already close to catching up with Er Dan's train when its skills were activated.
But it didn't end there. Both tailpipes also gained corresponding overpowered effects.
Super Energy Tailjet Tier 20 Overpowered Effect: Energy consumption halved.
Super Energy Tailjet Tier 50 Overpowered Effect: Energy consumption halved.
Super Energy Tailjet Tier 100 Overpowered Effect: Energy consumption halved.
Nitrous Tailpipe Tier 20 Overpowered Effect: Energy consumption halved.
Nitrous Tailpipe Tier 50 Overpowered Effect: Energy consumption halved.
Nitrous Tailpipe Tier 100 Overpowered Effect: Energy consumption halved.
All energy consumption halved!
Both accessories' Tier 5 overpowered effects also halved energy consumption, effectively giving each accessory four energy consumption-halving effects. As their Tier increased, the energy cost of using these accessories became enormous.
Energy is conserved.
No matter how advanced the accessories, achieving such incredible speed would inevitably require significant energy expenditure. With these energy-halving effects, even at maximum speed, energy consumption was reduced.
But it wasn't over yet!
This pursuit of the ultimate speed limit continued.
Chen Mang glanced at the "Windfire Wheel" component on the train's Three-Dimensional schematic with a hint of reluctance. Nevertheless, he chose to feed the "Windfire Wheel" to the Wheel Changer, transferring its speed attribute to the "Magnetic Levitation" accessory.
In the next instant, several lines of information appeared on the control panel screen:
The green-grade Accessory has been successfully consumed. The Magnetic Levitation Accessory's speed has increased by 120 km/h, and it has a small chance of gaining the Windfire Wheel's Tier 10 Overpowered effect.
During a windy weather, when traveling downwind, the Windfire Wheel will ignite, significantly boosting its speed.
Chen Mang glanced at the second line of text and smiled. Once he returned to Crisis Valley, he'd offer a few more sticks of incense to Heavenly Father. He knew his luck had always been pretty good.
With this Overpowered effect, combined with the Weather Control Device, the train's speed could be boosted even further.
Moreover, both the Super Energy Tailjet and the nitrous tailpipe shared an Overpowered effect: their tailjets could merge into a single, significantly faster unit.
"Xiao Ai," Chen Mang said. "Calculate the train's maximum speed if all Overpowered effects are activated, given its current load."
"8900 km/h," Xiao Ai's voice soon echoed through the locomotive cabin. "At this maximum speed, the train would consume one Tier 4 Energy Stone per hour."
"I have many Overpowered effects that halve energy consumption."
"Yes, without these overpowered effects that halve consumption, it would require at least a Tier 5 Energy Stone."
"..."
Chen Mang pouted but didn't say anything more. It was still acceptable. A Tier 4 Energy Stone was worth 500,000 units of iron ore, equivalent to consuming 5 million slices of bread per hour.
8,900 kilometers per hour equals Mach 7.26.
What did that even mean?
In his previous world, commercial airliners cruised at around 900 kilometers per hour. The Stellaris's top speed was ten times that.
A certain fighter jet had a maximum speed of 2,750 kilometers per hour. The Stellaris was 3.2 times faster.
Some of the most famous missiles reached speeds of Mach 10. The Stellaris was still 0.7 times faster.
At this speed, it would take just over four hours to circle his previous planet.
This speed was essentially the peak achievable on a planet.
Of course...
If he wanted to break out of the cosmos, this speed wouldn't be nearly enough. It wouldn't even be fast enough for a leisurely stroll in space. Even his dog would complain about how slow he was going.
A corresponding prompt appeared on the control panel screen:
"Speeds exceeding 3,000 km/h require at least Tier 10 Armor."
"Speeds exceeding 4,000 km/h require at least Tier 11 Armor."
"Speeds exceeding 5,000 km/h require at least Tier 12 Armor."
"Speeds exceeding 6,000 km/h require at least Tier 13 Armor."
"Speeds exceeding 7,000 km/h require at least Tier 14 Armor."
"..."
With the train's current armor, its top speed could reach nearly 6,000 km/h. Any faster, and it risked disintegrating.
Thus—
The train's speed had been instantly elevated by a significant margin!
Without any train-specific skills, its top speed now surpassed the "Travel Frog."
"This isn't quite right," Chen Mang sighed, a hint of helplessness in his voice. The Travel Frog was originally the Stellaris' scout, specializing in speed. Yet now, this speed-focused scout was slower than his own train. This wouldn't do.
It simply wouldn't do.
Then, he couldn't help but chuckle.
Perfect.
He liked this. This harvest had been quite rewarding. The speed upgrade had cost a total of 15.1 million units of iron ore.
He wouldn't need to worry about speed for a while.
The days that followed became a monotonous cycle of mining.
Day after day.
Even the Tier 2 Iron Ore deposits were completely excavated. Normally, he wouldn't even bother stopping for them. After all, a single Tier 2 Iron Ore deposit typically yielded only two or three hundred thousand units of iron ore—hardly worth the effort.
But since they were all clustered together in a sizable quantity, he couldn't afford to miss out.
Though a Tier 2 Iron Ore deposit yielded little, the fact that there were fourteen such deposits here added up. Even if each deposit was small, together they amounted to a significant amount.
In the Zombie Basin, he had also obtained a special item: the Tier 3 Iron Ore Refresh Voucher.
He hadn't used it yet.
He had originally planned to save it as an emergency measure for when he couldn't find any more ore, but now he decided not to hold back any longer. He activated it and started mining immediately.
This place wasn't just rich in iron ore; it also had copper ore and titanium crystal mines!
They mined for nearly a month straight!
Only then were all the mines fully depleted. The lower-tier ores had taken a bit longer to extract. During this month, the residents had barely rested a single day.
Boom!
As the long-absent train whistle sounded once more, the Stellaris finally began its return journey, speeding through the train tunnel toward Crisis Valley.
It was time to go home.
He hadn't seen the sun in a month and was desperately craving its light. It felt as though he had been in seclusion for an entire month, shrouded in darkness.
Today, he emerged from his confinement!
The Stellaris floated low in the train tunnel, shooting forward at high speed. The resulting roar was deafening, and the air currents rippled visibly to the naked eye.
They pushed the train to its absolute limit!
(End of the Chapter)
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