Translator: AnubisTL
S-rank potential, Tier 12 Mechanical Train, the Stellaris!
It was worth showing off a little.
Chen Mang wasn't one to brag or reveal his hand, but he did it to give his fledgling train a boost and a glimmer of hope, so everyone wouldn't fall into despair.
Yes, that was it.
Sitting in the locomotive cabin, Chen Mang glanced at the train radio. Though he'd been in the unknown zone for a while, unable to connect to the Crisis Valley train radio, his connection with Erdan remained unbroken.
He could still reach him.
Erdan had found another fortuitous encounter map in the past month and was on his way, due to arrive soon. After all, Crisis Valley was vast, but Erdan's speed wasn't slow.
Then Chen Mang turned his attention to the changes brought about by the train's upgrade to Tier 12. He wouldn't mention the minor improvements, like a slight increase in the train's base speed—it wasn't much, just a tiny boost.
At Tier 12, there were no accessories to craft.
Zero accessories.
No new functions were unlocked either. The Tier 12 train remained unchanged.
"..."
Chen Mang narrowed his eyes, studying the Upgrade Requirements for the Tier 13 train. As expected, the requirements weren't simple. It was clear that Tier 13 was a major hurdle.
He had already figured out the pattern:
Whenever there was a significant hurdle, the preceding few tiers of train upgrades wouldn't bring about much change.
He didn't have much time to ponder.
The target acquisition radar emitted a rapid beeping alarm. A train rapidly approached through the air and landed before him, followed by a sharp sonic boom.
Erdan had arrived.
"Lord Mang?"
Erdan stepped out of the train, his gaze fixed on the colossal Stellaris before him. His eyes widened in disbelief. "We haven't seen each other for just a month! How did it change so much?"
"It's not bad," Chen Mang replied with a smile, looking at Erdan. "The banquet has already started. Let's grab something to eat first. After dinner, I'll take you somewhere special."
"Huh? Oh, oh, oh..."
Erdan, still somewhat dazed, tore his gaze away from the Stellaris. Compared to this behemoth, his Travel Frog train looked like a miniature toy.
The banquet ended quickly.
It didn't last long.
After nearly a month of continuous work, many residents were already at their physical limits. They had managed to stay mentally alert in their highly excited state, but after a few bottles of alcohol and some carbohydrates, many simply passed out at the table.
To be honest, it had initially scared him.
He'd thought they were suffering from food poisoning. If so many people needed to be sent to the Medical Bay, how much iron ore would that cost him? Fortunately, Xiao Ai had informed him they were just sleeping. Otherwise, the chef would have been sacrificed tonight.
What pleased him most was that, despite the heavy drinking, no one had spoken ill of him.
But it also left him puzzled.
Sitting in the locomotive cabin, Chen Mang glanced out the window at a group of residents cleaning up the messy scene. He frowned and asked Xiao Ai, "Do you think Old Pig suspected I had you listening in?"
"He only had two beers," Xiao Ai replied. "He didn't stop praising Lord Mang all night, never letting your name leave his lips."
"Hmm."
Xiao Ai paused before continuing. "I can't say for sure, but in Old Pig's conversation, 89% of what he said was praise for you, Lord Mang. Perhaps it wasn't flattery, but rather a straightforward account of your actions."
"After all, you truly are remarkable, Lord Mang."
"Xiao Ai."
"Yes, sir?"
"You've been corrupted."
Chen Mang shook his head and said no more. He simply pressed a button on the control panel, and the first carriage of the locomotive slowly opened. Only after Erdan piloted the Travel Frog into the carriage did the door slowly close again.
He was taking Erdan to the Train Tunnel.
It would be difficult and impractical for Erdan's train to drill such a deep tunnel on its own. But it didn't matter—they could simply take the whole train with them.
Soon—
Erdan took the elevator from the second floor of the locomotive cabin to the first.
"Lord Mang..."
Standing on the second floor, Erdan gazed at the floor-to-ceiling wraparound windows and the luxurious interior of the locomotive cabin, clearly impressed. "This locomotive cabin is stunning! It's like a CEO's lavish office."
"All that's missing is a glass of red wine, standing by the window, gazing at the horizon, swirling the wine in the glass."
"My locomotive cabin looks like a bird's nest compared to this."
"Really?"
Chen Mang's lips curved slightly at Erdan's praise. He surveyed the cabin's interior again, suddenly feeling it did look more pleasing to the eye. "I don't know much about interior design. It feels a bit too spacious, lacking warmth. I thought adding some decorations might help."
"Er, Lord Mang, wouldn't a missile here actually make it feel less lively?"
"That's just personal preference. I like looking at it. What suggestions do you have?"
"Hire ten beautiful women to stand in the cabin every day."
"Too vulgar," Chen Mang shook his head. "Besides, I often prefer solitude. I don't really like having others in the cabin."
Erdan pondered for a moment before hesitantly suggesting, "How about a large leather sofa?"
"Hmm, that's a possibility."
The next moment—
With a massive drill extending and spinning rapidly, the Stellaris plunged straight into the depths of the earth, its target the Train Tunnel.
Inside the Train Tunnel.
The Stellaris floated low in the air, speeding south along the tunnel. Having traveled this route many times before, Chen Mang knew there were no dangers ahead. The tunnel was almost perfectly straight, with only slight curves.
The train's speed on the control panel screen continued to climb.
"1,802 km/h."
"2,239 km/h."
"3,223 km/h."
"40"
A deafening sonic boom echoed through the Train Tunnel, penetrating the carriage.
The extreme speed brought extreme pressure.
But...
Thanks to the Built-in Space Stabilizer, neither Erdan nor Chen Mang felt any chest tightness or discomfort. The only challenge was keeping their eyes on the incandescent lights lining the tunnel walls, which blurred into straight white lines that shot past them at incredible speed.
"This..."
Erdan pointed at the digital display on the control panel screen with a bewildered and incredulous expression, his voice rising in volume. "Lord Mang, what's going on with the speed? Is this 4,000 km/h?"
"It's 5,000 now."
Chen Mang chuckled, pointing at the screen, where the speed read "5,040 km/h."
"No way, Lord Mang! Did you activate some kind of speed-related train special skill, or trigger an overpowered effect from an accessory?"
"Nope. That's just the train's normal maximum speed."
"...."
Erdan stood there, somewhat dazed. His greatest advantage had always been his speed, but even at its maximum speed without activating any train skills, his Travel Frog could only reach 3,000 kilometers per hour.
Compared to the Stellaris, he didn't even have that advantage anymore.
"Lord Mang... I suddenly feel like the Travel Frog is completely useless."
"Hey, don't say that. Even if the Stellaris is faster, it can't do everything. There are still plenty of things you need to handle. Young man, show some enthusiasm! Don't give up so easily."
"Lord Mang."
"Hmm?"
"I don't know if I've given you the wrong impression, but there's something I need to tell you. I'm not young anymore, Lord Mang. I'm not young at all."
"That's not important." Chen Mang waved his hand and pointed at the text on the screen. "Do you recognize this place?"
"Zombie Basin?"
Erdan finally snapped back to reality. "Lord Mang, have we returned to the Zombie Basin? Is it possible to break through zone boundaries?"
"Hmm, I'll take you somewhere nice."
Last time, it took hours to travel from Crisis Valley to the Sha River Plains. This time, it took only a few dozen minutes to arrive successfully.
When the Stellaris emerged from the elevator atop the Sky Piercing Tower, Erdan looked around in complete bewilderment, utterly disoriented.
"Buzz... buzz... buzz..."
The Stellaris switched out its Bunny Cloud Wheels, landing smoothly on the flat ground of the Sha River Plains. Lord Mang stepped out of the locomotive cabin, walking step by step through the air until he reached the ground.
Erdan, following behind, looked down at the ground nearly ten meters below.
He looked again, watching Lord Mang seemingly walk on air as if performing a levitating micro-step.
After a moment of silence, Erdan's lips twitched slightly. He quietly climbed down the nearby ladder, wondering if he was mistaken. Why did Lord Mang seem to be flying?
Never mind.
It wasn't that strange for Lord Mang to fly, after all.
Erdan felt numb.
If Lord Mang claimed to be God come to save the world, he'd believe it without hesitation.
"This is the Sha River Plains."
Chen Mang leaned on his cane, gazing into the distance with a smile. "This might be our last chance to stand here. We won't have another opportunity to come back, and we won't be able to return. You've spent a long time on the Sha River Plains; you must have developed some affection for it, haven't you?"
"Of course," Erdan nodded, a hint of melancholy in his voice. "The Sha River Plains holds many of my memories. But Lord Mang, are we waiting for someone?"
"Yes," Chen Mang replied with a slight nod. "Two friends I met in the White Zone's Iron Ridge Wasteland. Before we leave, I wanted to give them some gifts. We probably won't see each other again after this."
"I contacted them in advance, but they seem to be taking their time."
"Friends..." Erdan paused, his expression complex. After a moment, he turned to Chen Mang. "Lord Mang, you're too kind. You went out of your way just to give gifts to two friends you met in the White Zone. Most people wouldn't do something like that."
"It's not that big a deal," Chen Mang replied.
Chen Mang pulled two cigarettes from his pocket and handed one to Erdan, smiling. "One of them warned me to run when we were being chased by monsters and even traded me some spider silk. That batch of spider silk was incredibly important to me at the time. It was thanks to that spider silk that I could move through the Kunlun Mountain Region as easily as walking on flat ground."
"The other one gave me an accessory for an oxygen generator, which was crucial to me back then."
"At that point, I had already obtained the drill accessory from the Kunlun Mountain Region. All I needed was an oxygen generator to start mining underground."
"Later, I mined every single mineral deposit beneath the Iron Ridge Wasteland."
"They both did me a great favor."
"Without them, my rise wouldn't have been so rapid. I've always been grateful for kindness. In this world, it's rare to meet someone who genuinely cares about you. When you do, you naturally want to cherish that connection."
"I'm not expecting anything in return."
"I just want to be able to smile contentedly when I'm old, recalling this moment without any lingering guilt or the feeling that I haven't repaid their kindness."
"..."
Erdan nodded silently, acknowledging Chen Mang's words. He didn't say anything more. To be honest, this was precisely what he liked about Lord Mang—it made him feel safe and secure to follow him.
Lord Mang was the type of person who would treat others well if they treated him well.
It sounded normal and commonplace, but in reality, it was a rare quality.
Everyone could repay grievances with grievances, but not everyone could repay kindness with kindness.
Just then—
A piercing train whistle suddenly blared in the distance!
"Toot!!"
Two trains were racing almost side by side at breakneck speed, black smoke already billowing from their carriages. Trailing behind them was another train, its Doomsday Cannon roaring incessantly.
Clearly, this was a chase.
"Lord Mang!"
Erdan's expression shifted slightly. He reached for Lord Mang, intending to pull him toward their train. While Lord Mang's train was of a high Tier, once they left it, they were no different from ordinary people. In this chaotic battle, missiles and bullets flew indiscriminately. If they were caught in the crossfire, things could turn ugly.
"No need."
Chen Mang patted Erdan's shoulder, gesturing for him to stand behind him. Then, with a calm expression, he slowly raised his right hand, opened his palm, and whispered, "Rise."
In the next instant—
The pursuing train, every single carriage, inexplicably lifted into the air.
"Huh?" Erdan was completely stunned, his body stiffening in place. He stared at Lord Mang's right hand in disbelief, as if trying to bore a hole through it. What the hell is this?
Weren't we told this world had no fancy battle qi or magic, only trains that had reached the pinnacle of pure development!?
What is this?
The last cultivator of the apocalypse?
Meanwhile, the two trains had arrived near the Stellaris and quickly stopped. The dwarf and the young man jumped out of their locomotive cabins, glancing back with lingering fear. But when they saw the other train already flying in the air, they were just as dumbfounded.
Just then—
The out-of-control train, now airborne, swiveled all its cannons toward Chen Mang's group and opened fire without hesitation.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!!!"
Hundreds of cannon shells instantly engulfed Chen Mang and the others.
However...
Before Erdan and the others could react, Chen Mang spoke calmly, his expression impassive: "Stubborn fools. Die."
The next moment!
The cannon shells hurtling toward Chen Mang's group seemed to encounter an insurmountable force, freezing in mid-air. Hundreds of shells hung suspended in the air, motionless.
As if someone had pressed the pause button.
(End of the Chapter)
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