Translator: AnubisTL
Chen Mang, slightly bewildered, instinctively focused his consciousness on "Human Progress."
Soon, a panel materialized before him:
Human Progress: 62%
Following this, several fragmented scenes flashed across his vision:
The first apocalyptic wedding held on the Stellaris.Residents toiling in the mines.Women from the Red House playfully interacting with guests.A sweat-soaked resident lying in the Residential District, lighting a cigarette with a look of pure contentment.All the residents gathered together for a feast.Children diligently listening to a teacher in a classroom.
When he gazed at "Culture," another panel appeared:
Culture Progress: 77%
Residents conversing in their language.Old Pig and Biaozi communicating through sign language.Everyone gathered together to watch Zhang Yiren filming a movie.A young man hunched over a laptop in a pavilion, furiously typing.Old Pig writing a history book in his room.A young girl performing a song on stage for the residents.
Military Progress: 78%
There were scenes of the train and its armor being upgraded, scenes of the train killing monsters and zombies, and scenes of the train standing guard at night while Biaozi and his team went out to hunt monsters. There were also scenes of the Third Squad Captain and others training in the Combat Training Virtual Space, Zhang Yi and Zhang Er piloting mechs, and missiles launching into the sky.
Agriculture Progress: 37%
There were scenes of food production lines in operation and Uncle Li feeding pigs and cattle and cultivating crops in Breeding Car 15.
System Progress: 87%
There were scenes of Chen Mang standing on the train roof giving a speech, ordering Old Pig to serve as deputy train conductor, promoting stellar coupons, Xiao Ai implanting Iris Chips in every resident, and establishing the Ten Major Laws of the Stellaris.
After a long moment, Chen Mang pulled his gaze away from the Civilization Token and leaned back in his chair, lighting a cigarette and falling into a complex silence.
He didn't understand what this thing meant.
But if he wasn't mistaken...
This was probably a beginner mission to rebuild civilization.
If he could raise all five progress bars to 100%, a civilization would essentially be rebuilt, albeit in a rudimentary form. While much would still need to be added, a basic framework would be in place.
From this perspective, human civilization should be considered extinct. If he activated the Civilization Token now, he could immediately rebuild human civilization. However, the system panel advised him to avoid rebuilding too early, lest he become a meal.
The earliest he should consider rebuilding was after reaching Tier 20.
Therefore, the meaning behind the five progress points associated with the Civilization Token was clear:
Only after all five progress points reached 100% could he activate the Civilization Token to rebuild a civilization. If any of the progress points remained below 100%, activating the token would fail to rebuild civilization.
Rebuilding the human civilization
"..."
Chen Mang frowned deeply. Rebuilding the civilization would essentially place the entire responsibility and pressure of human civilization onto the Stellaris. The Stellaris would become the legitimate representative of human civilization!
Huu...
After a long moment, he exhaled deeply, stubbing out his cigarette in the ashtray. While the pressure sounded immense, if no one else stepped up to bear it, he was willing to try.
Moreover, it seemed only the Stellaris could complete these five progress points.
In truth—
At first, he hadn't considered any of this. He hadn't been guided by anyone, such as the apocalypse wedding being for Legacy Value, the feast to relax the residents, or the filming, writing, and singing being for the same purpose.
Yet, purely by chance, he stumbled upon the three fundamental forms of artistic expression: film, literature, and music.
Thinking about it carefully, many of these conditions were incredibly demanding, nearly impossible to achieve on other trains.
The "Apocalypse Wedding" was the simplest. As long as there was a Doomsday Marriage Certificate and a couple in love on the train, holding a wedding would not only earn Legacy Value but also increase Human Progress.
The remaining conditions were far more stringent.
Take filmmaking, for example. You'd need an entire crew. After the apocalypse, finding one wouldn't be easy. Even if you found a third-rate director, where would you get filming equipment and a screen to display the film? Not every train car had a Mechanical Eye or a homemade screen.
Let's assume you somehow managed to acquire all of that.
But without knowing it could boost Civilization Progress, how many trains would be willing to undertake such a thankless task?
This was the apocalypse! With the train constantly at risk of destruction, dedicating precious manpower to filming would be sheer madness.
As for literature and music, those were entirely accidental discoveries.
He had no idea where Old Pig had found the slave who wrote novels, but the man was churning out 20,000 characters a day, steadily increasing Chen Mang's Human Progress.
Most importantly—
Civilization Tokens were notoriously difficult to obtain. Chen Mang had only acquired his after completing an S-Rank Difficulty Mission in a fortuitous encounter map. He hadn't seen any other methods of obtaining them since, and the entire process was shrouded in mystery. In other words, you had no way of knowing that your actions were contributing to your Civilization Token progress.
All these demanding conditions piled up.
Chen Mang suddenly realized that he might be the only one capable of rebuilding human civilization. Other trains would likely struggle to meet these requirements.
All five progress bars were nearly full. By the time his train reached Tier 20, they would likely be maxed out.
But...
It wasn't quite stable enough. He decided to wait until his train became the strongest on the planet before considering the matter further.
He wasn't sure if rebuilding civilization offered any benefits. If there were no rewards, there was no rush. He could wait until his train was sufficiently powerful before taking action.
"Old Pig," Chen Mang said, picking up the walkie-talkie. "We still have three Doomsday Marriage Certificates left on the train. Ask around these days. If anyone wants to get married, the train can host a wedding for them."
"Understood," Old Pig's gruff voice crackled through the walkie-talkie.
"There's one more thing."
"Lord Mang, go ahead."
"Zhang Yiren, the filmmaker, and that young male novelist—I want you to keep a close eye on both of them. Push them to produce more, and while you're at it, what's that little girl who sang on stage doing on the train?"
"You mean the one who sang anime theme songs? She's in the Medical Bay right now, providing immediate treatment to residents injured during mining operations."
"Reassign her. From now on, she'll do nothing but sing for the residents every day. She'll sing for as long as they mine, and if she strains her voice, she can use the Medical Bay to recover."
"Yes, sir!"
After finishing these tasks, Chen Mang stretched and let out a sigh of relief. After a moment's thought, he spoke again: "Have Li Shiji, Biaozi, Zhang Yi, Zhang Er, and the rest of the Second-Class First Team members report to the locomotive cabin. We're heading to Neon City."
"Bring everything you need."
"Understood, Train Conductor," Xiao Ai's voice replied from the locomotive cabin.
The time was ripe.
It was time to return to Neon City. With Xiao Ai's network-cracking abilities, they could finally explore the zone that had blocked them before.
They had 48 hours to enter Neon City.
The Goblin's Tomb was open for 48 hours.
Perfect timing for a joint visit.
While the Stellaris train was mining in the Goblin's Tomb, Lord Mang took Biaozi and his group to Neon City.
In Guard Car No. 7, Old Pig gazed thoughtfully out the window. Why had Lord Mang specifically mentioned the filmmaker and the novelist? It seemed like more than just a recreational activity; it was clearly beneficial to the train.
Did a Tier 12 Train have such a requirement?
Did it need to reach a certain level of resident happiness to continue upgrading?
He didn't dare speculate further.
Just then—
He saw Biaozi and the others rise and head toward the front carriage. Instinctively, he called out, "Biaozi, where are you going? Did Lord Mang call you?"
"Yeah."
Biaozi shrugged resignedly, spreading his hands and sighing. "Lord Mang wants to take us to Neon City. Sigh, that's the downside of being a confidant. Whenever Lord Mang goes out, he has to take me along."
"Unlike you, you get to rest here. I envy you."
"Didn't Lord Mang call you?"
"..."
Old Pig glared at Biaozi, his expression darkening. Lord Mang hadn't called him, but Biaozi's smug attitude was infuriating.
"Cough."
Seeing Old Pig's expression turn slightly sour, Biaozi quickly cleared his throat to reassure him. "Trainmaster Zhu, it's just that your role on the train is too crucial. With Lord Mang away, everyone relies on you to keep things in order. If you left, wouldn't the train fall into chaos?"
Hearing this, Old Pig's expression softened slightly, and he nodded in agreement.
"That's true. You know nothing about management. He can't take me with him and leave you on the train. Go on, don't keep Lord Mang waiting."
"Alright, then."
Biaozi grinned and led a squad of First Squad Members toward Carriage 6. As they passed the Third Squad Captain, he patted him on the shoulder and said with a sigh, "Don't envy me. Your priority right now is to make sure Lord Mang even knows your name."
"Poor kid."
"Keep training hard these days. You've been getting weaker lately."
Inside the Stellaris locomotive cabin, everyone had gathered. Chen Mang didn't say much, simply activating the Civilization Token. A massive portal materialized before him, easily large enough for the Stellaris to pass through.
He finally understood why the portal had to be so enormous.
The Stellaris train slowly began to move.
As they were about to enter, Chen Mang crushed the "Neon City Free Entry Ticket" in his hand. He had only bought three of these at the time, though the shop had no purchase limit.
A miniature version of the portal reappeared in the locomotive cabin.
Chen Mang led Biaozi and the others through it, vanishing from the spot.
Immediately after, the Stellaris train successfully entered the Goblin's Tomb, beginning its 48-hour mining expedition.
During Chen Mang's absence, the train was managed by the Train Auxiliary AI and Old Pig. However, there was no danger in the Goblin's Tomb, so there was no need to worry about anything going wrong.
In Neon City, Chen Mang reappeared in the same plaza as before. The difference was that last time, he was surrounded by train conductors, while this time, it was just him and Biaozi's group.
Zhang Yi placed the refrigerator on the ground, and Xiao Ai emerged from it.
The Mechanical Eye in his eye socket glowed. After rotating his head 360 degrees on his neck, he finally spoke: "Is this Neon City?"
"Yes."
Chen Mang nodded, then frowned at Xiao Ai. "If you're here, does that mean there's another you on the train? Is this considered a split personality? Will there be any bugs or glitches?"
"Split personality?"
Xiao Ai shook his head. "Humans and AIs are different. The me on the train and the me standing here are both me, but our data isn't interconnected. The me on the train doesn't know what the me here is doing, and the me here doesn't know what the me on the train is doing. When we return and merge our data, we'll become completely identical again."
"This won't cause any problems."
"Alright!"
Chen Mang nodded, straddling the off-road motorcycle parked nearby. He took out the map he had bought last time, studied it for a moment, then started driving down the street in the opposite direction.
"Follow me."
Half an hour later, Chen Mang slowly stopped in front of a factory. The factory was surrounded by a high wall, dozens of meters tall, topped with electric fences, Heavy Machine Guns, and anti-aircraft guns. An iris scanner stood beside the main gate.
He had been stopped here last time.
He hadn't been able to get inside.
This time, he had brought Xiao Ai specifically for this purpose.
"Let's begin," Chen Mang said, stepping aside to make way for Xiao Ai. "This city is connected by a network. See if you can hack into it. You're a Tier 100 AI, after all. Don't disappoint me."
"Lord Mang, you're putting the pressure on again."
"I'll give it a try."
Xiao Ai strode forward with a serious expression, standing beside the iris lock. After observing it for a moment, his skull suddenly opened. From within, two spider silk-thin white lines emerged, slipping into the combination lock's crevices.
Simultaneously, his finger severed, revealing a plug. He opened the iris lock's bottom cover and carefully aligned the plug on his fingertip with the socket.
Moreover, a screen flipped out from Xiao Ai's back.
Black background.
Countless streams of green code scrolled frantically across it.
"Whoa," Biaozi, standing behind him, murmured in awe, "Professional."
"Indeed," Chen Mang nodded in agreement. As a Tier 100 Train Auxiliary AI, it certainly had some tricks up its sleeve.
Just then—
"Um..." Li Shiji raised his hand hesitantly and said softly, "My eyes are a bit faster at catching details. All those frantically scrolling green codes are just 'hello world'."
"Before the apocalypse, I was a game designer. I know a little about coding. Shouldn't the code used to crack the iris lock's network connection be something more complex than 'hello world'?"
The next moment!
Clang.
Three green indicator lights on the iris lock suddenly lit up like a slot machine. Then, the factory gate that had blocked their path before swung open with ease.
(End of the Chapter)
📖Read [MAT] ahead on Pa.treon@AnubisTL upto c316. [+2/+12.2k]
🎁All [2] Novels can be accessed for just $6/mo.
🔥Translated [900+] Chapters and [1.79M+] Words.
🎯For Every 1 Review, I will Upload 4 Extra Chapters0/4 reviews reached.