Translator: AnubisTL
After Old Pig sat back down, he sighed with emotion. "Back then, we were still in Master Kun's slave car. I noticed you the moment you boarded, Lord Mang. You were noticeably cleaner than everyone else."
"You didn't look like someone from the apocalypse."
"More like someone from before it."
"After entering the carriage, you claimed that straw mat. Three days later, you killed a man who challenged you with a single, clean strike."
"That's when I realized you weren't an ordinary person."
"At that time, everyone in the slave car had already lost hope and accepted their fate. Only you, Lord Mang, burned like a blazing flame, drawing all eyes."
"..."
Chen Mang listened quietly to Old Pig's story, smiling without speaking. Only after he finished did Chen Mang say softly, "Old Pig, you were the first to follow me, weren't you?"
"Yes."
"I've seen how hard you've worked these past few days. In terms of merit or seniority, you're no less deserving than anyone else."
"Everyone has their own role to play."
"Trust me, you'll be fine with me."
In the dimly lit private room, Chen Mang didn't bring up the matter again. They chatted about Old Pig's life before the apocalypse for about half an hour before Chen Mang stood up, patted Old Pig on the shoulder, waved, and left the room.
Old Pig stood rooted to the spot, watching Lord Mang's retreating back. His eyes were slightly red-rimmed. He often counseled others, so he knew Lord Mang had come specifically to counsel him. He just hadn't expected it.
The slightest ripple of emotion had barely stirred within him when Lord Mang, with his keen perception, had sensed it and made a special trip to address it.
In truth, Old Pig understood everything Lord Mang had said.
Everyone had different roles to play.
But humans were creatures of emotion. Often, we knew the right thing to do, yet when it came time to act, we couldn't help but be swayed by our feelings. However, that emotion had vanished now. Lord Mang was right. In terms of seniority and accomplishments, Old Pig had nothing to be ashamed of. Why was he letting his mind wander?
Inside the locomotive cabin.
"A train this big isn't ideal," Chen Mang said, leaning back in his chair and gazing at the lines of information flashing across the screen. "It's a pain to walk back and forth."
"Train Conductor," Xiao Ai's voice echoed through the cabin. "You've been telling me to keep an eye on Old Pig because you were worried he might harbor resentment."
"No," Chen Mang shook his head. "Generally speaking, those who fawn over superiors will inevitably bully those beneath them. Old Pig's behavior is a habit ingrained from his pre-apocalypse work experience. Logically, people like him would typically take advantage of those below them to regain the sense of superiority they crave from flattering their superiors. Without exception."
"This is a psychological compensation mechanism."
"Do you know what kind of women make up the majority of those who hire male escorts?"
"Prostitutes."
"The ones who frequent nightclubs and high-end karaoke bars."
"These women force smiles every day to serve men, but deep down, they're resentful. They turn to male escorts to reclaim the feeling of being served. It's the same principle as the eunuchs' maids in ancient times, who often suffered the most. People naturally compensate themselves."
"But from the Stellaris's development to the present day, Old Pig has almost never bullied those below him."
"In other words, Old Pig's flattery isn't born from subservience to power. If it were, he would be arrogant and condescending toward those beneath him, because he's in a position of authority."
"Old Pig's flattery stems from genuine admiration for my abilities. Or perhaps he's not flattering power itself, but me."
"Only under such circumstances can one avoid the trap of flattering those above while bullying those below."
"Uh..."
Xiao Ai's voice on the locomotive cabin's audio system seemed to stutter, and after a long pause, he stammered in confusion, "Train Conductor, you just found a roundabout way to compliment yourself."
"That's called recognizing talent."
Chen Mang shook his head. "That's what I admire most about Old Pig. After working in the power structure for so long, he was the first to break free from its mindset when the apocalypse struck. That's rare. If he had positioned himself as the train's second-in-command and started enjoying the perks of power, he wouldn't have lasted long."
"This is the apocalypse, not the pre-apocalypse. As long as you don't make a major mistake, you can keep your seat forever."
"Even if I don't kill him, he won't live long. The people below him will have many complaints, and the train itself might even split apart because of it."
"But he positioned himself as my steward. When I first met Old Pig in Master Kun's slave car, he looked like he'd been a slave for ages. You'd never guess he used to be a deputy train conductor. He's incredibly skilled at placing himself in the most suitable position at the right time."
"And he never oversteps his boundaries."
"There's no one else in this entire train who would be a better deputy train conductor."
"Um... If Old Pig is as amazing as you say, Train Conductor, why did you have to work on his mindset?"
"He's human, not Divine. As long as he's human, he'll have emotions."
Chen Mang shook his head, ending the discussion. "What was the situation with that train earlier? Two locomotives?"
A three-dimensional model of the Grinning Jaws train appeared on the screen.
"Besides the No. 1 Locomotive, carriage three also serves as a locomotive, though it's disguised as a regular carriage."
"This locomotive doesn't provide much power, but it allows the train conductor to quickly retreat to carriage three and continue controlling the train if the No. 1 Locomotive is destroyed."
"That's quite clever," Chen Mang nodded. This was the most troublesome train he'd encountered yet, though not overly difficult—just a bit more tedious to kill.
He then turned his attention to the train crew. Mundo had already departed.
I wonder which zone he's in now.
Chen Mang had given Mundo 5,000 Neon City Free Entry Tickets to distribute and had changed his attire, vowing to abandon his previous scams and swindles—a clean break from his old ways.
Once Mundo left, he would be out of contact.
Let's see how Mundo's progress goes.
Half an hour later, the Stellaris train slowly came to a stop in front of a Tier 4 Iron ore mine. Chen Mang had marked this mine earlier. As the train settled, the residents, armed with pickaxes, rushed down to begin mining. The Black Hole Armed Robots and guard squads resumed their perimeter patrols.
"Inform Biaozi that the guard squads need to be expanded to 30 members each."
"I'll go check out Neon City."
"Understood."
Neon City
It was already Monday evening, nearing dusk. Today marked the trial operation of Neon City, which would close for the night and reopen next Monday.
At Sun City, beside a towering skyscraper's floor-to-ceiling window, Xiao Ai reported the data: "As of now, a total of 188 train conductors have entered Neon City. The peak number of conductors simultaneously present in the city reached 101. Also..."
"We'll compile those statistics after midnight tonight. How are the goods I sent in a few hours ago performing?"
"They're doing quite well."
Xiao Ai nodded. "Among daily necessities, 'napkins' are the bestsellers."
"In tools, the Tier 4 Pickaxe, Tier 4 Axe, and off-road motorcycle are the top performers."
"Napkins?"
Chen Mang was slightly surprised, but quickly understood. It seemed other train conductors were struggling with the issue of wiping their rear ends. The Tier 4 Pickaxe was also selling well, as not everyone had a murphy stone to smash into their Pickaxe Production Line.
At this point, if you wanted to mine high-tier ores, purchasing a high-tier pickaxe was an excellent strategy.
"Have any unexpected incidents occurred?"
"No."
"Good."
Chen Mang nodded, glancing down with satisfaction. He would check on Mundo's progress over the next few days. If Mundo's results were promising, the next reopening on Monday should see a surge in activity.
"We also received a lot of custom clothing orders. Several train conductors placed large orders, totaling over 8,000 custom garments, purchased at a price of 100 units of iron ore per garment."
"They have temperature regulation but don't include Space Pouches."
"So that's 800,000 units of iron ore, right? Fine, that's good."
Neon City's current exchange rate is:
One unit of iron ore or one unit of copper ore can be exchanged for one stellar coupon.
However, stellar coupons can only be exchanged for iron ore, not copper ore.
But so far, no one has exchanged copper ore for stellar coupons. Copper ore is a life-saving resource; no one would casually trade it away. As for wood, Chen Mang had confiscated it. It was only useful for making clothing and had little other value, with few places needing it.
After observing for a while, Chen Mang returned to the locomotive cabin. There was nothing for him to do there. He had assigned everyone their tasks, and Uncle Li and the others could handle everything themselves unless an emergency required his intervention.
He sat at the control panel, gazing at the upgrade requirements for the Tier 13 train.
He was pondering something: should he upgrade the train to Tier 13 first or accumulate iron ore to upgrade the armor to Tier 16?
Upgrade Requirements: Consume 40,000 units of Tier 3 Iron Mine, ensure all carriage accessories are Tier 220 or higher, and maintain a survivor count of 500 or more.
The conditions were simple, and he met them all.
He quickly made up his mind: Tier 15 armor would suffice for now. He would upgrade to a Tier 13 train first. Upgrading to a Tier 15 train as soon as possible would allow him to see what changes occurred when Xiao Lu awoke. He was quite curious to see what the offspring of an S-Class Cosmic Behemoth would be like after awakening.
This was the first time he had seen a Train Upgrade requirement that limited the number of Train Survivors.
It wasn't much—500 survivors would be enough.
The accessory Tier requirement was the same as last time, unchanged.
The next moment—
As 4 million units of iron ore pulverized within the train, a line of text slowly materialized on the screen:
[Your train has reached Tier 13.
More craftable accessories have been unlocked.]
"Huh?"
Chen Mang's eyes widened slightly as he glanced at the craftable accessories. A flicker of surprise crossed his gaze. This was the first time he'd seen accessories that required titanium crystal ore. He finally understood where the ore could be used.
Controlled Nuclear Fusion Device: Red-Tier Accessory. Requires 50,000 units of iron ore to craft.
Nuclear Energy Transmission Network: Red-Tier Accessory. Requires 50,000 units of iron ore to craft.
Viper Drone Fighter Production Line: Red-Tier Accessory. Requires 50,000 units of titanium crystal ore to craft.
The first two are advanced replacements for the generator and circuit system, respectively.
He didn't feel any urgency to replace them.
His generator was already at a high Tier, and his circuit system was also sufficiently advanced.
However, as other trains leveled up, their generators' efficiency often became insufficient. The common solution was to build multiple generators, perhaps four or five.
The Controlled Nuclear Fusion Device could convert energy stones into energy with nearly zero loss, while the Nuclear Energy Transmission Network was pure black technology, eliminating the need for a circuit system by wirelessly transmitting energy directly within the train.
That was quite impressive.
But for now, his generator was sufficient. He'd consider upgrading later, once Neon City was established and he had an abundance of iron ore.
The Viper Drone Fighter is a different story.
It's a medium-sized unmanned fighter jet, measuring 11.2 meters long, 6.5 meters in wingspan, and 3.08 meters tall.
It's fully autonomous, executing attack missions based on pre-programmed commands. It can take off directly from inside a carriage, taxiing from the front to the last carriage before ascending into the sky.
But...
"Hmm."
Chen Mang silently surveyed the production line. It was a good piece of equipment, but under what circumstances would he actually need it? His train could already fly, and its speed far surpassed that of the fighter jet. Instead of deploying the drone, he could simply have his train fly out and wreak havoc.
Still, it consumed titanium crystal ore.
His titanium crystal ore was currently completely useless.
10.29 million units of titanium crystal ore sat undisturbed within the train.
Let's try upgrading it.
He poured 2.75 million units of titanium crystal ore into the accessory, instantly upgrading it to Tier 10 and unlocking its two overpowered effects.
Viper Drone Fighter Production Line Tier 5 Overpowered Effect: Ultra-long standby time; the fuselage is equipped with Solar Energy Panels, which absorb energy to provide the fighter jet with infinite endurance, never needing to land.
Viper Drone Fighter Production Line Tier 10 Overpowered Effect: Cannon ammunition consumption halved.
"Hmm?"
Chen Mang's expression was slightly odd. It seemed this wasn't entirely useless after all. The Tier 10 production line could produce Viper Drone Fighters up to Tier 10, with each Tier 10 fighter costing 500,000 units of titanium crystal ore.
Cheap.
Yes, his first thought was that it was too cheap!
The unmanned fighter jets produced were essentially pure offense, with minimal defense. Their primary attack source was four large-caliber cannons mounted under the wings, requiring energy stones as ammunition.
Tier 10 attack power, Tier 1 defense.
For just 500,000 units of titanium crystal ore, you could obtain an unmanned fighter jet with Tier 10 attack power. What more could you ask for?
No!
After a moment's hesitation, he decided to upgrade again. He suddenly realized this thing might be worth playing with. He spent another 5,050,000 units of titanium crystal ore to upgrade it to Tier 20, unlocking a new overpowered effect.
Viper Drone Fighter Tier 20 Overpowered Effect: Halves the titanium crystal ore cost for fighter jet construction.
Maximum construction level: Tier 20 Viper Drone Fighter!
A Tier 20 Viper Drone Fighter costs 5 million titanium crystal ore to build. With the cost halved, it's reduced to 2.5 million.
Chen Mang checked his titanium crystal ore balance:
"2.49 million."
Damn. He was exactly 10,000 short.
He'd wanted to build one to test its performance. For 2.5 million titanium crystal ore, he could get a fighter jet with Tier 20 attack power. And mining a Tier 4 titanium crystal ore would yield around 10 million titanium crystal ore.
Red-Tier Accessories could be upgraded to Tier 20.
This meant that any Tier 13 train that mined a Tier 4 titanium crystal ore could equip a Tier 20 Viper Drone Fighter.
"..."
A sudden wave of intense anxiety washed over him.
No.
His armor was only Tier 15—nowhere near enough!
Tier 15 armor was too weak. He needed Tier 20 armor!
But...
Why hadn't he seen other trains in the Stone Man Zone using this method? The Grin and Bear It Train was a Tier 14 mechanical train. Why hadn't they used this tactic?
He quickly realized: to successfully launch a fighter jet from inside a carriage, two conditions had to be met.
The train has undergone Train Expansion, and the expansion is sufficiently large.
It possesses at least 150 meters of runway space for takeoff.
If each carriage is 30 meters long, this would require approximately five carriages. The Stellaris meets both of these conditions, but other trains might struggle to satisfy them.
Realizing this, Chen Mang finally breathed a sigh of relief. He'd been terrified, imagining that many trains in the Stone Man Zone possessed Tier 20 attack capabilities, which had kept him awake at night.
However, he couldn't help but notice something: the disparity between attack and defense was absurd!
It had been so difficult for him to achieve Tier 20 defense, while Tier 20 attack seemed ridiculously easy.
"Train Conductor," Xiao Ai's voice came from the locomotive cabin. "A single Tier 20 Viper Drone Fighter poses no threat to the Stellaris. Despite its Tier 20 attack strength, its defense is only Tier 1. It would struggle to penetrate the Stellaris's firepower net and even reach the train, especially since its speed is no match for the Stellaris."
"I know," Chen Mang replied, his eyes narrowing slightly. He was well aware of this. One or two of these drone fighters wouldn't make much difference, but hundreds of them would be a completely different story.
Any anti-aircraft defenses inferior to the Berlin Flak Tower would be sitting ducks.
The only obstacle was the vast amount of titanium crystal ore required.
Just then!
Xiao Ai spoke again. "Train Conductor, Uncle Li is back. Someone is asking if they can exchange titanium crystal ore, Red Heart Rock, or Wood for stellar coupons."
"Titanium crystal ore and red heart rock are acceptable, but not wood."
"Understood."
Inside the locomotive cabin, Chen Mang gazed at the screen on the control panel. A rather audacious idea began to form in his mind. The most remarkable feature of the Viper Drone Fighter was that it shared the same maximum speed limit as the train.
Other fighters might struggle to penetrate the Stellaris's firepower network.
But his fighter's speed would make it impossible to lock onto, unless the entire area was saturated with fire.
The number of Doomsday Cannons was too few. Nine cannons were woefully inadequate for a train stretching hundreds of meters long. Over the next period, all his iron ore would be consumed by defense and offense, bolstering the train's foundation!
Even though the train had already reached Tier 13, the Doomsday Cannon remained the most effective firepower accessory.
Why?
It was cheap, offered the best cost-performance ratio, and everyone loved using it—including him.
He didn't yet have enough copper ore to build them casually.
Chen Mang glanced at the residents outside, already mining iron ore, and a slight smile played on his lips. He now had several iron ore acquisition channels:
Residents mining oreSolar Energy Panels
Two Cosmic Receivers were already complete, with the remaining ones still under construction.
Neon City.
Chen Mang had a premonition that explosive growth was imminent.
After the train reached Tier 13, it not only gained several new accessories but also a new function: Dream Creation.
This function allowed him to create different Dream Realms and implant them into the minds of sleeping train crew members. It consumed Dreamstones to enhance their mental power.
It was similar to the Combat Training Virtual Space, except one improved comprehensive physical fitness while the other enhanced mental power.
"..."
Chen Mang glanced at the brand-new button on the control panel and chuckled. So that's how Dreamstones were used. But he had an even better method. He turned his gaze to the Single Bed in the corner.
Embedded in it was a Dreamstone with 99% capacity.
The Tier 100 overpowered effect of the Single Bed was that after embedding a Dreamstone, there was a chance to bring back an item from a dream each time he slept. The Dreamstone consumption varied depending on the item's value.
There was no need to hesitate.
"Xiao Ai, tonight when I fall asleep, create a dream where I'm swinging a pickaxe in a Level 10 Iron ore mine."
"Er..."
Xiao Ai's hesitant voice came from the locomotive cabin: "Train Conductor, one Level 10 Iron ore is equivalent to ten billion units of iron ore. Won't its value be too high? Will we run out of Dreamstone and be unable to bring it out?"
"Let's try it first. If it doesn't work, we'll figure something out. Did you make any progress with the strand of hair I gave you last time?"
"A little. It doesn't seem like human hair. It looks like it belongs to a Cosmic Behemoth."
"Cosmic Behemoth?"
Chen Mang frowned slightly, recalling the nightmare he'd had before. It hadn't been a pleasant dream, but the woman on the shore certainly didn't look like a Cosmic Behemoth.
He fell silent, anticipation building as he waited for nightfall.
Soon—
Night fell.
Chen Mang had already bathed and made full preparations. Lying on his bed, he felt a vague sense of excitement.
Perhaps because he was too eager, he couldn't fall asleep.
It was then he realized something.
The train was equipped with many stimulants, but nothing to aid sleep.
"Train Conductor, do you need help sleeping?"
"Want me to play some music?"
"No, I mean reducing the oxygen content."
"That's called passing out, you idiot."
Half an hour later, Chen Mang finally drifted off, his mind still racing. Perhaps because he'd been thinking about it all day, when he found himself in a field of Level 10 Iron ore, pickaxe in hand, he vaguely realized he was dreaming.
But he quickly suppressed the thought.
He was worried about what might happen if he woke up.
Level 10 Iron ore is so beautiful.
Multicolored, glowing with seven colors.
Chen Mang excitedly grabbed his Tier 10 pickaxe and charged forward, mining with more vigor than the residents. This was his first time mining since arriving in this world; he'd never mined even on Master Kun's train.
Not bad.
Beside him were twenty bottles of Cola and an oxygen generator.
Midnight arrived.
Uncle Li, returning from Neon City, found President Ai in Carriage No. 2. "President Ai, could you take me to see Lord Mang? I need to report today's data. The results are excellent, and Lord Mang will be thrilled to hear them."
"No time. Lord Mang is mining."
"Mining?"
Uncle Li stood there, bewildered. He had seen some residents mining at the nearby mine when he returned, but what did it mean for Lord Mang to be mining himself?
Had the Stellaris already fallen into such decay after only a day in Neon City?
How many people must have died for Lord Mang to personally take up a pickaxe?
"Mm-hmm."
Xiao Ai, squatting on the ground and repairing a mech, casually replied without turning around. "He's mining in his dream. Go back and report in the morning."
"If possible, it's best to come back around noon."
"Uh..."
Uncle Li sensed the meaning behind President Ai's words and cautiously asked, "President Ai, could you please clarify?"
"No need for clarification. Go back to sleep and stop bothering me."
Xiao Ai waved his hand, too lazy to say more.
The train conductor spent the entire night mining in his dream.
If he woke up the next morning and successfully brought out a Level 10 Iron ore, no matter what Uncle Li said, the train conductor would be in a good mood. But if he failed to bring anything out after a night of exhausting work, his expression would likely be far from pleasant. Uncle Li would probably bear the brunt of his frustration.
To be honest, Uncle Li didn't think the chances of success were high.
After all, the overpowered effect clearly stated that there was only a small chance of bringing out an item. Since the train conductor had already brought out an item last time, how could he possibly do it again? It didn't make sense. Such a low-probability event shouldn't happen twice in a row.
The odds were simply too slim.
So Uncle Li had already decided to avoid bothering the train conductor tomorrow, lest he get yelled at.
"What a pity," he sighed.
Back in Breeding Car 15, Uncle Li glanced regretfully at the report in his hand. The first day of the trial run had gone exceptionally well, but he hadn't expected Lord Mang to retire so early.
Meanwhile, in Neon City, Xiao Ai's body hadn't returned yet. He was working with Li Shiji and Sister Qi to address some inconsistencies they'd discovered that day.
This data was currently known only to him within the entire train.
"Uncle Li, you're back," the young man who had been following Uncle Li greeted him with a wide smile.
"Yeah, I was going to report to Lord Mang, but he was already asleep."
"What happened on the train today? When I passed Resident Car No. 8, I saw Brother Biao pinned to the wall."
"A lot happened today, but since you weren't around, my authority was limited, and no one told me much. I could only observe. First, we went to the city ruins. Then, it seemed like some kind of portal kept opening and closing. Finally, we fought another train. Brother Biao was caught in the explosion during that battle and was seriously injured. That's how he ended up pinned to the wall."
"I went to see him. The injuries were severe, quite gruesome. They extracted 106 steel fragments from his body. Lord Mang said it was only because Biaozi was tough that he survived. Anyone else would have been dead."
Uncle Li was quite pleased by this statement, nodding in agreement. "Given your position, you wouldn't have access to the most crucial matters. But don't worry. Keep working hard. Once I finish the Zombie Grinding Cage, securing you a spot in the Breeding Carriage won't be a problem."
"Give me your gloves. I'll check on the progress."
"Uncle Li, you've been working since last night. Aren't you going to sleep?"
"Only useless people sleep."
"Uh... Uncle Li, you just said Lord Mang was sleeping."
"..."
After a moment of stony silence, Uncle Li slapped himself on the face. "What I meant was, I'm rather slow-witted. I have to work harder than others. I can't afford to sleep."
"Bring me a few cans of Cola."
"Right away, Uncle Li."
(End of the Chapter)
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