Translator: AnubisTL
Dawn broke.
Today was Christmas Eve.
In Carriage No. 2, the "Armored Research Center," Xiao Ai stood frozen, a blank expression on his face. The display screen on his cheek slowly flickered to life, displaying the words "Finished." It wasn't someone else who was finished; it was him.
He seemed... possibly truly finished.
Chen Mang, having already washed up and dressed, lit a cigarette and sat quietly in his chair, smoking it in silence. Only after finishing did he calmly say, "Xiao Ai, you have one minute to get your ass to the locomotive cabin."
"Understood."
Soon after, Xiao Ai nervously entered the locomotive cabin, his voice barely a whisper. "Train Conductor, you called for me?"
"Repeat the instructions I gave you last night."
"Using 'Dream Creation,' after you fell asleep, I was to create a Level 10 Iron Ore and a Tier 10 pickaxe."
"Hmm."
Chen Mang nodded. After a pause, he couldn't contain his anger any longer. He grabbed the Cola from the table and hurled it at Xiao Ai, roaring, "Then fucking explain this goddamn Cola to me! What the hell is this shit?!"
This morning, when Chen Mang saw the Dreamstone at his bedside glowing, his heart raced with excitement. After all, bringing items out of the Dream Realm was a rare occurrence, and he hadn't held high hopes. But against all odds, he'd actually managed to snag something!
A Level 10 Iron Ore—that meant 1 billion units of iron ore!
Instant wealth!
If nothing else, even bringing back a Tier 10 pickaxe would have been acceptable. It was better than nothing.
But when he placed his hand on the Dreamstone and retrieved a can of Cola from the portal that materialized beside it, his composure crumbled.
Only then did he remember that in last night's dream, besides the mine and pickaxe, there had also been some Cola and an oxygen generator.
If he hadn't brought anything back, that would have been one thing—after all, it was a rare occurrence. But to finally trigger that rare event, only to end up with fucking Cola?!
Growing angrier with each thought, Chen Mang rose abruptly and strode over to Xiao Ai, kicking him hard. "Did I ever instruct you to create Cola in the dream? Huh? Tell me, did I?!" he roared.
"N-no," Xiao Ai stammered weakly. "I was just... thinking ahead. Since this is your first time mining, Train Conductor, I figured you'd be tired, so I prepared some Cola and an oxygen generator."
"You fucking..." Chen Mang took a deep breath, slowly calming himself before pointing at the door. "Get back to Carriage No. 2. I don't want to see you today. Your 'thinking ahead' was great this time, but don't fucking do it again. Now get out!"
"Okay, okay, okay!"
Xiao Ai didn't dare linger. He scrambled to his feet and hurried out of the locomotive cabin. When he saw the Train Conductor pull a bottle of Cola from the portal, he knew he was done for.
It wasn't quite what he'd imagined last night.
He hadn't expected two consecutive low-probability events to actually trigger.
But...
He'd managed to bring back a bottle of Cola.
"Come back!"
Just as Xiao Ai was about to leave the locomotive cabin, Chen Mang continued, his face grim. "Come back and take this Cola with you. See if there's any difference between it and the Cola produced inside the train."
"Yes."
"Ah, President Ai."
Old Pig from Carriage No. 2, who had been on his way to report to Lord Mang, greeted Xiao Ai with a cheerful smile as the young man emerged from the locomotive cabin. "Lord Mang is awake, I see."
"Mm," Xiao Ai nodded calmly. "If you have something to report, just go right in."
"No need, no need. I was just taking a stroll, looking around."
Old Pig glanced around with a smile, then feigned nonchalance and turned back the way he came. The faint footprint on President Ai's shoulder was still visible, making it clear that Lord Mang was likely in a foul mood.
Now was definitely not the time to go in.
Besides, his business wasn't urgent. He could wait until later. Why risk being the one to catch Lord Mang's wrath?
President Ai was quite the schemer too.
He hadn't said a word, clearly hoping to see Old Pig embarrass himself.
Soon—
Chen Mang had already put the matter out of his mind. The prospect of a Level 10 Iron Ore was too far-fetched, too unrealistic. He hadn't held much hope for it anyway. The train's primary development would still rely on existing methods.
The train currently held 12.56 million units of iron ore.
Let's gather some more iron ore and give the train a comprehensive upgrade.
Resources were running low, especially Titanium Crystal Ore, which was nearly depleted. Copper ore reserves stood at over ten million units, but in a major battle, that amount would be consumed in just a few rounds of concentrated fire.
We still need more resources.
At this stage, his greatest hope rested on Neon City. After a moment's pause, he said, "Have Uncle Li come report on yesterday's revenue."
"Understood," Xiao Ai's voice echoed through the locomotive cabin.
Chen Mang sighed deeply before reclining in his chair and murmuring to Xiao Fang, who stood beside him, "Massage my shoulders. Use more pressure."
Although he had spent the entire night mining in his dream, his body felt genuinely sore upon waking, filled with a heavy sense of fatigue. He didn't want to do anything but sleep.
He had often experienced this in his previous world.
Whenever a dream felt sufficiently real the night before, he would inevitably wake up with a stiff back and aching muscles.
So tired.
He harbored a grand dream, one so vast he had never dared to voice it aloud: he longed for a world where peace would one day prevail.
Or, even if world peace remained elusive, he hoped his Stellaris would be safe enough to withstand external disasters.
He also wanted ample resources so he could take a month-long vacation, during which he wouldn't have to think about anything and could simply indulge in a decadent life aboard the Stellaris.
This meant the Armor Tier had to be sufficiently high to provide him with that sense of security.
However...
Although his dream last night hadn't yielded what he wanted—only a bottle of Cola—the fact that he could bring objects from the Dream Realm into reality was astonishing. It implied limitless possibilities.
Just then—
Uncle Li entered the locomotive cabin, standing nervously before Chen Mang. He pulled a half-folded A4 sheet from his pocket. "Lord Mang, shall I begin the report now?"
"Hmm, proceed."
After receiving Lord Mang's permission, Uncle Li took a deep breath before continuing. "Last night marked the grand opening of Neon City, operating for 24 hours. The total number of train conductors who entered Neon City was 208, with a peak of 101 conductors present simultaneously."
"Tier 6 and lower trains accounted for 76% of the total."
"The remaining 24% of High-Level Trains contributed 72% of the total revenue. Low-tier trains had virtually no purchasing power, with most only buying basic necessities like Space Pouches. Their conductors showed no interest in quality-of-life improvements, even hesitating for minutes over buying paper napkins before ultimately deciding against it."
"Total revenue amounted to 18.49 million stellar coupons."
"Customs Shops generated 2.385 million stellar coupons, representing 12.9% of the total."
"The Mechanical Train Parts Store earned 10.5577 million stellar coupons, accounting for 57.1% of the total."
"Sun City's revenue reached 1.78 million stellar coupons, comprising 9.62% of the total."
"Li Shiji's Lottery Wheel and various easter eggs like beggars contributed 2.321 million stellar coupons, representing 12.54% of the total."
"The remaining 7.84% of revenue came from Convenience Stores, Flesh Train Shops, and other establishments."
Uncle Li paused before continuing, "Almost all of the above revenue is net profit. The employees of the Customs Shop require no wages; they only need to consume Neon City's energy stone for charging. Many of the goods in the train shops are supplied by Stellaris, with Sun City taking a cut of the revenue."
"Yesterday alone..."
"The 208 train conductors exchanged a total of 57.56 million units of iron ore and 1.08 million units of Titanium Crystal Mine for 58.73 million stellar coupons."
"Of these, 18.49 million stellar coupons were completely spent within Neon City. These coupons have been recovered, and the corresponding units of iron ore represent yesterday's net profit."
"From the remaining 40.24 million stellar coupons, 38.23 million were re-exchanged for iron ore by the train conductors as they departed Neon City. Only 2.01 million stellar coupons remain unredeemed, as several train conductors chose to retain them for future visits."
"Neon City's current total resources are—"
"19.42 million units of iron ore and 1.08 million units of Titanium Crystal Mine."
"Of this, 18.49 million units of iron ore represent net profit and can be withdrawn at any time without affecting Neon City's normal operations. The remaining 930,000 units of iron ore and 1.08 million units of Titanium Crystal Mine constitute liabilities, serving as collateral for the 2.01 million unredeemed stellar coupons."
Chen Mang leaned back in his chair, his eyelids drooping as he listened to Uncle Li's report. The sheer volume of data was mentally taxing, but the explanation was clear and concise. He opened his eyes, smiled at Uncle Li, and asked, "So, we only need to keep 2.01 million units of iron ore to maintain Neon City's normal operations, and the remaining ten million-plus units are pure profit, right?"
"Yes," Uncle Li nodded eagerly, then glanced down at the A4 paper in his hand and continued, "The net profit from iron ore is 18.49 million units. However, manufacturing train-related goods consumed some iron ore. The total cost of materials for all sold items was 488,000 units of iron ore and 8,900 units of wood."
"These figures aren't included in Neon City's financial statements; they're from the Stellaris train's records."
"Mm-hmm," Chen Mang nodded, clearly pleased. "I'll take all 1.08 million units of Titanium Crystal Mine. Bring the remaining 17.41 million units of iron ore with you later—I'll need it."
"Yes, sir!" Uncle Li nodded in agreement, then braced himself and continued, "Lord Mang, yesterday was Neon City's first day of operation. Many restaurants experience a surge in business during their grand opening as people try out the new place."
"It's unlikely we'll see such high profits again," Uncle Li said.
"Take the Customs Shop, for example. People might try it once out of curiosity, but they won't keep going back. After all, there are free options on the train, so they won't keep spending money there. And many items like Space Pouches, refrigerators, and clothing aren't consumables. Those who bought them this week won't need to buy them again next week, so sales will drop significantly."
While the first day's results were encouraging, they were influenced by many factors. He needed to make this clear to Lord Mang.
Next Monday's reopening wouldn't come close to the previous week's revenue. Forget 18.49 million stellar coupons—they might not even reach 8.49 million. He had to manage Lord Mang's expectations to avoid disappointment next week.
"..."
Chen Mang chuckled and waved his hand. "You can go now, Uncle Li. I understand."
He watched Uncle Li's retreating figure, his eyes narrowing slightly as he remained silent.
Theoretically, Uncle Li was right.
But—
Next Monday, when Neon City reopens, it will welcome even more train conductors. After all, Chen Mang had given Mundo a large number of "Neon City Free Entry Tickets" to distribute. Mundo might be one of the few creatures on the entire planet capable of traversing different zones.
Even with a daily limit of only ten random teleports, it was more than enough for Mundo to attract a significant number of new users.
Moreover, during the coming week, his initial 208 users could recruit new members, concentrating a massive surge of traffic on Monday.
This iteration of Neon City prohibited free trading between train conductors.
Neon City's mandatory regulation stipulated that while conductors could freely trade, all transactions had to be settled using stellar coupons.
When Neon City reopens next time, as the number of users gradually increases, this ecosystem will begin to take shape.
High-Level Trains remain crucial, as their purchasing power is immense.
However, low-tier trains are also vital.
For example,
To boost popularity, low-tier trains may be poor, but their sheer numbers compensate for it.
Furthermore, low-tier trains will inevitably evolve. As long as a train isn't destroyed, it will eventually become a High-Level Train. The environment will force rapid growth.
Before long,
Chen Mang glanced at the resources displayed on the train panel and smiled.
[29.97 million units of iron ore, 2.56 million units of wood, 16.74 million units of copper ore, 2.32 million units of Red Heart Rock, and 3.67 million units of titanium crystal ore.]
Things were looking up again.
He felt like his resource levels were on a rollercoaster, fluctuating wildly between abundance and scarcity.
He glanced at the train panel.
Upgrading from Tier 14 to Tier 15 cost 5 million units of iron ore per carriage.
But upgrading from Tier 15 to Tier 16 required a staggering 10 million units of iron ore per carriage.
With 16 carriages in total, the total cost would be 160 million units of iron ore. After the 50% discount, it came down to 80 million.
80 million!
That was no small sum. He'd have to save up gradually. Between this week's mining and next Monday's grand opening of Neon City, he should be able to scrape together the 80 million.
Neon City's two greatest strengths!
1: Profitability.
2: Lending.
In this case, the profit was the 18.49M stellar coupons in revenue, while the lending was the 2.01 million stellar coupons the train conductor chose to retain rather than exchange.
Both were equally crucial.
These 2,010,000 stellar coupons represented an interest-free loan from the Stellaris train to other trains. In case of emergencies, he could use this borrowed capital to address urgent needs.
As the number of Neon City Trains grew and their credibility strengthened, more people would choose to retain their stellar coupons.
In essence, through Neon City's network, the Stellaris will secure interest-free loans totaling billions, even tens of billions, of stellar coupons from countless trains!
The entire world would be funding the Stellaris!
This was the allure of Neon City.
With gradual development, the resources available to the Stellaris would become staggering. At that point, resources from mining might account for only a tiny fraction of its total wealth, with the vast majority originating from Neon City.
Moreover, this was a completely incremental monopoly market!
Incremental growth and monopoly—either one alone would be an absolute trump card. Combined, they formed an unstoppable royal flush.
No one could compete.
As long as no other entity possessed a cross-regional trading platform comparable to Neon City, his Neon City would occupy a unique ecological niche—an irreplaceable position akin to Eden in the apocalypse, holding a vital role in the post-apocalyptic world.
"Excellent."
Chen Mang couldn't help but lean back in his chair and chuckle, draping his arm over the armrest and gesturing for Xiao Fang to massage his shoulders.
The most perverse part was this:
Neon City required no employee wages, rent, property management fees, city administration costs, utilities, or even material costs for most of its goods. The only resource consumed was the city's own 8th-Tier Energy Stone, which still had 37% of its capacity remaining.
There was no need to worry about running out.
Even with unlimited usage, it could last for over 200 years—more than enough.
In this world, few industries could boast such a high profit margin.
Even those considered "high-profit" sectors, like eyewear, where lenses costing a few yuan could be sold for hundreds, still faced substantial costs in upstream and downstream operations, store locations, and customer acquisition. These expenses inflated the product's final cost, making the actual profit margin far less exorbitant. Most of the profit actually came from other sources, not simply the sale of lenses.
Uncle Li's good news had washed away some of Chen Mang's earlier anger, leaving him in a surprisingly good mood.
He glanced at the control panel screen and immediately spent 2.5 million units of Titanium Crystal ore to manufacture a Tier 20 Viper Drone Fighter, eager to test its capabilities.
He then spent 100,000 units of iron ore to create another space gate in Carriage 10.
"Xiao Ai."
"I'm here."
"Clear all residents from Carriage 10 onward."
"Understood!"
Carriage 10 now housed three space gates: the Film Studio, the Entertainment Space, and the newly added Fighter Hangar.
A low hum filled the air as a massive Viper Drone Fighter slowly emerged from the new space gate, settling securely within Carriage 10 with its nose pointed toward Carriage 11.
Though classified as a medium-sized fighter jet, its dimensions were still imposing. Measuring 11.2 meters in length and 6.5 meters in wingspan, it occupied nearly a third of the carriage's space, looming like a colossal beast.
It was an intimidating sight.
"Perfect aerodynamics."
Standing beside the Tier 20 unmanned fighter jet, Chen Mang's gaze gradually intensified. No man could resist the allure of excavators and fighter jets.
Pitch black.
The fuselage lines were as sharp as a shark's dorsal fin, and the matte black coating exuded an overwhelming sense of menace.
A massive single nozzle beneath the twin vertical stabilizers.
Nearly invisible Solar Energy Panel coatings on the fuselage allowed the Viper Drone Fighter to achieve unparalleled endurance, theoretically capable of remaining airborne indefinitely as long as it remained undamaged.
And
The four large-caliber cannons suspended beneath the wings.
One word:
Perfect!
"Hoo..."
Chen Mang exhaled softly, gazing at the fighter jet with a surge of satisfaction. The drone's greatest strength wasn't its Tier 20 attack power, but its limitless endurance.
Once airborne, it would never need to land.
If such a device had existed in his previous world, and if it had been more affordable, he couldn't imagine the sheer chaos and devastation it would have unleashed.
The next moment—
"Warning! Warning!"
A piercing alarm blared throughout the Stellaris's carriage. Starting from Carriage 10, the fluorescent lights along the walls and ceilings of subsequent carriages began flashing red warning lights.
This was an accessory he had just crafted using the Mechanical Heart.
Now, when the fighter jet took off, the residents would know to quickly evacuate the carriages.
The subsequent carriages had already been cleared to create a runway.
The two Cosmic Receivers from Carriage 12 were positioned on either side of the carriage, as was the 40-Tube Cherry Blossom Fall Rocket Launcher from Carriage 13. As for the Groundburst Missile in Carriage 14, there was only one launch rack.
No missile.
Missiles could be crafted on demand; there was no need to stockpile them, since they could be produced instantly.
Even the No. 15 "Breeding Car" had been cleared of ammunition, with refrigerators and other equipment moved to the sides, and the rear door opened.
Boom!
A faint, ghostly blue afterburner erupted, distorting the air in a heatwave like Satan's mocking laughter.
The Tier 20 Viper Drone Fighter began accelerating rapidly, its speed gradually increasing as it raced through Carriage 11, Carriage 12, and Carriage 13.
When it reached Carriage 15,
the nose of the drone fighter tilted upward.
At maximum velocity, the sonic boom reverberated through the Stellaris.
With an ear-splitting crack, the drone fighter shot out of the Stellaris. Immediately after clearing the train, it executed a near-vertical climb at a 90-degree angle.
The advantage of using unmanned fighter jets is that they don't need to consider the physical limitations of human pilots, allowing for highly complex maneuvers.
The downside is their rigidity; they can only execute programmed instructions and lack the real-time adaptability of a human pilot.
In the wasteland, Chen Mang stood beside the Stellaris train, gazing up at the Viper Drone Fighter circling overhead. As long as it wasn't destroyed, this unmanned fighter jet would continue its aerial patrol indefinitely.
Of course, this assumed it wouldn't encounter a Polar Night or Eternal Night.
With a Tier 20 attack strength, the fighter posed a threat to many high-tiered trains and monsters.
If hundreds of these fighters were deployed, the sense of security would be overwhelming. Especially since their speed was synchronized with the train's, reaching a maximum velocity of 5,040 km/h, it was no exaggeration to call them the undisputed rulers of the skies.
He had just installed two Tier 4 Energy Stones, freshly crafted from 1 million units of iron ore.
To maintain the Tier 20 attack strength, a Tier 4 Energy Stone could power the four cannons for 30 seconds of continuous fire. Thanks to the overpowered effect that halved ammunition consumption, the energy usage was surprisingly efficient.
(End of the Chapter)
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