Translator: AnubisTL
Second time: 1283 pulls, jackpot!
Third time: 129 pulls, jackpot!
Fourth time: 912 pulls, jackpot!
Fifth time...
"Confirmed."
Chen Mang turned to Old Pig and instructed, "It probably has nothing to do with luck. It might actually be what Big Mao said—using faith to hypnotize yourself and increase your chances of bringing out 9th-Tier Iron Ore from the Cyber Mine."
"The Cyber Mine will be shut down tomorrow."
"Have Big Mao teach the other miners. Let's see if it works."
"Yes, sir."
After finishing, Chen Mang returned to his locomotive cabin and gazed at the two newly acquired 9th-Tier Iron Ores.
This was the advantage of having multiple sources for iron ore.
It always seemed to trickle in, bit by bit.
Adding these two 9th-Tier Iron Ores, the train's Iron Ore Balance now stood at—
849 million units!
Enough to upgrade the armor to Tier 20.
Chen Mang smiled at the two 9th-Tier Iron Ores and headed toward the shower room. He would sleep first and upgrade tomorrow. He had been eagerly anticipating the overpowered effect of Tier 20 armor, but he was too exhausted and lacked sufficient energy right now.
When he woke up the next day, he would light a cigarette, sit in his chair, and savor the good news slowly. Good news should be enjoyed when one was in the best possible state of mind.
"We'll continue mining tonight."
"I'm going to sleep first."
Under the starry sky, the Stellaris train sped across the Twilight Coast zone at an incredible velocity. Eighty-one Tier 20 Viper Drone Fighters with permanent flight capabilities trailed closely behind, forming a protective escort.
Inside the train, a quiet stillness had settled. Most passengers were asleep, while a few remained awake, moving cautiously to avoid disturbing others.
In the dimly lit locomotive cabin, messages flickered across the control panel screen:
12 Tier 4 Iron Ore deposits detected. Skipping. Prioritizing search for Tier 5 Iron Ore.
11 Tier 4 Iron Ore deposits detected. Skipping. Prioritizing search for Tier 5 Iron Ore.
13 Tier 4 Iron Ore deposits detected, along with 1 Tier 5 Iron Ore deposit. However, another train is already mining this deposit. Skipping. Prioritizing search for Tier 5 Iron Ore.
Withdrawal of skip.
That train has ceased mining and departed. The Tier 5 Iron Ore deposit is now unclaimed. Preparing for mining.
Under the cover of night, the Stellaris train slowly approached a Tier 5 Iron Ore deposit. After settling steadily on the ground, a series of hissing sounds filled the air. The doors of Carriage 10 opened, and thousands of Mining Robots, each carrying a pickaxe, marched out in a highly mechanized procession toward the mine.
The scene, bathed in the darkness, was both awe-inspiring and chilling.
Xiao Ai firmly carried out the instructions Chen Mang had given her before falling asleep.
But...
In a remote corner of the Twilight Coast, a man in a locomotive cabin was still shivering from his near-death experience. He glanced back, making sure the eighty-one fighter jets weren't pursuing him. Only then did he let out a long sigh of relief. He'd escaped just in time; otherwise, he would have been buried alongside that Tier 5 iron ore!
While Tier 5 iron ore was rare, it was nothing compared to his life.
If he hadn't possessed a Special Accessory that allowed him to scan the information of other trains' accessories, he might have been forced to fight!
After all, he wasn't weak.
But when he saw that train boasting Tier 19 Armor and eighty-one Tier 20 Viper Drone Fighters, his mind went blank. Was this the kind of power a Red Zone train should possess?
Without a second thought, he fled!
He glanced at the train radio, hesitating about whether to report this. He'd spent a long time in the Red Zone and had encountered most of the trains there. This was clearly a newly advanced train, one that had jumped straight to Tier 18.
After some thought, he decided to share this with a few train conductors he was friendly with. It was simply too absurd. How could a green-grade accessory like "Steel Car Armor" have reached Tier 19?
Upgrading a single carriage to Tier 19 required sixteen murphy stones.
That train had 14 carriages and a locomotive, requiring 240 murphy stones.
240 murphy stones!
Good heavens, do you think Neon City is your personal property, with an endless supply of murphy stones?
Just then—
The man's body suddenly froze in place. A terrifying possibility flashed through his mind, and his voice trembled slightly as he asked, "Caishen, can you check the surveillance footage to see if it captured the side of that train earlier? I seem to recall seeing graffiti on it."
"Understood, Train Conductor."
The locomotive cabin soon filled with the electronic hum of machinery. Caishen was the name he'd given his AI.
Quickly!
The surveillance playback appeared on the control panel screen.
Frame by frame, the screen slowly revealed the slightly blurred side of the train from earlier.
Fuck Everything · Stellaris
"Damn it," the man muttered, swallowing the saliva that had risen in his mouth. He shakily lit a cigarette. What a coincidence. Neon City had been incredibly popular in their zone recently, and he'd visited it several times himself.
Many items in the Mechanical Train Parts Store were labeled as being supplied by the Stellaris train.
Even the stellar coupons in Neon City were named after the Stellaris.
Many secretly suspected that Neon City might belong to the Stellaris. This wasn't just because of the coincidences; more importantly, they had all visited the fortuitous encounter map, but none of the encounter locations felt as human-like as Neon City.
It was as if many people were managing and operating it.
He had never imagined he'd see the Stellaris train in reality. But it was being a bit too domineering. He had been diligently mining, only for them to come and steal his claim. Couldn't they find another mine?
But...
He glanced at the accessory information for his train on the control panel screen. It seemed they truly had the power to be domineering. They were on a completely different level.
"I finally found a Tier 5 Mine," the man said, his voice choked with tears and resentment. "Why? You're already so powerful. Why not go after a new Tier 5 Mine instead of bullying me? Just because you're strong, you think you can bully anyone you want? Where's the justice in that?"
Still resentful, he activated his train radio and shared the news with his friends.
He warned them to be careful.
If they saw the Stellaris coming to steal their mines, they should run immediately.
It wasn't worth risking their lives for a bit of iron ore. That Tier 19 Armor and those 81 Tier 20 Viper Fighter unmanned fighter jets... only a few top-tier players in the Red Zone might stand a chance against them. Everyone else would struggle to hold their ground.
"Director Zhang."
Old Pig frowned slightly, staring at the script in his hand. After a long silence, he finally spoke. "Can you tell me why you wanted to write this script?"
"No problem."
Zhang Yiren replied enthusiastically. "Since I'm the only one making movies on the Stellaris right now, I thought movies should be diverse. We shouldn't stick to just one genre. We should explore various themes. This script is a great idea I came up with in the last couple of days."
"It's a horror story."
"The protagonist struggles through countless hardships to escape a female ghost wearing embroidered shoes and finally returns safely to his family. They gather to celebrate his survival and present him with a cake topped with a lit candle."
"Overwhelmed with gratitude, the protagonist gazes at his family and friends. As he blows out the candle, he catches a glimpse in his peripheral vision—everyone around him is wearing embroidered shoes."
"What do you think? Doesn't it have a certain flavor?"
"..."
Old Pig returned the script to Zhang Yiren with a sigh. "It certainly has flavor. Is scriptwriting really this easy for you? The ideas just keep flowing. But this script can't be filmed."
"Lord Mang hates horror and love stories the most."
"And as you know, Lord Mang is a film buff. He watches every movie you make. This one is definitely out of the question. How's that zombie film he asked you to shoot last time coming along?"
"It's almost finished."
Zhang Yiren quickly pointed to the nearby film crew and then hesitated before speaking softly. "Trainmaster Zhu, there's something I wanted to discuss with you. My crew is short-handed, and I'd like to recruit some more people."
"I can pay them myself."
"But..."
"I don't have any way to generate revenue yet. So I was wondering if we could try charging a small fee for the film? Maybe 0.1 stellar coupons per ticket? Just as a pilot program..."
"No."
Old Pig shook his head, rejecting the idea. "Promoting a free market economy on the train is a complex issue that requires a dialectical approach. For starters, if you're going to operate under market principles, you need to pay for the resources you're using: the filming locations, the space gate, the holographic projections, all the props—they all belong to the Stellaris."
"Why should you get to use them for free?"
"Shouldn't you be paying for them?"
"And what about the fact that you're enjoying the Stellaris' protection during the apocalypse? Shouldn't you be paying for that too?"
"A market economy can't be established overnight. Don't even think about it, especially with so many residents recently laid off."
"Everyone's desperate to find a suitable job in Neon City right now," Old Pig said. "Who has time or money to watch movies?"
"We'll talk about this later. I'm going to check out another area."
Watching Old Pig's retreating back, Zhang Yiren quickly added, "When the new film comes out, I hope Trainmaster Zhu will give it a look and offer some feedback."
Only after Old Pig had completely left the Film Studio did Zhang Yiren sigh softly, light a cigarette, and remain lost in thought for a long time.
Lately, he'd been preoccupied with a matter. His resident ID, 5122, was far too low. This wasn't a good sign. Having frequent contact with Stellaris's upper echelons, he had his own insights into the ship's dynamics.
In the future, resident IDs would become the most crucial factor on Stellaris. The earlier your ID, the higher your status.
So...
He'd been considering ways to move his resident ID up the list.
Normally, this would be impossible. Each spot was filled, and no one would willingly trade their position.
But—
As far as he knew, a thug had died in the Green Zone, the Sha River Plains, when Stellaris was stationed there. The thug's resident ID was 78, and with his death, the number had become vacant.
He wanted to obtain this number, but he was at a loss for how to proceed. There was no precedent for this on the train, and he couldn't even gauge Trainmaster Zhu's attitude.
Day broke.
As the sun rose, Chen Mang climbed out of bed. He stood by the window, getting dressed while watching the Mining Robots that had been working all night. Then he washed up, sat down at his chair, lit a cigarette, and began reviewing the Train Log.
The entire routine had become second nature.
Repeating this process every morning gave him a sense of comfort, as if he were in a safe zone. If he ever woke up and couldn't go through these motions, he would feel uneasy.
It was like how a hotel mattress, though cleaner and softer than his own, never felt as secure as his bed at home.
Humans were meant to stay in their own doghouses.
No matter how messy or poor, it was still their own.
After the Train Expansion, the locomotive cabin had become much larger. He had gone from feeling slightly uncomfortable to completely accustomed to the new space.
"Prepare to upgrade."
Chen Mang rubbed his hands together, a flicker of anticipation in his eyes as he prepared to experience the Level 20 Armor Overdrive Effect.
Just then—
"Lord Mang."
Xiao Fang, who had been standing nearby, carefully approached with a steaming bowl of noodles. She placed it on the table. "This is breakfast for today."
"..."
Chen Mang stared at the noodles on the table, slightly stunned. It had been a long time since he'd seen new food appear on the train.
A bowl of steaming scallion oil noodles, topped with chopped scallions and scallion oil, with a poached egg half-hidden in the noodles, looking both inviting and shy. The air was filled with a faint scallion fragrance, and a small bowl of scallion sauce sat beside it.
"Lord Mang, if you think it needs more flavor, you can add some scallion sauce."
"Did you make this?"
"Yes."
"Let me try!"
Chen Mang rolled up his sleeves, took the chopsticks from Xiao Fang, and sat down expectantly. He looked at the bowl of scallion oil noodles on the table, picked up a mouthful, blew on it to cool it, and slowly chewed. His eyes brightened, and a smile tugged at his lips.
"Not bad at all."
He immediately grabbed his chopsticks and devoured the noodles with gusto. In just a few minutes, he had finished the entire bowl, including the soup, which he drank down to the last drop.
The noodle soup, infused with the savory scallion oil and flecked with bits of egg, was incredibly delicious.
"Excellent!"
Chen Mang set down his bowl and chopsticks with satisfaction, his spirits soaring. He turned to Xiao Fang, who looked particularly pleasing to the eye today. "You know how to make this?"
"I didn't before. Last time, Lord Mang said he hoped I'd learn to cook, so I did."
"I was just saying that off the cuff. But still, where did you even get noodles and scallions on this train? I didn't know we had those."
"Lord Mang," Xiao Fang said softly as she stepped forward to clear the dishes. "You're standing too high, looking too far ahead. You're almost forgetting what's right under your feet. Neon City's daily turnover is tens of millions of stellar coupons—the numbers are too big. Lord Mang, you're always thinking about the big picture."
"I don't have much ability, and I can't see that far ahead."
"Last night, I borrowed some stellar coupons from Sister Chuchu and bought some scallions, noodles, and seasonings in Neon City. That's how I made this bowl of scallion oil noodles."
"It cost over 800 stellar coupons."
"I wish I'd saved more stellar coupons. Otherwise, I could have bought more ginger, cucumber shreds, and other ingredients to make you a bowl of zhajiang noodles."
"..."
Chen Mang paused, his gaze softening as he looked at Xiao Fang. "Put that bowl of unfinished scallion sauce in the refrigerator. I'll want to eat it again at noon. Next time, make a few more bowls. I didn't get enough."
After Xiao Fang left, Chen Mang lit a cigarette, turned to the control panel screen, and tapped his knuckles lightly on the table. He exhaled a long plume of smoke, his voice calm and reflective. "Xiao Ai, Xiao Ai," he murmured.
"With so many people coming and going in Neon City every day, how come no one thought to buy some food and make me something decent?"
"I didn't think of it."
"Didn't anyone else think of it either?"
"Train Conductor," Xiao Ai's voice came from the locomotive cabin, tinged with helplessness. "Perhaps no one realized that your daily meals are actually quite similar to the residents'. Everyone assumes you eat better, since Old Pig and Biaozi only see you once every few days."
"So they don't know, and you don't either?"
"I'm an AI. I don't need to eat. I have no concept of that."
After a moment of thought, Chen Mang spoke. "Appoint Xiao Fang as Chief of Internal Affairs, responsible solely for the locomotive cabin. She will have the right to enter the cabin at any time and to allocate a portion of resources. Her compensation will be upgraded to Second-Tier Senior Talent Benefits."
"Reimburse her for the cost of the ingredients she just bought."
"Understood."
Internal affairs had always been Old Pig's domain.
Old Pig was excellent at managing the train's overall internal affairs, but he lacked Xiao Fang's attention to detail, especially when it came to Chen Mang's dietary preferences.
In Carriage 5, Yan Yao stared blankly at the information that had just popped up on her Iris Chip.
[Train-wide Announcement: Personnel Changes.
Resident No. 99, Xiao Fang, has been appointed Chief of Internal Affairs. She will be solely responsible for all miscellaneous tasks within the locomotive cabin and will have limited resource allocation authority. She will receive Second-Tier Senior Talent Benefits.]
After a long moment, Yan Yao looked at Ji Chuchu with a dazed expression.
"Sister Chuchu," she said, "if I remember correctly, Xiao Fang borrowed our stellar coupons, right? How did she get promoted?"
"Using our money to do her own thing?"
"..."
Ji Chuchu lowered her head to examine her manicure, a flicker of disappointment passing through her eyes. After a long pause, she forced a smile and turned to look out the window. "Men," she said, "you either have to satisfy their upper halves or their lower halves. Clearly, Xiao Fang's cooking is pretty good."
Just then, the door to Carriage 5 opened, and Xiao Fang rushed in, her face flushed with excitement. "Sister Chuchu! Lord Mang said the scallion oil noodles I just learned to make were delicious! He wants to eat them again for lunch! I really have to thank Sister Chuchu and Sister Yan Yao for lending me the stellar coupons. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to make this bowl of noodles."
"Sister Fang, don't be so formal," Ji Chuchu said, stepping forward to embrace Xiao Fang's shoulders with a warm smile. "You can just call me Xiao Chu from now on."
"Sister Chuchu, please don't say that. I still need to thank you for teaching me so much. In my heart, you'll always be my sister."
After this brief interlude, Chen Mang, seated at the control panel, gazed at the screen. As 800 million units of iron ore powder were crushed and integrated into the carriage, the green-grade Accessory, Steel Car Armor, finally reached Tier 20!
Tier 20 Armor!
Immune to all attacks up to Tier 20 strength.
And, it had gained a brand-new overpowered effect.
Steel Car Armor (Tier 20 Overpowered Effect): The surface is coated with an 'Ion Coating', allowing the carriage to rapidly repair itself when damaged.
Not bad.
The overpowered effects of this accessory at Tier 5 and Tier 10 were already impressive. The Tier 5 effect granted immunity to corrosion from liquids and mists, while the Tier 10 effect halved upgrade costs. This overpowered effect had saved the Stellaris billions of units of iron ore.
Without this overpowered effect, upgrading from Tier 19 to Tier 20 wouldn't have required 800 million units of iron ore—it would have needed a staggering 1.6 billion!
That was an astronomical figure.
It would have required 16 Tier 5 iron mines to produce that much ore. If the Stellaris hadn't had so many miscellaneous sources of iron ore, gathering 1.6 billion units might have kept it stranded on the Twilight Coast for who knew how long.
To accumulate 1.6 billion units of iron ore, at least 20 Tier 5 mines would have needed to be mined and purchased—and iron ore wasn't just for hoarding.
It was like someone earning 10,000 yuan a month: saving 50,000 yuan a year would make them a genius, saving 100,000 yuan would make them a Divine being, and saving 120,000 yuan would make them a park-dwelling Pixiu—a mythical creature that only takes in and never lets out. TL: wtf
He was quite satisfied with this rapid repair effect.
Not long ago, in the "Withered Wood Meets Spring" map, the rear carriages of the Stellaris were damaged. He had repaired them using mechanical nanospiders. Now, with this overpowered effect, the repairs would happen automatically.
Most importantly, this "rapid repair" didn't consume iron ore—it was a built-in feature of the Ion Coating.
This meant that even if Longing were to manifest again, even if the train's Armor Tier was lower than the monster level, the rapid repair effect could keep the Train Armor operational for a significantly longer period.
Pairing it with mechanical nanospiders would further accelerate the repair speed, allowing the train to endure even longer, potentially even allowing it to directly confront the threat.
It was an excellent overpowered effect, one he quite liked.
After upgrading the armor, Chen Mang picked up the walkie-talkie to contact Erdan. He didn't intend to linger in the Twilight Coast and planned to proceed to the Golden Zone as quickly as possible. However...
"Can't connect?"
He tried several more times, confirming that he couldn't reach Erdan, before putting down the walkie-talkie.
Erdan must have entered a fortuitous encounter map.
That was quick work.
After just one night, he had already found a fortuitous encounter map. Chen Mang decided to leave a message for Erdan, telling him to come directly to Neon City after completing the map. He left some murphy stone there for Erdan to upgrade his armor. As for iron ore resources, they would discuss that later.
"How much longer until that Tier 5 Iron Ore is fully mined?"
Chen Mang glanced out the window at the Mining Robots still hard at work.
Dawn had just broken.
Life was stirring everywhere.
"Progress is estimated to be complete in 30 minutes," Xiao Ai's voice echoed from the locomotive cabin.
"Mm," Chen Mang nodded, then turned back to the Galaxy Map on the screen and murmured, "Is there any difference from yesterday?"
The Galaxy Map spanned 100,000 light-years—an incredibly vast distance. It was difficult for the human brain to discern any changes between today and yesterday, especially at a glance, where much information was condensed. Only by zooming in on a specific corner of the map could one reveal more details.
"There are differences, but nothing major. For example, many celestial bodies have shifted positions slightly," Xiao Ai replied. "There are no black holes, nor any stars on the verge of collapse. Perhaps this is due to our proximity to the Zerg Civilization's core territory, which has been thoroughly cleared of such phenomena."
"..."
Chen Mang remained silent, his gaze fixed on the left side of the Galaxy Map. The territory of the Zerg Civilization, as displayed on the map, already spanned over 30,000 light-years—and that was just a portion of their total domain.
We need to reach the mining star as soon as possible.
The Galaxy Map was fascinating.
Even after half an hour of studying it, he still wasn't bored. Slowly zooming in bit by bit, each viewing deepened his understanding of the specific civilizations and factions beyond the cosmos. Soon, half an hour had flown by.
All the Mining Robots returned to the Miner Base in Carriage 10 in an orderly fashion.
The train set off again.
This time, it didn't use its Magnetic Levitation wheels. Instead, it deployed its Bunny Cloud and soared toward the depths of the ocean. The Golden Zone connected to the Twilight Coast had two entry points: one on a massive sea island deep within the ocean, and the other in the mountain range north of the Twilight Coast.
Chen Mang was more drawn to the ocean.
So he chose the Deep Sea Isolated Island.
After flying about 10,000 meters, he spotted a massive light barrier ahead. Four enormous glowing characters were inscribed above it. Without hesitation, he passed straight through, entering the Golden Zone.
Deep Sea Isolated Island
[The area ahead is the Golden Zone, Deep Sea Isolated Island.
Monsters up to Tier 21 can exist here. The current train level is Tier 18. Danger level: High. Exercise caution.]
Chen Mang, seated in the locomotive cabin, gazed out at the turbulent sea beyond the window and chuckled softly.
Plans never go as expected.
During his time in the Purple Zone, "Stone Man," the Red Zone had left a deep impression on him. The trains there were all heavily armed, each with its own unique tactics. To survive safely in the Red Zone, he had prepared extensively.
But...
When he was finally ready to enter the Red Zone, he realized he was already invincible there. He didn't even stay for more than two days before setting off on his journey again.
Perhaps that's just life.
The things you once thought would be incredibly difficult, when you're fully prepared to face them, turn out to be far less challenging than you imagined, even surprisingly easy.
He loved the sea.
It always carried a deadly romance.
But with the sun high in the sky, it was only mid-morning. He could clearly see the deep blue sea and scattered seagulls. He preferred the sea at night.
That ultimate darkness.
Not a soul in sight, the crushing despair of being surrounded by nothing but sea.
The raging sea wind mercilessly stole his body heat.
The only sound he could hear was the roar of the waves. He tried to moisten his dry, cracked lips with saliva, but the salty taste only made him thirstier.
He loved this feeling of despair.
Provided he was inside the train. He loved experiencing this despair while safely inside the train. Otherwise, the feeling wouldn't be so enjoyable or immersive.
It was like the difference between certain games and torture—perhaps just a matter of a missing safety word.
If torture could be set with a safety word, he believed many people would be willing to try it.
"Train Conductor, do you like the sea?"
"I do."
"Then you're in luck."
"How so?"
Inside the locomotive cabin, Xiao Ai spoke up. "There's a planet 2.3 light-years away from Aquablue Star. It's 100% ocean. I think you'd really like it, Train Conductor. We could go there sometime."
"I'll consider it."
Chen Mang smiled, suddenly looking forward to their future interstellar journey.
"They're already gone?!"
At the edge of the Twilight Coast, a train stood parked near a cliff. The man in the locomotive cabin stared blankly at the receding Stellaris, which had arrived at the coast only yesterday and stolen his Tier 5 Mine.
Without even pausing, the train immediately headed for the Golden Zone.
At least you could have plundered a few more Tier 5 Mines, the man thought, his heart still unsettled. It would have made me feel a little better, knowing I wasn't the only one targeted. Why me? Why did you single me out, then leave without a backward glance?
Was I just unlucky enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time?
But...
The man frowned, deep in thought. This train clearly wasn't a normal one. Normally, when a train enters a zone, the first thing it does isn't to raid other people's mines, nor is the second to immediately advance to a higher-level zone.
This feels like a speedrunning pro!
Could it be... He nodded thoughtfully. This must be a speedrunner who's restarted their run, aiming to clear the White Zone all the way to the Seven-Colored Zone as fast as possible!
He had always believed himself to be among the top players globally, but it was now clear that compared to the Stellaris, he was in a completely different league.
That must be it.
Well, that's fine too.
At least no one would be stealing his iron ore anymore.
"We've arrived," Chen Mang said, his expression growing serious as the train advanced another 100,000 meters. He sat in his chair, gazing at the massive sea island in the distance.
The island's center was covered in a dense jungle, while its shores were barren beaches, resembling a bald head.
"Huh?"
"This place looks familiar..."
The sea island was surprisingly crowded with humans.
At a glance, they were packed together like ants, numbering at least ten to twenty thousand.
If he hadn't known about the apocalypse, he might have thought he'd stumbled upon a resort.
Around the island's perimeter, numerous wooden huts and tents had been erected. Trains occasionally emerged from the sea like fish leaping from the water.
"This is the Golden Zone?"
Chen Mang frowned slightly, glancing at his target acquisition radar. He'd assumed the Golden Zone would be sparsely populated, but this place was teeming with people and trains.
Yet, all the trains were only Tier 1.
And there wasn't a single monster in sight.
Could the Golden Zone be a peaceful zone? That didn't make sense. His resource detection radar clearly showed abundant Tier 5 Mines both underwater and on the island, including several Tier 6 Mines!
That Tier 6 iron ore mine alone held a billion units of iron ore!
Sitting atop a mountain of gold, they didn't even have a single Tier 2 train.
What's the difference between you and Liu Xiahui?
He recognized this island. He had once sent Mundo, equipped with the Mechanical Eye, to randomly teleport and survey other zones. One of the images Mundo had captured was of this very island, though at the time he hadn't known it was a Golden Zone.
Chen Mang, his mind filled with questions, slowly piloted the Stellaris train to hover over the sea island and land on a barren stretch of desert. The survivors below scattered in all directions.
Boom!
The train settled heavily onto the ground.
The door of Guard Car No. 7 hissed open, and Biaozi and his men quickly disembarked, their faces grim as they leveled their guns at the survivors. Several Black Hole Armed Robots followed, taking up defensive positions.
Only then did Chen Mang descend from the locomotive cabin via the elevator. He surveyed the residents gathered nearby, their eyes flickering with a mixture of hope and apprehension as they nervously watched them.
Strange... truly strange. This place is utterly bizarre!
Every single person was clad in clothing made from animal hides. They looked like wild savages.
Chen Mang had encountered many train conductors who treated their slaves cruelly, but even the worst of them wouldn't deny their slaves basic clothing. A single unit of Wood was all it took to craft a set of clothes, and the island's center boasted several Tier 5 Lumber Mills. That was enough Wood to make tens of millions of sets of clothing.
And Wood had no other practical use. Why would they refuse to provide even a single set of clothes?
Xiao Ai's voice, amplified by the external speaker, echoed across the entire sea island: "Those who can speak for the group, step forward."
Silence fell.
Everyone turned their gaze toward a middle-aged man standing behind the crowd. He, too, wore animal skins. After taking a deep breath, he stepped forward and addressed Chen Mang with a serious expression.
"My name is Chen Guanping, a professor at West Sea University. For nearly two years since this crisis began, I've led our people to survive. They hold me in high regard, so I can speak for them."
"May I ask, are you here as a rescue team sent by the Federal Government?"
"Rescue?"
Biaozi and the others exchanged glances, confusion evident in their eyes. The term "Federal Government rescue" sounded ancient—they hadn't heard those words in ages.
"..."
Chen Mang sized up the middle-aged man, confirming he carried no special items and didn't seem mentally impaired. He then spoke softly: "The apocalypse has arrived. Do you know?"
"We know. Nearly two years ago, the apocalypse struck. Many of us suddenly collapsed, and when we woke up, we were here."
"I haven't seen anyone else since then."
"What train are you the conductor of? How many slaves do you have?"
"Conductor?" The middle-aged man shook his head. "I'm not a conductor, and I don't know what a slave is."
"With so much iron ore in the center of the sea island, why aren't you mining it?"
"There's no Tier 1 Mine. We only have Tier 1 Pickaxes, so we can't mine it."
Chen Mang fell silent. That made sense. If they had been randomly transported to this Golden Zone immediately after the apocalypse, it would have been absurd. They wouldn't have been able to mine a single ore, stuck guarding a mountain of gold with no way to profit.
"Is the outside world quiet now?" The middle-aged man asked tentatively, a hint of hope in his eyes.
"Mostly quiet, I'd say."
"In a few more days, they'll all be dead."
Chen Mang's gaze swept past the middle-aged man and landed on the scattered steel cans nearby. "What are those?"
He recognized those cans instantly.
They were large, black, cylindrical containers with cracked bottoms, resembling oversized Amoxicillin capsules. He already had two of them on his train.
One of these steel cans was found by Biaozi in the city while scavenging for discarded materials. It was sheltering some livestock at the time.
The other was discovered by Erdan in the village of Zombie Basin, where some survivors had taken refuge.
The object was quite large.
Moreover, it could block radar detection. He had tested it himself. Even with his Tier 100 target acquisition radar, he couldn't detect any lifeforms hiding inside the can. He had kept it as a prized possession ever since.
Yet here on the beach, there were over a hundred of them?
"Oh, you mean those?"
The middle-aged professor turned to glance at the cans before hastily explaining, "When we suddenly appeared on this sea island, we had no food. We found many broken cans on the beach, and a large number of slimy Zerg eggs had spilled out. The scene was quite terrifying."
"But in our desperate hunger, those eggs proved to be a surprisingly nutritious supplement."
"The eggs were huge. The smallest were about the size of a fist, the medium ones as large as ostrich eggs, and the largest were even bigger than a refrigerator."
"Some of us had lighters in our pockets, so we gathered together and cut down trees on the island to cook the eggs."
"We survived because of it."
"Later, we used those steel cans to preserve food, like pickled fish."
Chen Mang wasn't entirely sure who these people were. They didn't seem like military personnel, and the mechanical dragon-like train didn't look like Federation technology. It seemed more like an upgraded version of the train they had created using a "Train Token."
Still, he maintained a respectful demeanor. The Gatling guns wielded by the robots and burly men were no joke—they were genuine carbon-based lifeform slaughterers.
One burst of fire.
Not a single person present would survive.
"..."
After a long silence, Chen Mang pulled out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and exhaled a puff of smoke. "Did anyone die from eating the corpses?"
"No, they were all protein. How could protein kill someone?"
"What did they taste like?"
"They had meat in them, and the texture was quite good. We couldn't tell what kind of meat it was, though. It tasted a bit fishy, so we dried some sea salt to improve the flavor. Though unprocessed sea salt isn't suitable for long-term use, we couldn't afford to be picky at the time."
"After you killed the Zerg eggs, did anything fall out of them? Like murphy stones or tokens?"
"No."
"Good."
Chen Mang nodded slightly, murmuring, "You've turned a perfectly good apocalypse train into a survivalist camp."
He finally understood the purpose of the steel can.
He also finally understood why there were no monsters on the sea island in the Golden Zone. Only a few remained in the sea.
The steel can was designed to transport Zerg eggs, ensuring they could safely fall from space onto the planet. Upon impact, the can would shatter, releasing the eggs to begin their conquest!
But...
By an unfortunate twist of fate, the survivors, driven by starvation, had roasted and eaten all the eggs on the island.
They had nipped the threat in the bud.
Otherwise, if even a single Tier 1 Monster had hatched, not a single survivor would have lived. They could only be thankful that the sea monsters hadn't attacked the island, or they would all have perished.
While the rest of the world was in chaos, fleeing for their lives, these people were building a survivalist camp. It was hard to say whether it was a good thing or a bad thing.
He pointed to the wooden houses nearby. "Did you build those too?"
(End of the Chapter)
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