Translator: AnubisTL
"Mm-hmm."
The middle-aged professor nodded and explained, "We needed shelter in the wilderness, so we built some houses ourselves."
"The axes must have come from the Axe Production Line, right?"
"Without resources, how did you forge axes?"
"Without axes, we ground stones into shape, felled trees, stripped them of branches, and then built the houses. It took a lot of time, but stranded on this deserted island, time was the one thing we had plenty of."
The middle-aged man's gaze turned distant as he recalled the past. He looked at Chen Mang and rasped, "To be honest, at first, we thought we'd all transmigrated together. We thought we were no longer on Aquablue Star. After all, transmigration was a popular new element in movies just before the apocalypse."
"Later, we talked it over and realized we were all from Aquablue Star. It didn't seem like a mass transmigration. What's the situation outside now? Can we go back?"
"Has the government been rebuilt?"
"Do we still have to pay our pre-apocalypse mortgages?"
"No, you don't."
Chen Mang glanced at the train not far away and said softly, "You don't have to pay any mortgages anymore. The government is long gone. Old Pig, come over here and tell him what's happening outside."
Then he strode back to his locomotive cabin.
Slowly pushing the control lever forward, the middle-aged man watched in stunned silence as the Stellaris shot through the air toward the heart of the sea island.
This was the first time he'd ever seen such a zone.
It was likely the safest place on the entire planet. Even infants left here might survive. The high-grade ore in the island's center was going unclaimed, so it would have to fall to him.
Only upon closer inspection did he realize that the trains constantly plunging into the sea lacked any "Deep Sea Shield" waterproof accessories to protect them underwater, nor did they have "propellers" or special wheels for underwater navigation.
They were completely unequipped.
Just the most basic locomotive.
Several trains were parked on the shore.
A rope woven from vines was used to lower a train into the sea, baited with fish lures to attract marine life. As the trains on shore began moving, they hauled the submerged train back to the beach.
A rather peculiar "fishing net."
The Stellaris soon landed in the sea island's center.
Ten thousand mining robots, each carrying a pickaxe, marched in orderly fashion from Carriage 10 and quickly entered their designated work areas to begin their tasks.
It was all too convenient for him.
Every mine was in a fresh state, and no one else could excavate them—only he could.
But...
Chen Mang stepped out of the locomotive cabin, leaned against the train, and gazed at the towering forest around him. He lit a cigarette, his expression calm and silent.
The forest was alive with bird calls, and squirrels could be seen perched atop trees, gnawing on nuts. Perhaps because there were no monsters in this area, the animal population was unusually dense—in other places, most animals had been devoured by monsters.
The entire forest seemed vibrant and full of life.
He was pondering a question.
Should he bring this group of survivors—numbering around ten thousand—aboard the Stellaris?
The Stellaris certainly didn't lack survivors at this stage, but he would need a massive influx of them in the future. Ten thousand wouldn't be enough; if possible, he wanted over a hundred million. Dreamstones were just the bare minimum; he aspired to build his own civilization.
However, these survivors had never experienced the harsh realities of the apocalypse and had no understanding of its circumstances. They might take the Stellaris's welfare for granted and cause trouble.
"Train Conductor," Xiao Ai, who had also disembarked, spoke up. "We can't avoid doing something simply because we fear minor consequences. When problems arise, we solve them. The overall direction is still correct."
Chen Mang glanced at Xiao Ai, nodded slightly, and remained silent. He had already made his decision.
Aquablue Star still had many survivors and numerous trains.
Chen Mang pondered whether to use force and bring everyone to the Stellaris slowly, or to let them join voluntarily. Many train conductors were unwilling to be dependent on others.
It seemed he needed to spread news of the Zerg Civilization soon. With enough panic, the Stellaris would become the only salvation.
Having made his decision, he stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray Xiao Fang held nearby. Turning to Xiao Ai, he said, "Don't just focus on mining. Get the residents out to work. We need to clear this sea island in the next few days."
"Collect all the trees, birds, squirrels, monkeys, even the earthworms. Everything."
"I'll go create a higher-Tier space gate later."
"And gather some of those fish and other creatures from the sea."
"Those are sea fish."
"Then get some seawater, or figure out a way yourself."
Chen Mang patted Xiao Ai's shoulder earnestly. "Solve problems as they arise. This isn't a major issue. Once we leave Aquablue Star, we may never see these things again. Clear out the entire ecological park."
"Even if other planets have similar creatures, none will feel as familiar as those native to Aquablue Star."
"Go ahead."
"Oh, and don't bother with those who found jobs in Neon City. Have the residents who haven't found work yet come out and work."
Biaozi squatted on the ground, looking at the middle-aged professor who was also squatting nearby. He pointed at several trains not far away. "You have quite a few trains here. Without iron ore to make energy stones, what happens when your energy stones run out?"
"We'll use them to build houses or fish traps, then build another train."
"That's a lot of trains."
Biaozi glanced around in surprise. "There aren't even any monsters here. Where did you get so many train tokens?"
"We found them."
"In the forest at the center of the sea island."
"Found them?"
He looked up at the forest in the center of the sea island. Were train tokens really that easy to find these days? Then he stood up, hands in his pockets, and looked at the group of survivors with a sigh. "Poor children."
These people had lived safely through nearly two years of the apocalypse.
But—
A new world was about to be opened up by the Stellaris!
They had already lost their chance to make a name for themselves in this new world.
"Leader," the middle-aged professor said, his voice trembling slightly. "Is it true... that the world outside has been destroyed?"
"Hmm, the real deal," Biaozi said, casually accepting a slice of watermelon from Wildcat. After taking a large bite, he continued, "At least two-thirds of the population on Aquablue Star is dead, maybe even more. It's basically wiped out. The planet itself will explode in a few years."
"And outside the cosmos, we're right behind the Zerg Civilization's main base."
"It's crisis after crisis."
"What's the Zerg Civilization? How do I explain this... it's complicated. You're making me feel like I have to catch you up on the entire plot from the beginning."
"Anyway, it's basically game over. Apocalypse. You know, the end of the world?"
"The Stellaris is the strongest train. We'll be fine. If we go down, everyone else is probably already dead."
Inside the train.
In Resident Space 1.
Big Mao stood solemnly in the center of the pavilion, his voice hoarse as he addressed the Cyber Miners seated in a circle: "It's been some time since the Cyber Mine opened. I've personally mined three pieces of 9th-grade ore."
"My earnings are also the highest."
"Now, I want to tell you all a story."
"Before the apocalypse, there was a brutal war many years ago—a conflict among the synthetic federations of various nations. During that war, supply lines were cut off, and many wounded soldiers at the front lines couldn't receive timely medical treatment. Back at the rear, their cries of agony echoed like ghosts wailing in the night."
"In such dire circumstances, the only way to alleviate their pain was to administer painkillers immediately."
"But what if there were no painkillers to be found?"
"Then—"
"An officer proposed a daring idea: to inject each wounded soldier with a small dose of glucose, but deceive them into believing it was a painkiller."
"Now, guess what happened?"
"The wounded soldiers actually reported feeling less pain! They all managed to hold on until the real medicine arrived, and their survival rate soared."
Big Mao paused, standing in the pavilion and scanning each face once more.
"Let me tell you another story."
"Long ago, when medical science was still in its infancy, a certain disease had a mere 3% cure rate. Then, a highly respected doctor in the field announced the development of a miracle drug with a claimed cure rate of 60%!"
"He invited 100 patients to participate in a trial."
"The final cure rate even reached 72%."
"But—"
"The 'miracle drug' this doctor prescribed was actually just ordinary candy."
"It was the patients' belief that they were taking a special medicine that healed them."
"Such cases are countless."
Big Mao walked to a nearby chair and sat down.
"This is the power of belief!"
"The human body is a marvel, especially the mind. Belief can create something from nothing, alter reality, and remain elusive. For example, if you approach a task with unwavering conviction, even if you face many obstacles at first, as long as you persevere with absolute faith, you will eventually succeed!"
"We are the last batch of miners on the Stellaris."
"Since the advent of mining robots, many residents have lost their jobs and currently have no way to earn stellar coupons. We still receive a daily base pay of 1 stellar coupon, and we earn a bonus of 1,000 stellar coupons for every ore we mine."
"Before you dream dive, you must tell yourselves: 'I will definitely bring it out! I will definitely bring it out! I will definitely bring it out!'"
"Engrave the power of this belief deep into your minds!"
"This is my experience. Do you all understand?"
The Cyber Miners around him exchanged hesitant glances. It sounded a bit like theology.
"I..."
At that moment, a young man timidly raised his hand. "I brought out the fourth ore. I have some experience too. My method is similar to Brother Big Mao's. I just had a feeling I'd strike it rich today, and it actually happened."
"That's also the power of belief."
Big Mao looked at everyone seriously. "Next time we enter the Cyber Mine, everyone will deepen their belief with me!"
Outside the train.
Old Pig frowned in thought for a long moment before looking up at Big Mao. "This plan will cost the Stellaris a lot of extra stellar coupons."
"Yes, but I believe it will pay off."
Big Mao hesitated for a moment before gritting his teeth. "As long as we set an example and deepen everyone's belief, that's all that matters."
"Alright, I'll go report this to Lord Mang."
"Wait for my word."
"Understood."
Sitting in the locomotive cabin, Chen Mang pondered aloud, "Big Mao's idea is to use faith to increase the probability of finding valuable resources. But the other Cyber Miners' faith isn't strong enough. We need to deepen their belief."
"Tonight, during mining, deliberately slip a piece of iron ore into the bed of one or two miners."
"Tell them it's what they mined."
"The goal is to show everyone this actually works, thereby strengthening their faith, right?"
"That's a good idea."
"An interesting approach," Chen Mang chuckled softly. "You can try it. In the future, don't bother me with matters involving a few thousand or tens of thousands of stellar coupons. If the people below have ideas, let them try them. The Stellaris can afford the resources."
"Your role on this train isn't just that of a messenger."
"You need to make your own decisions."
"Understood," Old Pig replied, his face momentarily blank before he quickly nodded in agreement.
After Old Pig left, Chen Mang turned his gaze to the "Space Gate" accessory displayed on the control panel screen.
It was a yellow-grade accessory.
Inside was a square space, 100 meters long and wide at Tier 1.
Each level increases the space gate's dimensions by 100 meters.
The space gates within his train were generally 1,000 meters long and wide.
Crafting a Tier 100 space gate required 1.31 million units of iron ore, which wasn't too expensive—perfectly acceptable.
After a moment's thought, he immediately crafted a Tier 100 space gate and installed it in Carriage 10. This was already the fifth space gate he had placed in that carriage.
Upon reaching Tier 100, the space gate's dimensions expanded to 10,000 meters long and wide!
This might not be immediately intuitive.
Let's put it in more concrete terms:
A Tier 100 space gate is equivalent to 14,000 soccer fields, nearly one-tenth the area of a second- or third-tier city. A normal adult would take two hours to walk 10,000 meters. After eating and taking a leisurely stroll around it, it would practically be dawn.
This was already an incredibly vast planning scope.
Without relying on transportation, efficient movement across such a scale would be nearly impossible.
Yet all of this—the space gate, its overpowered effects—cost only 1.31 million units of iron ore. The cost-effectiveness was off the charts, especially considering the three overpowered effects he had gained.
[Space Gate Tier 20 Overpowered Effect]: Contains oxygen, which can generate oxygen but requires energy consumption.
[Space Gate Tier 50 Overpowered Effect]: The soil within the space gate accelerates crop growth and enhances their flavor.
[Space Gate Tier 100 Overpowered Effect]: The internal space is stable. When the space gate shatters, all living beings within it will be teleported to another space gate inside the train.
The three overpowered effects were all excellent.
There was no need to worry about how many oxygen generators he would need to install in such a vast space.
Nor was there any need to worry about the Tier 100 overpowered effect: if Train No. 89 were ever destroyed, causing the space gates in these two carriages to shatter and trapping all the residents inside, they would be saved.
However...
The residents' space gates were only Tier 10 and didn't yet have this effect.
Not yet.
Later, he could upgrade the residents' space gates to Tier 100. After all, a Tier 100 space gate intended as a Residential District would require extensive transportation infrastructure. Otherwise, residents living deep inside would have to walk for an hour or two each time they left the space gate just to reach the exit.
"..."
Chen Mang glanced at the control panel screen. The yellow-grade accessory, "Space Gate," required 1.31 million units of iron ore to upgrade from Tier 1 to Tier 100. But upgrading from Tier 100 to Tier 101 required only 1 million units of iron ore.
Yet the original dimensions had also doubled, from 10,000 meters to 20,000 meters.
While each level-up became more expensive, the latter actually seemed more cost-effective based on the numbers alone.
"Very good," Chen Mang nodded slightly. From Tier 100 onward, the upgrades essentially followed an exponential curve.
Accessories like green and yellow-grade ones were undoubtedly considered low-tier in the cosmos, where pink and seven-colored accessories reigned supreme. However, if their stats could undergo exponential growth, even these low-level accessories might find their moment in the sun.
"Trains."
These were the primary means of transportation for the Mechanical Civilization.
Every civilization capable of leaving its home planet to participate in the Civilization War had harnessed the planet's "core energy," albeit through different methods. The Mechanical Civilization utilized trains, while the Zerg Civilization's method resembled something akin to biological manipulation.
He wondered how other civilizations had exploited this energy source.
The Mechanical Civilization had already been destroyed.
On Aquablue Star, he could still obtain accessories through fortuitous encounter maps. But once he left, without these maps, where would he find Seven-Colored Accessories? He'd have to take things one step at a time.
"Xiao Ai."
Chen Mang paused, then spoke thoughtfully. "The Mechanical Civilization must have possessed a vast amount of murphy stones. Even if the number required for upgrades increased exponentially after Tier 100, wouldn't it still be possible to build a train with Tier 200 armor?"
"Wouldn't that make it virtually invincible?"
"Not quite."
The AI's voice echoed through the train: "Murphy stone, like core energy, isn't easily obtained. Moreover, the Civilization War isn't just about a single train. The battlefront could stretch across tens of thousands of light-years."
"In such a conflict, even if a single train survives until the end, the civilization it represents would already be extinct. It would be like water without roots, a Ghost drifting aimlessly through the cosmos."
"After all, a single train can't protect all the planets."
"Understood," Chen Mang murmured, leaning back in his chair.
"So this further confirms my theory: civilizations shouldn't have territory, anchoring themselves in a single corner. They should be more nomadic in nature. Wherever the train goes, the civilization goes. Able to fight and flee, why bother with static base defense?"
"Normally, a train can't accommodate too many people. But if your space gate, Lord Mang, can keep upgrading, it's entirely possible to achieve 'one train, one civilization.'"
Seven days later.
For the past week, the Stellaris had remained stationed in the center of the sea island, mining. They had never experienced such effortless mining before. Not a single monster had disturbed them, making it feel as safe as a newbie zone, completely unlike a high-level zone.
The underwater monsters were mostly deep-sea creatures, with higher-Tier monsters inhabiting deeper waters.
The sea surface was virtually monster-free.
And the land creatures kept to themselves, avoiding any conflict.
It was an utterly peaceful and uneventful week.
Seven days was more than enough time for a lot to happen. The mining robots worked day and night without rest, 24 hours a day. Compared to these tireless machines, humans were far inferior in terms of stamina.
Currently, a total of 50,000 mining robots were toiling diligently.
Initially, there were only 10,000 mining robots. However, during the mining process, three of them were accidentally crushed by falling trees and were immediately scrapped. Chen Mang didn't even bother having Xiao Ai repair them. At just 2,500 units of iron ore each, it wasn't worth the effort.
Fortunately, they had just mined a large amount of iron ore.
He immediately spent 100 million units of iron ore to build another 40,003 mining robots.
Rounding it off to an even number.
Now, a full 50,000 mining robots worked day and night, felling trees in the center of the sea island.
The efficiency was simply perfect!
Not only did they clear out the Tier 4 mines, but they didn't even spare Tier 3 ones. Every little bit counted. There were no Tier 2 ore mines in this area; the lowest-grade mine in the zone was Tier 3.
The scene was incredibly bustling.
"This is my robot army," Chen Mang said, standing in the locomotive cabin and gazing out the floor-to-ceiling window at the countless robots toiling below. A slight smile played on his lips. He had been in an excellent mood these past few days, with a constant stream of good news. His earlier worries about the future had transformed into eager anticipation.
As long as nothing unexpected happened.
Maintaining this development rate, the train would eventually reach the level needed to confront the Zerg Civilization.
Good news also kept pouring in from the Cyber Mine.
In the past seven days, they had already obtained three 9th-tier iron ore units—a much higher probability than before. It wasn't uncommon to find none in seven days previously.
Since implementing Big Mao's method, the Cyber Miners' faith had grown stronger. Each night before sleep, they now clutched a pickaxe to their chests.
They hadn't used to do this.
After all, what use was holding a pickaxe in the real world when they were mining in their dreams? But to strengthen their faith, each miner had been experimenting with ways to enhance their belief. It sounded a bit mystical, but it was actually working.
"Perhaps faith is a kind of energy field that establishes a channel?" Chen Mang mused, trying to explain the phenomenon. But he quickly realized it was difficult to explain—at least with the information he currently possessed. In any case, it was good news for the Stellaris.
Even Neon City was seeing a steady rise in various data metrics.
Since opening daily, it had been operating continuously for seven days. Total revenue for those seven days reached 240 million units of iron ore.
Although the average daily earnings were lower than before, the train conductor's shop was now open every day instead of just one day a week. This meant they were still making more overall, and with the train conductors and Mundo working hard to attract new customers, their numbers were steadily growing.
Their earnings would only continue to increase in the future.
Even Biaozi's side was sending in a steady stream of good news.
All guard members could now pilot blue-grade "Thunder" mechas, and Biaozi himself could pilot the purple-grade "Pope" mecha. The mecha squad was officially formed!
Of course—
In the cosmos, a mecha squad's existence was largely irrelevant.
Just like the civilization that recently collapsed on the Galaxy Map, there would be no ground troops invading. If your planet lacked sufficient defenses, you'd face a single main cannon blast that would melt the entire planet.
Mecha squads were primarily used for garrisoning planets or maintaining internal order.
Ground troops played almost no role in cosmic warfare.
As for those scenes of a single mecha battling a train in the rain—they were pure fantasy. Even the highest-grade mecha would be humiliated by a train.
They weren't even in the same league.
With 50,000 mining robots working at lightning speed, all the mines on this sea island would be completely exhausted in just ten more days. They would also acquire a massive amount of iron ore, considering there were several Tier 6 Mines here.
Just one Tier 6 Iron Mine held a staggering 1 billion units of iron ore!
"I wonder if the Pink Zone and Seven-Colored Zone have any Tier 7 Iron Mines?"
"If a Tier 4 Iron Mine holds 10 million units, a Tier 5 Iron Mine holds 100 million, and a Tier 6 Iron Mine holds 1 billion, then a Tier 7 Iron Mine in the Seven-Colored Zone should hold 10 billion."
"10 billion units of iron ore..."
Chen Mang sat in his chair, gazing at the distant forest that had been nearly uprooted. He murmured, "Is there even a need to go to the mining star? I feel like I could just stay in the Seven-Colored Zone and wait for the mines to respawn. I might get even more resources that way."
"..."
After a moment of silence, the AI in the locomotive cabin spoke softly, "On the train, Aquablue Star is classified as a 'Habitable Planet,' while the mining star is classified as a 'Resource Planet.' Shouldn't the difference be obvious from their names?"
"Once you reach the mining star, you'll understand why it's called that."
"In the cosmos, mining stars are absolute strategic resources. It's just that the mining stars near Aquablue Star are too young. Otherwise, Train Conductor, you might have witnessed an interstellar war firsthand."
"The spectacle was breathtaking!"
"Countless wormholes would spontaneously appear, each spewing forth an army. The moment they met, they'd unleash a barrage of firepower, and countless lives would perish every second."
"Is this from the AI Database? You definitely saw this, right?"
"I watched the live feed from the rear."
"What happened next?"
"The wormholes collapsed, and the feed cut off."
"That's a shame."
Let's upgrade first.
Chen Mang glanced at the control panel screen. From now on, he would focus on upgrading his armor and avoid spending iron ore on other accessories. He needed to hoard all his iron ore for the Seven-Colored Zone, where he would use it to upgrade Seven-Colored Accessories.
That Tier 6 iron mine held a staggering 1 billion units of iron ore!
He checked the requirements for upgrading his train to Tier 19.
Upgrade Requirements: Consume 100,000 units of Tier 3 Iron Ore; all carriage accessories must be at least Tier 300; have completed an S-rank mission; and have at least one Gold-grade accessory at Tier 20.
All requirements met.
Ready to upgrade to a Tier 19 Train.
There's something deeply counterintuitive about this.
Most people assume that train upgrades become increasingly difficult as you progress, with the initial upgrades being the easiest.
But for his Stellaris, the opposite was true. The early upgrades were the hardest. Back then, excluding the resources Master Kun had provided, he was essentially starting from scratch, with no foundation to build upon. He had to grind slowly, bit by bit.
As the train's Tier increased, its foundation grew.
Now, with a wealth of resources, the Stellaris's upgrade speed was significantly faster than it had been at lower Tiers.
Just seven days ago, he had upgraded the train by three Tiers in one go. Now, he could upgrade it again, having already completed all the upgrade requirements.
He couldn't see any "hurdle" to overcome.
"Collective accessory tier above 300? Isn't that insulting?"
He could easily reach Tier 300 with just three White-grade accessories.
Upgrade!
As the 10 million units of iron ore within the train turned to powder and melted into the carriage, a line of numerical characters reappeared on the control panel screen:
[Your train has reached Tier 19.
More craftable accessories will be unlocked.]
Tier 19 Stellaris.
A new button had appeared on the control panel, a function added after the train reached Tier 19:
"Civilization's Legacy."
The button bore only four characters, but pressing it flooded the screen with information.
"..."
Chen Mang frowned slightly, carefully examining the button. It wasn't so much a function as the dying words of the Mechanical Civilization, the information originating from the input of the civilization's Supreme Leader.
He had left behind a vast legacy.
Normally, reaching Tier 19 wouldn't add any new features to the mechanical train. But on the brink of extinction, the Mechanical Civilization's Supreme Leader had left behind a final message and a massive inheritance within the train.
A hidden space within a temporal rift, filled with abundant resources.
Unlike Princess Tuotuo, the Supreme Leader's legacy was a matter of state, not personal whim. Princess Tuotuo had scattered her resources across many planets, leaving a portion on each. The Supreme Leader, however, left behind the Mechanical Civilization's final foundation.
To obtain the coordinates of this hidden space, one must first rebuild the Mechanical Civilization and declare war on the Zerg Civilization.
"This contradicts the information in the database," the AI's voice echoed through the train. "The database states that the Mechanical Civilization was on the brink of collapse when it was destroyed, having exhausted nearly all its resources. How could they have had any foundation left? If they had possessed any foundation, they could have held out for a few more years and avoided extinction."
Chen Mang remained silent, his mind racing. He recalled the database's warning: If any information received about the Mechanical Civilization conflicts with the data in this database, prioritize the database's information.
Assuming the database is accurate...
The Supreme Leader's "massive inheritance" was likely a scam, a final act of spite designed to cause trouble for the Zerg Civilization even after his death.
However, the Mechanical Civilization had done one good thing. Originally, the train was their exclusive technology. On the brink of extinction, they open-sourced it entirely, scattering the technology across the cosmos and allowing many civilizations to skip the core energy research phase and directly inherit the train.
This was the technological Big Bang.
"I believe in the latter," Chen Mang said, lighting a cigarette and leaning back in his chair, gazing at the control panel screen. "Even if the former is true, I don't want it. Rebuilding the Mechanical Civilization and declaring war on the Zerg Civilization? Who would dare play that game without nine lives?"
"Declare war?"
"I'll never declare war in this lifetime. Wouldn't it be better to sneak around and just blast them?"
"When the Zerg Civilization wiped out the Heaven-Slaying Civilization, did they declare war? Didn't they just fire a main cannon and obliterate them?"
(End of the Chapter)
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