Translator: AnubisTL
Whoosh
Chen Mang leaned back in his chair, his temples throbbing with a slight fatigue. After a long silence, he lit a cigarette, turned his head to gaze out the window, and let his thoughts drift away.
He had learned a great deal from Qiu Yisao.
The state of the cosmos was dominated by war.
He could understand this. After all, even his previous world had been defined by war. This was normal, a natural law of development. But at least the wars in his previous world had been fought under some pretense of righteousness—for the sake of the realm, for the people. Or, at the very least, they had been straightforward: "I want to be king."
But the wars between civilizations in this cosmos had no such justifications. The sole reason for war was:
"Kill him first, or he'll kill me when he gets stronger."
It wasn't just a struggle for resources. It was pure slaughter, devoid of any sense of right or wrong. If you didn't kill your enemy, they would kill you.
This was most starkly evident in the Kasha Civilization.
Before the rise of the Zerg Civilization, the Kasha Civilization had nearly wiped out all First-Tier Civilizations in its vicinity. There was no reason, no conflict—even though they were merely First-Tier Civilizations, the Kasha Civilization feared that if any of them were to rapidly rise through some means and amass vast resources, they would pose a significant threat.
Had the Zerg Civilization not emerged, the weaker civilizations near the Kasha Civilization would have likely faced annihilation. Their civilizations would have been destroyed the moment they achieved Advancement.
As a result, the number of lives lost was measured in the trillions.
This included the Cultivation Civilization.
According to Qiu Yisao's records, the Cultivation Civilization was not a powerful civilization system; in fact, it was extremely weak.
There were many reasons for this.
For example, if Qiu Yisao had 100 billion units of iron ore, he could convert those resources into combat strength within ten minutes. Other civilizations could do the same if they acquired enough murphy stone.
However, even if the Cultivation Civilization possessed 100 billion units of Spirit Stones, it would take cultivators a considerable amount of time to absorb them into their bodies, preventing them from instantly boosting their combat strength. This process often took thousands of years.
However...
In Cultivation Civilizations, cultivators can extend their lifespans through Immortal Cultivation. Powerful cultivators often seek out temporal rifts—which they call Blessed Lands—to shorten this process.
Furthermore...
A Tier 30 train in a Cultivation Civilization is equivalent to a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator.
A Nascent Soul cultivator's attack strength is limited to that of a Nascent Soul cultivator; they cannot reach the Divine Transformation stage—an insurmountable barrier.
But—
A train's Tier is merely a vague number.
After all, a train's combat power comes from its accessories.
Even if a train is Tier 1, if it's equipped with a Tier 100 Seven-Colored Grade Accessory, it could slaughter Divines as easily as dogs.
A train's Tier does not absolutely determine its combat power.
Moreover, a train can instantly unleash 100% of its firepower simply by installing a firepower accessory. In contrast, cultivators in Cultivation Civilizations must spend vast amounts of time learning cultivation techniques.
Adding to this, Nascent Soul cultivators cannot leave their home planet, making it impossible for them to engage in cosmic combat or exploration. Their means of acquiring resources are far inferior to those of other civilizations.
Under such harsh conditions, the "mechanical train" became the dominant system among all civilizations in the cosmos. All other systems were considered inferior.
Within the Kasha Civilization Federation, there were over ten thousand Tier 1 Civilizations, but only one Cultivation Civilization remained. It was said that there used to be many more, but the Kasha Civilization had slaughtered them all, leaving only this one survivor.
After joining the Federation, this Cultivation Civilization began to heavily develop its tourism industry. Tourists flocked to the planet daily, and business was surprisingly good.
It's worth noting that the Kasha Civilization Federation had 239 Second-Tier Civilizations, but it didn't start with that number. There were originally 241.
The other two civilizations hadn't perished at the hands of the Zerg Civilization. Instead, when they suddenly gained power due to unforeseen opportunities, the Kasha Civilization sent a massive army to slaughter them. They didn't even give them a chance to explain their loyalty.
"Those who are not of our kind must have different hearts."
If it weren't for the need to resist the Zerg Civilization, the Kasha Civilization would have long ago wiped out all its neighbors.
"..."
Chen Mang tapped his knuckles lightly against the armrest of his chair, closed his eyes, and leaned back against the chair, lost in thought.
"Train Conductor," he said.
At that moment, Xiao Ai's voice echoed through the train: "Are we sure we're going to the Kasha Civilization Federation?"
"Yes."
Chen Mang paused for a moment before continuing softly, "According to Qiu Yisao's information, both the Kasha Civilization and other civilizations primarily rely on their Military."
"Building a train to its absolute limit requires an astronomical amount of murphy stone—an amount that's simply impossible to obtain."
"Therefore, most civilizations focus on building the largest number of trains possible with the least amount of murphy stone, even if those trains aren't the absolute best. They're still quite powerful."
"For example, the Kasha Civilization has vast reserves of iron ore."
"However, due to a shortage of murphy stone, they can't continue upgrading their accessories. They can only build more trains."
"But—"
"We don't need murphy stone."
"We can use minimal resources to transform the Stellaris into a top-tier train—a train so powerful it reigns supreme. Even if other civilizations deploy countless trains with all their tricks, they won't be able to inflict even a scratch on the Stellaris, completely crushed by its superior Tier."
"This is the path we must take."
"We must visit the Kasha Civilization. There's a wealth of treasures waiting for us to uncover there."
"My civilization needs only one train."
"A train that will be unstoppable, rampaging through the cosmos without restraint, developing in secret until it's ready to sit at the table and speak its mind."
His goal was crystal clear.
The path he must take was equally defined.
Though danger still lurked, knowing the general information about this zone eased his mind. As long as he remained a Little Calamity, no one would notice him.
After a long moment, Chen Mang's lips curled into a slight smile. He rested his hands behind his head and chuckled softly. "I'm growing more excited about the days ahead."
"Everyone is too impatient."
"Let me bring them peace."
Time passed slowly.
Chen Mang was roused from his slumber by an announcement in the locomotive cabin. The Stellaris was about to arrive at the mining star. After washing up, he lit a cigarette and walked to the locomotive cabin's panoramic window, gazing at the planet ahead.
It was much smaller than Aquablue Star, perhaps only a thirtieth of its size. It hung in the eternal darkness like a forgotten netherworld, a rusted cog caught deep within the cosmos.
If the netherworld existed, this was surely its realm.
Minutes later, the Stellaris began its descent, coming to rest just a few dozen meters above the surface.
Boom.
A faint sound echoed.
The train landed smoothly on the surface of the mining star.
This celestial body lay a staggering 0.3 light-years from the Aquablue Star. According to pre-apocalypse records from the Aquablue Star, the farthest any spacecraft had traveled was still within this distance. In a civilization with a low Civilization Level, exploring the cosmos was like trying to catch the moon in a pond—seemingly within reach, yet ultimately empty.
Beep beep beep.
The resource detection radar emitted a rapid series of alerts.
There was no need to even glance at the screen.
At a glance, the landscape was dominated by mine after mine, stretching as far as the eye could see.
The highest-tier mine within the radar's range was a Tier 6 iron ore mine, capable of extracting 1 billion units of iron ore. On the Aquablue Star, the highest-tier mine was only Tier 7, and those were found only in the Seven-Colored Zone. Moreover, those mines were one-time deposits that would never respawn.
The dense network of mines resembled the scattered bones of a colossal beast, strewn across the desolate landscape.
The sky was devoid of clouds.
Instead, an endless expanse of stardust swirled like a silent blizzard, painting the entire planet in a desolate blue-gray hue.
There was no sunset, no nightfall.
The nearest star was too distant to cast more than a faint, flickering glow, barely outlining the jagged terrain.
No life. No water.
[Oxygen content in the atmosphere: 0%."
The atmosphere is composed of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and other gases.
Surface temperature: -143°C.]
This is a wandering mineral star, adrift in the cosmos, orbiting no celestial body.
Solitude and death are the dominant themes here.
Here, one can feel the ultimate desolation.
"..."
Chen Mang walked into the locomotive cabin and looked at the screen displaying the train's exterior. A thick layer of frost covered the Train Armor. The temperature of -143°C was far colder than the polar regions of the Aquablue Star.
The Train Armor's integrity was slowly decreasing.
99%.
Mechanical nanospiders were rapidly being produced to repair the armor. However, due to the extremely harsh conditions, a large number of nanospiders were needed, significantly increasing repair costs.
Outside, on the surface of the mine, a layer of frost covered the ground. This was solid nitrogen, frozen into a crystalline form. Even carbon dioxide had solidified into dry, brittle cakes, resembling a vast snowfield.
In this environment—
The steel was incredibly fragile. While it wouldn't shatter at a touch, it could barely withstand even the slightest stress.
"This is bad," Chen Mang muttered, staring at the scene before him. He hadn't known the mining star's conditions were so harsh until they arrived. Under these circumstances, the residents couldn't possibly disembark—it would be certain death.
The planet's atmospheric pressure was also extremely low, nearing vacuum.
Humans exposed to such an environment had three ways to die:
Freezing to death. 2. Suffocation. 3. Body fluids boiling.
Perfect.
His biggest concern now was whether his mining robots could even function in these conditions.
"Absolutely not," Xiao Ai said regretfully from the locomotive cabin. "I told you before, those mining robots are just industrial waste—cheaply made junk that can't possibly operate normally in such extreme terrain."
"It seems we'll have to abandon this mining star and prepare to head to the Kasha Civilization Federation."
"This planet is completely unmineable."
"Let's try anyway."
Chen Mang pressed a button on the control panel, and the door of Carriage 10 of the train slowly opened. Hundreds of mining robots, each carrying a pickaxe, disembarked and marched towards the nearest mine.
These mining robots looked incredibly crude. They lacked synthetic skin, armor, and even Smart Chips. They consisted only of mechanical skeletons connected by bundles of wires.
After all, each Mining Robot cost only 2,500 units of iron ore—less than the price of a single refrigerator.
The hundreds of mining robots quickly reached the nearest mine.
They stopped.
Swung their pickaxes.
And struck down.
Ten minutes later...
Chen Mang's expression gradually turned strange. The robots hadn't shattered, nor had their pickaxes broken. Everything was proceeding as usual, though it was unclear whether the mine's extreme fragility was due to the harsh conditions.
Mining efficiency had dramatically increased.
Normally, a Mining Robot could extract only one unit of resource ore per hour.
Here, in just ten minutes, they had already extracted ten units.
This was equivalent to a 60-fold increase in mining efficiency.
"It seems..."
"It seems cheap goods can actually be good too?"
Just then, the locomotive cabin door slid open, and Xiao Ai entered from outside. Standing before the cabin's panoramic window, she gazed down at the scene below with disbelief. "How is this possible? How could those industrial waste robots possibly be functioning normally in such a harsh environment?"
"According to the data, these robots shouldn't even be capable of normal mining operations."
"Perhaps they're not industrial waste, despite their low cost."
Chen Mang walked to the window, a smile playing on his lips. "They've simply focused all their functions purely on mining, eliminating everything else. When the Mechanical Civilization created the Accessory Blueprint for these robots, they likely considered the harsh conditions they'd be operating in."
"They're not industrial waste," he said, his voice filled with pride. "They're treasures."
A vast swarm of mining robots poured out of the Stellaris, beginning their mining operation.
The train held a total of 210,000 mining robots.
With their 60-fold efficiency boost, they were equivalent to 12.6 million mining robots working at their original rate. This would drastically shorten the time needed to completely mine the entire mining star.
If he had known the mining conditions on this mining star were so harsh, he wouldn't have bothered chasing the Yisao Merchant Guild's trains.
The energy shields on their trains were simply not strong enough to withstand the planet's brutal environment. Their integrity would degrade much faster than his. If their repair rate couldn't keep up with the degradation, it would be a disaster—trains destroyed, lives lost.
Not every train had the strength to mine this mining star.
But...
If he hadn't chased the merchant guild's train, he wouldn't have learned so much about the Kasha Civilization Federation.
In a twist of fate, he had stumbled onto the path most advantageous to him.
Mining days were always long.
Fifty days had passed since the Stellaris landed on the Stellar Imam.
The Yisao Merchant Guild would take another ten days or so to reach the mining star.
The original distance of 3 million kilometers had grown longer. The mining star wasn't stationary in space; it was constantly drifting away from the wormhole.
"..."
Chen Mang sat in his chair, gazing at the data displayed on the control panel screen.
In the past few days, he had already mined approximately one-twentieth of the mining star's resources.
However—
Based on the Stellaris's exploration of the planet, he realized he wouldn't be able to fully exploit its resources.
This mining star had no axial rotation.
This meant that as it gradually drifted away from its aging star, the sunlit side maintained a relatively stable temperature of -143°C, suitable for normal operations.
But the shadowed side...
The temperature plummeted to nearly -265°C.
He hadn't risked sending the Stellaris train into that frigid zone to test its Train Armor's resilience. Instead, he dispatched mining robots, which were instantly destroyed.
In effect, he could only mine half the planet; the shadowed side was completely inaccessible.
Over the past fifty days, he had lost a staggering seventy to eighty thousand mining robots.
A small fraction were lost to natural wear and tear, but most were destroyed by bizarre, unpredictable storms that occasionally erupted on the sunlit side, tearing his mining robots to shreds.
"Xiao Ai," Chen Mang called out.
Standing in the locomotive cabin, Chen Mang pondered for a moment before speaking. "Xiao Ai, if I piloted the Stellaris into the cosmos and fired a few rounds from the Arcanon Light Energy Main Cannon at the edge of this mining star, could we make it spin?"
"Like spinning a top?"
"If we reversed the day-night cycle, we could then mine the other side of the star."
"No," Xiao Ai's voice replied from the locomotive cabin. "Leaving aside whether your top-spinning idea is even feasible, this mining star recently escaped its star. While conditions are harsh, we can still mine the sunlit side."
"Wait a while."
"Once it becomes a wandering mineral star, the temperature on this mining star will plummet to between -230°C and -270°C—a range completely unsuitable for mining operations."
"The escaped star is already in its twilight years. Even if we started spinning the mining star now, it wouldn't make much difference."
"Alright," Chen Mang sighed with a hint of regret. Though disappointed, mining half a mining star wasn't bad. Mining on a mining star seemed far more complex than he'd imagined, far more complicated than mining on Aquablue Star.
At first, he'd thought he could just start mining as soon as he arrived.
But having grown accustomed to Aquablue Star, he hadn't considered how harsh the environments of other planets could be.
In these fifty days, he'd already mined 124.5 billion units of iron ore, nearly 40 billion units of copper ore, and various other resources.
Once he finished mining all the iron ore in the entire positive-facing zone, he estimated he'd have nearly a trillion units of iron ore. That amount would be enough to upgrade all his accessories to Tier 200!
He'd gain the Overpowered Effect at Tier 200!
"What a huge difference," Chen Mang murmured, gazing at the resources shown on the panel inside the train. He finally understood why the Kasha Civilization had slaughtered other civilizations so ruthlessly. In the mechanical train civilization system, having enough resources meant a sudden, explosive surge in combat power!
There was no time to react.
Before you knew it, your opponent could become far stronger than you.
They had to be crushed in the cradle.
Especially him.
Ignoring the need for murphy stone, he could completely digest any amount of resources!
The "Robot Research Center" produces accessories for mining robots.
It can manufacture two types of robots: mining robots and mechanical dogs.
This accessory is Gold-grade, ranking below Pink-grade but above Red-grade.
Originally Tier 10, he recently upgraded it to Tier 200.
He had held a sliver of hope that he could create even more powerful mining robots to extract resources from the extremely cold mines on the dark side of the planet. Unfortunately, it proved impossible.
Upgrading a Gold-grade accessory consumes an exorbitant amount of resources.
Leveling it up to Tier 200 in one go cost him a staggering 85 billion units of iron ore.
Heaven knows how much iron ore he had painstakingly mined on Aquablue Star for an entire year, only to spend 85 billion units just to upgrade a single Gold-grade accessory to Tier 200!
Though the effects of the upgrade weren't quite what he'd expected...
Well, let's just say it was even more absurd.
Robot Research Center Tier 5 Overpowered Effect: After installing this accessory, the manufacturing cost of all robots produced by the train's accessories is halved.
Robot Research Center Tier 10 Overpowered Effect: The manufacturing cost of all robots produced by the train's accessories is halved again.
Robot Research Center Tier 20 Overpowered Effect: The manufacturing cost of all robots produced by the train's accessories is halved again.
Robot Research Center Tier 50 Overpowered Effect: The manufacturing cost of all robots produced by the train's accessories is halved again.
Robot Research Center Tier 100 Overpowered Effect: The manufacturing cost of all robots produced by the train's accessories is halved again.
Robot Research Center Tier 200 Overpowered Effect: The manufacturing cost of all robots produced by the train's accessories is halved again, and they can be remotely controlled by AI.
The original cost to manufacture a Mining Robot was 10,000 units of iron ore.
He had previously upgraded the Robot Research Center's accessories to Tier 10.
After two rounds of cost halving, the cost dropped to 2,500 units of iron ore!
But now—
After multiple cost reductions, the cost to build a Mining Robot was only 156 units of iron ore.
What does that mean?
It's equivalent to about 1.5 pounds of sunflower seeds.
At this moment, across the vast plains, a million mining robots swarmed like locusts, working tirelessly. The 800,000 newly built mining robots cost only 120 million units of iron ore.
Residents for mining?
Just retire completely.
Focus on raising families and passing on the civilization.
Initially, he felt heartache when mining robots were swept away by storms. Later, he didn't even bother dodging them. Let the storms take them—he had plenty more.
In that moment, he felt the exhilarating thrill of a Zerg Civilization.
Nothing was scarce—except for resources.
Moreover, the Robot Research Center's cost-reduction effect applied not only to mining robots but to all robot production lines within the train, including the Red-Tier Accessory: Armed Black Hole Robot Production Line.
This accessory produced armed robots with incredible power.
But—
It came at an exorbitant price.
However, with the continuous half-cost reduction, Chen Mang tested it. Crafting an armed robot with Tier 50 attack power and Tier 50 armor required only 50 million units of copper ore.
If armor was omitted, focusing solely on attack power, a Tier 50 robot cost a mere 1.25 million units of copper ore.
What the hell was this?!
It meant he could mass-produce robots on an unprecedented scale, even surpassing the Zerg Civilization. As long as he had enough resources, he could skip the entire breeding process—one man, one civilization!
Moreover, the entire army could be remotely controlled by AI.
With strict discipline, unwavering courage, and a God's-eye view, this would be an unstoppable force!
"Hoo..."
Chen Mang sat back in his chair, exhaling deeply. He glanced at the data on the train panel and smiled. Though he hadn't found any relevant information in the Mechanical Civilization AI's database, he was certain:
The Mechanical Civilization had poured vast quantities of murphy stone into constantly probing the overpowered effect of the "Robot Research Center" accessory.
They had attempted to counter mass production with mass production.
And without a doubt, they had succeeded.
It was like "respec-ing," repeatedly rerolling for the most optimal overpowered effects. This process consumed vast resources, yet it remained a mystery why the Mechanical Civilization had fallen so swiftly despite their success.
The stronger the Tier 200 God-Tier Overpowered Effects, the more speechless he became at the accessories with "None" in their effects. Whenever "None" appeared, all subsequent effects on that accessory were also "None." He hadn't cared before, but now that he knew these accessories wouldn't have Tier 200 God-Tier Overpowered Effects, he felt a pang of regret.
This was a qualitative leap from "Mortal" to "Divine."
Someday, he would have to reroll all his accessories for the effects that best suited him.
He didn't upgrade the remaining accessories.
He planned to wait until all the mines were fully excavated before upgrading them all at once. Although he had a million mining robots, the estimated excavation time remained roughly the same as before.
Initially, he hadn't intended to excavate Tier 3 and lower-tier mines. It seemed like a waste of time for so little ore.
But—
With a million mining robots and exceptionally high excavation efficiency, he now even targeted Tier 1 Iron Ore. He left no stone unturned, excavating every single mine he could find.
It was only because there were no mines underground that he stopped.
Otherwise, he'd have to dig up the entire planet's core.
"Come with me to see how construction is progressing on Aquablue Star."
Chen Mang, in a rather cheerful mood, rose with his cane and walked out of the locomotive cabin.
He arrived at Carriage 10.
After pressing the button on the doorframe, a miniature, single-person wormhole materialized before him. Stepping through with Xiao Ai, they emerged in front of the city ruins of Taiping City in the Iron Ridge Wasteland on Aquablue Star.
The city ruins, once reduced to a desolate wasteland, were now bustling with activity. Survivors worked in orderly teams, clearing debris and rebuilding.
"Quite lively," Chen Mang chuckled, standing at the edge of the city and gazing at the scene before him.
This city held special significance for him. It was where his journey had begun.
The data had been compiled.
Aquablue Star's survivors totaled 760 million. This was far fewer than he'd expected; he'd anticipated a billion. The mortality rate during the past two years of the apocalypse had been surprisingly high.
All 760 million survivors had now been implanted with Iris Chips, becoming train residents of the Stellaris.
Initially—
According to Chen Mang's plan, the survivors would be scattered across the ruins of different cities to mine the renewable resource mines. This would provide a steady stream of resources.
But now...
With a million mining robots, and given how cheap they were, there was no need for the survivors to mine anymore. Yet, he still kept the arrangement in place.
He had to find something for them to do.
However, it was no longer mandatory.
It was a mix of work and leisure.
Their primary mission was... to have children and perpetuate civilization.
Once the cities were rebuilt and civilization began to take shape again, free love would gradually flourish, and human civilization would continue its legacy.
"Time to head back."
The city was still under construction, so there was no need to go inside. Chen Mang stood at the edge, watching for a while before returning to the locomotive cabin.
The Tier 200 God-Tier Overpowered Effect of the space gate was simply too absurd.
It could fit an entire planet inside the train.
If the Tier 200 effect was this outrageous, he couldn't even imagine how ridiculous the Tier 500 effect must be.
For the Yisao Merchant Guild, the past fifty days had been nothing more than a tedious and monotonous journey.
But for the Stellaris, it had been a period of qualitative transformation.
If it had been fifty days ago, the Stellaris had barely qualified for interstellar travel. But once this mine was fully exploited, the Stellaris would have a fighting chance even in the Kasha Civilization Federation.
"I love mining stars."
"Mining stars love me."
Chen Mang returned to the locomotive cabin, sat in his chair, and gazed at the data on the screen. A smile tugged at his lips, and his eyes sparkled with amusement. Though the conditions were harsh, he felt perfectly normal inside the train.
And there were no monsters.
The mining operation was proceeding with remarkable ease.
It was like a mouse falling into a jar of oil or a kitten tumbling into a fishpond—an endless supply, utterly inexhaustible.
The original plan was to head to the Kasha Civilization Federation after exhausting this mining star.
But now, the plan had changed.
Chen Mang had tasted the sweetness of mining stars and wanted another bite!
There was another mining star nearby on the galaxy map, 378 light-years away—the one he had detected from Aquablue Star. He decided to build a wormhole to reach it.
The wormhole would require 63 billion units of iron ore.
Round trip, that would be over 120 billion.
He calculated the potential profits.
If the second mining star could be mined normally, it would undoubtedly be profitable. No mining star could possibly contain less than 120 billion units of iron ore.
Unless...
The second mining star was even more hostile, completely unmineable.
Otherwise, it would be a guaranteed profit.
He was certain he had to go and investigate. The trial-and-error cost of over 120 billion units was something he could afford. After all, once they finished mining the current mining star, he would have nearly a trillion units of iron ore.
Eleven days later, the Yisao Merchant Guild's convoy finally arrived.
The moment the train entered the mining star's hazy atmosphere, a piercing alarm blared through the carriages.
[Warning, warning.
Energy shield consumption rate is extremely high.
Recommend immediate departure.]
Qiu Yisao's expression darkened as he quickly pushed the control stick, steering the train away from the mining star. It turned out to be a wandering mineral star—what a stroke of bad luck.
Wandering mineral stars that don't orbit a star have extremely low surface temperatures, making normal mining operations impossible.
This one must have been wandering for only a short time; otherwise, the warning would have been unnecessary—it would have simply gone dormant. He'd felt a bad premonition when he approached the mining star and noticed no nearby stars. He hadn't expected it to actually be a wandering mineral star.
Where had the senior gone?
Just then, a voice suddenly echoed through the locomotive cabin.
"Wait for me outside. I'll find you after I'm done mining."
"Is that... Senior's voice?"
Qiu Yisao was slightly stunned, glancing at the message on the train radio screen. The voice's suffix read: "Unknown Civilization, Stellaris."
So Senior's train really was called Stellaris?
Stellaris.
The cosmos is filled with countless stars, as numerous as hairs on a head, making it impossible to count them all. Yet it is the light and heat generated by these stars that sustains countless life forms.
Could it be that—
This was the meaning behind Senior's choice of name?
Hoping his train would shine like a star, bringing light and warmth to other life forms? His decision to follow Senior wasn't just about Senior's strength and background; it was also because Senior was genuinely kind.
Yes, though he'd nearly been killed by Senior at first due to the language barrier, among all the powerful individuals he'd encountered, Senior was the gentlest.
In fact, Senior's kindness bordered on excessive.
Senior truly was Senior, after all.
Qiu Yisao sighed in admiration before ordering all trains to stop near the mining star for rest and repairs. Despite the planet's harsh environment, Senior's train could still operate normally.
The only thing that left him slightly bewildered was...
Senior's method of transmitting messages was the "Train Radio" instead of a "Communication Satellite."
How could a train radio possibly send messages over such vast distances?
This accessory could only be upgraded to Tier 3 at most.
Normally, anyone who frequently ventured into the cosmos would purchase the blueprint for a Red-Tier Accessory, the "Communication Satellite," from the market. This would serve as an upgrade to the train radio, allowing for communication during cosmic encounters.
Train radios were typically used for communication on planets. Logically, they shouldn't function in the cosmos.
"Not bad," Chen Mang mused, gazing at the overpowered effect of the train radio on the control panel screen. This green-grade accessory had remained at Tier 10 for years, never upgraded. He had just raised it to Tier 200.
Upgrading a green-grade accessory from Tier 1 to Tier 200 required minimal resources. It cost only 800 million units of iron ore—or, to be precise, 800,770,000 units. However, the extra 770,000 units were insignificant, falling far beyond the decimal point. Chen Mang had long since chosen to ignore such minor fractions.
The Tier 10 Overpowered Effect of the train radio allowed him to trade with other train conductors. This effect had proven invaluable to him in the past.
He had just tested it, but it only worked for trades within the same planet. When he tried to trade with Qiu Yisao, the transaction failed.
Train Radio Tier 20 Overpowered Effect: Can forcibly send up to 10 private messages to another person.
Train Radio Tier 50 Overpowered Effect: Can send messages anonymously.
Train Radio Tier 100 Overpowered Effect: Enables Cross-Regional Trade.
Train Radio Tier 200 Overpowered Effect: Message range is equivalent to the detection range of the target acquisition radar or other detection accessories, whichever is greater. Can also display a real-time 'battle situation' once on all train screens within a 100,000 light-year radius.
A man.
If at 35, he accidentally broke a plush doll he had received at 16, only to discover a love letter inside—a gift from the girl he had secretly admired for years—
That man would be drinking tonight.
Youthful days, never to return.
That's exactly how he felt right now.
He had already cleared Doomsday: Azure Planet, and now his Cross-Regional Trade function had unlocked.
If he had possessed this Cross-Regional Trade back on Aquablue Star, it would have greatly aided him, accelerating his development significantly. But there was nothing he could do about it. Upgrading a green-grade Accessory to Tier 100 wasn't cheap, and he hadn't had enough iron ore at the time. More importantly, he hadn't known the Tier 100 overpowered effect was this powerful.
If he had known, he would have upgraded it sooner.
But—
None of that mattered most.
The most crucial thing was the Tier 200 overpowered effect of the train radio!
A single "real-time battle report" broadcast across a 100,000 light-year radius!
He had experienced this effect before, when the Zerg Civilization had annihilated a newly advanced civilization. The real-time broadcast had shown the instant creation of countless wormholes across all trains in the zone.
That was the effect.
However...
His effect might be even stronger.
The Zerg Civilization's "real-time battle feed" only showed wormholes being constructed. His real-time feed could show even more detail, even broadcasting the exact moment he fired a shot.
He needed to get stronger.
Ten light-years.
While it would consume a significant amount of resources, he could, if he wished, broadcast his battles live to every civilization and every living being within a ten-light-year radius.
That was powerful.
But useless for now.
He wasn't arrogant enough yet to intimidate other civilizations like the Zerg Civilization did.
For now, he was still the one being intimidated.
He wasn't in a position to threaten anyone.
But there was a world of difference between having the ability and not having it.
"Not bad," Chen Mang said, leaning back in his locomotive cabin seat. He rested his hands behind his head and nodded with a satisfied smile. He loved the Tier 200 God-Tier Overpowered Effect; it always surprised him in unexpected ways.
Especially with White, Green, and Yellow-grade accessories.
They required fewer resources to upgrade.
Yet their effects were still powerful.
While they didn't directly boost combat power, they strengthened the train's foundation in multiple dimensions. Once he reached the Kasha Civilization Federation, he'd buy up all the low-grade accessories he didn't have.
Those things didn't cost much.
He'd have plenty of iron ore stored by then. He'd let the Yisao Merchant Guild handle the publicity while he stayed behind the scenes.
Until he had the capital to smash the card table with a single blow, his development strategy boiled down to three words:
Hide.
Keep everyone unaware of the Stellaris's existence.
To this end, before venturing into the cosmos, he had specifically erased his old graffiti, "Fuck Everything · Stellaris," opting for a low-profile approach in both his actions and demeanor.
Perfect, he thought. Just the way I like it.
"Train Conductor," Xiao Ai's voice echoed through the train. "There's something I feel I should report. Biaozi and the others have been deeply depressed for quite some time."
"Hmm?" Chen Mang raised an eyebrow. "Did they all get dumped?"
"No, it's not that. The Stellaris is developing too rapidly. They feel useless and are starting to despair."
"Biaozi was initially thrilled when he first piloted the 'Pope' mech, but—"
"After leaving the cosmos and witnessing everything, Biaozi became somewhat disillusioned, especially after seeing those one million mining robots. That's when he truly lost hope."
"That's perfectly normal," Chen Mang couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle. "The Stellaris is essentially a train built with the resources of an entire civilization. How could a single person hope to compete with that? There's no need to despair. There will always be missions requiring small teams, and I'll acquire higher-grade mechs in the future."
"Don't worry," I said. "I'll go talk to him later and try to cheer him up."
(End of the Chapter)
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