Chen Mang instinctively focused his thoughts on "Humanities" with some bewilderment.
Soon—
A panel appeared before him.
「Humanities Progress」: 62%.
Immediately after, several fragmented scenes emerged:
A clip of the Stellar hosting its first Doomsday Wedding.
Residents laboring in mines.
Women from the Red House playing with customers.
A sweat-drenched resident lying contentedly in the residential area, lighting a cigarette.
All residents gathered for a communal feast.
Children listening attentively in classrooms.
When he shifted his gaze to "Culture," another panel appeared.
「Culture Progress」: 77%.
Scenes included:
Residents conversing.
Lao Zhu and Biao Zi communicating through sign language.
Everyone gathered watching Zhang Yiren film a movie.
A young man typing furiously on his laptop in a pavilion.
Lao Zhu compiling historical records in his room.
A girl singing for residents on stage.
「Military Progress」: 78%.
Fragments showed:
Train and armor upgrades.
The Train eliminating monsters and Zombies.
Night patrols where Biao Zi's team hunted creatures.
Third Squad Leader training in the Combat Training Virtual Space.
Zhang Yi and Zhang Er piloting Mecha.
Missile launches.
「Agriculture Progress」: 37%.
Scenes depicted:
Food production lines operating.
Uncle Li tending livestock and crops in Breeding Carriage 15.
「System Progress」: 87%.
Moments included:
Chen Mang delivering speeches from the Train roof.
Appointing Lao Zhu as Deputy Train Conductor.
Promoting Stellar Coupons.
Xiao Ai implanting Iris Chips in residents.
Establishing the Ten Edicts of the Stellar.
After a long pause,
Chen Mang withdrew his gaze from the Token of Civilization, leaned back in his chair, and lit a cigarette with a complicated expression.
He didn't understand its full meaning,
but guessed it might be
a beginner's quest for rebuilding civilization.
If all five progress bars reached 100%,
a civilization—albeit rudimentary—would essentially be reconstructed.
From this perspective,
human civilization had likely already perished. Activating the Token now could immediately rebuild it, though the panel advised against premature reconstruction "to avoid becoming prey."
The earliest safe threshold was Level 20 Trains.
Thus, the Token's five metrics clearly indicated:
Only when all reached completion could civilization be properly rebuilt. Partial progress wouldn't suffice.
Rebuilding human civilization...
"..."
Chen Mang furrowed his brows tightly. Rebuilding human civilization essentially meant that the entire responsibility and pressure of humanity now fell upon the Stellar Train. The Stellar Train represented the orthodox lineage of human civilization!
"Huff."
After a long while, he finally exhaled deeply, stubbing out his cigarette in the ashtray. Though the weight sounded immense...
If no one else could shoulder it,
he was willing to try carrying it himself.
Moreover, it seemed only the "Stellar" could fulfill these five requirements.
Truth be told—
he hadn't initially considered this direction at all, nor had anyone guided him. For instance, the Doomsday Wedding was meant to earn Inheritance Value, the banquet was to let residents relax, and making films, writing novels, and singing served the same purpose.
Yet, by sheer coincidence, he had stumbled upon the three fundamental forms of artistic expression:
film, literature, and music.
Upon reflection,
many of these conditions were exceedingly stringent—conditions that other trains could hardly meet.
Take the "Doomsday Wedding," for example.
This was the simplest among them. As long as there was a Doomsday Marriage Certificate and a couple in love aboard the train, hosting a wedding could not only earn Inheritance Value but also boost Humanities progress.
The remaining conditions, however, were far more demanding.
Take filmmaking.
You needed an entire crew. After so long since the apocalypse, finding a film crew wasn't easy. Even if you scrounged up a third-rate director, where would you get filming equipment or a screen? Not every train carriage had a Mechanical Eye or homemade displays.
Fine, suppose you had all that.
But without knowing it could advance civilization progress, how many trains would bother with such thankless tasks?
This was the apocalypse. With trains at constant risk of annihilation, dedicating precious manpower to making movies? That was pure insanity.
As for literature and music, those were entirely serendipitous.
He had no idea where Lao Zhu had found that novel-writing "slave," churning out 20,000 words daily to skyrocket Humanities progress.
Most crucially—
items like the "Token of Civilization" were exceptionally hard to obtain. He'd only acquired one after completing an S-rank difficulty task on a Serendipity Map and had never seen another since.
All of this was uncharted territory—meaning you'd have no idea these actions could advance the Token of Civilization's progress while doing them.
With so many stringent conditions stacked together,
it suddenly struck him that perhaps only he could rebuild human civilization. Other trains would struggle to meet these requirements.
All five progress bars were nearly full. By the time his train reached Level 20, they'd likely be maxed out.
But...
it still felt a bit precarious. He'd wait until his train became the planet's strongest before proceeding.
Mainly because he didn't know if rebuilding civilization offered any benefits. If there were none, then there was no rush. He'd consider it once his train was powerful enough.
"Lao Zhu."
Chen Mang grabbed the walkie-talkie and instructed, "There are still three 'Doomsday Marriage Certificates' left on the train. Ask around in the coming days—if anyone wants to marry, the train can host their wedding."
"Understood," Lao Zhu's raspy voice crackled through the walkie-talkie promptly.
"One more thing."
"Go ahead, Lord Mang."
"Keep a close eye on Zhang Yiren, the filmmaker, and that young man who writes novels. Make sure they increase their output. Also, what's that girl who was singing on stage doing on the train now?"
"You mean the one who sang anime songs? She's currently in the medical bay, treating residents injured during mining."
"Assign her to a new role. From now on, her only job is to sing for the residents every day. She'll sing for as long as they're mining. If her voice gives out, the Medical Bay can fix it."
"Yes, sir!"
After handling these matters, Chen Mang stretched and let out a relaxed sigh. After a moment of thought, he spoke again: "Have Li Shiji, Biao Zi, Zhang Yi, Zhang Er, and the rest of the first squad come to the train compartment. We're heading to Neon City."
"Make sure to bring everything we need."
"Understood, Train Conductor." Xiao Ai's voice echoed in the train compartment.
The time was ripe.
They could return to Neon City. With Xiao Ai's hacking skills, they could explore the area that had blocked them last time.
Neon City allowed 48-hour access.
The Goblin Tomb also permitted 48-hour entry.
Perfect timing to tackle both.
The Stellar Train would mine in the Goblin Tomb while he took Biao Zi and the others to Neon City.
In Guard Car No. 7, Lao Zhu gazed thoughtfully out the window. Why had Lord Mang specifically mentioned the filmmaker and the novelist? It didn't seem like mere entertainment—it must be something that greatly benefited the train.
Did Level 12 trains have such an evaluation criterion?
Did the residents' happiness index need to reach a certain level before the train could upgrade further?
He didn't dare speculate further.
Just then—
He saw Biao Zi and the others stand up and head toward the front carriages. Instinctively, he called out, "Biao Zi, where are you going? Did Lord Mang summon you?"
"Yeah."
Biao Zi shrugged helplessly, sighing as he spread his hands. "Lord Mang's taking us to Neon City. Ah, this is the downside of being a trusted aide—whenever he goes out, I have to tag along."
"Not like you, getting to rest here. I envy you."
"Did Lord Mang not call for you?"
"..."
Lao Zhu's expression darkened as he stared at Biao Zi. No, Lord Mang hadn't summoned him—but Biao Zi's smug attitude was downright infuriating.
"Ahem."
Noticing Lao Zhu's sour expression, Biao Zi quickly coughed to smooth things over. "Train Conductor Zhu, it's just that your role on the train is too crucial. With Lord Mang away, so many people rely on your management. If you left, the train would fall into chaos."
At that, Lao Zhu's expression softened slightly, and he nodded in agreement.
"True enough. You wouldn't know the first thing about management. It's not like he could take me and leave you behind to run the train. Go on, don't keep Lord Mang waiting."
"Got it."
Biao Zi cheerfully led the first squad toward Carriage No. 6. As he passed the Third Squad Leader, he patted him on the shoulder and said with a sigh, "Don't be jealous. Your priority right now is making sure Lord Mang even knows your name."
"Poor kid."
"Keep training hard—you're getting weaker by the day."
Inside the Stellar Train compartment.
At this moment, everyone had gathered. Without saying much, Chen Mang activated the Token of Civilization, and soon a massive portal large enough to accommodate the Stellar Train appeared before them.
Now he understood why the portal had to be made so big.
The Stellar Train slowly started moving.
Just before entering, Chen Mang crushed the "Neon City Free Entry Ticket" in his hand. He had only bought three of these back then—though the shop had no purchase limit, he had only acquired three.
Inside the train, a smaller version of the portal materialized.
Chen Mang led Biao Zi and the others through it, vanishing on the spot.
Shortly after, the Stellar Train smoothly entered the Goblin Tomb, embarking on a 48-hour mining expedition.
During Chen Mang's absence, the train would be managed by the "Train Auxiliary AI" and Lao Zhu. However, inside the Goblin Tomb, there were no real dangers to worry about, so there was little concern about anything going wrong.
In Neon City.
Chen Mang reappeared in the same plaza as last time, though unlike before—when it had been crowded with Train Conductors—now it was just him and Biao Zi's group.
Nearby, Zhang Yi placed the refrigerator on the ground, and Xiao Ai pushed the door open from inside.
The Mechanical Eye in his socket glowed as his head rotated 360 degrees before he spoke, "So this is Neon City?"
"Mm."
Chen Mang nodded, then frowned at Xiao Ai. "If you're here now, then there's another you on the train. Doesn't that count as a split personality? Could it cause any bugs or something?"
"Split personality?"
Xiao Ai shook his head. "Humans and AIs are different. The me on the train and the me standing here are both me—it's just that our data isn't synced. The me on the train doesn't know what the me here is doing, and the me here doesn't know what the me on the train is doing. Once we return and sync the data, we'll be completely identical again."
"It won't affect anything."
"Good!"
Chen Mang nodded, then swung onto the off-road motorcycle beside him. After pulling out the map he had bought last time and glancing over it, he drove down the street toward the other end.
"Follow me."
Half an hour later.
Chen Mang came to a slow stop in front of a factory. The facility was surrounded by walls dozens of meters high, topped with electric fences, heavy machine guns, and anti-aircraft artillery. Next to the main gate was an iris scanner.
Last time, he had been stopped here.
Unable to enter.
This time, he had specifically brought Xiao Ai.
"Let's begin."
Chen Mang stepped aside, making room for Xiao Ai. "This city is connected by a network. See if you can hack into it. You're a Level 100 AI—don't disappoint me."
"Lord Mang, you're putting pressure on me again."
"I'll try."
Xiao Ai stepped forward with a serious expression, standing beside the iris scanner. After observing it for a moment, the top of his skull suddenly opened, and two extremely fine white threads, like spider silk, extended out, slipping into the scanner's crevices.
At the same time, his finger detached, revealing a plug. He lifted the scanner's bottom cover and inserted the plug from his fingertip.
A screen flipped out from his back as well.
Black background.
Countless lines of green code scrolled rapidly.
"Whoa..." Biao Zi, standing behind him, muttered in awe at the sight. "Now that's professional."
"Indeed."
Chen Mang nodded in deep agreement. As expected of a Level 100 Train Auxiliary AI—it truly had some impressive capabilities.
Just then—
"Um..."
Li Shiji, who had been standing to the side, hesitantly raised his hand and quietly remarked, "My eyes are a bit faster at capturing things. All those rapidly scrolling lines of green code were uniformly displaying 'hello world'."
"Before the apocalypse, I was a game designer, so I know a little about coding. Shouldn't the code input to hack the iris scanner's network connection be something other than 'hello world'?"
The next moment—
Clink.
Three green indicator lights suddenly lit up on the iris scanner like a slot machine. Then, the factory door that had stopped them last time opened with surprising ease.
(End of Chapter)