Many of their products were unique.
For instance, items like the "Space Pocket" and "Level 10 Refrigerator" were exclusive to their Train across the entire planet. These were strategic commodities that would sell effortlessly!
Moreover, their Train was likely the only place on the planet capable of facilitating cross-regional trade.
From now on, all Convocations would be held in "Neon City"!
Here, they could trade not only with Trains from their own region but also with those from other regions. Most importantly, safety was absolutely guaranteed—Train Conductors couldn't harm each other here, eliminating the need for unspoken rules. It was a completely secure environment.
Charging a small service fee wasn't too much to ask, right?
After all, they were providing such an excellent trading platform.
Once word spread far enough, and enough people learned about this place while holding "Neon City Tickets," he couldn't even imagine how much money he'd make!
Mom would be rolling in it!
Chen Mang didn't linger. He immediately took Biao Zi and the others to the factory, producing ten thousand "Neon City Free Entry Tickets." Without delay, they left "Neon City."
Inside the Train's cabin, over a dozen people gathered, including Lao Zhu, Biao Zi, Li Shiji, and others who had been successful entrepreneurs across various industries before the apocalypse.
With over 6,000 people aboard the Train, they could find experts in almost any field, as long as it wasn't too niche.
Xiao Ai stood by the screen, having just finished explaining the basic background.
"Everyone," Chen Mang said solemnly, looking around, "this 'Neon City' project, to a certain extent, will determine the future growth speed of the Stellar. If this project succeeds, everyone here who contributes valuable ideas will directly receive third-tier high-tier talent benefits, along with special rewards."
"Each of you, share your thoughts and suggestions."
He had been a businessman in his past life, so he had his own ideas. But everyone had a different perspective, and hearing diverse opinions could spark new inspiration.
"Let me start the discussion."
Chen Mang paused briefly before continuing, "Initially, we won't have many guests, so I propose limited-time openings—say, every Monday. This way, we can concentrate seven days' worth of foot traffic into a single day, creating the illusion of a bustling crowd."
"What we're building isn't just a marketplace but a platform, and platforms require a critical mass of users."
"Now, share your thoughts."
"I'll go first," Uncle Li rasped, clearing his throat. "Lord Mang's idea of replacing all regional Convocations with Neon City is brilliant. It's a win-win for both other Trains and the Stellar."
"I suggest that after canceling the time-limited opening in the future, we can designate a fixed day as the Convocation trading day. Only on this day can Train Conductors freely trade with each other. If any Train Conductor wants to sell an item on a non-trading day, they can only do so in Lord Mang's store."
"This way, we can earn a certain price difference."
As soon as the words fell.
A dissenting voice came from the side.
"No, no." A middle-aged man shook his head solemnly. "Your suggestion has a problem. First, we need to understand one thing: whether Train Conductors engage in free trading or purchase goods from our direct stores—"
"They can only trade using Stellar Coupons."
"And Stellar Coupons are exchanged with Iron Ore. In other words, the moment they enter, we've already made money. As for Stellar Coupons, they're just numbers—Lord Mang can set the amount as he pleases."
"All we need to ensure is that every transaction in Neon City is based on 'Stellar Coupons.'"
"That's all!"
"Whether they trade freely or buy from our direct stores, it doesn't matter—we'll still profit."
"For example, if A spends 10,000 Stellar Coupons to buy an item from B—"
"A loses the Iron Ore equivalent to 10,000 Stellar Coupons, B loses an item, Lord Mang gains the Iron Ore corresponding to 10,000 Stellar Coupons, and all he consumes is a string of numbers."
"This is the core of Lord Mang's idea!"
"By establishing a monetary system, we secure massive profits."
The middle-aged man paused before continuing, "After this transaction, B loses an item but gains 10,000 Stellar Coupons. If he uses those to buy another item from someone else, Lord Mang incurs no loss."
"If he buys from the direct store, Lord Mang recycles the Stellar Coupons while handing over low-cost goods, like Space Pouches."
"The more free trading there is, the more Lord Mang profits!"
"So my suggestion is to prioritize free trading and charge no transaction fees, allowing Train Conductors to trade freely. Every time they do, it's practically delivering vast resources into Lord Mang's hands."
Chen Mang nodded in satisfaction, his gaze toward the middle-aged man now tinged with appreciation. There were indeed talented people on the Train.
Then—
An old man sitting nearby tapped his finger and slowly said, "That makes a lot of sense. As long as Train Conductors exchange Iron Ore for Stellar Coupons, Lord Mang profits."
"But you've overlooked one premise."
"Why would anyone bother exchanging for Stellar Coupons in the first place?"
"Is it just because of an arbitrary rule that transactions in Neon City must use Stellar Coupons? When sellers realize the Stellar Coupons they receive are practically worthless, will they still be willing to sell their items? Even if they do, they'll surely inflate prices, leading to economic collapse."
"So we must anchor Stellar Coupons to something tangible."
"We need to add more scarce—even unique—goods to the direct store!"
"The prerequisite for prioritizing free trading is perfecting the 'direct store's' inventory, environment, and experience."
"Only when the goods inside are attractive enough will people try to obtain Stellar Coupons, whether by exchanging Iron Ore or through free trade."
"That's my suggestion."
"A perfect addition," Chen Mang said with a smile, sitting on his chair as he glanced at the old man before turning to Xiao Ai beside him. "What's his role on the Train?"
"Second-class resident treatment, ID 5987, responsible for mining."
"He's old now—no need for mining. Assign him something lighter."
"Yes!"
The old man sitting on the chair, his cloudy eyes flickering with joy, hastily struggled to his feet and said, "Thank you, Lord Mang."
"Sit down. Does anyone else have good suggestions?"
Lao Zhu then spoke up.
"Lord Mang, I think the casino is worth focusing on. Gambling is the deepest human desire, especially among the successful—they find it hardest to resist. Or perhaps, successful people tend to be extremely overconfident; they don't believe they'll lose."
"For high-ranking Train Conductors, the casino is a great entertainment platform. Just by taking a cut, we can make enormous profits."
Soon after.
Others chimed in one after another with their own suggestions.
"Lord Mang, I think a brothel would also be a great platform. Many would surely want to try out the robots."
"How about giving away that spicy dried duck for free last time and selling a bottle of Mineral Water for 1,000 Stellar Coupons? People would definitely buy it."
"I suggest adding some motorcycles as shared rides."
"How about a bounty board? If someone has a grudge against a certain Train, they can post a bounty mission."
"I just thought of another one—we could—"
A cacophony of suggestions filled the Train's meeting room.
At first, everyone was a bit reserved—after all, it was their first time discussing such major Train-related matters with Lord Mang. But as the atmosphere warmed up, they began speaking freely.
Ideas kept popping up one after another.
Some were completely unusable, some were impractical, while others were highly innovative.
In this brainstorming session.
Countless ideas gushed forth.
Xiao Ai stood by, recording every suggestion, though his eyes held a trace of confusion. His computational power was high—after hearing each idea, he felt he could have thought of it too.
So why hadn't he come up with them before?
Was this the difference between a human brain and AI?
For a moment, he felt as if he had grasped something—was this the unique, divergent, fan-shaped thinking exclusive to human minds?
An hour later.
The brainstorming session ended. Chen Mang sat alone at the control panel, reviewing all the recorded ideas, marking some and adding notes to others.
Some ideas were adoptable, some needed refinement.
Many hands do make light work.
In the early stages of the Train's development, residents had only one purpose—mining. It didn't matter if you were a high-ranking executive or anything else before the apocalypse. If you couldn't mine, you were useless, good for nothing.
But as the Train gradually progressed.
The role of residents expanded beyond just mining.
Of course, most of it was still mining.
After all,
Before the apocalypse, most people were just ordinary folks. You couldn't expect a vocational school girl to stand in the Train carriage and eloquently explain her future plans for Neon City to Lord Mang.
Better to just obediently go mine.
Who knows how much time had passed.
Chen Mang finally let out a long sigh of relief, leaning back in his chair to stretch his sore muscles, then smiled as he looked at the plan in his hand. The preliminary plan was now more or less complete.
After leaving the "Goblin Tomb,"
he would begin distributing the first round of "Neon City Free Entry Tickets."
Yes.
Although his plan sounded incredibly high-concept with promising future returns, in the initial stages, he still had to rely on the most straightforward method—"ground promotion"—to achieve the first wave of dissemination.
Perhaps he could collaborate with "The Balance"?
"..."
Chen Mang leaned back in his chair, lost in thought. As far as he knew, The Balance had the ability to communicate across regions, and the organization was likely spread across many areas like a spiderweb.
If he partnered with them, he could quickly promote his "Neon City."
However...
He had killed a few of their members, so cooperation might be difficult. He hadn't seen any Train in "Crisis Valley" claiming to belong to The Balance, but maybe he could find an opportunity to make contact.
Though there was some conflict between them, in the apocalypse, what did a little conflict matter?
After mapping out everything ahead,
Chen Mang leaned back in his chair, glancing at the information on the control screen, and couldn't help but smile. Today truly was a turning point in his life. Since he intended to rebuild civilization, he would need vast resources. This Neon City would later become a money-printing machine, continuously providing him with an endless supply of materials.
Fortunately, he had a manager.
"Sister Qi."
Aside from Sister Qi, no one else could stay in Neon City indefinitely. With her handling affairs for him, it would save a lot of trouble.
He was in a good mood.
Even if bad news arrived now, he wouldn't be angry.
Just then—
A flash of white light filled the Train carriage, followed by Xiao Ai's voice: "Train Conductor, we've successfully manufactured a receiver using the materials from last time. Would you like to take a look?"
"Ah."
Chen Mang sighed lightly in mock exasperation, the corners of his lips curling up involuntarily. "Why is it all good news? Can't we get some bad news for once?"
Inside the "Armor Research and Development Center" in Carriage No. 2,
Chen Mang examined the nearly identical receiver before him and nodded in satisfaction. "This can capture scattered Core Energy from space, right?"
"Yes."
"How many more can we make with the remaining materials?"
"Including this one, a maximum of four in total."
"Hmm..."
After a moment of thought, Chen Mang said, "A single receiver operating at full capacity can absorb 480,000 units of Iron Ore. With these four, that makes five in total—meaning we can gather 2.4 million units of Iron Ore daily?"
"Correct." Xiao Ai nodded. "If we find more of this material in the future, we can produce even more."
Chen Mang patted Xiao Ai's shoulder and sighed.
"That's enough."
"Equivalent to forming two Level 4 Iron Ore mines in just 10 days. I've realized you're a genius. Can you tell me how you learned to make receivers? That can't be easy, right?"
"I took apart the original one in the Train and reverse-engineered it."
"...Can the dismantled one be reassembled?"
"Yes."
"That's good. Speak up—you've been racking up merits lately. What reward do you want? Should I take you to the pleasure houses in Neon City next time?"
"I want the Train Conductor to praise me."
"Xiao Ai."
"I'm here."
"You're amazing."
"That kind of praise doesn't count."
"Then how should I praise you?"
"I want the Train Conductor to read this script to praise me."
"..."
Chen Mang took the paper Xiao Ai handed him, read it carefully with lowered head, then expressionlessly tossed it aside before turning to walk out of the Space Gate.
"This is absolutely impossible."
"I, Chen Mang, will never say something this embarrassing in my entire life."
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