"Not bad."
Chen Mang gazed at the scene in the sky and nodded in satisfaction before turning his attention to the residents who had disembarked from the carriages to mine. The Level 4 Iron Ore deposit from yesterday was nearly exhausted, with only about one-tenth of its reserves remaining.
Once the remaining iron ore was mined, they could move on to a new deposit.
Two hours later, the Stellar Train set off again. The Level 4 Iron Ore deposit had been fully exploited, adding another 10.29 million units of iron ore to the train's inventory. Now, they continued their search for other mines. On their way here, Chen Mang had spotted a Level 4 Copper Ore deposit.
They would mine that copper deposit next.
At this moment—
The total iron ore stored in the train had reached 39.16 million units!
They were already halfway to their goal of upgrading to Level 16 Armor.
Just then—
"Lord Mang, I don't know how to explain this… Could you come take a look if you're free?"
Chen Mang received Er Dan's message over the Train Radio. Without hesitation, he adjusted the train's course and sped toward the coordinates Er Dan had sent. It was likely that they had encountered a Serendipity Map but found it too difficult to clear, hence the call for help.
The Stone Man Zone bordered five other zones—some white, yellow, and green, along with one red zone.
Red zones were higher-tier versions of purple zones. To reach more advanced areas, they would need to venture into red zones, which were considered absolute high-level regions. After all, above red zones, there were only gold, pink, and rainbow-tier zones.
Rainbow zones could be considered the pinnacle regions of this planet.
To establish dominance and reign supreme in a rainbow zone meant becoming the strongest train on the planet—no question about it, the ultimate achievement!
Before long, Chen Mang arrived at the coordinates Er Dan had sent, right at the border between the Stone Man Zone and the red zone. The Traveling Frog was parked on the ground, with Er Dan standing outside, staring blankly into the red zone.
"..."
The Stellar Train came to a slow halt. Chen Mang stepped out of the control room and walked through the air until he reached Er Dan's side. Frowning slightly, he looked toward the red zone ahead.
Now he understood why Er Dan had asked him to come.
The sight before them was simply…
Too shocking.
Words could hardly describe it.
Hundreds of fighter jets streaked across the sky in the red zone, locked in fierce combat with swarms of flying monsters.
The piercing screech of sonic booms, the deafening roar of automatic cannons, and the howls of monsters all blended together into… war.
A large-scale battle had erupted in this red zone.
A war between trains and monsters.
It was similar to the Zombie eruption in the Zombie Basin—except back then, they had been participants. Now, they were mere spectators.
Numerous trains raced across the ground or soared through the air, locked in battle against countless monsters.
"..."
Chen Mang immediately checked his Train Log. No dropped items had been sucked into the train by the Powerful Magnet. Clearly, the Powerful Magnet couldn't perform cross-region absorption—a bit disappointing.
Red Zone.
The highest monster level here was 18!
The scene was utterly devastating, with countless monsters exploding into bloody mist midair.
That said, the Red Zone was truly extraordinary. Every train here boasted terrifying combat power. After watching for ten minutes, he hadn't seen a single train destroyed, though most of the fighter jets had already been wiped out.
Their defenses were too weak.
A single hit meant certain destruction.
Many of the attack methods employed by these trains were completely unfamiliar to him—things he'd never even heard of before.
Take that deep-blue train, for instance.
Massive Lightning Arcs surged from a lightning rod-like attachment on its roof, creating a thunderous zone that engulfed everything within dozens of meters. Any monster that approached the train would instantly be reduced to ashes by the arcs.
Chen Mang lit a cigarette quietly, admiring the spectacle. High-level train battles had an oddly mesmerizing quality to them—each combatant showcasing their unique abilities like the Eight Immortals crossing the sea.
"Quite the sight," he remarked.
He turned to Er Dan, who stood beside him looking utterly bewildered. "But did you call me here just to watch this? Nothing else?"
Er Dan pointed a trembling finger at the brutal battlefield in the Red Zone, murmuring, "It's... a long story."
"I was originally searching for Serendipity Maps. But this morning, I stumbled upon a special one—a puzzle-type Serendipity Map. It wasn't from our zone... it belonged to this Red Zone ahead of us."
"I tried solving it... and failed."
"The cost was..."
"Triggering a 'Monster Soul Return' event in this Red Zone. And now... well, you see the result. This place wasn't nearly this lively earlier."
"..."
Chen Mang fell silent for a moment before speaking softly, "Er Dan, have you ever noticed you carry a certain... misfortune with you?"
"A few months back, that 'Ice and Snow World' in the Green Zone was perfectly fine until you messed around and triggered an avalanche. Then the Mechanical Zombie King went on a rampage."
"And now history repeats itself."
"Are you some kind of human traitor?"
"Devoted to wiping out humanity?"
"I—"
"Never mind that for now." Chen Mang shook his head. "How did you even access a Red Zone Serendipity Map?"
An impassable chasm separated different zones.
Whether by air or underground, crossing was impossible. That "Train Tunnel" they encountered last time was purely an exception—there was no normal way to reach a Red Zone Serendipity Map.
"That..."
Er Dan pointed toward a patch of withered, yellow grass at the border between zones, on the Red Zone's edge. "When I passed by earlier, I spotted a green sprout in that dried grass. Strange, right? Especially in deep winter."
"So I gave it a quick burst with the Automatic Cannon."
"Got so much Copper Ore you don't know what to do with it?"
"Not Lord Mang, based on my experience, such anomalies are often the trigger conditions for a Serendipity Map. Sure enough, after I emptied a magazine, a Portal appeared before me, indicating that only the Train Conductor could enter the Serendipity Map."
"It was a puzzle-type Serendipity Map."
"There were three levels."
"Completing each level would grant a reward. Passing all three would yield three rewards and an ultimate grand prize. But failing any level meant being permanently barred from re-entering that Serendipity Map, and a regional crisis would emerge."
"I failed at the first level."
"And then this scene unfolded before us."
"..."
Chen Mang's expression grew increasingly complicated as he watched the high-level Trains within the red zone slaughtering monsters. These Trains were formidable, each with unique methods. Despite the brutal battle, it was a one-sided massacre—none had been destroyed even after so long.
But...
Engaging in battle would consume vast resources. If these Trains ever found out Er Dan was responsible for this mess, he'd likely face permanent pursuit whenever he entered this zone in the future.
"They don't know it was you, right?"
"They probably do..."
Er Dan whispered, "Because after I failed, a panel popped up saying that due to the failure of the 'Traveling Frog,' the red zone 'Twilight Coast' would face a catastrophic event—'Monster Soul Return.' Killing monsters would yield no rewards, and they'd respawn infinitely fast for 48 hours."
Great.
Chen Mang's lips twitched slightly. No rewards for killing monsters meant pure loss with no returns. Each kill would be a net deficit, and with infinite respawns...
"Er Dan."
"Yeah?"
"When we go to the red zone, find a place to hide first. Don't show yourself until I've grown strong enough to dominate the area. Otherwise, I'm not sure I can protect you."
"Tell me about the first level's content."
"There was no way to pass it."
Er Dan shook his head pessimistically. "It was a damn Mechanical Civilization exam. Had to fill out a test paper, but the questions were all about their history. Like the first one—when did the Mechanical Civilization emerge?"
"Four options."
"Who the hell would know that?"
"I just picked randomly and... failed. I chose C—2932. I didn't even know what calendar they used or what 2932 meant in their system."
"Five questions total: four multiple-choice, one fill-in-the-blank."
"Only a perfect score would clear the first level."
"The first four multiple-choice weren't too hard..."
Chen Mang narrowed his eyes. He had plenty of Train Tokens. At worst, he could keep building new Trains to brute-force the answers. But if each failure triggered another crisis in the red zone, the area would basically be doomed.
Might as well try.
The next moment—
The Stellar's trial runner arrived, piloting a Level 1 Train equipped with a Heavy Machine Gun. It slowly emerged from the Stellar's front and parked beside Chen Mang and the others.
Yes, the strong man sitting in the train compartment was the same one who handled funeral services before the apocalypse.
He had almost become the Stellar's designated trial runner. For any risky task, he was always the first to volunteer, making his promotion speed the fastest among all civilians—almost unmatched.
"Lord Mang."
The strong man in the train compartment stepped out with a resolute expression and approached Chen Mang. "Awaiting orders!"
"Use the heavy machine gun on your train to strafe the green sprouts in that patch of withered grass. You'll successfully enter a Serendipity Map. Then, for the first multiple-choice question, eliminate option C. If you answer correctly, attempt the remaining three questions. If you fail, remember the wrong answers. If you guess them all right, remember the correct ones."
"Understood!"
The strong man nodded and returned to the train compartment.
Three minutes later.
"..."
Chen Mang silently stared at the red zone, where the sky was now shrouded in dark clouds. Thick bolts of lightning, as wide as buckets, intermittently struck the ground—some hitting trains, others monsters, and still others slamming into rubble and dirt.
The damage wasn't severe.
But for some reason, any train struck by lightning instantly fell silent and began fleeing frantically.
"Lord Mang."
The man who returned from the Serendipity Map spoke guiltily. "I chose option B for the first question. As soon as I selected it, I was notified of my mistake and failed. Then a panel popped up."
"It said that due to the failure of the 'Live Towards Death,' the red zone 'Twilight Coast' would trigger a major crisis event—'Rolling Thunder.' Any train struck by lightning would see its ammunition consumption for all weapons increase tenfold for one minute."
"It's fine."
Chen Mang shook his head. He was indeed fine, but the trains in the red zone clearly weren't—their frantic retreat looked downright pathetic. "Xiao Ai, summon Li Shiji from Neon City and have him take a look."
Through testing,
it had been proven that each failure would trigger a new crisis event.
Thus, brute-forcing the solution through trial and error wasn't viable. It was time to send in Li Shiji. Puzzle-type Serendipity Maps were his specialty—he could solve them effortlessly!
If all three stages were cleared smoothly, the crisis events in the red zone would be completely resolved.
But they couldn't afford to wait.
Those trains looked formidable, and their iron ore reserves were surely plentiful. Chen Mang was counting on dragging them all into his Neon City someday to spend lavishly. He couldn't let them all perish in these crisis events.
Soon—
Li Shiji, answering the urgent call, solemnly piloted a brand-new Level 1 train and strafed the green sprouts in the withered grass once more, entering the Serendipity Map.
Twelve minutes later.
"Tsk—"
Chen Mang, still standing in place, sucked in a sharp breath. He lit a cigarette, glanced at the pale blue smoke, then turned to Er Dan. "Actually, that 'Monster Soul Return' crisis event would at most drain the red zone's train resources. Even if it lasted 48 hours, it probably wouldn't cause too many casualties, right?"
Because now,
the red zone was not only teeming with monsters and rumbling thunder within the dark clouds—it was also snowing.
Thick, goose-feather-like snowflakes drifted across the land.
The scene was breathtakingly beautiful.
"Lord Mang."
Li Shiji shook his head guiltily and said, "I chose A and failed too. I searched for clues for a long time but couldn't figure it out. In the end, I had to guess blindly, but with a fifty-fifty chance, I still failed."
"Then a panel appeared before me."
"It said that due to the failure of the 'Little Zhuge,' the red zone 'Twilight Coast' would face a major disaster event called 'Flying Snow.' Any train touched by the snowflakes would have their maximum speed reduced by 50%."
"..."
Chen Mang remained silent, but at least he now knew the answer to the first multiple-choice question—it should be D.
If things continued like this, he felt that by the time he reached this red zone, his train might be the only one left.
Looking around.
Although the defenses of all the trains were average, their firepower was truly fierce, keeping the monsters at bay.
"Li Shiji."
"Yes, Lord Mang?"
"Next time you name a train, don't go for something like 'Little Zhuge.' Call it 'Little Booger' instead. That way, even if you lose, it won't be embarrassing."
"...Understood."
If the initial major disaster event didn't cause too much damage to the trains in the red zone, then at this rate, if they didn't act quickly, at least half of the trains would be doomed.
Especially that train with the lightning rod on top.
It had been quite arrogant at first.
Countless lightning arcs surrounded the train, slaughtering any monsters that came near.
But after the 'Rolling Thunder' disaster event appeared, the lightning strikes came one after another, instantly silencing it. No more lightning arcs were released—it just kept running for its life. However, under the effects of the 'Flying Snow' event, its speed was visibly halved.
Good.
"I'll give it a try."
After a pause, Chen Mang decided to make one last attempt. If he couldn't figure it out either, he would leave immediately—no more attempts.
The trains in the 'red zone' might barely withstand four major disaster events, but five would be absolutely unbearable.
At least some would survive.
The moment the Stellar's automatic cannon fired at the green sprout amidst the withered grass, a portal appeared before Chen Mang.
He stepped through it.
And found himself seated in a classroom, where a panel popped up, displaying information about this Serendipity Map.
-
"Brave pioneer, welcome to the 'Withered Tree Revival' Serendipity Map."
"In a forest after a wildfire, the most tender sprouts emerge. In a world after the apocalypse, the purest hope and beauty are born."
"This is a puzzle-solving Serendipity Map."
"If you possess sufficient intelligence or experience, you can claim the corresponding rewards here. As a Train Conductor, you bear many responsibilities, but today, you must shoulder even more."
"If you fail to clear this map, the region will face a regional disaster crisis."
"Strive to succeed, or seek help from those with enough wisdom and keen insight!"
"There are three stages."
"Each stage cleared will grant corresponding rewards, and clearing all three will award an ultimate prize."
"First stage—"
"Please answer the four multiple-choice questions and one fill-in-the-blank question below correctly. All must be answered correctly to proceed. Time limit: 15 minutes."
-
The next moment—
A crisp sound rang in his ears. Chen Mang, seated at his desk, looked up to see a 15-minute countdown appear on the blackboard.
「00:14:59」.
He didn't immediately turn to the test paper but instead surveyed the classroom.
About 80 square meters.
Just the size of an ordinary classroom.
There was only one desk and chair, no invigilator. The classroom was completely enclosed—no windows, the door tightly shut, and no clues on the ceiling or walls.
A fully sealed space.
After quickly scanning the room, Chen Mang took a deep breath and turned to the test paper with slight nervousness.
「Question 1」: In which year was the Mechanical Civilization born?
「Question 2」: What is the highest current Train level in the Mechanical Civilization?
「Question 3」: Which scientist in the Mechanical Civilization has invented the most Accessory Blueprints?
「Question 4」: How many inhabited planets does the Mechanical Civilization possess?
「Question 5」: How old is 'Tuo Tuo', the most popular Mechanical Little Princess in recent years?
The first four questions were multiple-choice, while the last was a fill-in-the-blank.
Great.
He didn't know any of them.
When the trial-and-error personnel had brought these questions out earlier, he'd asked Xiao Ai and Sister Qi from Neon City—none of them knew the answers, especially Sister Qi, who was utterly clueless.
Chen Mang glanced at the test paper and pen on the desk, hesitated for a moment, then marked option 「D」 for the first question.
The next instant—
A white light flashed on the paper, and a red checkmark appeared next to the first question.
Instant grading.
Correct answer.
One question right—getting started was the hardest part. At the cost of the red zone 「Twilight Coast」, he'd finally answered the first multiple-choice question correctly.
As for the second question...
Sitting in the classroom chair, Chen Mang narrowed his eyes slightly. A thought suddenly struck him—the Serendipity Map's panel had explicitly mentioned three pieces of information.
「Brave Pioneer... Doomsday Train Conductor... Regional」
「This is a puzzle-based Serendipity Map. If you possess sufficient intelligence or experience...」
「...keen insight...」
These three clues were clear hints!
First!
Though he didn't know the origin of this Serendipity Map or how it was formed, it was obvious that it wasn't designed to test members of the Mechanical Civilization but rather survivors like them from a post-apocalyptic planet.
The first clue made this perfectly clear.
The second clue indicated this was a puzzle-based Serendipity Map, meaning the answers had to be somewhere in this classroom—otherwise, it wouldn't be a puzzle but a knowledge-based map.
Especially the line about "sufficient intelligence or experience."
Experience would let one know the answer at a glance.
Intelligence would allow one to deduce the answer.
And the last clue: keen insight.
Without further hesitation, Chen Mang glanced at the 13-minute countdown on the wall, then grabbed the test paper, stood on the desk, and held it close to the light for inspection—but found nothing unusual.
He jumped down.
Flipped the desk over—no clues underneath or in the drawers either.
Looking around the classroom, he instinctively reached into his pocket for a cigarette, only to find it empty. He then remembered that entering this Serendipity Map didn't allow carrying any extra items—one had to enter empty-handed.
No clues whatsoever.
He walked to the classroom door again, pushing and pulling, but it wouldn't budge. He then pressed against the walls, shoving with all his might, but they remained immovable. After knocking along the walls for a while, he still couldn't find any hidden compartments.
The countdown was now down to just 7 minutes.
Standing in place, Chen Mang glanced around and murmured softly, "When we get out later, let's burn some incense for the destroyed trains at Twilight Coast. Don't blame me down there—if you must blame someone, blame Er Dan. He's the real source of all this."
He looked down at the ground, hoping to find some clues, but the smooth concrete surface offered nothing.
After scanning the surroundings once more, his gaze settled on the blackboard at the podium.
He walked up to it.
Tapping the center of the blackboard with his knuckles, the sound was crisp—hollow!
A glint flashed in Chen Mang's eyes as he began feeling around the edges of the blackboard. Soon, he found a small button hidden in a recess at the bottom.
"Hidden deep, huh."
With a hint of excitement, he pressed the button—finally, a lead. The countdown now showed only six minutes remaining.
The next moment—
After the button was pressed, the blackboard split down the middle, slowly sliding apart to reveal a screen behind it, already lit up. On the screen, a provocatively dressed female robot swayed gracefully to the beat.
Upbeat music filled the classroom.
Every dance move was perfectly timed, flawlessly executed. If not for the mechanical left arm, she could have passed for a renowned dancer.
The tight-fitting crop top.
Very generous.
"..."
Chen Mang frowned slightly, tapping the screen to no avail. The suggestive dance continued, soon switching to another woman, then another, until finally, five or six burly men with thick beards took their turn.
Long leg hair.
Long white socks.
Playful tongues and bulging muscles—enough to turn his stomach.
But then—
Chen Mang suddenly realized something. Staring intently at the looping video, he muttered, "One, two, three..."
The entire suggestive clip.
Four women and six men!
Four women.
The number four matched the count of Multiple Choice Questions. Could the answers to those four questions lie with these four women?
Only five minutes remained on the clock!
With no time to waste, Chen Mang anxiously watched the replay, scrutinizing every detail of the four women. The backgrounds were chaotic—some in yoga studios, others on rooftops.
He needed to extract a flood of information and pinpoint the clues.
This task would have been best suited for Li Shiji.
The video couldn't be fast-forwarded or rewound. He had to endure the six men's performances each time before the women reappeared.
"The answers to the Multiple Choice Questions are only A, B, C, or D—four options."
"Where's the clue...?"
"Hairpins? Hair color? Age? No, none of those show clear differences. The background? Too messy. The first answer is D, so find the connection between the first woman and D. The connection... Wait."
"..."
Chen Mang suddenly froze in place. Though it was hard to believe, he quickly picked up his pen and jotted down on the table—the first woman's bust size was a D-cup!
He wasn't sure if this was the connection.
But he noted it down first anyway.
Soon, he recorded the bust sizes of the remaining three women on the table.
They were:
"C," "A," "D."
"Huff—"
Chen Mang took a slightly nervous deep breath, spread the test paper flat on the table, and instead of sitting on the chair, he tentatively marked "C" for the second multiple-choice question.
The next moment!
A white light flashed across the paper, and a red checkmark appeared behind the question!
Correct answer.
The correct answer for the second question was indeed C.
Feeling slightly more confident, Chen Mang boldly marked the answers for the remaining two multiple-choice questions in one go—all correct. The answers to the first four questions were D, C, A, D!
"Damn, I'm good!"
Chen Mang stared at the four correctly answered questions on the paper, unable to resist praising himself excitedly. Then, glancing at the countdown timer with only three minutes left, he gripped the pen again and fixed his gaze on the suggestive video playing on the screen before him.
There was still one last question.
The final question was a fill-in-the-blank.
It asked: How old is the most popular Mechanical Little Princess, 'Tuo Tuo,' in recent years?
He had two possible answers in mind.
Namely—
10 and 6.
The first was the total number of people in this suggestive video, and the second was the total number of men in the video—six.
Both numbers seemed plausible.
After all, for a Mechanical Little Princess, either 10 or 6 would fit, though 10 might be more appropriate since 6 seemed too young.
Chen Mang stared intently at the video on the screen, unwilling to miss any clues. Neither 10 nor 6 felt quite right to him. This was the first time in both his lifetimes that he had scrutinized a suggestive video so thoroughly.
Especially one featuring men.
Since when did the Mechanical Civilization have gays too?
Since the first four women had provided the answers to the multiple-choice questions, he leaned toward the idea that the answer to the final fill-in-the-blank should be found among the last six men and unrelated to the first four women. He needed to extract a number from these six men.
Like 6!
The total number of men.
But this answer felt unreliable to him. If the point was simply the number 6, they could have used six genderless robots or even six dogs—there was no need to specifically feature six obviously gay men. The fact that they deliberately chose six gays suggested that...
Wait!
A clue struck Chen Mang like a bolt of lightning. He quickly grabbed his pen and, referencing the suggestive video on the screen, began scribbling frantically on the table.
"Bearded, white socks, white tank top, rugged-looking..."
Only 1 minute and 58 seconds remained on the countdown!
And he had arrived at a string of numbers.
"100110"!
That was it.
If the video deliberately emphasized that the men in the latter half were gay—especially by making their gay traits extremely obvious—then the clue must lie in their identities as gay men. And what was the clue about being gay?
It was the roles of 1 and 0!
By determining which men were tops (1) and which were bottoms (0), he could derive this string of numbers.
100110!
Through binary conversion, we arrive at a two-digit number—38!
Therefore, the answer to the final fill-in-the-blank question, the age of the Mechanical Little Princess 'Tuo Tuo,' should be 38 years old! After all, it's highly unlikely to be 100110 years old.
"."
Chen Mang looked with satisfaction at the draft calculations on the table—the manual conversion from binary to decimal. Not many people knew how to do it, but he happened to be one of them. The place values in binary are 1, 2, 4, 8, and so on. To calculate, you first determine the digits of the binary number, multiplying the rightmost digit by 1, the second digit by 2, and so forth.
Carefully multiply each digit by its corresponding place value.
If the digit is zero, the product is zero.
Add up all the resulting products to get the decimal value, which in this case was 38.
The process was rather tedious.
He glanced at the countdown on the podium, now under a minute, and double-checked his calculations to ensure no mistakes. He reviewed the suggestive video once more, confirming there were no other clues.
With only 10 seconds left on the clock, he picked up his pen and wrote "38" in the final blank.
The next moment—
A white flash lit up the test paper, and a red checkmark appeared next to the last fill-in-the-blank question.
Meanwhile, the countdown on the podium froze at "00:00:06."
The suggestive video on the screen slowly faded away, replaced by celebratory fireworks on both sides. A panel appeared in the center:
-
"Brave Pioneer, congratulations! Your keen insight and wisdom have allowed you to effortlessly pass the first challenge within the time limit."
"All hazards in this area will now be neutralized."
"You will receive the special reward 'Wise One's Mine Area Entry Ticket,' which includes ten untapped Level 4 Iron Ore mines, ten untapped Level 4 Copper Ore mines, ten untapped Level 4 Titanium Crystal Mines, ten untapped Level 4 lumberyards, and ten untapped Level 4 Crimson Heart Rock Mines."
"The manifestations of this Serendipity Map vary across regions, but its essence remains the same: a tender sprout amidst wildfire, hope in despair."
"In the midst of the apocalypse, someone like you, who notices such details, must be a Train Conductor of remarkable perception."
"The current number of Train Conductors who have successfully cleared the first challenge is 18."
"When the count reaches 20, this Serendipity Map will permanently close, and 19 Train Conductors from various regions will join you in the second challenge to compete for the ultimate treasure."
"It is a gift that would set the hearts of countless Train Conductors racing."
"A grand reward bestowed by the Mechanical Little Princess 'Tuo Tuo' upon the wisest of this planet!"
"Please keep this token safe."
"Before the second challenge begins, the token will glow red. You have 48 hours to prepare—the second challenge will commence exactly 48 hours after the red glow appears."
-
The panel on the screen gradually faded.
Then, the screen shattered, its fragments swirling and compressing in midair to form a triangular token and an "Entry Ticket," which fell to the ground. Beside them, a Portal materialized.
The first challenge had ended.
The second challenge had yet to begin.
Returning to Er Dan's side, Chen Mang stared blankly at the Entry Ticket in his hand.
-
"Special Item": Wise One's Mine Area Entry Ticket.
「Item Effect」: Contains ten untapped level 4 Iron Ore mines and ten untapped level 4—
Before this.
The most resource-dense area he'd encountered was the mining zone guarded by a two-headed monster at the end of the Train Tunnel, which had a whopping three level 4 Iron Ore mines. That had brought him a windfall, leaving him thoroughly satisfied.
However.
The mining zone accessible through this Entry Ticket had ten level 4 Iron Ore mines alone.
Each level 4 Iron Ore mine held roughly ten million units.
Ten mines meant a hundred million.
"Enough, this is more than enough."
Chen Mang murmured as he gazed at the Entry Ticket in his hand. Whether for Train upgrades or Armor upgrades, this would suffice. With so much Titanium Crystal Mine, he could craft numerous unmanned fighter jets, along with endless timber and Crimson Heartstone—more resources than he could possibly spend.
If only he could exchange all that timber and Crimson Heartstone for Iron Ore.
The timber was truly piling up beyond use.
He needed Iron Ore. Another twenty level 4 Iron Ore mines—how comfortable life would be then. He didn't even dare imagine it.
"What's enough?"
Er Dan, standing nearby, tiptoed to peer at the distant red zone where the fighting had gradually subsided. Excited, he asked, "Lord Mang, the battle in the red zone has stopped. How did you clear it? Those questions were so hard—how did you know the answers?"
Chen Mang turned to Er Dan, pulled him into a hug, and planted a loud kiss on his bald head before grinning broadly. "Good job! Your Traveling Frog is flawless!"
"Keep it up just like this. I've always had high hopes for you!"
Er Dan froze for a moment before hurriedly breaking free, shuddering slightly as he hesitantly asked, "Uh... Lord Mang, don't you think my method of scouting the Serendipity Map often leads to mistakes?"
"Like with the Ice and Snow World and this Twilight Coast."
"So what if you make mistakes?"
Chen Mang waved his hand dismissively. "Make mistakes, as many as you want. Who in this world hasn't made mistakes? Even sages aren't perfect."
"If someone's too afraid to make mistakes, they'll never create anything remarkable."
"It's like walking a tightrope. On one side is the abyss, on the other is treasure, and at the end is safety."
"Only by falling do you get a chance to touch the treasure."
"Be bold from now on, even bolder. No matter what happens, I, Chen Mang, will have your back!"
"Deal!"
Er Dan nodded vigorously, grinning gratefully. "Lord Mang, with your words, I'm reassured. I love doing this kind of thing. But Lord Mang, how did you actually complete it? How did you know the answers? How old is that Mechanical little princess, 'Tuo Tuo'?"
"38 years old."
"Huh? A 38-year-old can still be a little princess?"
"Perfectly normal. Probably because Mechanical Civilizations have longer lifespans."
"Oh, I see. Lord Mang, even though I know Mechanical Civilizations exist in the universe and that our Trains are products of their technology, I still don't understand whether they're robots or half-human, half-machine. How does their civilization pass on—through reproduction or AI gaining sentience?"
"I'm not sure either, but that's not important for now. If we survive long enough, we'll find out eventually."
"What if we die?"
"I'll burn incense for you and let you know when you're dead." Chen Mang patted Er Dan's shoulder meaningfully and said, "The rewards for clearing the level are very generous. I'm leaving first—I'm in a bit of a hurry. I've already had another 1 million units of Iron Ore and 2 million units of Copper Ore unloaded from the carriage for you."
"Use the Copper Ore freely from now on."
"If you see any flowers or plants that don't sit right with you, just spray a round at them first."
"I trust you to handle things."
"I'm off."
Without lingering, Chen Mang quickly headed toward his Train compartment. He was in a hurry—he wanted to see what the situation was inside the "Wise One's Mining Zone" as soon as possible and finish extracting all the ore there!
For the next while, his main tasks would be the "Wise One's Mining Zone" and "Neon City." All the resources obtained would be used to upgrade the Train.
He had no plans to venture into the red zone for now.
Even though it was just one level higher, the gap between the Trains seemed significant.
The Trains in the red zone looked way too fierce.
He wasn't even sure if he could take them on.