"The Wise One's Mining Zone."
Ten level-4 Iron Ore mines, ten level-4 Copper Ore mines, ten level-4 Titanium Crystal Mines, ten level-4 lumberyards, and ten level-4 Crimson Heartstone Mines.
A total of fifty mines.
Extracting resources from them would take some time—it wasn't simple work.
But Chen Mang wasn't in a hurry.
Soon—
Six days passed.
"..."
Lying back in his chair, Chen Mang sighed lightly as he stared at the movie on the screen, which he had already watched three or four times. Feeling somewhat bored, he lit a cigarette and glanced out the window at the bustling scene outside.
No new movies.
No entertainment activities either. The single-player game consoles produced by the assembly line were dull, and he had already played them.
As for the Combat Training Virtual Space, he had visited it many times over these days.
Though the "Combat Training Virtual Space" seemed like a game, it only involved consciousness immersion. Without any reward mechanisms or plotlines, it wasn't particularly enjoyable. In fact, constantly getting injured and dying in it was quite painful.
It was fine for training.
But as a form of entertainment? Not quite enough.
Over the past few days, he had been dreaming every night, but nothing had manifested from those dreams. Perhaps because he had spent so much time mining in his dreams, he felt somewhat drained, his body sore and exhausted.
For the time being, he didn't want to create any more dreams.
It was purely exhausting.
He lowered his gaze to the "Project Proposal" in his hands. Drafted jointly by Lao Zhu and Zhang Yiren yesterday, it was a response to his offhand remark about the lack of entertainment activities on the Train.
Two variety shows.
The first was a dating show, aimed at encouraging more people on the Train to form families, have children, and pass on human civilization.
He skimmed through it before tossing it aside. The Train didn't need children right now—they could consider the continuation of human civilization once they were stronger.
In reality, while the birth of a newborn on the Train would grant a reward of +1 Inheritance Value,
hardly any Train would encourage reproduction just for such a meager reward.
The reward was too small.
But thankfully, it wasn't high. Otherwise, women capable of bearing children would have a hard time—if reproduction were overly incentivized, it would turn into a business.
The second show was a "Time-Travel Variety Show."
By drugging a Survivor and fabricating the illusion of time travel, they would let them live freely in a reconfigured Space Gate, observing their actions through hidden Mechanical Eyes.
"Hmm..."
Chen Mang nodded thoughtfully. To be honest, he was quite interested in the second show. And they wouldn't even need to drug anyone—activating Space Stasis could create the perfect illusion of time travel.
The setup, however, would be troublesome.
As for participants, that was easy. During their last trip to the city to scavenge supplies, a group of Survivors had ambushed Biao Zi and the others. All of them had been captured and brought onto the Train—not granted Train Resident status, but locked up as lab rats.
For experiments requiring "non-subjective" exploration, these lab rats could serve as test subjects.
The so-called non-subjective approach means that the testers don't need to perform any specific actions—they just need to be thrown into the situation. For example, the non-subjective testers couldn't handle the decryption Serendipity Map he had just experienced.
"Xiao Ai."
"I'm here."
"Contact Lao Zhu. I'm quite interested in the second reality show. Have Zhang Yiren handle the set design. If resources are lacking, improvise with what's available."
"Understood."
Only then did Chen Mang turn his gaze to the screen on the control panel. The seventh day was about to arrive, with only a few minutes left until midnight. Once the clock struck zero, "Neon City" would open again.
This would be its second opening.
He had no idea how many people had picked up the "Neon City Tickets" or how many were planning to enter this time. User data was practically nonexistent—he couldn't see any of it.
"It's all up to you now, Mundo."
Chen Mang muttered distractedly. The first batch of people who entered Neon City were mostly Train Conductors from the region he had come from. Many of them had crossed paths with him before—they could be considered old acquaintances.
After all, the first batch of Entry Tickets could only be scattered in this region, unable to reach other areas.
As for how many would come for the second opening, it depended on how many tickets Mundo had distributed these days. In other words, today was the day to test Mundo's results.
"Don't let me down, little Mundo."
"Achoo!"
On the wasteland, Mundo, speeding across the wilderness under a sky full of stars on his off-road motorcycle, suddenly sneezed uncontrollably. Rubbing his itchy nose, he twisted the throttle to the max and continued forward.
He could only teleport randomly ten times a day.
He couldn't afford to teleport every time he encountered a Train—that would be too inefficient, and there was no guarantee each teleportation would lead him to one.
His method was to ride his motorcycle across the wasteland after each random teleportation to search for Trains, maximizing the use of his limited teleportations.
He patted the bulging Space Pouch at his waist, filled with Redheart Nuts, food, water, Entry Tickets, and all sorts of miscellaneous items.
Mundo pulled a Redheart Nut from his pocket and popped it into his mouth. Soon, he sensed a Train parked not far ahead and immediately steered straight toward it!
As the distance closed, the Heavy Machine Gun on the Train slowly turned to aim at him—but it didn't fire. This was the confidence of a Black Market Merchant. Who would dare attack one? Did they have a death wish?
With practiced ease, he pulled up to the left side of the Train compartment, pulled an Entry Ticket from his coat, and tossed it onto the ground.
Without a word, he left.
A few minutes later, a man stepped down from the Train compartment, picked up the ticket in confusion, and after reading the panel information, nodded thoughtfully before tucking it into his coat and returning to the compartment.
Again and again, countless times over.
Mundo was like a diligent little bee, tirelessly repeating this task without rest.
The development of the Stellar Train was the result of countless people's efforts.
Take Mundo, for example.
Though he wasn't inside the Stellar Train and no one could see his work, it was in these unseen places that Mundo made massive contributions to the Stellar Train.
Since ancient times, a good product alone isn't truly enough.
Only those who can consistently attract customers are worthy of being called 'Lord'.
The time has reached midnight.
"Neon City" is open again!
"Seventy-eight people already."
In the high-rise building of Sun City, Chen Mang stood by the window, looking down at the group of Train Conductors not far below, silently counting. In just ten minutes since the opening, seventy-eight people had arrived, which was quite good.
It seemed many had come in right at the opening time.
Last time, a total of 188 people had entered; he wondered how many would come in this time. As long as there were 189 people, he would be satisfied, at least maintaining an upward trend.
This meant he had retained the old volume while also welcoming new customers.
For some reason, he felt a bit nervous inside.
"Lord Mang."
Uncle Li, standing beside him, quietly asked, "When can Neon City operate all day? I feel like the revenue would be higher if it were open all day."
"Not yet."
Chen Mang, leaning on his cane by the window, shook his head and replied softly, "With the current number of users not being very high, if we operate all day, the revenue would drop significantly. Many things people won't rush to buy; after all, they can come in at any time, so it doesn't matter which day they buy."
"Only by creating a sense of urgency like now can we push for orders."
"When the number of users reaches four digits, ensuring that several hundred Train Conductors enter Neon City every day, then we can operate all day. There's no rush for now."
"And"
"It seems everyone has figured out a few things."
Neon City has a high degree of freedom.
As long as you trade with "Stellar Coupons," you can basically do anything you want in Neon City. After six days of professional training, some of the Train Residents from the Stellar have successfully taken up their positions.
For example,
"The Bounty Board."
At this moment—
In front of the Bounty Board in "Neon City," seven or eight Train Conductors were gathered, curiously looking at the bounty information on the board.
The previous bounty of two million for the destruction of a train had already been completed.
Conductors from the same area had come out to verify that the train indeed could not be found on the Train Radio, confirming it had likely been destroyed.
Now, a new bounty had appeared.
-
Top Bounty: Destroy the Zombie Basin "Adoration Train" in the yellow zone, bounty amount 1 million Stellar Coupons, responsible for reimbursing half of the ammunition consumption, with additional payment in Stellar Coupons.
Bounty Issuer: Anonymous.
Bounty Reason: Purely beastly.
Bounty Information: Level 8 Mechanical Train.
Second Bounty: None.
-
"Hmm."
Among the onlookers, one Train Conductor expressed some confusion, "But trains can't cross zones. If that yellow zone isn't connected to other yellow zones, then only the trains from that area would be eligible to take this bounty task, right?"
"Then why not post it on the Train Radio instead of here?"
"Are you stupid?" A man wearing a mask beside him replied, somewhat exasperated. "Posting on the Train Radio is real-name registration; wouldn't the other party know who is after them? Here, it's anonymous, much sneakier."
"And it could be an old grudge; now that they're not in the same area, they naturally can't post a bounty on the Train Radio."
"However, look, it's an anonymous bounty; the chances are a bit higher for the former."
"Where did you get that mask?"
"Bought it at the spawn point, it's disposable. It automatically destroys itself when you exit the Serendipity Map, priced at 300 Stellar Coupons."
"I'll post a bounty too."
At this moment, a middle-aged man who had been standing behind the crowd pondered for a while before walking toward the robot beside the Bounty Board: "I'd like to post a bounty as well. I'm looking for kitten cubs—as many as possible. For each kitten cub, I'm willing to exchange 50,000 Stellar Coupons."
"What an idiot! 50,000 Stellar Coupons for a kitten cub?"
"Haha."
The man chuckled lightly, turning to glance meaningfully at the person who had spoken, but said nothing further as he continued posting his bounty.
He was the Train Conductor of a Level 18 Train. Though he didn't know the current highest level among the strongest trains, he believed he was undoubtedly in the top tier.
50,000 Stellar Coupons was just 50,000 units of Iron Ore.
Anyone who hesitated over 50,000 units of Iron Ore must be from a low-level train. Yet, far from looking down on them, he felt exhilarated.
"Please post material bounties at the free trade market next door."
The robot standing by the Bounty Board pointed to a street not far away with a professional smile: "Over there at the free trade market, Train Conductors can freely trade with each other and post material bounties."
This Bounty Board had been repurposed from an advertising panel behind a bus stop.
It stood right by the roadside.
Very straightforward.
"Got it."
The middle-aged man nodded without another word, striding toward the free trade market.
As he looked at the shops lining the streets and the towering buildings in the distance, his eyes brimmed with excitement.
This place was truly miraculous.
Connections between regions were rare—this was an ironclad rule. Even information struggled to pass through, let alone train travel or material exchange. It had been ages since he'd seen a low-level train, meaning this place linked many regions.
There were even quite a few white zones here.
Kitten cubs were something only low-level regions could still produce. The living conditions in high-level regions made it impossible for stray cats to survive.
They'd be doomed without a doubt.
The rule of this Serendipity Map was that 1 unit of Iron Ore could be exchanged for 1 Stellar Coupon.
On the surface, it seemed fair to every Train Conductor.
But in reality, the perceived value of 50,000 units of Iron Ore differed vastly between a Level 1 Train and a Level 18 Train. If he could trade 50,000 units of Iron Ore for a kitten cub, the profit would be unimaginable.
It all depended on whether he could actually get one.
Though this place was miraculous, there didn't seem to be many people—only about a hundred Train Conductors.
"50,000 units of Iron Ore for a kitten cub?"
Chen Mang stood thoughtfully by the floor-to-ceiling window, watching the middle-aged man's retreating figure. He paid close attention to this man—the highest-level Train Conductor in this group, with a train level of 18.
Several levels higher than his own.
There was no way he could interact with a Train Conductor of this level. Undoubtedly, this man had been brought back by Mundo.
If he just wanted a pet out of loneliness, he wouldn't say "as many as possible."
It felt like it might be related to the "Starry Sky Behemoth."
Could an Level 18 Train have a method to nurture ordinary cubs into Starry Sky Behemoths?
Did it have to be kitten cubs?
What about adult cats? Piglets? Chicks?
"Hey, are you fucking crossing the line?!"
"You really want this to end with one of us dead?!"
"Go to hell!"
In front of one of the Pleasure Houses.
Amidst the crowd of onlookers, a burly man glared fiercely at the middle-aged man standing before him: "Dare to give me your coordinates right now? Let's settle this face to face!"
"Harm shouldn't extend to family. What's the meaning of using my mom's photo for customization?"
"Too scared?"
The middle-aged man shook his head with a serious expression. "I'm running low on copper ore—gotta save what I have. Besides, haven't we already been sworn enemies for life? Ah, what a coincidence, though. Who'd have thought I'd accidentally stumble upon your mom's photo?"
Then he turned to the staff at the pleasure house.
"Can I take the customized girl out onto the street?"
"Technically no, but if you're willing to pay an extra 100,000 Stellar Coupons as an exit fee, then yes."
"100,000?"
The middle-aged man frowned slightly—that was steep. But when he glanced at the burly man beside him, whose face was dark with barely contained rage, he suddenly felt as refreshed as gulping an ice-cold soda on the hottest summer day. Pure bliss.
He nodded generously. "Fine, 100,000 it is."
"I'll pay."
"Bring her out. I'll wait right here on the street."
"Hey!"
The burly man wanted to explode, but the sight of the surrounding Black Hole Armed Robots forced him to suppress his fury. He turned to the pleasure house staff instead. "Don't you have privacy regulations?"
"We do."
The staff flashed a professional smile. "In principle, pleasure houses aren't allowed to customize well-known public figures or use personal photos for such services."
"Then why did you let him do it?"
"In Neon City, principles can be... slightly relaxed."
"You motherf—!"
Just then, the customized girl stepped out of the establishment. The burly man froze, his face darkening like storm clouds, before he swiftly turned and stormed off, unwilling to stay a second longer.
The bystanders exchanged bewildered glances.
Each silently resolved to buy masks immediately.
And to guard their family photos fiercely. This place was like a dark forest—whoever exposed their family's images first, especially to enemies, would only invite...
Sheer disgust.
It wouldn't kill you, but it'd make your skin crawl.
"Ha! So damn satisfying!!"
Hearing the man's mocking laughter, the burly man quickened his pace toward the Bounty Board. Glaring at the attendant, he growled, "I want to post a bounty!"
Free Trade Zone
Limited-time opening—no service fees
The area was lined with stalls, each fronted by a screen displaying goods for sale or purchase by the Train Conductor.
"Feels nostalgic..."
The Conductor of the Level 18 Train, a middle-aged man in long sleeves and pants, stared at the first stall's screen and paused, lost in thought. After a moment, he chuckled softly and shook his head.
On the screen was a single line of text:
Seeking Level 4+ Train Conductors for experience-sharing.
Paid consultation—negotiable rates.
Must verify train level.
It reminded him of his weaker days, when he too had yearned for guidance. But the chasm between regions had made contacting higher-level trains impossible—and even if he could, he wouldn't have dared.
Times are really good now.
With the existence of Neon City, this is no longer just a fantasy.
He couldn't even remember how long it had been since he'd seen a train from the white zone.
He immediately crouched down, tapped lightly on his wrist display, then shook his wrist: "Young man, an 18-level train - is that enough to earn your consultation?"
"E-eighteen level?"
The young man sitting at the stall stared dumbfounded at the train level displayed on the wrist device before hurriedly standing up, his face filled with awe and trepidation as he whispered: "Senior, I... I can't afford high consultation fees."
"I'll charge you 1 Stellar Coupon. Got any cigarettes?"
"Yes."
"Give me one."
The middle-aged man sat cross-legged on the ground, lit a cigarette and fell into reminiscence before finally speaking: "You're currently in the white zone, right? What level is your train?"
"Level 3."
"Level 3 train... Let me think. You should be about to start your job change soon. My personal suggestion is to ignore the Flesh Train and choose the Mechanical Train. But the S-Rank Job Change Quest for Mechanical Trains is extremely difficult, basically impossible to complete."
"Unless..."
"Unless you're willing to buy a large number of Level 10 Refrigerators from the Mechanical Train Parts Store. I just checked - with enough Level 10 Refrigerators, there's a possibility of clearing it. But it would consume massive amounts of Iron Ore, at least 500,000 units."
"For someone in the white zone like you, coming up with 500,000 is nearly impossible. It's an astronomical figure."
"The A-rank difficulty has major drawbacks. The B-rank quest is extremely challenging. The C-rank quest is a decent option - you just need to transfer the Train Conductor position to someone else and then get it back. But this requires having a trusted family member. Don't think about controlling someone and forcing them to return the position."
"That's unrealistic."
"Few people would willingly give back the Train Conductor position."
"Better to die together. If the Train Conductor dies, the train becomes scrapped, and without a train, you'll die too."
"You can't transfer the Train Conductor position outside the train."
"My advice is to directly choose the D-rank quest. Don't waste too much time on this, and don't gamble. There's not much difference between C-rank and D-rank potential anyway."
"After upgrading your Armor to level 3, you can job change and move to the green zone to upgrade to a level 4 train."
"At this point you'll get access to Energy Shields. I recommend building one but not upgrading it - just tough it out with level 3 Armor. If you encounter attacking trains or high-level monsters, just run."
"Upgrade as quickly as possible."
"Get your train level up."
"Then when your train reaches level 6, build the 'Tycoon Energy Shield', skipping the regular 'Energy Shield' available at level 4. This will save you lots of Iron Ore. Otherwise, if you keep upgrading the regular shield, you'll waste tons of Iron Ore and still need to replace it with the Tycoon version at level 6 anyway."
"The same goes for the 'Hell Gatling Gun' available at level 4. Just build one to meet upgrade requirements - no need to upgrade it or build more. Just use your 'Makeshift Heavy Machine Gun'. At this stage you'll have very little Copper Ore anyway, and there's no need to fight monsters."
"Run from monsters when you see them. Mine when you don't."
"After reaching level 6, build the 'Doomsday Cannon'. This weapon will be your mainstay for a long time to come."
"The maximum upgrade level is 8. Reaching level 5 grants the Supermodel Effect of Halved Consumption, which will ease your copper ore pressure. If you have Murphy Stones, you can upgrade it to level 10, where the Supermodel Effect also provides Halved Consumption."
"This weapon can basically carry you through to level 10."
"Level 10 is another hurdle. By then, you'll enter a firepower vacuum period where neither your Energy Shield nor weapons can keep up, requiring replacements that consume massive resources."
"A level 10 Doomsday Cannon can no longer guarantee your safety against monsters in the Blue Zone."
"You'll need to craft red-tier weapons and Energy Shields. During this phase, you'll need—"
The middle-aged man spoke earnestly, practically pouring out all his knowledge. Many of the pitfalls he mentioned were ones he'd personally stumbled into—he only recognized them as traps after experiencing them himself, since no one had warned him before.
Time passed unnoticed.
His throat felt dry from talking. He'd shared extensively—how to locate Serendipity Maps, how to obtain rewards within them, and how to collect regional Special Items.
For instance, the "Drill Bit" accessory could only be found in certain low-level zones.
If one could gather enough Drill Blueprints, they could fetch a decent price in Neon City—he'd certainly buy them himself. He possessed the Special Item "Drill Command Tablet" but lacked the Drill Bit Accessory Blueprint, having no means to acquire it.
When he finally finished speaking,
he noticed a crowd had gathered around him at some point. Everyone had been listening quietly, diligently taking notes in their notebooks.
"This many people?"
The man blinked in surprise.
"Sir,"
a young man at the stall stood up with red-rimmed eyes and bowed deeply to the middle-aged man, his voice trembling slightly. "In my zone, many Train Conductors keep stealing my iron ore. I never imagined someone as kind as you existed—no wonder you've become an level 18 Train Conductor."
"This is an immense kindness. If opportunity arises, I'll repay it a hundredfold."
"Don't mention it."
The middle-aged man stood and waved his hand dismissively with a sigh. "You're overthinking it. I'm only telling you all this because you pose no threat to me. I clawed my way up during my vulnerable days too—development inevitably brings competition."
"Iron ore is meant to be taken."
"Who isn't short on iron ore? Even I'm lacking now. The amount required for my current Energy Shield upgrades would be an astronomical figure to you—the combined value of every item in the free market wouldn't cover a single upgrade."
He said no more, moving toward the next stall. He'd simply felt nostalgic and wanted to pass on his experience. If his knowledge could improve survival rates for lower-level Trains, he considered it worthwhile.
The second stall sold pens and notebooks.
"..."
The middle-aged man silently observed the crowd gazing at him with gratitude—people who'd just heard his advice. Each held identical pens and notebooks, exactly matching those sold at the second stall.
He silently withdrew his gaze and turned to the second stall, where a beaming vendor stood. He spoke softly,
"You'll succeed in whatever you do from now on."
"How much did you make?"
"Not much, just under twenty thousand Stellar Coupons."
"You sold some pens and notebooks for nearly twenty thousand Stellar Coupons?"
"I raised the price temporarily."
"By how much?"
"Three hundred times. Originally, the pens and notebooks together sold for two Stellar Coupons."
"Impressive."
"No, big brother, you're the impressive one. Without the experience you shared, no one would've bought my pens and notebooks. Such valuable knowledge, and you sold it for just one Stellar Coupon. Big brother, you're the best—I admire you!"
"You're still more impressive."
The middle-aged man wandered through the free trade market. There were only about a dozen stalls, with few vendors. None of the goods on sale were what he needed—everything was too low-tier, things he had long since outgrown.
Finally, he set up a stall in the corner.
Not for selling.
Only for buying.
"50,000 Stellar Coupons per kitten. Will buy as many as available."
Then he got up and left, opting for automatic management.
This was one of the features of the Free Trade Market—vendors could choose between automatic management or free sales. There was no need to sit at the stall in person; they just had to set the purchase and sale prices.
The cost for one day of automatic management was 1,000 Stellar Coupons.
Quite convenient.
It saved a lot of time, far more efficient than dealing with the Convocation.
"This guy…"
Standing atop an office building, Chen Mang took in the scene with a thoughtful expression. These were solid beginner tips—knowledge that could help low-level Trains avoid many pitfalls and significantly boost their survival rates.
This was originally what he had planned to do.
He had been compiling beginner tips, intending to sell them for 100 Stellar Coupons.
But after hearing what the man had said, he realized his own summarized experience paled in comparison.
The main issue was…
His beginner tips were hard to replicate—they were a chain reaction, a snowball effect. He had never encountered something like a firepower-defense gap. From the very start, his Armor defense rating had always matched the regional level.
He never felt like he was wasting resources.
He had always prioritized upgrading Armor…
After a moment of contemplation, he turned to Xiao Ai beside him. "Record everything he just said, then send someone to talk to him. Try to get more detailed tips. After that, combine them with my own experience and compile a beginner's guide. Price it at 100 Stellar Coupons and sell it to low-level Trains."
"Help more Trains survive."
"Make it a permanent product."
"Split the profits 55."
"Understood."
He didn't expect this product to make money, but it could help many low-level Trains, thereby increasing the number of high-level Trains. In a way, it was indirectly cultivating high-value clients for Neon City.
A price of 100 Stellar Coupons was just right—not so high that low-level Trains couldn't afford it.
Setting it too low would give the wrong impression.
"Hello, sir. Our boss would like to invite you for a visit."
The middle-aged man, strolling down the street, turned to the woman approaching him and narrowed his eyes slightly. He could clearly see the Mechanical organs on her body—she was an android.
"Your boss? The boss of Neon City?"
"Yes."
"Lead the way ahead."
The man followed quietly behind the woman, walking toward the direction of Sun City, though his mind was already reeling as if Mount Tai had collapsed upon him. This was the first time he had encountered a sentient, communicative being from the Mechanical Civilization within the Serendipity Map!
That shopkeeper had actually invited him over.
This was already a sign of awakened intelligence.
He had visited many Serendipity Maps and naturally knew of the existence of the Mechanical Civilization—that the Train was one of its means. But all the clues he had gathered from the Serendipity Maps suggested that the Mechanical Civilization seemed to have perished.
He had never met a Mechanical being capable of normal communication!
This was the first.
(End of Chapter)