"Poor kid."
The middle-aged man looked with mixed emotions at the young man kneeling on the ground, weeping bitterly. After a moment of hesitation, he continued, "But even if you can buy some accessories in Neon City, you still can't upgrade your train."
"That's true."
"But at least there's a bit more hope, isn't there?"
Sitting by the floor-to-ceiling window, Chen Mang gave a strange look at the information about the young man displayed on the tablet Xiao Ai had handed him.
"Trapped in the white zone."
"Can someone really get trapped in a specific zone?"
He had never considered this scenario.
After all, throughout his journey, he had never encountered such a situation. What a pity—if only the man had been trapped in a purple or blue zone. After all this time, he would have accumulated so much iron ore with nowhere to spend it except here.
But trapped in a white zone? Even if he had developed steadily for so long, he wouldn't have much iron ore saved up. The white zone doesn't even have a single Level 3 mine, and Level 2 mines are extremely rare.
Level 1 mines are basically the norm there.
A single Level 1 mine produces around 10,000 units of iron ore—what can you even do with that?
Just scraps.
"Logically, this shouldn't happen," Xiao Ai, standing nearby, shook his head. "We still don't fully understand how zones are formed, but one thing is clear: the existence of zones has effectively reduced the mortality rate of this planet's inhabitants."
"If it weren't for the zones blocking some of the terrifyingly powerful monsters, there wouldn't be so many trains able to develop. In the early days of the apocalypse, those monsters could have wiped out the entire planet."
"For example, that Level 15 red-skinned rabbit, with its speed of nearly 4,000 km/h—even though Aqua Blue Star is quite large, that single rabbit alone could slaughter all life on the planet in a short time."
"Like peeling an onion, clearing one layer after another."
"Zones benefit trains far more than they hinder them."
"Theoretically, such a zone shouldn't exist. But in this world, everything has its bugs. It's not surprising that a place like this exists, but such zones must be extremely rare—after all, this is the first one we've encountered in all this time."
"..."
Chen Mang turned his head to look at Xiao Ai, paused for a moment, then added, "Before Neon City existed, we wouldn't have had contact with train conductors from such zones anyway."
"And one more thing."
"Stop using inverted sentences so often. It sounds awkward."
"Understood, Train Conductor."
After watching for a while longer, Chen Mang returned to the Stellar Train's cabin. There wasn't much work for him to do there, so he might as well rest in the cabin for a while.
Meanwhile—
Within this space.
The fully activated headlights dispelled large swaths of darkness, illuminating the area as if it were daytime.
But since there was no actual sunlight, staying here too long gave a slightly oppressive feeling.
Chen Mang sat in the train cabin, casually picking up an apple from the fruit bowl on the table and taking a bite. His gaze then fell on a "Gold-grade" accessory blueprint in his hand.
Gold-grade.
One tier higher than the red grade.
After all this time, the train had only ever obtained one golden-grade accessory blueprint. This was their second trip to Neon City. After Xiao Ai unlocked the unlimited currency privilege, he rushed to the third floor of the mechanical store and swept through the shelves to purchase it.
Many items from that day had been resold in the Mechanical Train Parts Store, but he kept some of the more prestigious ones. Even if he put them up for sale, no one else could afford them—and truthfully, he couldn't bear to part with them.
-
「Robot Research Center」: Golden-grade accessory. Requires 100,000 units of iron ore to craft.
-
Comes with two types of robots.
「Mining Robot」, 「Mechanical Dog」.
The former has functions such as mining copper ore, iron ore, and logging. Its mining efficiency is fixed at 1 unit of ore per hour.
To produce one 「Mining Robot」, 10,000 units of iron ore are required.
A single level-1 Energy Stone can sustain its operation for 180 days.
Level 0 Defense, Level 0 Attack.
The latter possesses attack and exploration capabilities.
To produce the most basic level-1 「Mechanical Dog」, 10,000 units of iron ore are required.
Level 0 Defense, Level 0 Attack. Even outside the range of the Targeting Radar, it can transmit information back to the train's AI data processing center via its built-in Mechanical Eye.
Customization is available for 「Defense」, 「Attack」, and 「Function」.
For example—
A machine gun can be mounted on the Mechanical Dog's back, granting it combat capabilities.
Alternatively, the energy stone inside the Mechanical Dog can be activated to achieve a self-destruct effect.
All such customizations will consume additional iron ore.
"..."
Chen Mang leaned back in his chair, gazing at the accessory blueprint in his hand. He gently shook the apple core onto a napkin, leaving it for Xiao Fang to collect and deliver to the Breeding Carriage—just to see if they could grow a fruit tree from it.
This would significantly reduce the cost of fruits, though the resulting produce couldn't be customized in terms of flavor or texture.
「Robot Research Center」.
An incredibly powerful accessory.
Capable of producing two types of robots.
「Mining Robot」, 「Mechanical Dog」—the former replaces residents, the latter replaces Guardians. In a way, with this accessory, a Mechanical Train could function just like a Flesh Train, operating normally even if the only person aboard was the Train Conductor.
For now,
the 「Mining Robot」 wasn't particularly useful to him, as he wasn't short on residents for mining. But as the train developed further and ventured into higher-tier regions, Mining Robots would become essential.
A single level-1 Energy Stone could keep it running continuously for 180 days.
Extremely cost-effective.
While its utility might be limited elsewhere, here it was invaluable. These robots could drastically reduce his mining time. Currently, the 「Titanium Crystal Mine」 and 「Iron Ore」 had already been fully extracted.
Only the 「Crimson Heart Rock Mine」, 「Copper Ore」, and 「Logging Site」 remained untouched.
He immediately crafted the accessory.
And consumed,
450,000 units of iron ore to upgrade it straight to level 10, unlocking two corresponding Supermodel Effects.
-
「Robot Research Center Level 5 Supermodel Effect」: After equipping this accessory, the production cost of all robots created by train accessories is halved.
「Robot Research Center Level 10 Supermodel Effect」: The production cost of all robots created by train accessories is halved again.
-
(Note: The translation maintains consistency with the provided glossary, ensuring proper terminology and character names are used throughout.)
The two overpowered effects were downright insane.
This meant...
The price of a single mining robot was only 2,500 units of iron ore.
This price...
It felt almost like clearing out old stock.
"Whew—"
Chen Mang exhaled lightly with satisfaction. The most crucial part wasn't just that the production cost of mining robots was halved—every robot produced from the Train's components would have its consumption halved, and that even included the Black Hole Armed Robots.
That component itself already had the effect of halving production costs.
When the two effects stacked...
One thing was certain.
In the future, he could absolutely assemble a massive robot army!
Upgrading the "Robot Research Center" from level 10 to 20 required 14.5 million units of iron ore, but the Train currently only had 10.12 million units. There wasn't enough iron ore to continue the upgrade for now.
He'd deal with it later when he had more iron ore.
Time to build!
The next moment—
From the Space Gate inside the "Mecha Research and Development Center" in Carriage No. 2, rows of pitch-black robots filed out through the Train door in perfect silence, lining up neatly outside the Train without making a single sound.
Standing in formation.
Utterly quiet.
Impeccably orderly.
He had spent 5 million units of iron ore to build 2,000 "Mining Robots."
And another 1 million units to equip each robot with a level 1 Energy Stone, ensuring every robot could operate continuously for 180 days.
The sight was nothing short of awe-inspiring.
"Good, good, good!!!"
Chen Mang stood outside the Train, gazing at the 2,000 mining robots before him with deep satisfaction.
When the number of people under your command reached a certain scale—and when every single one of them obeyed you unconditionally—even the most timid coward would feel a surge of pride swelling in their chest!
At a glance...
The sheer impact was overwhelming.
These assembly-line-produced machines could be churned out in mere seconds—unbelievably fast.
With 800 men, you could storm the Xuanwu Gate.
Let alone 2,000.
800 men had their tactics, and 2,000 had theirs.
"These are all industrial junk."
Xiao Ai stepped forward, pointing at the robot at the front of the line. "Look, Train Conductor—this thing's construction is barebones. It doesn't even have a proper Mechanical Eye, just the cheapest garbage. There's not even a signal receiver, which means I can't remotely control these robots in real time."
"These robots can only follow pre-programmed instructions to complete their tasks."
"No communicators either."
"No AI chips."
"Don't even talk about Armor—they didn't even bother with synthetic skin. The skeleton and wiring are all exposed. Looks like a single pickaxe swing could smash most of them to pieces."
"True, everything you said is correct."
Chen Mang chuckled and nodded. "But it only costs 2,500 units of iron ore. If it were priced at 500,000, I'd absolutely call it industrial junk like you did. But at this price? It's just too damn cheap."
"Are the instructions set?"
"All set."
Xiao Ai replied seriously. "After standing here for another five minutes, they'll head to the nearby Crimson Heart Rock Mine for extraction. Once that's done, they'll move on to other mines. After all mines are fully exploited, they'll return to the Stellar."
"The new commands can only be redeployed after these robots return to Carriage No. 2. No new instructions can be issued midway unless I run over there, open their brain-machine interfaces, and manually input new commands one by one—but that would be a massive undertaking."
"These are truly industrial garbage."
"Robots that can't even receive real-time commands shouldn't exist in this era. They should be thrown into a junkyard shredder."
"Don't say that," Chen Mang chuckled. "They're all good babies of the Stellar. Look into whether we can sell these robots to other trains."
"We'd need to modify their core permissions. The default setting is loyalty to the Stellar. I don't have the authority to alter the core permissions of other robots. For that, you'd need to return to the train's control console later, sign a protocol, and grant me temporary permissions. Only then can I check whether the robots' core permissions can be changed."
"Got it."
At that moment—
Several residents responsible for daily tasks emerged from the carriage, carrying a batch of newly forged Level 4 pickaxes. They placed them on the ground.
Five minutes later.
The mining robots sprang into action. The first robot in line picked up a pickaxe and slowly trudged toward the distant Crimson Heart Rock Mine—one step, two steps, three steps, like the gait of a demon.
It steadied itself, raised the pickaxe, and began striking.
The entire process was utterly mechanical, with every movement so standardized that even the height of the raised pickaxe was identical.
As more and more robots joined in, the nearby Crimson Heart Rock Mine soon became crowded with them. The clattering sounds of mining rose and fell in waves. Though there were only 2,000 robots, their ability to work around the clock meant they could match the productivity of nearly 3,000 residents.
Residents already worked long hours, and many could mine far more than one unit of iron ore per hour.
"Even if they're industrial garbage, if we can sell them, we could make a decent profit."
Xiao Ai gazed at the working robots in the distance. Though he considered them industrial trash—nowhere near as advanced as the robots from Neon City, and even inferior in build to the Black Hole Armed Robots—they were absurdly rudimentary.
So rudimentary, in fact, that they looked like something a child might cobble together from industrial scrap.
But he had to admit one thing: they were genius when it came to mining!
"We won't make much from them."
Chen Mang shook his head with a grin. "The factory cost alone is 2,500 units of iron ore—far more expensive than slaves. Back at the Convocation, a decent slave only cost 500 units of iron ore."
"And their daily upkeep is higher too."
"A single Level 1 Energy Stone lasts 180 days, which averages out to 2.7 units of iron ore per day."
"Ten slices of bread only cost 1 unit of iron ore. The food consumption of slaves on a normal train isn't nearly this high."
"The only selling point is their ability to work nonstop for 24 hours."
"Newcomers definitely can't afford them, but selling to veteran trains shouldn't be a problem."
"We can still make a bit of profit and diversify the store's inventory."
In the universe, there's a law called the "Law of Smile Conservation."
This law is somewhat similar to the law of energy conservation.
Smiles don't appear out of nowhere.
A smile that fades from one face only to appear on another.
Chen Mang smiled.
But the smiles on the residents' faces gradually faded away.
"..."
A middle-aged man leaning on his pickaxe stared blankly at the rows of mining robots swinging their tools in perfect unison not far away. The despair in his eyes grew thicker—it seemed he was about to lose his job.
Why?!
He had been thinking that with so many ores in this space, if he worked extra hard during this period, he could definitely rise to first-class resident status!
Lately, he had been sleeping only four hours a day, relying on cola to keep him going the rest of the time, all to mine more and level up sooner.
But...
When did those mining robots appear?
How could he possibly compete with robots no matter how hard he worked?
Robots could operate 24/7 without stopping!
Did life really have to treat him this way?
Before the apocalypse, he had been an illustrator. He admitted his skills weren't top-notch, but they were enough to make a living. Yet when AI was invented, he lost his job. He was frustrated, but also resigned.
He couldn't even find someone to blame.
This was the tide of the times, something no single person could resist, like a mantis trying to stop a chariot. He accepted it—it felt normal.
But—
Even in the fucking apocalypse, why could his job still be replaced by AI robots?!
For a moment.
Panic spread through the crowd. If robots could completely replace their work, what was the point of their existence on the Train?
In the apocalypse, no one could afford to be useless. It wasn't that people didn't like slacking off—it was that everyone knew one thing: if you had no value in the apocalypse, you'd almost certainly be abandoned.
A person who couldn't create value often had no reason to live.
Wasting food.
Death was the best outcome.
It was already midnight, and most residents had returned to their carriages to sleep. Only a small number, like them, were still working overtime. Those still mining at this hour were either trying to get promoted faster or earn more Stellar Coupons.
"Can we... can we even survive and leave this place?"
"Have the machine guns in the residential area already started cleaning up?"
"No, don't worry about that. From what I know, machine guns cost more than we do. They probably won't use them. Just closing the Refrigerator door and lowering the temperature would be enough—that's more resource-efficient."
"Maybe you should just hit me with a pickaxe now. I think being smashed to death would be more comfortable than freezing."
Right then—
A panel appeared in the Iris Chips of all residents still awake.
-
「All residents are to continue as usual. Those with special skills may report to Lao Zhu. For the time being, residents will mine alongside the Mining Robots, but the robots will gradually replace most of the manual mining work.」
「During this period, all residents should strive to discover their talents to facilitate the Train's assignment of suitable work.」
「Those already employed in the Neon City—such as madams, salespeople, or shills—can also earn Stellar Coupons based on performance and working hours.」
「If you have no special talents, you may continue mining in the future.」
-
The appearance of this message.
This instantly calmed the restless hearts of the residents who hadn't yet fallen asleep. Since Lord Mang had spoken, there was nothing to worry about.
"Whew—"
Hundreds of residents collectively exhaled in relief. Their greatest fear had been losing their value and being turned into soap—or sold to other Trains.
Only those who had lived on other Trains before coming to the Stellar could truly understand that the Stellar was nothing short of an Eden in this apocalyptic world.
However.
It was clear that while Mining Robots would work alongside residents to extract Iron Ore in the short term, these repetitive tasks would eventually be taken over by robots. To continue thriving on the Stellar, they needed to demonstrate skills that robots couldn't replicate.
"No big deal,"
a man nearby remarked nonchalantly. "I believe as the Train develops, there'll eventually be ways to eliminate the need for sleep altogether. Then I can just mine 24/7—wouldn't that make me as good as a robot?"
"If I eat even less, maybe my resource consumption would be lower than a robot's."
"Bro, even an iron man would break under that workload. Are you a Goblin or something?"
"A Goblin?"
The man shook his head dismissively. "My resident number is 67—one of the earliest on this Train. When I joined, there weren't even any Goblins yet. Sure, those Goblins were ruthless at first, mining longer hours than anyone."
"But look at them now—where are they? All exhausted and gone to sleep."
"When it comes to grinding,"
"I've never bowed to anyone, not even the Goblins. Human potential has no limits."
Inside the Train's control room,
Chen Mang sat in his chair, staring at the console screen. He wondered how the Dreamstone acquisition was going—whether any Trains were selling such a thing.
The Train currently had no shortage of production efficiency.
What it lacked were enough Mines.
Not just anywhere could you find such abundant mineral deposits. If not for the Serendipity Map Er Dan had discovered, he would've struggled to encounter such a high-resource mining zone. Those 2,000 Mining Robots couldn't fully replace the residents.
But...
Under normal mining operations, one or two Mines wouldn't require so many people. The extraction efficiency was somewhat excessive. Once he acquired enough Dreamstone, he could begin constructing his own 「Cyber Mine」.
Residents could mine in their dreams.
Out of humanitarian considerations,
they'd spend 12 hours mining in the 「Cyber Mine」 and 12 hours resting.
In a way, it wouldn't even count as mining—just pure rest. After all, could work done in dreams really be called work?
This way—
he'd gained yet another channel for Iron Ore acquisition!
It was precisely because he already had this plan that he felt the residents had nothing to fear about unemployment.
Unemployed?
They'd never be unemployed.
After all, robots couldn't dream. This was humanity's unique advantage—the only ticket into the Cyber Mine.
Soon—
24 hours passed.
The third operation of 「Neon City」 came to a close. In the Train's control room, Uncle Li stood to the side, reviewing a report before delivering his summary: "Last night marked the third opening of 「Neon City」, operating for 24 hours. The cumulative number of Train Conductors entering Neon City showed a year-on-year increase—"
"Hold on."
Chen Mang raised his hand to interrupt Uncle Li's report: "No need to report so much data every time. Keep it simple—just tell me how many people entered Neon City this time, and how much Iron Ore I can take."
"Yes." Uncle Li nodded, glanced at the data, and reported again, "A total of 912 people entered Neon City, with a net profit of 7.92 million units of Iron Ore, all of which can be taken away."
"So little?"
Chen Mang couldn't help but frown, his tone carrying a hint of accusation as he spoke, "Why are there more people than last time, but the profits are so much lower?"
"I went through so much trouble to create Neon City—how is it making less and less money?"
"Call Li Shiji and Xiao Ai here. I want them to explain what's going on."
"Only 8 million units of Iron Ore after a whole day."
"Did a Biohazard outbreak happen in Neon City?"
--Support me in Patreon for more chapters 35+ chapters in there
patreon.com/LegendaryTL
Thanks!