Translator: AnubisTL
"How shameless."
Standing inside the train, Chen Mang murmured as he watched the gradually slowing locomotive through his telescope.
"Damn it, you could have gone to Heaven, but you insist on coming to Hell."
Since the enemy was so arrogant, he was more than happy to let them come. Reducing casualties was always a good thing, especially in the apocalypse, where every life was precious and represented scarce productivity.
Soon—just tens of seconds later—the bloodstained locomotive came to a slow stop, less than a hundred meters away.
"Phew."
Chen Mang took a deep breath and prepared to order Old Pig to give the locomotive a thorough "baptism" with the heavy machine gun mounted on Carriage No. 2. He wasn't sure if it could penetrate the armor, but just as he was about to give the order...
Eight men emerged from the locomotive.
These armed men walked toward him as casually as if they were taking a stroll.
The portly man leading them sneered and bellowed, "Chen Mang! Get out here!"
"Wow."
Chen Mang stared at the group in a daze, momentarily feeling as if he were in a dream. How could they be so arrogant? Or did they actually have some solid confidence behind them?
For example, wearing a bulletproof vest with exceptional protection?
But even a bulletproof vest doesn't protect the head.
Initially, Chen Mang had assumed the group was being reckless. Now, he believed they must have been supremely confident. After a moment's hesitation, he ordered into the walkie-talkie, "Everyone, open fire! Heavy Machine Guns, hold your fire for now."
The next moment!
The train, which had been parked beside the mine shaft, had its side completely opened on carriage three. A dozen men, each armed with a fully automatic Soaring Dragon Assault Rifle, stood at the edge of the carriage, their gun muzzles trained on the approaching group. Without hesitation, they fired.
Tutututu!!!
The ear-splitting gunfire erupted across the wasteland!
At a distance of only twenty or thirty meters, even a novice with an automatic rifle could expect to land a hit with a full magazine, barring extraordinary luck. There was no need to even switch magazines. After a single magazine emptied, the eight men advancing toward the train had all collapsed in pools of blood.
Chen Mang remained inside the train, patiently waiting for several seconds before issuing another order: "Go and finish them off. Confirm they're dead."
He didn't personally step down from the train. If this was a trap, he might end up paying the price. His role was to command.
As the ten-man squad approached the eight men under Chen Mang's watchful gaze, each thug pressed their gun against a head and fired a single shot. Only then did the walkie-talkie confirm the absolute certainty of their deaths.
"Truly..."
Chen Mang sighed softly. He wanted to say he'd frightened himself. He'd originally anticipated a fierce battle, but who could have known it would be so simple? This incident taught him a valuable lesson: no matter who the enemy, one must always give their all.
He then personally stood up, grabbed an assault rifle, and walked out of the locomotive, surrounded by his thugs, toward the nearby locomotive. He wondered if there was anything valuable inside.
With the owner dead, this locomotive had become ownerless property.
Inside the locomotive cabin, two women huddled in a corner, their eyes wide with panic as they clamped their hands over their mouths.
Chen Mang waved his hand, signaling his thugs to escort the women out first. Then, alone, he meticulously searched the entire locomotive cabin.
There was only a small amount of iron ore and some food. It was clear that Master Kun had been in such a hurry when the zombie horde surrounded and severed the carriage that he hadn't taken anything with him. Wait...
He suddenly noticed a blueprint lying on the control console.
He immediately leaned in closer.
Blueprint Name: Vehicle Blade
Blueprint Grade: White
Crafting Cost: 500 units of Iron Ore
"."
Chen Mang paused slightly. Wasn't this "Vehicle Blade" the same White Accessory Old Pig had mentioned? The one that could only be upgraded to Tier 2 at most, meant for use during the early, weaker stages? At the time, Chen Mang had wondered what would happen if he used his Infinite Upgrade ability to raise this accessory to Tier 10.
However, this accessory wasn't a standard part of the train; it dropped randomly after killing monsters in the wilderness. So, he hadn't given it much more thought.
But now...
He had obtained the Vehicle Blade Blueprint so quickly. Master Kun had delivered it all the way from afar. A thousand-mile delivery of a blueprint—a weighty gift carrying profound sentiment.
"Not bad," Chen Mang thought with a satisfied grin. He carefully tucked the blueprint into his pocket, planning to use it later to see its effects. He hoped to upgrade it to Tier 10 as soon as possible to observe any qualitative changes.
After completing everything, Chen Mang waved the thugs over to haul away the resources and food from the locomotive cabin. He then prepared to return to his own train, where he would feed the locomotive to the Geothermal Core Furnace and recover some resources.
As he passed the bodies lying in pools of blood, Chen Mang glanced at Master Kun's corpse, his eyes still filled with resentment. He sighed, feeling a mix of pity and wariness. This incident reinforced his cautious nature; in the apocalypse, any arrogance was a death wish.
Only then did he notice that three familiar faces among the eight dead were the very men who had beaten him with their police batons. He'd assumed they'd long since been devoured by zombies, but here they were. Fate must have a twisted sense of humor, he thought.
Chen Mang pursed his lips. He'd considered raising his rifle and firing a full clip into their corpses, but ultimately decided against it, conserving ammunition.
Meanwhile, Old Pig was busily collecting the weapons carried by the fallen.
The firearms from other trains are prohibited items, and it's best to avoid letting them fall into the hands of thugs or slaves.
Chen Mang said nothing. He simply returned to his locomotive cabin, took control of the train, positioned it in front of the unclaimed locomotive, and activated the Geothermal Core Furnace. The train's maw opened wide, revealing countless rapidly spinning gears, and it devoured the entire unclaimed locomotive in a single gulp.
Iron Ore +1000 units.
As expected of a Tier 2 train's locomotive, it yielded more iron ore than devouring so many carriages. The unclaimed locomotive's armor appeared thicker than his, likely upgraded. If it had rammed him at full speed, it could have been a real headache.
This chance encounter concluded in such a hasty manner.
Inside the train:
Chen Mang was pondering two questions.
First, what should he name his train?
Second, with 1600 units of iron ore, what accessory should he craft first?
After a moment of contemplation, he finally settled on a name.
Stellaris.
(End of the Chapter)
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