Translator: AnubisTL
"Ah..."
Xiao Fang's mouth parted slightly, emitting a sound so faint even the wind couldn't hear it. Her eyes quickly reddened, and she bit her lip, lowering her head with a voice like a mosquito's buzz.
"Understood, Lord Mang."
"..."
Chen Mang said nothing more. He simply leaned on his cane and walked down the carriage toward the No. 4 Living Compartment. But after only a few steps, he turned back, frowning at Xiao Fang still standing by the locomotive cabin door.
"Forget it. You can bring the meals tomorrow."
"You don't need to stand watch tonight. Go get some sleep. And wash thoroughly before you go to bed—make sure you're clean."
Xiao Fang's eyes, which had been reddening, suddenly brightened with a flicker of hope. She bit her lip and whispered, "Understood."
He shook his head and sighed softly, continuing toward Carriage No. 4.
Why had he bothered asking such a pointless question?
He'd originally intended to switch the person, but...
The other people on the train were probably in similar straits. At least Xiao Fang had access to water. As for the residents, their daily water supply wasn't unlimited, and he had no idea how they managed.
Never mind.
He didn't want to know anyway. They'd have toilet paper soon enough.
Toilet paper might seem insignificant, but it could genuinely improve happiness and even boost civilization by a significant margin.
Carrying a bag of paper towels, Chen Mang continued walking from No. 4 Living Compartment toward the locomotive cabin. He saw Xiao Fang still standing there and frowned slightly. "Why are you still here?"
"I was waiting for Lord Mang to return to the locomotive cabin before going to sleep."
"Why?"
"Otherwise, we'd run into each other in the carriage."
"And then?"
"I... I have social anxiety. I wouldn't know what to say..."
"..."
Chen Mang sighed again. "To hell with your social anxiety. Society's already collapsed. What's the point of being socially anxious now? Go to sleep. Don't tire yourself out."
With that, he pushed open the locomotive cabin door and settled back into his chair. He tossed the paper towels he'd made onto a nearby table and leaned back comfortably against the chair's backrest.
It was night, and the sky was filled with stars. Since the apocalypse, the atmosphere had cleared considerably, revealing many more stars than before. Only a night sky ablaze with stars could truly be called a night sky.
The kind of night sky formed by countless neon lights, though dazzling and beautiful, always felt oppressive. But a starry night held no such worries. It brought complete relaxation and freedom.
"..."
Chen Mang lay back in his chair, opened the skylight, and breathed in the familiar air of the locomotive cabin. He propped his feet on the table and gazed at the stars overhead, which seemed close enough to touch. His expression gradually softened, and his thoughts drifted away.
He savored the moment.
The roars of monsters surrounding the train, punctuated by occasional cannon fire, added a touch of liveliness to the otherwise utterly silent night.
Like the chirping of cicadas on a summer day.
A chilly night breeze drifted into the carriage. Chen Mang instinctively tightened the blanket around himself, curling up in his chair like an infant nestled in his mother's arms, and stared blankly up at the sky.
He hadn't initially intended to let Xiao Fang lose her job. It wasn't just because there were no better replacements—Xiao Ai, for example—but more because he was already so familiar with Xiao Fang.
He liked being around familiar people.
Being in familiar places.
It made returning to the locomotive cabin feel like coming home.
Having never known his mother since childhood, he didn't fully understand what familial love felt like, nor did he grasp the concept of a safety net. He only knew that if he couldn't earn money, he'd starve on the streets.
He had earned a great deal of money.
But he didn't know whom to spend it on.
Night after night, he drowned his sorrows in alcohol.
Yet it never brought him a moment of peace.
Drowsy and disoriented, Chen Mang drifted off to sleep, curled up in his chair. Only after he had fallen asleep did the skylight slowly close, leaving just a sliver open. At the same time, the control panel screen displayed data indicating a slight increase in the Central Air Conditioner's temperature within the locomotive cabin.
"..."
Xiao Ai, seated cross-legged in his robot research center, held various tools as he dismantled the robot before him. After a long while, he set down his tools and looked up at the array of experimental instruments and the military factory's large-scale accessories in the distance, muttering to himself.
"Should I really be speaking right now? Should I remind them that sleeping with the window open at night will make them catch a cold?"
"Even though the underlying code includes this scenario dialogue."
"But if I were thinking like a human, wouldn't it be most logical to just keep my mouth shut?"
"Ah..."
"Human thinking is so hard to understand!"
Xiao Ai shook his head and resumed his work, disassembling the robot they had completed the S-Rank Mechanical Class Change Mission with. This was his second body, but he needed to make some minor modifications.
He had been studying human speech patterns, but he suddenly sensed that in human culture, what you say might not matter as much as when you choose to remain silent.
Never mind!
It's better to let Lord Mang keep resting. A Tier 20 AI isn't equipped to handle such complex matters.
Late at night, the train was quiet.
Most residents were asleep, except for a first team of guards patrolling the Resident Cars.
Xiao Ai didn't need to sleep.
Suddenly, being an AI didn't seem so bad. He'd never truly understood the concept of sleep. If sleep was for restoring energy, wouldn't embedding an energy stone in his back allow him to stay awake indefinitely?
Oh, that's how robots worked.
It wasn't exactly a groundbreaking discovery.
In a refrigerator in Resident Car No. 9, a man tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. He'd been working non-stop in the Goblin's Tomb for 48 hours, yet he felt almost no fatigue. His mind was racing.
He had once been a slave on the Azure Dragon Train. When the Azure Dragon Train was absorbed into the Stellaris, he naturally joined the Stellaris and was granted Third-Tier Resident status.
During those 48 hours in the Goblin's Tomb, the Stellaris had provided unlimited Cola.
Refreshing, sugary Cola!
He'd never experienced such luxury. Though he was a bit embarrassed to admit it, he'd indulged in the free Cola, downing can after can until he'd stayed awake for 48 hours straight. Now, he couldn't sleep at all.
Tossing and turning.
"Can you stop flopping around? Do you have fleas or hemorrhoids?"
The middle-aged man lying on the floor with his arms crossed, eyes still closed, snapped irritably, "We have to work tomorrow. Can you just be quiet and let me sleep?"
"Me?"
The man paused, then recognized the number on the middle-aged man's collar. His eyes lit up with anticipation. "Big brother, do you have First-Class Resident Status? When did you join the Stellaris?"
The middle-aged man snorted, his eyes snapping open. He sat up, cleared his throat with a hint of pride.
"Resident ID No. 789."
"Your ID must be in the four or five thousands, right? When did I join the Stellaris?"
"Big brother, how many stellar coupons have you saved up so far?"
"Around ninety."
"That many? I heard even those small celebrities only earn seven stellar coupons a night."
"..."
The middle-aged man lifted his eyelids, glancing at the man with a meaningful look. "Since you asked, I'll give you a few pointers. Word has already trickled down from above: soon, all residents will move into the space gate. It's an incredibly vast and fertile territory."
"The environment there is far more comfortable than this."
"However, all residents will still have to live in dormitories unless you've saved enough stellar coupons to buy your own house—basically, a villa from the apocalypse."
"On the Stellaris, stellar coupons are the only and most crucial currency. Try not to spend any stellar coupons you earn; save them to buy your own house. A Tier 10 Refrigerator costs 1,000 stellar coupons."
"But for just 200 stellar coupons, you can enjoy Tier 3 Elite Talent Benefits, which includes two free stellar coupons every day. If you work hard, you can earn another 0.7 to 1 stellar coupons daily. It won't take long before you can afford your own house on the Stellaris."
"How does that sound?"
"Is it more hopeful than your old train?"
"..."
The man's mouth parted slightly as he daydreamed for a moment before nodding earnestly. "It certainly is more hopeful. But big brother, don't you smoke?"
"Of course I do."
"Doesn't tobacco cost stellar coupons?"
"Oh, just make more friends. There are so many people on the train. Ask different people for a few cigarettes each day. Be thick-skinned about it."
"Will they refuse?"
"About 70% will refuse and curse you out. But fighting isn't allowed on the train anyway, so let them curse. It doesn't matter."
"What if you can't get any cigarettes one day?"
"Just pick up cigarette butts and smoke them. If you're picky, you can dig out the tobacco and roll your own."
"But I've seen many people buy themselves a nice meal when they're tired from work, like steamed rice noodle rolls or braised pork knuckle rice."
"Oh, you should go up there too. Just say you want to try a bite."
"Will they agree?"
"Probably not. Eighty percent chance they'll refuse. But if they do agree, it's a huge win."
"What about physical needs? Do you handle those yourself?"
"There are tricks to that too. After work, hide behind the Red House and listen to the sounds inside. Take care of it yourself."
"Just listening to sounds?"
"Isn't that enough? Or you could try approaching some of the female residents. Many of them have physical needs but don't want to resort to prostitution. If you two hit it off, it's a mutually beneficial arrangement."
"Any other tricks?"
"There are too many to count. Brother has been on the Stellaris for so long, I know every trick in the book. For example, if you find something valuable while mining, you'll get stellar coupons as a reward. Last time, someone found a train token in the Goblin's Tomb and got rewarded for turning it in."
"But how can you guarantee you'll always find something valuable while mining?"
"There are always new arrivals on the train. If you see a newcomer unearth something valuable, you should approach them with a stern expression and demand they hand it over. Newcomers are often hesitant and timid in a new environment. Then, after you return, you can take the item yourself and submit it on their behalf. While the main reward goes to the newcomer, you'll also receive a portion for persuading them to hand it over."
"Wait, aren't the train rules supposed to prohibit stealing from other residents?"
"This isn't stealing; it's persuading them to hand it over."
"But Brother, I'm a newcomer myself."
"Don't worry, after all this chatting, I won't steal from you."
"Then, Brother, is there a faster way to earn stellar coupons?"
"Sigh..."
The middle-aged man suddenly sighed deeply, remaining silent for a long moment before rasping, "Of course there is, but I can't bring myself to do such a despicable thing. On the Stellaris, the female pleasure workers earn stellar coupons very quickly. They can make at least two or three coupons a day, and the pretty ones can earn seven or eight."
"Especially those few young celebrities—they earn even faster."
"There was one idiot who tricked a pleasure worker into giving him all her daily earnings, promising to buy a house together later."
"Those girls don't even realize they're the hottest commodities on the Stellaris. Everyone wants a bite of that sweet meat. I can't say much."
"There are groups of three or five people planning to buy a house together and live as a unit, and there are married couples working together too."
"You'll understand after you've been here a while. When you get a crowd, all sorts of people show up."
"Ghosts and gods, each with their own Dao."
"I want peace of mind. I don't want to get involved in all that. I may not be as fast as those people, but I'll save up slowly. Eventually, I'll live comfortably on my own. Later, I'll pick a suitable woman from among the female residents, marry her, and cook my own meals every day."
"Then life will be perfect. In this apocalypse, living like that would be like living in heaven. Even Lord Mang couldn't ask for more."
"Oh," the man nodded, gradually growing drowsy. Thanks to the middle-aged man's explanation, the Stellaris, which had once seemed so mysterious, now felt more familiar. He whispered, "I think the Stellaris's benefits are already pretty good. I just want to live a long life. I hope the Stellaris doesn't get destroyed."
"I heard that many trains were destroyed in the disaster a few days ago."
"If the Stellaris hadn't protected the Azure Dragon, it might have been lost too."
"Don't worry about that," the middle-aged man said, shaking his head with a smile. "You can rest assured about the Stellaris's strength. Perhaps it will eventually be destroyed one day, but in this apocalyptic environment, a single train's strength doesn't amount to much."
"But I believe we'll survive longer than most."
"We've been mining all week. You new recruits haven't heard Trainmaster Zhu's illustrated history of Lord Mang's rise to power yet? Once you've seen it, you'll have a clearer understanding of the Stellaris's true strength."
"Oh, right," the man nodded, his eyelids already drooping with sleep. He mumbled, "Brother, have you noticed the children on the train lately?"
"Yes. Those children don't work. They spend their days studying. They're being groomed for management positions—our future reserve cadres."
"Lord Mang is thinking far ahead."
"Having lived through the apocalypse, those children are mature and study diligently. They're said to be making rapid progress."
(End of the Chapter)
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