Translator: AnubisTL
It was about time to leave.
Chen Mang had cleared out a number of Tier 9 Monsters in the Zombie Basin, giving the remaining trains in the area a glimmer of hope and preventing subsequent trains from the Sha River Plains from entering a hopeless situation.
However, he had only cleared about two-thirds of the monsters.
He hadn't finished.
To leave the area, he needed to kill three Tier 9 Monsters. If he killed them all, the trains would be trapped until new ones appeared.
He suspected that the B-grade difficulty mission would be nearly impossible to complete, likely leading to the deaths of many.
Whoosh
As night fell, Chen Mang stretched his limbs, picked up his walkie-talkie, and called Erdan over. He planned to upgrade Erdan's train to Tier 10, then head to the Blue Zone together.
It was worth noting that—
After the movie screening seven days ago, the residents' work efficiency had indeed improved.
However, it seemed there might be a problem with their development path.
The female lead in the movie, who had previously been an assistant to the director's team, had entered the adult film industry after filming. She charged five stellar coupons per session, and her business was booming like never before, with a line of customers forming outside her door.
Business boomed even further after the female protagonist began wearing the same clothes as in the movie and pretended to be drugged, lying motionless on the bed.
They had the bed in the Red House changed to white sheets, giving it a hospital-like atmosphere for the shoot.
This move completely overshadowed the attention the young celebrities were receiving.
When he learned about this, Chen Mang fell silent. He had overheard the news from Xiao Fang, who was gossiping with Ji Chuchu in carriage five while he was randomly inspecting his train.
He discovered this absurd yet strangely logical development.
His film screening event had essentially become a promotional video for this woman.
Soon after—
Erdan approached, standing beneath the locomotive cabin and looking up. "Lord Mang, you called for me?"
"Yes."
Chen Mang stepped down from the train and waved his hand. Xiao Ai jumped down from the train carrying a refrigerator. "You're currently a Tier 6 train. Upgrading to Tier 7 requires 500,000 units of iron ore, to Tier 8 requires 1 million units, and to Tier 9 requires 1.5 million units."
"That's a total of 3 million units."
"Here's 4 million units of iron ore. 3 million units will be used for your train upgrade, and you can keep the remaining 1 million units for crafting energy stones. Do you still have enough copper ore?"
"I have plenty," Erdan replied, his face slightly embarrassed. "Lord Mang, you gave me so many resources last time, but I only brought back one purple-grade accessory. I feel a bit..."
"Don't put too much pressure on yourself," Chen Mang said, shaking his head. He placed his hands on Erdan's shoulders, his expression serious. "This isn't a one-time deal. I'm making a long-term investment in you. The Stellaris is destined to travel far in the future. I need a train that can explore fortuitous encounter maps and handle special missions when the Stellaris is occupied."
"Besides, the Travel Frog Train belongs to me."
"But nominally, I'm still the train conductor. Aren't you worried I'll just run off, Lord Mang?"
"Not at all," Chen Mang said with a smile. "You're living the life you've always dreamed of. If you ran off, you'd never find another fool like me to provide you with iron ore. Besides, human relationships are built on trust. I trust you."
"Even if you run, it'll definitely be my fault for not treating you right. We'll just part ways peacefully."
"Really?"
"Of course not."
Chen Mang sighed, pulled a cigarette from his pocket, and stuck it in Erdan's mouth. After lighting it for him, he chuckled softly. "If you really ran, you'd get a firsthand taste of the pressure from the Stellaris. After all, enemies often feel it more keenly than allies."
"I was just kidding."
Erdan scratched his nose sheepishly, but then took a deep breath and said firmly, "Since Lord Mang trusts me so much, I won't let you down. Next time, I'll definitely bring back even better things."
"I believe in you. Go now, Little Frog."
"Little Frog? My name's Erdan, Lord Mang."
"Right, Erdan. Go now."
Soon after—
Erdan's train soared to 9th-tier in one go, then immediately broke through to Tier 10. The Travel Frog Train perfectly met both requirements for Tier 10 advancement, just like the Stellaris!
Almost simultaneously, the Stellaris train also reached Tier 10!
In the locomotive cabin, Chen Mang gazed at the information that had appeared on the control panel.
[Your train has reached Tier 10.
More craftable accessories will be unlocked.]
Finally, Tier 10!
The most obvious change was the appearance of two new buttons on the control panel, representing the train's new functions:
"Mechanical Fortress" and "Train Expansion."
The first function, Mechanical Fortress:
When activated, the train would encircle itself completely, anchoring itself to the ground for 24 hours. During this time, all Defensive Components would automatically level up by one tier, and all Offensive Components would consume half their usual resources.
However, the train would be completely immobile for the duration.
In a dire emergency, this function might save the train—provided the crisis could be handled after activating Mechanical Fortress. Otherwise, it would become a mechanical graveyard.
The second function, Train Expansion:
The Stellaris currently had 15 carriages, each 3 meters wide and 10 meters long.
This function would allow the train to become much larger, such as expanding the carriages to 10 meters wide and 30 meters long, with increased height—transforming it into a colossal, behemoth of a train!
"..."
Chen Mang narrowed his eyes slightly, particularly considering the second function. He felt it was essential. As the train upgraded, accessories would only grow larger, and the current size of the train would soon become too small to accommodate some of the larger firepower accessories.
But there are drawbacks to a larger train.
It can't enter areas with limited terrain.
The iron ore needed for expansion isn't excessive, so he'll consider it. First, he'll check how others in the Blue Zone are handling it and gather information from the train radio.
Moreover, the changes to a Tier 10 Train extend beyond these. He'll need to reach the Blue Zone to learn more.
So, next—
Let's go!
"Woo!!"
With the sounding of the train whistle, the Stellaris gradually accelerated, speeding toward the northernmost edge of the Zombie Basin, its destination the Blue Zone's Crisis Valley, where it intersects with the basin.
The Travel Frog followed closely behind.
One in front, one behind.
They raced across the wasteland, any zombies that dared to block their path instantly dissolving into blood and merging with the earth.
Over an hour later, the Stellaris arrived near an abandoned village.
This was the very village where Zhang Yiren had been found.
Inside one of the village houses lay a tiny Tier 3 Ore. Once this mine was fully exploited, it would trigger the fortuitous encounter map, Eternal Imprisonment. Erdan had entered this map previously and failed, suffering a curse as a result.
He glanced at a special item in his drawer.
Special Item: Dungeon Access Card
Item Effect: When in the fortuitous encounter map "Eternal Imprisonment," this card can be used to unlock the door of a dungeon within the map.
This item can only be used within this specific fortuitous encounter map.
It's unlikely to appear in other zones.
Chen Mang wasn't sure if the mine had respawned. This mine was particularly unusual, as the resource detection radar couldn't detect it, and its respawn time was unknown. He decided to take a chance and see if it had reappeared. If it had, he could enter the fortuitous encounter map.
If not, he wouldn't worry about it.
Who knew when it would respawn? He couldn't afford to wait around indefinitely, wasting his progress.
Just then—
Biaozi's voice crackled over the locomotive cabin's audio system: "Lord Mang, there's ore here!"
"..."
Chen Mang suddenly chuckled. He'd been having an unusually smooth streak lately, which made him uneasy. Could he be exhausting his luck, only to face a disaster when he reached the Blue Zone?
He immediately grabbed the walkie-talkie: "Get to work!"
Since the Tier 3 Iron Mine had already respawned, all he needed to do was finish mining it and then enter the fortuitous encounter map.
Although his train was filled with residents, the mine was only so large and couldn't accommodate too many. It would take at least an hour to fully excavate. He'd have to wait patiently.
Erdan had already been to this fortuitous encounter map once and couldn't enter it again.
He picked up the walkie-talkie of the train radio.
"Erdan, tell me everything that's in this fortuitous encounter map in detail."
"Alright."
On the other side—
On the Sha River Plains, an invisible pressure and panic hung over all the trains, casting a dark shadow over many train conductors' minds.
This was a long story.
About ten days ago, three Tier 6 train conductors had agreed to travel together to the Yellow Zone's Zombie Basin. They planned to support and help each other, a common practice since strength in numbers was crucial—provided they found trustworthy allies.
But when the three train conductors, full of confidence, passed through the Kunlun Mountain Region and prepared to enter the Zombie Basin, they witnessed an unbelievable sight.
In the Zombie Basin Region, an endless black sea of zombies surged toward the few trains perched on the mountaintop at the edge of the basin. They even spotted a village of Tier 9 Zombies!
Countless monsters still swarmed the sky.
Even from the depths of the earth, high-Tier worm monsters occasionally burst forth.
At a glance, the entire landscape was covered in zombies and monsters of all kinds. The pungent stench of decay and the metallic tang of blood filled the air between the Kunlun Mountain Region and the Zombie Basin Region. The cacophony of gunfire, monstrous roars, and desperate death screams assaulted their ears.
From time to time, balls of flame erupted—trains self-destructing!
This scene terrified them. After a moment of stunned silence in their locomotive cabins, the three trains hastily retreated along the same path, returning to the Sha River Plains. They were immensely grateful they hadn't entered the Zombie Basin earlier.
Otherwise, they would surely have perished long ago.
When news of this catastrophe reached the Sha River Plains, many train conductors fell silent. It was clear that the Zombie Basin in this state was impassable. Yet it was the only Yellow Zone they could access, meaning they were effectively trapped on the Sha River Plains.
Some trains accepted this fate, reasoning that ruling the Sha River Plains wasn't so bad.
But most train conductors refused to give up.
No one knew what the world would look like after the apocalypse. The stronger their train, the greater their chances of survival.
But no matter how the train conductor thought about it, there was no solution.
Moreover—
If a zone only allowed trains to enter and not leave, it would quickly become overcrowded. The scenes of trains fighting over iron ore would become even more frequent, rather than the default practice of leaving to find another iron ore deposit if one was already occupied by another train.
"I hope Lord Mang is alright," the dwarf muttered, gazing vacantly at the horizon from inside the King of Electronic Music train. He had heard about the recent upheaval in the Zombie Basin. The Stellaris train was in that region, and when they had met in Neon City last time, it was already rumored to be a Tier 7 train.
He wondered if a Tier 7 train could survive this crisis.
So many Tier 9 Monsters...
It seemed unlikely. But since Lord Mang had claimed he could destroy a Tier 8 train even when his train was only Tier 7, perhaps there was still a decent chance of survival. As long as he didn't encounter a Tier 9 Monster.
I wonder if I'll ever have another chance to see Lord Mang again.
Meanwhile, in the village within the Zombie Basin, the Tier 3 Iron Mine had been successfully depleted. It was a small mine.
Immediately after, a portal materialized in front of the train. A powerful suction force emanated from it, and the Stellaris immediately plunged into the portal.
As the scenery rapidly shifted, the surrounding environment quickly materialized.
When everything finally settled, the Stellaris found itself inside a massive cell—a cell large enough to accommodate the entire train. Mud walls surrounded the cell, and the dim light came only from oil lamps hanging along the corridor outside the bars.
In front of the cell stood a massive iron gate.
This was the fortuitous encounter map, and the scene before them matched Erdan's description perfectly.
"..."
Chen Mang calmly scanned the surroundings. All fortuitous encounter maps were real locations, not fabricated scenarios. Most of them had once belonged to the Mechanical Civilization, meaning the Mechanical Civilization had indeed built a dungeon specifically to imprison trains.
The size of the cell was more than sufficient to hold a train with 30 carriages or even larger.
On the screen in front of the train, the information for this fortuitous encounter map appeared:
[Long ago, trains that had committed errors were imprisoned here to reflect on their crimes.
But...
One day, a train newly confined to the dungeon discovered a way to escape. It successfully broke free, unleashing a catastrophe.
The Mechanical Civilization has never understood how that train managed to escape. Perhaps you will.
Escape within 24 hours to pass. Failure will result in a random curse.]
(End of the Chapter)
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