Translator: AnubisTL
That was all the information.
"..."
Chen Mang narrowed his eyes slightly and slowly pushed the control lever. As the drill extended, preparing to test whether it could bore through the bars, he pondered a question: Why did the train dungeon exist?
Wouldn't it have been more practical to simply imprison the train conductor?
It wouldn't even require constructing such a massive dungeon.
Moreover, without a train, the train conductor's own abilities would make escape impossible.
If they could capture the train, they could certainly capture the conductor.
The next moment—
BANG!
The Stellaris slammed heavily into the iron bars. The Tier 50 drill struck the bars, but instead of grinding away, it merely produced sparks. The bars' strength was absurdly high.
He then tested the surrounding walls.
They appeared to be earthen walls.
Yet when he rammed against them, not even a speck of dirt fell.
"..."
Chen Mang picked up the walkie-talkie, his expression unchanged. "Old Pig, Li Shiji, Biaozi, get out of the train. Xiao Ai, you come too. Let's figure out how to escape this dungeon."
It was obvious.
Forcing our way out was impossible. That left only one option: trickery. And when it came to trickery, the more minds involved, the better. Let's brainstorm ideas.
Inside the train dungeon.
The train's dungeon had pulled up alongside the iron bars.
Old Pig stood hesitantly by the bars, his brow furrowed. "Lord Mang, the gap between these bars is a full meter wide. Even Zhang Damei could squeeze through. This thing can only stop the train, right?"
"It definitely can't stop a person."
"Wait, don't rush out yet." Li Shiji frowned, carefully examining the patterns and clues in the corners of the dungeon. He analyzed, "According to the information we have, the train escaped from this train dungeon less than 24 hours after being captured."
"And the Mechanical Civilization still doesn't know how it did it."
"I think I've figured out the source of the fortuitous encounter map."
"It's likely related to 'anchor points'."
"Anchor points?" Chen Mang, leaning on his cane nearby, nodded thoughtfully.
"Yes, anchor points!"
Li Shiji nodded solemnly. "For example, when you humans look back on their lives, they can't possibly remember every single memory in perfect detail. They'll only recall the most profound ones."
"Like the first time you were rejected in a confession."
"The first time you made a fool of yourself in public."
"The first time your Boss chewed you out so badly you wanted to spit blood."
"Can't you say something positive for once?" Biaozi retorted, annoyed. "And what do you mean by 'you humans'? Aren't you human too?"
Li Shiji's face remained expressionless as he continued searching for clues. "Humans tend to remember painful memories more vividly than happy ones."
"And yes, I am indeed different from you."
"I can clearly recall almost every memory since I first gained awareness. In that sense, I've already strayed far from what it means to be human."
"Hyperthymesia?"
"Not quite that extreme. It doesn't compare to hyperthymesia."
"These anchor points are what sustain the human life form. In other words, if all these anchor points were suddenly erased from a person's mind, it would be like starting a whole new game. They'd lose most of their memories from the first half of their life."
"The fortuitous encounter maps we're exploring are somewhat similar to the Mechanical Civilization's 'anchor points.'"
"Haven't you noticed?"
"Whether it's the Sky Piercing Tower, Neon City, the Geocore Nuke, or now the train dungeon, each represents a significant anchor point in the history of the Mechanical Civilization."
"It's a bit like..."
"Yes, like carefully dissecting a human's anchor point—something akin to an obsession."
Li Shiji turned his gaze from the train dungeon and looked at Chen Mang. "Lord Mang, there aren't many clues, but I know what kind of train was imprisoned here: a flesh train."
"Based on this dungeon and what we already know..."
"It's clear."
"When a flesh train reaches a certain Tier, the train conductor can no longer leave their flesh train—they've become one with it. This explains the existence of the train dungeon and why the gaps between the iron bars are so wide."
"..."
Chen Mang remained silent. He had already considered this point. It wasn't a difficult deduction. But since Li Shiji had found no other clues within the train dungeon, they would have to explore outside.
He led the way, leaning on his cane, and passed through the iron bars into the corridor outside the train dungeons. Dim lights cast shadows across the floor. The corridor was exceptionally tall and wide, easily accommodating several mechanical trains side by side.
On either side of the corridor were rows of train dungeons.
However, the iron bars of these train dungeons were all in a state of disrepair, as if forcibly broken. Their own train dungeon was the first one on the far right, and the corridor only turned left.
They found no clues along the way.
The corridor stretched for several hundred meters.
At the end, they saw the first unopened train dungeon. Its iron bars remained completely intact. In the corner of this dungeon, a massive flesh train was curled up.
Yes, curled up.
A normal mechanical train would never be curled up in a corner like this.
It seemed this flesh train had been abandoned long ago. The flesh armor on its carriages had long since blackened and dried, and the train dungeon showed no signs of life.
Chen Mang looked down at the Key Card in his hand.
Perhaps this access card was meant to unlock the dungeon? But since anyone could easily slip through the iron bars, the card seemed rather pointless.
He handed the card to Zhang Yi.
The lock was too high for him to reach.
Zhang Yi took the card and gently pressed it against the "access lock" on the iron bars. After three seconds, nothing happened.
"Lord Mang, let me go in and take a look," Biaozi volunteered, his expression serious. "There might be some clues inside."
"I'll go too," Li Shiji added.
"Mm." Chen Mang frowned slightly. "Be careful, both of you."
"Yes!"
Ten minutes later, Biaozi and Li Shiji emerged from the train dungeon, shaking their heads.
"No clues," Li Shiji said, shaking his head. "I stood on Biaozi's shoulders and peered into the locomotive cabin. It was completely empty. This flesh train feels more like a living organism that has died, rather than one that has simply been scrapped."
Chen Mang nodded, acknowledging the information. Then he turned and strode towards the stairs behind him, ascending to the next level.
At the end of the corridor, opposite the flesh train's dungeon, was a staircase leading upwards. It seemed the clues must lie on the next level. There were no stairs leading down, only up.
This level, too, was a corridor lined with train dungeons on both sides. Like the ones below, these cells had been utterly destroyed, reduced to unrecognizable wreckage.
After searching for some time, they discovered a tiny "dungeon" tucked away in a corner of the corridor. It was clearly not of the same caliber as the other cells. The dungeon was only two meters high and covered an area of about ten square meters.
The gaps between the iron bars of this dungeon were only as thick as a thumb.
No human could possibly pass through them.
Moreover, they were far too narrow. The gaps between the iron bars of a typical human prison cell were usually around 10 centimeters wide. Anything narrower was pointless, as this width was already sufficient to prevent most humans from squeezing through.
A "door access lock" was also installed on the iron bars.
Chen Mang took out the access card and held it against the lock.
In the next instant, the card in his hand shattered, dissolving into countless motes of light that merged with the lock. A crisp cracking sound followed, and the lock suddenly split in two, falling to the ground.
The iron bars instantly retracted into the floor, and the previously sealed dungeon suddenly became completely unobstructed.
The cramped and confined dungeon contained nothing but a humanoid mummy and a small table beside a tiny bed. On the table lay a chip and a blueprint.
A steel plate hung on the wall, bearing four large characters:
"Flesh Cage."
...
Chen Mang thoughtfully surveyed his surroundings. This place resembled the Warden's quarters, but this Warden seemed human. Besides a chip and a blueprint, an access card lay on the nearby table. This card was likely the "Dungeon Access Card" needed to unlock their cage.
In addition, several sheets of A4 paper were piled on the table, covered in information. However, due to the passage of time, the writing was completely illegible. With a gentle touch, the paper crumbled into ash and vanished into the air.
It seemed all the answers must lie within that chip.
He glanced around again, finding no further clues. Frowning, he picked up the "Dungeon Access Card" and headed straight down to the next level, determined to test its functionality.
When Zhang Yi placed the access card against the "Dungeon Lock," the world around them began to shatter. When everything finally settled, they found themselves back in the locomotive cabin, where they had entered the fortuitous encounter map.
"How's it going, Lord Mang?" Erdan's voice crackled from the Audio System. "I remember this map had a 24-hour time limit. You're out so quickly—did you clear it?"
"I'm not sure," Chen Mang said, shaking his head with a strange expression. He had cleared the map, but received no rewards—only a blueprint and a chip. Most importantly, he still didn't understand the nature of this fortuitous encounter map.
There were no clues at all.
To clear the map, he needed the "Dungeon Access Card." Without it, he couldn't retrieve the access card from the Warden's Dungeon, making it impossible to complete the map.
Wait...
He realized what was strange. It should have been the Warden's office, not a dungeon-style room. Why had the Warden remodeled his office to resemble a dungeon?
It seemed he would have to wait until Xiao Ai had fully absorbed the chip's information to understand the map's true nature. He hoped it contained some useful information.
The Stellaris train set off again!
Regardless, at least there were no regrets about the Zombie Basin. They had obtained all the resources they needed. Now it was time to continue to the Blue Zone, Crisis Valley.
This time—
The Stellaris train made no stops. It sped directly toward Crisis Valley!
Chen Mang felt a faint sense of anticipation for this new zone.
About ten minutes later, Xiao Ai's voice echoed from the locomotive cabin's Audio System as the Stellaris train raced across the wasteland.
"Lord Mang, I've finished absorbing the information from the chip."
"What's the verdict?"
"This map isn't for us. We've stumbled into the wrong place. It's a fortuitous encounter map for a 'flesh train'."
"Long ago, a flesh train escaped from here. The warden discovered that the flesh train's escape method was to transform into a thin layer of flesh armor that covered the train conductor's body."
"Though still human, the conductor possessed defense and strength comparable to a flesh train, making him practically superhuman."
"He effortlessly slipped through the gaps in the iron bars."
"Then he smashed all the train dungeons, releasing all the flesh trains. Why the flesh train in the corner wasn't released remains a mystery."
"The iron bars in the dungeon were a protective measure. In the event of any emergency within the prison, this protection would activate, ensuring the Warden's safety. However, it couldn't be opened from the inside—rescue was needed from the outside."
"But it's clear the Mechanical Civilization had no energy to deal with this mess. The Warden died trapped inside."
"This chip contains his final message."
"And that blueprint..."
"This accessory was stuffed into the flesh train by the one who escaped back then. It's a purple-grade accessory. When installed, it allows the flesh train to maintain as much sanity as possible and gain an advantage in its struggle against the train itself."
"Now it seems..."
"The ultimate goal of class-changing into a flesh train is essentially to merge with the train completely. However, with the right accessories, you can retain your consciousness even after merging. This accessory is one such example. Eventually, you could even reach the level of that train, transforming the flesh train into armor, achieving physical godhood!"
"And the only way to open the warden's dungeon is with your 'Access Card', Lord Mang."
"If I'm not mistaken, the one who traded you the access card for the murphy stones back then was likely a flesh train. Logically, this opportunity should have been his, but he sold it instead."
"..."
Chen Mang's expression turned slightly strange. This time, he understood. He then tucked the accessory blueprint into his drawer.
Confirmed: This flesh train is definitely a trap.
Let's see when I can actually use this thing.
Nearly an hour later, the Stellaris arrived at the border between the Zombie Basin and Crisis Valley.
A massive light barrier spanned the gap between the two zones, with three enormous characters floating in the air above:
Crisis Valley
The train's screen slowly displayed several lines of text:
[The area ahead is the Blue Zone, Crisis Valley.
Tier 12 monsters can exist here. The current train is Tier 10. The danger level is high. Exercise caution.]
"A new journey begins," Chen Mang said from the locomotive cabin, gazing at the light screen ahead. He slowly pushed the control lever forward, and the Stellaris train began to accelerate rapidly, piercing through the light screen and hurtling straight toward Crisis Valley!
He smiled.
He felt that familiar rush of adrenaline surging through him again.
"I hope the journey ahead goes smoothly."
"Master Kun above," he murmured. "Bless me with safe passage. After all, I've carried your dream this far."
"Without you, I wouldn't be where I am today."
"I owe you a debt of gratitude. I'll light some incense for you next time."
(End of the Chapter)
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