Translator: AnubisTL
"It's this guy?"
Chen Mang was slightly taken aback, then shook his head and chuckled wryly. What a coincidence. His intention had been to simply stop a Tier 4 Train and offer it a chance, asking for nothing in return—just a whim he thought would be fun.
He hadn't expected this.
Instead, he'd stopped an old acquaintance.
"Lord Mang?!"
Soon after—
A dwarf leaped from the locomotive cabin of the train, his face flushed with excitement. He strode toward the Stellaris, hands on his hips, straining to look up at the cabin. "What are you doing here? You never established formal communication with me, so I couldn't even contact you."
"I was going to ask if you were alright after the crisis that reportedly erupted in Zombie Basin a few days ago. Now it seems you're clearly fine."
Once formal communication is established, you can contact each other via train radio even if you're not in the same zone. You can also tell if the other train has been destroyed by checking whether their name appears dimmed. However, formal communication requires prior private conversation.
"We've established it now," Chen Mang replied with a smile.
Chen Mang emerged from the locomotive cabin with a smile, looking down at the dwarf standing before him. He waved his hand, and the door of Resident Car 10 opened, revealing a group of goblins striding towards them.
"Don't you feel a sense of joy seeing your fellow kin? They're all about your height."
"..."
The dwarf sighed, a hint of helplessness in his voice. "After all my concern for your life, are you mocking me?"
"Just a little joke." Chen Mang chuckled, squatting down and pulling a nut from his pocket. "Here, have a candy."
"Does the train need anything? This is our fifth meeting. I'll give you a little opportunity."
"Like iron ore or copper ore?"
"I wouldn't mind giving you murphy stones either."
"I want..." The dwarf hesitated.
"No tall, busty women."
"Then never mind."
"Wait, there actually is one." Chen Mang waved his hand, signaling Zhang Damei to come down.
"..."
The dwarf glanced at Zhang Damei, a muscular woman who looked capable of crushing him into pulp with a single punch. He waved his hand awkwardly. "Actually, I'm not into that kind of thing anymore..."
"Thank you for your kindness, Lord Mang."
"Tsk."
Chen Mang rose with a chuckle, turning to Xiao Ai standing nearby. "Bring down that storage box you just received and give it to my brother as a welcome gift. It contains 100,000 units of iron ore."
"That's not right," the dwarf said awkwardly in a low voice. "Lord Mang, even though you've become prosperous, 100,000 units of iron ore must still be a significant amount for you. Giving it to me like this feels like getting something for nothing."
"It's fine," Chen Mang said, stretching languidly. He didn't dwell on it. The train's iron ore reserves had been dwindling, especially after upgrading the Tier 100 Drill, leaving only 2.8 million units remaining.
But just now, in the Train Tunnel, Xu Jiu, who had been away for a long time, finally returned home.
He brought back a massive haul of resources.
Just the iron ore alone amounted to a staggering 7.8 million units!
In addition, there were copper ore, Wood, blueprints, and more.
Chen Mang could only say, "Damn!" and immediately ordered Xu Jiu to be promoted to Tier 1 Advanced Talent status, the same as Biaozi and Old Pig. This made Xu Jiu the third person on the train to receive Tier 1 Advanced Talent treatment, even higher than Doba's status.
In less than twenty days, they had earned 7.8 million units of iron ore, equivalent to one person mining three Tier 3 Iron Mines!
With treatment like this, he'd feel it was unfair not to receive a Tier 1 rating.
One person can be worth an entire army!
"This..."
The dwarf man looked at Xiao Ai, who was carrying the Storage Box down, with a sheepish expression. "This is so embarrassing. I didn't do anything... Wait a minute."
He glanced at the scratch on the storage box with a puzzled expression.
"Why does this storage box look so familiar?"
"It looks exactly like the one the black-market merchant took from me the day before yesterday."
"Lord Mang, you might not know, but I encountered a black-market merchant the day before yesterday. He was having a massive sale and selling murphy stones for 10,000 units each, in addition to Legacy Value. However, you could only use up to one-third of the train's iron ore reserves to buy them."
"My train happened to have 300,000 units of iron ore stored for Train Upgrade. I used 100,000 units to buy 10 murphy stones. The black market merchant also insisted on trading using a storage box. But as soon as I handed over the storage box..."
"That black market merchant stuffed my storage box into a refrigerator and vanished on the spot."
"I waited there for 12 hours, but he never reappeared. It's been driving me crazy these past few days. I keep checking that spot, hoping the black market merchant will be waiting for me. I have no idea what happened to him."
"..."
The smile on Chen Mang's face slowly froze before he patted the dwarf on the shoulder with a serious expression. "You said not to overthink things. Just accept this 100,000 units of iron ore for now."
"It's fate that we met."
"Mm-hm."
The dwarf looked up at Chen Mang with gratitude. "Lord Mang, thank you. If I ever have a chance to repay you, I definitely won't refuse!"
"Chances are you'll never get the opportunity to repay me. And don't you want to ask me anything?"
"Uh... were you okay after the crisis in the Zombie Basin?"
"I was fine."
"That... I had a lot of fun playing with Lord Mang in Neon City last time."
"Anything else?"
"How did you get out of the Restricted Area Sky-Piercing Tower?"
"By chance. Anything else you want to ask?"
"Lord Mang, what Tier is your train now?"
"Tier 10!"
Chen Mang nodded with satisfaction, stepped aside, and pointed at the thick armor plating on the train's exterior. "Not only is the train Tier 10, but the armor is too. Have you ever seen Tier 10 armor before?"
"Tier 10 monsters can't even scratch it."
"I've killed countless Tier 9 Monsters already. During the Zombie Basin crisis, countless monsters and zombies erupted from the ground, destroying several trains. Of course, I've already cleared out most of the monsters in the Zombie Basin, so it shouldn't be too dangerous if you go there now."
"Currently, we're in the Blue Zone, in Crisis Valley."
"If you ever get the chance, come find me for a visit."
"T... Tier 10?"
The dwarf's mouth dropped open in disbelief, his eyes wide with shock. "When we met in Neon City last time, Lord Mang, you were still a Tier 7 Train! How could you suddenly become a Tier 10 Train in such a short time?"
"That's too fast!"
"And how did you, a Tier 10 Train, end up in this area? Didn't they say high tier trains can't enter low-tier regions?"
"It's alright," Chen Mang said cheerfully, clapping the dwarf on the shoulder. "It's just that all fifteen carriages are equipped with Tier 10 Armor, ten Tier 10 Doomsday Machine Guns, and a missile launcher at the back. Nothing special, really. Compared to the true powerhouses, it's nothing worth mentioning."
"Just like that," he added casually.
"Hey, Xiao Ai, go get some nuts, cigarettes, clothes, and other small items for my brother here."
"I'll get you 1,000 sets of clothes. These aren't ordinary clothes, you know. They have temperature regulation and built-in Space Pockets. Whether you use them yourself or sell them, you'll get a high price."
"Alright, Brother. I have something else to take care of, so I'll be heading out. Let's catch up next time."
The Sky Piercing Tower still wasn't at the end of the Train Tunnel. He had to see what lay at the tunnel's end. With a wave of his hand, he turned to leave.
Just then—
A Tier 4 Train suddenly sped toward them, screeching to a halt nearby. A young man jumped out of the locomotive cabin, his face flushed with excitement as he raised his hands to show he wasn't holding a weapon.
"Lord Mang, it's me! It's me!"
"You are...?"
Chen Mang frowned slightly, studying the young man. He had no memory of him.
"Didn't you give me a pornographic magazine back then?"
"Ah, I remember now! The one who gave me the oxygen generator blueprint, right?" Chen Mang grinned, realization dawning. "So, no regrets now? The Sha River Plains underground is full of minerals. Without an oxygen generator, even if you got the Drill Blueprint, you couldn't mine anything."
"Hehe."
The young man scratched the back of his head excitedly. "No way, I got the oxygen generator blueprint."
"Where'd you get it?"
"I traded it for the Pornographic Magazine Lord Mang gave me," the young man said, pointing to the dwarf beside him.
"Cough."
The dwarf awkwardly avoided Chen Mang's gaze. "Well, the main character in that magazine was the female slave you sold me last time, Lord Mang. I figured it would be more stimulating to look at her pre-apocalypse photos while... you know... doing my thing."
"And I just happened to have an extra oxygen generator blueprint, so I sold it to him."
"Wait, why didn't you just sell the blueprint to someone else and buy the magazine with iron ore?"
"I was horny at the time, in a hurry. I met him at a gathering. We'd traded a few times before in the Iron Ridge Wasteland, so we had some rapport. I figured, since we knew each other, a small loss wouldn't matter. Besides, he really needed the oxygen generator accessories."
"We became friends after that."
"..."
Chen Mang fell silent, unsure what to say. This guy was truly driven by his libido. How he'd managed to live this long was beyond him. Chen Mang knew he'd never trade a blueprint for a magazine in his life.
"It's the White Blueprint!"
Forget magazines—even Ji Chuchu... well, if it were Ji Chuchu, I'd need to think about it.
Then he remembered something and turned to the young man. "How did you know I was here?"
"I was looking for him," the young man said, pointing excitedly at the dwarf. "We agreed to meet here and go to the gathering together. I didn't expect to run into Lord Mang here."
"How did you recognize me? Do you know what I look like?"
"No, I don't."
The young man's expression was serious. "But even without knowing the exact Tier of Lord Mang's train, just looking at it from the outside is utterly ridiculous. The thick armor and menacing cannons are nothing like anything you'd find on the Sha River Plains."
"And he was standing outside the train talking to you."
"As far as I know, the only big shot he's ever been close to is Lord Mang. After we left Neon City last time, he bragged to me for ages about how he'd 'fucked people' with Lord Mang."
Cough, cough. The dwarf waved his hands frantically, his face flushed with embarrassment. "Don't talk nonsense! I never said anything like that!"
Chen Mang looked at the dwarf with a slightly strange expression. "I only sang a few songs and played around with everyone on the first floor of Sun City. I didn't even touch a woman. Don't go spreading rumors about me outside, especially not those kinds of rumors."
"I only exchanged a few words with him. I didn't say anything to anyone else."
"Alright."
"Fate brought us together."
Chen Mang waved his hand, gesturing for Xiao Ai to bring another storage box. "This one contains 100,000 units of iron ore. Consider it a gift. You gave me a blueprint before, so I'm returning the favor with 100,000 units of iron ore. If we meet again in the future, there will be another gift."
"Thank you, Lord Mang! Thank you, Lord Mang!"
The young man didn't hesitate at all, accepting the storage box with a wide grin. Then, he sighed wistfully, "Just the day before yesterday, I was swindled out of 100,000 units of iron ore. Now, thanks to Lord Mang, I've made up for it. The smartest thing I ever did was give you that accessory blueprint back then."
"Swindled?"
"Yeah. The day before yesterday, I met a black market merchant who was selling murphy stones for only 10,000 units of iron ore each. He urged me to hurry over, so I rushed there as fast as I could. I gave the merchant 100,000 units of iron ore, but then he vanished without a trace."
"I told him we'd definitely been scammed, but he refused to believe me. He insisted that a black market merchant would never cheat anyone and that the merchant must have just left temporarily, promising to return eventually. He said it would just take a little time."
"Lord Mang, you're so wise and well-traveled. Do you think we were actually swindled?"
"..."
Chen Mang's lips twitched slightly. He stood there silently, his expression unchanged. After a moment, he said earnestly, "It's definitely not a scam. That black market merchant probably just had a sudden stomachache and had to rush home. He might show up any day now to give you the murphy stones."
"Don't be too upset," he added, feeling a twinge of guilt.
When I have more murphy stones later, I'll have Mundo deliver ten to each of them.
How did I end up conning my own people?
And they're dragging each other into it, like some pyramid scheme.
"It's okay," the young man said cheerfully. "Actually, I'm quite happy. He didn't know the black market merchant was a scammer. The fact that he told me about this good deal right away shows he truly considers me a friend."
"Even though we lost 100,000 units of iron ore..."
"In this apocalyptic world, having a friend you can trust and fight alongside is far more important. It's worth more than 100,000 units of iron ore."
"What are you talking about?" the dwarf grumbled, his lips curling in dissatisfaction. "I already told you, that black market merchant will definitely bring us the murphy stones later. He just left temporarily, he didn't run off."
"That's not a scam."
"Don't be so harsh."
(End of the Chapter)
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