"It's actually him?"
Chen Mang was momentarily stunned before shaking his head with a wry smile. What a coincidence. His original intention had been to randomly stop a Level 4 train and offer some opportunity without expecting anything in return—just a spontaneous whim for fun.
He had thought about it.
But who would have guessed he'd end up stopping an old acquaintance?
"Lord Mang?!"
Soon—
A dwarf man jumped down from the train cabin, his face lit with excitement as he strode up to the Stellar Train. He planted his hands on his hips, straining to look up at the cabin. "How could I run into you here? You never formally established communication with me, so I couldn't contact you."
"I was actually planning to ask—there were rumors of a crisis in the Zombie Basin recently. I wasn't sure if you were okay."
"But it looks like you're fine now."
Once formal communication was established, even if they weren't in the same region, they could contact each other via the train radio. They could also tell if the other's train had been destroyed by checking whether their name was dimmed. However, the prerequisite for establishing formal communication was that both parties had to have privately messaged before.
"Consider it established now."
Chen Mang also stepped down from the train cabin with a smile, looking down at the dwarf man standing before him. He waved his hand, and soon the door of Resident Car No. 10 opened. A group of goblins strode toward the two. "Feel any joy seeing your fellow shorties? They're all about your height."
"..."
The dwarf man sighed deeply in resignation. "And here I was worried about your survival, only for you to mock me?"
"Just a little joke."
Chen Mang crouched down with a grin, pulling a nut from his pocket and offering it. "Here, have some candy."
"Does your train need anything? This is our fifth meeting, after all. Let me give you a little opportunity."
"Like iron ore, copper ore, or something."
"I could even spare two Murphy Stones if you want."
"I want..." The dwarf man hesitated.
"No tall, pretty ladies available."
"Never mind then."
"Wait, actually, there is one." Chen Mang waved for Zhang Da Mei to come down.
"..."
The dwarf man stared at the rather robust and fierce-looking Zhang Da Mei, who looked capable of punching him into paste. He awkwardly waved his hand. "Actually, I've lost my taste for that recently..."
"Thanks for the thought, Lord Mang."
"Tch."
Chen Mang chuckled as he stood up, glancing at Xiao Ai beside him. "Bring down that storage box we just got. Consider it a gift for my friend here. It's got 100,000 units of iron ore inside."
"This doesn't feel right..." The dwarf man muttered sheepishly. "Lord Mang, even if you're doing well now, 100,000 units of iron ore can't be insignificant for you. Just giving it to me like this feels like I'm getting something for nothing."
"Don't worry about it."
Chen Mang stretched lazily, not bothering with formalities. Originally, the iron ore reserves on his train weren't much, especially after upgrading the Level 100 drill bit—only 2.8 million units remained.
But earlier, in the train tunnel, Mundo—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 7.8 million units!
On top of that, there was copper ore, lumber, blueprints, and more.
He could only say one word to this: "Damn impressive." He immediately ordered that Mundo be upgraded to the first-tier treatment for top talents, placing him on the same level as Biao Zi and Lao Zhu—making him the third person on the train to enjoy such privileges.
This was even higher than Doba's treatment on the train.
In less than 20 days, he had earned 7.8 million units of iron ore—equivalent to mining three level-three iron ore deposits single-handedly!
Given such results, not granting him first-tier treatment would feel unjust.
One man could match an entire army!
"Uh..."
The Dwarf Man looked sheepishly at Xiao Ai, who was carrying the storage box down. "This is really too much. I didn't do anything, uh... wait."
He frowned at the scratch on the storage box.
"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 this, but I ran into a 'Black Market Merchant' the other day. He said there was a big sale—aside from consuming Inheritance Value, he was also selling Murphy Stones for 10,000 units each. But the maximum purchase was limited to one-third of the train's iron ore reserves."
"My train happened to have 300,000 units of iron ore stored for upgrades, so I used 100,000 units to buy 10 Murphy Stones. The Black Market Merchant insisted on using a storage box for the transaction. But the moment I handed it over..."
"He stuffed my storage box into a refrigerator and vanished on the spot."
"I waited there for 12 hours, but he never came back. I've been going back to that spot every now and then, hoping he'd show up. No idea what happened to him."
"..."
Chen Mang's smile slowly froze before he solemnly patted the Dwarf Man's shoulder. "Don't overthink it," he said. "Just take these 100,000 units of iron ore first."
"Meeting like this is fate."
"Mhm."
The Dwarf Man looked up at Chen Mang with gratitude. "Lord Mang, thank you. If I ever get the chance to repay you, I won't hesitate!"
"Chances are, you won't get the opportunity. But don't you have anything else to ask me?"
"Uh... that crisis in Zombie Basin—are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
"And... I had a great time with you in Neon City last time."
"Anything else?"
"How did you get out of the Restricted Area Tower of Babel?"
"Just luck. Nothing else you want to ask?"
"What level is your train now, Lord Mang?"
"Level 10!"
Chen Mang nodded in satisfaction, stepping aside to gesture at the thick armor plating outside the train. "Not only is the train level 10, but the armor is too. Ever seen level-10 armor before?"
"The kind that level-10 monsters can't even scratch."
"And I've lost count of how many level-9 monsters I've killed. When the crisis erupted in Zombie Basin, countless monsters and zombies burst from the ground, wiping out several trains. Of course, I've since cleared out most of the threats there. It's not as dangerous if you go back now."
"Right now, I'm in the Blue Zone—Crisis Valley."
"If you ever get the chance, come visit."
"L-Level 10 train?!"
The Dwarf Man's jaw dropped in disbelief, his eyes filled with astonishment: "Last time we met in Neon City, Lord Mang, weren't you still at Train Level 7? How did you suddenly reach Level 10 in such a short time?"
"That's way too fast!"
"And Lord Mang, how did you even appear in this area with a Level 10 Train?"
"Wasn't it said that high-level trains can't enter low-level zones anymore?"
"Not bad, I guess."
Chen Mang cheerfully slung his arm over the Dwarf Man's shoulder: "Just 15 carriages all fitted with Level 10 Armor, ten Level 10 Doomsday Cannons, and a missile mounted at the rear. Nothing much to brag about—compared to the real powerhouses, it's nothing special."
"Just average, really."
"Hey, Xiao Ai, go fetch some snacks, cigarettes, clothes, and other small stuff. Give some to my buddy here."
"I'll give you 1,000 sets of clothes. These aren't ordinary—they have Temperature Lock effects and built-in spatial pockets. Whether you use them yourself or sell them, they'll fetch a high price."
"Alright, buddy, I've got some business to attend to, so I'll take off now. Catch you next time."
The Tower of Heaven still wasn't the end of the Train Tunnel. He was determined to see what lay at the tunnel's end and waved his hand dismissively as he prepared to leave.
Just then—
A Level 4 Train suddenly sped toward the two of them, screeching to a halt nearby. A Young Man leaped out of the train cabin, raising his hands excitedly to show he wasn't armed.
"Lord Mang, it's me, me!"
"You are...?"
Chen Mang frowned slightly, studying the Young Man. He had no memory of this person.
"Didn't you give me a porn magazine back then?"
"Oh, right!" Chen Mang suddenly grinned in realization. "The one who gave me the Oxygen Generator blueprint? So, any regrets now? The Shahe Plain is full of ore underground. 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. "Nope, I got the Oxygen Generator blueprint."
"Where from?"
"I traded it with the porn magazine you gave me." The Young Man pointed at the Dwarf Man beside him.
"Ahem..."
The Dwarf Man awkwardly avoided Chen Mang's questioning gaze. "Well... the main actress in that magazine was the female Slave you sold me last time. I figured it'd be more exciting to, uh... enjoy myself while looking at her pre-apocalypse photoshoots..."
"And I happened to have an extra Oxygen Generator blueprint, so I sold it to him."
"Wait, couldn't you have sold the blueprint to someone else and used the Iron Ore to buy the magazine from him?"
"I was a bit... ahem... impatient at the time. We met at the Convocation, and since I'd traded with this kid a few times back in the Iron Ridge Wasteland, we had some rapport. Figured since we were acquainted, I could take a small loss. Plus, he really needed the Oxygen Generator parts."
"After that, we became friends."
"..."
Chen Mang fell silent, unsure how to respond. This guy really let his urges get the better of him—and yet he'd survived this long. He had no idea how that worked. Personally, he'd never trade a blueprint for a magazine in his life.
That was a white-tier blueprint!
Forget magazines, even Ji Chuchu... well, if it's Ji Chuchu, then that would require some reconsideration.
Only then did he think to turn his head toward the young man and ask, "How did you know I was here?"
"I came to find him," the young man pointed excitedly at the Dwarf Man. "We agreed to meet here to go to the Convocation together. I never expected 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 said earnestly, "But even though I don't know the exact level of your Train, just from its appearance alone, it's incredibly exaggerated—that heavy Armor, those menacing Automatic Cannons—no Train on the Shahe Plain can compare."
"And he was standing outside talking to you."
"From what I know, the only big shot he's acquainted with is Lord Mang. After we left Neon City last time, he bragged to me for ages about how he and Lord Mang had... uh, 'taken down' people together."
"Ahem..." The Dwarf Man waved his hands awkwardly, his face full of embarrassment. "Don't talk nonsense! When did I ever say that?"
"..."
Chen Mang gave the Dwarf Man a slightly odd look. "Back then, on the first floor of Sun City, I only sang a few songs and hung out with everyone. I didn't touch a single Woman. Don't go spreading rumors about me, especially dirty ones."
"I only bragged to him a little—I didn't tell anyone else..."
"Enough."
"Meeting like this is fate."
Chen Mang waved his hand and signaled Xiao Ai to bring down another Storage Box. "This has 100,000 units of Iron Ore. It's yours. You gave me a Blueprint before, so I'm giving you 100,000 units of Iron Ore."
"If we meet again someday, there'll be another gift."
"Thank you, Lord Mang! Thank you, Lord Mang!"
The young man didn't hesitate at all, happily taking the Storage Box before sighing with emotion. "Just two days ago, I got scammed out of 100,000 units of Iron Ore. Never thought I'd run into Lord Mang today and have it made up for me. The best decision I ever made was giving you that Accessory Blueprint back then."
"Scammed?"
"Yeah. Two days ago, he ran into a Black Market Merchant selling Murphy Stones for just 10,000 units of Iron Ore each. He told me to hurry over, so I rushed there and gave the Black Market Merchant 100,000 units. Then the guy just disappeared."
"I told him we'd definitely been scammed, but he refused to believe me. He said, 'How could a Black Market Merchant scam anyone? He must've had something urgent come up. Maybe he'll come back someday—just needs a little time.'"
"Lord Mang, you've seen a lot of the world. Tell me, in this situation, were we scammed or not?"
"..."
Chen Mang's lips twitched slightly as he stood there expressionless. After a moment, he said with utmost seriousness, "Definitely not a scam. That Black Market Merchant probably just had a stomachache and ran home for a bit. Maybe one day he'll find you and give you those Murphy Stones."
"Don't be too upset about it."
He was starting to feel a little guilty.
Once he had more Murphy Stones later, he'd send Mundo to give these two ten each.
How did they manage to scam their own people?
And one pulling in another—it's like a pyramid scheme.
"It's fine."
The young man chuckled cheerfully, "Actually, I'm quite happy about it. He didn't know the black market merchant was a fraud either. The fact that he told me about such a good deal immediately shows he truly considers me a friend."
"Even though we're short 100,000 units of iron ore."
"But in this apocalyptic world, having a friend who can share their heart and fight alongside you—I think that's far more important."
"Far more valuable than 100,000 units of iron ore."
"What are you talking about?"
The dwarf man pursed his lips disapprovingly, "I already told you, that black market merchant will definitely deliver the Murphy Stone to us later. He just left temporarily, it's not like he ran away."
"That's not called fraud."
"Don't phrase it so harshly."