"."
Inside the train compartment, Chen Mang continued surveying the surroundings of the square. There weren't many devices around.
Apart from the massive glass dome at the center of the square, there were only a few experimental instruments scattered about, their purposes unknown.
By now, Biao Zi and his team had arrived at the first door, ready to explore.
"I'll do it!"
Zhang Yi took a deep breath and stepped forward, preparing to kick the door open.
"No need."
Biao Zi extended his arm to stop Zhang Yi before placing his hand on the doorknob and pressing down gently.
A dull spring sound echoed as the door opened.
Holding the Tidal Gatling Gun in his left hand, Biao Zi slowly pushed the door open. A cloud of dust billowed out from behind it, revealing a long corridor. The walls were lined with incandescent lamps, casting enough light to keep the space from being too dark.
He took the lead, aiming the Gatling Gun's barrel down the corridor without hesitation and immediately opening fire.
"Rat-tat-tat!"
The deafening gunshots reverberated through the square.
The previously intact door was instantly riddled with holes, but this confirmed there was nothing behind it.
The corridor wasn't very tall—just over two meters—making it impossible to use mechs. In such an environment, the only things protecting them were their firearms and extreme caution.
"Stay alert."
Biao Zi, his eyes filled with vigilance, strode into the corridor first, followed closely by his team members and then the third squad.
Back in the square,
the 60 Black Hole Armed Robots, under Xiao Ai's control, were examining the square's equipment. The place was eerily strange—when Biao Zi and the others entered the corridor behind the door, even the connection to their Iris Chips was severed.
Similarly,
when the Black Hole Armed Robots entered that corridor, their connections were immediately cut off, rendering them uncontrollable and turning them into nothing more than oversized figurines.
Soon,
Xiao Ai's voice came through the speakers.
"Hmm..."
"I just found the original AI's database in one of those instruments. Surprisingly, it wasn't encrypted. I'm currently absorbing all the information from it."
After a while,
"Data absorption complete."
"This is indeed an experimental base, named 'Eternal Night.'"
"Eternal Night?" Chen Mang frowned slightly. The name sounded peculiar, and more importantly, he had no idea which region he was in now. The control panel screen displayed an entirely unknown area.
At that moment, Xiao Ai entered the carriage, and the source of his voice shifted from the train compartment's sound system to the speaker installed in the robot's throat: "The database clearly states the origin of the mines."
"Iron ore, copper ore—these mines aren't actually iron or copper."
"They are a planet's 'Core Energy.' When a planet's Core Energy overflows and solidifies, it forms various mines, such as 'Iron Ore.' For the Train Conductor's easier understanding, you can think of it as equivalent to extracting a human's vital essence and letting it solidify again."
"Each planet possesses multiple types of 'Core Energy,' and the mines formed by each type after overflowing differ in composition and proportion."
"For example, Core Energy type '01,' when solidified after overflowing, forms 'Iron Ore.'"
"「02」Core Energy, when overflowing and solidifying, forms 「Copper Ore」."
"「03」Core Energy, when overflowing and solidifying, forms 「Crimson Heart Rock Mine」, and so on."
Xiao Ai paused, giving the Train Conductor a moment to digest the information before continuing, "Not every planet has Core Energy. Some planets might not even have a trace of it."
"And for those planets that do possess Core Energy, the proportion of 01 energy is usually the highest."
"There are also some planets that completely lack 01 and other Core Energies, having only 02 Core Energy. This causes all the mines formed by the overflow and solidification of Core Energy on such planets to turn into Copper Ore."
"An entire massive copper planet."
"But—"
"A planet's Core Energy is akin to the lifeblood of a human—extremely vital. It sustains the planet's lifespan and potential in the universe and is very difficult to overflow. However, the Mechanical Civilization has a special method."
"They have an extremely unique 「Injection」, which they shoot at ultra-high speeds deep into the planet's core."
"This causes the 「Core Energy」 deep within the planet to begin boiling and rapidly overflowing to the surface. The overflowed Core Energy then forms various mines."
At this point, Xiao Ai stopped and didn't continue further.
"..."
Chen Mang remained silent, quietly processing the information from the chip in the experimental base. After a while, he softly said, "So, can we roughly understand the 「Injection」 as hormones?"
"Similar to how excessive hormone secretion in humans leads to acne on the face."
"Those mines are like the acne on this 「Aqua Blue Star」?"
"And the reason these mines refresh periodically is similar to how acne on a human face grows back after being picked, while the iron ore deep underground is like acne that hasn't yet broken through the skin due to insufficient force?"
"Perfect explanation."
Xiao Ai nodded earnestly, "That's correct. This explanation is perfect."
Chen Mang looked up at Xiao Ai and paused.
"Do you have to express your seriousness in this way?"
On Xiao Ai's cheeks, two small screens appeared—the left displaying the character 「Serious」 and the right displaying 「ness」.
"Apologies, Train Conductor."
The screens on Xiao Ai's face now showed the word "apology": "I very much wish to express my emotions, but the current robot components aren't sufficient to mimic the rich expressions of humans, so I adopted this more straightforward method."
"If you don't like it, Train Conductor, I can remove them."
"No need, keep them."
Chen Mang waved his hand, then frowned and asked, "But since 「Core Energy」 is the core of a planet, surely it would cause damage to the planet, right?"
"Correct."
"Generally, planets injected with that kind of reagent will become dead stars within five years."
"For example, the planet's gravity and magnetic field will disappear, causing the atmosphere to escape entirely into space, leaving the planet directly exposed to the 'affection' of its star. If you sprinkle some seasoning, it would make for a nice hot roasted egg."
"At least according to the data, it's highly unlikely any humans could survive in these conditions."
"And the Train probably wouldn't survive either."
"So it was the Mechanical Civilization that injected this planet with those injections?" Chen Mang continued asking.
After all this time
The real culprit behind dooming this planet turns out to be the Mechanical Civilization?
"Correct."
Xiao Ai switched back to a serious expression and continued: "According to the database records, the last information update was 4,800 years ago. There exists an extremely powerful civilization in the universe called the 'Mechanical Civilization.'"
"Simultaneously, there's another civilization notorious for predation and consumption called the 'Zerg Civilization.'"
"The latter consists of countless types of monsters that rapidly evolve by devouring flesh and blood. Planets teeming with lifeforms are their favorite targets."
"About 4,800 years ago, before the database's last update, the Mechanical Civilization implemented a plan."
"They named it the 'Dawn Project.'"
"The Mechanical Civilization dispatched countless small shuttles. Whenever a planet was detected under attack by the Zerg Civilization, the nearest shuttle would rush to that planet at maximum speed and inject the onboard serum deep into the planet's core."
"Additionally, they distributed the Mechanical Civilization's methods of utilizing 'Core Energy' across the planet's surface."
"This would grant the planet's native inhabitants the ability to resist those monsters and delay the creatures' growth and consumption as much as possible."
"In other words—"
"The Mechanical Civilization and Zerg Civilization are waging war across the universe, and our planet became collateral damage caught between them."
"This is the apocalypse."
"The planet's apocalypse, and the universe's apocalypse."
"..."
Chen Mang sat on the chair, tilting his head toward the square's door. Biao Zi and the others still hadn't returned. After losing contact, he had no way of knowing if they'd encountered any danger. All he could do was wait.
After a while, he looked back at Xiao Ai: "So you were created by the Mechanical Civilization?"
"No."
Xiao Ai shook his head: "My foundational code is standard template programming—that's my framework. The Core Energy of this planet provided my physical form. But the one who truly gave me a soul was you, Train Conductor."
"My loyalty will always belong to you."
Chen Mang withdrew his gaze from the window and looked at Xiao Ai again: "Then what's the purpose of the regional divisions?"
"The database doesn't contain that information."
"What about the Mechanical City Ruins that appeared on this planet? Did they exist here before the apocalypse, or only appear afterward?"
"Still nothing in the database."
"The Serendipity Map?"
"Still no."
Xiao Ai shook his head: "The database doesn't have those records. It mainly contains experimental data from this research facility."
"Then what was this research facility for?"
"About 100 years before the Mechanical Civilization drafted the Dawn Project, they proposed another plan called the 'Cosmic Receiver.'"
"Theoretically speaking—"
"The 'Core Energy' of a planet continuously and slowly leaks out, similar to how a human's vital essence naturally depletes over time. This leaked Core Energy, being relatively weak, rarely forms substantial mines and often drifts into the cosmos."
"The objective of this experiment."
"Was to create a 'Cosmic Receiver' that could gather the scattered Core Energy from other planets in the universe, using this device to collect and solidify it into tangible mines."
"Lab personnel internally named it the Cosmic ***."
"The experiment progressed smoothly."
"After several years of research, they could already easily produce Level 1 Iron Ore. Further advancements allowed them to condense Level 4 Iron Ore by absorbing the scattered Core Energy in space."
"But then,"
"An issue arose. At the time, the lab was situated on another planet, which came under a fierce assault by the main forces of the Zerg Civilization. All personnel perished, and the lab was abandoned as a result."
"Later, for unknown reasons, it ended up on this planet."
"The experiment was halted midway. In its final moments, the lab's director chose not to self-destruct the facility but to preserve it, hoping that the research data would eventually be retrieved by the Mechanical Civilization. Clearly, that retrieval never happened, given that this chip ended up in our hands."
"Additionally, the lab was secretly conducting multiple other projects."
"Such as the 'Mechanical Zombie King' in the Ice and Snow World region."
"Hmm."
Xiao Ai paused briefly before continuing, "It's a bit of a shame. If the Mechanical Civilization had successfully completed this research, the 'Cosmic Receiver' would have been mass-produced as a 'Standard Blueprint,' becoming an installable component on every Train."
"With this component, the Train's resource acquisition speed would significantly improve."
"Can we take this device with us?" Chen Mang narrowed his eyes slightly.
He had grasped the concept, but now he wanted to know if the device could be taken away.
This device was essentially like the Sunflower in Plants vs. Zombies—something that could continuously produce sunlight. It would effectively equip the Train with a self-sustaining, energy-free resource generator.
"Theoretically, yes."
The sixty robots in the square were busily working away as Xiao Ai scratched his head. "But I haven't located the device yet. What you see, Train Conductor, is just the final step—a glass chamber used to solidify the Core Energy absorbed from space into tangible form."
"Train Conductor, look—there's a thick pipe inside that glass chamber."
"The Core Energy flows out through this pipe."
"The other end of this pipe connects to the actual device that absorbs planetary Core Energy. But the glass chamber and the floor are extremely sturdy—hard to break and not advisable to damage. I only know how to operate the device from the experimental data, not how to repair it. Plus, we lack the materials and tools for repairs."
Chen Mang took a deep breath before declaring firmly, "Spare no effort—find a way to take it with us!"
This device—he was determined to obtain it.
No hesitation whatsoever.
"If..."
He looked at Xiao Ai earnestly and said, "If you can complete this unfinished experiment and even standardize it into an 'Accessory Blueprint', I'll give you major credit!"
"Ah?"
Xiao Ai froze slightly, pointing at himself in disbelief. "Me?"
"Train Conductor, you mean me?"
"You want me to complete this unfinished experiment?"
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