"The refrigerator is a bit small, making it difficult to accommodate too many residents for simultaneous mining. The efficiency might be somewhat low, but because the space is compact, the iron ore generation speed will be faster—just that the yield won't be very high."
"Then let's go with a Level 1 Space Gate, 100 meters in both length and width."
"Understood, Train Conductor."
"Does this thing require Energy Stones to activate?"
"Yes, but the Stellar's Solar Energy Panels can fully cover the device's consumption. It only needs a tiny amount of energy to start up, and most of the remaining consumption will be supplied by the absorbed Core Energy."
"Alright, let's begin. I want to see how long it takes to generate a Level 4 Iron Ore deposit."
"Affirmative."
Before leaving Carriage No. 2, Chen Mang created another Level 1 Space Gate opposite the Armor Research Center for iron ore generation.
Ten minutes later.
Chen Mang stood outside the train, gazing at the now-operational Cosmic Receiver. A concave, circular receiver was placed atop the carriage, drawing in Core Energy overflowing from other planets in the starry expanse.
According to Xiao Ai, it was already functioning.
But...
From the outside, there was no visible reaction whatsoever—it looked completely ordinary, as if it hadn't even been activated.
This thing had to be used carefully. It wasn't a train component, just a delicate instrument. A few bullets would be enough to push it to the brink of destruction, and the Mechanical Nanite Spiders couldn't repair it.
Even if Xiao Ai knew how to fix it, he lacked the tools and materials.
At this moment, the doors of Carriage No. 2 were wide open, with a thick pipe extending from inside the carriage to connect to the receiver.
"Not bad."
Chen Mang stood in place, smiling as he looked at the train before him. Every component of this train had been painstakingly built by him, starting from a bare locomotive and gradually developing into what it was now.
Just standing here.
Looking at this train.
Filled his heart with an indescribable sense of fulfillment.
He even felt like he could sit here all afternoon, doing nothing but admiring his train.
Only those with children could understand why parents who had kids would talk about them endlessly, even thinking about them constantly while working.
Similarly, only those who owned a train could truly appreciate how satisfying it was to sit quietly and admire the train they had built.
Of course, the prerequisite was having the strength to sit here undisturbed.
This device could be interrupted at any time.
Progress would be saved.
Unaffected.
There weren't many downsides—the only real one was ensuring the device didn't come under attack. In more dangerous surroundings, it was best to keep this thing inside the train, as the armor couldn't protect it.
However, that would significantly impact efficiency.
And he had a brilliant idea.
"Xiao Ai."
"I'm here," Xiao Ai's voice came from inside the train.
"Remove all the Repeating Ballistas from Carriage No. 12 and place this receiver in the open-air Carriage No. 12. Extend the receiver when it's safe and retract it when there's danger, then cover it with armor."
"Understood. I'll make the arrangements."
The next moment—
Leaning on his cane, Chen Mang sensed that the several "Repeating Ballistas" in Carriage 12 had already been dismantled, reduced to fragments scattered on the ground. Soon, Biao Zi and his group walked through the carriage carrying the receiver, while others behind them pulled pipes, laying them along the corners as much as possible.
This thing was still quite sturdy.
Stepping on it a few times wouldn't break it.
But Chen Mang still had Xiao Ai issue an order to all residents via their Iris Chips, forbidding them from stepping on the pipes.
The Stellar Train had a significant advantage—thanks to the "Iris Chip" component, all his commands could instantly reach every resident.
This absolute level of control was something many organizations struggled to achieve.
Moreover, any order he issued was executed without question.
The collective power of over 5,000 people united as one was truly formidable.
In the 9th Resident Carriage, within the 8th Residential Zone.
Inside a classroom.
Teacher Qiu stood at the podium, leaning against the screen as he smiled at the group of children below. "Today, we'll temporarily pause our progress on 'Train Development History.' Yesterday, we covered how—"
"Under Lord Mang's leadership, the Stellar Train successfully completed the Mechanical Train's S-Rank Job Change Quest."
"Becoming the only train on the Shahe Plain with S-Class Potential."
"We won't continue that topic today."
"Instead, we'll watch a video."
Soon—
The screen lit up.
Under a sky of dark clouds and howling winds, Chen Mang stood with his back to the earth, facing Biao Zi and the others. Dozens of meters away, a horde of ferocious Zombies charged toward Chen Mang's exposed back!
At that moment!
Chen Mang slowly raised his cane. In an instant, thunder roared, and lightning split the clouds, as if a demon god were descending. The oppressive atmosphere nearly solidified into something tangible.
Countless fragments transformed into blades, slaughtering the entire Corpse Tide behind him.
Clean. Efficient.
The screen slowly darkened again.
Standing at the podium, Teacher Qiu smiled at the students and said, "This footage showcases the means Lord Mang employed in a recent battle. Feel free to speak your minds—what are your thoughts?"
The students below stared wide-eyed at the now-black screen, momentarily stunned before erupting with excitement, raising their hands one after another.
"Teacher Qiu, was that the train's power or Lord Mang's?"
"It has to be the train's power—no question! Teacher Qiu, will we ever be able to do something like that?"
"I want to fly on a sword too!"
Teacher Qiu chuckled softly as he looked at the students. "This was Lord Mang's unique ability. The Stellar Train's journey to where it stands today relies not only on Lord Mang's wise decisions, peerless intellect, and Thunder-like methods but also on this unparalleled strength."
"Remember this, children."
"It is we who need the Stellar Train, not the Stellar Train that needs us."
"Without us, Lord Mang would still be Lord Mang, living freely in this apocalyptic world."
"But without the Stellar Train, what would become of us? I think you all understand. As for me, Teacher Qiu, it was only after joining the Stellar Train that I could stand here and teach you, with food and clothing secured every day."
"My safety is guaranteed, and I've even regained something as rare as personal dignity in this wasteland."
"So I hope everyone understands."
"Stellar has invested vast resources in nurturing you. Do you intend to simply enjoy these benefits without giving back?"
"Never!" A male student suddenly slammed the table and stood up, veins bulging in his neck as he roared: "Once I graduate and join the Guardian ranks, I'll charge at the forefront of every battle, slaughtering every enemy who dares oppose Lord Mang!"
"Me too! I'll prove to Lord Mang I won't eat his food for nothing!"
"Let my blood stain the sky as proof of loyalty!"
Even the female students rose one after another, eyes red-rimmed as they declared: "Teacher Qiu, before meeting Lord Mang, we lived in constant hunger and cold. This debt of gratitude we'll never forget. As you've said, Stellar is the last Train preserving human civilization in this apocalypse. For humanity's future, for Lord Mang, for Stellar—we'll sacrifice everything!"
"Good."
Teacher Qiu surveyed the students, visibly moved as she struck her right fist against her chest and solemnly declared: "Eternal loyalty to Lord Mang, to Stellar!"
The students mirrored her gesture, voices hoarse with emotion as they shouted:
"Eternal loyalty to Lord Mang, to Stellar!"
"Loyalty!"
"Loyalty!"
Meanwhile—
Chen Mang sat alone in the Train compartment, studying the distress message from Er Dan on the Train Radio.
Menial tasks like installing "receivers" didn't require his attention—subordinates handled those.
「Lord Mang, I found a Serendipity Map but can't complete the mission. Requesting assistance!」
"This guy..."
Chen Mang glanced at the control panel screen. Barely a week since entering Crisis Valley—just long enough to mine some ore and stroll through the Train Tunnel—and Er Dan had already discovered another Serendipity Map?
Did this kid actually have some supernatural luck?
「What mission?」
Er Dan stopped typing, his voice crackling through the Train Radio's intercom:
"Lord Mang!"
"Here's the situation—it's a bit lengthy, but I'll summarize. My job is basically wandering around, which I love, since I enjoy hunting for Serendipity Maps—"
"That doesn't sound like summarizing," Chen Mang dryly interjected.
"Uh—anyway, during my wanderings I found a tombstone. The most conspicuous Serendipity Map I've ever seen. When my Train parked beside it, the screen showed I'd accepted a mission."
"I'm not the first—plenty must have attempted this before. It seems like a no-requirements Serendipity Map, really basic. Let me send you the details."
"..."
Chen Mang examined the mission parameters Er Dan transmitted:
-
「Wilderness Tombstone Serendipity Mission」
「S-rank difficulty」: Your Train must extract a Tier 1 Iron Ore deposit within 72 hours. Reward: Unknown.
「A-rank difficulty」: Your Train must extract a Tier 4 Iron Ore deposit within 72 hours. Reward: Unknown.
「B-rank difficulty」: Your Train must extract a Tier 3 Iron Ore deposit within 72 hours. Reward: Unknown.
「C-rank difficulty」: Your Train must extract a Tier 2 Iron Ore deposit within 72 hours. Reward: Unknown.
"D-Level Difficulty": Your train must not mine any iron ore for 72 hours. Reward unknown.
-
Er Dan's voice came through the train intercom: "I don't have any Slaves left in my train, so I can't mine anymore. But if you're not busy right now, Lord Mang, we could go find that train that was just mining a Level 4 Iron Ore."
"Let's steal their Level 4 Iron Ore. That way, we can mine Level 4 Iron Ore."
"The task didn't specify that we have to mine a complete deposit—half should count too."
"..."
Chen Mang looked at the task list with a slightly odd expression before picking up the intercom after a long pause: "Isn't Level 4 Iron Ore only A-level difficulty? Why not choose S-level difficulty?"
"You picked A-level difficulty?"
"There's no choice—it's not optional. Whichever difficulty task you complete determines the reward." Er Dan sighed helplessly on the other end of the intercom. "Lord Mang, this is the Blue Zone 'Crisis Valley.' The lowest-grade iron ore here is Level 2—there's no Level 1 Iron Ore at all."
"But since the task includes Level 1 Iron Ore as an option, it means Crisis Valley must still have some. It's just extremely rare—maybe even rarer than Level 4 Iron Ore. I've wandered around for so long and only seen one Level 4 deposit, but not a single Level 1."
"What did you just call me?"
"Lord Mang."
"I'm sending you my coordinates. Come find me—I'll show you Lord Mang's true capabilities."
"Huh?"
"Hurry up."
After ending the call, Chen Mang spoke up: "Stop producing Level 4 Iron Ore. Start producing Level 1 Iron Ore."
"Yes." Xiao Ai's voice quickly responded from inside the train.
It was perfectly normal for the Blue Zone "Crisis Valley" to lack Level 1 Mines. Back when he was in the "Iron Ridge Wasteland," mining a single Level 1 deposit had taken him over ten days—and he'd only obtained 10,000 units of iron ore.
In Crisis Valley,
if a train spent ten days mining just 10,000 units of iron ore,
that train would probably starve to death.
The ore mined wouldn't even be enough to feed the Slaves or maintain the train's components during those days.
The higher the train's level,
the more iron ore it consumed daily just to function normally—without even engaging in combat. If a fight broke out, the only hope was to win—at least then they could recover some losses. But if they lost, even if they escaped immediately, they'd slowly wither away afterward.
Take the Stellar, for example.
The daily operational costs—covering food for over 5,000 people, cigarettes, nuts, cola, and component maintenance—amounted to roughly 14,000 units of iron ore.
That was equivalent to consuming an entire Level 1 Mine every day.
Of course, this was without the "Solar Energy Panel." That component offset a lot of daily expenses, reducing the train's actual consumption to around 6,000 units of iron ore.
Half an hour later,
the Targeting Radar detected a train speeding through the air toward the Stellar at an incredible velocity.
Soon—
A compact train, consisting only of a locomotive, came to a halt in front of the Stellar, the delayed sonic boom finally catching up.
Er Dan jumped off the train and strode toward the Stellar. Standing below the train compartment, he looked up at Chen Mang sitting on the chair and asked in confusion, "Lord Mang, my radar didn't detect any Level 1 Iron Ore nearby."
"Could it be deep underground?"
"Come with me."
Chen Mang chuckled as he leaped down from the train compartment and stood beside Er Dan, walking toward the door of Carriage No. 2 of the Stellar. "Let me show you the Stellar's true strength."
The next moment!
As the door of Carriage No. 2 opened, Er Dan, following behind Lord Mang, had his gaze instantly drawn to the hundred Heavy Machine Guns mounted on the ceiling. Frozen in place, his eyes filled with stunned bewilderment, he muttered in a daze,
"Lord Mang..."
"Your 'strength' is kinda terrifying..."
"Honestly, Lord Mang, are you afraid of ghosts? Can't sleep at night?"
(End of Chapter)