The gathering had already begun.
This was the first gathering organized by Chen Mang, and many Train Conductors had already started chatting familiarly with one another. They had all hosted numerous gatherings before, so they were quite acquainted with each other.
Zhang Yi and Zhang Er, wearing sunglasses they had somehow procured, stood on either side of Chen Mang with their arms crossed in front of them.
Their expressions were icy.
They looked like professional bodyguards.
They even carried briefcases in their hands.
Meanwhile, Chen Mang was frowning slightly as he gazed at the Stellar Train behind him. Just moments ago, he had suddenly noticed a problem—one that he had never paid attention to before.
The Stellar Train had 14 carriages and one locomotive.
Although there was a 15th "breeding carriage," that was because there was no Carriage No. 1, as the locomotive was considered Carriage No. 1.
Even including the locomotive, the entire Stellar Train only had 15 carriages in total!
But—
Over the past few days, he had been upgrading the armor based on the assumption of "15 carriages" + "1 locomotive." In other words, he had confused the concept. But his confusion wasn't the issue. The real question was: why had the Train Armor been upgraded as if there were 16 carriages?
Where had the extra money he spent gone?
"Xiao Ai, it seems like the train has another bug. Can you check where that extra carriage went?"
"Sure."
This was the second time the train had encountered a bug.
The first bug occurred back in the Iron Ridge Wasteland, when the Energy Stone inexplicably lost capacity from time to time. At the time, he had sought help through the Train Radio and was told that it might have been contaminated by the liquid of a Man-Eating Spider.
The liquid of a Man-Eating Spider had an energy-draining effect.
But this bug was much more serious than the last one. Over the past few days, he had spent a significant amount of Iron Ore on that non-existent 16th carriage.
The missing 16th carriage.
What a headache.
Chen Mang rubbed his temples wearily. Why did everything seem to have bugs these days?
Just then—
Three middle-aged men strode toward him. The leader, with a black dragon tattoo exposed on his arm, approached with a hearty laugh: "Lord Mang, you're tough as nails!"
"You might not know this, but that guy called Lord Shen has been wreaking havoc in Crisis Valley for a long time. Originally, I had called these two brothers behind me to help me deal with Lord Shen here. But you, Lord Mang, took care of him so swiftly."
"You've really done Crisis Valley a favor."
"..."
Chen Mang didn't respond. Instead, he stared at the black dragon tattoo on the middle-aged man's arm.
"Uh..."
The middle-aged man noticed Chen Mang's gaze and was momentarily stunned. Then, hesitantly, he said, "Lord Mang, do you have some prejudice against tattoos? Actually... even people with tattoos aren't necessarily evil. This was just something I got when I was young and foolish."
"I used to be a troublemaker back then."
"But, Lord Mang, I see you have a 'Mang' character tattooed on the back of your hand too."
"Me?"
Chen Mang glanced down at the "Mang" character on his left hand, shook his head, and smiled. "This isn't a tattoo. It's a birthmark. I've had it since I was born. I don't have any prejudice against people with tattoos. I'm just curious—aren't you cold wearing a short sleeve in the middle of winter?"
"This," the middle-aged man couldn't help but laugh, "Lord Mang, you're really humorous. It's actually a bit cold, but I like this chilly feeling. The three of us are all Train Conductors of level 12 Mechanical Trains. We came here to get to know you and also to inquire about the price of that level 1 Iron Ore."
"Please, sit. I happen to have some questions I'd like to ask you as well."
The four of them immediately sat around a round table.
These four individuals essentially represented the top forces of Crisis Valley, yet there was an implicit acknowledgment that Chen Mang was the leader among them. After all, even among the top, there are differences. Their respective thugs stood behind them.
It was like a four-party meeting.
The leading middle-aged man awkwardly glanced at the two burly men standing behind Chen Mang: "Lord Mang, your two subordinates are quite robust. If they were in ancient times, they would be the kind to take on ten thousand enemies alone."
Originally, he had thought that the three of them, clearly a group and all accompanied by thugs, would inevitably give off a sense of intimidation.
So, on the way, he had been pondering how to approach Chen Mang without seeming intimidating, yet it was impossible not to bring thugs, as that would make him feel insecure.
But once they actually sat down, he realized that it was the three of them who felt the pressure.
Chen Mang alone was overpowering the three of them.
Especially those two burly men with sunglasses, cold expressions, cigars in their mouths, and briefcases in their hands—over two meters tall, they were truly intimidating. "They're alright," Chen Mang waved his hand with a smile.
Xiao Fang, with a smile on her face, brought over a tray of nuts, cigars, and snacks, placed them on the table, and then retreated.
Her legs didn't tremble, her hands didn't shake.
Only when she turned to leave did her face instantly show a look of having narrowly escaped disaster. Outside the train, it was uncertain when a firefight might break out. There was no train protection here; people could die.
Although she was scared, she couldn't show it, as that would disgrace Lord Mang.
The performance of the subordinates essentially reflects the capability of the superiors.
And at this moment—
In the Hive Mind, Zhang Yi and Zhang Er were quickly communicating.
"How about it? I told you holding a cigar would make us look more imposing, right?"
"It does feel different, but big brother, I don't smoke."
"You don't need to smoke. I asked Biao Ge, just hold it in your mouth, occasionally inhale and then exhale."
"That makes sense, but big brother, Lord Mang and the others seem about to start smoking cigars. Wouldn't it be inappropriate for us two bodyguards to smoke? I remember this is something the bosses do, bodyguards shouldn't smoke anything, right?"
"Hmm, you might be right, but we've already got them in our mouths, can't just spit them out now, can we?"
"To me, you all are seniors."
Chen Mang spoke first, setting a very humble tone, while the other three just exchanged glances, feeling a bit uneasy inside. Clearly, Lord Mang was stronger, and at this moment, his humble posture might lead to unpredictable developments.
"Let me start by throwing out a brick to attract jade."
"As far as I know."
"If you have 10 carriages, upgrading the Star Ring Energy Shield from level 1 to level 12 requires 320 million units of Iron Ore. Do you have that much Iron Ore to upgrade to level 12?" "No."
The middle-aged man at the forefront immediately shook his head: "The speed at which Crisis Valley acquires Iron Ore far surpasses that of lower-level regions. One of the reasons for this is that Crisis Valley is a blue zone, home to Level 4 Iron Ore deposits. A single Level 4 Iron Ore deposit essentially yields 10 million units of Iron Ore."
"Once a Level 4 Iron Ore deposit is mined, 10 million units of Iron Ore are immediately obtained."
"However, Level 4 Iron Ore deposits are quite rare and not always accessible. Most of the time, mining revolves around Level 3 Iron Ore deposits, which yield around 2 million units each."
"Iron Ore is the primary resource for Train upgrades. Even in Crisis Valley, there are only a few Trains equipped with a Level 12 'Stellar Energy Shield.'"
"I do know of one Train that has it, but it only has four carriages, including the locomotive. He had to sacrifice a lot to achieve that."
"Moreover, each Train makes different choices."
"For example, to obtain 'Murphy Stone,' one usually has to venture into Fortuitous Encounter maps. There, defeating high-level monster bosses has a chance of dropping it. This brings up an issue: some people use Murphy Stone to upgrade the 'Tycoon Energy Shield,' which allows them to consume less Iron Ore while obtaining a higher-level Energy Shield."
"After all, it reduces the cost difference of replacing the Energy Shield from scratch."
"But the downside is obvious. You can't always have Murphy Stone. Upgrading the 'Tycoon Energy Shield' means you'll eventually have to replace it with a higher-grade Energy Shield. The more you invest in upgrading now, the more you'll lose when you have to replace it later."
"Many also use it to upgrade the 'Doomsday Cannon.' I'm sure Lord Mang is well aware of this. Although this component is only a blue-grade accessory, its cost-performance ratio is extremely high, especially with its two 'Half Consumption' Supermodel Effects."
"Using Murphy Stone to upgrade it to Level 12 essentially guarantees that it can penetrate the defenses of the strongest monsters in this region, as well as the defenses of other Trains."
"This is the choice of most Trains."
"Although it can't withstand attacks from other Trains, it at least poses a certain threat to them. When attacked, you won't be completely defenseless. Even though a single Level 12 Automatic Cannon often can't destroy a Train even if it penetrates its defenses, the attack strength is insufficient."
At this point, the middle-aged man paused, hesitating as he glanced at the 10 'Doomsday Cannons' atop Chen Mang's Stellar Train. He continued, "I remember Lord Shen's Train has a Level 10 Energy Shield. Lord Mang, are these 10 Doomsday Cannons of yours Level 11 or 12?"
"Including the Armor, that must have consumed a lot of Murphy Stone, right?"
"Mm."
Chen Mang nodded but didn't elaborate further on the topic. He simply nodded thoughtfully. Based on this, most Trains are essentially... watered-down versions.
They're not complete entities.
They're cobbled together by cutting corners here and there, just to get an Energy Shield.
The root cause.
Is the lack of Iron Ore. The problem he faces is the same—Iron Ore is insufficient. But for him, Iron Ore will never be enough, as he can upgrade infinitely. Even if he were given 1 billion units of Iron Ore right now, he could spend it all instantly without upgrading the Train, if he wanted to.
"However, it seems everyone has quite a few Murphy Stones, and many components are upgraded beyond the standard."
"."
The middle-aged man narrowed his eyes slightly. Lord Mang's words revealed a lot of information. Could Lord Mang see the specific components of their train?
This was extremely critical.
It was equivalent to an information advantage.
After a moment of silence, he continued, "Crisis Valley is divided into two zones, the 'Red Zone' and the 'White Zone,' separated by a canyon that spans the entire area. The only way to cross is by using Bunny Cloud wheels to fly over."
"The White Zone is the area we are currently in."
"The Red Zone is the area on the other side of the canyon. There's a ruin of a 'Mechanical City' there, which holds many opportunities. Several trains have obtained some Murphy Stones from there. The first batch of trains that appeared in this area feasted, while those who came later had to settle for scraps. Now, there's basically nothing left."
"I've been in Crisis Valley for five months. Many trains have managed to get some scraps and indeed gained some opportunities."
"Hmm."
Chen Mang nodded, casually picking up a Redheart Nut from the plate and popping it into his mouth. "Does anyone have anything they'd like to discuss?"
An hour later.
The gathering concluded.
The entire meeting was quite harmonious, with no fights or even arguments breaking out.
The more stable the order, the easier it is for arguments to occur. In peaceful times, street arguments were common, but that was in a fundamentally safe environment. In the apocalypse, who would dare to argue?
You'd barely utter the first word of a curse, and before you could finish, the other person would already have pulled out an equalizer from their pocket.
Chen Mang's five "Level 1 Iron Ore" mines were all sold, each for 1.5 million units, totaling 7.5 million units of iron ore.
Although he limited the purchase to five mines, if anyone wanted to buy more, he certainly had them available.
But no one wanted to buy anymore. Clearly, most people were cautious about the unknown S-level reward and were unwilling to invest in something uncertain.
Outside the Stellar Train—
Five new ordinary carriages had been constructed, each containing a Level 1 "Space Gate," inside which was a Level 1 Iron Ore mine. Slaves from five trains were currently mining there.
Wait, no.
To be precise, slaves from two trains, passengers from one train, employees from another, and civilians from yet another.
The latter three trains belonged to the three Level 12 Mechanical Train conductors he had just spoken with.
This was the first time he had encountered trains that didn't refer to their workers as slaves, apart from his own.
Through conversation.
He also learned that at the beginning of the apocalypse, things weren't as harsh. However, the ecosystem wasn't great back then. Many survivors treated the train conductors as mere drivers, not only seeking shelter but also refusing to mine for long hours each day, even proposing politically correct ideas.
At first.
The conductors didn't understand. After all, many of them were ordinary people before suddenly facing pressure from hundreds of individuals. They were overwhelmed and didn't know how to handle it, so they agreed to everything.
The final result was.
No one mined, and the trains were doomed to destruction.
In such an environment, the slave system emerged.
What kind of demons and ghosts, what distinction between men and women—everyone, get the hell out and go mine! Overseers stand by with whips, and anyone who doesn't mine will be beaten to death! Under the Train Conductor's absolute authority, the Train's production efficiency skyrocketed!
At that time, almost most Trains were in the white zone after the apocalypse. Those first Trains to adopt the Slave system developed at an astonishing pace, quickly advancing to higher zones. Seeing this, others began to follow suit.
Thus, the Slave system became wildly popular across all zones.
It must be said.
After adopting the Slave system, the number of Trains that perished decreased significantly, and the speed of Train development saw a steep, climbing improvement.
(End of Chapter)