Translator: AnubisTL
"This..."
Old Pig, who had been gripping his pickaxe tightly, bracing for death, suddenly noticed that the zombies, which had been about to breach the carriage entrance, had inexplicably fallen into a state of confusion. Within moments, they scattered.
The zombies were ignoring their carriage.
He could only hear the terrified screams coming from the other carriages.
He instinctively scanned the carriage, his gaze finally settling on Chen Mang. Though he didn't understand what was happening, he knew one thing for certain: the slaves couldn't have achieved this. That meant Chen Mang must be responsible.
From the very beginning, Chen Mang had been different from the other slaves.
He lacked the resigned, lifeless demeanor of the others, and his body was noticeably cleaner, as if he had bathed recently. Old Pig didn't know where Chen Mang had been hiding during the past year, but in the apocalypse, not everyone had the luxury of bathing.
This big brother I've recognized seems pretty badass.
"..."
Chen Mang narrowed his eyes slightly and glanced back into the carriage. The slaves' faces displayed a range of emotions, but overall, they were a mix of fear and the excitement of having narrowly escaped danger.
The carriage wasn't large, yet it was packed with nearly a hundred slaves.
If the zombie horde dispersed successfully, managing this hundred slaves would be a significant challenge. He now only had three bullets left. Fortunately, the ruthless image he had established from the beginning meant the slaves didn't know how many bullets he had. With Old Pig's cooperation, he might be able to give it a try.
If all else failed...
The safest option would be to take advantage of the ongoing zombie horde and throw some of the slaves out to feed the zombies, leaving only a dozen or so. This would ensure complete control, though it would drastically reduce their productivity.
Death was constant in the apocalypse, and resources like slaves were scarce. It was best to avoid waste whenever possible.
Without inheriting this train conductor's slave carriage, gathering a hundred slaves in the wasteland would have been no simple task.
There were almost no women or elderly; it was mostly a group of men.
Just like that—
After about ten minutes, the zombie horde continued its relentless advance, swarming forward like locusts, but passed right by their carriage.
When Chen Mang leaped out of the carriage and stood on the wasteland, gazing at the now-empty wasteland, the tension that had gripped his heart finally eased. For now, they were safe.
"Brother Mang!"
Old Pig, also clutching a pickaxe, jumped down and glanced around. His voice carried a note of helplessness as he said, "You saved us from that calamity, but the locomotive's gone. Our carriages have no power, and we're stranded in the middle of nowhere. We won't last long out here in the depths of the wasteland."
Chen Mang shook his head without speaking, simply pulling out the Rare Train Token he had just acquired from his coat.
The token was shaped like a trapezoid, black with a sharp point at the bottom. The words "Train Token" were engraved in crimson letters across its surface.
"This..."
Old Pig, who had been about to say something, stared at the Train Token in Chen Mang's hand. Suddenly bewildered, he looked up at Chen Mang in a daze.
Where the hell did this Train Token come from?
Something's not right.
Even though killing low-Tier monsters like zombies had a tiny chance of dropping a Train Token, when the zombie horde retreated, he looked around but found no dropped items.
Then—
Boom!!!
The ground shook violently as a train suddenly materialized in mid-air before crashing heavily to the ground.
However...
This train consisted of only a locomotive, with no attached carriages.
Entirely jet black with a matte, frosted finish, it resembled not a modern locomotive but one from the steam era, exuding a heavy sense of antiquity.
You have activated a Rare Train Token and obtained your own train.
As a Rare Train Token, you have additionally received the Tier 1 accessory 'Geothermal Core Furnace,' a train component that can only be obtained from Rare Train Tokens.
"..."
Chen Mang stared at the panel before him. This wasn't a new interface; the train's white panel was simply a shade brighter than the usual world panels.
So the Rare Train Token only added a Geothermal Core Furnace?
He instinctively glanced at the words "Geothermal Core Furnace" on the panel. The four characters were highlighted in deep red, drawing attention.
[ Accessory Name: ] Geothermal Core Furnace
[ Accessory Grade: ] Red
[ Accessory Tier: ] 1
[ Accessory Effect: ] Can devour Tier 1 trains and decompose their carriages, train components, and accessories into Resource Units.
[ Upgrade Requirements: ] 100 units of Tier 1 Iron Ore
"Hmm."
Chen Mang paused, then tilted his head to look at Old Pig. "Generally speaking, for example, with these abandoned carriages, can I remove their train components and use them on my own train?"
"Yes."
Old Pig, who had only just recovered from the shock of a locomotive suddenly appearing before him, replied in a dazed tone, "As long as they're intact train components, you can certainly remove them and use them on your own train."
"However, if the train components are damaged, they're useless and can only be left behind."
"There's a group in the wasteland called scavengers. They drive motorcycles across the wasteland, collecting usable parts from wrecked trains to sell. The damaged components, along with the carriages, are left behind in the wasteland."
"After all, monsters only eat people, not steel."
"So the wasteland is littered with these useless abandoned carriages."
Chen Mang's eyes lit up, and he nodded with satisfaction.
That conversation was packed with information.
Two pieces of information emerged from this: first, the wasteland was littered with abandoned trains that his locomotive could devour. Second, the Rare Train Tokens were exceedingly rare and valuable; otherwise, these abandoned trains would have long been consumed by Geothermal Core Furnaces, rather than remaining intact until now.
Excellent.
Instead of immediately checking his Train Panel, Chen Mang took Old Pig back to Slave Car No. 7. Wielding his pistol, he scanned each slave individually, his voice cold and deliberate.
"From this moment on, I am the new Train Conductor."
"You will be my first batch of slaves."
"I will provide you with food. All you need to do is continue mining as before, with one condition: I will not tolerate anyone defying my orders."
"Remember this well."
With that, Chen Mang didn't wait for the slaves to react. He turned to Old Pig and instructed, "Make each of them hand over the iron ore they've mined in the tunnels, in an orderly fashion. If anyone disobeys you, grab your pickaxe and beat them."
"Understood."
Old Pig's face darkened as he tried to look as menacing as possible. Standing at the carriage entrance with his pickaxe, he roared, "Are you all deaf? Didn't you hear Lord Mang speaking?!"
A weak, unsteady chorus of voices answered from within the carriage:
"We heard you, Lord Mang."
Before, it was Master Kun. Now, it was Lord Mang.
In the wasteland, all Train Conductors were tacitly addressed as "Lord."
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