The Train Conductor, seated at the control panel, no longer paid attention to the battered man in the corner. Instead, he toyed with his cigar, gazing at the numerous red dots on the Targeting Radar screen, and smiled with satisfaction.
He was a patient man.
During this period, he went nowhere, staying here like a patient, venomous snake waiting to strike.
Recently, he hadn't found a mine that satisfied him, so he had plenty of time to spare here. In the swamp were three Level 2 Iron Ore mines and two Level 2 Copper Ore mines—a dense cluster of high-level resources on the Shahe Plain.
He had been here for three months now and had only managed to extract one Level 3 Iron Ore mine by sheer luck.
That Level 3 Iron Ore mine had yielded him 1.7 million units of Iron Ore.
Enough to fill him to the brim.
Since then, he hadn't encountered another Level 3 Iron Ore mine. Even if he did, there were Trains he dared not provoke that had already claimed them. On the Shahe Plain, Level 2 Iron Ore mines were the norm, while Level 3 mines were a stroke of luck. If desperate, even Level 1 Iron Ore mines were worth mining.
He had upgraded the green-grade Vehicle Component, the Targeting Radar, to Level 5, giving it a detection range of 5,000 meters. This range ensured that he would always be the first to spot enemies on the Shahe Plain, giving him the upper hand in deciding whether to fight or flee.
Moreover, it had gained a Level 5 Supermodel Effect, allowing him to detect detailed information about bosses within its range. Upgrading this component to Level 5 had cost him two Murphy Stones.
Most importantly—
The man glanced at the detailed information of the various components on his control panel's 3D Train display, a hint of a smile flashing in his eyes.
The yellow-grade Vehicle Component, Advanced Nano Armor Paint, Level 5.
This wasn't a component found on human Trains—it was exclusive to Goblin Trains. Its effect was to block detection by Targeting Radars. He had obtained the blueprint for it during a Fortuitous Encounter in a Goblin Ruins map a while back.
After upgrading his Train to Level 4, one of the craftable components was a yellow-grade component called the Radar Blocker, which also had the effect of blocking radar detection. He had upgraded it to Level 5 as well.
The Level 5 Supermodel Effect of the Advanced Nano Armor Paint allowed it to combine levels with other components that had similar effects.
In other words, his Train was now undetectable by any Targeting Radar of Level 10 or below. And on the Shahe Plain, how could there possibly be a Targeting Radar exceeding Level 10?
In simpler terms.
With these two components, along with the Targeting Radar he had upgraded to Level 5, he could operate like a ghost on the Shahe Plain—always spotting others first, while remaining invisible even to those with Level 5 Radars.
This was the allure of Fortuitous Encounter maps.
As the Train leveled up, the number of craftable components decreased. To truly enhance the Train's foundation, one had to venture into Fortuitous Encounter maps in search of opportunities.
"..."
Inside the Train compartment, Chen Mang looked at the 120,000 units of Spider Silk on the Train Panel and decided to enhance the Spider Legs component once more. This component was currently at Level 13, allowing the Train to traverse 90-degree cliffs with ease.
In half a month.
He planned to venture into the Tower of Heaven Fortuitous Encounter map with the Azure Dragon Train. This would be his first time exploring such a map, and he felt somewhat nervous. It was always better to prepare in advance.
120,000 units of Spider Silk was too much. The Spider Legs were only a green-grade component and didn't require this much.
After consuming 38,000 units of Spider Silk, he upgraded the Spider Legs component all the way to Level 30!
At Level 30, the maximum speed was fixed at 340 km/h.
In theory, the Spider Legs component would reduce the Train's maximum speed. This meant that no matter what speed-boosting components you had, as long as the Spider Legs were in use, the Train's top speed would be capped at this number.
At Level 1, it was 50 km/h.
At Level 30... it had become 340 km/h, which was even faster than the Wind-Fire Wheel!
But this was just a minor upgrade effect. The main benefit was that, after upgrading, the Spider Legs component now allowed the Train to traverse 180-degree slopes freely.
Hmm.
A 180-degree slope might be hard to grasp.
Let's put it simply—the Train could now drive upside down on ceilings, completely defying gravity. What even was gravity? Never heard of it.
"This should be secure enough."
Chen Mang looked with satisfaction at the component information on the control panel screen. According to the Azure Dragon Train, the Tower of Heaven Fortuitous Encounter map was located 5,000 meters above ground. In such a scenario, upgrading the Spider Legs component a bit more would provide a greater sense of security.
He still had over 80,000 units of Spider Silk left.
He didn't plan to continue upgrading.
Further upgrades were pointless. He doubted he would ever encounter a 181-degree slope in real life. Level 30 Spider Legs were more than enough to handle most geographical environments. The remaining Spider Silk could be saved to activate the Level 10 Supermodel Effect of Spider Silk, which had once saved his life in the Kunlun Mountains.
After reaching Level 30.
The Spider Legs gained another Level 20 Supermodel Effect. Level 30 didn't have a Supermodel Effect, and the next stage would be at Level 50.
Spider Legs Level 20 Supermodel Effect: Can jump and walk, with a maximum jump height of 10 meters. It is recommended to upgrade the Internal Space Stabilizer to Level 5.
A decent Supermodel Effect.
Chen Mang chuckled as he looked at the new effect. This gave the Train another mode of movement, offering more options when facing increasingly harsh and varied terrains.
At the current efficiency of the Train Residents.
In half a month, they would have likely mined out all the resources in the mines. By then, many of the Train's components that needed upgrading would be fully upgraded, and it would be the perfect time to venture into the Tower of Heaven.
Time flew by.
Five days passed quickly.
Everyone worked with great enthusiasm, and the 400 Survivors quickly integrated into the Stellar Train. Some of the faster ones were already close to reaching Level 2 Resident status.
Within these five days, all three Level 2 mines had been fully exploited.
The speed was quite fast, especially since these Level 2 Iron Ore mines were relatively rich in content.
Chen Mang sat in the Train compartment, looking at the Iron Ore resources on the Train Panel. Including the existing Iron Ore in the Train, he now had a total of 1.481 million units of Iron Ore—enough to start splurging!
"Phew!"
He took a deep breath and immediately spent 95,000 units of Iron Ore to upgrade the Open-Air Carriage of Missile Car No. 14 to Level 6, then spent 1.05 million units of Iron Ore to upgrade the missile to Level 6.
This was currently the component that consumed the most Iron Ore. As expected of a red-grade component—it was a resource hog, but it was undoubtedly worth the investment.
He couldn't help but fantasize about launching one of these into the Kunlun Mountains region.
Imagine the loot that would drop.
Monster Armor and Train Armor were somewhat different. A Level 6 missile could penetrate Level 6 monster armor but couldn't break through Level 6 Train Armor, as the latter completely defended against any damage of the same level.
However—
How many people could upgrade their Carriage Steel Armor to Level 6?
After the Train reached Level 4, a new craftable component became available: the Energy Shield. During the collision with another Train deep underground, the opposing Train had been equipped with this component.
It was a high-grade defensive component, upgradable to Level 5.
However, the Energy Shield could only block certain energy-based attacks, such as Energy Cannons or Dragon Breath. Physical attacks, like monsters ramming into the Train, couldn't be blocked.
There was only one scenario where it could block physical attacks.
That was by upgrading the Energy Shield to Level 5, which would unlock its corresponding Supermodel Effect. Activating this effect would allow the Energy Shield to block physical attacks, though it would consume a significant amount of Energy Stones.
"All this flashy nonsense."
Chen Mang smirked. On the Shahe Plain, apart from Level 6 Trains, the highest defense level of any Train was Level 6. His Level 6 missiles were more than sufficient, as long as he didn't encounter a Level 6 Train.
Though using them to blow up Trains was a bit of a waste.
After all, a single Level 6 missile wasn't cheap.
It required a whopping 300,000 units of Copper Ore.
Level 5 missiles were cheaper, costing only 200,000 units of Copper Ore. He hadn't crafted any yet, planning to do so when needed, depending on the appropriate level.
"Phew..."
Chen Mang exhaled deeply and looked out the window at the Train Residents working diligently. Now, all he had to do was wait for them to finish mining the remaining two Copper Ore mines. The progress was much faster than expected.
This meant that before heading to the Tower of Heaven, he could make a trip to Sand River City.
Perhaps he could get some cabbage and vermicelli to treat everyone to a hearty meal. While each person might not get much meat, just the aroma would be enough. Many hadn't smelled meat since the apocalypse began, living on a diet devoid of oil and nearly turning into vegetarians.
"Is this acceptable?"
On the Shahe Plain, inside the Azure Dragon Train compartment, the Bald Man frowned as he looked at the Deputy Train Conductor: "In ten days, we'll be heading to the Tower of Heaven with the Stellar Train. You can't see the rankings and have no concrete understanding of Train strengths."
"But let me make this clear."
"The Stellar Train has S-grade potential and has completed an S-grade difficulty Mechanical Train Profession Change. It's the first on the Shahe Plain. Although it's only a Level 4 Train now, its rise might be faster than we imagine."
"Moreover, its current strength might not be much weaker than our Level 5 Azure Dragon Train."
"Let's tidy up the Train's appearance in the next few days to leave a good impression. Who knows, we might even become friends in the future."
"Uh..."
The Deputy Train Conductor cautiously interjected: "Egg Lord, didn't you say it was the Stellar Train that caused your labyrinth mission to fail? Now you're going to explore the Tower of Heaven together. Is that appropriate?"
"Why wouldn't it be?"
The Bald Man shot a glare at his Deputy Train Conductor before picking up a razor to continue shaving the stubble on his head: "Do you think I should hold a grudge against the Stellar Train and consider it my greatest enemy for life?"
"That would be pure stupidity."
"Why make an enemy out of nowhere? The apocalypse is dangerous enough with monsters everywhere. Why add a mortal enemy to the mix? That's just asking for a shorter life."
"What if the Tower of Heaven Fortuitous Encounter map is cooperative? There's a chance we might need to work together. I've heard that some cooperative maps require the combined efforts of everyone on both Trains."
"After all, we're a Level 5 Train."
"While it's not good to keep fighting, it's still beneficial to maintain a slight edge. Have the Slaves make new clothes in the next few days, and have everyone change into them when the time comes."
"Other areas, you handle as you see fit."
"I think I understand," the Deputy Train Conductor nodded thoughtfully: "Egg Lord, you're saying we need to put on a show?"
"Exactly."
The Bald Man looked at his shiny bald head in the mirror with satisfaction: "Let's put on a display, make sure that guy knows that even though I lost to him once, an old-school Train still has its prestige."
"Understood, I'll get right on it."
Soon—
The last two Copper Ore mines in the swamp were fully exploited, bringing the total Copper Ore reserves in the Train to 1.05 million units.
"Set sail!"
Chen Mang sat in the control room, looking at the resource quantities on the screen. With a satisfied smile, he pushed the control lever, activating the Spider Legs and propelling the Train out of the swamp. Destination: Sand River City!
The moment Chen Mang set off.
The Middle-aged man in the Train that had been waiting outside, upon seeing the alert on his Targeting Radar, instantly perked up, his eyes filled with excitement: "Finally... after eight days of waiting, you've finally emerged."
"Having so many Slaves must be nice—they mine so fast. Soon, all those Slaves will be mine."
"Heh."
The battered man in the corner couldn't help but mock: "If you did the math, you'd realize that even if you got all these thousand-plus Slaves, you couldn't afford to keep them."
"I'll sell them if I can't keep them."
The Train Conductor at the control panel paid no heed to the sarcasm, quickly picking up the walkie-talkie: "Gather all the Thugs, it's time to work. Once I blast that Train to pieces, it'll be your turn to go out."
The person on the other end of the walkie-talkie was his younger brother. After seizing control of this Train, he had to go through his brother to successfully complete the C-grade difficulty Profession Change mission.
He then stood up, placing his hands on the control panel, his face tinged with excitement as he watched the red dot on the Targeting Radar rapidly approaching.
He was well aware of the Stellar Train's recent rise in fame.
But—
He wouldn't dare venture out if he didn't have a few tricks up his sleeve.
The moment the red dot on the Targeting Radar closed in.
"Boom!"
Accompanied by the sound of numerous gears turning, a massive cannon with a barrel as thick as two or three gasoline barrels slowly extended from one of the carriages!!!
(End of Chapter)