"Sell some cigarettes before we leave."
Chen Mang glanced at the Train Radio and immediately composed a message in the chat box.
「Stellar Train」: Selling various daily necessities, including cigarettes, tea, rice noodle rolls, pig trotter rice, coffee, etc. No need for face-to-face transactions. Prices are low, and remote transactions are available. Direct private messages only. Offer ends at noon today. No exceptions.
Almost instantly after the message was pinned, two people sent private messages.
In the past, daily necessities like "bread" and "roujiamo" were similar to what people already had on their trains, so the desire to buy wasn't particularly strong.
But the daily necessities he was selling now were things many trains didn't have.
People couldn't buy much, but purchasing a little for personal enjoyment was no problem.
At the gathering in the Iron Ridge Wasteland, the general market price for a pack of cigarettes was 200 units of iron ore, which meant one pack was 20 units of iron ore. Of course, the price would be higher on the Shahe Plain.
After all, the price of a product, aside from its intrinsic value, largely depends on the local consumption level.
In the white zone, people didn't have much iron ore to begin with, so the price of cigarettes could only go so high.
But on the Shahe Plain, people had a bit more to spend, so the price could be a little higher.
"..."
Chen Mang glanced at the Train Radio. In just this short time, seven or eight people had already inquired. Besides the fact that his products were indeed scarce and tempting, the ability to conduct remote transactions was also a significant factor.
Few people would go out of their way to drive their train just to buy a pack of cigarettes.
But with remote transactions, it was quick and convenient.
He didn't bother reading the messages and handed full control of the Train Radio to Xiao Ai, who transformed into a professional customer service representative. While confirming needs and negotiating prices, Xiao Ai also started managing the production of the 4th production line accessories, arranging for the items to be delivered to the train cabin, and then placing them on The Balance for remote transactions.
It was quite busy.
"What a pity."
Chen Mang looked regretfully at the well-organized Xiao Ai: "If we were in peaceful times, with a helper like you, I could start a customer service outsourcing company and make a fortune."
"Not just a three-minute response rate, but a three-second response rate."
In his previous world, he had dabbled in e-commerce for a while. In the early stages, he couldn't afford to hire customer service, so he had to do it himself. The three-minute response rate nearly drove him to a nervous breakdown.
Chen Mang didn't bother with the transactions anymore, leaving it entirely to Xiao Ai.
He got off the train.
After setting up tables and chairs on the plain, he asked Xiao Fang to bring a few more servings and invited Er Dan to join him for breakfast.
"See which flavor you like."
Chen Mang smiled, picking up a chopstickful of crab filling and putting it in his mouth. The sour preserved beans and chopped chili mixed with the aroma of the rice noodle rolls instantly tantalized his taste buds. He nodded in satisfaction: "Not bad, the flavor is quite good. Give it a try."
"Isn't this a bit extravagant?"
Er Dan excitedly rubbed his hands together and didn't hesitate to pick up his chopsticks, diving into the three servings of rice noodle rolls in front of him: "Bro, I saw your message pinned at the top of the Train Radio chat box. Isn't that part of the Train Radio's Supermodel Effect?"
"Yep."
Chen Mang ate quickly, finishing all three servings of rice noodle rolls without wasting a bite. Afterward, he took a satisfied sip of hot tea, pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, shook one out, and smiled.
"It's quite useful sometimes. You should consider upgrading yours later and give it a try."
"Try this."
"This is a cigarette made from rare tobacco leaves. What I sell on the Train Radio is made from common tobacco leaves."
Rare tobacco leaves cost 100 units of iron ore per pack.
Cigarettes are consumables, and non-essential ones at that. This price was indeed steep.
But for him alone, it wasn't a problem. He could afford it.
Er Dan hurriedly put down his chopsticks, lit the cigarette, and gave a thumbs up: "Smooth!"
"Tsk."
Chen Mang chuckled and shook his head, not saying much. He just sat in his chair, looking into the distance where Zhang Da Mei was driving her mech, fighting monsters. It was nice to have someone to talk to.
Speaking of which, Zhang Da Mei had been getting more and more reckless lately. Those few wandering Zombies were at least a thousand meters away from the train, and their path didn't seem like they were heading toward the train at all. Yet Zhang Da Mei had rushed over and taken them out.
Even if the Executioner mech didn't consume much energy—a single Level 2 Energy Stone could sustain full combat for 100 hours—it still shouldn't be wasted like that.
This kid doesn't manage the household, so she doesn't know the value of money.
By noon, the Train Radio's notification sounds had long since stopped. Basically, everyone who wanted to buy had already done so.
"Gross profit: 168,800 units of iron ore. Cost: 4,920 units of iron ore."
Xiao Ai's voice echoed in the train cabin.
"Is the profit really that high?"
Chen Mang clicked his tongue. The cost to produce a pack of cigarettes was 10 units of iron ore, and he sold them for 400 units of iron ore. To be honest, selling a pack for 400 units, he felt he was being quite fair.
It was only a 40-fold profit.
After all his hard work to obtain the Tobacco Production Line Blueprint, it wasn't wrong to let him make some money, right?
"Not bad."
He smiled, took a sip of hot tea, and didn't waste any more time. He immediately set the train cabin in motion, heading toward the Kunlun Mountains region.
The goal—
To cross the Kunlun Mountains and head to the yellow zone, the Zombie Basin.
The Azure Dragon Train followed closely behind, accompanying him to test the waters in the Kunlun Mountains region and see what the yellow zone was all about. The Zombie Basin? Had they not heard that even a Level 7 Mechanical Zombie King had fallen at his hands?
"Change of plans."
In the Kunlun Mountains region, Chen Mang looked up at a large, green, winged moth flapping its wings in the sky and immediately abandoned his plan to head to the Zombie Basin tonight. The Targeting Radar showed that this monster was a Level 5 boss, the Green Dragon.
He quickly switched to the Bunny Cloud wheels, flying up to close the distance!
As long as he killed this Green Dragon, he could obtain the Deep Sea Shield accessory, which would allow him to enter the Underwater Labyrinth and retrieve the Murphy Stone. Only then could he leave the Shahe Plain with a sense of completion.
He had almost given up on this.
After all, the Green Dragon was a rare monster with no fixed territory, making it hard to track.
He had already consoled himself with the thought that life couldn't be without regrets.
But just before he set out, a miracle happened!
The heavens were truly looking out for him.
"Old man, you've been really good to me. I wish you a long and healthy life."
Chen Mang narrowed his eyes, looking at the Green Dragon fleeing on the Targeting Radar screen, and couldn't help but laugh. It was truly a case of searching far and wide for something, only to find it effortlessly.
"Wait... hey... hold on!"
"Damn it!"
Er Dan, sitting in the train cabin with a look of disbelief, watched the mechanical arm quickly changing the wheels and the Stellar Train disappearing from the radar range. He couldn't help but feel anxious.
He had finally found a big shot to follow, and now he had suddenly flown away?
The Mechanical Arm, a yellow-tier accessory, was very rare. Among all the trains he had seen, only he had one, obtained from a Fortuitous Encounter map. He had always been proud of it.
While others took over ten minutes to change their wheels, he could do it in just one minute without needing Slaves to step out and operate it manually. He could just sit in the train cabin and let the Mechanical Arm handle it.
But...
How the hell did the Stellar Train just take off like that?
One second, it was using Spider Legs to traverse the Kunlun Mountains region like him, and the next second, the Spider Legs retracted, and the Bunny Cloud wheels appeared?
He didn't even see the Mechanical Arm extend.
What kind of damned accessory's Supermodel Effect was this?
One minute later.
The Bunny Cloud wheels were finally successfully changed, and the Azure Dragon Train took off again. But... Er Dan stared blankly at the empty Targeting Radar, feeling utterly lost.
Where was his big brother?
Could someone tell him where his big brother had gone?
And the Green Dragon wasn't a pack monster; it was extremely rare. Back then, he had spent a lot of resources to get intel that a Green Dragon was in the Kunlun Mountains region. He had searched for several days before finding it.
But today, he had watched helplessly as the Stellar Train did nothing, and a Green Dragon provocatively flew past, as if begging to be noticed.
Pure luck.
Just then—
Chen Mang's voice came through the Train Radio.
"I'm planning to kill this Green Dragon and return to the Shahe Plain to check out that Underwater Labyrinth. Are you coming with me, or...?"
"I'll wait here for you."
Hearing Chen Mang's voice, Er Dan breathed a sigh of relief. At least his big brother wasn't planning to abandon him.
The Green Dragon was faster.
But the Stellar Train was even faster.
「Doomsday Cannon successfully locked on.」
「Ready to fire at any moment...」
"..."
Chen Mang frowned, his thumb resting on the red button atop the control stick, hesitating to press it. In his view, the Green Dragon kept flapping its wings, occasionally turning around to hover in mid-air and glance at him.
It felt like both a provocation and... a plea for mercy?
A plea for mercy?
No, it didn't seem like that. It was more like it was leading the way.
Could it be...
Chen Mang thought of the dogtail grass on the front of his train. According to Er Dan, although the Green Dragon wasn't a high-level monster, it had no fixed territory and was extremely elusive. If he had truly been lucky enough to encounter this Green Dragon, there could only be one explanation—
This Green Dragon was a special passenger.
"A passenger?"
Chen Mang narrowed his eyes. After a while, he finally moved his thumb away from the red button, deciding not to fire. Instead, he would follow the Green Dragon for a while and see if it really was leading the way.
He wanted to see where it would take him.
But the direction... after flying for a while, it circled back to the Shahe Plain.
One hour later.
The Green Dragon descended from the sky, landing by a lake.
This was the exact coordinate Er Dan had sent him for the Underwater Labyrinth.
"Er Dan."
Chen Mang picked up the Train Radio's walkie-talkie and spoke softly: "When you killed that Green Dragon back then, did it ever stop mid-flight to glance at you, as if...?"
"As if it was provoking you, right?" Er Dan's voice quickly came through the walkie-talkie: "Yeah, it did! How could I let it get away with that? I closed the distance and let the Doomsday Cannon unleash a barrage. Took it out easily!"
"..."
Chen Mang silently ended the conversation with Er Dan. As expected, this mysterious Green Dragon was indeed a special passenger, similar to the Black Market Merchant. But unlike the Black Market Merchant, it wasn't invulnerable to attacks.
It was more like...
Just then—
A few lines of text appeared on the control panel.
-
「Doomsday Fortuitous Encounter: Hell Green Dragon.」
「Its whereabouts are unpredictable. Any train may encounter the Hell Green Dragon. This is a monster that can revive endlessly. Before its death, it swallowed the Deep Sea Shield accessory blueprint, making killing the Hell Green Dragon the only way to obtain the Deep Sea Shield.」
「It has long been dead.」
「Only a fragmented soul controls its decaying body.」
「Its sole wish is to return to its roots.」
「If you successfully bring it home, you will receive a generous reward.」
-
"So the dogtail grass is really that effective?"
Chen Mang glanced at the words on the control panel and then at the green, fluttering moth—its eyes unfocused and dazed—that was quietly squatting by the lake, spitting out a blue accessory blueprint.
It was called a Green Dragon.
But it looked more like a giant moth from his previous world. Calling it a big fluttering moth wasn't entirely wrong.
Soon—
Zhang Da Mei, piloting her mech, jumped off the train, her giant axe slung over her back. She cautiously approached the Green Dragon, preparing to retrieve the blue accessory blueprint it had spat out.
The Powerful Magnet could only absorb items dropped by monsters.
This blueprint wasn't dropped by the monster but was instead something the monster had spat out?
Thus, it couldn't be picked up automatically.
Someone had to go down and retrieve it.
Everything went smoothly. As Zhang Da Mei approached, the Green Dragon merely took a few steps back, making no threatening moves.
The Deep Sea Shield, a blue-tier blueprint, was retrieved without any issues.
Then, the Green Dragon flapped its wings and landed on the front of the train, as if waiting for something.
The next moment!
A faint blue energy shield enveloped the entire Stellar Train. This energy shield could help the train withstand water pressure and keep it waterproof.
Though there was no communication between them, and no way to communicate, Chen Mang understood the Green Dragon's intentions. He immediately crafted the Propeller and upgraded it to Level 10. Then, with the help of the Level 6 Auxiliary Universal Wheels, the Stellar Train slowly approached the lake and plunged into the water.
The Propeller, replacing
the wheels, began to spin rapidly, propelling the Stellar Train deeper into the lake.
The Green Dragon remained quietly perched on top of the train, making no extra movements. The lake water was entirely blocked by the energy shield, leaving the Green Dragon untouched.
Train and monster.
In this environment, they coexisted quite harmoniously.
--Support me in Patreon for more chapters 35+ chapters in there
patreon.com/LegendaryTL
Thanks!