Purple accessory 「Space Stasis」.
Effect: When activated, all biological entities and AIs within the train except himself will be forcibly frozen for 30 minutes. During this period, they will have no memory and be completely immobilized.
-
This was a newly craftable accessory added when the train reached Level 7, which he had never used until now.
There had been no suitable scenarios.
But at this moment—
This accessory demonstrated its true power.
The next instant!
The train suddenly accelerated again, leaving the pursuing rabbits far behind.
"Xiao Ai."
Chen Mang, sitting in the train compartment, called out to Xiao Ai a few times. As expected, there was no response—even Xiao Ai had been frozen. The train could no longer cruise automatically and had to be manually operated the entire way.
Chen Mang picked up his cane and strode toward the last carriage.
Thankfully, he had the cane.
Even without sitting at the control panel, he could still operate the train.
He didn't stop along the way, but inwardly, he pondered the need to find a way to install some form of transportation within the train. Running several hundred meters from the front to the rear was exhausting, and worse, it wasted precious time in critical moments.
Before long.
He successfully reached the last carriage, where four or five rabbits with ferocious expressions and bloodshot eyes were suspended mid-air.
The entire scene looked rather eerie.
"..."
Chen Mang tentatively poked one with his cane. The fur was still soft, and he could feel their body heat, but there was no reaction at all. Was this the power of Space Stasis? It felt somewhat unreasonable.
Completely disregarding levels.
Every living being inside the train—frozen!
No matter what level the monster was, it was all treated the same. Even AIs were frozen. This thing was like a 「Loss-limiting Device」 for critical moments. If, by any chance, the AI really rebelled, or if there was an uncontrollable riot inside the train,
activating this accessory would reset everything.
He had always known that any accessory listed as craftable for the train couldn't possibly be useless.
He didn't activate the hundreds of Heavy Machine Guns mounted on the carriage ceiling. Level 15 and 16 bullets were too expensive—he couldn't bear to buy them. Those things cost even more than Doomsday Cannon shells.
Instead, he crafted a Level 1 Space Gate in the carriage.
Then, one by one, he pushed the suspended rabbit monsters into it.
Yes, pushed them in.
Perhaps because these monsters had been mid-charge when frozen, even after being immobilized, no matter how hard he pushed, they wouldn't fall to the ground but instead moved horizontally.
One, two, three...
Soon, all the rabbit monsters had been shoved into the Space Gate.
"Phew..."
Chen Mang let out a relieved sigh, then stood at the junction between Carriage 15 and 16, gripping the railing of Carriage 15 tightly, and chose to forcibly dismantle the 「Space Gate」 in Carriage 16.
The next instant—
The Space Gate in Carriage 16 instantly shattered, countless fragments of white light scattering through the air.
The strongest monsters in this area, those at levels 15 and 14, were instantly annihilated!
They perished in the Space Shattering.
"Kinda overpowered," Chen Mang muttered with a slight smirk as he stood at the edge of Carriage 15, observing the devastation in Carriage 16. Space Shattering didn't care how high-level a monster was or how strong its defenses were—it simply obliterated them with a dimensional strike.
Theoretically speaking.
With proper coordination and a bit of luck.
He could even slay a level 100 monster using this mechanism!
Probably. He wasn't sure if a level 100 monster's defenses could withstand this degree of spatial annihilation.
And this wasn't a unique ability to him—every Train had this capability.
「Space Gate」+「Space Stasis」.
These two components were standard for every Train Conductor.
The most dangerous place in the world wasn't being surrounded by monsters.
It was being inside another Train.
Every Train Conductor had absolute control over their own Train. On their turf, they were the undisputed ruler—no one, not even the heavens, could challenge their authority. Entering another Train was practically suicidal. Fortunately, he'd never had the habit of visiting others uninvited.
The only regret was...
Perhaps due to the mechanics, these monsters were considered to have died from a disaster rather than by the Stellar's hand, so they didn't drop any loot.
Chen Mang shook his head and didn't dwell on it, turning to head back to the Train's control room.
This component was level 1.
He'd never upgraded it before. The stasis duration was half an hour, with no cooldown, but once activated, the stasis couldn't be canceled. There were still 24 minutes left before the stasis would lift.
As he passed through the Resident car.
He took a moment to peek inside the Space Gate.
Admittedly, the scene was eerie.
All the residents were frozen in place, motionless, like wax figures—utterly silent and unsettling.
"Hmm?"
Chen Mang frowned slightly when he noticed one resident in the middle of lighting a cigarette. The flickering flame was frozen mid-air, igniting the cigarette between the man's lips—but even the flame seemed suspended?
He walked over and tentatively reached out to touch the flame.
The orange-red fire.
Had no heat.
Even flames could be frozen in stasis. Impressive. At least this prevented fires during Space Stasis.
"..."
A mischievous thought crossed Chen Mang's mind. Once things settled down, he'd have to test something fun.
With that, he left the Resident car.
Passing Carriage 5, he slid open the door in the corridor and saw Ji Chuchu and Yan Yao sitting on the bed, mid-conversation. Both were frozen in place, lips slightly parted—clearly interrupted mid-sentence.
He stepped forward and gave them a few experimental squeezes.
Normal texture.
No stiffness or rigidity.
But this sensation...
Hmm.
Chen Mang gripped his cane, sensing the Targeting Radar's feedback. No more rabbits were chasing them—the remaining low-level ones couldn't keep up with his Train. And there were still 22 minutes left of Space Stasis.
He glanced ahead once more, where Ji Chuchu, her red lips slightly parted, was smiling at Yan Yao and saying something.
Human nature.
Understandable.
And there was enough time.
It suddenly dawned on him that this component might hold another layer of meaning—stealing a moment of leisure in a busy life.
Half a day was more than enough.
He laid Ji Chuchu down onto the bed. The entire process was eerily silent within the carriage, devoid of any resistance. It was a strange sensation, one he had never experienced before, but it felt... not bad.
Twenty minutes later.
After repositioning Ji Chuchu and wiping away the remnants from her lips with a tissue, he finally left the carriage.
Just moments ago, he had been pondering how to pass the remaining time since the Space Stasis couldn't be stopped—now, he had his answer.
Returning to the train's control room, a refreshed Chen Mang sat at the console, lighting a cigarette as he watched the stream of information scrolling across the screen.
-
「You have slain a Level 15 Crimson Rabbit. You have slain—」
-
He had initially assumed that killing monsters using the Space Gate mechanism wouldn't count as the Stellar's kills. Surprisingly, it did.
The lack of any dropped items likely meant they had been obliterated by the Space Gate.
"What a waste."
He sighed softly. Just then, the Space Stasis duration ended, and the train returned to its usual noisy state.
"Warning, alar—Huh? Train Conductor, where are those Level 15 Crimson Rabbits?"
"Dead."
Chen Mang glanced at the Targeting Radar screen as the train gradually slowed to a halt before landing heavily on the ground with a resounding thud. "Have Team One disembark and prepare for combat."
"Yes, sir!"
It wasn't just these few rabbits chasing him—it was the entire region's Crimson Rabbit population. These were merely the highest-level and fastest ones that had caught up.
The main force was still in pursuit.
However...
He had no intention of running from this Crimson Rabbit horde. After all, his train boasted Level 14 Armor. Aside from the Level 15 rabbits, the rest were practically delivering themselves to their doom.
The rabbits in this region clearly had a vendetta against him. Unless he wiped them all out, there'd be no chance of settling here peacefully.
This region was different from others.
Once entered, there was no retreating to the Blue Zone—even for a Level 12 train that hadn't yet upgraded to Level 13.
Meanwhile, his three-hour-long spectacle had already set the Train Radio ablaze.
-
"Someone actually barged into a Purple Zone without any preparation? The biggest rule in the 'Stone Man Region' is not to kill any Crimson Rabbits. Did that guy not know?"
"That's what you call skill and audacity. First time I've seen a train outrun Level 15 Crimson Rabbits head-on. My god, that deafening sonic boom nearly blew my eardrums out. It zoomed past me in the blink of an eye—now that's speed!"
"But Crimson Rabbits hold grudges. It's a fight to the death. And they breed fast—who knows how many are in that region? No matter how fast his train is, it still needs Energy Stones. How long can his Iron Ore reserves last? And there's no escaping to other zones."
"That's not necessarily the case. It depends on whether this guy's Train has been expanded. If it hasn't been expanded and still has the Drill Bit attachment, it can hide underground."
"It's expanded. I saw that Train—something called the Stellar—with over a dozen carriages. The expansion is quite substantial; there's no way it's going underground now."
—
"Tight-lipped bastards, all of them."
Seated at the control panel, Chen Mang sighed softly as he watched the chatter on the Train Radio. He hadn't just been running for the last three hours—he'd also scattered a bunch of "Neon City Free Entry Tickets" along the way. By now, surely some Train had picked them up.
He had expected someone to mention it on the Train Radio.
But no one breathed a word about it. Their lips were sealed tighter than a vault.
Hiding underground with the Drill Bit had crossed his mind, but he couldn't stay buried forever. He'd come to the purple zone to mine higher-grade ores, seize better opportunities, level up his Train, and push further—not to cower beneath the earth.
Too many rabbits?
Then just slaughter them all.
He wanted to see just how many rabbits this zone could throw at him. With nearly two million units of Copper Ore at his disposal, he wasn't worried.
After waiting about seven or eight minutes,
the remaining fast-moving Level 12 and 13 red-skinned rabbits arrived, panting heavily. The Doomsday Cannon mowed them down first, then Zhang Yi, piloting the "Pope" Mecha, charged forward with a roar, swinging a massive Spiked Club!
"Die!!!"
With that furious shout, an Energy Stone embedded in the Pope Mecha's back began to flicker. Bolts of electricity erupted from its core, spreading out in a ten-meter radius and immobilizing all the red-skinned rabbits within range.
"Whoa."
Chen Mang was mildly surprised. This Mecha had a skill? He genuinely hadn't known—he hadn't bothered to check its detailed specs. With so much on his plate every day, he couldn't possibly micromanage everything.
"Nice."
He grinned at the control screen. The rest wasn't his problem. Monsters of this level couldn't breach the Train's Armor, so they were basically safe. Once the next wave of exhausted Level 15 red rabbits caught up, they'd just repeat the same trick.
That Space Stasis had drained a fifth of a Level 4 Energy Stone—equivalent to 100,000 units of Iron Ore. The attachment's consumption depended on the number and level of creatures in the Carriage.
Then he turned his attention to the Refrigerator.
All the loot dropped by these rabbits could be tossed into the shop for sale, except—
"Huh?"
Chen Mang frowned at the Refrigerator. Why was there a huge pile of random junk inside? Where had it come from? He had no memory of it. And he was sure he'd used several Murphy Stones to upgrade the Traveling Frog's Armor—so why was there now an extra one?
Did these things reproduce asexually?
Scowling, he flipped through the Train Log, checking for bugs. Getting free stuff was great, but he needed to know how it happened—otherwise, it just felt unsettling.
Like waking up to a thousand bucks on your nightstand every day before the apocalypse.
Sure, it was a good thing.
But still.
But deep down, he still felt somewhat uneasy. There was no way he could sleep tonight. He began wondering if he was living in the underworld and if this money had been burned for him by the living.
Soon—
He found his answer.
"..."
Chen Mang silently rubbed his nose, lit a cigarette, cleared his throat, and turned off the Train Radio.
How should he put it?
After his "Powerful Magnet" attachment reached level 100, its pickup range extended to 10,000 meters. For the past three hours, he had been circling this area, sucking up all the items dropped by monsters that others had killed straight into the Stellar Train.
But it seemed no one knew he was the one who picked them up.
After all, there were no system notifications for this. People just stared blankly at the suddenly vanished items, completely clueless about what had happened.
Well, this thing was pretty smart.
It didn't suck back all his "Neon City Free Entry Tickets," knowing those were the ones he had thrown out himself.
"Not bad."
After clearing his throat, Chen Mang finally looked away from the control screen. Today was the first day of "Neon City's" operation. Though his body was in the train's control room, his mind had already wandered off to Neon City.
Once this batch of rabbits was dealt with, he'd have to go check on Neon City again.
"Xiao Ai."
"I'm here."
"Send Li Shiji and Uncle Li to report to the Neon City district now. Also, deploy a body there to stay permanently."
"Understood, Train Conductor. What task should I assign Li Shiji?"
"Isn't he good at designing games? Have him create some games in Neon City to recycle Stellar Coupons."
"Understood."
Everything was proceeding in an orderly fashion.
A hopeless apocalypse.
A silent wasteland.
The conductor of the Stellar Train was slowly growing stronger. From nearly starving to death in this world at the beginning, he had now become a regional overlord. But being a regional overlord wasn't quite enough to satisfy Chen Mang's ambitions.
What he wanted was to dominate the entire world.
Only then would he feel somewhat secure.
Meanwhile, in Carriage No. 5, reserved for high-level talents...
"Chu Chu?"
Yan Yao, sitting on the bed, looked at Ji Chuchu across from her in confusion. "Why did you suddenly stop mid-sentence?"
"Huh? Ah—"
Ji Chuchu felt the familiar taste in her mouth and glanced at the inexplicably messy bedsheets beside her. Checking the Iris Chip, she noticed the time had suddenly jumped forward by half an hour. A possibility quickly formed in her mind. Staring blankly at Yan Yao's puzzled expression, she paused before breaking into a radiant smile and turning to look out the window.
"It's nothing. I just suddenly thought Lord Mang is kind of cute."
"Why bring that up all of a sudden?"
"I just feel like Lord Mang isn't as stern as he seems. He has a cute side too."
"Weren't we just talking about that newly crafted set of High-Precision Clothes?" Yan Yao frowned in bewilderment. "How did we suddenly switch to Lord Mang? Did something happen?"
"It's nothing."
"Alright. Hey, Chu Chu, since it's the apocalypse and all, let's be honest with each other, okay? I've always wanted to ask—did you really become friends with me because you liked me, or was it just because my father funded your education that you became my best friend?"
"..."
Ji Chuchu's smile stiffened slightly. After a long pause, she shook her head helplessly at Yan Yao. "Yan Yao, sometimes you really leave me at a loss for words."
"How so?"
"Some things are better left unknown. It's all very messy."
"How messy could it be?" Yan Yao pouted. "Isn't it just about sleeping around? Do you think people stop sleeping together just because it's not the entertainment industry? How else would humanity continue?"
"..."
Ji Chuchu remained silent for a long moment before continuing, "It's much more complicated than you think. Let me give you a few examples. Remember that celebrity couple everyone adored—Wang Hai and Li Ting? You used to ship them hard, saying you longed for such pure love. Remember?"
"Of course! They were so sweet together."
"Mm. Wang Hai was at the peak of his fame then, from one of the Federation's wealthiest families. Li Ting was just an ordinary college student. Guess how she managed to keep him hooked? In those five years together, she had five surgeries down there."
"To stay tight enough."
"Wang Hai had a packed schedule, so they rarely met. Before each meeting, Li Ting would take massive doses of birth control to ensure she wouldn't menstruate that day. She used oral meds, injections, and whatever else to keep herself in perfect condition, just to give Wang Hai the best experience possible."
"And that's just a small part of what she did."
"Still think they were sweet?"
"Huh?"
Yan Yao froze momentarily, disbelief in her voice. "But... I always thought Wang Hai truly loved Li Ting."
"Love?"
Ji Chuchu shook her head. "Wang Hai was ruthless too. To prevent Li Ting from getting pregnant to force marriage, he got a vasectomy."
"Love? Please."
"Take most things with a grain of salt."
"Before Li Ting 'ascended,' she trained for four years—learning nothing but how to slay dragons."
"Before the apocalypse, every wealthy person had schemes plotted against them."
"Including your father—"
Ji Chuchu paused, leaving the sentence unfinished, then shook her head. "Never mind. It's all meaningless now. The world's ending anyway."
Yan Yao, reminded of her father, turned dazedly to the window and murmured, "Chu Chu... do you think my father's still alive? He was such a good man. He deserves good karma, right?"
Ji Chuchu didn't answer, only smiling faintly at the scenery outside—a smile tinged with imperceptible mockery.
In Neon City...
The number of Train Conductors was steadily increasing, from an initial thirty to over ninety.
Uncle Li sat at a computer desk by the floor-to-ceiling windows of Sun City's skyscraper, typing rapidly as he glanced at the account details on a secondary screen, compiling a simple report.
"Director Ai, isn't the referral reward a bit low?"
"500 Stellar Coupons for bringing in a new recruit only appeals to lower-tier Trains. Higher-tier ones aren't motivated at all."
"Mm."
Xiao Ai nodded seriously. "Lord Mang suggested tiered referral rewards—like 500 Coupons for white-zone Trains, but 2000 for green-zone ones."
"Higher-tier Trains have greater spending power."
"That's already programmed in."
"Understood." Uncle Li nodded and continued working on the accounts. Neon City's iron ore reserves now stood at 8.78 million units, the number fluctuating constantly—rising one moment, falling the next.
Some Train Conductors, after spending their credits, would exchange their remaining Stellar Coupons for Iron Ore before leaving Neon City, with no intention of keeping the coupons at all.
"Director Ai, isn't the referral reward a bit low?"
"500 Stellar Coupons for bringing in a new recruit only appeals to lower-tier Trains. Higher-tier ones aren't motivated at all."
"Mm."
Xiao Ai nodded seriously. "Lord Mang suggested tiered referral rewards—like 500 Coupons for white-zone Trains, but 2000 for green-zone ones."
"Higher-tier Trains have greater spending power."
"That's already programmed in."
"Understood." Uncle Li nodded and continued working on the accounts. Neon City's iron ore reserves now stood at 8.78 million units, the number fluctuating constantly—rising one moment, falling the next.
Some Train Conductors, after spending their credits, would exchange their remaining Stellar Coupons for Iron Ore before leaving Neon City, with no intention of keeping the coupons at all.
"Director Ai, most people are unwilling to keep Stellar Coupons in their balance. This puts a lot of pressure on Neon City's Iron Ore reserves."
"That's right."
Xiao Ai nodded again: "Lord Mang vetoed the idea of restricting large iron ore withdrawals or requiring advance appointments. This is the apocalypse, not the pre-apocalypse era. Iron ore is the lifeblood of every train."
"If people can't exchange Stellar Coupons for iron ore promptly, it will cause widespread panic."
"So Lord Mang's stance is to set no restrictions—anyone can withdraw their assets anytime to ensure rapid liquidity during crises. We'll pursue aggressive, unregulated expansion initially. Once we reach a certain user threshold, entry tickets will no longer be free but require Stellar Coupons to purchase."
"At that stage, Lord Mang also wants to experiment with interest-bearing deposits."
"However, this plan is still in its infancy. In the apocalypse where dangers lurk everywhere, no one would hoard iron ore for higher interest rates when immediate train upgrades mean better survival chances. So this concept might manifest differently in the future."
"Understood."
Uncle Li said nothing more and resumed bookkeeping. He was creating automated spreadsheets to reduce future workloads—after all, there were no audit requirements here, just basic accounting, which wasn't overly burdensome.
Meanwhile, Li Shiji worked rapidly on a nearby screen.
Suddenly—
Chen Mang materialized before the floor-to-ceiling window. Uncle Li, Li Shiji, and others quickly stood up: "Greetings, Lord Mang."
"Mmm."
Chen Mang acknowledged them with a nod before silently observing the bustling scene below through the window, cane in hand. After a moment, he chuckled: "Don't just stand around here. Go mingle with the crowds—that's how you'll understand what people truly need."
Among the throngs,
Chen Mang strolled down the street, watching Train Conductors exploring the area. He wore no disguise—while many knew of the Stellar and some had heard the name Chen Mang, few had seen his face.
Even if recognized, so what? Could they ban him from entering while allowing others?
If people wanted to speculate wildly, there was nothing he could do.
"Lord Mang,"
Li Shiji explained as he followed behind: "As a former game designer, I've worked on many online games where monetization primarily came from microtransactions."
"Though Neon City isn't a game, there are parallels."
"Of course—"
"We can't exploit players by selling power boosts or cosmetics, but the biggest revenue generator in games is loot boxes!"
"We could build several prize wheels."
"With just a small Stellar Coupon investment, participants could win major prizes."
"For instance, a 500-coupon pool with a Level 10 Refrigerator jackpot, or a 2000-coupon pool offering Murphy Stones. We'd include smaller rewards too—like 10-Consecutive-Draws 10% Off Vouchers or 100-Consecutive-Draws 20% Off Vouchers. Maybe a 289-draw pity system guaranteeing the grand prize."
"We also have numerous zero-cost, high-profit commodities."
"Take the Memory Bank—that operation generates pure profit. We could eliminate memory acquisition services and focus solely on selling memories."
"Not bad."
Chen Mang smiled and interrupted Li Shiji, "Let's set aside the Memory Bank for now. Not many people have the Mental Strength to meet the standards for memory implantation. But your idea for a lottery wheel is quite interesting—make sure to implement it."
"No problem. Should we go with pseudo-random or true random? Pseudo-random would involve setting a fixed profit-loss ratio."
"True random."
"If we're doing it, let's make it real. Adjust the probabilities as you see fit."
"Got it. Lord Mang, could I also select a few items to be exclusively available through the lottery wheel? These items would be unobtainable through any other means."
"Approved."
"Hmm?"
At that moment, Chen Mang frowned slightly and turned his gaze toward the bustling brothels lining the street. "Uncle Li, check the current profits of these establishments."
"1.08 million Stellar Coupons."
"Damn..."
Chen Mang was stunned. In just four or five hours, these brothels had already raked in 1.08 million, accounting for a tenth of the total revenue. This was absurd—he had initially treated them as mere add-ons.
Deep down, he had believed no one would waste precious Iron Ore on such frivolities during an apocalypse.
Yet reality seemed to defy his expectations.
The first time people flooded the brothels in Neon City, it was because their initial funds were too meager to afford anything else. But this time, they were spending genuine, hard-earned resources.
"..."
After a brief silence, Chen Mang instructed, "Go back and tell Lao Zhu to scout the Train for any former brothel madams from the apocalypse. Those robot madams aren't professional enough—we need real experts."
"Understood."
Though he didn't get it, money was money.
"Check the ledger. What's selling the most?"
Uncle Li hurriedly flipped through his tablet. "The highest turnover is at the casino—21.89 million in just four hours. Following your rule, the casino doesn't gamble against customers; it only facilitates bets between them and takes a 3% cut from the winners. The exact net profit is still being calculated."
"Several Train Conductors have been gambling there."
"Some had existing grudges, and things got heated. Two Conductors of Level 12 Mechanical Trains alone contributed 16.82 million in turnover."
"Mhm."
Chen Mang nodded. The turnover looked impressive, but very little actual Iron Ore had been exchanged for Stellar Coupons. After all, when you lose to me and I lose back to you, it's all just recycled money.
Turnover wasn't the same as actual stakes.
Turnover referred to the total amount wagered repeatedly during gambling, including cumulative wins and losses.
Uncle Li swiped his tablet and continued, "The next hottest items are the 'Space Pouch' and the 'Level 10 Refrigerator.' Everything else is performing decently."
"Many random white-tier Accessory Blueprints have already sold out, and we can't restock them for now."
"Also, a few suggestions have been added to the 'Suggestion Board' you set up."
"The first suggestion is that Slave trading isn't allowed in Neon City."
"The second is that the product variety is insufficient."
"The third suggestion is that it's not friendly to low-level trains, as there aren't many items affordable for them."
"..."
Chen Mang walked down the street, nodding slightly without saying much. These were all good suggestions, but there was no way to address them.
One major function of the Convocation was the trade of Slaves.
But Neon City couldn't facilitate this.
Due to rule restrictions.
All Train Conductors, whether entering or leaving Neon City, could only bring their own Train Crew. It was impossible to use another Train Conductor's Entry Tickets to board their Train. Neon City was inherently incapable of Slave trading—there was simply no solution for this.
As for product variety.
He was working on that. He
had kept many White Grade Accessory Blueprints, hoping to draw items like the "Space Pouch" to diversify the product range.
As for being unfriendly to low-level Trains...
That couldn't be helped.
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