Translator: AnubisTL
Green Zone, Kunlun Mountain
Whoosh
Inside a train floating low in the sky, its wheels made of clouds, a bald man gazed at the blueprint in his hand, his face filled with emotion.
This was the drop from defeating the Green Dragon Boss.
The Green Dragon often spawned randomly in various Green Zones, making it nearly impossible to track. After days of searching, he had finally cornered the beast. Only by unleashing his full firepower had he managed to obtain this blue-grade train component.
Deep Sea Shield
With this accessory, the train could now submerge underwater.
Of course, whether it could actually move underwater would depend on having special wheel accessories, like the Bunny Cloud wheels his train currently used.
Now, he could finally return to his Sha River Plains and explore the underwater labyrinth in the lake to uncover the truth behind the fortuitous encounter there.
A few days ago, he had encountered an extraordinary Tier 2 train.
That train, equipped with spider legs, had effortlessly scaled a nearly ninety-degree cliff face, leaving him deeply impressed. He had initially assumed that many powerful players had arrived in this zone, expecting fierce competition for the Green Dragon Boss.
However, over the past few days, he realized that the news seemed to have spread to very few people.
Just as I thought.
He'd paid a hefty price for that information, yet it felt like it had become common knowledge, as cheap as cabbage.
And he hadn't seen that Tier 2 train since. All he'd encountered were flesh trains, filled with lunatics.
"Kunlun Mountain."
A Green Zone devoid of any mineral resources.
Nothing but monsters, everywhere high-Tier monsters roamed. The threat level far exceeded other zones, and no train willingly entered this area—except for the flesh trains that relied on collecting monster Flesh to upgrade their accessories.
The bald man shook his head, not dwelling on it.
He picked up a razor and carefully shaved off the stubble that had just begun to grow on his head, a habit from the Pre-Apocalypse era. Then, he entered the coordinates for the Sha River Plains into the control panel. With a roar of the engine, the low-flying train shot toward the distant clouds!
The Azure Dragon Train, roaming the world!
Several hours later, the bald man had successfully reached the Sha River Plains and parked the train beside a lake. A grinding sound filled the air as the train's cloud wheels, stationed by the lake, slowly retracted into the carriage. Then, several Mechanical Arms extended from the sides of the carriage, swiftly twisting and tapping beneath the train. Soon, several propellers emerged from the carriage's underside.
With a crisp clang, the wheel was successfully replaced. The entire process took just one minute.
"That's convenient," the bald man sitting in the locomotive's control cabin said, a satisfied smile spreading across his face as he looked at the "Replacement Complete" prompt on the control panel. This was the charm of the yellow-grade Accessory, the "Mechanical Arm."
When paired with the Train Auxiliary AI, this Accessory could perform complex maneuvers.
For example—
Replacing a wheel.
Before he had this Accessory, replacing a train wheel required the train to stop completely. Then, the onboard mechanics would have to dismount and manually replace the wheel at the connection point between each carriage and the wheel. The more carriages, the longer the process took.
Each time, it took over ten minutes.
With the yellow-grade "Mechanical Arm," he could complete the entire process in just one minute.
Despite being a Tier 5 train like the others, his train was equipped with far more rare Accessories.
Most Tier 5 train conductors prioritized mining and development, spending nearly all their time mining to quickly upgrade their Accessories and train Tier. They avoided Bosses whenever possible.
He had always believed that sharpening the axe doesn't delay chopping wood.
He preferred to seek out Bosses when his train was fully stocked with ammunition, or actively search for fortuitous encounters to acquire more rare accessory blueprints. This would allow his train to develop in multiple ways. What was the point of leveling up so high if the underlying foundation was weak and shattered at the slightest impact?
Take the "Underwater Labyrinth" fortuitous encounter in the lake before him, for example.
This was a goal he had meticulously planned for a full month, and now everything was finally ready.
"Let's begin," the bald man said, sitting in the locomotive cabin. His eyes were filled with anticipation as he gazed at the tranquil lake surface. He slowly pushed the control lever forward, and the Tier 5 Auxiliary Universal Wheels beneath the carriage began to rotate slowly.
These were auxiliary wheels, not designed to provide significant propulsion. Their primary function was to assist with steering. Using them as the primary power source would be like using a small horse to pull a heavy cart.
However, in this situation, they were a decent option for assisting the train's entry into the water. After all, he couldn't rely on the propeller wheels to propel the train into the lake.
The next moment—
Boom!
The train slowly plunged into the lake. The instant it touched the water's surface, a pale blue light curtain enveloped the entire train.
This was the effect of the "Deep Sea Shield," protecting the train from water pressure and preventing flooding.
Simultaneously, several propellers beneath the carriages began spinning furiously. The dazzling headlights of the locomotive formed two ultra-long beams, illuminating the path ahead as the train began its descent, its target the flashing "?" coordinates on the control panel screen.
Twenty minutes later, the train finally reached the lakebed, where a magnificent golden palace stood in the center. A long road led from the palace entrance, ending in a circular archway.
Guiding markers were painted on the road's surface.
Above the palace entrance, several giant white glowing characters floated: "Underwater Labyrinth."
The train slowly settled onto the road and drove into the palace. Surprisingly, though built underwater, the palace was completely dry inside, with ample oxygen.
Then—
A line of text appeared on the train control panel: "Train Conductor, please disembark and select your maze difficulty."
"Truly amazing," the bald man muttered, his eyes wide with shock. This was the first time he'd encountered such a unique underwater adventure. Without hesitation, he stepped out of the locomotive cabin and stood in the vast palace hall, its ceiling soaring over ten meters high.
The hall was empty and enormous.
Behind him, the massive train seemed insignificant.
In the next moment, five giant light screens materialized in the air, each displaying a different maze difficulty.
"Welcome, Train Conductor of the Azure Dragon Train, to become the first explorer of the Underwater Labyrinth Adventure."
"Perhaps one day, humanity will scatter like stars, taking root in the corners of the Milky Way. But no matter how far they journey, the spirits of those adventurous explorers who embrace the spirit of exploration will forever be etched on the Monument of Civilization."
"To venture into the unknown is not because it is easy, but because it is difficult."
"True faith is not believing in certain success, but knowing failure is possible, yet still willing to pour everything into a one-in-a-billion miracle."
"As the first explorer, regardless of whether you successfully navigate the maze, you will receive a Consolation Prize. If you succeed, you will also trigger a Regional Broadcast, earning Reputation Value and additional rewards."
"Please select your maze difficulty. Once chosen, this decision cannot be changed."
"Uh..."
The bald man glanced sheepishly at the lines of text on the massive light screen. So I'm actually this great? The praise made him blush. He then turned his attention to the maze difficulty levels displayed on the next five light screens.
S-Rank Difficulty Maze: Your Consciousness will be transferred into a robot's body and appear on a random train. The train conductor will meticulously set up a static maze for you. If you reach the finish within half an hour, you clear the maze.
Note: Accessories and armed personnel on this train cannot attack you, and you cannot attack any accessories or personnel on the armed train. The "Train Auxiliary AI" on your train will possess the robot, granting you superhuman thinking abilities. The robot will also possess the running speed of an adult male, and the train carriages are limited to a maximum of 18.
Reward: 30 Murphy Stones.
A-Rank Difficulty Maze: You will now fall into a deep sleep and enter a 99-layered Dream Realm. If you awaken within 24 hours, you will successfully clear the maze.
Note: If you fail to awaken within the allotted time, you will be forcibly roused.
Reward: 20 Murphy Stones
B-Grade Difficulty Maze: After your four senses are blocked, you will enter the underwater labyrinth behind the palace, a maze with 999 nodes. If you reach the end within 6 hours, you will successfully clear the maze.
Note: The four senses you will lose are sight, sound, smell, and taste. You will retain only touch.
Reward: 10 Murphy Stones
C-Rank Maze: Your Consciousness will possess a goblin monster as you enter a place of utter darkness. You must grope your way through the darkness to find a pickaxe and a mine, and mine 12 units of iron ore within 24 hours.
Note: If the mission search fails, the difficulty cannot be selected at this time.
Reward: 5 Murphy Stones
D-Rank Difficulty Maze: You will enter the underwater labyrinth behind the palace, which has 999 nodes, with all your senses intact. If you reach the end within 24 hours, you will successfully clear the maze.
Note: It is recommended to wear a Smartwatch. This maze will push your step count for the day to a new high.
Reward: 2 Murphy Stones.
"Huff... huff..."
The bald man standing beside the Azure Dragon Train gazed at the five light screens above, each displaying a different reward for a maze of varying difficulty. His attention was immediately drawn to the generous reward, his chest heaving as his breathing quickened involuntarily. Greed filled his eyes.
I've hit the jackpot this time!
He had participated in countless Train Encounters, always hearing rumors of special items as rewards in Personal Encounters, but he had never encountered one himself. Now, here it was—a Personal Encounter, a human-specific event.
And the reward? Precious Murphy Stones!
If he could complete the S-Rank Difficulty mission, he would receive a whopping 30 Murphy Stones. He couldn't even imagine how many top-tier accessories with overpowered effects he could upgrade the Azure Dragon Train with if he invested all 30 Murphy Stones into it!
Even the lowest difficulty Tier had two Murphy Stones!
Moreover, he was the first train conductor to explore this zone, meaning that if he successfully completed the mission, he would also receive Reputation Value and additional rewards through the Regional Broadcast.
This time, he had truly struck gold!
The bald man carefully examined the five difficulty levels. He was very familiar with the first, S-Rank Difficulty. The S-Rank mission for the "Mechanical Train" job advancement quest involved setting up a maze. Could it be that the consciousness within the robot was actually human?
If other trains were attempting this S-Rank job advancement quest, did the robots also contain human consciousness? Were there other Secret Realms with S-Rank Dungeon missions like this one?
This path, though S-Rank, seemed to be the easiest of them all!!!
He knew that several trains had attempted the S-Rank job advancement quest for the "Mechanical Train," but none had succeeded. He had never even seen a mechanical train with S-Rank Potential on the leaderboard.
He loved exploration. Having visited so many Green Zones, he had seen a few flesh trains with S-Rank Potential on the leaderboard, but not a single mechanical train with S-Rank Potential.
In other words!
The failures of those train conductors meant his success!
"Damn it!"
The bald man's eyes were bloodshot, filled with a thick, greedy glint. He'd been wondering how that train, which had always ranked below him on the Overpowered Effect Count Ranking, had suddenly gained four or five overpowered effects in an instant.
Could it be that they'd gotten incredibly lucky, stumbled upon a fortuitous encounter like the Underwater Labyrinth, completed the S-Rank Difficulty maze mission, and walked away with thirty Murphy Stones?
The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became!
He hadn't even bothered to pay much attention to the remaining difficulty levels, and those missions were genuinely difficult.
Unlike this S-Rank Difficulty mission, which was both simple and richly rewarded.
Without the slightest hesitation, he chose the S-Rank Difficulty maze mission, his expression resolute and determined.
Then, his thoughts drifted away, his gaze unfocused as he let out a silly chuckle.
Thirty Murphy Stones, a regional broadcast, reputation value, and extra rewards...
This fortuitous encounter was worth it!
It had been worth the month he'd spent planning for the Underwater Labyrinth Adventure!
It was all worth it!
As he made his choice, the several light screens floating in the palace's interior slowly dissipated, merging into a single screen.
"The train captain of the Azure Dragon has successfully selected an S-Rank Difficulty maze."
"No suitable trains for descent have been found in the corresponding train search."
"A one-time special item, the 'Consciousness Transmitter,' has been issued."
"When a suitable train for descent is found, the consciousness transmitter will emit a piercing alarm and flash red. Pressing the button on the consciousness transmitter within one hour will transfer your consciousness into a robot body, regardless of your location, officially initiating the S-Rank Difficulty maze."
Immediately, several beams of light materialized in the air, slowly coalescing into a solid form. A device resembling a walkie-talkie tumbled from the sky and landed on the ground.
"Fuck!?"
Seeing this, the bald man rushed forward, swiftly picking up the consciousness transmitter from the ground. He anxiously examined it several times, muttering, "Be gentle, don't break it. This is my golden opportunity!"
(End of the Chapter)
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