Translator: AnubisTL
The cigarette burned to ash.
Chen Mang tapped his cane lightly with his fingertip, and the "Groundburst Missile" slowly retracted into the open-air Carriage under the control of the elevator. From the outside, it looked like an ordinary carriage, even without armor.
He strode back into the locomotive cabin.
This carriage definitely needed armor. It would become his 14th official carriage. The carriage that had housed the maze would be devoured by the Geothermal Core Furnace once Li Shiji finished dismantling the maze.
Sitting in the locomotive cabin, Chen Mang gazed at the "Groundburst Missile's" data on the screen.
Currently at Tier 1, it couldn't harm Tier 2 monsters.
This was one of the fundamental rules of this apocalyptic world: a lower Tier couldn't damage a higher Tier. But if he upgraded it to Tier 6, he wondered what would happen if he fired one into the Kunlun Mountain Region.
The Tier of all firepower accessories only determined whether they could penetrate the defenses of higher-Tier monsters. Their actual power depended on their grade and Tier.
As firepower accessories level up, their power generally increases accordingly.
For example, the Vehicle Blade, Rapid-Fire Ballista, and 40-Tube Cherry Blossom Fall Rocket Launcher all gain power with each tier.
Even the Third-Rate Heavy Machine Gun follows this pattern. While upgrading the machine gun itself only improves its firing rate and range without increasing its power, upgrading its corresponding Heavy Machine Gun Bullet Production Line allows it to produce more powerful, higher-tier bullets.
At the same tier, a higher-grade firepower accessory will always deal more damage.
For instance, if both the Vehicle Blade and Groundburst Missile are Tier 10, the latter's power will far surpass the former's.
For example—
A Tier 10 Vehicle Blade, according to the world's fundamental rules, can break through the defenses of a Tier 10 Boss and inflict damage.
But!
It only breaks through defenses. The actual damage dealt depends on the accessory's power. Facing a Tier 10 Boss, it might barely tickle.
"Whew."
Chen Mang took a deep breath. The most crucial aspect of the Groundburst Missile was that, despite being a ground-to-ground missile, it could be launched remotely with pinpoint accuracy as long as the enemy's coordinates were known.
Moreover, its remote launch range was twenty times that of his target acquisition radar.
His radar currently had a range of 10,000 meters, meaning he could send this missile to strike an enemy up to 200,000 meters away.
He had only needed one unit of iron ore to craft this missile, thanks to the benefits of his job advancement quest.
Normally, producing a Tier 1 Groundburst Missile would require 10,000 units of copper ore.
He checked the upgrade cost.
Upgrading this accessory to Tier 2 would consume 50,000 units of iron ore—the most expensive upgrade he had ever seen. Even for other Red-Tier Accessories like the Wheel Changer and Geothermal Core Furnace, the early-stage upgrade costs were significantly lower.
First, let's go mining!
By this point, Li Shiji had cleared the entire maze. The carriage that hadn't been dismantled remained temporarily attached to the train.
To upgrade to a Tier 4 Train, he needed 18 carriages. He didn't have enough, so he'd have to craft a few more ordinary carriages later to make up the difference. For now, he dismantled some carriages and fed them to the Geothermal Core Furnace. He'd have to craft another one later.
This round trip cost him 50 units of iron ore.
It wasn't much, but that wasn't how he should live. He needed to save where he could and spend wisely.
Chen Mang slowly pushed the control lever forward. With a sudden roar of gears grinding and the engine roaring to life, the train began to accelerate slowly, heading deeper into the Sha River Plains!
First, he'd find a few Tier 2 Iron Ore deposits. Then, he'd successfully upgrade the Stellaris to Tier 4. Only after reaching Tier 4 would the effects of his mechanical train class change truly manifest. After that, he'd upgrade the Groundburst Missile and the open-air Carriage.
He currently had just over 250,000 units of iron ore left.
He still had plenty of copper ore, a full 710,000 units.
Within half an hour...
Chen Mang's expression gradually darkened. The High-Grade Ore in the Green Zone was indeed slightly richer. He'd already encountered three Tier 2 Iron Ore deposits along the way, two of which were located 1,000 meters deep underground.
But...
All three iron ore deposits were already claimed.
Trains had already begun excavating beside them, even the two deep underground deposits.
In the White Zone, Chen Mang's train was the only one equipped with the "Drill" accessory, making all the iron ore deposits in the zone his for the taking. No one competed with him. But when he reached the Green Zone, many people headed to the Kunlun Mountain Region to hunt pangolins, hoping to obtain the "Drill" accessory themselves.
This led to a bustling atmosphere even deep underground.
Finally, after another 20 minutes of travel...
"Whew," Chen Mang exhaled deeply. He had finally spotted two Tier 2 Iron Ore deposits side by side 5,000 meters deep underground. His furrowed brow relaxed. His luck hadn't been too bad.
Upgrading his Tier 4 Train required 100,000 units of iron ore.
He currently had that much stored in his train, but he hesitated to use it all. He needed to keep some in reserve for emergencies, such as "Food," or for crafting "Mechanical Nanospiders" to repair damaged combat accessories, or for producing energy stones.
It's like how a resident's spending power doesn't depend on their current savings but on their expectations of future income.
Only when he was stationed near the two Tier 2 Iron Ore deposits and began mining would he have the confidence to consume the iron ore stored in the train.
Without hesitation, he immediately acted.
A massive drill slowly extended from the locomotive and began spinning at high speed, like the Pangolin Martial Soul descending. It quickly bored a short, temporary tunnel, and the train plunged rapidly into the depths of the earth.
Its target was the two Tier 2 Iron Ore deposits.
Just then—
"Hmm?"
Chen Mang frowned slightly. His target acquisition radar showed a Tier 4 Train over 9,000 meters away, also heading underground toward the same two iron ore deposits. It was moving slowly, much slower than his own train.
His train could reach speeds of 170 kilometers per hour underground.
The other train's speed was only slightly over 60 kilometers per hour.
He glanced at the control panel screen displaying the detailed accessory tier information for the other train on the target acquisition radar.
"Unknown Tier 4 Mechanical Train, 19 carriages total."
"Detailed accessory information and Tiers: green-grade Tier 3 steel armor covering all carriages; yellow-grade Energy Shield Tier 2 covering all carriages; blue-grade Hell Cannons Tier 5 x6."
It was almost as if the target acquisition radar was about to display the train's underwear color.
This was the overpowered effect of his Tier 10 target acquisition radar.
When a train appeared within the radar's range, it would clearly display the train's accessories and their tiers on the control panel screen.
"..."
Chen Mang glanced at the information on the screen, his expression unchanged. He pushed the control lever forward again, showing no intention of backing down. In fact, he subtly increased his speed. He and the Tier 4 train were racing toward the two iron ore deposits deep underground from different directions.
His speed was faster.
A few minutes later, he arrived first at the two Tier 2 iron ore deposits within the cavern. Only then did he let out a long sigh of relief. "Not bad. Speed is everything in the wasteland. First come, first served."
Just then!
His train radio crackled faintly, and a red light flashed on the screen.
In the 'nearby train' channel:"Get lost!"
"..."
After seeing this message, Chen Mang, who had been about to grab his walkie-talkie to assign a mission to Old Pig, suddenly chuckled. He glanced at the red dot on his target acquisition radar, 3,000 meters away and slowly moving deep underground.
It seemed the other train's target acquisition radar range was only 3,000 meters.
Without hesitation, Chen Mang pushed the control stick forward again, driving his train straight toward the approaching train deep underground.
He slowed his speed to the minimum.
"What's this guy trying to pull?"
Deep underground, inside a Tier 4 Train, the man's expression darkened as he stared at the red dot rapidly closing in on his train on the target acquisition radar. "I told him to get lost. Is he trying to pick a fight with me?"
"A Tier 3 Train? What right does he have to challenge me?"
Those two Tier 2 Iron Ore deposits were never meant for a Tier 3 Train to claim. He had every right to tell the other train to back off, even if he didn't understand how it could maintain such high speed underground.
But...
A flicker of cruelty flashed in the man's eyes as he watched the red dot rapidly closing in on him on the screen. Suddenly, he laughed. "Remember this: on the Sha River Plains, the weak are meant to be utterly humiliated!"
"Losing your temper will only lead to your death."
Then, a pale blue energy shield swiftly enveloped the entire train. Within the shield, six Hell Cannons mounted on the carriage roof began to rotate slowly, preparing to unleash a devastating and terrifying attack at any moment.
The red dot was getting closer and closer!
In the next instant, the soil in front of the train suddenly loosened. Countless fragments of rock and earth became visible as a train with a high-speed drill emerged before them. The man sneered and charged forward. "Just as I thought, not even your energy shield..."
But then—
BOOM!!!
The moment the two trains collided deep underground, a look of utter horror flashed in the man's eyes. He shot up from his chair. The instant their high-speed drills met, his drill shattered instantly!
And the energy shield covering his entire train, which had been on the verge of collapse, was now covered in cracks the moment it made contact with the other drill.
Impossible!
His Tier 3 armor and Tier 2 energy shield provided a total of Tier 5 Defense. Yet why did the enemy's drill cause his defenses to crack the instant they made contact?
But there was no time to dwell on such questions.
The six Tier 5 "Hellfire Machine Guns" mounted on the carriage roof began to rotate. As the train's copper ore reserves dwindled, countless cannonballs with fiery red trails completely engulfed the enemy train!
Three seconds later.
The man stared expectantly at the smoke-filled tunnel ahead. Surely the train had been destroyed by now?
But then!
He saw the energy shield, now covered in cracks, shatter completely. The enemy train, almost unscathed, emerged from the smoke and shot straight toward him. In his final moment of consciousness, he saw the locomotive's armor crumble almost instantly under the high-speed drill. Then, a shower of armor fragments erupted toward his chest.
The man slumped in his control seat, gazing down at the armor shard that had pierced his chest. His eyes gradually glazed over as his consciousness faded into oblivion.
If...
If only...
But there were no ifs.
"Boom!!"
Under the roar of the engine, Chen Mang pushed the control stick almost all the way forward, burying the drill completely into the locomotive. Only then did he maneuver the train backward a short distance, casually lighting a cigarette and tossing it into his mouth before grabbing the walkie-talkie.
"Cluster Mind activated."
"Biaozi, take your men and evacuate all survivors from that train, along with any salvageable accessories and items."
"Understood."
Soon after, thirty guards in black combat suits, led by Biaozi and armed with Soaring Dragon assault rifles, quickly jumped off the train and sprinted toward the locomotive ahead in the tunnel. They then poured into the completely wrecked locomotive!
Moments later, Biaozi's men's shouts echoed faintly from within the train.
"Don't move! Hands on your heads!"
Twenty minutes later, Biaozi returned, mission accomplished. He brought back 400 survivors and a mountain of supplies, which were temporarily stored in a refrigerator. The train had no salvageable accessories, and everything that could be taken had already been removed.
All that remained was an empty shell of a train.
Normally,
On this train, after the train conductor was killed, no one—neither the thugs nor the slaves—would resist. In the apocalypse, everyone was just sticking together to survive. Who would be truly loyal to the train conductor?
Now that the train conductor was dead, what was the point of resisting? They could just switch trains and keep living.
Besides, the train that had crushed their original one was clearly stronger and safer.
But...
Nothing in this world was absolute. What if the train conductor had a relative or child seeking revenge? That would be extremely dangerous. So Biaozi and his crew were extremely cautious, fearing an unexpected mishap during their search that could lead to their downfall.
All the survivors were temporarily detained in two refrigerators.
Only after they had been thoroughly screened and confirmed to have no connection to the train conductor's family would the next steps be taken.
Once Biaozi and his crew had all boarded the train...
Chen Mang pushed the control lever again, retracting the drill. He temporarily spent 11,000 units of iron ore to upgrade the Geothermal Core Furnace to Tier 4 and activate it. The train slowly advanced, opening its massive maw of interlocking gears.
As the train moved forward, the battle-damaged Tier 4 Train's body gradually shortened. The grating sound of gears grinding against armor echoed through the tunnel. A minute later, only the Stellaris remained visible.
Chen Mang immediately switched back to the drill.
He reversed the control lever, sending the drill toward the side of the tunnel to prepare for a circular path back to the two Tier 2 Iron Ore deposits. This time, the world was quiet.
The control panel screen displayed:
After devouring the Tier 4 Train, a total of 70,000 units of iron ore were harvested.
"Not bad," Chen Mang said with a satisfied smile. The drill shattered the rock ahead, and the train entered the cavern again, slowing to a stop beside the two Tier 2 Iron Ore deposits.
(End of the Chapter)
📖Read [MAT] ahead on Pa.treon@AnubisTL upto c210. [+8/+19.1k]
🎁All [2] Novels can be accessed for just $6/mo.
🔥Translated [600] Chapters and [1.05M+] Words.
🔔 Become a member before 8 August to enjoy 50% off. Just $3.