Sitting in the cockpit of the Executioner mech, Biao Zi gazed at the scene before him, his breathing gradually becoming more rapid. Despite having faced numerous life-and-death situations, he couldn't help but feel a layer of cold sweat forming uncontrollably on his back.
This place practically had the word "danger" written all over it.
Biao Zi took a deep breath, suppressing the chaotic thoughts in his mind, and was the first to step into the exposed elevator shaft in front of him. The rest of the team followed closely behind.
The elevator shaft was spacious, easily accommodating three mechs and eight team members.
It could even fit an entire Train car.
He turned to look at Zhang Yi and Zhang Er in the two mechs behind him. As newcomers, they probably hadn't been to such a dangerous place on their previous Train. He needed to reassure them beforehand.
Otherwise, when danger struck, they might panic, not only risking their own lives but also disrupting the team's offensive rhythm.
Just as he was about to offer some words of comfort, he saw through the gaps in the mechs that these two were... eating roujiamo?!
They brought roujiamo into the mechs?!
Moreover, they didn't look the least bit scared. Instead, they were eagerly inspecting their surroundings while enjoying their roujiamo with relish.
Biao Zi expressionlessly withdrew his gaze, swallowing the words he was about to say. Well, Zhang Da Mei had once told him that although her two brothers were incredibly strong, they were a bit... simple-minded.
Now it seemed that was indeed the case.
He just hoped they wouldn't wet their pants when danger came.
The Stellar Train was different from other Trains. As its Guardians, they would inevitably venture into more dangerous places. Unlike the Guardians of other Trains, this was their mission.
Other Trains didn't have the capability to go to such places.
Once everyone had entered the elevator, Biao Zi pressed the red button on the control panel. The elevator immediately began its rapid descent.
Unlike elevators in office buildings, this one had no numbers or floor selections on its control panel. It seemed this elevator would only stop at one place, leaving no room for choices.
Information from Director Ai kept coming through the Iris Chip in front of him.
「70 meters to the first monster.」
The updates from Director Ai slightly eased his tension. With Director Ai here, it was like having a full map hack—he could know the locations of all enemies.
The elevator suddenly stopped descending, and the doors slowly opened. Biao Zi, already in the lead, roared and swung his axe forward the moment the doors opened, smashing an oncoming monster into pulp!
What greeted his eyes was a pristine white corridor. The ceiling was embedded with two rows of brightly glowing Incandescent Lamps and numerous cameras, as well as... heavy machine guns in the corners, similar to the Internal Fire Control System on the Train.
The walls were covered in dried blood, turning the once spotless corridor into a scene of horror.
Biao Zi stepped out of the elevator and crouched down to inspect the unknown monster he had just smashed. It looked like... a monkey?
Information from Director Ai quickly came through the Iris Chip again.
「No data on this monster in the database. Based on the combat footage, its strength is slightly below a Level 2 monster.」
「Turn left at the end of the corridor. There are seven red dots in the laboratory. Be careful.」
A glint of killing intent flashed in Biao Zi's eyes. He hefted the axe in his mech's hands and continued deeper into the corridor. The corridor was a staggering ten meters high and ten meters wide, easily accommodating his mech.
It was the tallest corridor he had ever seen.
Was it really necessary to design a laboratory corridor in a military base this tall?
Just then, he suddenly thought of something and turned around. Sure enough, Zhang Yi behind him had opened the refrigerator in his arms and was about to stuff the monster he had just killed into it.
Biao Zi immediately said coldly, "Don't pack that. I'll tell you what to pack."
Zhang Yi awkwardly retracted his mech's right hand, letting the monster's corpse fall freely to the ground before closing the refrigerator and strapping it back onto his back. He felt a bit regretful, though.
With so much space in the refrigerator, it was a shame not to fill it.
And that monster corpse could have been useful.
The Train had several Zombies in it, and the monster corpse could have been used to feed them. As he learned more about the Stellar Train these days, his admiration for Lord Mang grew.
The Zombies that struck fear into countless Trains—Lord Mang had actually captured a few alive and kept them on the Train.
As teaching materials for the children.
Lord Mang was truly impressive.
Zhang Yi then quickly caught up with Biao Zi, gripping his axe with both hands, ready to attack at any moment!
Biao Zi walked to the end of the corridor. There were no forks ahead, only a left turn.
On the left side of the corridor was a laboratory. The wall had a large glass window, smeared with dried blood. Inside the laboratory were various instruments he didn't recognize.
A dozen or so monkeys were sleeping inside.
Hearing the commotion, they immediately bared their teeth and pounced on the glass, letting out fierce roars and pounding on the glass.
The glass was of high quality and had excellent soundproofing.
「Lord Mang's order: Take all the instruments from the laboratory.」
After glancing at Lord Mang's command on the Iris Chip, Biao Zi took a step back, took a deep breath, and swung his giant axe with full force, smashing it into the glass.
The glass shattered instantly.
The dozen or so monkeys, baring their teeth, charged out at incredible speed!
Zhang Yi and Zhang Er, standing behind, immediately rushed forward!
The axes swung relentlessly, and any hit meant instant death, with no injuries.
Meanwhile, the other team members aimed their Gatling Guns at the monsters and opened fire. Hundreds of bullets instantly enveloped both the mechs and the monsters.
In the blink of an eye, the area was cleared.
The bullets were only Level 3, unable to penetrate the mechs' armor, but they were deadly accurate against these monsters.
The "Surge Gatling" was an energy weapon.
Energy weapons had many advantages, such as being almost silent, requiring less ammunition, and having much lower recoil and weight compared to gunpowder weapons.
But the biggest advantage was that their "Surge Gatling" was Level 10, each embedded with a Level 3 Energy Stone. This meant they could fire bullets ranging from Level 1 to Level 6, allowing them to choose freely.
Against high-level monsters, they could use high-level bullets; against low-level monsters, low-level bullets.
Resource consumption was minimal.
Unlike the "Soaring Dragon Assault Rifle," which, if loaded entirely with Level 6 bullets, would waste resources when facing Level 3 monsters.
Energy weapons had almost no drawbacks.
The only downside was that Energy Stones were made from Iron Ore, and Iron Ore was the most crucial material for Train upgrades—and it was scarce.
The battle ended quickly.
Biao Zi glanced back at the two, somewhat concerned, and reminded them, "These experimental instruments are very delicate. Be careful when packing them, and pay attention to Director Ai's instructions. Don't be careless."
But soon, he realized his worry was unnecessary.
The mech's hands were large, making it difficult to perform precise actions. For tasks like threading a needle, the "Fourth Hand" needed to be activated.
The mech's mechanical arm had four hands, usually stacked together.
For delicate tasks, the outer three hands could be retracted like peeling an onion, revealing a soft mechanical hand roughly the size of a human hand, allowing one to perform tasks like threading a needle without leaving the mech.
Being a mechanical arm, it wasn't as flexible as using one's own hand.
He had practiced for a long time to barely master the third hand, and he still couldn't fully control the fourth hand. Yet, these two big, seemingly simple-minded guys were skillfully using the fourth hand, flawlessly packing all the instruments into the refrigerator on their shoulders.
The entire process was smooth and perfect, like a robot.
Biao Zi looked at this scene expressionlessly, remaining silent for a long time. He couldn't accept it—why were these two simpletons better at controlling the mech than he was? And these two were really experienced at collecting supplies!
Most importantly, they loved it!
These two didn't care whether the things they collected were useful or not, or whether they could use them themselves. Even if it was garbage, as long as they could stuff it into their refrigerator, they were happy.
That kind of genuine happiness.
Was it because their minds were simple, thinking less, that they could control the mech better?
He suddenly felt a deep sense of loss.
Despite all his hard work and effort, when faced with these natural talents, he couldn't compare. He took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and secretly vowed that after this mission.
He would go back and conquer the extreme mission on the "Dragon Fortress" map!
He would also train in the map designed by Li Shiji to improve mental strength!
If talent couldn't be matched, then effort would have to make up for it.
All his life, he had believed in one thing: hard work pays off. Luck wouldn't betray anyone willing to put in the effort.
Big Biao Zi, you can do it!
Another message from Director Ai came through the Iris Chip.
「What are you getting fired up about?」
「Stop daydreaming and keep moving.」
Biao Zi, feeling a bit embarrassed, quickly cut off his wandering thoughts. He had forgotten they were still in the Hive Mind. By now, all the instruments in the laboratory had been collected, and he had just stepped out into the corridor.
Another message from Director Ai came through the Iris Chip.
「320 red dots are rapidly approaching your location in the underground base. Estimated arrival in 78 seconds.」
「Prepare for battle.」
「Lord Mang's order: Bring back some monster corpses.」
Biao Zi immediately calmed down, holding his giant axe and standing ready, staring at the empty end of the corridor. The countdown from Director Ai echoed in his ears. When it reached one.
Piercing roars erupted from the end of the corridor.
Countless monsters appeared at the end, rushing toward them along the ground, walls, and ceiling!
Biao Zi roared, leading the charge with his axe!
The scene in the underground military base was projected onto the screen in Guard Car No. 7. The remaining members of the second team, who had stayed in the car, were watching the battle footage of the first team.
Meanwhile, the third team had gone to the Resident cars to maintain order.
Some of the 1,900 new Survivors who had joined the Train were causing trouble, and the third team was sent to suppress them.
Teacher Qiu led the students in watching the live battle footage on the classroom screen.
"See that?" Teacher Qiu looked at the nervous children. "The reason you can live comfortably on the Stellar, with food and clothing, is because someone is out there fighting for you, carrying the burden for you."
"When you grow up, you can join them too."
A monster, having navigated through the hail of bullets, broke through the mech line, its mouth wide open, revealing sharp teeth as it leaped into the air, charging toward a team member at the back of the formation!
The children in the classroom couldn't help but cover their mouths in fear, some even too scared to watch.
The team member, unable to turn his gun in time, leaned back sharply, his body almost touching the ground like an arch, dodging the monster's attack. Then he quickly stood up, pulled out a Train Blade Fragment from his chest, and plunged it into the monster's chest as it fell to the ground.
The entire sequence was fluid.
As if he had practiced it a thousand times.
The classroom erupted in cheers and excitement.
"That uncle is so cool!"
"Did Uncle know kung fu before the apocalypse?"
Teacher Qiu looked at the team member on the screen, her tense heart finally easing a bit as she saw him kill the monster. Her eyes sparkled with admiration. "That uncle is called Zhang Qi, a veteran member of the first team. He's very skilled."
She knew the names of all the team members—Train Conductor Zhu had told her.
She hadn't known Zhang Qi was this good before.
"Scared the hell out of me."
Zhang Qi, pulling the Train Blade Fragment from the monster's body, couldn't help but curse under his breath.
Luckily, he had been training hard with Biao Ge in the Combat Training Virtual Space, or he might have been done for here.
But there was no time to dwell on it.
He quickly refocused, aiming his Gatling Gun at the endless stream of monsters charging down the corridor, and opened fire again!