The rest could be left to the train.
With the Stellar Train's level 9 armor, it could sit quietly here at night without any monster being able to breach the defenses of the Stellar Armor.
The level 3 iron ore mine had been fully excavated, yielding 3.2 million units of iron ore.
This particular level 3 mine had been quite abundant.
The train was also fully repaired and ready.
By now, the Token of Civilization could be used again. Sitting in the train compartment, Chen Mang activated the Train Token in his hand, and the familiar massive portal immediately materialized before him.
He pushed the control lever, slowly piloting the Stellar Train into the portal.
That wondrous space filled with all kinds of resources—now he could return to mine once more!
This time, his target was a level 2 copper mine.
While the Zombie Basin had plenty of iron ore, copper was scarcer. He needed more copper to produce additional robots and replenish ammunition.
Before entering, he contacted Er Dan to check if his iron ore supply was still sufficient. The reply was that he had more than enough, so there were no concerns. After all, Chen Mang would be out of contact for the next 48 hours.
He didn't want to emerge after two days only to find his highly anticipated Traveling Frog Train stranded in some forgotten corner.
As the train fully passed through the portal, the gateway closed behind it.
The Stellar Train reappeared in this familiar space. Without hesitation, it headed straight for the coordinates recorded during the last visit, where two level 2 copper mines were located. Pushing speed to the limit, it took roughly ten minutes to arrive.
The moment the train came to a stop,
Doba and the others had already led all the residents out.
Originally, the train had over 3,000 residents. Adding the 1,500 taken from the other two trains and the 700 from Er Dan's train, there were now 5,000 residents dedicated solely to mining!
Another four hundred or so were assigned to various other roles.
The Stellar had now become a colossal entity. If this were some cultivation world where merit and virtue mattered, saving so many survivors would have earned him enough virtue to at least warrant a heavenly decree, if not instant enlightenment.
There were no monsters here.
Biao Zi and the others, along with the 40 robots, immediately began digging into the ground, hoping to uncover something valuable like last time.
These robots were combat models—he had already tested and confirmed they couldn't be used for mining.
But if there were combat robots, there had to be mining robots. One day, his mining efficiency would skyrocket!
Truth be told, his current mining efficiency was already quite high. What limited his progress wasn't speed but the scarcity of available mines.
Seated in the train compartment, Chen Mang gazed out the window at the bustling scene outside and nodded in satisfaction. Then, he began taking stock of his recent gains—the refrigerator was packed full. He had hunted quite a few level 9 monsters, after all.
Miscellaneous materials like
, totaling 370,000 units.
1 level 3 Iron Ore Refresh Coupon.
Chen Mang raised an eyebrow. He didn't recall killing any spider-type monsters. Well, it didn't matter—he couldn't remember clearly anyway. He'd slain so many creatures that keeping track was impossible.
All he remembered was charging in and out seven times, slaughtering nonstop.
He'd also killed quite a few Level 9 monsters.
His haul was nearly enough to fill an entire refrigerator. The "Corpse Meat" could also be exchanged for Merit Points at the "Military Factory," but he'd been stockpiling it instead. Combined with his previous reserves, he now had over 2 million units of Corpse Meat.
This stuff was the primary upgrade material for Flesh Trains, equivalent in value to Iron Ore.
This crisis was essentially a feast for Flesh Trains. For Mechanical Trains, it was like raining Iron Ore—assuming, of course, you survived long enough to enjoy it.
A thought crossed his mind.
Perhaps one day, he could build a Flesh Train and assign it to one of his Train Crew, making it a subsidiary of the Stellar Train!
Just an idea for now, though. He hadn't decided whether to pursue it, but hoarding resources never hurt.
He had a bit of a collecting habit.
Four more Murphy Stones had been added to his stash, bringing the total on the train to 18. The Giant Zombie King he'd slain had dropped 15 of them.
The Rare Train Token had already been given to Er Dan.
As for the 17 regular Train Tokens, he'd tossed them into the refrigerator.
They weren't easy to sell.
Not many people bought these things.
He'd save the Level 3 Iron Ore Refresh Coupon for when he couldn't find any mines. No rush to use it now—certainly not inside the "Goblin Tomb." As for the "Hell Sunglasses," they were a Special Item.
The design was quite stylish, with a strong aesthetic.
Their effect was a slight boost to the wearer's Physical Fitness Index.
A neat little gadget.
He'd hand them to Biao Zi later, to help him operate the "Thunder" mech faster.
Despite the generous loot drops from these monsters, not a single Accessory Blueprint had appeared. No idea why.
Chen Mang didn't dwell on it.
The spoils from the "Zombie Volcano" had been fully tallied. Now came the digestion phase. Once he'd absorbed most of the gains, he could upgrade the train to Level 8 and advance toward higher-tier zones!
If a train had been thriving since the apocalypse began, after a year and a half, it'd probably be around Level 17 or 18. That meant he'd soon catch up to the frontrunners. Once he reached the purple or even red zones...
There was a good chance he'd be the only train there.
Every mine and Serendipity Map would be his for the taking.
But realistically, that probably wouldn't happen. Many train leaders were stubborn, focusing solely on leveling up their trains while ignoring Accessory Levels. Combat power? Irrelevant!
And trains like Er Dan's—compact and efficient—required fewer resources to upgrade. But they had to sacrifice many accessories, weakening their combat strength, and needed external support to survive.
Without backup, those lean trains would perish within days.
Outside the train, everyone was busy.
Chen Mang turned his attention to the requirements for upgrading to Level 8.
"Upgrade Requirements": All mandatory vehicle components must be crafted, consuming 100,000 units of Level 2 Iron Ore, with all accessory levels in the carriage exceeding 160, and possessing five Supermodel Effects.
He met all the conditions.
The train currently held 3.55 million units of Iron Ore.
After consuming 1 million units of Iron Ore, the train successfully upgraded to Level 8!
A few lines of text slowly appeared on the control panel screen.
"Your train has reached Level 8."
"More craftable components are now unlocked."
This time, there was still only one craftable component available. The most noticeable improvement from Level 7 to Level 8 was the increase in the train's base speed. In the "Power Value Ranking," the train's base score would rise, and there was an additional craftable component of purple grade.
These upgrades costing 1 million units of Iron Ore were clearly a terrible deal in terms of value.
The train's combat strength didn't depend on its level—only on the effects and levels of its components. Train levels merely allowed access to higher-tier areas, offering more resources and opportunities to obtain advanced blueprints.
And each train upgrade added one new feature.
Beyond that, upgrading the train served no other purpose.
However, upgrading to Levels 7, 8, and 9 didn't add any new features. Only at Level 10 would another new function be unlocked.
Level 10 was a major hurdle.
"Vitality Aroma": A special purple-grade component requiring 10,000 units of Wood to craft.
Chen Mang froze for a moment as he looked at this component. Was this the reason that Level 9 train had collected so much wood?
But purple-grade components could only be upgraded to Level 10 at most.
Reaching Level 10 would require just over 500,000 units of wood—why collect so much?
Without hesitation, he immediately spent 550,000 units of wood to craft it, upgraded it to Level 10, and installed it in Carriage No. 11.
The Zombie Basin had no "lumberyards."
There were scattered trees that could be chopped down, but no concentrated lumberyards—at least, he hadn't seen any. Maybe they were hidden in some corner.
The effect of this component was to alleviate fatigue within a certain range and continuously restore stamina.
As the faint fragrance drifted into the nearby crowd of residents, many of their eyes lit up. It felt like inhaling mint—refreshing and cool, their previously sore arms regaining strength, making them more vigorous in their mining efforts.
This component could significantly improve the residents' mining efficiency.
"Vitality Aroma Level 5 Supermodel Effect": Relaxes the mind, making people calmer under pressure.
"Vitality Aroma Level 10 Supermodel Effect": None.
A pretty good purple-grade component.
These two Level 2 Copper Mines were nearly exhausted in less than 24 hours, and they could move on to other mines.
With 5,000 residents now, mining efficiency was much higher than before.
They could only stay here for 48 hours.
Clearly, there was no time to rest.
But with "Vitality Aroma," along with special stamina-restoring items like "Cola" and "Tea" that kept the mind sharp, even 48 hours without sleep wouldn't feel overly exhausting.
Chen Mang stretched lazily, leaning back in his chair with ease. There was nothing left for him to do now—his work was complete.
Casually, he remarked, "How's that movie by Zhang Yiren coming along? Tell him to bring his film crew to see me."
In the three days leading up to their entry into the Goblin Tomb, while the residents were mining the Level 3 Iron Ore, Zhang Yiren had been busy filming with his crew. Rumor had it he'd even recruited a few extras from among the residents.
They shot it using the Mechanical Eye.
The results were probably decent.
Mining the Level 3 Iron Ore took about two days. On the third day, everyone rested—partly to prepare for the upcoming 48-hour work shift, and partly to wait out the cooldown period of the Token of Civilization.
Zhang Yiren pushed open the door to the Train compartment cautiously, his film crew trailing behind him nervously. Peering at Lord Mang lounging in his chair, he whispered, "Lord Mang... you asked for me?"
Chen Mang gestured idly toward the nearby movie screen. "How's the film? Let's see it."
His anger toward Zhang Yiren had mostly faded.
Sure, the guy's earlier trashy films had annoyed him, but it was also thanks to Zhang Yiren that he'd detected this crisis in advance. That counted as a major contribution.
If the disaster had erupted without warning, there wouldn't have been enough time to mobilize the Iron Ore operations. Without Level 9 Armor, the Stellar Train would've inevitably suffered casualties.
So, credit where it was due.
Though, in this case, the credit and the blunder canceled each other out.
Zhang Yiren quickly spoke into his walkie-talkie in a hushed tone, "Director Ai, project the film I shot these past few days onto the largest screen in the Train compartment for Lord Mang."
Chen Mang reclined in his chair, lit a cigar, and settled in with pleasant anticipation to enjoy the new film. The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the NoveI-Fire.ɴet
The movie began with the same premise as before—a young couple appeared on screen.
The female lead was blind. The male lead d his corneas and prepared to leave quietly.
The actors were different now, but the plot remained largely unchanged.
Just as the male lead was about to slip away—
The female lead, lying on the operating table, suddenly shed a tear. Her eyes fluttered open as she whispered, trembling, "I'm sorry... I'm actually from another world. I have a system. My mission was to get you to agree to 99 requests—then I could return to my original world and revive my lover."
"Asking for your corneas... was the final task."
"I never thought you'd say yes."
"It's fine," the male lead shook his head. "I'm a transmigrator too. My system's mission was to fulfill 99 requests for you. If I succeeded, I'd become a sage when I returned."
At this point, the scene shifted—
The male lead returned to his original world as a blind sage, cutting a bloody swath through his enemies. Yet, in the quiet of night, his thoughts often drifted back to that girl.
The film ended—short, just five minutes long.
After the screening, the Train compartment fell into silence.
A long moment passed.
Finally, Zhang Yiren, still nervous, ventured cautiously, "So... Lord Mang, what do you think? This microfilm blends demons, systems, transmigration, pure love, violence, gore—all the trending elements."
urned his head expressionlessly toward Zhang Yiren, remaining silent for a long while before speaking calmly.
"Have you ever seen a blind saint?"
"It's fine, it's fine. There's another version."
Zhang Yiren hastily spoke into the walkie-talkie again: "Play the second version I filmed too. Let Lord Mang see it."
The screen lit up again, showing that familiar opening.
The familiar hospital, the familiar hospital bed, the familiar actors, the familiar plot.
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