The Stellar Train was in a state of reorganization, sorting out the gains from recent days and giving its residents a day of rest. Chapters first released on novel⁂fire.net
Apart from the group of residents mining inside the Space Gate of Carriage No. 2, everyone else was basically occupied with their own affairs.
With the train's reforms, the original four resident carriages—Nos. 8, 9, 10, and 11—had been condensed into just two: Nos. 8 and 9.
Carriage No. 11 now housed a standalone Space Gate, within which resided an entire civilization—the Goblin civilization.
Doba was the first on the train to purchase a house. After buying it, he moved all the goblins into his residence, establishing his own palace. Aside from this Space Gate, Carriage No. 11 also housed a "Resident Store."
Normally, residents would come to Carriage No. 11 to purchase goods, as it was the only store on the Stellar Train. However, it was worth noting that the number of store clerks had increased from one to twenty-four.
Divided into groups of eight, they worked in three shifts around the clock.
The Resident Store had also expanded from a single refrigerator to four, each categorized by product type.
Each refrigerator covered 100 square meters, meaning the four together occupied 400 square meters. At this point, it could hardly be called a "store" anymore—if this continued, it might as well be renamed a "resident supermarket."
Each group of eight clerks managed the four refrigerators, meaning two people were assigned to each refrigerator within a store.
Carriage No. 12 originally housed eight "Repeating Ballistas," but these had since been dismantled. The carriage was now temporarily used to place the receiving end of the "Cosmic Receiver." Meanwhile, Carriage No. 13 held four "40-Tube Cherry Blossom Rocket Launchers."
This once-formidable weapon had been overshadowed first by the "Ground Burst Missile" and later by the "Doomsday Cannon."
In terms of sheer power, it couldn't compete with the Ground Burst Missile.
In terms of cost-effectiveness, it also fell short of the Doomsday Cannon.
Only under specific conditions would this firepower module prove its worth—such as serving as supplementary firepower.
Carriage No. 14 housed the "Ground Burst Missile," the Stellar Train's ultimate trump card.
Carriage No. 15 was Uncle Li's "Breeding Carriage."
Carriage No. 7 was the Guard Carriage.
Carriage No. 6 housed male high-level talents.
Carriage No. 5 housed female high-level talents.
Carriage No. 4 was the Living Carriage, containing production lines and storage for daily necessities such as the "Moldy Bread Slice Production Line" and the "Red Heart Nut Production Line."
Carriage No. 3 was the Storage Carriage, where collected resources and mined iron ore were stockpiled in refrigerators.
Carriage No. 2 was the Research Center, housing large-scale production lines like the "Off-Road Motorcycle" production line. The Armor Research Center was also located here, and Xiao Ai spent most of his time in this carriage.
This was the overall structure of the Stellar Train—simple and clear.
As for the now-vacant Carriage No. 10, which had originally been a resident carriage, it currently served no purpose. Thus, Chen Mang repurposed it into an "Entertainment Carriage." For now, it only contained two Space Gates.
One Space Gate was meant to store entertainment equipment—though, in theory, it was currently empty, as no equipment had been prepared yet.
The other Space Gate was specifically designed for Zhang Yiren—a "Film and Television Base."
"Come on, remember to pose properly, imagine you're really flying."
Inside Carriage No. 10, the "Film and Television Base," Zhang Yiren, holding the Mechanical Eye, shouted at a resident flying in the distance: "Hold it, keep holding it!"
The train had a yellow-grade accessory called "Holographic Projection."
This accessory was rarely used, capable of creating completely realistic virtual environments, like the animation resembling the Mechanical City. Currently, it was being used to film a movie.
Inside the Film and Television Base, a girl was suspended in the air by a large drone, dressed in a long gown, riding a sword in flight, her eyes filled with anger as she stared ahead, all against the backdrop created by the "Holographic Projection."
It looked exactly like a female cultivator riding a sword through the skies!
"Big production," remarked Lao Zhu, who had wandered into the carriage, marveling at the scene. "Keep it up. Your movies are getting bigger and bigger. Last time, Lord Mang spent 500,000 to make that screen, and after dismantling it, it's just been sitting in the warehouse. Once your movie is done, that screen can finally be put to use."
The drone was the very one they had retrieved from 70,000 meters underground.
"But," Lao Zhu continued, "I thought you were the screenwriter? When did you start directing?"
"Train Conductor Zhu," Zhang Yiren hurried over, still holding the Mechanical Eye, a sheepish smile on his face. "Generally, directors know a bit about screenwriting, but screenwriters don't usually direct. I just happen to know a bit of both."
"The last movie turned out well, so the original director decided to assist me, and now I'm the director."
"Train Conductor Zhu, please have a seat. Xiao Mei, quickly pour some tea for Train Conductor Zhu."
"No need," Lao Zhu waved his hand dismissively, his hands clasped behind his back. "I'm just wandering around. You all keep working. Try to make a good movie. By the way, what's the script this time? Same as last time—fighting, killing, and... you know?"
"This time it's different. More refined, with a more engaging plot."
Eager to talk about his expertise, Zhang Yiren quickly explained, "This time, it's more of a xianxia theme."
"It's about a male protagonist who's a failure in life. Every day after work, he plays an R-rated adult game, relieving stress by fantasizing about the fairy in the game. Then one day, the fairy suddenly flies out of the screen and starts angrily chasing him."
"The male protagonist begins a long escape but is eventually caught."
"Hmm, sounds interesting. What happens next?"
"Next, the fairy starts forcefully dominating the male protagonist."
"..." Lao Zhu fell silent for a moment before cautiously asking, "In your script, how much of the movie is dedicated to the protagonist's... stress-relief scenes?"
"And the... domination?"
"So it's still just fighting, killing, and... you know, isn't it?"
Zhang Yiren froze for a second, then stared down at his script before murmuring, "I guess it is..."
"Well, Train Conductor Zhu, I'll make some changes."
"Take this seriously when revising. While it needs to cater to public taste, the public's preferences aren't that tacky, right? Can't we focus more on plot-driven content? Have you seen 'Goose Town'? Make something like that—it's really good."
Zhang Yiren froze in place, pointing at his own nose in disbelief: "Me? Make 'Goose Town'?"
Zhang Yiren looked down at the script in his hands with a complicated expression. "Goose Town" was an extremely classic pre-apocalypse film, one that held a significant place in cinematic history. He was just a third-rate screenwriter—wasn't this overestimating his abilities?
All he could come up with was stuff like aliens battling Nascent Soul cultivators.
He took a deep breath, then abruptly tore up the script in his hands and turned to the crew around him: "Pack it up, we're not shooting today. I'll rewrite the script over the next few days."
"Xiao Mei! Where the hell are you going?!"
Xiao Mei, who was already halfway out the Space Gate, turned her head back in confusion: "Didn't you say we're done? I'm going to see clients."
"You're an actress, not a prostitute!"
"I know. Can't I have a side gig?"
Zhang Yiren sighed wearily. "Go ahead. I'll come with you."
"Director, where are you going?"
"Who are you booking?"
"I'll give you a discount."
"Screw your discount. I'm going to ask the residents what they want to watch, get some inspiration."
"Or rather, my vision."
Outside the Stellar Train.
Chen Mang leaned back in his camping chair, feet propped on another chair, while Ji Chuchu knelt beside him quietly massaging his calves. With a distant look in his eyes, he held a cigarette between his fingers and murmured softly toward the horizon:
"This apocalypse is more dangerous than either of us imagined."
"The Train is our only shield."
"But how can we survive this calamity with just one train? In the future, I want to turn the 'Stellar' Train into a hub for human civilization—no, a hub for all civilizations."
"Any race friendly with humans, like the Goblins, can come to the Stellar for trade."
"I want 'Stellar Coupons' to become a universal currency."
"That way, I can gather more resources through integration, far faster than mining them from the Mine. And once everyone is united, no matter what I want to do or what parts I need, I can just post bounties and have others do it for me."
Er Dan frowned, thinking for a long moment before speaking: "I think I get your idea, Lord Mang. You don't want to rule them directly but to integrate these resources through a cooperative approach."
"But there are three challenges."
"First, communication between different regions is nearly impossible. Without pre-established radio stations, even sending messages is difficult."
"Second, integrating so many trains would require far more space than the Stellar currently has. We'd need one massive unified area, not hundreds of scattered Refrigerator-made compartments."
"Three, the Stellar must have something that no other Train possesses—absolute scarcity—to enhance the value of Stellar Coupons and gain recognition from others."
Chen Mang leaned back in his chair, extinguishing his cigarette butt in a cola can as he murmured softly.
"I've considered all three points you mentioned. I have plans for the latter two, but the first one is still a work in progress, though I have some ideas."
「Neon City」 was the hub that perfectly fit this criterion in his mind.
This city was built for the Train.
Whether it was the roads, the spacing between buildings, or parking lots—everything was designed for the Train. The goods in Neon City's shops were also extremely rare, like the 「Memory Bank」, though he hadn't yet figured out how to restock them.
Some of the Stellar's components, such as the 「Clothing Customization Production Line」 upgraded to level 1000, could also be considered relatively scarce commodities.
As for the first point—
Since the 「Train Tunnel」 could traverse different zones, it meant movement between zones was possible. If he could figure out how these zones were formed or mass-produce 「Neon City Tickets」, the feasibility of this plan would increase significantly.
This was a long-term vision.
He didn't know if it could be realized in the future.
But if he took it step by step and succeeded in establishing the value of Stellar Coupons, then despite only owning one Train, the forces he could mobilize would be vast—an army in itself!
Er Dan took a deep breath before looking at Chen Mang with admiration. "But it sounds incredibly inspiring, Lord Mang. To be honest, you're the first person I've met in this apocalypse who dares to think this far ahead."
"Somehow, I feel plan will eventually succeed."
"Does that make me the vanguard of this plan?"
Chen Mang chuckled and patted Er Dan's shoulder. "You're my test subject, my first car. Besides consolidating the strength of other Trains, I also need a fleet of auxiliary Trains dedicated to carrying out specific tasks for me."
"I think, though the apocalypse is despairing and everyone has lost their homes…"
"If we keep striving…"
"Maybe one day, we'll rebuild our own home among the stars."
"The word 'apocalypse' doesn't inherently mean 'death'—it means 'rebuilding.' That should be its true essence, don't you think?"
Er Dan looked solemnly at Lord Mang. "A few days ago, when I explored the Serendipity Map, I thought I was working for you. Now I realize it's not just for you—it's for the survival of all humanity."
"Lord Mang, you've set the bar too high."
Chen Mang stood up, stretching his limbs before grinning. "Sit here for a while. The Iron Ore over there should be almost mined out. I'm quite curious about what rewards your S-rank difficulty task on the Serendipity Map will bring."
Then, Chen Mang wrapped an arm around Ji Chuchu and walked into the Train compartment.
The presence of the "Dust-Free Glass" made it impossible for anyone outside to see what was happening inside the train. Chen Mang leaned against the control panel, lifting Ji Chuchu's chin with his index finger as he gazed at her slightly trembling eyelashes and flushed lips, smirking faintly.
Ji Chuchu's cheeks tinged pink, her eyes flickering away as she replied in a voice as soft as a mosquito's hum, "Mhm."
Winds rose and clouds swirled; thunder roared across the heavens.
Chen Mang leaned back inside the train compartment, scanning the accessory information displayed on the Train Panel. He decided to upgrade a few more components—such as the "Solar Energy Panel."