After regaining his composure, Chen Mang slowly let out a long breath. He stood up and stretched, feeling a wave of drowsiness wash over him. It was nearly dusk, and he no longer had the energy to do anything else.
He parked the Train where it was and lay down on the bed, quickly drifting into a hazy sleep.
The next morning, after washing up and feeling refreshed, Chen Mang stretched contentedly. Lao Zhu had already gathered all the Slaves in an open area, waiting for him to speak. This was his first formal address to the new Slaves.
After this speech, it would be time to prepare to descend into the Mine.
Chen Mang stood on top of the Train, leaning on his cane, looking down at the massive crowd before him. There were over a thousand people. The last time he had spoken in front of such a large crowd was when he read his letter of repentance under the national flag at school.
The scene was initially noisy, but it gradually quieted down as people noticed Chen Mang.
Biao Zi and a group of Thugs stood nearby, holding Soaring Dragon Assault Rifles, their expressions cold as they maintained order.
After a moment, Chen Mang began.
"Let me introduce myself. I'm Chen Mang."
His voice, amplified by the Train's external Sound System, reached the ears of every Slave present.
"I treat my Slaves well, and you, the 800 new Slaves of the Stellar Train, should already be able to sense that. What you're enjoying now is just the lowest level of Slave treatment—Level 3."
"You get ten pieces of soft, fragrant stuffed bread and two bottles of purified mineral water every day."
"Compared to your previous living conditions, you should know how good this is."
"Do you see that woman, Ji Chuchu?"
"A big star before the apocalypse, right? You all know her."
"I promised you that if you worked hard, I would bring Ji Chuchu to the Stellar Train. I kept my word. Being a Slave here means enjoying privileges even other Train Conductors don't have."
Ji Chuchu, standing nearby, smiled and waved at the Slaves without a hint of shyness. She even turned and swayed her hips slightly. There was no seductiveness in her expression, but her playful bite of her tongue exuded an indescribable allure.
She was a natural-born seductress.
Chen Mang paused briefly before continuing, "The Stellar Train is currently the strongest Train in the Iron Ridge Wasteland. As long as you stay on the Train, you'll be under its protection. You'll never have to worry about safety again."
"Food, water, shelter."
"These are all things I provide for you."
"In return, I only ask one thing: that you give your all in mining. Everyone's daily mining output will be recorded, and I won't mistreat anyone who works hard."
"Now, all women, step forward."
At his words, the women among the Slaves exchanged uneasy glances but eventually stepped forward.
Chen Mang glanced over them. There were about a hundred women, a relatively small number. After a pause, he spoke, "On the Stellar Train, everyone must contribute. Those who want to mine like the men, stand to the left. Those who want an easier job, stand to the right."
Quickly, over sixty women moved to the left.
The remaining forty or so went to the right.
Chen Mang frowned slightly as he looked at a woman standing on the right. She was at least six feet tall, with a muscular build, shoe size probably 45, and a face full of tough features. He couldn't help but speak up, "I said those who want to mine, stand to the left."
"I don't want to mine."
The towering woman hurriedly forced what she thought was a charming smile and said urgently, "I want something easier, something easy."
Chen Mang took a deep breath before waving his hand, "Biao Zi, take her to the left. With that physique, she's not doing any easy jobs. Professionals should do professional work."
After handling this small incident, he turned back to the crowd.
"When your mining output reaches a certain level, you can be promoted to Level 2, or even Level 1 Slave. From then on, you'll never have to worry about running out of Mines to work in."
"Once you reach Level 2, you'll have the right to rest and relax."
With that, Chen Mang stepped down from the Train and had Lao Zhu bring over the couples among the Slaves. There were two pairs.
The first was a middle-aged couple.
On the other side of the Train, Chen Mang stood on the wasteland, leaning on his cane, looking at the middle-aged couple before him. He felt confident. A middle-aged couple who stayed together through the apocalypse must have genuine feelings.
He took out the "Doomsday Marriage Certificate" and handed one to each of them.
After waiting patiently for a few seconds, there was no reaction.
Chen Mang waved his hand, not particularly disappointed, and gestured for them to leave.
Soon, the second couple, a young pair, was brought forward, but it also ended in failure.
He sighed softly and put the "Doomsday Marriage Certificate" away. It seemed this item would be hard to use anytime soon. Finding a couple truly in love in the apocalypse was a tall order.
At that moment, Lao Zhu handed him a note.
"Lord Mang, here are the Train Rules drafted according to your instructions. Take a look."
Chen Mang took the note, glanced at it, and then stuffed it into his pocket. Some of the rules still needed revision. The Train needed clear regulations, but for now, the most important thing was to go back and craft the Drill Bit accessory.
Inside the Train, Chen Mang took out the white-grade Accessory Blueprint "Drill Bit" from a drawer and slapped it onto the control panel. As the blueprint dissolved into white light and 100 units of Iron Ore were consumed, a massive Drill Bit appeared at the front of the Train, capable of extending and retracting freely.
Without delay, he spent another 4,400 units of Iron Ore to level the "Drill Bit" up to Level 10.
"So cheap," Chen Mang couldn't help but mutter. 4,400 units of Iron Ore were only enough to feed his Slaves for three days. Though it felt expensive when feeding them, once he reached the high-grade resource Mines deep underground, these Slaves would unleash unimaginable productivity.
By then, the Iron Ore in his Train would be more than he could ever use.
Among all the Trains in the Iron Ridge Wasteland, he was likely the only one with the "Drill Bit" accessory. This meant he was the only one who could access the high-grade resource Mines deep underground, with no competition.
Unless another Train could manage to go to the Kunlun Mountains, find a pangolin, and obtain the Drill Bit Blueprint.
Once all the resource Mines deep in the Iron Ridge Wasteland were exhausted, his Train, even in higher-level areas, wouldn't be as helpless as it was now.
The leveling up of the Drill Bit mainly enhanced two aspects.
First, the hardness of the Drill Bit.
Second, its rotation speed.
The former ensured that as long as the Drill Bit's level was high enough, there would be no rocks underground that could block the Train's path. If the Drill Bit's level was low, encountering harder rocks would force the Train to detour.
The latter determined the efficiency of tunneling.
In other words, it determined the Train's speed when moving underground.
The speed underground couldn't match that on the surface, but the higher the Drill Bit's level and the faster its rotation, the quicker the Train could move underground.
Without further delay, Chen Mang gathered all the Slaves onto the Train and set off toward the coordinates of the Doomsday Abyss.
Several hours later, the Stellar Train successfully arrived at the Doomsday Abyss. Switching back to "Spider Legs," it descended along the cliff face toward the depths of the valley. As it neared the bottom, the Drill Bit extended and began to spin rapidly.
The entire Train smoothly sank into the ground like a hot knife through butter, disappearing from sight.
Underground was pitch black, with no light whatsoever.
The Train relied on the "Resource Detection Radar" to slowly make its way toward the two Level 2 Iron Ore Mines located 2,000 meters below, near an underground river. Chen Mang glanced at the control panel's Train data.
The current speed was 170 km/h.
Not bad, pretty fast.
The Train's "Drill Bit" carved a tunnel for the Train to pass through, compressing the soil on either side. As the Train moved forward, the soil gradually closed behind it, leaving only a temporary underground tunnel that couldn't be used long-term.
This time, mining wouldn't have to be done in the dark. Although he still hadn't acquired the "Headlights" accessory for illumination, during his search for Survivors in the ruins of Taiping City, he had also gathered some supplies.
Canned food, cigarettes, liquor, and more.
Among them were some entertainment items, like paper books and movie tapes, as well as industrial flashlights powered by batteries. Though not many, they were enough for now.
Soon, sitting in the control room, Chen Mang heard the sound of flowing water. The Stellar Train had successfully reached the underground river.
Chen Mang was the first to jump off the Train, using a flashlight to survey the surroundings. The beam swept across every corner. They were in a massive cavern, the air damp, and the sound of the underground river crashing against rocks echoed in the darkness.
The river wasn't wide, occupying about a quarter of the cavern's width. The water level was lower than the surrounding flat ground. If there was a sudden heavy rain, the water level might rise to fill the entire cavern.
The oxygen levels were decent.
At least, breathing alone, he didn't feel any discomfort. But with so many people... he wasn't sure if the oxygen would be enough. He'd have to see. If it became a problem, he could ask on the Train Radio if any Train Conductors had accessories for generating oxygen and buy one.
On the flat ground occupying three-quarters of the cavern, two glistening Level 2 Iron Ore Mines sat there, as alluring as the top courtesan in a brothel.
Meanwhile, the Slaves, guided by Lao Zhu and others, queued up to receive their pickaxes and daily rations before entering the Mine in batches and starting to swing their pickaxes.
The pleasant, crisp clinking sounds began to ring out frequently in Chen Mang's ears.
"Truly the most beautiful sound in the world," Chen Mang smiled with satisfaction. All the effort he had put in, nearly dying multiple times on his journey to the Kunlun Mountains, was paying off. The rewards were well worth it.
Now, it was time for him to reap the benefits.
Inside the Train, while the other Slaves were busy working, Chen Mang sat alone in the control room, feet on the table, a cigarette in his mouth, leisurely enjoying a movie from this world.
It was quite good, actually.
It was an apocalyptic film, and the immersion and realism were quite strong. If the Train wasn't in a cavern but in the middle of a Zombie horde, the realism would be even more intense.
When the Slaves were busy, he had nothing to do.
When the Slaves were idle, he would have to get busy.
Such was the rule of Train operation.
The Train Conductor set the overall direction, and the subordinates carried out the specific tasks. Both were indispensable.
Chen Mang looked at the two Supermodel Effects of the "Drill Bit" after reaching Level 10.
"Drill Bit Level 5 Supermodel Effect": Extremely hard, increased rotation speed.
"Drill Bit Level 10 Supermodel Effect": Even harder, even faster rotation speed.
To be honest, this was the first time he had seen such pure Supermodel Effects, with no mechanics involved, just a simple, pure numerical beauty.
The original effect of leveling up the Drill Bit was to increase its hardness and rotation speed.
And now, both Supermodel Effects specifically enhanced those very features.
It was clear that with a "Drill Bit" accessory of this level, even if other Trains also had "Drill Bits," their speed underground would be far inferior to his.
Chen Mang pondered. Since this Drill Bit was so hard and rotated so fast, it shouldn't just be used for moving underground. He could probably steer the Train to ram into other Trains. If their Armor levels weren't high enough, they likely wouldn't be able to withstand the impact.
Soon, he shook off these thoughts. After days of exhaustion, he didn't want to think about these things right now. It was time to relax.
He turned his attention back to the apocalyptic movie playing beside him.
In the film, the male lead was surrounded by Zombies, trapped in a dire situation. Just as Chen Mang was fully immersed, wanting to see how the protagonist would escape, a semi-transparent panel suddenly popped up in front of the male lead.
On the panel was a line of text.
ng, you have unlocked the 'Kill Zombies to Get Stronger' system."
Seeing this, Chen Mang was momentarily stunned before he couldn't help but curse, "Is this how movies in this world are made?"