In the heart of a merciless Train Captain, this is a trove of wealth, but to a Train Captain with a bit of humanity, it’s indeed a hot potato.
Chen Mang nodded. In his heart, he would definitely venture into the universe five years later. When he goes to the universe, the time span will become very long. These people who grew up within the Constant Star Train will be more loyal to it. They will be the backbone of the Constant Star Train in the future.
Just dozens of mouths, it doesn’t matter much to him.
Their age is still young, and they don’t need to mine. They can be cultivated slowly, through combat training spaces and various resources like food. Teaching both theory and practical knowledge, these people will be his trusted members in the future.
"Brother, let me remind you again: after they join your train, they won’t increase your Heritage Value."
Chen Mang nodded, then smiled and said, "I know, I can raise them. Do you have a place to spend your Heritage Value?"
"I can’t spend it for now."
Er Dan shook his head: "It can only be used in some special Adventure Maps like ’Black Market’ or when encountering Black Market merchants. When we meet a Black Market merchant again, then we’ll see. Black Market merchants don’t appear in fixed places; they come and go as they please, and it’s hard to tell when you might encounter one."
Thirty seconds later.
A cloaked Black Market merchant passed through several carriages and arrived at carriage No. 6, standing emotionlessly in front of Er Dan with a hoarse voice.
"Foolish humans, congratulations on meeting the mysterious and untraceable great Black Market merchant. You can purchase any items from me using your Heritage Value." Updates are released by novel_fіre.net
"Here is the product list."
"Please state the item you wish to buy."
"Remember, state the item number. The great Black Market merchant doesn’t have time for your nonsense."
"You only have one minute to choose."
Er Dan stared at the suddenly appearing translucent panel in front of him, bewildered for a long time before turning to Chen Mang sitting beside him and murmured, "What is this thing?"
"Is it the Black Market merchant?"
"No... No... Why did he show up on your train?"
"Oh, train member, joined the Constant Star Train."
"This damn Black Market merchant can join the train? Wasn’t he supposed to be mysterious and untraceable??"
"Isn’t that mysterious enough? If it weren’t for meeting me, could you have met this Black Market merchant?"
Er Dan fell silent, expressionless, then quickly picked two items before looking at the blueprint in his hand and the disappearing silhouette of the Black Market merchant, not knowing what to say for a moment.
Black Market merchant became a train resident.
These two terms together seem bizarre, as bizarre as they could be!
"Bro, if only one train can survive in this apocalypse, that train will definitely be the Constant Star Train."
"I hope so," Chen Mang said with a smile.
"Please take me along when the time comes..."
Half an hour later, the conversation ended.
Chen Mang escorted Er Dan out of the carriage.
"Brother." Er Dan looked at Chen Mang with a serious expression: "My train has many damages, so I’ll go ahead and return to the Shahe Plain to repair. I won’t say more, but I’ll remember the life-saving favor this time and will definitely repay you in the future."
"Please leave as soon as possible, too."
"This Ice and Snow World area feels peculiar, something’s not right. Even in summer, it’s still this cold, and the ground is covered in a thick layer of snow. Many trains wouldn’t stay in this area if it weren’t for the ’Yeti’ in this region."
Chen Mang watched as Er Dan returned to his Azure Dragon train, reaching out the window to wave goodbye before flying back into the sky. The train gradually shrank in the air until it disappeared from sight.
After parting ways with Er Dan.
He turned his gaze to the not-too-distant gigantic zombie corpse, which had been almost entirely disassembled, leaving behind only some blood and flesh still being dissected.
Beside it in the snow were piles of human remains and train fragments, all dug out from its stomach.
"Pour some water, make an ice tomb."
The temperature in this area was extremely low, and in no time, an ice tomb formed. As long as no one destroys it, this ice tomb will remain in this area indefinitely.
Chen Mang moved forward, lighting three cigarettes which he embedded into the ground as a farewell.
Then, he turned his head slightly and softly spoke to Old Pig next to him.
"We have a total of four resident carriages now. This number needs to be reduced to one resident carriage in the future, and everyone should reside within the ’Gate of Space.’ The remaining three carriages should be converted for other uses."
"But there’s no rush for this matter."
"In the resident carriage No. 8 just now, I crafted a ’Gate of Space.’ Arrange for someone to put a refrigerator inside to serve as a dormitory for the children."
"Find a few people who have taught before to be responsible for cultivating the newly received batch of kids."
"They should be trained in areas such as firearms, melee, mecha control, train cognition, basic literacy, and logic. You should come up with the curriculum content, including the development history of the Constant Star Train and the challenges it faced along the way, which can be appropriately embellished."
"I hope these children will grow up to be absolutely loyal to the Constant Star Train, and they will be the mainstay of the Constant Star Train."
"Understood." Old Pig nodded seriously before turning away to make arrangements, a hint of admiration flashing in his eyes as he did.
Master Mang’s foresight is vast.
If these kids continue living within the Constant Star Train, they will surely develop absolute loyalty to it and in various aspects be better than someone like Biaozi, who isn’t as professional. After all, they are being nurtured from a young age.
However... the initial investment is immense, and it will take a long time to see any returns.
Most Train Captains wouldn’t even think ; Master Mang manages to think so far ahead, which shows his confidence in being able to survive through the apocalypse.
Twenty minutes later.
The flesh of the level six zombie was completely disassembled and stored in the train’s freezer.
Being here for so long, no Corpse Tide was encountered again.
It’s uncertain whether it’s because the Zombie King perished, causing other Corpse Tide to lose control and wander to Kunlun Mountain, or if they entered this area from another direction.
After processing the things here.
Chen Mang maneuvered the Constant Star Train, switching to the ’Bunny Cloud’ wheels to fly at a high altitude, venturing deep into the green zone of ’Ice and Snow World,’ targeting the coordinate Er Dan just gave him, where the Zombie King broke free from.
He wants to take a look.
Upon delving into Ice and Snow World, the snowstorm intensified more and more. While on the road, some trains were encountered, but their wheels were not Wind-Fire Wheels nor spider legs.
But rather ’Tracked Wheels’ and... ’Sleds.’
Mostly, it’s these two kinds of wheels.
Tracks can directly serve as propulsion while sleds cannot; sled-equipped trains usually have considerable tail sprays on them, serving as propulsion, then gliding across the snow.
The train armor encountered here was mainly unscathed, clearly indicating the recent impact the Zombie King had on this region. This area is quite small, much smaller than the Shahe Plain.
There are quite a few snow mountains.
Several continuous snow mountains could be seen, but not as many mountains as in the Kunlun Mountain area, still maintaining some flatland, whether the real terrain is flat or not is unknown, but the snow appears flat.
The snow here is quite solid.
A footstep wouldn’t plunge too deep; it seemed to only go a few centimeters down, although the compacted snow underneath might be several meters deep.
"Mining is a problem here, huh."
Chen Mang frowned slightly, surveying the surroundings. Staying here for long might also risk snow blindness, as this area feels worse than the Kunlun Mountain area, and warmth is another issue.
Up until now, the ore resources detected were primarily on mountain slopes, with hardly any underground.