"That’s quite a statement."
The Train Captain of the "Only Love One" train looked puzzled at Er Dan: "The more people at a wedding, the merrier it is. How many chances do we get to have a wedding in Doomsday? Can’t we just give the slaves a day off to come down and relax?"
The Train Captain of the "Ten Steps, One Kill" train agreed wholeheartedly: "Er Dan, slaves are human too. Although they’re under the protection of our train, they’ve mined quite a bit for us. It’s good to relax together."
With the thugs behind them returning to their respective trains, the slaves from these two trains were soon hustled down. They jumped off the trains with a hint of fear and numbness in their eyes, staring at the noisy scene before them.
Er Dan remained expressionless and silent, not planning to explain anything. After the wedding ends, they’ll know.
Chen Mang smiled and said nothing more about it, merely pointing to a table that had already been set up nearby: "The wedding will officially start later; should we sit over there for a bit first?"
"Of course, guests follow the host."
Er Dan nodded seriously with this face.
Then he followed Chen Mang to a nearby table that had been cleaned up, still couldn’t help glancing around at the wedding being set up. This might be the first wedding in this world after the arrival of Doomsday.
The atmosphere is really nice.
"Just a little token gift, nothing too grand." ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ n͟o͟v͟e͟l͟f͟i͟r͟e͟.net
The Train Captain of the "Only Love One" train retrieved an Accessory Blueprint of green grade from his pocket and placed it on the table, pushing it over nervously: "Umm, bro, you must accept it. It’s not for you; it’s for the kid, I mean the newlyweds..."
"And mine as well." The Train Captain of the "Ten Steps, One Kill" train hastily pulled a small card from his pocket and handed it over: "Just a little trinket."
Er Dan looked at these two bewildered. What’s going on, you guys didn’t say anything about preparing gifts on the way here. When did you both get it ready? He had completely forgotten about this.
But obviously, he couldn’t go back to the train to fetch something at this moment, losing face.
Immediately, he grits his teeth slightly and took off the badge on his clothes, pushing it over: "This is my gift, a Special Tool. Brother, you must accept it, if you don’t..."
Chen Mang waved his hand to signal Old Pig to come over and take the items, then smiled at the others: "You’ve all gone to some expense, which makes me feel a bit embarrassed, really."
"Here, have some nuts."
"Just some small snacks, not worth much, but they taste quite good."
On the table were some nuts, chilled beer, and various marinated cold dishes.
This kind of spread is considered extremely extravagant and luxurious in Doomsday.
Those marinated cold dishes were brought out from Yan Yao’s rental room during her rescue. They included packaged edibles like pickled vegetables, vegetarian tripe, broccoli, crispy chicken bone, duck intestine, and the like, which could be eaten straight with the accompanying red oil.
It’s quite simple and convenient.
Only the four Train Captains took seats; the confidants and thugs brought by the other two Train Captains wandered curiously in the corners.
Since this banquet was more relaxed, in Doomsday, having such a relatively warm atmosphere was rare, and everyone cherished it, without having their subordinates standing behind them, which would seem too pretentious.
After three rounds of drinks,
The Train Captain of the "Only Love One" train, full of admiration and sincerity, raised his glass and looked at Chen Mang: "Bro, before meeting you, I never expected a Train Captain of your caliber to be so approachable."
"I toast you with this drink."
"Hey, bro, there’s something I want to ask. Umm, have the people from the Balance contacted you?"
Chen Mang picked up some soybeans with his chopsticks and put them into his mouth, frowning slightly with a flash of dissatisfaction in his eyes: "Are you three here to recruit for Balance?"
Seeing the atmosphere turning a bit sour, Er Dan hastily explained: "Definitely not. Balance approached me too, and I ignored them. They also approached those two, but they’re both hesitant, so they wanted to ask you, brother, to see how you chose, and they wanted to copy your answer."
"I see." Chen Mang shook his head: "I didn’t join. The ethos of the Balance organization, I actually find it commendable. According to their chain, everyone could get what they need and support weaker trains, allowing Human Civilization to pass on more robustly."
"But firstly, I don’t want to be constrained."
"Secondly, the resources they offer don’t mean much to me and would waste my time."
"Thirdly, I don’t like the person they sent to negotiate with me."
"That makes sense." Er Dan nodded in deep agreement: "I thought it over carefully, and that chain would keep putting the top supplier at a loss with no one to repay them, it just seems a bit unrealistic..."
The Train Captains chatted about small talk, about things they’d encountered along the way, about the challenges before becoming a Train Captain, about interesting incidents in strange encounters, about the tragic arrival of Doomsday.
But no one asked, "Chen Mang, where did you get so many Murphy Stones from?"
Understanding what should and shouldn’t be asked,
once reaching their position, it’s well understood that those are life-saving secrets at the bottom of the box, things not to be revealed even if the wife asks, let alone these few people.