"Uncle Li, what are you thinking about?"
Seeing that Uncle Li hadn't responded, the young man curiously leaned in closer and asked with a puzzled expression.
"..."
Uncle Li glanced expressionlessly at the young man beside him and said impatiently, "I've already come up with a new plan. Just wait patiently."
Initially, when this young man struck up a conversation with him, he had been willing to chat a bit longer. He had seen potential in this young lad and planned to make him a trusted confidant once he rose to power. But now, he often wondered if he had made the wrong choice. It was frustrating.
"Great!"
The young man nodded with satisfaction, giving a thumbs-up. "Keep it up, Uncle Li. I always knew you were the best."
Inside the Stellar Train, having finished handling all the trivial matters, Chen Mang sat alone in the train compartment. After glancing at the 196,000 units of Iron Ore, he immediately began crafting in full swing.
First, there were four essential components to build: the "Mechanical Nanite Spider," "Combat Training Virtual Space," "Internal Space Stabilizer," and "Individual Exoskeleton Production Line." He spent 4,000 units of Iron Ore to craft them all.
The "Mechanical Nanite Spider" was shaped like a mother spider roughly the size of a fist, occupying minimal space. Made entirely of steel, it looked like a finely crafted figurine. It was connected to the "Train Auxiliary AI," which would assess the damage level of the components and then control the "Mechanical Nanite Spider" to produce enough nanite mechanical spiders for repairs.
He spent 45,000 units of Iron Ore to upgrade it directly to level 10. Upgrading yellow-tier components required more resources, with each level costing an additional 1,000 units of Iron Ore.
The upgrade effect of this component was that each level allowed it to repair higher-level components. For example, a level 3 "Mechanical Nanite Spider" could only repair level 3 damaged components, while a level 10 one could repair level 10 components.
At the same time, he also gained two "Supermodel Effects."
"Mechanical Nanite Spider Level 5 Supermodel Effect": Increases repair speed.
"Mechanical Nanite Spider Level 10 Supermodel Effect": Produces more nanite spiders simultaneously.
Both effects were quite practical. The former saved time, while the latter allowed for repairing more damaged components at once. These effects often went unnoticed during routine maintenance, but during combat, they played a significant role.
Producing nanite spiders consumed Iron Ore. Chen Mang looked at the control panel screen, which showed the Living Carriage No. 4 at 62% integrity and the Cola Production Line component at 78% integrity. "Repair all damaged components on the train to 100% integrity."
"Understood," the AI's mechanical yet crisp voice soon echoed in the compartment. "Total Iron Ore consumption required: 3,800 units. Proceed with repairs?"
"Proceed."
In the next moment—the steel spider placed on the control panel slightly raised its abdomen, and countless incredibly tiny nanite mechanical spiders crawled out from its birth canal. A dark swarm of them slithered through the gaps in the compartment door.
Normal spiderlings were already small, looking quite delicate and even somewhat cute. But these nanite mechanical spiders were about one-twentieth the size of a normal spiderling.
About three minutes later, Chen Mang glanced at the control panel screen again. It now showed that all the train's components had been fully repaired. He raised an eyebrow, impressed. This component was quite useful—and most importantly, cost-effective. Replacing all those damaged components would have cost tens of thousands of units of Iron Ore, but repairs only required 3,800 units.
The number of nanite spiders needed and the Iron Ore consumed varied depending on the component's tier, level, and extent of damage. Despite its small size, Chen Mang decided to place the component on the table next to the control panel as a decorative piece. It looked quite nice.
As he looked down, he noticed the "Immediate Self-Destruct" and "Immediate Ejection" buttons on the control panel. The "Immediate Self-Destruct" button had a plastic cover to prevent accidental pressing, while the "Immediate Ejection" button, which originally had nothing, now also had a plastic cover. This was a new option he found in the "Personalized Customization" menu after upgrading the train to level 3. It allowed him to add a fingerprint-locked plastic cover to any button on the control panel for 100 units of Iron Ore. There was no reason not to install it, though unlike the "Immediate Self-Destruct" button, it didn't require a confirmation on the screen.
Next, Chen Mang turned his attention to the "Combat Training Virtual Space" component, which he had placed in Thug Car No. 5. He stood up, left the compartment, and made his way to Thug Car No. 5, ready to experience it firsthand.
Biao Zi and the others were outside supervising the slaves, so they weren't in the carriage. Only Ji Chuchu and a few minor celebrities were inside, chatting and playing around. When they saw Chen Mang enter, their smiles quickly vanished, and they stood in a row, murmuring nervously, "Lord Mang."
"Mm."
Chen Mang nodded without looking at them, his eyes narrowing as he focused on the machine in front of him. It resembled a "hydrotherapy pod," with a leather sofa inside and a glass cover on top. When someone lay inside, several suction-cupped wires would attach to their scalp, projecting their consciousness into a virtual space. It would also fill with nutrient fluid to ensure the user's physical health.
After studying it for a while, Chen Mang stripped off his clothes and lay naked inside the "Combat Training Virtual Space." As the nutrient fluid filled the pod, his consciousness was projected into another space—a pure white area, about ten square meters in size. Without the distinct boundary lines, it would be hard to discern the space's dimensions.
"..."
Chen Mang looked down at his arms, raising them and waving them a few times. A look of astonishment flashed in his eyes. This wasn't just realistic—it felt like reality itself. Every movement was identical to real life, and the texture of his exposed skin felt the same. He slapped his left arm and felt a faint pain. However, he wasn't naked here; he was wearing a simple white outfit.
"Wow."
Chen Mang swung his fists in the air with satisfaction. Before he had been transported to this world, he had always wanted to experience the kind of virtual online games described in novels. But he never expected that something he couldn't experience in his previous world would become possible here.
In front of him, several panels popped up:
"This space is a Combat Training Virtual Space. Any injuries or deaths experienced here will not affect your physical body in the real world."
"Pain sensitivity is fixed at 100%, identical to the real world."
"There are two modes: Single Player Training and Multiplayer Training."
"Single Player Training includes the following options: Climbing Training, Dagger Training, Hand-to-Hand Combat Training..."
"There is also a Mission Training Mode."
"You can select the number of enemies, change maps, choose weapons, and set mission parameters."
"Multiplayer Training allows you to engage in combat or mission training with other users in the Combat Training Virtual Space."
"At level 5, you can also participate in ranked matches with users from other trains. Your ranking will increase your train's reputation based on your performance."
"Hmm?"
Chen Mang raised an eyebrow, a hint of amusement in his eyes. He took a deep breath, his nerves gradually tightening as he selected the Single Player Mission Training mode. He chose a city ruins map, with ten enemies all armed with guns. The mission objective was to eliminate all ten enemies using only a dagger.
The modern city had turned into ruins, with a storm raging across the entire area. It was midnight. On the collapsed third floor of a building, Chen Mang lay quietly on the rooftop, his eyes fixed on the ten enemies patrolling with guns in front of an office building. He gripped his dagger tightly, waiting for the right moment.
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating half the sky. Seizing the opportunity, Chen Mang sprang up like a rattlesnake, grabbing the steel rope of a nearby crane to swing behind the enemies like a primate, ready to begin his assassination.
However...
As soon as he jumped, he saw that the ten enemies had already aimed their guns at him.
"Rat-tat-tat!"
The sharp, muffled sound of gunfire rang out in the rainy night.
"Ugh!"
Back in the white space, Chen Mang couldn't help but inhale sharply, looking down at his abdomen. The bullet wounds from earlier were now like illusions—his body was unharmed, but the stinging pain still lingered in his mind. This was the first time he had experienced what it felt like to be shot. It hurt. The despair of impending death felt incredibly real.
The mission, of course, had failed.
Chen Mang shook his head and chuckled. In real life, he would never have chosen this method for an assassination, but since this was a virtual space, he couldn't resist trying to emulate the assassins from "Assassin's Creed" in his previous life.
The idea was good.
If he could actually execute the moves he had envisioned, it would have been an incredibly cool scene. In the rainy night, amidst the city ruins, as the lightning illuminated the sky, a shadowy figure would land behind the ten enemies like a ghost, beginning the slaughter. By the time the thunder sounded, the enemies would already be lying in pools of blood. All that remained would be the silhouette of a man holding a dagger, walking steadily away into the distance, blood drops merging with the rain as they fell at his feet.
It would have been so cool.
Chen Mang narrowed his eyes, another brilliant possibility surfacing in his mind.
The modern city had turned into ruins, with a storm raging across the entire area. Not a single neon light was visible. The faint crescent moon beneath the clouds was the only source of light.
This time, he chose a spawn point on the rooftop of an office building.
"..."
Standing at the edge of the rooftop, Chen Mang leaned out, looking down at the ten enemies gathered at the building's entrance. The rain pelted against his body as he murmured, "This is probably going to hurt a bit, isn't it?"
It was a full thirty-six stories high.
But...
"Who could resist a Leap of Faith when you can't die?"
"Huff..."
Chen Mang took a deep breath, slowly standing at the edge of the rooftop. He pulled his hood over his head—the outfit in the combat virtual space could be customized at will. In the darkness, he turned his back to the void, spreading his arms like a ghost before leaning backward and falling straight down.
A few seconds later.
"Thud!"
A dull, muffled sound, like something hitting a pile of meat, rang out in the night.
Back in the white space, Chen Mang grimaced as he stretched his body, but he couldn't help but smile with satisfaction when he saw the mission summary panel.
Not bad.
He had taken out one enemy.
In the face of the Leap of Faith, even enemies armed with guns couldn't withstand his assassination. He had gained new insights into the art of assassination.
He then tried out various other maps and scenarios, having a lot of fun in the process. It was quite thrilling, but... he also wanted to try the multiplayer mode.
"Biao Zi, Lord Mang wants you in Thug Car No. 5."
"What for?"
"He said he wants to spar with you."
"What?"
Biao Zi, who had been patrolling, froze in place as Lao Zhu approached him. A look of confusion flashed in his eyes as he muttered, "What kind of sparring? The kind where Lord Mang has a Soaring Dragon Assault Rifle and I'm bare-handed? I think I can see my great-grandmother waving at me."
"Don't overthink it."
Lao Zhu couldn't help but laugh. "It's not that serious. From the tone of his voice, Lord Mang seems to be in a good mood. Go on, it should be fine."
Still feeling uneasy, Biao Zi entered Thug Car No. 5 and looked around. Ji Chuchu, who had been resting in the carriage earlier, was nowhere to be seen. Only Lord Mang was inside. He approached Chen Mang, who was standing nearby, and whispered, "Lord Mang, you called for me?"
"Mm."
Chen Mang waved his hand, pointing to the two "Combat Training Virtual Space" units on the ground. "Come over here. I just got these. They're like virtual games where you can fight in a multiplayer mode. Any injuries or deaths in there won't carry over to the real world."
"Playing alone isn't fun."
"Let's spar."
"What?"
"What do you mean 'what'? Hurry up!"
Soon, in the white space, on a dueling platform, Biao Zi, holding a dagger, looked at Chen Mang, who was standing in front of him with a dagger as well. He asked nervously, "Uh... Lord Mang, should I make the first move?"
"Fight seriously."
Chen Mang crouched slightly, his eyes fixed on the dagger in Biao Zi's hand. "If you win, I'll make you the leader of the first team. If you lose, you'll be demoted to the second team."
Hearing this, Biao Zi, who had been hesitant, immediately became serious, a glint of ruthless
ness flashing in his eyes.
"Then forgive me, Lord Mang!"
The next moment—
A three-second countdown began above the dueling platform.
As the countdown ended, both of them regained control of their bodies and charged at each other almost simultaneously!
(End of Chapter)