"Alright."
Lao Zhu patted Biao Zi's shoulder and sighed, "Let's get to work. I have to go now. Lord Mang said we can only stay here for 48 hours, so let's put in more effort."
"Go ahead."
Biao Zi glanced at Zhang Da Mei, who had already started hacking at the ground with an axe, searching for anything buried beneath. He sighed softly and silently vowed that once these few days were over, he would go back and eat 40 bread slices every day!
He would force them down if he had to!
Ten slices of bread only yielded one unit of iron ore, and one roujiamo required one unit of iron ore.
Then, combined with the Combat Training Virtual Space, he would strive to quickly raise his Physical Fitness Index to 13.5. He also wanted to pilot a mech as soon as possible.
But—
It had to be said that the long-term consumption of those bread slices barely increased his overall physical fitness. It had been over ten days since he obtained the Iris Chip, and he had been mining on the northernmost mountain of the Shahe Plain for ten days.
Yet his Physical Fitness Index had only risen from 12.1 to 12.2.
It wasn't that there was no improvement, but it was minimal.
At this rate, how long would it take for him to raise his Physical Fitness Index to 13.5? Moreover, only one decimal place was shown, and the rest was hidden. He didn't even know if he had gone from 12.19 to 12.2 or from 12.10 to 12.2.
"Only..."
Biao Zi clenched his teeth slightly and looked enviously at Zhang Da Mei, who was operating a mech in the distance. He could only eat more bread slices—100 of them, damn it!
He didn't even know if eating so many would be useful.
After all, in the apocalypse, individual strength was always insignificant. Even if his Physical Fitness Index reached 20.0, a single burst from a heavy machine gun would turn him into a mist of blood. Hadn't he seen how tough Zhang Da Mei's body was? Yet she was still taken down by a single burst from his Gatling Gun in the arena.
No matter how high your Physical Fitness Index was, if you encountered a Level 2 monster unarmed, it would be useless.
Only after your Physical Fitness Index was high enough would you have the chance to use heavy individual weapons that required a certain level of physical fitness, such as... mechs.
"..."
Chen Mang called Lao Zhu over and gave him a few instructions. Then he recorded the coordinates of this place on the control panel screen and slowly pushed the control lever, steering the Train deeper into the black fog.
As the Train departed, the visibility in the mine instantly decreased. Only a few dozen flashlights provided a much weaker light source. When the Train Residents saw the Train leave, they all put down their work, their faces filled with panic, and couldn't help but ask:
"Where did Lord Mang go?"
"Biao Ge, where did Lord Mang go? Will he come back?"
"Did something happen?"
The initial excitement on their faces had completely vanished, replaced by anxiety and unease.
At first, everyone was excited because of the free cola these past few days and the abundance of mines to dig, which meant they could earn more Stellar Coupons. There was also the sense of security from these Level 3 mines that could make the Train stronger, as well as the thrill of arriving at an unknown location.
But as the Stellar Train departed, all these emotions turned into unease.
None of them knew where this was.
A place without a moon or sky, just utter darkness. When they looked up, they could only see a void-like blackness. When the Stellar Train was still here, they felt a sense of security. But once it left, everyone panicked.
What if some monster appeared? They would be left to die, with no idea where to escape.
"Quiet."
Biao Zi held a loudspeaker and looked at the crowd with a cold expression. "Pay attention to the notice Director Ai sent in the top left corner. Lord Mang has gone deeper to continue the exploration. There won't be any monsters in this space, and everyone's safety is guaranteed."
"Even if there is danger, we will stand in front, and Lord Mang will come back."
"Continue mining as you were, just like before."
"Only Level 3 mines at most..."
In the desolate and dark space, Chen Mang stared at the Resource Detection Radar on the control panel screen and murmured. Although those two Level 3 Iron Mines were already perfect, they weren't the Level 3 "Crimson Heartstone" mine deep beneath the Iron Ridge Wasteland.
That Level 3 mine had a very low ore content and was exhausted in just over an hour, yielding 180,000 units of Crimson Heartstone.
These two Level 3 Iron Mines had an extremely high ore content, with millions of units of iron ore, enough to keep them mining for 48 hours.
He had been gone for ten minutes now.
Along the way, the Resource Detection Radar kept beeping incessantly. There were Level 1 and Level 2 mines everywhere, and Level 3 mines appeared occasionally, but he had yet to encounter a Level 4 mine.
"Doba."
"Are you familiar with this place? Are there any Level 4 mines here?"
He turned his head to look at Doba. He hadn't brought anyone else, only Doba, as Doba was somewhat of a guide here.
"Not really."
Doba shook his head seriously. "My memory is a bit hazy. I didn't witness the fall of the Goblin civilization. I didn't live that long—I died before I could see that moment."
"Much of my memory is lost, with only a small portion preserved."
"I only remember that from some point onward, every time I died, I would appear in this space. There were many scattered items buried beneath the ground. I dug up a Train Token and a pickaxe and started building a Goblin Train."
"I don't know how big this place is."
"I don't know if there are any Level 4 mines here. I've never encountered one."
Chen Mang nodded and didn't say anything more, though he furrowed his brows slightly and continued driving deeper into the darkness. By now, he was already far from Biao Zi and the others, and they had lost contact. However, if anything happened and someone died, it would be displayed on the Train Crew roster, making it easier for him to return immediately.
It seemed that the highest-level mines in this space might only be Level 3?
Just then—
"Hmm?"
In the distance, he spotted a Train wreck with seven carriages. The carriages were severely damaged and abandoned. He immediately stopped the Stellar Train in front of it and, along with Doba and Xiao Ai, jumped off to take a closer look.
The carriages were empty.
There was nothing inside the Train, no wreckage, no scattered resources, no food—just complete emptiness. As they got closer, they could smell an intense, rotting odor.
It seemed that this Train wasn't very high-level, probably around a Level 2 or Level 3 Train.
The only unusual thing was...
The wheels of this Train weren't Wind-Fire Wheels or Spider Legs, but Goblin remains. Under each carriage, there were four Goblin skeletons. Despite the passage of time, the dozens of Goblin skeletons still stood there, using their shoulders to carry the Train.
It looked somewhat like a ghost bride's sedan.
"What... what is this?"
Doba stared at the scene in front of him, momentarily stunned. Then, a memory deep in his mind suddenly resurfaced, and he roared in anger, his face twisted with rage. "Those bastards! They actually did it in the end!"
"What's going on?"
Chen Mang frowned slightly and looked at this strange, scrapped Goblin Train. "Do you recognize this special type of wheel? It's not made from Goblin Merchants, is it?"
This was the first time he had seen "humanoid" wheels. Although he knew there were many special types of wheels, such as "Spider Legs," using Goblins as wheels seemed excessively bizarre. He had once considered using Goblin Merchants as wheels, as their carrying capacity and foot strength were impressive, and they had great endurance.
But it was just a fleeting thought. After all, while Goblin Merchants were fast when traveling light, they could only reach speeds of 150 km/h, which was much slower compared to other wheels.
The only possible advantage was lower energy consumption—ten slices of bread and a bottle of cola per 100 kilometers.
"No."
Doba took a deep breath, his eyes red and his body tense as he spoke in a trembling voice. "These are wheels made from Black Market Merchants."
"Before I died, I remember the Goblin Think Tank proposed an idea to use Black Market Merchants as wheels to build a Train. That way, the Train could have the same random teleportation ability as Black Market Merchants, allowing it to infiltrate enemy lines and become a ghost Train that no one could detect."
"But—"
"When Black Market Merchants carry heavy objects and teleport randomly, the heavy objects aren't teleported with them—only the Black Market Merchants themselves are teleported. The only solution was to fuse the Black Market Merchants with the Train, which was an extremely cruel process."
"Especially since each Black Market Merchant teleports randomly, making it impossible to have all of them teleport to the same point. There were also many other challenges to overcome, and almost all Goblins opposed using such a cruel plan on their own people."
"Particularly the Black Market Merchants—each one was a blessed individual of the Goblin race. This went against our ancestral teachings!"
"So the plan was shelved."
"I never thought that after I died, they managed to overcome all the challenges and built this Train with Black Market Merchants as its wheels. Unlike us, Black Market Merchants aren't naturally strong. Carrying such a heavy Train on their shoulders must have been excruciating, leaving them half-dead, and relying on other means to stay alive. It's even more cruel than the enemy!"
"..."
Chen Mang's eyes flickered with shock as he looked at the scrapped Goblin Train in front of him. Although it was somewhat inhumane, he had to admit that the concept was perfect—a Train that could teleport randomly would indeed become a ghost Train, casting a terrifying shadow over its enemies.
But...
In battles of that scale, how would they replenish ammunition? What if they teleported into the middle of the enemy's forces? There were many obvious issues, including how to control all the Goblin Merchants to teleport to the same point. He couldn't figure out how to solve that problem.
Indeed, once a war starts, all sorts of "idea kings" emerge.
He sighed softly, admitting that humans were the same. Once a war began, all kinds of "idea kings" would come up with crazy schemes, and all sorts of black technology would be thrown into the mix.
"Train Conductor."
Doba, his eyes red, looked at Chen Mang. "I want to bury my fellow clansmen here. They've sacrificed too much."
"Go ahead, bury them."
Chen Mang watched as Doba began digging a hole, then glanced at the Goblin Train. He had no intention of using the Geothermal Furnace to consume this scrapped Train. A Level 2 or Level 3 Goblin Train wouldn't yield much iron ore even if consumed.
Moreover, Doba was already crying his eyes out.
If he went ahead and consumed the Train right in front of the deceased's family, it would be like digging up a grave and grinding the bones to ashes in front of the bereaved.
It would make leading this team much harder in the future.
The Goblin remains had been there for who knows how long. Doba only had to lightly tap them with a pickaxe, and the skeletons crumbled to the ground. However, the arm bones were completely fused with the Train and couldn't be removed—they had to be pried out forcibly.
"..."
Chen Mang leaned on his cane, unconsciously rubbing the smooth red gem at its tip. He gazed into the dark depths of the distance, lost in thought, and remained silent.
Soon.
Doba had thrown all the Goblin remains into the pit and built a small mound over it. Then, with red eyes, he walked up to Chen Mang, lowered his head, and said hoarsely, "It's a pity. If they had met you, sir, their fate might not have been so tragic."
"Yeah."
Chen Mang nodded without saying much. He simply took Doba and Xiao Ai back to the Train and continued exploring further into the darkness.
Thirty minutes later.
"Boom!"
The Stellar Train slammed heavily into a wall. The high-speed rotating Drill Bit pressed against the wall, attempting to break through. But after a full five minutes, the wall showed no signs of damage.
Inside the Train, Chen Mang stared at the wall made of dirt. He had reached the edge of this space—a towering wall. Even when he flew up to 5,500 meters, he still couldn't get past it.
The same was true underground.
His Drill Bit had already been upgraded to Level 50. Even the walls of the Flesh Map could be forcibly drilled through.
But this wall seemed utterly impervious.
This was the end.
He slowly retracted the Drill Bit and decided not to continue trying. At this rate, even if he upgraded the Drill Bit to Level 100, he probably still wouldn't be able to break through this wall. He realized he had developed a bad habit.
In the past, when he encountered impassable walls, such as regional barriers, he would usually just go around or give up.
But after getting the Level 50 Drill Bit, whenever he saw something, he wanted to try drilling into it.
What if it worked?
"Let's head back."
Chen Mang shook his head and turned his attention away from the wall. This was clearly the boundary of the map. Trying to break through from the inside wasn't just difficult—even if he succeeded, it probably wouldn't lead to anything good...
On the way back, he didn't take the same route but instead followed the edge of the wall.
An hour later.
The Stellar Train returned to Biao Zi and the others. As the Headlights lit up, visibility was restored.
The Train Residents, who had been on edge the entire time, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Along the way, apart from that scrapped Goblin Train, they hadn't seen any other Goblin Trains, though they did spot many scattered Goblin remains on the ground.
--Support me in Patreon for more chapters 35+ chapters in there
patreon.com/LegendaryTL
Thanks!