My Apocalypse Train

Translator: Anubis Translations

After thanking the Heavenly Father, Chen Mang opened his eyes and gazed at the pitch-black night outside. He couldn't contain his excitement, his face splitting into a wide grin as he nodded repeatedly.

He had finally gathered enough iron ore.

The train could finally be upgraded to Tier 2.

All conditions were met. He only needed to build one more carriage. He had promised the slaves that if they could maintain a daily mining rate of at least 12 units for five days, he would construct another slave car, providing them with more spacious living quarters.

With a thought, the 100 units of iron ore in the 2nd Cargo Car instantly turned to dust and merged into the carriage. Moments later, several white dashed lines materialized behind the Stellaris train in the wasteland, forming the outline of a new carriage.

After a few seconds, as the faintly glowing white lines gradually faded, a brand new carriage appeared at the rear of the Stellaris train, securely coupled to the rest.

With this—

The train now had its fourth carriage: Slave Car No. 5.

Now that all the conditions for upgrading the train were met, Chen Mang focused his thoughts again. A full 5,000 units of iron ore dissolved into dust and merged into the carriages, the essential resources required for the upgrade.

Once all the dust had been absorbed by the train—

The next moment!

A translucent panel instantly popped up before Chen Mang.

Your train has reached Tier 2.

This unlocks more craftable accessories, offering enhanced customization and practical features.

"..."

Chen Mang eagerly skipped past the notification panel and opened his [Train Panel].

Soon, an incredibly detailed interface appeared on the screen inside the locomotive cabin.

[Train Name:] Stellaris

[Train Tier:] Tier 2

[Train Components:] Tier 2 Geothermal Core Furnace, Tier 1 Wheel Changer, Tier 5 Vehicle Blade

[Number of Carriages:] 4

[Ore Units:] 913 units of Iron Ore, 100 units of Wood, 10 units of Copper Ore

[Upgrade Requirements:] Must have 10 carriages, all six mandatory train components crafted, consume 5000 units of Tier 2 Iron Ore, and the total accessory Tier of all components must exceed 40.

"Finally, it's reached Tier 2!"

Chen Mang quickly scanned the twelve new train components available after upgrading to Tier 2. Six were mandatory for further upgrades, while the remaining six could be chosen freely.

His eyes immediately locked onto the two components he most wanted: the Train Radio and Crafting Table.

He then turned his attention to the new button that appeared on the control panel after the upgrade:

Personalized Customization

Pressing the button brought up a menu of nearly ten customization options. These included customizing the interior of the carriages to create seating or even sleeping quarters for his thugs, similar to Master Kun's setup. There were also options to change the exterior color of the carriages and spray the train's name on the sides.

However...

Chen Mang pursed his lips. Each customization required resources, and few seemed particularly useful. He couldn't imagine any fool wasting resources on changing the train's exterior color.

Just as he was about to carefully examine the twelve new components available after the upgrade...

Woo!!!

A sudden, piercing train whistle echoed from afar, growing louder as it approached. Chen Mang, who had been studying the changes on the control panel, nearly jumped up in surprise. He quickly grabbed the nearby telescope and trained it toward the source of the sound.

A dusty, pitch-black train rapidly approached him through the night.

It was a long whistle!

The whistle had been blaring for several seconds, showing no sign of stopping. As the train drew closer, the whistle grew louder and louder.

Almost instinctively, Chen Mang grabbed the nearby walkie-talkie and barked hoarsely, "All slaves, return to the carriages immediately! Thugs, prepare for battle!"

He didn't know what was happening.

But he knew one thing.

In the wilderness, most sudden developments rarely meant anything good.

Meanwhile, urgent voices came through the walkie-talkie from Biaozi and the others.

"Lord Mang, everyone is in position and ready to fight."

"Waiting for orders."

He didn't know what this train was about, but he had no intention of surrendering the mine so easily. He at least wanted to test their mettle before considering retreat. After all, finding another iron ore deposit wouldn't be easy.

Through the telescope, the approaching train moved swiftly—faster than his own—and showed no sign of slowing down. Blowing its whistle continuously, it roared past him at full speed!

And quickly vanished into the distance.

As they passed each other, Chen Mang noticed that the train had only three carriages, their exteriors pockmarked with dents and stained with blood, with scraps of flesh and severed limbs dangling from the sides and swaying in the wind.

It was clear that these three carriages were armored; otherwise, they would have been more than just dented.

Then—

Three more shrill whistles echoed from the distance, growing louder as they approached!

As the sound grew clearer, Chen Mang clearly saw that, from the same direction, three more trains were speeding toward him, almost side by side, their whistles blaring.

He even recognized one of them.

It was the same Tier 2 train that had raced past him a few days earlier after he was attacked by zombie wolves. At the time, he had stared after it with burning envy. The train had thirteen carriages, each covered in armor and equipped with two heavy machine guns on top. The locomotive itself mounted two large-caliber cannons.

That night, guided by its high beams, the train had roared past him at full volume, blaring DJ music with reckless abandon. As it passed his train, it even gave three short blasts of its whistle.

From that moment on, that train became his goal.

At that moment, he secretly vowed that one day he would also own a train like this, roaring with such arrogance across the wasteland.

However...

It was this very train, his dream train, that now limped toward him from the distance, battered and disheveled. Only eight of its original thirteen carriages remained, its body noticeably shorter. The carriages were riddled with holes, looking as if they had been corroded by strong acid, and thick green liquid dripped from its exterior.

The DJ was silent.

Instead, it began to wail its horn.

The hoarse, grating sound instantly filled the silent wasteland with an air of desolation and despair.

"Something's wrong."

The moment he saw this, Chen Mang's expression darkened. Whether it was the first train or the three that followed, they were all clearly fleeing for their lives. Something terrifying—like a zombie horde—must be chasing them.

Though he couldn't see anything, perhaps due to the darkness, he immediately slammed on the accelerator, pushing his train to its maximum speed. He aimed for the direction the first train had fled in and sped off!

If even a nearly fully-equipped Tier 2 train was fleeing, what was he waiting for with his newly upgraded Tier 2 train?

"Damn it!"

Seeing that his train's speed was clearly no match for the others, Chen Mang watched helplessly as they quickly overtook him, disappearing into the distance. Now alone in the wasteland, he couldn't help but curse:

"Is Heaven blind? Always failing when you praise it?"

"Or maybe it's off duty at night, refusing to answer prayers?"

(End of the Chapter)

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