My Apocalypse Train

Translator: AnubisTL

With ten people armed with automatic rifles, the twenty-odd zombie wolves were easily dispatched before they could even get close.

But...

"..."

Biaozi frowned slightly, glancing at the others beside him. Their coordination still wasn't quite there; their targets were too scattered, with several people often firing at the same wolf. But there was nothing to be done about it now. They'd have to train properly back on the train.

He wasn't a professional, and neither was anyone else here. They could only learn through trial and error, identifying problems in combat and refining their tactics accordingly.

He then ordered all the thugs to open fire on the spider cubs overhead. Meanwhile, he began inspecting each zombie wolf one by one. After finishing, he sighed regretfully. None of them had dropped anything.

This was his first field mission, and he'd naturally hoped for a bigger haul. It would have given him more confidence when he reported back.

But then...

Biaozi's eyes lit up as he noticed a Liquor and Cigarette Shop nearby. It was the very shop he'd mentioned earlier, the one with the hidden compartment. He immediately strode over, ready to loot it. He wouldn't be missed here.

The battle ended quickly. Though the targets were moving, their movements were relatively slow, making them easy to hit. The cubs' defenses were also quite weak.

Biaozi, who had rushed back, told the others to remain on guard while he systematically stuffed all the glowing loot into a burlap sack he'd scavenged from a Convenience Store. He paused when he spotted a familiar item, his eyes widening slightly. He couldn't help but scratch the back of his head and grin.

"Damn... we really hit the jackpot this time."

"Lord Mang, Lord Mang, this is checkmate! How are you going to block this move?"

Lying peacefully on the empty ground was a token radiating a milky-white glow.

It was none other than the Train Token.

Thirty minutes later.

Chen Mang, who had been standing by the train, finally saw Biaozi and his group sprinting towards him from the city ruins. He breathed a sigh of relief.

To be honest, this place gave him far more unease than the wasteland. The collapsed buildings limited the train's routes, unlike the vast expanse of the wasteland where he could drive wherever he pleased.

Soon, Biaozi and the others reached the train. Biaozi grinned as he dumped the burlap sack from his shoulder onto the ground. "Lord Mang, we made quite a haul this time! It's all in here."

"Oh, and that Liquor and Cigarette Shop I mentioned to the deputy train conductor was nearby. I grabbed some cigarettes while I was there. See if you can use them, Lord Mang."

"Good, good, good!"

Chen Mang repeated the word "good" three times, waving his hand for someone to move the supplies into the locomotive. He turned to Biaozi, whose left arm was wrapped in a bandage soaked with blood, and was about to say something when the ground began to tremble. He instinctively looked back and saw a massive, black mass of zombies that had appeared from nowhere, rapidly surging towards the city ruins.

"Get on board!"

Chen Mang was the first to dive into the locomotive. The others didn't hesitate, quickly scrambling into Living Car No. 3.

"Boom!"

With a roar, the engine roared to life. The train, its exterior stained with blood, roared back the way it had come, narrowly missing the zombie horde.

The zombies hadn't yet formed a complete encirclement, and they had been spotted early enough. There was no way the zombies' slow pace could catch up to them.

Inside the train.

Chen Mang leaned out of the skylight, gazing back at the black cloud of zombies. For some reason, a surge of exhilaration washed over him. It felt incredibly satisfying.

This feeling of narrowly escaping death was like the most potent poison—truly exhilarating.

Just wait.

Once his train was upgraded to sufficient power, he would drive it back and slaughter this entire horde, making those dogs pay for chasing him all this time!

On the desolate wasteland...

The Stellaris train raced ahead at breakneck speed, the city ruins behind them shrinking rapidly. The zombie horde, a menacing black cloud, gradually receded into the distance.

"ROAR!!!"

Overwhelmed by excitement, Chen Mang cupped his hands around his mouth and let out a triumphant roar toward the zombie horde.

Afterward, he reluctantly retreated back inside the train, returning to the locomotive cabin. This was the happiest moment since his arrival in this world—not because of the Train Upgrade, but simply because of the sheer joy he felt.

It was like...

Hiding in your cozy cabin during a thunderstorm.

Humans are naturally afraid of danger, but if you have a safe haven before the storm hits, that haven becomes your G-spot. The more dangerous the storm outside, the more exhilarating it feels to be safe inside.

Chen Mang took a deep breath in the locomotive cabin before opening the sack Biaozi had brought back. Inside lay thirteen packs of cigarettes.

He didn't recognize the brand.

They were likely a local brand from this world.

He quickly tore open a pack, pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and brought it to his lips. He closed his eyes slowly, inhaled deeply, then opened them again, exhaling a wisp of pale blue smoke. Gazing at the smoke swirling through the carriage, he felt a sense of peace wash over him.

Smoking wasn't a good habit.

But in the high-pressure environment of the apocalypse, you needed a few vices to keep your spirits up.

Finally, he wasn't short on cigarettes anymore.

Chen Mang did nothing but sit at the control panel, savoring the cigarette to its end. Only then did he open the window and flick out the crimson ember, watching the desolate wilderness flash past. A sudden laugh escaped him. This world didn't seem so bad after all.

In this world, with enough strength, anything was possible.

Life might be shorter, but it would be far more interesting.

Another cigarette.

Chen Mang lit another, bringing it to his lips. As the nicotine calmed his nerves, a smile played on his lips as he prepared to inventory his spoils.

Notably, the abandoned carriages where he had slain the Tier 3 Man-Eating Spider, as well as the carriages left in the city ruins, had all been devoured by his Geothermal Core Furnace, yielding a total of 500 units of Iron Ore.

He now possessed 813 units of Iron Ore.

Not bad at all.

Each ordinary carriage consumed by the furnace yielded roughly 50 units of Iron Ore, effectively a half-price recycling rate.

From this perspective, the primary focus for trains in the wilderness was development. Raiding was simply too inefficient. No one would hoard large quantities of Iron Ore; they'd use it as soon as they had it. It was impossible to accumulate a surplus.

Furthermore, ordinary people didn't even possess Red Grade train components like the Geothermal Core Furnace. Every battle carried the risk of casualties and train damage, making raiding even less cost-effective.

Finding a mine and developing it yourself offers the highest cost-effectiveness.

Unless...

Unless your strength completely overwhelms the enemy, making war highly cost-effective. After all, while you can't plunder Iron Ore, you can seize slaves.

As for those abandoned cars, they can't be broken down into Iron Ore after being consumed. However, Chen Mang discovered that they devour anything without hesitation, making them perfect for use as a garbage dump. He could even use them to clear roadblocks in the future, a novel application.

Besides thirteen cigarettes, the burlap sack also contained a bottle of chili sauce, pulled from who knows where.

"Good stuff," Chen Mang said, pleased as he set the chili sauce aside. He could finally change up his dinner's flavor later. However, his primary concern remained the loot from the spider cubs, the main reason for his trip.

He quickly finished inventorying the supplies.

Total:

300 Units of Tier 1 Material: Fine Spider Silk200 Units of Tier 1 Ore: Red Heart RockSpecial Item: Train TokenGreen Grade Vehicle Component Blueprint: Spider Leg

Chen Mang stared at the pile of items before him, momentarily stunned. He then picked up the Train Token from among the ore, weighed it in his hand, and couldn't help but chuckle wryly. Turning his head to gaze out the window, he exhaled a long plume of smoke.

"That guy..."

"Is he secretly laughing right now?"

(End of the Chapter)

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