My Apocalypse Train

Translator: AnubisTL

A cigarette burned to its end.

The crimson light vanished across the desolate wasteland like a fleeting meteor across the sky, or like the restrained affection of a young man—gone in an instant, unnoticed by anyone.

"..."

Chen Mang entered the locomotive cabin and sat at the control panel. He pressed a red button, and with a mechanical click of gears turning, a mechanical prosthetic limb resembling a spider's leg extended from the bottom of the carriage, replacing the Windfire Wheel.

The entire Stellaris train instantly transformed into a giant, worm-like centipede.

"Hoo..."

He exhaled softly, a hint of determination in his eyes. The No-Man's Wilderness stretched flat and unbroken before him, offering no obstacles or opportunities for experimentation. Though the accessory's effect allowed the train to traverse a 90-degree vertical surface, he had never truly experienced it.

He slowly pressed down on the accelerator.

The train began to inch forward, its worm-like body crawling toward the edge of the cliff.

Meanwhile, the Train Auxiliary AI in the control panel scrolled through several lines of information on the screen:

[The slope ahead is a 90-degree vertical descent. Normal operation is possible.]

When the locomotive's foremost mechanical limb made contact with the cliff face, Chen Mang felt a sharp clunk inside the train. Immediately afterward, the entire train began to move steadily along the cliff face, clinging to it like a centipede.

There were no headlights.

In the darkness, the abyss below was pitch black, resembling the gates of Hell, its terrifying depths stirring unease in Chen Mang's heart.

The intense sensation of weightlessness made his chest feel tight. His seatbelt held him firmly in place, but the other passengers weren't so fortunate.

He had warned them beforehand: there were no seatbelts or restraints in the carriage. They could only huddle together on one side, trying to maintain their balance.

While there was no mortal danger, it was still an uncomfortable experience.

To prevent his slaves from suffocating, Chen Mang opened all the rear carriage doors as the train descended the cliff face like a centipede, ensuring maximum airflow.

Ten minutes later.

All light had vanished.

The pitch-black Abyss enveloped the entire train. Only the dim lights within the carriages, like lone resisters against the tide of history, burned their limited lives as brightly as possible to ward off the encroaching darkness.

Visibility was virtually zero.

Chen Mang couldn't see anything ahead, relying entirely on the Train Auxiliary AI Accessory to guide him forward safely.

They had descended 2,000 meters.

He maintained a relatively steady speed, as too rapid a descent could cause discomfort for the slaves.

Finally—

After thirty minutes, the Train Auxiliary AI announced they were nearing the bottom. With another clunk, the train came to a smooth stop at the foot of the cliff.

"..."

Chen Mang stepped out of the train and into the pitch-black Abyss. Looking up at the star-filled sky, visible only through a narrow crack above, he felt a sense of unreality. This was his first time in such an environment, a place where he stood in the mud yet still gazed at the stars, imbued with a unique sense of lonely romance.

Meanwhile, the Resource Detection Radar beeped urgently.

It indicated a Tier 2 Iron Ore deposit lay untouched within an 800-meter radius.

He had been monitoring the Target Acquisition Radar the entire time. From the beginning until now, it had bottomed out, showing not a single red point. This was a natural barrier; no monster could reach this place.

Perhaps a flying monster could reach here, but he hadn't seen one yet.

At this moment, Old Pig finished counting and jogged over.

"Lord Mang, no slaves were killed. Just a few scratches, nothing that will affect their work."

"Mm."

Chen Mang nodded, his voice soft. "Everyone rest here tonight. We'll start working at dawn."

"Understood."

After Old Pig left, Chen Mang turned his gaze to the mechanical spider-leg prosthetics beneath the train. He had spent a total of 8,100 Units of Spider Silk to upgrade the "Spider Leg" accessory from Tier 4 to Tier 13.

Upon reaching Tier 5, he unlocked his first Overpowered Effect.

Tier 5 Overpowered Effect: Can switch to Spider Walk Mode, reducing movement noise by 100%.

Upon reaching Tier 10, he unlocked his second Overpowered Effect.

Tier 10 Overpowered Effect: Spider Legs can shoot out two strands of Spider Silk up to 100 meters long for one hour, allowing the train to travel smoothly along the silk. Each 100-meter strand of silk requires 100 Units of Tier 1 Spider Silk.

"..."

Chen Mang stood calmly at the bottom of the Abyss, leaning on his cane and gazing at the two Overpowered Effects.

The first Overpowered Effect was somewhat ordinary. The train's movement produced not only the noise of its wheels but also the roar of its engine and the clatter of its carriage hinges. Unless future accessories could eliminate these sounds, the train would remain far from truly silent.

Adding to this the ability to evade Radar detection and even spatial distortions, the entire train would eventually move like a ghost, silently gliding through the darkness.

The second Overpowered Effect had far more applications.

For instance, if he wanted to reach the other side of the Doomsday Abyss, this effect would eliminate the need to detour. He could simply shoot Spider Silk across the chasm, allowing the train to traverse the abyss as if walking a tightrope.

Or in a city, combined with the Spider Leg's inherent abilities, he could control the train to move freely along the skyline, perfect for escaping danger or searching for resources.

"Not bad," Chen Mang chuckled before returning to the train's interior. He would start work first thing in the morning.

Several hours later, dawn broke.

The train had stopped beside the Tier 2 Iron Ore deposit. This deposit was open-pit, not underground, eliminating the need to navigate mine shafts and significantly boosting mining efficiency.

Looking up, he could see a sliver of sunlight piercing the narrow gap above.

The sunlight barely reached the bottom of the Abyss, leaving it shrouded in perpetual twilight. Only by looking up could one glimpse the faint sunlight above, while gusts of cool wind swept through the crowd.

Each slave was now given a bowl of steaming hot water and several slices of warm steamed bread, with a packet of pickled vegetables for every ten people.

Of course, the slaves referred to here were the Tier 2 slaves from the original train. The newly arrived tier 3 slaves received slices of bread instead.

Today, everyone's meal allowance had been upgraded by one tier. Normally, only thugs and the train conductor were entitled to eat steamed bread.

To ward off the chill.

The previous night, Chen Mang had spent 100 Units of Iron Ore to upgrade the Pickaxe Production Line to Tier 2. It could now produce pickaxes capable of mining Tier 2 resources, though each Tier 2 pickaxe required 10 Units of Iron Ore to craft.

He only had 70 Units of Iron Ore left, enough to make just seven Tier 2 pickaxes.

But this wasn't a major concern.

After all, Tier 2 Iron Ore was right nearby. A few swings of the pickaxe would yield more than enough Iron Ore to craft the necessary tools.

The Stellaris train stood with its doors open, casting dim light from its interior lamps.

This was the best resource these slaves had enjoyed in days, and the best the train could currently provide.

All for the sake of—

This Tier 2 Iron Ore.

(End of the Chapter)

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