My Apocalypse Train

Translator: AnubisTL

A moment later, Chen Mang stubbed out his nearly burned-out cigarette, took a deep breath to expel the lingering gloom from his chest, and finally gazed up at the starry sky above before turning back to the train.

When placed within the vast Milky Way, that constellation was utterly insignificant.

So insignificant that if not for the Doomsday Abyss, perhaps no one would have even noticed the message it conveyed when the planet met its final destruction.

Back inside the train, Chen Mang sat alone at the control panel, lost in thought for a long time before finally snapping back to reality. The revelation had hit him harder than even his own transmigration.

The apocalypse had arrived a year ago.

If they counted from the moment the apocalypse struck, the time limit was four years.

He had to make the train powerful enough within those four years to escape the apocalypse—powerful enough to leave the Nayi Star System and roam the Milky Way. Only then could he truly consider himself safe.

But...

He looked down at the train's control panel. Could he really upgrade the train to such a Tier in just four years? Even if the train's potential was limitless, how many resources would it require? Was this even a feasible goal?

Still, he had to try.

Chen Mang glanced at the Train Panel, which displayed 12,827 Units of Iron Ore. He pushed these thoughts aside for now and began today's crafting.

First, he spent 3,500 Units of Iron Ore to upgrade the Vehicle Blade to Tier 10. Upgrading White Accessories still required far fewer resources than higher-grade ones.

Upon reaching Tier 10:

The most noticeable change was that the Vehicle Blade had widened again, now reaching 120 centimeters, while the blade itself had become thinner.

Chen Mang had tested this, and the thinner blade didn't affect its hardness.

Notably—

The control panel displayed the condition of each train component. So far, all his components were at 100% integrity, except for the Vehicle Blade, which showed 97%.

Since there was a visual display of component integrity, it implied there was a way to repair them. However, Chen Mang didn't know how. The newbie guide didn't mention it, and neither did the train conductors of the Bloodthirsty Mad Bull Train and the King of Electronic Music Train.

Their advice was:

"A 20-30% drop in integrity won't affect normal use. If it drops to 60-70%, you won't need to worry about that anymore—just focus on staying alive."

After reaching Tier 10:

The first Component Blueprint he obtained, the White-Grade Vehicle Blade, finally gained its second Overpowered Effect.

Tier 10 Overpowered Effect: Vehicle Blade

When the Vehicle Blade spins at high speed, countless high-voltage currents flow across its surface, inflicting massive damage to carbon-based lifeforms but accelerating energy stone consumption.

He was quite satisfied with this Overpowered Effect. During close-quarters combat on the train, it would significantly enhance the train's safety.

Accessories unlock their first Overpowered Effect at Tier 5, their second at Tier 10, and their third at Tier 20.

Therefore, when resources are limited, upgrading to Tier 10 is the most cost-effective choice.

For the least resources, you gain two Overpowered Effects. Even a White-Grade Accessory, when upgraded to Tier 10 and equipped with two Overpowered Effects, can rival some Blue-grade vehicles, though their focus might differ.

As you upgrade further, the resource cost increases exponentially.

Of course, while he could theoretically upgrade infinitely, many accessories don't need continuous upgrades. For example, his Spider Leg accessory is already at Tier 13, allowing him to traverse 90-degree cliffs with ease.

If he were to upgrade it to Tier 31 in the future, he could even walk upside down on ceilings.

Further upgrades beyond that would be pointless. There's no such thing as a 360-degree cliff, let alone a 720-degree one. Subsequent upgrades would only unlock Overpowered Effects at the corresponding Tiers, with negligible improvements to the accessory itself. Such upgrades would offer significantly less value.

But who knows, in a high-dimensional world, there might actually be cliffs and precipices with a 720-degree angle.

He simply couldn't imagine it.

This was beyond human comprehension.

After upgrading the Vehicle Blade, he set his sights on the Moldy Bread Production Line. He really wanted to upgrade all the Steel Car Armor to Tier 3. At Tier 3, it would be completely immune to damage from Tier 3 Monsters.

Then, even if his train remained stationary, the Tier 3 Man-Eating Spider Leader Monster would be virtually unable to harm him.

However, upgrading the armor required too many resources. Just upgrading a single carriage to Tier 2 would cost a staggering 5,000 Units of Iron Ore. He planned to upgrade these Green-Grade train components in the next few days. For the first two days, he would prioritize upgrading some White-Grade Accessories to Tier 10 to obtain their corresponding Overpowered Effects.

Then, he would save up resources to upgrade all the Steel Car Armor to Tier 3.

That way, he could safely mine at the bottom of the Doomsday Abyss. Even if a monster attacked, with Tier 3 armor, he could easily escape any monster up to Tier 3, or even Tier 4.

After that, he would begin upgrading other accessories.

Chen Mang tentatively upgraded the Moldy Bread Slice Production Line to Tier 5. When he saw the bread slices it produced after the upgrade and their overpowered effects, he paused slightly before bursting into laughter. His guess had been right all along.

Prioritizing the Moldy Bread Slice Production Line had indeed been the correct choice.

Without hesitation, he immediately upgraded it to Tier 10.

This consumed a total of 4,400 units of Iron Ore.

Chen Mang walked into the 2nd Cargo Car and gazed at the bread slices emerging from the production line. The bread was soft and fragrant with milk, filled with a layer of jam in the middle, making it look incredibly appetizing.

This thing had absolutely nothing to do with moldy bread slices anymore!

Unfortunately, he wasn't a fan of sweets.

Otherwise, he would have switched his daily meals to these bread slices. They looked far better than his steamed buns. But...

"..."

Chen Mang picked up a freshly made, still-warm jam-filled bread slice and took a bite. His expression of satisfaction made him chuckle: "Actually, it tastes pretty good."

Upgrading an accessory wouldn't change its name, meaning the name of this accessory was now completely mismatched with the food it produced.

But that wasn't the most important thing. If it only had this effect, he wouldn't have spent so much Iron Ore.

The most crucial part was the two overpowered effects.

Tier 5 Overpowered Effect of the Moldy Bread Slice Production Line: The bread produced contains a high concentration of vitamins, providing a diverse range of nutrients to achieve balanced nutrition and maintain overall health.

Tier 10 Overpowered Effect of the Moldy Bread Slice Production Line: Long-term consumption increases viral antibodies in the body, reducing susceptibility to wind-cold, influenza, and other viral infections, while also slightly enhancing physical fitness.

For the Stellaris, these 101 slaves were its greatest asset. The Stellaris would be heartbroken if even one of them fell ill with a wind-cold and had to take to their bed, or if they were unable to work for any length of time.

The upgraded Moldy Bread Slice Production Line was the perfect solution to this problem.

Almost perfect.

(End of the Chapter)

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