"Is this... is this right?"
In the Kunlun Mountains region, a man sitting inside the Ziyun Train gazed blankly at the empty canyon before him, feeling a sense of confusion and helplessness, as if he had drawn his sword only to find no enemies to face.
He had come from the Iron Ridge Wasteland.
Once, he had some conflicts with the Stellar Train, but he had quickly backed down, and the Stellar Train had forgiven him. However, the blow to his pride had been significant.
He had worked hard to develop his train for so long, only for the Stellar Train to catch up within a month, rising from obscurity to the top of the regional leaderboard. And then, a month later, it advanced to a Level 4 Train and headed to the green zone.
It had completely shattered his confidence.
So, he decided to throw caution to the wind. Screw mechanical trains, he thought, he would go all-in and transform into a Flesh Train!
The Kunlun Mountains region was teeming with monsters, and after his transformation, he planned to head there and slaughter the weaker creatures.
It was a good plan.
He successfully transformed into a C-level potential Flesh Train. To reach B-level potential, he needed to kill a Level 5 monster, but he knew he couldn't handle that. He had no idea how others had managed it.
But just as he was about to head to the Kunlun Mountains to hunt, he found that all the monsters had vanished. The Train Radio was filled with the despairing cries of other Flesh Trains, and no one had a solution.
"..."
The man sat in stunned silence for a long time before finally looking at the "skull" on the control panel. After transforming into a Flesh Train, most of the mechanical components inside the train had disappeared, and the Train Auxiliary AI had been replaced by the Flesh Brain.
Its functions were the same as before.
The only difference was its appearance, and now he was the only one left in the train. All his Slaves, thugs, and even the Deputy Train Conductor had been devoured by the Flesh Train the moment he completed his transformation.
To be honest, if he had known this would happen, he might not have gone through with it. No one had told him the specifics of what would occur after transforming into a Flesh Train.
The Deputy Train Conductor had been quite loyal, and he had felt some attachment to him.
But it was too late now—there was no turning back.
He looked down at the seat cushion, which now resembled the inner red flesh of a turned-out lip. It was surprisingly comfortable, with no sticky bloodstains or anything.
The interior of the carriage had also transformed into something resembling intestines, with wrinkled flesh everywhere.
His Makeshift Heavy Machine Gun had become a Bone Spur Machine Gun.
All the components could now be controlled with his mind. For example, he could mentally direct the Bone Spur Machine Gun to precisely target enemies through the Sensory Tentacles. The sense of control over the train was much stronger than before.
At the moment, the biggest drawback was...
The ceiling would occasionally sprout random human faces that stared at him while he slept, causing him some mental distress. Those faces belonged to his former Slaves. And whether it was his imagination or not, he felt like he was becoming more and more in sync with the train, as if he and the Flesh Train were gradually merging into one.
"Sigh."
After a long while, the man let out a deep sigh and looked at the Supermodel Effect Quantity Ranking, where the S-level potential mechanical train still held the top spot.
That guy was still incredibly strong, even in the green zone.
Back in the Iron Ridge Wasteland, he had consistently ranked in the top five on the regional leaderboard, and the gap between him and the Stellar Train hadn't been that large. But after arriving in the Shahe Plain, the gap between them had rapidly widened.
"Huh?"
Just then—
The man suddenly froze, sensing a Level 2 monster flash by about 300 meters away. His face lit up with joy, and without hesitation, he directed the train to chase after it!
The train, which looked more like a combination of a centipede, spider, and worm, began to sprint forward on its spiked Spider Legs, rapidly closing in on the Zombie Wolf!
A Level 2 monster was barely worth anything to a Flesh Train.
But this was the first monster he had seen in the Kunlun Mountains region. By following it, he might be able to find out where all the monsters in the area had gone.
After transforming into a Flesh Train,
the control panel screen had disappeared.
All the information now appeared directly in his mind, including the Sensory Tentacles, which had been converted from the Targeting Radar. Two short tentacles at the front of the train sensed everything and transmitted the information directly to his brain.
It was similar to before.
The only difference was that the information used to appear on a screen, but now it appeared in his mind.
Moreover, after transforming into a Flesh Train, he felt like his thinking had become more agile. He could now handle multiple tasks simultaneously, control multiple components, and process a lot of information without feeling overwhelmed or experiencing mental shutdown.
Half an hour later.
The man's smile grew wider as he saw with his own eyes a valley filled with monsters up ahead. The monsters were kneeling on the ground, as if conducting some kind of ritual.
He could see them with his eyes, but the Sensory Tentacles didn't transmit any information.
Just then—
All the monsters in the valley suddenly turned their heads in unison to look at him. Their blood-red, ferocious eyes instantly snapped him back to reality. His face paled, and he immediately turned the train around, fleeing back the way he had come!
Damn it!
What was he thinking?!
He was only a Level 4 Flesh Train, and the Kunlun Mountains region was filled with Level 5 and even Level 6 monsters. How could he have ventured so deep?!
Run!
That thought now dominated his mind. If he didn't run now, he was certain to die.
That valley was filled with high-level monsters. If they caught up to him, he had no chance of survival.
However, before fleeing, he quickly pressed the green Flesh Pad Button on the control panel, recording the coordinates of the location. Perhaps... perhaps he could collaborate with that guy.
He would provide the coordinates, and that guy could come and kill all the monsters, taking the blueprints and Special Items that dropped.
He only needed the flesh of the monsters.
But...
That guy was strong, but he was still only a Level 4 Train. Could he really handle so many monsters in that valley?
In just that brief glance,
he had seen at least four Level 6 bosses kneeling in the center, surrounded by more than a dozen Level 5 bosses. The rest were high-level elite monsters, with only a few scattered smaller monsters on the outskirts.
This was just a small portion. If all the monsters in the Kunlun Mountains region were gathered here, this small valley wouldn't be able to contain them.
Time passed quickly.
Three days flew by in the blink of an eye.
Night had fallen.
This was the third day since the Stellar Train had arrived on this mountain. In these three days, the Train Residents had produced a total of 510,000 units of Iron Ore.
Out of five Level 2 Iron Ore Mines, one and a half had already been depleted.
The results were quite impressive.
"..."
Chen Mang looked at the messages on the Train Radio. Over the past few days, there had been no changes in the Kunlun Mountains region. All the monsters had disappeared, and most of the Flesh Trains had already crossed the Kunlun Mountains to another green zone.
After all, the Shahe Plain was much safer than other regions, with few roaming monsters.
Fortunately, he was a mechanical train.
It didn't affect him.
After all, monsters might hide to avoid being hunted, but mines couldn't just run away, right? That didn't make sense. Mines didn't have legs to flee.
He looked at the resource count on the Train Panel. Currently, he had exactly 700,000 units of Iron Ore.
It was a bit low. At this rate, in about ten more days, all the mines would be completely depleted.
Just then—
"Brother!"
Er Dan, the Train Conductor of the Azure Dragon Train, sent him a private message: "I've reached Level 6 Train, hahaha! You should pick up the pace too. It's been so long, and you're still at Level 4 Train."
"..."
"So long? It hasn't even been a full month since I arrived in the Shahe Plain, has it?"
"Hmm... I guess you're right. But you're S-level potential, after all. Keep it up, brother. I'll be waiting for you at Level 6 Train. Build up your reserves, and once you reach Level 6 Train, we can head to the yellow zone together and see what's going on there."
Chen Mang didn't reply. Instead, he looked at the Radar Blocker component on the train's control panel screen.
It was a yellow-grade component.
He had crafted it but hadn't upgraded it yet. After consuming 90,000 units of Iron Ore, he upgraded it to Level 10 in one go.
At Level 10,
any Targeting Radar of Level 10 or below would be unable to detect his train. Although the upgrade cost was slightly higher than other yellow-grade components, the value was still excellent.
Of course,
this only applied to his train. If all the Train Crew remained inside the train, they would be effectively invisible to enemy radar. But if any crew members left the train, their presence could still be detected on radar.
He also gained two Supermodel Effects.
-
"Radar Blocker Level 5 Supermodel Effect": None.
"Radar Blocker Level 10 Supermodel Effect": None.
-
Both Supermodel Effects were "None," but this component didn't really need any Supermodel Effects. Its upgraded effects were already powerful enough. The train that had ambushed him in the swamp back then had managed to evade his Level 10 Radar through some means.
He had seen that guy's Armor, and it was identical to the paint on the Goblin Train's Armor.
Seven more days passed.
All five Level 2 Iron Ore Mines on the mountain had been fully depleted. The Iron Ore count on the Train Panel now stood at 1,750,000 units.
With this much Iron Ore, he could do a lot.
First, he spent 95,000 units of Iron Ore to upgrade Carriage 15, the Breeding Carriage, to Level 6.
Then he looked at the cost of upgrading the Armor to Level 7.
Upgrading the Armor on one carriage from Level 5 to Level 6 required 100,000 units of Iron Ore, and from Level 6 to Level 7 required 200,000 units. Including the train's head, he had a total of 16 sections that needed upgrading. To upgrade all of them to Level 7 Armor would require a whopping 3,200,000 units of Iron Ore.
In the green zone, Level 6 Armor was more than sufficient. Level 7 Armor wasn't necessary for now.
After some thought,
he spent 405,000 units of Iron Ore to upgrade the remaining nine Combat Training Virtual Spaces in the Guard Car to Level 10. Now, the Stellar Train had ten Level 10 Combat Training Virtual Spaces, including the one in the train's head.
This allowed the Guards to train in the virtual space and enhance their physical abilities in reality.
It greatly improved their individual combat capabilities.
He then spent another 600,000 units of Iron Ore to have all 30 Guards on the Stellar Train go to Carriage 2, where each of them was fitted with a custom Individual Exoskeleton Armor, further boosting their individual combat capabilities.
Out of the 1,000,000 units, most had been spent on improving individual combat capabilities.
He still had 740,000 units of Iron Ore left.
Just as Chen Mang was looking at the information of all the train components on the control panel screen, trying to decide which one to upgrade next, a sharp, urgent voice filled with fear and sobbing suddenly came through the Train Radio intercom.
"..."
Chen Mang frowned slightly. Only people he had replied to in private messages could directly contact him like this through the intercom, but he didn't remember replying to someone so rude.
This could easily startle people.
But as he listened, he was taken aback.
"Brother, I... I can't escape anymore, I'm going to die..."
"I sent you some coordinates. Many monsters from the Kunlun Mountains region are hiding there. If you have the ability, you can kill them. They'll drop a lot of good stuff. Consider it avenging me."
The voice was extremely sharp and piercing, but it was also filled with deep fear and despair.
There was also a sound like... chewing flesh, the sound of bones breaking.
"Ah!!"
A scream of intense pain suddenly came through the intercom, and soon the voice grew weaker and weaker. It was clear that the person's life was fading fast.
"Brother..."
"A few days ago, I saw them... they caught up to my train... they took me and my train back to that valley... they dragged me out of the train but didn't kill me... I just found a chance to get back on the train..."
"I don't have time to run... I can only send you the coordinates."
"It hurts... it really hurts..."
"They're not killing me outright... they're slowly gnawing at my flesh..."
"If I had known the green zone was this dangerous... I would have stayed in the Iron Ridge Wasteland..."
"Brother, are you listening..."
"..."
Chen Mang frowned and opened the Train Radio, looking at the coordinates sent by the Ziyun Train. In a deep voice, he said, "I'm listening. Do you have any last words?"
"Maybe try hitting your head against something sharp? That might make it quicker, less painful."
"I..."
The voice on the other end of the intercom, which had started out filled with fear and despair, had now become extremely faint, barely audible.
"I... I miss my Mom..."
"She didn't give birth to me... to be slowly devoured by monsters..."
"It hurts so much."
The next moment—
"Crunch."
A sound like a skull being crushed suddenly came through, and then the call was abruptly disconnected. When a Train Conductor dies, the train becomes ownerless, and all components, including the Train Radio, automatically shut down.
(End of Chapter)