"Makes sense... but, boss, it seems Master Mang and his group are about to light up cigars. Shouldn't we, as bodyguards, refrain from smoking? I thought this was an indulgence for the big shots, and bodyguards don't partake."

"Hmm... you might be right, but since we already have them lit, we can't really put them out now, can we?"

...

"To me, you all are like seniors."

Chen Mang took the lead to present himself very humbly, while the other three only exchanged glances, feeling a subtle unease. Clearly, Master Mang was stronger, and for him to show humility now meant that the ensuing developments could become somewhat unpredictable.

"Let me get the ball rolling then."

"As far as I know."

"If you own 10 train carriages, upgrading the Star Ring Energy Shield from Level 1 to Level 12 requires 320 million units of iron ore. Do you have enough iron ore to reach Level 12?"

"No."

The leading middle-aged man shook his head immediately: "Crisis Valley's speed of acquiring iron ore far surpasses the lower-level areas, and one reason is that Crisis Valley is a Blue Zone with Level 4 iron ore mines, each producing about 10 million units of iron ore."

"Once a Level 4 iron ore mine is fully exploited, 10 million units of iron ore are credited."

"But Level 4 iron ore mines are quite rare, and you can't always find them. Typically, Level 3 iron ore mines dominate, with each yielding around 2 million units of ore."

"Iron ore is the main resource for train upgrades, and to this day, not many trains in Crisis Valley possess a Level 12 Star Ring Energy Shield."

"I do know of one train that has it, but with only 4 carriages, including the locomotive, it sacrificed a lot."

"Additionally, each train makes its own choices."

"For instance, if you want to acquire Murphy Stones, you generally have to venture into the Adventure Map to obtain them, and there's a chance of them dropping when killing high-level monster bosses. This leads to a dilemma: some people use Murphy Stones to upgrade the Wealthy Energy Shield, which allows them to consume less iron ore for higher-level shields."

"After all, it reduces the cost difference of replacing the energy shield from scratch."

"But the flaw is obvious because you can't always have Murphy Stones. Even if you upgrade the Wealthy Energy Shield, eventually, you'll still need a higher-grade energy shield. The more you spend on upgrades now, the more you'll lose on replacements later."

"Many also use them to upgrade the Doomsday Cannon. I'm sure you know, Master Mang, this component, despite being only a blue-grade part, offers great value, especially with the supermodel effect of 'Half Consumption' multiplied by two."

"Using Murphy Stones to upgrade it to Level 12 essentially guarantees it can break through the defenses of the strongest monsters in this area and other trains."

"This is the choice most trains make."

"While it cannot withstand attacks from other trains, at least it poses a threat somehow, ensuring some means of retaliation when under attack, although even a Level 12 cannon often can't destroy a train due to insufficient attack power."

At this point,

the middle-aged man paused, hesitantly looking towards the top of Chen Mang's Fixed Star Train at the 10 Doomsday Cannons and continued: "I recall Master Shen's train has a Level 10 Energy Shield. Are those 10 Doomsday Cannons of yours all Level 11 or 12, Master Mang?"

"Including the armor, wouldn't this have consumed a lot of Murphy Stones?"

"Yes."

Chen Mang nodded, not extending the topic much further, just nodding thoughtfully. By this measure, most trains are actually... neutered versions.

Not at all complete.

It's all about balancing one side to balance the other, making up what's essentially an energy shield.

The fundamental reason.

Is the lack of iron ore, which is the same problem he faces—insufficient iron ore. However, his iron would never be enough because he can upgrade indefinitely; even if he has 1 billion units of iron ore right now, he can manage to spend it all at once without upgrading the train.

"However, it seems everyone doesn't have a shortage of Murphy Stones. Quite a few components are over-upgraded."

"..."

The middle-aged man squinted slightly, Master Mang's words contained a lot of information, did Master Mang get a good look at their train's specific components?

This point is extremely fatal.

Equivalent to information domination.

After a moment of silence, he went on: "Crisis Valley is divided into two zones, the 'Red Zone' and the 'White Zone,' separated by a canyon that spans the entire area, only accessible via the Bunny Cloud's wheels flying across."

"The White Zone is the area we're currently in."

"The Red Zone is the area on the other side of the canyon, where there's a ruin called 'Mechanical City,' with quite a few opportunities inside. Many trains have acquired some Murphy Stones there. The first batch of trains that arrived here feasted well, leaving scraps for the ones that followed. Nowadays, there's pretty much nothing left."

"I've stayed in Crisis Valley for five months, with many trains scavenging for some remains, indeed obtaining some opportunities."

"Yes."

Chen Mang nodded, taking a Red Heart Nut from the plate and putting it into his mouth casually: "Do any of you have something to discuss?"

...

One hour later.

The meeting ended.

The entire meeting was quite harmonious; no conflicts arose, not even arguments.

The more stable the order, the easier it is to argue. In peacetime, street quarrels are common, but in Doomsday, who dares to argue?

You just cursed someone, and...

Before you finish the sentence, the other party has already pulled out the equalizer of life from their pocket.

Chen Mang's five 'Level 1 iron ore' mines were also entirely sold, each sold at 1.5 million, totaling 7.5 million units of iron ore.

Even though there was a limit of purchasing five mines, if they wanted to buy more, he surely had more available.

It's just...

Nobody wanted to buy more, clearly, most were cautious about this unknown S-grade reward, unwilling to purchase something they weren't sure about.

At the time, outside the Fixed Star Train—

Five new standard carriages were constructed, each containing a Level 1 "Gate of Space," inside of which lay Level 1 iron ore, being mined by slaves from five trains.

Oh no.

To be precise, they are slaves from 2 trains, passengers from 1 train, workers from another, and civilians from one more.

The last three trains are the ones whose Train Captains were just conversing with him; the three were from the 12th-level Mechanical Trains.

This was his first encounter with a train, aside from his own, that didn't label people as slaves.

Through conversation.

He also learned that in the initial days of Doomsday, things weren't as harsh, but back then, the ecosystem wasn't great; many survivors saw the Train Captains merely as drivers and sought refuge while refusing to mine all day, even proposing some politically correct ideas.

At first.

The Train Captain didn't understand, for many were ordinary people before and suddenly facing the pressure of hundreds of people overwhelmed them. They didn't know how to handle it and agreed to everything.

The ultimate result was.

Nobody mined, and the trains were doomed.

In this environment, the slave system emerged.

All spectral beasts and gender distinctions, everyone was made to mine with overseers wielding whips, striking anyone who refused to dig.

Under the absolute dictatorship of the Train Captains, train production efficiency skyrocketed!

At the time, almost all trains after Doomsday started in the White Zone, those trains, which were the first to implement the slave system, advanced quickly reaching higher levels, prompting everyone else to follow suit.

The slave system, therefore, became rampant across all areas.

Undeniably.

Adopting the slave system greatly decreased the number of doomed trains, and the speed of train development also saw almost exponential growth.

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