Sounds a bit crude.

But that's reality.

In the apocalypse, women don't usually have a great ending, unless they're like Zhang Damei.

So far, I haven't seen a train where the Train Captain is a woman. For the few that exist, the women themselves are very capable, stronger than many men, making it impossible to have an organization where the Train Captain is a woman who uses her body to bind her inner circle.

Pure nonsense.

Such a structure could never exist in the apocalypse.

...

The sun officially set.

The banquet began.

This banquet was quite lavish, with ten residents gathered around a table laden with various dishes.

"Diced Meat Stir-Fried with Bun Cubes," "Pork Trotter Soup," "Braised Pork Feet with Potatoes," "Pork Trotters Stir-Fried with Bun Cubes," "Rice Noodle Rolls," "Sour Long Beans Stir-Fried with Pork Trotters," "Coke-Braised Pork Trotters," "Chilled Coke," and so on.

Quite a feast indeed.

After a whole day of toil.

All the residents sat at the banquet, getting up on tiptoes to look at Master Mang standing on the stage. It was the first time many had seen Master Mang, as the train was too big and there were too many people.

"..."

Standing on the stage, Chen Mang looked at the hundreds of tables of residents below, a dense crowd, the headlights providing illumination. He chuckled lightly as he took the microphone offered by Old Pig, and his voice spread through the train's External Sound System.

"Is the food tasty?"

"Tasty!"

The crowd below erupted in cheers, excitedly shouting in response.

"Isn't it nice to eat this kind of meal during the apocalypse?"

"It's amazing, Master Mang!"

Chen Mang paused for a moment, waiting for the cheers to subside before continuing, "On the Fixed Star, everyone who puts in the effort will be rewarded. As long as you work hard, I will give you your corresponding rewards."

"The banquet has officially begun."

Then he handed the microphone to Old Pig beside him and walked to a round table using a cane.

At the same time—

"Boom!!"

A missile whistled out from car 14, exploding like fireworks in the sky, followed by one after another, a dozen or so missiles exploding like fireworks in the air.

Accompanied by festive music.

The banquet began.

Chen Mang also sat at the round table, watching the people around him as he was the first to pick up his chopsticks, taking a piece of chicken into his mouth with a smile, "Let's start."

There were only a few people at this table.

Old Pig, Biaozi, Zhang Damei, the captain of the third team, and Li Shiji.

The dishes on this table were noticeably richer and more refined than those at other tables, with a chicken stewed with potatoes and a pig butchered to make ribs braised with potatoes, all cooked by the chef's private stove.

Everyone's reactions were different. Old Pig hurriedly got up to pour a cup of iced tea for Chen Mang, as Master Mang enjoyed iced tea.

Biaozi was quite excited and elated.

Zhang Damei, the captain of the third team, and Li Shiji were somewhat reserved, sitting very upright, not looking much like for eating.

...

After eating quickly, Chen Mang didn't linger.

With him there, everyone was a bit reserved, and the topics were much tamer, more restrained. After eating his fill, he returned alone to his train quarters.

Sitting in the chair, he looked at the existing resources on the Train Panel, while outside, after he left, the overall sound was noticeably a few decibels louder.

"Ai."

"I'm here," came Ai's voice from within the train quarters.

"Keep an eye out for me to see if anyone talks bad about me," Chen Mang smirked. "If anyone gets drunk and badmouths me, make sure you note it down."

"Understood."

When Er Dan was relieved from the Azure Dragon's Train Captain position, all usable parts were dismantled, including the beer production line placed inside the Fixed Star. A lot of alcohol was offered during the banquet for everyone to indulge in.

By the way...

To see if anyone would speak the truth after drinking.

He then looked at the "Sunny Day Doll" ornament on the train's control panel, realizing that nearly a month had passed, and the progress was only at 78%.

Perhaps it's because it's hard to dream when one's body is overly exhausted, which might explain the slow progress?

But he didn't mind, as he didn't even know what it was.

Instead, he focused on all the resources harvested this time.

Apart from the initial 28 million units of iron ore, he acquired an additional 35 million units of iron ore, 17 million units of copper ore, and 10.29 million units of titanium crystal ore later on.

The train's current total resources are—

"55.02 million units of iron ore, 2.57 million units of wood, 18.04 million units of copper ore, 4.48 million units of Red Heart Rock, 10.29 million units of titanium crystal ore."

Overnight wealth.

He liked the advanced area.

Only in the advanced area could one get such windfalls; in the Tieling Wasteland, you'd be exhausted before digging up this much iron ore. Even if he monopolized all the iron ore in Tieling Wasteland, he wouldn't be able to extract such numbers.

The blue area was already like this.

He was even more excited about the purple area.

There should be Level 5 iron ore in the purple area...

He hadn't seen a Level 5 mine and didn't know how much content it might have, but surely a Level 5 iron mine would contain tens of millions, at least.

Due to being underground, there's no contact with the sun, so the "Solar Energy Panels" couldn't be used, nor could the "Cosmic Receiver," deep underground, thousands of meters below the surface.

But these two were trivial matters, negligible compared to the major haul this time.

Millions of iron and copper ore gave him an extreme sense of security.

"Let's upgrade the armor first."

Chen Mang contentedly sat in the chair, looking at the screen on the control panel.

Upgrading from Level 12 armor to Level 13 armor costs 2 million per carriage.

Upgrading from Level 13 to Level 14 costs 3 million per carriage.

The Fixed Star has 14 carriages + 1 train head + 1 Giant Beast carriage, so 48 million units of iron ore are needed, but the "Wagon Steel Armor" Level 10 Supermodel Effect halves the upgrade costs.

By consuming 24 million units of iron ore, the Fixed Star's armor reached Level 14!

...

"Feeling much safer now."

Chen Mang looked at the image on the train's three-dimensional map, exhaling in relief. Level 14 armor has a reassuring feel to it, and upgrading to Level 15 would require consuming 40 million units of iron ore.

The train's iron ore stocks are insufficient.

The train currently has 31.02 million units of iron ore left.

No rush for Level 15 armor; it'll wait until later. Level 14 armor in the Crisis Valley's blue area is adequate. First, upgrade the train to Level 12 and see what Xiaolv looks like upon awakening.

He glanced at the train's upgrade conditions.

-

"Upgrade Conditions": Two necessary Vehicle Accessories must be fully crafted, 30,000 units of Level 3 iron ore consumed, and all carriage accessories above level 220.

-

The conditions weren't difficult at all.

Entirely satisfied.

After consuming 100,000 units of iron ore and crafting the "dark matter resonator" and "resource tracking device," he consumed another 3 million units of iron ore to upgrade the train to Level 12!

In just a month.

The train went directly from Level 10 to Level 12.

Thus, the Fixed Star finally became a Level 12 Mechanical Train, among the top ranks in Crisis Valley. Truthfully, it already was, but before the strength was there, the level hadn't followed. Now, the level and strength both matched.

The next moment—

Familiar lines of text appeared on the train's control panel screen.

-

"Your train has upgraded to Level 12."

"No additional craftable accessories unlocked."

-

"Phew..."

It wasn't easy.

Chen Mang leaned back in his chair, putting his feet up on the control panel, lighting a victory cigar and musing at the words on the screen.

It's time to head to the purple area.

After leaving the Crisis Valley, he won't be able to return to the "Train Tunnel," meaning he can't revisit the Shahe Plain after leaving Crisis Valley. He plans to visit the Shahe Plain in the coming days to find that gnome man.

Bring him a gift.

Now, a small amount of what he has for lower-tier trains would be considered a massive favor.

By the way...

By the way, show off his Level 12 train.

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