A cigarette burned to its end.
Its scarlet glow vanished into the desolate wasteland—like a shooting star across the heavens or a young man's unspoken affection, fleeting and unnoticed.
Chen Mang walked into the control engine, sat at the console, and pressed a red button. With the clatter of turning gears, mechanical limbs resembling spider legs extended from the bottom of the carriages, replacing the wheels.
The entire Stellar instantly transformed into a giant, worm-like centipede.
He exhaled softly, his eyes filled with steely resolve. The wasteland had been almost entirely flat, offering no obstacles and no place to test the new accessory. Although it was supposed to allow free travel on ninety-degree vertical surfaces, he had yet to experience it firsthand.
He slowly pressed the accelerator.
The train began to crawl toward the cliff's edge.
On the screen, the Train Support AI scrolled through several lines of information:
[Warning: Approaching 90-degree downward slope. Normal travel is possible.]When the very first mechanical leg at the front of the train made contact with the cliff face, Chen Mang felt a jolt run through the carriage. Then, just as promised, the entire train began moving down the cliff—as steady and natural as a centipede on a wall.
There were no headlights. In the darkness, the abyss below was pitch-black, as captivating and unsettling as the gates of hell.
The intense feeling of weightlessness made Chen Mang's chest tighten. His seatbelt held him firmly in place, but the others in the carriages weren't so lucky. He'd given them a warning. There were no seatbelts in their cars, nothing to secure them, so they could only huddle together on one side as best they could. While not life-threatening, it was certainly uncomfortable.
To prevent his slaves from suffocating, he opened the doors on the rear half of all the carriages as the train descended, allowing oxygen to circulate freely.
Ten minutes later, not a speck of light remained.
The pitch-black abyss enveloped the entire train. Only the dim lights inside the carriages burned their limited life to fend off the encroaching darkness—like resistors against the torrent of history.
Visibility was nearly zero.
Chen Mang couldn't see anything ahead. He relied entirely on the AI's prompts, which assured him the path was clear to continue the descent.
They'd already gone down 2,000 meters. He maintained a steady speed, as descending too quickly could cause physical discomfort for the slaves.
Finally—after thirty minutes—the AI announced they were about to reach the bottom. With another jolt, the train came to a smooth, stable stop on the floor of the abyss.
Chen Mang jumped out of the control car and stood in the pitch-black darkness, where he couldn't see his hand in front of his face. He looked up at the sliver of star-filled sky above and felt a sense of dislocation. It was the first time he'd ever been in such an environment. It felt like being mired in mud yet still gazing at the stars—possessed of a unique, lonely romanticism.
The Resource Detection Radar was beeping steadily, indicating an unmined Level 2 iron deposit just eight hundred meters away.
He'd kept his eye on the enemy detection radar the entire way down. From start to finish, not a single red dot had appeared. This place was a natural fortress; no monster could reach it. Perhaps flying monsters could, but he had yet to encounter any.
By now, Lao Zhu had finished his headcount and came jogging over.
"Boss Mang, no casualties among the slaves. Just some scrapes and bruises—nothing that'll stop them from working."
"Good." Chen Mang nodded. "Everyone rests here for the night. We work at dawn."
"Understood."
After Lao Zhu left, Chen Mang turned his attention to the spider-like mechanical legs beneath the train. He'd spent a total of 8,100 units of spider silk to upgrade the Spider Leg accessory from Level 4 to Level 13.
Upon reaching Level 5, it had unlocked its first advanced effect:
Level 5 Spider Leg Advanced Effect: Can switch to Spider-Walk Mode, reducing movement noise by 100%.
And at Level 10, it unlocked a second:
Level 10 Spider Leg Advanced Effect: The Spider Legs can shoot two strands of silk forward, up to 100 meters long, that last for one hour. The train can travel steadily on these silk strands. Each 100-meter shot consumes 100 units of Level 1 spider silk.
He stood at the bottom of the abyss, leaning calmly on his cane as he considered the two effects.
The first one was somewhat average. The train's noise didn't just come from its wheels, but also from the roar of the engine and the clanking of the carriage hinges. Unless he acquired other accessories that could muffle those sounds, its utility was limited. But combined with radar-jamming or even space-warping abilities in the future, the entire train could become a true ghost, moving silently through the darkness.
The second effect, however, had many potential uses. For instance, if he wanted to get to the other side of the Apocalypse Abyss, he wouldn't need to find a way around. He could simply shoot the silk to the opposite cliff and have the train cross the chasm like a tightrope walker.
In a city, this effect combined with the Spider Legs' inherent climbing ability would allow him to maneuver the train freely across the skyline. It would be incredibly useful for both escaping danger and searching for supplies.
"Not bad," Chen Mang said with a chuckle before heading back to the control car. Tomorrow morning, it was time to get to work.
A few hours later, dawn broke.
The train was already parked next to the Level 2 iron deposit. It was an open-pit mine, not underground, which meant they didn't need to dig tunnels to reach it. This would significantly increase their mining efficiency.
Looking up, they could see a sliver of daylight like a crack in the sky. However, the sunlight barely reached the bottom of the abyss, which remained in a dim, cool environment. A chilly breeze swept over everyone.
Each slave received a bowl of hot water, several warm steamed buns, and a packet of pickled vegetables for every ten people. Of course, this applied to the original Level 2 slaves. The newly acquired Level 3 slaves received slices of bread. Today, everyone's rations had been upgraded a tier; normally, the steamed buns were reserved for the guards and the train captain. It was a small gesture to ward off the chill.
The night before, Chen Mang had spent 100 units of iron ore to upgrade the Pickaxe Production Line to Level 2. It could now produce pickaxes capable of mining Level 2 resources, though each one costs 10 units of iron ore to make. He only had 70 units left—enough for just seven pickaxes.
But that wasn't a major issue. With a Level 2 iron mine right next to them, a little digging would yield more than enough ore to forge all the pickaxes they needed.
The doors of the Stellar stood open, its dim interior lights providing a faint source of illumination.
This was the best treatment these slaves had received in a long time. It was also the best the train could currently provide.
Everything was for this Level 2 iron mine.