This was why the "Big Pot" needed to be upgraded to Level 3 armor.
Initially, it was just an ordinary train carriage, but it didn't take long before it was burned full of holes.
After switching to Level 3 armor, that problem was solved.
And so—
A bizarre-looking, dystopian-style cooking station was set up, with over a dozen won nearby rapidly chopping at and washing vegetables using Train Blade Fragnts.
The middle-aged man, who had been found among the Train Residents and claid to have once been a head chef at a five-star restaurant, was now stirring a massive pot with an extrely long ladle, assisted by two strong young n.
The ladle
was also made by tying together table legs.
Lao Zhu suddenly laughed as he looked at this scene, his eyes filled with nostalgia and emotion. Although he hadn't gone hungry since following Lord Mang, and he could eat his fill of stead buns every day—with options for either at sauce or chili paste fillings—
Still...
Those were all mass-produced, essentially instant food.
What could you expect from sothing made out of Iron Ore?
It had been so long since he had seen such a holy, bustling atmosphere. For a mont, it felt as if they weren't in the apocalypse but still in a civilized society. It was so comforting...
If only the Stellar Train could keep developing like this.
Finally—
Two hours later, the half-carriage was filled with billowing steam, and the pork and vermicelli stew—without the cabbage—was finally ready. The entire pig that had been frozen in the Refrigerator was chopped up and thrown into the pot.
Then the food distribution began.
Tonight, everyone could have as many stead buns as they wanted, but the amount of at distributed depended on the resident's rank. Even those with Level 3 resident status were guaranteed at least one piece of at in their bowl.
"Huff, huff..."
A man who had just joined the Train and enjoyed Level 3 resident status was filled with excitent as he held his bowl of vermicelli. With four stead buns skewered on his chopsticks, he scurried to a corner and looked at the steaming vermicelli and the slice of pork belly on top.
Carefully picking up the piece of at, he took a small bite, savoring the explosion of flavor in his mouth.
His eyes suddenly reddened.
He then tucked the half-eaten piece of at under the vermicelli in his bowl, dipped the stead buns into the stew's broth, and began wolfing them down. In no ti, the four buns and the bowl of stew were gone. He took a deep breath and finally popped the last half of the at into his mouth.
He chewed it gently, as if afraid it would disappear the next mont, only swallowing when it had nearly dissolved into a powder-like consistency in his mouth.
Placing the bowl and chopsticks aside,
the night breeze blew, and tears finally slipped from the corners of his eyes. Looking out at the distant City Ruins, he felt a tightness in his chest. It had been so long since he had used a bowl and chopsticks to eat—he was almost unused to it.
These were brought back by Biao Ge today, and everyone received them for free.
Holding the chopsticks again made him feel like a human being once more.
Since the apocalypse began and his family had all died, he hadn't shed a single tear. He had been living in a daze, serving as a Slave in many Trains, completely numb to it all. But... after joining the Stellar Train, everything changed.
He even had ti to grieve now, to think about his dead family.
If...
If his family had joined the Stellar Train instead of that other Train, maybe they wouldn't have been tortured to death. On the Stellar Train, all won were free to choose their professions, and no one would force them to do anything.
Even Lord Mang and the middle managers like Biao Ge never forced any woman to do anything. What you did was entirely up to you.
If...
At that mont.
"Alright."
A middle-aged man walked over, sat down beside him, and patted his shoulder. He pulled out a cigarette, lit one for himself, and handed another to the man. "Stop crying. Crying right after eating? People might think you're eating a al for your dead family."
"Are all your family mbers gone?"
"Yeah, just
left."
The man with red eyes quickly composed himself and accepted the cigarette from the middle-aged man. The middle-aged man's collar displayed a Level 1 resident status—he was likely a veteran of the Train, with a higher status.
"It's good they're all gone."
The middle-aged man exhaled deeply, finding a comfortable position before smiling contentedly as he gazed at the horizon. "My family's all gone too. My wife was gutted by Zombies right in front of ."
"When they're all gone, there's nothing to miss. Unlike those over there, who worry every day about whether their families are alive or dead. That's a terrible feeling."
"I've been on many Trains."
"The Stellar Train is the best in terms of treatnt and strength. Since you're lucky enough to be here, work hard. When you beco a Level 1 resident, you'll be able to exchange Stellar Coupons for cigarettes. Then, if soone catches you with red eyes, you can just say it's from the smoke."
"I'm old."
"I've got nothing left to live for."
"But you're different. Look, there are plenty of girls over there. Find one you like and start a family. At least you'll have soone to rely on in this apocalypse."
"Yeah."
The man nodded heavily, and then the two of them suddenly laughed, patting each other's shoulders.
In the apocalypse,
the most luxurious thing isn't supplies—it's hope.
And the Stellar Train was nurturing that hope. Although it was still faint, it would surely grow stronger with ti.
"Sigh."
Inside the Train's control room, Chen Mang looked out at the Train Residents and sighed softly. He had only been slightly kinder to them, and that carriage had only cost 15,000 units of Iron Ore—which could be partially recovered through the Geothermal Furnace anyway.
Combined with so scavenged supplies and the pig they had seized,
the residents were already moved to tears. At a glance, eight out of ten people had red eyes.
Mainly because...
The holy, communal al had made everyone think of their families—and most of their families were dead. Naturally, they cried.
Then he knocked on the table, and Xiao Fang, who had been waiting at the door, cautiously entered.
"Lord Mang."
"Hmm."
Chen Mang pointed to the bowl of pork and vermicelli stew on the table. "Take this and eat it."
Xiao Fang was the woman responsible for his daily needs. She was quite petite.
"Huh?"
Xiao Fang was montarily stunned. Then, looking at the bowl piled high with ribs, her mouth began to water. Just as she was about to speak, drool uncontrollably dripped from the corner of her mouth. She quickly covered her mouth in panic and stamred, "Lord Mang, I... I..."
"Enough, stop with the nonsense."
Chen Mang waved his hand impatiently. "Do I have to beg you to eat it?"
Xiao Fang didn't dare say another word. She quickly stepped forward, picked up the bowl of ribs, and hurried out of the control room. Sneaking to the gap between Carriage 2 and Carriage 3, she made sure no one was around.
Then, unable to contain her excitent, she clutched the bowl and ran all the way to Carriage 5. Looking at Ji Chuchu sitting by the window, she exclaid, "Sister Chu Chu, Sister Chu Chu!"
"Look, what's this!"
"Lord Mang gave it to ! It's full of big ribs! Hurry, let's eat it together before soone sees and we have to share."
"Huh?"
Ji Chuchu was montarily stunned, then said in a tearful voice, "I just ate... I can't eat anymore. You shouldn't have brought it over..."
"No way! I have to at least try a rib. I'll force it down if I have to. You can eat the rest. You're so good to , Xiao Fang, bringing it over to share."
"Hehe... If it weren't for you teaching
these past few days, I would've made so many mistakes. Lord Mang hasn't scolded
once, all thanks to you. There are so many ribs!"
"It was specially served to Lord Mang, so it must be good."
"But Lord Mang scolded
just now. When he said I could have the bowl, I instinctively declined, and then he got mad..."
"Of course! Such a small thing—you can't make Lord Mang repeat himself. Just take what he gives you, and don't be so modest. Forget those old habits."
"Yeah, I'll rember that from now on. You're amazing, Sister Chu Chu. Lord Mang hasn't scolded you once, but he's scolded Biao Ge and Train Conductor Zhu—even the robot! But not you."
"Hmph, I don't give him a chance to scold ."
Inside the control room,
Chen Mang sighed softly and picked up the two warm Roujiamo on the table to eat. He had taken a bite of the ribs earlier, and honestly... for a mont, he began to doubt whether this world's civilization had even developed the concept of good food.
He had never tasted such terrible ribs.
The gay sll hit his nose.
Sure, it had that holy, smoky flavor, but that was all.
If he had just crossed over and was starving, he would've devoured it in two bites. But he hadn't gone hungry in a long ti, and after a few bites, he couldn't finish the rest.
People change so quickly under their environnt. It had only been a few days of good living, and he was already picky.
Then he looked at the "Nitrogen Tailjet" on the three-dinsional Train display on the control console and smiled.
This was a green-tier component, and he had spent 25,000 units of Iron Ore to upgrade it to Level 10.
After upgrading to Level 10,
its speed boost increased from 30 km/h to 120 km/h.
With the Wind-Fire Wheel, the Train's maximum speed could now reach 462 km/h.
The base speed of a Level 4 Train was 160 km/h.
He had calculated that even if he upgraded the special "Bunny Cloud" wheel to Level 10 and combined it with the Nitrogen Tailjet, the speed would still fall far short of 650 km/h—the threshold for takeoff.
To et the takeoff condition, the Train's maximum speed must reach that critical point while equipped with the Bunny Cloud wheel.
The Bunny Cloud wheel's speed boost effect was inferior to the Wind-Fire Wheel, but it allowed the Train to fly.
To reach 650 km/h, they would need additional speed-boosting components or to upgrade the Nitrogen Tailjet to a much higher level.
Of course,
after reaching Level 10, the Nitrogen Tailjet had gained two Supermodel Effects.
??Nitrogen Tailjet Level 5 Supermodel Effect??: Energy consumption halved.
??Nitrogen Tailjet Level 10 Supermodel Effect??: rge into one, speed skyrockets!
The Train's Generator and the Energy Stone in the locomotive had already been upgraded to Level 2. Tonight, using the Nitrogen Tailjet to cook had consud about 1% of the Level 2 Energy Stone in the Generator. Not too energy-intensive—it was acceptable.
Like the Train Blade, the Nitrogen Tailjet was a whole-component system.
Once crafted, all new ordinary carriages would co equipped with four Nitrogen Tailjets installed on each side. Upgrading one would upgrade them all, unlike the Armor, which needed to be upgraded individually.
Aside from the locomotive,
each carriage had four Nitrogen Tailjets—two on each side.
The Level 10 Supermodel Effect allowed all the Nitrogen Tailjets on the Train's exterior to rge into one, forming two massive Nitrogen Tailjets that ran along both sides of the Train.
This would unleash even greater thrust,
resulting in faster acceleration.
The effect depended on the Energy Stone consud.
This component was quite useful.
Chen Mang smiled as he looked at the other components on the Train's control console. Among the components unlocked after reaching Level 4, he had only upgraded the "Acrobatic Console" and the "Train Ticket." The others had only been crafted, not upgraded.
??Hell Gatling Gun??: Not needed for now. His current attack thods were sufficient. Adding this wouldn't make much of a difference, and it would likely be too expensive to maintain.
??Energy Shield??: Not needed yet.
This could only block energy attacks. Against physical attacks, it needed to activate its Supermodel Effect, making it far inferior to his Armor. As long as the attack's level didn't exceed his Armor's, it would be completely immune.
No matter the level.
??Radar Blocker??: This was quite useful, but the Train was short on Iron Ore for now, so it would have to wait. He wasn't afraid of being discovered at the mont. Even if he couldn't win a fight, he could always escape—no one could stop him.
Very few could match his speed.
Even if soone was faster, he could just drill underground. No one could match his speed underground unless they were willing to spend a lot of Murphy Stones on Drill Bits.
As for the "Train Ticket" component, he had upgraded it to Level 10.
Mainly because it was cheap.
Upgrading to Level 10 only cost 4,400 units of Iron Ore—less than the resources spent on tonight's pork and vermicelli stew. Those people probably had no idea that the resources used for tonight's al could've fed them for days...
How extravagant!
In the apocalypse, where else could
a Slave eat sothing like this? When he was a Slave, Master Kun had fed him such garbage.
Damn it, the more he thought about it, the angrier he got.
And they still wanted to offer incense?
Go to hell and eat moldy bread slices!
--Support
in Patreon for more chapters 35
chapters in there
patreon/LegendaryTL
Thanks!
Reviews
All reviews (0)