"But things are different now."
"These past few days, everyone's had enough bread and water to fill their bellies. We get a can of cola every day, and we're protected by the train from zombie and monster attacks. Do you think the slaves are going to riot now?"
"Do you think Boss Mang needs a slave leader at a time like this?"
"If you dare to kill a slave now, believe it or not, you'll be joining them in the grave in no time."
"This..."
The young man scratched the back of his head, knowing he had been rash. "You're right. I wasn't thinking."
If nothing else, all of them had been drifting for a year since the apocalypse began. To have survived this long, if not for their brains, then at least for their luck. The past few days had indeed been the most leisurely time they'd had since the apocalypse began.
They wouldn't go hungry, and they didn't have to worry about dying in a zombie's belly the next moment.
Everyone cherished their current life.And they worried that current life would soon shatter like a bubble.
Many slave revolts were based on the fact that they were the train captain's main asset. They were betting that the captain wouldn't be willing to kill them, so they could fight for some rights. As the saying goes—the law does not punish the masses. The train captain couldn't possibly kill all the rioting slaves.
Unless the guards also joined the riot. Then, without an "Internal Fire Control System," there was a high chance it would endanger the train captain's life.
Although the guns produced on the train couldn't harm the train captain, there were other ways to kill a person besides using a gun.
….
A voice resounded in the ears of all train captains. Like last time, only the train captains could hear it. Even the vice-captains couldn't.
"The number of existing trains has exceeded fifty million."
"The conditions for activating the first phase have been met."
"The first phase, named 'The Voyage,' is now officially beginning. During this phase, the number and variety of monsters will increase."
Just three simple sentences.
"..."
Inside the Stellar's command car, Chen Mang sat at the control console, looking at the words that had appeared on the screen. He fell into thoughtful silence. The apocalypse had been going on for a year, and now they were only just beginning the "Voyage" phase?
An increase in the number of monsters meant that the danger level in all regions would increase.
Besides that, there seemed to be no other content.
He glanced at the "Train Radio" and found that the people there were discussing it heatedly, some even with a hint of excitement. He soon understood the source of their excitement.
New types of monsters meant new bosses.
New bosses had a first-kill bonus.
The reward for getting the first kill on a boss was extremely generous. It was said that six months ago, a train on the "Ironridge Wasteland" had risen rapidly after getting the first kill on a boss, eventually leaving the Ironridge Wasteland for a higher-level region.
But...
Getting the first kill on a boss was extremely difficult. If this region had this monster, other regions would have it too. Every region had a boss. Only the person who was the first to kill this monster boss across all regions would get the first kill.
Not even considering the difficulty of the kill, the competition alone was against people from several regions.
"..."
Chen Mang's eyes narrowed slightly, a hint of excitement stirring in his heart. Forget other monsters—if another Level 3 boss appeared, he could easily take it down. There wouldn't be any higher-level monsters on the Ironridge Wasteland.
Of course, he wouldn't just rely on the "Carriage Blades." A Level 10 "Carriage Blades" could easily break through a Level 3 boss's defense, but it was a melee weapon. Against a massive boss, it was a bit lacking. A high-level "Heavy Machine Gun" was more effective against bosses.
And...
In the past five days, he hadn't just been mining iron ore. He had split the slaves into two groups to work.
They had brought him a total of 101,239 units of iron ore and 4,200 units of copper ore.
With the addition of the goblin slaves, the mining efficiency had skyrocketed. Those goblin slaves could mine nearly 20,000 units of iron ore a day. They did almost nothing but mine all day.
He could hardly bear to watch. He had Lao Zhu go and persuade Duo Ba, worried that these goblins would work themselves to death. Slow and steady was the way to go.
But Duo Ba had replied, "The great goblins do not need human pity. Since ancient times, there have only been goblins who died in battle, not goblins who died of exhaustion."
Fine.
Mine on, then.
But at this rate, he would have to leave the Apocalypse Abyss soon. There was only one Level 2 iron mine and one Level 1 copper mine at the bottom of the Apocalypse Abyss. In another ten days or so, these two mines would be completely depleted.
Then he would have to find a new mine.
He hadn't found a resource point as rich as the "Apocalypse Abyss" yet. He would have to go back to the wasteland to find those scattered Level 1 small mines. After getting used to mining Level 2 iron ore, mining Level 1 ore felt a bit unsatisfying.
Take the Level 1 "Copper Mine" at the bottom of the Apocalypse Abyss, for example.
After five days of mining, he had only obtained 4,200 units of copper ore. The mining efficiency was sufficient, but the mine's level was not. It wasn't like a Level 2 iron mine, where mining one unit was equivalent to ten units of Level 1 iron ore.
Whether he would encounter a boss and whether he could get the first kill if he did all depended on luck.
But he had to be prepared first.
Otherwise, an opportunity might arise, and he'd miss it because he wasn't prepared. For example, if he hadn't upgraded the carriage armor to Level 2 first, and hadn't happened to come to the Apocalypse Abyss, he wouldn't have met these hundred-plus diligent goblins.
After spending a full 90,000 units of iron ore, all eight carriages of the Stellar, including the locomotive, had their "Carriage Steel Armor" upgraded to Level 3.
"..."
Chen Mang stepped out of the command car and stood on the open ground, looking at his train. The armor on the surface of the train now had a deep, heavy feel to it. The sense of oppression it gave off was self-evident.
Level 3 armor was nearly immune to all Level 3 attacks.
Whether it was Level 3 bullets or Level 3 monster attacks, it was all immune.
If he encountered that Level 3 Cannibalistic Spider now, he wouldn't have to be so troublesome. He could just drive the train right at it. The boss couldn't break through his train's defense, but his Level 10 Carriage Blades could easily break through the boss's defense. He would be invincible.
Even if it was large, he could just drive the train around it a few more times, and it would naturally be ground into meat paste.
Of course, it might take a little more time.
But if he encountered a "zombie horde" now, it would be a one-sided slaughter. Not a single monster in the zombie horde could break through his train's defense, but wherever his train went, there would be nothing but mangled limbs and flesh.
When the "armor" was upgraded to Level 3, the Stellar finally underwent a qualitative change.
Ultimate defense and ultimate offense—either one alone was a trump card.
Together, they were a royal flush.
With Level 1 armor and Level 10 Carriage Blades, he had been hasitant when facing the Level 3 Cannibalistic Spider boss.
With Level 3 armor and Level 10 Carriage Blades, he would ram the train right into the Cannibalistic Spider's ugly face and relentlessly attack.
"Let's go test it out."
Chen Mang sat at the control console, lit a cigarette with a smile, and looked out the window with anticipation. He would produce some more heavy machine gun bullets, then go out and test the waters. Although he wasn't sure if he would encounter a new monster boss, encountering a zombie horde would be nice, too.
He remembered that damned zombie horde had encircled him many times back then.
He was back now.
Go ahead, try to encircle me again!