On the Iron Ridge Wasteland.
The Stellar Train roared as it sped towards the direction of Taiping City!
About three hours later.
The skyline of the ruins of "Taiping City" finally came into view on the wasteland. Along the way, only two trains were encountered. However, those two trains immediately fled in the opposite direction at maximum speed upon spotting the Stellar, as if they had seen some indescribable monster.
The Stellar gradually slowed down and came to a steady stop beside the container factory at the edge of the Taiping City ruins.
At the same time—
The constantly active Targeting Radar quickly projected detailed information about all living beings within a 10,000-meter radius onto the control console screen.
"Hmm?"
Chen Mang furrowed his brows slightly as he looked at the scattered red dots on the screen. The number of survivors in the Taiping City ruins was fewer than he had imagined. The screen showed only a little over a hundred, divided into two areas.
Was it because this place was located in the suburbs?
Or had it already been plundered by many Train Conductors?
He didn't dwell on it too much. Instead, he took out the Accessory Blueprint for the Off-road Motorcycle Production Line from the drawer. This blueprint had been obtained when he killed the Goblin merchant and was finally going to be put to good use.
Producing this accessory required 1,000 units of Iron Ore.
Soon, a large lathe appeared in the No. 2 production line carriage, occupying the space near the edge. Producing one off-road motorcycle required 500 units of Iron Ore.
The maximum speed of the off-road motorcycle could reach 180 km/h, which even surpassed some Level 1 trains.
Not too slow.
However, each off-road motorcycle needed to be equipped with a Level 1 Energy Stone. Fortunately, Energy Stones weren't too expensive. A Level 1 Energy Stone cost only 500 units of Iron Ore and could last for over a hundred days. By the time the motorcycle was scrapped, the embedded Energy Stone would still be far from depleted.
He produced 10 off-road motorcycles in one go, along with 10 Energy Stones, costing him a total of 11,000 units of Iron Ore.
The Level 5 Supermodel Effect of the Train Auxiliary AI, Hive Mind, could link the thoughts of up to 20 people to the control console, enabling seamless real-time communication within a maximum range of 10,000 meters.
This range happened to coincide with that of the Targeting Radar.
He could sit in the train, keeping an eye on the information from the Targeting Radar and issuing real-time commands.
Soon!
As the iron sheet on one side of the No. 2 production line carriage slammed heavily onto the ground.
"Boom!"
Ten thugs, armed with Soaring Dragon Assault Rifles and riding off-road motorcycles, revved their engines and leaped off the train, charging deep into the city. The roads within the city ruins were mostly blocked by abandoned vehicles overgrown with weeds. Only off-road motorcycles could navigate through such terrain, significantly speeding up the search.
"Turn right at the intersection ahead."
"Pass through the collapsed red low-rise building and head to the next street."
"There are three Level 1 Zombie Wolves in that building."
Biao Zi maneuvered his off-road motorcycle, skillfully avoiding one obstacle after another while listening to Chen Mang's commands in his mind. His attention was highly focused, but he couldn't help letting his thoughts wander.
These days, Lord Mang had been astonishing him more and more.
He had been a Train Conductor a few times and basically knew what configurations Level 1 and Level 2 trains could have. But... Lord Mang's Level 2 train had completely exceeded his imagination. It was as if Lord Mang's Train Token was entirely different from the one he had obtained back then.
For starters,
a 10,000-meter range Targeting Radar—he had never seen anything like it.
According to the norm, Targeting Radars could only be upgraded to Level 3, with a maximum range of 3,000 meters. The anomalies in various accessories these days made him feel that Lord Mang had too many secrets.
This was his second field mission.
The mission this time was to search for and rescue survivors.
The next moment—
"We're here. There are thirty-eight survivors hiding in this container factory ahead."
"..."
Snapping out of his thoughts, Biao Zi looked at the container factory in front of him. Hundreds of stacked containers filled the open space, resembling train carriages. It was indeed a good hiding spot.
As long as they hid in the container at the center
and then closed the surrounding containers from the inside, it would be like having nearly a hundred additional doors. The scent would also be difficult to leak out, making it hard for the Zombies or Zombie Wolves roaming the city ruins to find them.
"Let's move!"
Biao Zi jumped off his off-road motorcycle, grabbed the pickaxe tied to the rear seat, and weighed it in his hand before walking straight to the first container and forcefully smashing the lock.
After a few strong blows,
the iron lock of the container was successfully broken. He kicked open the iron door, but there were no survivors inside—only a floor covered in dust and footprints. At the end of the container was another container.
And so—
Three men stood guard with guns, while the other seven wielded pickaxes, breaking through one door after another, following the shortest route to the container at the center where the survivors were hiding.
"Bang!"
When the door of the last container was kicked open, Biao Zi immediately retreated. In the darkness, without a flashlight, Lord Mang's commands were his only source of information.
Without hesitation,
he quickly gripped the Soaring Dragon Assault Rifle slung across his back, flipped the safety off, loaded the gun, and aimed at the dark figures lunging towards him, pulling the trigger.
"Rat-tat-tat"
The muffled gunshots echoed in the darkness. The sound of bullets piercing flesh was almost entirely drowned out by the screams. In this container, a beam of light from a flashlight shone directly on Biao Zi's blood-stained, angular face.
From the trembling beam, it was clear that the owner of the flashlight was far from calm.
"..."
Biao Zi emotionlessly pointed the gun at the source of the light. "Throw the flashlight over. Three, two..."
Before he could count to one,
the flashlight was tossed out from the darkness. Biao Zi picked it up and shone it at the two survivors at his feet who had been hiding behind the door, armed with fire axes, and had attacked him. Then, he illuminated the inside of the container.
There were about thirty survivors.
Men and women alike.
But now, each of them was huddled in the corner, fear etched on their faces, looking at him with helpless eyes. The floor of the container was covered in discarded clothes and blankets, and the entire space reeked of decay, an extremely pungent odor.
"Everyone, get up now."
"Follow me."
Biao Zi scanned each person in the room before shaking the Soaring Dragon Assault Rifle in his hand and saying sternly, "Don't make me repeat myself."
Apart from those two, there were no other threats. If there were, Lord Mang would have told him.
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