My Apocalypse Train

Translator: AnubisTL

In the wasteland, loneliness was inevitable.

Even though the train was crowded, they rarely saw other trains. It felt like a lone boat drifting aimlessly on a vast ocean, with no one knowing what the next moment would bring or whether they'd see the sunrise tomorrow.

As dawn broke, the slaves in Slave Car No. 4 and Slave Car No. 5 woke up. The train was speeding across the wasteland, and they had no idea where they were headed. They knew only that if they found a mine, they'd work; otherwise, they'd stay in the carriage.

Finally, the train slowly came to a halt. As the slaves disembarked, they found themselves back at the familiar mine from yesterday.

The zombie horde had retreated.

They were back.

The middle-aged man, who had lived a relatively comfortable life before the apocalypse, looked at the familiar mine outside the carriage. He put the cigarette he'd been toying with back in his pocket and patted the young man beside him on the shoulder, smiling. "Let's go, grab your pickaxes. Time to get to work."

The young man had been chatting with him for the past few days, and they had become quite friendly.

"Alright, Uncle."

The young man was happy to follow behind the uncle, listening to him recount his glorious past before the apocalypse—a world he had never known.

Pre-Apocalypse

Capitalists had labeled him a "small-town youth."

He didn't like the term. He tried to gain recognition online, but the label only changed to "social waste."

"Small-town youth" sounded better after all.

Still, he harbored resentment. Someone had to be the waste, so why couldn't it be him?

Day broke, and the train stopped again at the mine shaft where it had paused the previous night.

Another day of mining began.

The thugs resumed their patrols and lookout duties near the train.

Inside the Train

After finishing his breakfast, Chen Mang sat at the control panel, quietly eavesdropping on the train conductors' conversations on the Train Radio. This was his only form of entertainment so far.

He wasn't particularly impressed by the quality of the women on the train. He hadn't yet reached the point of desperation.

However, the Bloodthirsty Mad Bull Train had sent him a private message late last night, saying they had encountered dozens of man-eating spiders and harvested a large amount of Spider Silk. They offered to trade him more later.

Very good.

Chen Mang glanced out the locomotive cabin window at the thugs patrolling the perimeter and the slaves already working in the mine. Everything was steadily progressing toward a better future.

On the other side of the wasteland, inside the "King of Electronic Music Train," a dwarf sat at the control panel, idly scrolling through the Train Radio. He hadn't been back to Taiping City since being driven out by a Tier 3 Man-Eating Spider a few days ago.

He'd just found a mine and had been stationed there mining for the past few days.

But just now...

He'd seen a train conductor on the Train Radio mention having a 1.8-meter-tall female slave available for trade at the upcoming Gathering. This unexpected news stirred a flicker of interest in his heart, which had previously been indifferent to the event.

"1.8 meters..." the dwarf murmured. He had always been this way, far shorter than the average person. Before the apocalypse, he had made a living as an NPC in a "Lilliput" theme park. The park was filled with other dwarves like him, on display for tourists.

Perhaps people with disabilities were more prone to psychological issues.

He was utterly obsessed with tall women. Before the apocalypse, he had never dared to entertain such thoughts, but after the apocalypse, he had miraculously obtained a Train Token last month and, through a series of fortunate encounters, now controlled a train with decent power.

With power in his hands, many previously forbidden desires began to sprout.

He liked women who were tall enough to give him a sense of conquest. No matter how tall they were, they would still have to submit to him.

The more someone lacks something, the more they crave it.

After a long silence, he sent a private message to the person on the Train Radio, arranging to meet and discuss a trade at the Gathering. He currently had two women, the tallest of whom was only 1.76 meters tall—nowhere near the 1.8-meter woman, who, with heels, could reach nearly 1.9 meters.

A veritable giantess.

He liked that.

Just then—

Suddenly, a train conductor announced over the Train Radio that the Tier 3 Man-Eating Spider in Taiping City had been killed. Its corpse had been almost completely devoured by the zombie horde, leaving only an empty shell.

There were no photos, as the chat room couldn't transmit images.

The announcement included the coordinates of the spider's remains.

"Huh?"

After the dwarf entered the coordinates into the control panel, he realized they seemed to align with the route he had taken when he escaped. Moreover, the location was not far from the Tier 1 Iron Ore mine.

He recalled encountering a train mining near the Tier 1 Iron Ore mine during his escape. He had wanted to warn the train to retreat to the mine tunnel to avoid disaster, but since it was a Tier 1 train without a Train Radio, he couldn't contact them and ultimately gave up.

At that train's speed, it stood no chance against the Tier 3 Man-Eating Spider. It must have been destroyed by now, its wreckage likely scattered across Hell.

Perhaps some big shot with a Tier 3 Vehicle Component happened to pass by and killed the Tier 3 Man-Eating Spider Boss?

But why bother?

Even a Tier 3 Heavy Machine Gun would have barely been enough to take down a creature of that size. They would have needed at least a Tier 3 Cannon, wasting so many Cannonballs just to kill a Boss? It wasn't worth it at all. He had more Copper Ore than he knew what to do with.

Although the Boss's drop was undoubtedly valuable, it couldn't possibly compensate for the vast amount of Copper Ore resources consumed.

He scoffed and dismissed the thought. He planned to stay here mining for the next few days, then head to the Gathering to sell the Spider Silk and the Spider Leg Blueprint he had collected.

Someone in the chat room last night had mentioned wanting to buy Spider Silk. He'd contact them later.

He wondered how much of his Spider Silk they could possibly take. After all, most people needed it to craft the Spider Leg Green Accessory, which only required 600 Units of Tier 1 Fine Spider Silk to max out.

His own Spider Leg had been maxed out long ago.

Inside the Stellaris train.

Chen Mang had assumed that after the previous night's incident, today would be uneventful. It was like when a phone was stolen—there was usually a period of safety afterward. How could such a terrible thing happen to one person so frequently?

But—

As noon approached, Chen Mang saw dozens of red points slowly converging on the Target Acquisition Radar. He grabbed his telescope and peered out the window, spotting twenty or thirty ragged survivors supporting each other in the distance, approaching his train.

Upon noticing the train parked in the wasteland, the survivors seemed to have found their target. Their faces lit up with undisguised excitement as they quickened their pace, closing in on him.

"Hmm?"

Chen Mang frowned. The nearest city ruins, Taiping City, were a five-hour drive away even at full speed. How had these survivors gotten here?

On foot?

Had they encountered no monsters along the way?

He didn't have time to ponder these questions. He knew a batch of slaves had just delivered themselves to his doorstep. He had to intercept them immediately. He grabbed his walkie-talkie and barked into it, "Biaozi, stop those people."

"Full body search. Disarm them."

"Anyone who resists will be shot on sight."

(End of the Chapter)

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