Outside the train, a group of slaves had gathered. Lao Zhu stood below the carriage, holding a draft and looking at Boss Mang's handwriting
Outside the train, a group of slaves had gathered.
Lao Zhu stood below the carriage, holding a draft and looking at Boss Mang's handwriting on it. He looked up at the slaves, his voice amplified by the train's sound system.
"The following ten rules must be followed by all members of the Stellar. Violators will be punished."
"1: Raping or molesting any female or male, goblin, or any other creature that joins the train in the future is punishable by death."
"2: Robbing others of their iron ore, food, etc., will result in ten strikes with a rod and a one-tier demotion in status."
"3: In a fight, whoever strikes first will receive ten strikes with a rod and a one-tier demotion in status."
"4: Causing trouble or inciting rebellion is punishable by death."
"5: Taking another's life without authorization is punishable by death."
"6: Hoarding iron ore, copper ore, or other resources will result in ten strikes with a rod and a one-tier demotion in status.""7: Hoarding weapons, Train Tokens, or other items during an external mission is punishable by death."
"8: Leaking any confidential information about the train to the outside world is punishable by death."
"9: Attempting to escape is punishable by death."
"10: Strictly obey and execute any orders from Train Captain Mang. Disobedience is punishable by death."
After reading the ten rules of the Stellar issued by Boss Mang, Lao Zhu put away the draft, his face expressionless as he looked at all the slaves. "You've heard the rules. Now, start mining."
Then he handed the draft to a woman beside him.
"Make four copies. Post one in each slave carriage."
"Understood."
With these ten rules—or rather laws—the Stellar finally became somewhat more official. In the lawless and chaotic world of the apocalypse, a few rules, rather than being a constraint, provided a sense of security.
"This is great."
Biao watched everything with a happy smile, his eyes full of satisfaction. He had truly watched the Stellar grow from a single carriage to its current scale of eleven carriages and over a thousand slaves.
And the Stellar was already a Level 3 train.
"By the way."
Lao Zhu stopped Biao, who was about to go on patrol. "Boss Mang is planning a major reform for the train soon. He's already told me. We'll need two more teams of guards. You're in charge of one team, and we'll need a second and third."
"Each team will have ten people, including the captain."
"You're a bit short-handed now. After all, with over a thousand slaves, there's no shortage of things to do every day."
"Boss Mang wants you to pick some candidates from the slaves."
"Hmm..."
Biao frowned and thought for a long time, then looked at the muscular woman among the slaves in the distance and hesitated. "Can a woman be a guard?"
"You mean that one?"
"She's not a bad choice. Find a few more candidates. If Boss Mang says no, we'll have someone to replace her."
"Alright."
—--
"Uncle Li, would anyone rape a goblin?"
In the crowd of slaves heading toward the mine, a young man walked beside Uncle Li, his pickaxe slung over his shoulder. He looked at the goblins also heading toward the iron mine and shrugged.
"But it's quite something."
"I never thought the first time I'd see a law against raping men would be in the apocalypse."
"It feels a bit absurd."
"..."
Uncle Li's eyes narrowed slightly. He didn't speak. He seemed to have thought of a new plan. The most important information in these ten rules was the demotion in status!
Currently, there were only three statuses on the train.
Tier 1 slave, Tier 2 slave, and Tier 3 slave.
The guards had no status distinction.
That Li Shiji, who had gotten ahead with his professional knowledge, also had Tier 1 slave status. Boss Mang couldn't possibly make Tier 1 slaves the highest status, nor could he fail to distinguish the guards' status.
From the information revealed, he vaguely guessed that Boss Mang was very likely to carry out a major reform of the train, and the core of the reform was the status system—clearly defining everyone's status at a certain level.
This also meant that as long as he found the right opportunity, he could move up in this reform.
"Uncle Li, what are you spacing out about?"
Seeing that Uncle Li hadn't answered, the young man leaned in curiously.
"..."
Uncle Li shot the young man an irritated look. "I've already thought of a new plan. Just be patient."
He'd only bothered talking to the young man in the first place because he saw potential and was considering making him a confidant once he moved up.
Now...
He was starting to wonder if he'd made a mistake. The kid was getting on his nerves.
"Great."
The young man nodded, satisfied, and gave him a thumbs-up. "Go for it, Uncle Li. I knew you were the best."
...
Inside the Stellar.
Having dealt with all the trivial matters, Chen Mang sat alone in the control car. He glanced at his 60,000 units of iron ore and began a major construction spree.
First, the four mandatory accessories.
Mechanical Nano-Spiders, Combat Training Virtual Space, Internal Space Stabilizer, Soldier Exoskeleton Production Line.
He spent 4,000 units of iron ore to craft them all.
The Mechanical Nano-Spiders took the form of a fist-sized mother spider, taking up very little space. It was made entirely of steel and looked like an exquisite, handcrafted model.
It was linked to the Train Auxiliary AI.
The AI would detect the extent of any damage to the accessories and then control the Mechanical Nano-Spiders to produce enough nano-mechanical spiders for repairs.
He spent 50,000 units of iron ore to upgrade it straight to Level 10.
Yellow-grade accessories were more expensive to upgrade; each level cost an additional 1,000 units of iron ore.
The accessory's upgrade effect was that each level allowed it to repair higher-level accessories.
For example, a Level 3 Mechanical Nano-Spiders could only produce spiders capable of repairing Level 3 damaged accessories, while a Level 10 one could repair Level 10 damaged accessories.
At the same time, he gained two Advanced Effects.
[Mechanical Nano-Spiders Level 5 Advanced Effect]: Increases repair speed.
[Mechanical Nano-Spiders Level 10 Advanced Effect]:
Can produce a larger number of nano-spiders simultaneously.Both Advanced Effects were quite practical.
The first reduced the time needed for repairs, and the second allowed for simultaneous repair of multiple damaged accessories.
While these effects might not seem significant during downtime—a little extra time hardly mattered—they would be crucial in the middle of battle.
Producing nano-spiders consumed iron ore.
Chen Mang looked at the control console screen, at the 62% integrity of the No. 4 Living Quarters, the 78% integrity of the Cola Production Line, and so on. "Repair all damaged accessories on the train to 100% integrity."
"Understood."
The AI's crisp, mechanical voice soon sounded in the control car. "Total cost: 3,800 units of iron ore. Proceed with repairs?"
"Proceed."
The next moment, the steel spider he had placed on the control console lifted its abdomen slightly. Countless, minuscule nano-mechanical spiders poured out of its birth canal—a black tide that squeezed through the cracks in the control car door.
Normal spiderlings were already tiny, almost cute.
These nano-mechanical spiders were about one-twentieth the size of a normal spiderling.
About three minutes later, Chen Mang looked at the screen on the control console again. It now showed that all the accessories on his train had been repaired to full integrity. He raised an eyebrow. This accessory was quite useful.
Most importantly, it saved money.
Replacing all those damaged accessories would have cost tens of thousands of iron ore. The repair only cost 3,800 units.
The grade, level, and extent of damage of an accessory all affected the number of nano-spiders needed and, thus, the amount of iron ore consumed.
The accessory was small.
He decided to just leave it on the table next to the control console as a decoration. It looked quite nice.
He glanced down and saw the "Immediate Self-Destruct" and "Immediate Ejection" buttons on the console. The self-destruct button came with a plastic cover to prevent accidental activation. The ejection button, which had been bare before, now also had a cover.
This was a new option he had found in the "Personalized Customization" menu after the train reached Level 3.
He could add a plastic cover with a fingerprint lock to any button on the control console for 100 units of iron ore.
There was no reason not to install it. It just didn't have the secondary confirmation on the screen like the self-destruct button.
Chen Mang then turned his attention to the Combat Training Virtual Space accessory. He had placed it in the No. 5 Guard Carriage. He stood up and walked out of the control car, heading to the No. 5 carriage to experience it for himself.
Biao and the others were outside, supervising the slaves' work; they weren't in the carriage.
Only Ji Chuchu and a few other minor celebrities were there, chatting and laughing. When they saw Chen Mang enter, their smiles quickly vanished, and they stood in a line, their voices small and fearful. "Boss Mang."
"Mm."
Chen Mang nodded without looking at them, his eyes narrowing as he focused on the machine before him. It was a device similar to a spa capsule, with a leather sofa inside and a glass lid on top.
When a person lies down inside, several wires with suction cups would attach to their scalp, projecting their consciousness into a virtual space.
The capsule would also fill with a nutrient solution to maintain the user's physical health.
After studying it for a moment, he stripped off his clothes and lay down naked in the Combat Training Virtual Space. As the nutrient solution filled the capsule, his consciousness was projected into another space.