Chapter 62: The Off-Road Motorcycle Production Line

Chen Mang laid out the faintly glowing items from the wealthy goblin merchant's bag onto the control console.

There were two items in total.

A yellow-grade vehicle accessory blueprint: "Off-Road Motorcycle Production Line."

A special item: "Universe Pouch."

"Huh?"

Chen Mang picked up the Yellow-grade blueprint and examined it. A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes. As the name suggested, this accessory could produce off-road motorcycles, expanding the train's exploration range.

For example, the train could remain parked while the guards rode the motorcycles into city ruins or other areas to carry out missions.

It was a good item, and his first yellow-grade vehicle accessory. As he leveled it up, the advanced effects it unlocked should significantly enhance the motorcycle's all-around stats.

It wasn't as large as the refrigerator.

But its advantage was its portability. It would be much more convenient for scavenging trips. You couldn't exactly strap a refrigerator to your back when you went out to gather supplies. Biao and the others weren't superhuman; they wouldn't be able to run with a fridge on their backs.

However...

"..."

A thoughtful look crossed Chen Mang's face. This gave him an idea. Once he built the off-road motorcycles, he could craft a Level 10 refrigerator and strap it to the back seat. That would make searching for survivors much more convenient.

He could just stuff all the survivors he found directly into the fridge.

The oxygen inside would last for a while.

Three more days passed.

During these three days, there were no incidents. A few scattered goblins had arrived on the second day, but after that, no more came.

And on this day, all the goblins' injuries had fully healed. They were ready for duty.

At the crack of dawn, the human slaves, now accustomed to the routine, got up, left their carriages, grabbed their pickaxes, and lined up for their daily food before starting work. The goblins, meanwhile, gathered to one side, looking up at Chen Mang, who stood on top of a carriage.

But...

Most of the goblins had vacant, dazed eyes, not looking like intelligent creatures at all. Every now and then, a ferocious grin would flash across their faces, mechanical and stiff.

Only the goblin standing at the front stood ramrod straight, its eyes full of anticipation as it awaited its orders.

"..."

Chen Mang looked at the crowd of goblins before him—121 in total, including 5 Goblin Merchants. This was his greatest harvest these past few days. In the wasteland, the most valuable thing was always the same.

Labor.

Everything else had to take a backseat. Even high-grade accessories were useless without it. The higher the grade, the more resources it required. Without enough labor, even if the train captain himself went to mine, he wouldn't get much ore after a long, hard day.

Compared to that yellow-grade vehicle blueprint, these 121 goblins were far more important to him.

After a long pause, he spoke softly.

"Welcome to the Stellar. This will be the beginning of your dreams. When the goblin race shines once more, you, as its pioneers, will be the most brilliant and glorious chapter in goblin history."

"Now."

"Lao Zhu, give them their pickaxes and food. Get ready to work."

He didn't say much more. These goblins had no intelligence; they wouldn't understand him anyway. Only the small goblin in the front knew what he was talking about. Even if he wanted to motivate them, it would be useless. They wouldn't understand.

He couldn't be bothered to waste his breath.

At any rate, the small goblin looked eager, clearly excited about rebuilding the goblin race.

But...

He knew in his heart that it was an almost impossible task. He was the only intelligent one left of hsi entire race, and he was half-dead himself. Rebuilding goblin civilization was simply out of the question. Forget you goblins; even we humans are on the brink of extinction.

But that's life. You can be pessimistic about the future, but you have to be optimistic in your actions.

"Yes, sir."

The small goblin took a deep breath, its face serious. "I will not disappoint the great Human Prophet."

With that, it eagerly went to collect its delicious bread.

Then, Chen Mang called out to the goblin, beckoning it over. He descended from the carriage via the ladder at the back and walked around to face the goblin. "Do you have a name?"

"I do. My name is Duo Ba."

"Duo Ba, hmm, a good name."

Chen Mang nodded, looking down at the short goblin. After a pause, he continued, "Lao Zhu has already spoken with you, right? Your group of goblins will receive Tier 2 slave treatment. This is a relatively high status on the Stellar. Normally, new slaves start at Tier 3."

"The reason you're starting at a higher level..."

"Is because I value your goblin race's talent for mining. Don't disappoint me."

"Rest assured."

Duo Ba's face was as serious as if he were taking a military oath. "Goblins are the most diligent and united race. Mining is what we do best."

"By the way—"

Chen Mang remembered something else, his brow furrowing slightly. "Where did you build that goblin train of yours? Does its ability to travel quickly underground come from the drill? And why couldn't my radar detect your train?"

Since the goblins had joined the Stellar, he had only met with them a few times.

His experience from starting a business in his past life told him that as the boss, he only needed to make small talk with his employees occasionally. Work arrangements should be left to the managers. For one, the managers were better at it. For another, employees always had complaints about their work. If they were dissatisfied, their first target would be the manager, not him.

When chatting with employees, it was best to talk to them as a group, in general terms. Getting too personal could easily give an employee the mistaken impression that they were valued by the boss, which could lead them to get presumptuous and do something ridiculous.

So, up to now, he had barely managed the specific work processes or daily statistics of the slaves and goblins, nor had he spoken to any of them individually. These were all tasks for Lao Zhu.

And Lao Zhu had done an excellent job. So far, there hadn't been any problems.

"That..."

Duo Ba scratched his head. "The goblin train was built in that dark space. There's no light there. Goblins go there to sleep after they die. There are a lot of mines there."

"There's iron ore, copper ore, and a lot of other resources I've never seen before."