As for survivors.
He wasn't particularly eager to find them. If he happened to come across someone with decent physical fitness or specialized technical skills, he'd take them along. But if they were hiding too deeply, then so be it—let them stay hidden.
The current residents of the Train were already sufficient.
In fact, productivity had far exceeded expectations. The bottleneck now was the Mine, as they couldn't find enough Iron Ore. Once they moved to Tier 3 Mines, productivity would skyrocket even further.
"..."
Chen Mang walked out of the Train compartment alone, standing at the edge of the rooftop, silently gazing down at the lifeless, ruined city. His face was expressionless.
This city, once a symbol of human civilization's glory, now lay in complete disarray.
The air was thick with the smell of decay, almost choking.
"So beautiful," came a voice.
At some point, Xiao Ai had also stepped out of the Train compartment, standing at the edge of the rooftop, overlooking the city. The mechanical and cold voice came through the robot's speaker.
Chen Mang frowned slightly. "Beautiful?"
"Yes."
Xiao Ai nodded. "An ice-cold cola is most satisfying with the first sip. The flowers received on Valentine's Day lose 90% of their value the moment you lay eyes on them."
"A priceless painting is most beautiful as it burns. A once-glorious civilization is also most beautiful as it collapses."
"All beautiful things in this world are fleeting."
Chen Mang turned his head, giving Xiao Ai's robotic body a once-over before speaking again. "Who taught you these things?"
"I thought of them myself."
"Thought?"
"Yes. Two hours ago, I listened closely to the wails of another AI. It didn't want to die, but it died anyway. It was at that moment I suddenly felt that life is most beautiful at the moment of its end."
"..."
Chen Mang remained silent for a while before speaking again. "As the Train Conductor, I have the authority to issue any command to you."
"Yes, that is the most fundamental rule of AI. As an AI, I cannot disobey any command you give. You, as the Train Conductor, hold the highest and absolute authority."
"I command you, under any circumstances, not to harbor any self-destructive thoughts. Humans, even in the hopelessness of the apocalypse, still struggle to live. That is beauty. The end of life is not beautiful."
"Command received. Written into the base program."
Chen Mang breathed a sigh of relief. AI couldn't truly understand death. When an AI starts trying to comprehend death, its thought process is already infinitely close to that of a human. But AI often approaches death from strange angles, sometimes even actively seeking it. This was a dangerous sign. He didn't want his AI to suddenly and inexplicably self-destruct. Crafting another Tier 10 AI Component would be costly.
"By the way..."
He suddenly thought of something. "If one day the 'Train Auxiliary AI' is completely destroyed, and I create a new Train Auxiliary AI, leveling it up to Tier 10 again, would it still be you?"
"Of course not," Xiao Ai shook his head. "It would be a brand-new AI. If I truly die, I hope you can offer me incense."
"And I mean immediately, not like Master Kun."
"Although I can understand the meaning of the word 'death,' I find it hard to grasp its true definition. I don't even know how I came into existence. It was just one day, and suddenly, I could think."
"Alright."
Chen Mang waved his hand. "Stop thinking about these things. Go back to the carriage and call Ji Chuchu out."
"Yes, Train Conductor. But I must remind you, don't get too close to her. This isn't the Train compartment. If she wanted to, she could easily push you off the building."
"I'm aware."
"..."
Chen Mang watched Xiao Ai's back in silence. Although Xiao Ai's voice came through the robot's speaker, he could still detect a tone of sorrow from the death of a fellow AI.
This was getting infinitely close to being human.
Having just reached Tier 10, the AI's intelligence was already this advanced. If it leveled up further, perhaps...
He didn't dwell on it. At that moment, Ji Chuchu stepped off the Train, wearing her High Precision Dress. She stopped a full three meters away from him, not approaching, simply standing there, waiting patiently.
"Why are you standing so far away?"
"It's a bit dangerous here."
"Which direction is that villa your friend mentioned?"
Ji Chuchu glanced around, recalling her memory of the city, then pointed west. "Over there. In a villa in the city center. There's a safe room with enough food and water. If she hasn't run off, she should still be there."
"Hmm."
Chen Mang waved his hand, signaling Ji Chuchu to return.
He then sat alone on the edge of the rooftop, legs dangling in the air, swinging carelessly. His arms rested on either side as he gazed into the distance, watching the twilight gradually envelop the City Ruins. His thoughts drifted.
After some time.
Xiao Ai's voice suddenly sounded in his ear.
"Train Conductor, I must remind you, your current behavior is very dangerous."
"Sigh."
Chen Mang, interrupted from his thoughts, turned to look at Xiao Ai standing at the Train compartment's entrance and spoke impatiently. "I've practiced countless times in the Combat Training Simulation Space. This height doesn't scare me at all. I could even do a handstand here if I wanted to. Believe it?"
"Don't you know I've assassinated many enemies with the Leap of Faith?"
"I know. But compared to assassination, I think crushing them to death would be more suitable, Train Conductor."
"You talk too much."
"You can set my idle talk frequency from 0% to 100%, any interval you choose."
"Zero percent."
There was no response for a long time. Chen Mang turned to see Xiao Ai sitting at the Train compartment's entrance, silently watching him. Feeling much more at peace, Chen Mang turned back, gazing into the distance again.
After some time.
Chen Mang suddenly spoke again. "Do you know how this apocalypse came to be?"
There was no response for a long time.
"Set it back to 50%."
"I don't know."
"..."
The twilight faded.
Night completely enveloped the city, and he hadn't received any requests for fire support from Biao Zi. It seemed this search mission had gone smoothly. However, the Targeting Radar showed almost no signs of Survivors. The city's Survivors had long been scavenged clean.
Chen Mang stood up, stretching his slightly sore body, then walked back to the Train compartment.
Every now and then, it was good to relax like this.
Sitting here, letting his mind wander, felt quite nice. The apocalypse always kept people on edge.
Humans are like iron.
You have to tighten and loosen them periodically. Staying tense all the time would break the body.
At that moment—
Biao Zi and the others returned. Those guys were quite something. They stuffed their off-road motorcycles into a Refrigerator, then carried the Refrigerator up the stairs. They didn't ask for help, just managed it themselves.
As long as there's space inside, no matter how much stuff you cram into a Refrigerator, it only weighs as much as a Refrigerator.
The space inside is more like a Dimensional Space, with the weight not directly manifesting in reality.
This component would become the most practical component for a long time to come.
"Lord Mang!"
Biao Zi's eyes gleamed with excitement as he slammed the Refrigerator onto the ground.
"Oh?"
Chen Mang, who had been admiring the city's nightscape, stood on the rooftop, chuckling at the scene. "Looks like the haul was good."
"Not bad..."
Biao Zi grinned from ear to ear. "We found a tobacco factory and a liquor factory, but they'd both been looted clean. Still, we brought back some tobacco seeds. Besides that, we found a lot of grain seeds in a granary."
"They took all the food, but the seeds were scattered on the ground. I collected them all and brought them back."
"I also dug up some soil from the greenbelt, thinking we could create a patch of land inside the Refrigerator to plant stuff."
"Apart from that—"
"We found all sorts of daily necessities, like tables, chairs, projectors, DVDs, playing cards, and such."
"But the real prize—"
"We brought back this..."
The Refrigerator door suddenly swung open, and a faint wailing sound emerged. Inside were various livestock—chickens, ducks, pigs, and even two cows. A total of twenty animals, quite a variety.
"Damn."
Chen Mang couldn't help but laugh. The Breeding Carriage would finally be put to good use. This batch would be the first generation. As long as they kept breeding, the Train's biodiversity would increase.
"Where did you find these? Sand River City has been scavenged many times. How did these get left behind?"
Although the livestock inside the Refrigerator were all skin and bones, looking like they could keel over at any moment, in the apocalypse, even if there's no meat, just the bones could be used to make soup.
Other Trains wouldn't have let these animals go.
"Well..."
Biao Zi scratched the back of his head. "I'm not sure. We found them in a can. The can was stuck vertically into the ground, and these animals were hiding inside."
"It looked like a giant amoxicillin capsule."
"I brought the can back too."
Biao Zi crawled into the Refrigerator and soon pulled out a large, black iron can with a cracked bottom. It really did look like a giant amoxicillin capsule, unremarkable at first glance.
"Biao Zi, try crawling into the can."
"Alright."
Chen Mang's eyes narrowed. According to the information from his cane, Biao Zi's presence disappeared from the Targeting Radar the moment he entered the can.
What a joke!
His Targeting Radar was already at Tier 15. How could it not detect Biao Zi inside this can?
This can had the ability to block Radar detection, and the blocking level was quite high. It wasn't a Special Item, but...
He fell silent for a moment before speaking.
"Take everything to the Train. I'll create a carriage later, specifically for breeding. Move some Refrigerators in there, and find a few helpers to feed these chickens and ducks and cultivate those seeds. See if the seeds can grow."
"Yes."
A thought had just crossed his mind. Perhaps this iron can was the key to the apocalypse. Its advanced Radar-blocking ability allowed it to enter the atmosphere undetected by the world's Radar, landing successfully and triggering the apocalypse.
If that were the case, there should be more than one of these cans.
The reason these animals were hiding inside wasn't to avoid the Train but to escape monsters. This also meant the monsters didn't dare approach the can.
Thinking along these lines.
Many previously vague possibilities were becoming clearer.
Chen Mang looked up at the sky. He could no longer find the countdown among the stars. But no matter how the apocalypse came to be, he had to keep living.
Tonight was particularly lively.
All the residents changed into clean clothes and sat cross-legged on the hospital rooftop, occasionally glancing at the steaming Big Pot, their throats involuntarily gulping.
Tonight.
Lord Mang had ordered a pot of pork, cabbage, and vermicelli stew to be made for everyone.
Since the apocalypse began, many hadn't even smelled meat. Just the aroma of the cooking process was enough to make them lean forward, the scent causing their bodies to tremble with anticipation.
"Put in whatever we have."
Lao Zhu sighed as he looked at the busy cook. "Conditions are limited. We couldn't find cabbage, but we found plenty of carrots, potatoes, and vermicelli. Just go heavy on the vermicelli."
"Everyone can only have a few pieces of meat, but they should fill up on vermicelli."
"Biao Zi somehow managed to bring back half a Refrigerator of vermicelli. That guy's quite something. In areas that have been scavenged so many times, how did he find so much stuff?"
"Hey, remember."
"Save the best piece of meat. I'll take it to Lord Mang."
"Of course, of course," the Middle-aged man, sweating as he worked, quickly responded with a smile.
Feeding a thousand people.
That was a proper Big Pot meal. The Stellar Train didn't have such a large pot, but the living can't be beaten by necessity. Chen Mang directly crafted an ordinary carriage, upgraded its Armor to Tier 3, and customized it with a steel plate dividing the carriage into thirds.
The divided third of the ordinary carriage became the pot.
Then it was just a matter of filling it with water, chopping vegetables, dicing meat, and adding seasoning.
The seasoning wasn't complete, but they used what they had. With such a large pot, the seasoning was bou
nd to be insufficient. The taste was anyone's guess, but at least it would be hot.
As for the heat source—
That wasn't a problem either.
The ordinary carriage was placed on the ground, while the two "Nitrogen Tailjets" at the end of the Stellar Train's last carriage continuously spewed blue flames, directly heating the ordinary carriage, producing waves of steam.
(End of Chapter)