My Apocalypse Train

Translator: AnubisTL

The Tier 3 monster leader, the man-eating spider, dropped four items upon its death:

2 Units of Tier 3 Ore: Red Heart Rock100 Units of Tier 2 Material: Fine Spider SilkGreen Grade Vehicle Component Blueprint: Powerful MagnetSpecial Item: Hell Staff

These four items comprised the total loot from the Boss.

The first two were "Rare Ores," resources not found in mines but only dropped by defeated Bosses. They were often used in crafting and upgrading special train components. However, he didn't need them at the moment.

The Powerful Magnet train component could absorb all dropped items from monsters killed by the train or its crew within a certain radius, directly pulling them into a designated carriage.

This accessory's primary use wasn't here but during zombie hordes. In such chaotic environments, stopping to collect dropped items was impossible. With this accessory, they could simply suck up the loot from the midst of the horde.

The fourth item was a special item.

It wasn't for the train itself, but for a single person to use. Shaped like a cane, holding this special item allowed the user to remotely control the train from anywhere within a certain radius, even outside the locomotive.

For example—

If he had possessed this item last night, he wouldn't have needed to return to the locomotive to build carriages. If he had any self-controlled Firearms, he wouldn't have had to operate them from the locomotive; he could have simply stood near the train, holding the cane to control them remotely.

Not bad at all.

The item itself was excellent, but the name "Hell Staff" left something to be desired.

"Pretty good," Chen Mang said, nodding with satisfaction. It was fitting for the Boss they had spent an entire night killing; the rewards were quite generous. While the dropped "Rare Ore" was currently useless, it would surely come in handy later.

Half an hour later, everyone had finished washing. The Ogre Spider had bled so profusely that the entire wasteland was stained red. After purifying the blood with the Pure Water Filter, they had an abundance of water. Such a luxurious bath with purified water was a rare treat for many of the slaves, something they hadn't enjoyed in ages.

"Return!"

Chen Mang grinned at the slaves, preparing to return to the iron mine they'd started at. After a day of rest, they would resume mining.

His current Tier 2 train was just an empty shell. He hadn't yet crafted many of the essential accessories for a Tier 2 train. Though they had obtained a good amount of rare ores, what he truly lacked now was common Iron Ore.

They had to keep mining.

"Lord Mang!"

Old Pig trotted over, tentatively suggesting, "I think the reason we haven't seen a single monster in the past few days is because the Tier 3 Man-Eating Spider nearby is giving birth in Taiping City. Its aura has scared away other monsters."

"Taiping City might be at its most vulnerable right now. Should we go loot it?"

"Biaozi told me there's a secret compartment in a liquor and cigarette shop on the outskirts of Taiping City that's definitely never been looted."

"No."

Chen Mang shook his head, his expression calm as he looked at Old Pig. "What's more important right now is gathering enough Iron Ore to craft the basic accessories for our Tier 2 train, like a sufficient number of heavy machine guns. If we had as many heavy machine guns as that train with the DJ, would we even need to run?"

"This..." Old Pig hesitated for a moment. He really wanted to add, "Didn't that train with the DJ also run away?" But he held back the words, only adding weakly, "There might be a lot of man-eating spider cubs in Taiping City right now. Killing them could drop a lot of good loot, and no one should be competing with us for it at this time."

"..."

After a moment of silence, Chen Mang looked at Old Pig, his voice hoarse. "Get on the train. We're going to Taiping City. Do you know the way?"

Inside the Train.

Chen Mang sped along the obvious trail across the wasteland. These were the tracks left by the man-eating spiders during their nocturnal travels. Following this trail would quickly lead them to Taiping City.

The vast wasteland was nearly barren, with few landmarks to guide them. Old Pig didn't know the way.

He glanced at the energy stone in the locomotive.

"72%."

Not bad. It could last for a while. He only had 313 Units of Iron Ore left. He had originally planned to return to mining to build the Crafting Table first, but Old Pig's suggestion was tempting. Without the Boss's protection, it felt wrong not to go back and kill those cubs.

By this point, the exterior of the Stellaris train was already stained with crimson blood, radiating a foul stench under the scorching sun.

After a grueling four-hour journey, Chen Mang finally spotted the modern city ruins on the distant horizon. Many skyscrapers had collapsed, leaving the entire city riddled with holes. As they drew closer, more details emerged.

Signs of intense burning were everywhere, along with cars piled up in the streets and uncollected fallen leaves and waste littering the ground. Surprisingly, there were no corpses in sight.

"..."

Chen Mang stared silently at the scene, the sight solidifying his understanding of his arrival in this apocalyptic world. For the past few days in the wasteland, he hadn't seen much evidence of human civilization.

In such an environment, how many survivors could possibly be hiding here?

As the train approached the city ruins, Chen Mang gradually slowed it down, finally stopping at the edge of the ruins. They couldn't go any further; the path ahead was blocked by a massive pile of wrecked cars and collapsed buildings, making further progress impossible.

The path ahead required them to proceed on foot.

In the distance, suspended in the air, hung a colossal spiderweb.

This enormous web, constructed entirely of spider silk strands as thick as human arms, spanned the space between skyscrapers. The ground around it was littered with traces of green, viscous liquid corrosion, and numerous cars and buildings had been pierced by stray strands of silk.

Spider silk lay scattered everywhere, the strands that had shot out like bullets easily piercing through reinforced concrete structures.

Heavy machine gun shell casings, discarded firearms, and several abandoned carriage sections littered the ground. Chen Mang decided he would have the Geothermal Core Furnace consume them all later, and he'd also test whether the abandoned cars could be broken down into iron ore.

This place had clearly been the scene of a brutal battle.

"What a narrow escape," Chen Mang murmured, standing at the edge of the ruins, gazing at the scene before him. It seemed the Tier 3 Man-Eating Spider's silk and venom had been exhausted here; otherwise, he might have been in serious trouble.

Of course, if he ever wrote his autobiography, he certainly wouldn't reveal this stroke of luck. Instead, he'd record how he, with the power of a newly advanced Tier 2 train, had instantly killed the Tier 3 Man-Eating Spider Boss.

Dangling from the massive spiderweb were about a dozen small spiders, swaying gently in the breeze.

These were the cubs of the Man-Eating Spider.

"Biaozi," Chen Mang called out.

Chen Mang waved to Biaozi, patted his shoulder, and whispered, "Take the brothers and their weapons. Kill all those cubs and bring back everything they drop.

"Hurry up."

"This isn't a place to linger. Return immediately after completing the mission, and then we'll head back. Understood?"

"Understood!"

Biaozi nodded solemnly, then gestured to the other nine thugs. They grabbed enough magazines and some car blade fragments and quickly sprinted through the ruins toward the massive Spiderweb.

"Lord Mang," Old Pig hesitated at the edge of the ruins. "Shouldn't I go with them? What if they run off and don't come back?"

"If they run, they run," Chen Mang said calmly, leaning on his Hell Staff at the edge of the ruins, gazing at the Spiderweb that blotted out the sky between the towering buildings. "You must allow anyone to leave you at any time without letting it consume you.

"In this world, anyone could leave at any moment.

"But just because they might leave doesn't mean you shouldn't use them.

"Every ship that sets sail faces risks, but ships aren't built to stay docked forever."

"Alright," Chen Mang continued. "Keep a close watch on your surroundings. These cubs aren't something a single spider could produce. I have a bad feeling about this. The sooner we finish the mission and leave this place, the better."

(End of the Chapter)

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