The whole scene was surprisingly orderly and harmonious.
All the goblin slaves swung their pickaxes at the same time, bringing them down in rhythm with the chant. It was quite a sight, possessing a strange, dreamlike artistic quality.
As for the human slaves, perhaps infected by the atmosphere, they gradually joined the rhythm of the chant, shouting their responses in unison.
"I’m gonna shout an eight, mine steady and straight, ah."
"Ho hey!"
"..."
Chen Mang stood expressionlessly by the window, observing for a moment before taking a sip of water to wet his lips. He sighed softly and picked up the walkie-talkie on the control console. "At lunchtime, give Duo Ba a little extra."
He was genuinely worried.
If they shouted like this all day, his slaves would be parched. They needed to drink more water. That guy knew how to get things done.
It made him feel a little embarrassed.Duo Ba truly expected him to help rebuild the goblin civilization. It was clear Duo Ba had taken the matter seriously and truly believed he could do it.
But...
Only he knew that it was just something he’d said to fool him at the time. Human civilization couldn’t even be rebuilt, so where was he going to rebuild goblin civilization? Now, with Duo Ba’s work ethic, he had to start thinking about how to fulfill his promise.
He had deceived many people in his life.
But he had never deceived a fool.
He always felt a strong sense of guilt and unease when deceiving a fool.
"My moral standards are not that low."
Chen Mang clicked his tongue, silently admiring his moral character before turning back to the control console. He glanced at yesterday’s haul. Many of the blueprints required iron ore to craft; he’d have to wait until today’s mining was done.
He had nothing to do at the moment.
So he opened the "Train Radio" and continued to lurk. He hadn’t spoken on the Train Radio since the last trade, but he had been silently watching others chat.
But...
Today’s "Train Radio" seemed to be buzzing a lot.
His name was in every message.
The words "The Stellar" were appearing on the public channel a bit too frequently. Almost everyone who spoke was discussing him. The discussion had started last night and had already accumulated several thousand messages.
"Well, I’ll be..."
Chen Mang stared at the scene, murmuring in a daze. He’d gotten a boss first-kill, that’s all. Was it necessary to discuss it for several thousand messages? Didn’t these people have anything better to do?
Couldn’t they get some real work done?
"Whew."
He took a deep breath, lit a cigarette, and took an ice-cold cola from the refrigerator. Then he scrolled the chat log back to last night, preparing to read through it one by one to see what everyone was saying about him.
There was surprise, shock, jealousy, and even analysis.
—
"The Soda Pop Train": "That Stellar is just a Level 2 train. There’s no way it managed to secure the first kill on a Level 3 boss. It likely got lucky and picked up the scraps after the real fight. Likely, a Level 3 train and the boss fought until they were both nearly dead, and then the Stellar came and stole the kill. Pure luck."
—
"..."
Chen Mang glanced at the message on the Train Radio. He didn’t get angry. A man who gets angry over an unfriendly comment is childish and immature. He just took a small notebook from a nearby drawer and wrote down the name "The Soda Pop Train."
He even added a note in parentheses: "Malicious speculation."
He even saw the captains of the "Bloodthirsty Bull Train" and the "Electro-King Train" speaking up.
These two were interesting.
The captain of the Bloodthirsty Bull Train was extremely excited, though he didn’t know what for. He kept saying he had personally met the captain of the Stellar and had even traded with him. He kept praising him, saying that from the first time they met, he knew he was no ordinary person, that he had the air of a conqueror.
It was clear this guy’s cultural level wasn’t high. He had used up all the complimentary words he knew in his life, and he had already used them several times.
Chen Mang felt a little embarrassed reading it. He’d only gotten a first kill, not become invincible. There was no need to praise him so much.
But...
Perhaps because this guy’s praise was so over the top, it had drawn the ire of a Level 3 train captain.
—
"The Purple Cloud Train": "Alright, he got lucky with that first kill on a Level 3 boss, and you’ve been running your mouth about it all night like it’s some big deal. Why don’t you have him bring his train over here and see if he can take me on? You think he’s got the guts to talk big in front of me?"
—
"..."
Chen Mang stubbed out his cigarette in the cola can and, with a calm expression, began to write in his small notebook again.
"The Purple Cloud Train, arrogant tone, wants to ram his train into mine, asks if I got the guts to talk big in front of him."
There would be a chance.
Before heading to a high-level region, he would take his train to find the Purple Cloud Train and ram it. If he didn’t turn his train into scrap metal, he’ll eat his hat.
The bastard was tough, huh?
As for the "Electro-King Train," the dwarf captain, was even more bizarre.
He kept saying on the Train Radio that he and Chen Mang were kindred spirits.
Kindred spirits? What a nonsense!
That woman he’d given him, he’d never even touched her. He’d taken her from the Bloodthirsty Bull and given her straight to him.
What kind of lunatic was this? Even if they were truly kindred spirits, was this something worth flaunting repeatedly? Why didn’t he just make a plaque with those words and hang it on his train’s front?
It would ward off evil and bring blessings.
Were there any normal train captains on this wasteland?
Had the high-pressure environment of the apocalypse driven them all mad?
After reading through all the chat records one by one, Chen Mang put the small notebook back in the drawer. He had only written down those two train names. Most people were quite friendly.
It made sense.
There was no need to offend someone for no reason, just by running your mouth. Why attract that kind of attention?
But some people just couldn’t keep their mouths shut.
Especially that "Purple Cloud Train."
He had to admit, these people were bored. It was just a small Level 3 boss’s first kill. He didn’t even care that much about it, yet these people could discuss it for several thousand messages. They had too much time on their hands.
___
In the blink of an eye, night fell. The slaves began to line up with their pickaxes to receive their food, starting their evening meal.
"..."
Inside the command car, standing by the window, Chen Mang watched the scene, thinking to himself that it was about time to put the "Train Rules" on the agenda. These past few days, the train had been in a state of savage development, and many things had been selectively ignored.
A socialized group must have rules to be managed effectively.
At that time, he would also formally change the titles.
He couldn’t always be a makeshift crew. At least on the surface, it shouldn’t look so makeshift.
When the two mines in the Apocalypse Abyss and the new Level 2 copper mine were all depleted, he would take care of these two things together. By then, he should have a fully-equipped Level 2 train.
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