Chapter 162: The Accessory Blueprint?
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With the Mechanical Eye, Chen Mang could clearly observe the scene outside the Train. It wasn't a three-dimensional image or a Radar display, but rather a direct, visible picture, like a television screen.
Chen Mang looked at the Green Dragon quietly perched on top of the Train, his expression gradually turning strange.
This guy can't swim?
Your home is in the depths of the sea, yet you can't swim? No wonder you can't return home.
So, when this Green Dragon kept looking back at the Azure Dragon Train, it wasn't actually a provocation but a genuine attempt to guide the Train to help it return home. However, Er Dan mistook it for a challenge.
Flying and then glancing back—isn't that clearly looking down on others?
"But..."
Chen Mang frowned slightly, still puzzled. According to Er Dan, the Green Dragon was a creature that roamed various regions. In the Kunlun Mountains area, Er Dan had only seen the Green Dragon once before; it had never come to the Kunlun Mountains before.
But since the Green Dragon's home is in the Underwater Labyrinth, it should have been wandering around this area all along.
Wait!
Chen Mang's lips twitched slightly. He roughly understood the situation. The panel stated that this monster had long been dead, with only a damaged soul controlling its decayed body, allowing it to continuously revive.
So, most likely, every time this Green Dragon died, it tried to fly back home.
But the revival locations weren't fixed.
It kept reviving in random places. This planet was much larger than the one from his previous world, which meant it was highly possible that even a year after the apocalypse began, it had never reached the Shahe Plain.
The distance was too great.
And it was easily killed along the way.
Finally—
After enduring countless hardships, after an unknown number of obstacles, it finally flew to the Kunlun Mountains area more than a year after the apocalypse began, ready to start its journey home. But then, the Azure Dragon Train, having somehow gotten wind of it, attacked fiercely, sending it away again!
Revived once more in some remote corner.
This time, it was relatively lucky, reviving not too far from the Kunlun Mountains area. It didn't take long, and by sheer luck, it encountered him, finally embarking on a successful journey.
Had it been anyone else.
This poor Green Dragon might have had to start its journey home all over again.
The lakebed.
The light was dim. The Train's head provided a strong contribution, while Xiao Ai piloted the Stellar Train toward the coordinates provided by Er Dan. After entering the water, the Green Dragon showed no reaction.
Clearly.
Without the coordinates provided by Er Dan, he would have had to search the lakebed for a long time to find the Fortuitous Encounter map of the "Underwater Labyrinth."
Chen Mang sat in his chair, quickly jotting down a brief summary of everything that had just happened.
This was another story worth recording in the textbooks.
Under his keen insight, he once again led the Stellar Train to success.
After about ten minutes.
The Stellar Train finally reached the lakebed. Directly in front of the Train, a grand, golden palace sat in the center of the lakebed, exuding a heavy, historical sense of decay.
At the palace entrance was a straight road.
At the end of the road was a massive circular archway, large enough for a Train twice the size to pass through effortlessly. Markings on the ground guided the way, and above the palace entrance floated several white glowing characters.
"Underwater Labyrinth."
It looked somewhat like a regional border, though not as vast.
"Is this the Underwater Labyrinth..."
Chen Mang observed everything before him with curiosity, slowly guiding the Train onto the road and driving it into the palace. As the Train approached the archway, it automatically opened, much like Ji Chuchu had willingly parted her legs the night before.
Upon entering the palace.
The first sight was a massive square with an extremely high ceiling, easily over ten meters tall.
From the outside, the palace was large, but the ceiling was definitely not over ten meters tall. Clearly, some sort of space-folding technology was at work here, similar to the "Space Gate."
Moreover, there wasn't a single drop of water inside the palace.
It was quite dry, with ample oxygen.
Immediately after—
A line of text appeared on the Train's control panel screen.
"Please disembark, Train Conductor, and choose your maze difficulty."
"..."
Chen Mang opened a drawer, taking out the long-unused Special Item, the "Salted Fish Hairpin," and placed it on his head. He then slipped the "Individual Exoskeleton Armor" under his clothes and carried a cane and the Soaring Dragon Assault Rifle loaded with level 6 bullets in his arms before jumping off the Train.
Strange.
This was the first Fortuitous Encounter map he had encountered that required the Train Conductor to disembark.
He didn't feel safe without bringing extra equipment.
There was still a level 5 boss lying on the Train's head. Although it seemed extremely docile and non-aggressive for now, who knew what might happen later? If it attacked him, he'd be done for.
Even the "Salted Fish Hairpin," a Special Item he had always found embarrassing, had its use. It allowed him to breathe underwater for ten minutes, with a 24-hour cooldown. Although the palace had oxygen, they were still at the bottom of a lake, so it was good to have it just in case.
"Phew..."
The palace was enormous. Inside, his Stellar Train seemed rather insignificant, and he himself appeared even more so.
Standing beside the Train, Chen Mang glanced up at the Green Dragon perched on the roof, placing his index finger on the rifle's trigger, ready to react at a moment's notice.
He also wore white gloves.
Another Special Item that temporarily enhanced his physical abilities. He even wore the Badge he had thought was useless.
The next moment—
At the center of the palace, five massive light screens suddenly appeared, with an even larger screen above them.
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"Welcome, Conductor of the Stellar Train. The Underwater Labyrinth is located in the green zone of the Shahe Plain."
"For Trains in the green zone, the Underwater Labyrinth is not an easily accessible place, yet there are always Train Conductors who manage to set foot here through various means."
"Human civilization is like a centipede—dead but not stiff."
"Perhaps one day in the future, the planet you inhabit will face destruction."
"But I believe that the shattered human civilization will turn into countless stars, seeking out habitable planets in the depths of the universe."
"Please choose your maze difficulty."
"Once you make your choice, it cannot be changed."
-
"..."
Chen Mang looked at the panel expressionlessly. Could they not have phrased that better? "Dead but not stiff"?
But...
He didn't dwell on it for now, instead focusing on the five difficulty levels of the maze.
-
S-level difficulty maze: Your consciousness will descend into a robot body and appear on a randomly selected Train. The Conductor of that Train will meticulously design a static maze for you. If you reach the endpoint within half an hour, you will have successfully passed.
PS: The Accessories and armed personnel on that Train cannot attack you, nor can you attack any Accessories or personnel on that armed Train. The "Train Auxiliary AI" from your Train will inhabit the robot, granting you extraordinary thinking abilities. The robot has the running speed of an adult male, and the Train's carriages are limited to a maximum of 18.
Reward: 30 Murphy Stones.
-
A-level difficulty maze: You will fall asleep and enter 99 layers of dreams. If you regain consciousness within 24 hours, you will have successfully passed.
B-level difficulty maze.
C-level difficulty maze.
D-level difficulty maze.-
Chen Mang's attention was mainly on the S-level difficulty maze. This S-level maze hadn't disappeared. This was the task Er Dan had chosen last time, but unfortunately, he had failed.
"What a pity."
He shook his head regretfully. If only he had been the first to enter. Based on his experience at the "Goblin Ruins," as the first to enter, completing a task once wouldn't make it disappear.
He could complete it again, and only then would it disappear.
Effectively allowing him to complete it twice.
Wait, perhaps there were other restrictions preventing him from completing it twice. Otherwise, during the "Goblin Ruins," there should have been a task that disappeared after completion. After all, the owner of the Goblin Ruins key could have completed a task they had already passed again.
Without hesitation.
He immediately chose the S-level task, only glancing briefly at the other four difficulty levels.
Just like Er Dan had that day, he was quite confident.
This task.
Li Shiji couldn't help him with this; he could only rely on himself and the AI. He wasn't particularly skilled with mazes, but he knew other Trains well. He didn't believe anyone could design a maze on a Train as complex as his.
If there was such a genius.
He would admit defeat.
But the Train's space was limited. Without a "Space Gate," the space was essentially fixed. A level 3 Train had no space-related Accessories. How complex a maze could be designed?
Even Li Shiji, without a level 10 Refrigerator, could you ask him to design a maze?
Even a skilled housewife can't cook without rice.
After he successfully made his choice, the five light screens above the palace slowly dissipated, merging into one.
-
"The Conductor of the Stellar Train has successfully chosen the S-level difficulty maze."
"Searching for a corresponding Train... Search failed. No available Train for descent."
"Issuing the one-time Special Item 'Consciousness Transmitter.'"
"When a Train suitable for descent is found, the 'Consciousness Transmitter' will emit a piercing alarm and flash red. Press the button on the Consciousness Transmitter within one hour, and your consciousness will be transmitted into the robot body, officially starting the S-level difficulty maze."
-
The light screen slowly shattered, forming a walkie-talkie made of lines in the air.
As the lines solidified, the walkie-talkie materialized.
Landing in Chen Mang's hand.
"30 Murphy Stones, not bad."
Chen Mang smiled, weighing the walkie-talkie in his hand. This was a perfect way to leave the Shahe Plain without any regrets. Now, he just had to wait for someone to show up. When someone chose the S-level Mechanical Train Profession Change task, he would appear on their Train, just like Er Dan had.
Success would earn him 30 Murphy Stones.
That was a hefty sum.
He had only gotten 10 Murphy Stones from killing the "Level 7 Mechanical Zombie King." This S-level task was essentially free 30 Murphy Stones for any Train Conductor who could reach here.
This opportunity was significant.
The Underwater Labyrinth might be unique to this area, but there were likely similar Fortuitous Encounter maps in other regions with comparable tasks.
Now, it was just a matter of waiting.
This couldn't be rushed.
He tossed the walkie-talkie into the Train cabin and looked at the Green Dragon perched on the Train's head, about to say something, when he noticed that its body had begun to rapidly decay.
No blood.
The quickly decaying flesh turned into powder, floating in the air.
Then, the Green Dragon staggered to its feet on the Train's head and fell heavily to the center of the palace. In less than half a minute, the entire Green Dragon had turned into powder, scattering in the air.
At the same time—
The square began to tremble slightly, and a dark hole appeared at the center, revealing stone steps.
Dim oil lamps hung on the walls.
The hole wasn't too large.
People could enter, but Armor and Trains couldn't.
Below this hole was likely the generous reward for sending the Green Dragon home in the "Apocalypse Fortuitous Encounter, Hellish Green Dragon" task.
"..."
Chen Mang strode back to the Train, instructing Xiao Ai.
"Send a team down to check it out."
He then turned his gaze back to the line of text on the control panel, his eyes narrowing slightly as his thoughts began to race.
-
"...Before death, it swallowed the 'Deep Sea Shield' Accessory Blueprint, making killing the Hellish Green Dragon the only way to obtain the Deep Sea Shield."
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The Accessory Blueprint?
This sentence carried a lot of information, leading to many possible connections.
Before death, the timeline was likely before the apocalypse on this planet. It seemed similar to Doba, belonging to another planet that had also faced the extinction of its civilization in the apocalypse.
But this Green Dragon, before death, had put up a strong resistance and swallowed the 'Deep Sea Shield' Accessory Blueprint?
He quickly shook his head.
Dismissing these thoughts for now. How the apocalypse came about could be pondered later. Right now, he was more concerned about what rewards he could reap.
Biao Zi wore the "Mechanical Eye" on his chest. Within the Radar's range, everything Biao Zi saw could be transmitted to the Train's control panel screen.
Chen Mang leaned back in his chair, watching the screen like a first-person tomb exploration game. The passage was long, with nothing but stone steps.
Even the oil lamps weren't real oil lamps.
Upon closer inspection, they were electric bulbs shaped like oil lamps, with some clever designs to make the light flicker like an oil lamp.
"Lord Mang."
Biao Zi's voice came from the Train cabin. "I... I think I see a dragon."
"..."
Chen Mang didn't speak because he saw it too. At the bottom of the stone steps was a massive square with a huge dragon skeleton.
This place...
Seemed somewhat similar to the Goblin Tomb!