The Stellar was already at full speed, but the distance between them was still shrinking fast. The difference in speed was just too great. At this rate, even if he upgraded the Windfire Wheels to Level 2 and ditched all his carriages, he probably wouldn't escape.

Besides, it wasn't a guaranteed strategy. The trains fleeing ahead of him had clearly lost carriages and were still being chased relentlessly.

Maybe because his was the only train left in this part of the wasteland, the giant spider had locked onto The Stellar with terrifying focus. Its eight massive legs pounded across the plains in a furious, unstoppable rhythm.

"Are you fucking with me?!" Chen Mang roared at the rearview mirror, staring at the mountain-like spider closing in. "How the hell can a spider run that fast?! Is it because you have more legs? My train has a ton of wheels! How come I can't outrun you?!"

"Boss Mang," Lao Zhu stammered from beside him, hands gripping a handrail for dear life, voice trembling with despair. "That's a Level 3 leader of the Level 2 'Cannibalistic Spider' type! When they mutate into a leader, their bodies grow exponentially. It's a true boss monster. Standard Level 1 or 2 offensive accessories can't even scratch it."

"You need a Level 3 or higher offensive accessory to do any real damage."

"Normally, a Level 3 'Cannibalistic Spider isn't this fast. It only hits this speed when enraged, and it'll be exhausted for a long time afterward."

"Even if we detach the carriages, the engine alone can't outrun it, and our Level 1 armor won't stop its attacks for a second."

"We're... we're probably going to die."

"Hmm?"

Chen Mang, who had been sitting rigidly at the controls, froze at Lao Zhu's words. He glanced back at the rapidly approaching spider in the mirror. Did he just say a Level 3 or higher offensive accessory could damage it?

His Carriage Blades were Level 5.

He'd originally thought he'd have to upgrade the white-grade accessory to level ten, maybe even twenty, before it would undergo a true qualitative change. He never expected this world's level system to be so strict. If a Level 3 accessory was all it took to hurt this thing, then...

In that case...

Chen Mang's eyes narrowed. Running was no longer an option, so he might as well go for broke.

The spider's abdomen was practically dragging on the ground, with eight massive legs propelling it forward. If he could just cut those legs off, the rest would be easy.

The next instant—

"Activate the Carriage Blades!"

Two blades, seventy centimeters wide and glinting with cold light, shot out from The Stellar's sides and began spinning at incredible speed.

Chen Mang swung the train around in the widest possible arc, heading back the way they came. The maneuver was clumsy without omni-wheels, and the massive U-turn cost him precious seconds.

By the time he'd successfully turned around, the mountain-sized spider was only a few hundred meters away.

"Boss Mang!"

Before Lao Zhu could process what was happening, he saw the horrifying sight through the cockpit window and his heart leaped into his throat. "We can't ram it!" he shrieked.

"Stay calm."

Chen Mang, however, was now completely composed. Sitting at the controls, his mind became one with the train. He took a steadying breath, hands on the controls, ready for the slightest adjustment as he stared down the approaching monster.

Everything around him seemed to slow down.

The hundreds of meters between them vanished.

With both combatants at full speed, the distance closed in the blink of an eye.

In that final moment, just as they were about to collide, Chen Mang gripped the controls and swerved slightly left. The entire train slid like a serpent past the spider's enormous head, aiming straight for the legs on its right side!

As it skimmed past, the spinning steel blades, amplified by the train's momentum, acted like a guillotine, effortlessly slicing through all four of the spider's right-side legs.

To be fair, because the blades were positioned a meter off the ground, they hadn't severed the legs at the base. But the mangled stumps were no longer functional.

When the train turned around again to face the spider, Chen Mang couldn't help but grin.

The colossal spider had lost its balance and crashed heavily onto the wasteland. It was now struggling to get back up, letting out a series of piercing screeches.

It was the first time he'd ever seen a spider with vocal cords.

Now he just had to cut off the other four legs, and the spider would be stranded, unable to maintain its terrifying speed. A few more passes to clean up the remaining stumps, and it would be completely immobilized.

The spider's legs weren't perfectly aligned, so severing all four in one pass had required careful micro-management with the controls, making the entire train wiggle like a snake. It was a high-risk maneuver—one wrong move and he would have flipped. This was the first time he'd tried such a difficult technique, but the days he'd spent practicing on his own had paid off.

"Huh?" Lao Zhu muttered, staring at the scene. He quickly figured out what had happened, but he was still utterly baffled. "What... what was that?"

But Chen Mang didn't have time to answer. A greedy glint appeared in his eyes. If he could kill this boss, the loot would be incredible. He narrowed his eyes, ready to press the attack.

But even as greed crept in, he remained on high alert. He remembered the green, corrosive slime dripping from the other fleeing trains. The boss clearly had more tricks up its sleeve than just its legs.

Besides, the first attack had worked because of the element of surprise. Now the spider was fully aware of him. Its eight legs—or what was left of them—were thrashing in pain, slamming into the ground and gouging out massive craters with every strike.

He could break its defense, but its offense would shred his train to pieces. A classic glass cannon. If he drove the train back in now, it would be torn full of holes.

But he had a better idea.

Chen Mang stopped the train, decoupled the engine from its four carriages, and then recoupled the last carriage to the engine.

And just like that—a short, nimble train was assembled.

"A cigarette would be perfect right now," Chen Mang licked his lips, forcing his breathing to remain steady before slamming the accelerator to the floor.

The next instant, the train shot like a wild horse toward the giant spider struggling on the ground, aiming for its four intact legs. Just before impact, Chen Mang detached the carriage. At the same moment, he yanked the engine hard left, pulling away from the boss.

The unmanned carriage, however, continued rocketing forward under its inertia, straight toward the four legs flailing at the ground!

SCHLICK! SCHLICK!

Amid a series of tearing sounds and the boss's enraged shrieks, the spinning blades on the careening carriage cleanly severed two more of the spider's legs. The other two legs impaled the carriage, lifted it high into the air, and, after waving it around, tossed it far into the distance.

The plan was a success.

Inside the engine, Chen Mang saw the result in his rearview mirror and grinned. This was the moment for a victory cigar. A single carriage only cost 100 units of iron ore. He just had to repeat this a few more times, and the boss would be history.

As long as you kept a cool head, there were always more solutions than problems.

And in the passenger seat, Lao Zhu, who had witnessed the entire spectacle from start to finish, stared in stunned silence, his jaw agape.

"Huh?"