"This…"

Lao Zhu had been gripping his pickaxe tightly, ready to face death, when suddenly the zombies at the carriage entrance—the ones about to pour in—inexplicably fell into confusion before quickly dispersing.

The zombies were completely ignoring their carriage.

All he could hear were terrified screams coming from the other cars.

He instinctively scanned the carriage before his eyes finally landed on Chen Mang. He didn't know what had happened, but he knew one thing for certain: none of these slaves could have pulled this off. The only one capable of such a feat was Chen Mang.

From the very beginning, Chen Mang had been different.

Not only did he lack the dead-eyed resignation of the other slaves, but he was also noticeably cleaner, as if he'd bathed recently. Lao Zhu had no idea where Chen Mang had been hiding for the past year, but in this apocalypse, not everyone had the luxury of taking a shower.

This new boss I've decided to follow, he thought, is the real deal.

Chen Mang's eyes narrowed slightly as he glanced back at the carriage's interior. The expression on every slave's face was a spectacle—a mixture of lingering terror and the giddy relief of having survived.

The carriage was small, but nearly a hundred slaves were crammed inside.

If they managed to survive the horde, managing these hundred slaves would be a significant challenge. He only had three bullets left. Fortunately, the image he'd cultivated from the start was one of cold ruthlessness. These men had no idea how much ammunition he had, and with Lao Zhu's cooperation, he thought he could probably make it work.

If things went south…

The most reliable solution would be to use the remaining horde and dispatch a portion of the slaves to feed the zombies. If he kept just a dozen or so, they would be completely under his control, though his productivity would plummet.

Death was already a constant in this apocalyptic world, and resources like slaves were especially rare. It was best not to waste them if he could help it. If he hadn't inherited the slaves from this train, gathering a hundred of them in the wasteland would have been no easy task.

It seemed like they were all men—there didn't appear to be any women or elderly among them.

And so, after about ten more minutes, the locust-like horde swept past them, continuing its relentless push forward, leaving their carriage completely untouched.

When Chen Mang jumped out of the carriage, his feet landing firmly on the wasteland soil, the knot of tension in his chest finally loosened. He was safe, for now.

"Boss Mang!"

Lao Zhu leaped down after him, pickaxe in hand. He glanced around at the empty expanse, his voice tinged with helplessness. "We made it through, thanks to you, boss—but the engine's gone. These carriages have no power. We won't last long out here in the deep wasteland."

Chen Mang shook his head without a word, simply pulling the "Train Token" he'd just received from his pocket.

It was a black, pointed token, wider at the top and tapering to a point at the bottom. Two words were carved into its surface in crimson characters: Train Token.

"That's…"

Lao Zhu, who had been about to say more, froze. He stared at the token in Chen Mang's hand, a look of utter bewilderment on his face. He slowly looked up at Chen Mang, his mind reeling.

Where the hell did that Train Token come from?

That's not right.

Even if killing low-level monsters like zombies has an incredibly small chance of dropping a token, I was looking outside as the horde passed. Nothing dropped.

The next second—

BOOM!!!

The ground trembled violently as a train materialized in mid-air, then crashed heavily to the earth.

However…

This train was only an engine, with no subsequent carriages.

It was pitch-black with a matte, sandblasted texture. It didn't look like a modern locomotive but rather one from the age of steam, exuding a heavy, ancient aura.

[You have activated the rare Train Token and acquired your train.]

[As this is a rare Train Token, you receive a bonus beyond that of a normal token: a Level 1 Accessory, 'Geocentric Furnace.' This vehicle accessory can only be obtained from a rare Train Token.]

"..."

Chen Mang looked at the panel that appeared before him. It was a standard system panel, but the white background of his own Train Captain panel was a slightly purer shade of white.

So, the rare token just adds a Geocentric Furnace?

He instinctively focused on the words "Geocentric Furnace" on the panel. The text was a deep, highlighted red.

[Accessory Name: Geocentric Furnace]

[Accessory Grade: Red]

[Accessory Level: 1]

[Accessory Effect: Can devour Level 1 trains, breaking down their carriages and vehicle accessories into resource units]

[Upgrade Requirement: 100 units of Level 1 Iron Ore]

"Hmm…"

Chen Mang paused for a moment, then turned to Lao Zhu. "Generally speaking, for these abandoned carriages, for example… can I take their accessories and install them on my train?"

"You can."

Lao Zhu finally snapped out of the shock of seeing a train engine appear out of thin air. "As long as the vehicle accessories are undamaged, you can of course take them and use them for your train," he said, still sounding dazed.

"But if they're damaged, they're useless. You just have to leave them behind."

"There's another group of people out here in the wasteland, the Scavengers. These people ride motorcycles and collect usable parts from wrecked trains to sell. Any damaged accessories are left behind with the rest of the carriage."

"After all, monsters only eat people; they don't eat steel."

"The wasteland is littered with these useless, abandoned carriages."

Chen Mang's eyes lit up, and he nodded with satisfaction.

That little speech was packed with information.

He'd just learned two critical things: first, the wasteland was full of abandoned trains that could be devoured by his Geocentric Furnace. And second, rare Train Tokens—and thus the Geocentric Furnace—must be exceedingly rare. Otherwise, these wrecks would have been devoured long ago and wouldn't still be lying around.

Excellent.

Instead of immediately inspecting his new train's panel further, Chen Mang turned and, with Lao Zhu in tow, headed back into the slave carriage. Gun in hand, he swept his gaze over each slave, his expression icy as he spoke, enunciating every word.

"From now on, I am the new Train Captain."

"You are my first slaves."

"I will provide you with food. All you need to do is continue mining as you did before. There is only one rule: I do not want anyone to disobey my orders."

"Remember that."

With that, Chen Mang didn't wait for a reaction. He turned his head to Lao Zhu. "Have every man turn in the iron ore he mined. If anyone gives you trouble, take your pickaxe to him."

"Understood."

Lao Zhu's face hardened as he tried his best to look fierce. He stood at the carriage entrance, pickaxe in hand, and roared, "Are you all fucking deaf?! Didn't you hear what Boss Mang said?!"

A weak, scattered chorus of voices answered from within the carriage.

"We heard, Boss Mang."

Before, it had been Boss Kun.

Now… it was Boss Mang.

Out here in the wasteland, there was an unspoken rule.

Whoever controlled the train…

Was the Boss.