Chapter 328: Foundation-Level Superweapon |
After resolving this matter.
Chen Mang did not continue working. Instead, he put down everything at hand, glanced at the Doppelganger Radar screen, and washed up before going to bed. Having not slept for three days, he was quite exhausted.
"Xiao Lu, time for bed," he said.
Before falling asleep, he glanced at Xiao Lu, who was lying on the ground staring up at the starry sky, and spoke with a hint of confusion.
He had specially prepared a bed for Xiao Lu in the train cabin.
Xiao Lu usually loved that bed.
Only then did he suddenly realize that Xiao Lu had been staying in his cabin for the past few days, not going anywhere. In the past, Xiao Lu's favorite pastime was running to the back carriages to play with Young Master Li's Star-Treading Sword Tiger.
But he hadn't gone at all recently.
'Is he heartbroken over a breakup?' Chen Mang wondered.
Xiao Lu lay motionless on the floor, leaving him only with a melancholy back. Chen Mang did not say anything more. Drowsiness washed over him again, proving too much to resist, and he drifted off to sleep amidst his wandering thoughts.
He slept for a long time.
A full thirteen hours.
He could have slept even longer, but sleeping too much would only make him feel more tired upon waking.
After washing up.
Feeling refreshed, Chen Mang sat back at the control console and let out a long breath. He lit a cigarette and leisurely scrolled through the train logs out of habit, checking what had happened recently, the mining progress on the Ore Stars, and the research and development progress from Qi Ke Xiu.
Last time, it was promised that there would be results within three days.
But it had certainly been more than three days now.
Right at this moment—
"Hmm?"
He noticed Xiao Lu still lying quietly to the side. Frowning slightly, he asked, "Xiao Ai, while I was sleeping, was he just lying here the whole time without changing posture?"
"No."
Xiao Ai's voice sounded from the cabin speakers.
"Strange."
Chen Mang walked over, picked Xiao Lu up in his arms, and looked at his tender face in confusion. "Is something on your mind?"
Xiao Lu did not make a sound; he just affectionately rubbed his head against Chen Mang's chin.
In his normal state, Xiao Lu was incredibly cute. Unfortunately, Chen Mang had no desire to date; otherwise, with Xiao Lu's adorable appearance, the little beast would make an absolute wingman.
Of course.
If he were in his devouring state, that would be a completely different story.
Perhaps he could serve as a wingman if Chen Mang ever decided to court a Cthulhu Mother Goddess.
"Aba aba..."
Xiao Lu could not speak; he merely let out a few strange syllables. Chen Mang had tried using a translator, but it wasn't a language. It had no system and sounded more like meaningless grunts.
However, Xiao Lu quickly returned to normal. After nudging Chen Mang a few more times, he ran off to the rear carriages as usual to play with Young Master Li's Star-Treading Sword Tiger. That was Xiao Lu's only friend on the train.
"That's good."
Chen Mang chuckled before turning his attention back to the console screen. Over the past few days, the Zerg Civilization hadn't made any major moves. They were still slowly approaching, appearing extremely low-key—completely unlike the terrifying momentum they showed when they wiped out the Sky-Slayer Civilization.
Probably very few people in the entire universe even remembered the Sky-Slayer Civilization anymore.
But he remembered.
Back when he was still on Water Blue Star and had just obtained the galaxy map, he witnessed the Zerg Civilization spare no expense to annihilate the Sky-Slayer Civilization immediately after its promotion to a Level 1 Civilization. In an instant, they created hundreds of thousands of random Wormholes directly to the vicinity of the Sky-Slayer Civilization's home planet, obliterating it.
That event had left a massive shadow over him.
It had caused him to feel an immense amount of pressure for a long time.
Now, however, while facing the Zerg Civilization would still be a fierce battle, they no longer seemed quite so terrifying. It wasn't something he couldn't handle.
In the past, the Mechanical Civilization's strongest energy attack was level 270.
Since the Zerg Civilization managed to destroy the Mechanical Civilization, their most powerful methods were likely around level 300, definitely not exceeding 300. Theoretically, as long as he upgraded his armor to level 350, or perhaps 400...
...he could basically completely ignore the Zerg Civilization's attacks.
He just needed some resources and a little bit of time. Mining such a massive batch of Ore Stars required a lot of initial investment. To achieve this, he had spent trillions to manufacture billions of mining robots.
Although this surplus of mining robots wouldn't be used for a long time afterward, resulting in a certain waste of resources...
Right now.
Time was of the essence.
A little waste was acceptable.
The level 5 Overlimit Effect of the Armed Black Hole Robot Production Line allowed fully intact robots to be recycled for their original price, while heavily damaged ones were recycled at a discount based on their condition.
This was the effect of the gold-grade component, the Armed Black Hole Robot Production Line, meaning it could only recycle Armed Black Hole Robots, not mining robots.
The mining robots were produced by the Robot Research Center, and all the Overlimit Effects of that component focused on reducing manufacturing costs. It didn't possess a full-price recycling effect.
Afterward—
He looked at the train's total resource panel.
-
"197 trillion units of iron ore, 12 trillion units of wood, 160 trillion units of copper ore, 34.9 billion units of Crimson Heart Rock, 78.97 billion units of Titanium Crystal."
-
And it wouldn't be long before these numbers surged once again.
The resources mined from that cluster of Ore Stars were temporarily stored on the planets themselves and had not yet been transported to the train. That haul was the real prize; the current stockpile on the train was mostly gathered from the Gemini Star.
197 trillion units of iron ore.
It sounded like a massive amount.
However, a single shot from the level 200 Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannon consumed 1 trillion units of iron ore.
197 trillion was only enough for 197 shots.
197 shots...
In the grand scale of the universe, during a war between high-level civilizations, that wouldn't even count as a drop in the bucket. His biggest problem right now was that he possessed sufficiently powerful attack methods, but lacked the resources to use them freely.
War was the most resource-draining endeavor in human history, bar none.
Once a war machine started turning, it inevitably became a battle of attrition and foundation.
Throughout all periods of peace in human history, not a single one was truly about pursuing peace; every era of peace was merely a time to stockpile ammunition for the next war.
In the universe.
Many bizarre things might happen. After all, the universe was too vast and filled with too many variables; no matter what occurred, it wasn't truly surprising. But one thing was absolutely certain: the conservation of energy.
The scale of the method utilized dictated the scale of the resources consumed.
Energy rarely appeared out of thin air.
And yet—
For the Level 6 Civilization to use a Time Erasure technique to destroy the Niya Civilization, he couldn't even fathom how many resources that had consumed, nor did he know if they had recouped their costs.
Because theoretically speaking, since the Niya Civilization had been erased and rewound in time, it ceased to exist. If the Niya Civilization had never existed in the universe, then all the resources they had ever mined would have been completely restored.
It was equivalent to previously depleted resource zones instantly returning to a state of pristine abundance.
In fact, that unknown civilization had indeed done exactly that.
The Niya Civilization spanned a total of four star systems. With the exception of the Dead End Star System, the other three had already been seized by that Level 6 Civilization. The only reason the Dead End Star System had been ignored was simply because it was far too barren.
That was fine.
Being poor had its own advantages.
"Xiao Ai."
Leaning back in his chair, Chen Mang fell into deep thought for a long time before suddenly speaking up, "I just thought of something. The Niya Civilization must have destroyed many other civilizations during its expansion. If the Niya Civilization was directly erased from the river of time and never existed, what happened to all those civilizations they destroyed?"
"A mass resurrection?"
He had already established that unknown Level 6 Civilization as a hypothetical enemy.
Although they had never made contact, and he was only guessing their civilization level and methods, his personal habit was to treat all powerful entities as hypothetical enemies first. He always planned for how to handle things if a fight were to break out.
It's always better to harbor malice when dealing with a good person.
Than to harbor goodwill when dealing with a bad person.
Prepare for the absolute worst-case scenario, then wait for fate's arrangement.
"That is highly unlikely."
Xiao Ai's voice echoed in the cabin. "The chain reaction wouldn't be that massive. If it were, it would cause too many bugs. It's highly probable that those civilizations did not resurrect and have similarly vanished from the universe entirely."
"We now know that the universe has its own set of rules."
"Although we don't know all the rules, nor do we have specific details."
"What we can confirm is that these rules maintain the operation of the universe. They don't care which civilization perishes or which civilization rises; they only care about maintaining the universe. If such a massive bug truly existed, the laws of the universe would actively clean it up."
"But..."
Chen Mang's expression turned slightly odd. He looked at the console screen, showing a middle-aged man stuffing his face with food and drink in a city on Water Blue Star. This was the captain of Keke's train. "Such a huge cosmic bug is alive and kicking right now."
"Every programmer earnestly tries to clean up every bug, but they can't discover all of them, nor can they fix every single one. More importantly, not every bug causes severe consequences."
"Generally speaking, a programmer's workflow is very simple."
"Detect a bug."
"If the bug is too difficult to fix, restart."
"If the bug is too simple and harmless, ignore it."
"If the bug is neither too hard nor too simple, attempt a fix. If successful, all is well. If it fails, restart."
"If we apply this logic to the universe, then whenever an exceptionally severe bug occurs, the universe will reboot that area. The method of restarting is likely forming a Dark Abyss. Moderate bugs would be patched, while a tiny, insignificant bug like Captain Keke has probably just been ignored, or perhaps not even noticed at all."
"After all, the universe is so vast."
"Having a few bugs is perfectly normal."
"Furthermore—"
"Most of the time, as long as the system is running, it's best not to touch certain bugs. Fixing them might just crash the whole thing."
"..."
Chen Mang fell silent and did not speak further. He simply narrowed his eyes, staring at the middle-aged man on the screen. Logic told him he should sever all ties with this man as soon as possible to avoid being implicated in the future.
Who knows? One day the rules of the universe might discover this bug and decide to investigate him as well.
He felt that transmigration... was probably a bug too.
The universe was so massive.
Yet, out of all the civilizations he had encountered, he had never heard of a second case of transmigration, nor was it recorded in the histories of numerous civilizations. He felt that if the rules of the universe ever decided to patch his bug, they probably wouldn't be so kind as to simply send him back to Blue Star.
Instead, they would likely turn this entire sector, including the area around Blue Star, straight into a Dark Abyss.
Bug resolved.
What an easy job. He could do that too.
Just point and click to delete whatever doesn't belong.
Click away until the universe was entirely filled with empty voids, devoid of any stars or planets.
Although his logic reasoned this way, his intuition told him to keep this middle-aged man around. This was a cosmic bug... A living, breathing cosmic bug! Thus far, he hadn't discovered a second one. Excluding himself, that is, since he still wasn't completely sure if his own transmigration qualified as a bug.
From a certain perspective, this was rare. Extremely rare!
Even a Level 6 Civilization might not possess a living cosmic bug.
It didn't seem to have any immediate use.
But—
One could go a lifetime without using a sword, but one could not go a lifetime without having a sword to use!
He would keep him around for now; perhaps there would be an opportunity to utilize him one day.
"Keep an eye on him," Chen Mang ordered.
"Let him do whatever he wants; don't interfere, as long as he doesn't try to rebuild his civilization."
"Understood."
In the end, he chose to let the man stay. The fact that Keke's train had managed to travel back from light-years away, and this bug still hadn't been patched after so much time, meant that the universe simply hadn't noticed it.
But just in case this guy somehow managed to obtain a Civilization Order from somewhere and started shouting, 'I want to restore my civilization!'
Then it would be totally game over.
If the Niya Civilization were to be resurrected, it would be catastrophic. The universe would be hard-pressed not to notice such an enormous bug.
"Also—"
"Issue a gag order to Keke and her captain. They are forbidden from disclosing anything whatsoever about the Niya Civilization. All the information we've gathered over the past few days must be sealed under the highest level of confidentiality."
"No one on the train will have the authorization to access it."
"Yes, sir."
In a sense, this secret of the Niya Civilization was a trump card hidden at the bottom of the box. Currently, only the few of them knew about it, and the cosmic rules wouldn't care. However, if they were ever confronted by an absolutely invincible civilization...
...they could disseminate the information regarding the Niya Civilization's existence as wildly as possible within that enemy civilization.
Once the scale reached a certain threshold.
It would inevitably attract the attention of the universe's rules, resulting in mutual destruction.
"Excellent."
Chen Mang chuckled softly. Although he might never need to use this ultimate weapon in his lifetime, regardless, the Human Civilization now finally possessed a Foundation-Level Superweapon of its own.
In the history of the Niya Civilization, it was mentioned that among the civilizations in the universe, all high-level civilizations possessed Foundation-Level Superweapons. This had nothing to do with energy thresholds; fundamentally, only Level 4 and higher civilizations had them.
For example, a Level 5 Civilization's Spacetime-Transcending Strike via a Cosmic Wormhole.
Or, for example, this secret of his.
As long as it could be successfully deployed and cause absolute, devastating destruction to the enemy, it counted as a Foundation-Level Superweapon.
The vast majority of the time, they would not be activated. They served merely as deterrents, or were never even leaked to the public. Only when a civilization reached the brink of life and death would a Foundation-Level Superweapon be revealed. This was also the reason why the higher the civilization level, the fewer wars there were.
It was simply too easy to end up in mutually assured destruction.
Yet, despite the Human Civilization being a Level 2 Civilization—considered unranked and insignificant in the universe—they already possessed their first Foundation-Level Superweapon. He hoped to acquire a second one soon, preferably a usable one, rather than this type that threatened mutual destruction at the drop of a hat...
He genuinely felt he should select a Swordholder on the train.
Just in case the Stellaris Train was ever on the verge of annihilation, there needed to be someone with the courage to step forward and press the nuclear button. He found it difficult to muster the courage for mutual destruction. He always felt that as long as he fought a little harder and pushed a bit further, a miracle would surely happen!
This mentality had allowed him to turn danger into safety countless times, but it also meant that if he ever truly failed, he lacked the resolve to drag his enemies down to the grave with him.
However, after careful consideration, he decided against it.
To hell with the Swordholder.
Imagine him fighting on the front lines, eagerly awaiting a miracle, only for the Swordholder behind him to directly press the button. It would be better to just die straight out. That would be far too infuriating.
Water Blue Star, Taiping City.
This planet, which had once faced the apocalypse, had now undergone an earth-shattering transformation.
City after city had been rebuilt. At a glance, the urban landscapes showed no traces of a post-apocalyptic world. The greenery within the cities adhered to the highest standards, and thankfully, there were no accursed photinia trees to be seen.
Pedestrians bustled along the streets.
Society had returned to a state of peace.
The economic system operated entirely on Heng Xing Coupons.
Right now—
Keke was walking down the street, her eyes filled with curiosity as she looked around. It had been a very long time since she had been in contact with human society—many, many years. Moreover, she had never possessed her own body before, much less used her own two feet to personally measure and experience human society like this.
Everything before him was incredibly novel.
On a screen to his left was a promotional trailer for Zhang Yiren's new film, Interstellar Escape. The lead actress in the movie looked stunning. Word had it that she was currently the highest-paid female star on Water Blue Star, and was the very same actress who had starred in Zhang Yiren's debut film back when he was still on the train.
On a screen to the right was...
...a seven-day tour advertisement from a travel agency named Jimei Tourism Company, with the destination being Xuanwu Star.
The advertising slogans were quite distinctive.
"Experience Immortal Elegance, Ascend to Heaven in a Single Step!"
"Cultivation Experience—Even Mortals Can Seek the Dao!"
"Golden Core Masters will personally serve as your Dao Protectors while you experience Sword Qi piercing the heavens."
"Hand-craft your own pills in the Alchemy Pavilion and personally draw Demon-Suppressing Talismans."
"Form parties to explore ancient cultivator abodes; rare opportunities and supreme treasures belong to those with destiny!"
"Seven Days and Six Nights in an Immortal Abode! Stay in a Spirit Vein Cave, breathe in the essence of heaven and earth, dine on spiritual fruits and morning dew in a jade pavilion, and enjoy music performed by heavenly fairies."
Aside from these.
Numerous shops had sprung up along the streets like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, looking incredibly bustling and painting a picture of a flourishing society.
Everything was developing in a positive direction.
"The villa I bought is just up ahead."
"We're almost there."
Walking at the very front, Xiao Ai had her hands on her hips, looking extremely ecstatic. "I am the very first AI in the entire Human Civilization to buy a villa! No, wait, I might just be the first AI in the entire universe to buy a villa!"
Behind her trailed a group of her underlings.
On normal days, she loved leading her underlings on strolls through the city.
Everything before them belonged to the Human Civilization, and ultimately, to Boss Mang. From a certain perspective, she had also contributed to this prosperity.
"Boss Ai."
Following the local customs, Keke mimicked the others and addressed Xiao Ai by her title. He glanced at the coldly expressionless robot beside him and asked tentatively, "Which train is this friend from? What's his name, and why hasn't he spoken the entire way?"
"Oh."
Xiao Ai replied casually, "His name is Mom. You can just call him Little Mom. He's from Er Dan's train. Er Dan is a veteran of the train as well. He's been in a state of semi-retirement recently; I heard he started some kind of Auto Repair City or something."
It was worth mentioning.
A while ago, Xiao Ai had spent just under a hundred Murphy Stones to upgrade Er Dan's Train Auxiliary AI to level 100, having submitted a resource application to Boss Mang for it. Originally, this AI's intelligence level had been far too low.
It was much better now that it had reached level 100. The only downside was that, having acquired sufficient intelligence, the AI had begun to despise its own name.
Especially when interacting with friends, the guy refused to even mention his name.
"Hmph." Little Mom let out a cold snort, his voice laced with dissatisfaction.
"Alright, alright."
Xiao Ai laughed and patted Little Mom to soothe him. Little Mom's body had also been built by her. After so many generations of improvements, the robot bodies she created could now clearly express a variety of emotions. This was a significant leap in progress, something humans couldn't fully comprehend.
Humans were simply born with that capability.
It truly was enviable.
Soon enough—
It wasn't long.
At the end of the street.
A lush, green park appeared before their eyes.
"My villa is right inside the park. Let me take you in for a look."
Right at that moment!
"Eh?"
Xiao Ai looked at a middle-aged man squatting at the park's entrance and said in surprise, "Er Dan, you live here too?"
The man squatting by the park entrance was none other than Er Dan.
"Hey."
Er Dan stood up helplessly and shook his head. "Boss Ai, you're the only one with a single-family villa in this park. How could I possibly live here? I specifically came looking for you using my train AI's coordinates."
"There's something I'd like to talk to you about."
"It's about..."
"Uh..."
Er Dan scratched his head, suddenly unsure of how to broach the subject. After hesitating for a long moment, his face flushed slightly. "My company has recently run into some operational difficulties. I was wondering if I could borrow some money from Boss Mang."
"Are you sure?"
Xiao Ai was slightly taken aback. "I can ask him for you, but do you know what this implies?"
"I..."
Er Dan hesitated to speak, stopping himself. Only after a long silence did he suddenly burst into laughter, the sound filled with a sense of relief. "I know what this means. It means that from now on, I will officially be separated from the Stellaris Train. I'll be striking out completely on my own."
"But Boss Ai."
"The Stellaris Train is developing far too rapidly. Not everyone can keep up with Boss Mang's pace."
"A few years ago."
"Just a few years ago, I still met with Boss Mang every day, scouting out Trial Maps for him. That was the most adventurous period of my life. But... I haven't seen Boss Mang in a very long time now."
"Boss Mang is already gazing into the deep recesses of the universe."
"I honestly can't be of any help anymore."
"My train is completely insignificant on a cosmic scale. I can no longer scout Trial Maps for him, and I don't possess any other useful skills. If I stay by Boss Mang's side, I'll just become a freeloader waiting to die."
"Here's what I'm thinking."
"The Human Civilization is changing by the day. New buildings rise daily, new things are constantly born, and development is incredibly rapid. Moreover, I firmly believe that one day, Boss Mang will lead the Human Civilization to an even greater height."
"And right now, with the Human Civilization so full of vitality and opportunities at every turn, it's the perfect time to start a business."
"Even though I can't follow in Boss Mang's footsteps forever, if I can build a sufficiently successful enterprise within the civilization for him, I feel like I'll still be making a contribution and putting my remaining heat to good use."
"But if there ever comes a day when Boss Mang needs me again."
"I, Er Dan, will brave mountains of blades and seas of fire without hesitation!"
His tone was filled with a poignant sorrow, but it couldn't be helped. He truly wanted to follow Boss Mang to the very end, but there was simply no place for him on the Stellaris Train anymore. He wasn't like Uncle Li, who could always manage to find work to do out of thin air.
It wasn't that he lacked the thick skin for it.
It was that he lacked the ability.
Uncle Li knew a little bit of everything. He heard the old man had recently found a new gig on the train and had been so busy that they hadn't had time to grab a drink together in ages.
"Is that so..."
Xiao Ai's expression grew a little weird. "Since you put it that way, I'm genuinely curious. How exactly did you manage to start a business in this vibrant and booming Human Civilization, only to end up losing money and needing a loan..."
"I thought you said it was full of opportunities?"
"Well, about that..."
Er Dan's eyes darted around awkwardly. "There was a tiny little accident."
"Right."
Xiao Ai nodded. She rummaged around in her pocket, pulled out a stamp and a blank check, stamped it, and handed it to Er Dan with a smile. "I just asked Boss Mang. He said of course you can."
"The seal is already on it. You can fill in whatever number you want. You can take this to any bank and exchange it for that amount in Heng Xing Coupons."
"The limit is twelve digits."
"It's not that Boss Mang isn't willing to give you more, but if you were to write down eighteen or nineteen digits, the economic system of the Human Civilization would pretty much collapse."
"Boss Mang said that for anyone who has contributed to the Stellaris Train, even if they later leave the train and find their own place within the Human Civilization, the Stellaris Train will never forget their contributions. He will ensure that these meritorious individuals and all their future descendants will always live prosperous lives within the civilization."
"It's not a loan."
"You don't need to pay it back."
"Boss Mang has been too busy lately and didn't really pay attention to this. I just spoke with him about it; the train really does need a proper, formalized retirement process."
"Thank you, Boss Mang. Thank you."
With red eyes and trembling hands, Er Dan took the check. His voice shook. "I didn't think Boss Mang would even remember me."
He used to throw his arm over Boss Mang's shoulder and share drinks with him.
But...
Too much time had passed. Their statuses were on completely different levels now. If he were to see Boss Mang today, he wouldn't be able to relax like he used to.
"It's fine."
Xiao Ai said with a smile, "Your AI is my friend. With that connection, what are you afraid of? Just go for it boldly. We can't let you lose everything."
"Boss Mang said you should grab a drink together when he's free."
"I'm heading in now."
"Contact me if you need anything else."
"Okay, okay."
Er Dan watched Xiao Ai and her group walk away. He took a deep breath, raised an arm to rub his eyes, and then looked up at the sky above. As if feeling Boss Mang's gaze upon him, he stuffed the check into his pocket and strode away into the distance.
The Human Civilization!
He would definitely carve out a successful career for himself within the Human Civilization!
With the civilization booming as it was, he believed he could definitely succeed—especially now that he had Boss Mang's favor backing him.
However...
This was his one and only chance. If he lost money again next time, he wouldn't have the face to ask Boss Mang for help. Even though Boss Mang would likely give it to him again if he asked, doing so would feel like bringing disgrace upon himself.
Recently, quite a few people on the Stellaris Train had retired. Stepping down from the frontlines of the train, they had found their own places within the civilization.
After all, as the train continued to evolve...
Many people could no longer find a place for themselves on the Stellaris Train.
The Stellaris Train was advancing far too fast.
Not everyone could keep up.
It went without saying for the original residents of the Stellaris Train; they had all retired long ago. Only the cyber miners remained. As for the others... people like Zhang Yiren and his crew had retired early on, though they would still return to visit the Stellaris Train from time to time.
On one hand, it was out of emotional attachment.
On the other hand, not everyone had the privilege of visiting the Stellaris Train. This served as a sort of high-level promotional flex to the outside world.
For example.
If you had a business rival, and this rival casually strolled through The Palace every now and then, how would you feel? There would be no point in competing. Even if The Palace didn't explicitly provide them with any direct support, just the association was more than enough.
Not to mention.
If you tried to play dirty, you'd quickly find out exactly why The Palace was called The Palace.
"How nice,"
The Dwarf Man stood at the entrance of a shop in Taiping City, watching from afar as Boss Ai and her group entered the park. He didn't approach them to say hello; instead, his tone was filled with a poignant, hazy nostalgia. He, too, had once shared a brief connection with Boss Mang.
Boss Mang had even gone out of his way to deliver resources to them.
He had even taken them along to hang out in Neon City.
But as time marched on, many relationships gradually faded into memory. Boss Mang hadn't sought him out in a very long time, so naturally, he wasn't going to tactlessly force himself into the picture. Still, every time he recalled those memories, he always felt a sense of surreal wonder.
It had only been a few years.
But it felt as though entire lifetimes had passed.
Right at that moment—
The motion-sensing fortune cat at the shop entrance let out a crisp chime. "Welcome!"
"Coming, coming!"
The Dwarf Man hastily withdrew his gaze and put on a bright smile as he went to greet the customer. "Feel free to browse! Have a look around."
Yes.
He was the owner of this shop.
An action figure shop.
Selling all kinds of figurines and models.
But quickly, when he saw clearly who had walked in, his lips twitched. "Why is it you? I thought a real customer had arrived. What a waste of excitement."
The Young Man standing before him was a friend he had made during the apocalypse. Back when Boss Mang came to deliver resources to him, he had delivered some to this guy as well.
This guy was also pretty incredible!
He had once gifted Boss Mang an Oxygen Generator, and because of that fateful connection, he had received quite a few benefits later on.
"It'd be a miracle if you actually got a customer."
The Young Man sighed deeply, looking at the massive female figurines lining the shop. "How many times have I told you? Don't confuse your personal fetishes with market demand. Nobody out there wants to buy a three-meter-tall woman action figure."
"Even if you like them, couldn't you just use them as a gimmick to attract customers, and then sell regular, normal-sized figures?"
"What do you know? This is what you call finding a hyper-niche market. Better to be a king in a tiny pond than a small fry in the ocean. The only reason there's no one here is because the target audience is so small. But once a customer does show up, one sale will feed me for three years."
"That's not a hyper-niche market, that's a downright creepy market."
"Forget it."
The Young Man waved his hand dismissively, deciding not to dwell on the topic. Instead, he looked at the Dwarf Man with a serious expression. "I recently found a great business project. Do you want to go in on it together? I think you'll definitely be interested."
"What kind of project?"
"A Kingdom of Women."
The Young Man leaned in close to the Dwarf Man's ear and whispered, "Haven't you seen the women from Xuanwu Star? Every single one of them is absolutely gorgeous! And most importantly, once they reach a certain cultivation level, they don't even need to poop!"
"Do you have any idea how attractive a fairy who doesn't need to poop is?"
"Quite a few women from cultivation civilizations have come to our Water Blue Star, and after seeing our prosperity, they refuse to leave. They're all over the place looking for jobs. My idea is to build a Kingdom of Women, where every single one..."
A moment later.
Having caught the general gist of it, the Dwarf Man hesitated slightly. "Roughly how much startup capital do we need? I might not have enough money."
"We'll split it half and half. One hundred million each."
"That much?! You're going to completely drain my life savings!"
"Ahem..."
"I might have forgotten to mention something. I've recently made contact with a sect of female cultivators. The entire sect wants to relocate to Water Blue Star for development, and they've been looking for a business that can employ all their members at once. My Kingdom of Women project is being built specifically around this female cultivator sect."
"And then? Do you think I'm some kind of pervert? When it comes to investing, I won't let lust cloud my judgment. Shouldn't you at least send me a detailed business plan first?"
"Everyone in this female cultivator sect knows the spell Giant Transformation."
"I already told you..."
"Every single one of them can transform into a ten-thousand-foot-tall giant, their heads touching the sky and their feet on the ground."
"What are you..." The Dwarf Man froze. He stood rooted to the spot, his throat bobbing nervously. "A ten-thousand... a ten-thousand-foot-tall giant?"
"Yes."
"Then... then can they do that?"
"As long as the money is right, anything is negotiable."
The Dwarf Man violently sprang up and slammed his palm against the counter. With an expression of sheer excitement, he roared, "I'm investing! I absolutely have to invest in this project! This will be the final battle of my life, staking my entire reputation on the line!"
He didn't have many special hobbies in this life; he just loved this one specific thing.
It was like his fatal weakness.
He couldn't avoid it.
Once a person had a fatal weakness, they naturally had a flaw. But from another perspective, it also provided them with a unique sense of happiness that others could never experience.
The Young Man couldn't help but laugh at the Dwarf Man's reaction. Having a friend in this world was not easy, and having a friend who had survived the apocalypse alongside him was even harder.
Thinking back to when they first met Boss Mang, he felt a bit wistful.
He really was amazing back then; how had he been so decisive?
"Oh, right—"
The Dwarf Man suddenly remembered something and asked, "How is your old man doing? Is he still rotting away at home doing nothing?"
"Don't even mention him; just thinking about him pisses me off."
The Young Man waved his hand in irritation. "He's gone crazy, absolutely nuts. So what if I made him mine a little extra ore during the apocalypse? The old guy has completely let himself go now. He refuses to look for a job and just openly leeches off of me."
"He keeps saying that since he worked so hard during the apocalypse, and it's finally over, he deserves to enjoy life."
"Every day, it's just eating, drinking, and having fun."
"He's living a way more carefree life than I am."
"That's not so bad. Out of all the people on Water Blue Star, very few still have parents. You should just be secretly happy that your dad is still alive."
"That's true."
The Young Man laughed. "As long as he doesn't pop out a little brother for me, he can play around however he wants. Mining every single day back then really did tire the old man out."
"You're one to talk. Who makes their own flesh-and-blood father mine every single day?"
"Hey, you were a Train Captain too, don't pretend you didn't know how it was. How can you compare then to now? Back then, never mind a biological father—even if the Heavenly Emperor himself showed up, he'd have to swing a pickaxe before he could leave."
Right at that moment—
The motion-sensing fortune cat at the entrance let out a crisp chime once more.
"Welcome!"
"Another customer!"
The Dwarf Man's eyes lit up again. He looked up at a young man entering the shop. "Welcome! This is a specialty figurine shop. Take a look and see if there's anything you like."
"I'm not here to buy anything," the young man said with a chuckle.
"..."
The smile on the Dwarf Man's face gradually faded. He stared blankly at the young man standing before him. Was his shop some kind of public lounge? Why was it that day after day, the people walking through his door were never actual customers?
"And what are you here for?"
"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Zhang Yiren, a pioneer in the Human Civilization's film industry. In the past, on the Stellaris Train, I was Boss Mang's exclusive director and shot quite a few movies for the train."
The Dwarf Man stared at the business card Zhang Yiren handed him, his breathing gradually growing heavy. After confirming the name, he realized that he had seen this man's face in videos many times before; it was incredibly familiar.
Suddenly thinking of something, he spoke, his eyes reddening slightly.
"If summoned, I will return! If I return, I will fight! If I fight, I will win!"
"Uh... it's not Boss Mang calling for you, it's me personally. I applied to Boss Ai to adapt Boss Mang's personal experiences into a movie. For the sake of authenticity, I want to invite as many real-life figures as possible to participate in the production."
"You had contact with Boss Mang very early on."
"In Boss Mang's autobiography, you were mentioned. It said that you were incredibly arrogant back then, driving a Level 2 train through the Barren Plains at night blasting DJ music at maximum volume... only to be chased back a few days later by a spider boss in complete misery."
"I'd like to invite you to play that role."
"But... but I don't know how to act."
"Just play yourself."
Before the Dwarf Man could say anything, Zhang Yiren coughed lightly and said meaningfully, "This movie has been authorized and supported by the Stellaris Train. It is an official film intended for everyone, and it will even be used in future diplomatic relations with other civilizations."
"Anyone who can participate in this movie... it is an honor on a civilization-wide level."
"This is truly an opportunity that not just anyone can get."
"Why don't the two of you think it over carefully, then give me an answer?"
"Huh?" The Young Man standing to the side felt his eyes light up. "I'm in it too?"
"Of course you are. You were mentioned in the autobiography as well. 'A guy who delivered an Oxygen Generator'—you just didn't have a name."
"But that doesn't matter."
"I carefully read through Boss Mang's autobiography several times, and you're far from the only one without a name. You guys think it over. I need to go scout out an actor for Kun Ye; that one is going to be tough to cast."
"I'll be waiting for your reply."