MDT Chapter 141 (Patreon)

Chapter 141: The Goblin's Tomb

Chen Mang jumped off the train, pointed to the light screen in the air, and looked at Duo Ba. "Can you help me choose all of these options except for the last one?"

"What options?"

Duo Ba, who had been kneeling on the ground in pain, heard Chen Mang's voice and looked up in the direction he was pointing, confusion flashing in his eyes as he shook his head. "Great Human Prophet, I can't see the options you're talking about. There's only air there."

"..."

Chen Mang's brow furrowed slightly. It seemed only he, as the Train Captain, could see this light screen. In that case, there was no other choice.

He immediately chose the S-rank difficulty gift.

Almost at the moment he made his choice, a voice sounded in his ear:

[You have successfully completed the S-rank difficulty gift in the encounter map 'Goblin Ruins.']
[Obtained special item 'Civilization Order.']
[This is a rather special item. It may not have any practical improvement on your train's strength, but in the long time to come, it will reignite your faith in hope during despair.]

Chen Mang looked down at the Civilization Order in his hand. It was token-shaped, and he didn't know what material it was made of, but it felt quite heavy.

[Special Item]: Civilization Order

[Special Effect]: This order can help you rebuild a civilization. It is recommended to use it with caution, at least after upgrading the train to Level 20. Whether it is rebuilding your own civilization or rebuilding someone else's civilization, it will put you back on the dining table, thus attracting the covetous eyes of countless enemies.

There are only two kinds of existences in the universe: hunters and prey.

Activating this order will allow you to enter the 'Goblin's Tomb,' which is an extremely dark space with a large number of resource mines. You can stay for 48 hours each time, and you can enter once a month.

PS: When a civilization is wiped out, the last remaining faith of this civilization will form this special item. The birth of each special item is the materialization of faith, and there is a story behind each special item.

"Pretty good."

Chen Mang weighed the token in his hand and smiled. Duo Ba had once told him that every time he died, he would appear in a dark space with many resource mines and various things scattered on the ground. Duo Ba had built his goblin train in there.

And now, with this Civilization Order, he could also enter this place. It would be an Eden that only he could set foot in, with abundant fruits for him to pick at will.

Although special items had no grade, this special item was number one among all the special items he had obtained. The "Heart of the Machine," a reward from an S-rank difficulty trial, was a bit inferior to this special item. Well... it couldn't be said to be completely inferior—their focuses were just different.

Then Chen Mang looked at the rapidly fading light screen before him. A thirty-minute countdown had appeared on it—he needed to leave this trial map within thirty minutes.

As for the C-rank difficulty gift: "Your consciousness will be attached to a goblin. You will enter an extremely dark place. You need to grope in the dark to find a pickaxe and a mine, and dig 12 units of iron ore within 24 hours."

This difficulty gift showed that the search had failed and could not be selected.

In other words... in that extremely dark space, the sleeping goblins were only this batch behind him?

That wasn't right.

Back in the Ironridge Wasteland, many goblins had been killed by other Train Captains. Those goblins should have also returned to this dark space called the "Goblin's Tomb," right? How could it be unselectable?

Chen Mang pondered for a long time but couldn't figure it out, so he stopped thinking about it. He had a good habit: if he couldn't figure something out, he wouldn't dwell on it too much. This prevented him from getting stuck in mental loops.

Many people's psychological problems often come from insisting on thinking about things they can't understand.

…….

After leaving the Goblin Ruins map, Chen Mang didn't linger. He immediately activated his "Civilization Order" on the Sand River Plains. The sooner he used it, the sooner the cooldown would start.

The next moment, a portal materialized before him—its edges black, its center like a field of stars. It was immense, a full thirty meters high, tall enough for a heavy truck to pass through vertically.

"Woo woo—"

With a blast of its horn, the Stellar drove into the massive portal, soon entering a pitch-black space devoid of any light or sound. It was like being in outer space, utterly silent.

As the portal behind him slowly closed, the "Resource Detection Radar" began to beep frantically. There were no underground mines here—they were all open-pit, and there were countless of them.

"Well, I'll be damned..."

Chen Mang stared at the more than one hundred red dots representing mines on the resource detection radar, his mouth slowly falling open, eyes full of shock. This was the first time he'd ever seen so many mines.

This feeling... it was like a kitten falling into a fishmonger's stall, or a mouse tumbling into a vat of oil.

"..."

Chen Mang looked at the few lines of text that had appeared on the control console screen:

This place is the Goblin's Tomb.
Time remaining: 47:59:38.

He could only stay here for 48 hours.

He took a deep breath and, without hesitation, quickly turned on the train's headlights, illuminating the surroundings before slamming the control stick forward. Since he only had 48 hours, to maximize his harvest, he had to find higher-level iron mines—Level 3 mines.

The surrounding mines were all Level 2, but if Level 2 mines were this dense, how could Level 3 mines be far away? The train residents' work efficiency was already maxed out, but if he found a Level 3 iron mine, the output could increase tenfold.

Three minutes later, he spotted two adjacent Level 3 iron mines on the resource detection radar and immediately parked the train.

A message sounded in the ears of all train residents:

"Everyone will work continuously for the next 48 hours. Cola, food, and water will be supplied for free without limit. Sleep after 48 hours."

Then a large number of train residents, hoisting their pickaxes, rushed out excitedly toward the mining area.

"Sigh."

Chen Mang looked out the window and sighed with some regret. He'd wanted to say that each person would get three cigarettes—a good way to stay awake—but tobacco was a non-renewable resource, and the train didn't have much in stock. After giving each person three, there wouldn't be much left.

Although he collected tobacco every time he went to the city, it was still a non-renewable resource. One less with every use.

He didn't know if there was something like a cigarette production line. After all, if there was a beer production line, there was no reason there wouldn't be a cigarette production line.

He could only stay here for 48 hours, so why sleep? Of course, he wouldn't sleep. Even with an unlimited supply of cola, although he'd be exhausted in the last dozen or so hours of digging, he would push through and dig as much as he could.

He didn't get to eat meat every day. When he could, he should eat as much as possible. Why think about anything else at a time like this?

If... if, when he left this space, he could leave all these train residents here with enough food and water prepared, then pick them up the next time he came in, he wondered if that would work.

There wasn't a single monster in this space. His enemy detection radar hadn't sounded at all, so it was safe.

But it probably wouldn't work.

…..

"Huh?"

Duo Ba, still immersed in thoughts of the goblin murals, didn't rush out of the train first this time. He followed the crowd with a somewhat dejected expression. But when he saw the scene before him—the dark unknown depths in the distance, the uneven, pitted ground beneath his feet, the familiar smell of decay in the air, and the half-exposed pickaxe handle at his feet—after a long daze, he looked up at the crowd and murmured:

"Am I home?"

"I don't remember dying..."

"Didn't I die?"

"If I didn't die, how did I get back?"

Duo Ba stood there in a daze for a long time before turning his head to look at the Stellar behind him and the train residents who were already carrying their pickaxes and starting to mine nearby. Only then did he react.

"The Human Prophet is even more powerful than I thought... He can actually get into a place like this?"

Every time he had died, he would enter this space. The other members of his race would fall into a deep sleep after they died. Only he could remain conscious. He would mine in this area, one person, one pickaxe, bit by bit.

He hadn't had a Level 3 pickaxe back then, only Level 1.

He never knew how long he'd been digging. He never felt tired.

Each time he died, he would return and continue digging. Just like that, after an unknowable span of time—he had long since lost track of it—finally, one day, a goblin train had been completed.

He remembered being very excited at the time.

He had driven the goblin train, charging recklessly through the silent space. He would excitedly tell his clansmen about his joy, though they were all asleep and couldn't hear him. He hadn't cared.

Later, the goblin train had grown stronger and stronger, even upgrading to Level 2. Every time he drove the train out on a mission, he could return perfectly. He had been very excited, as if the goblin civilization hadn't been completely wiped out as long as his goblin train existed.

Until one day, when he met the Human Prophet in the Apocalypse Abyss. The goblin train he had spent countless days building was completely scrapped.

He was a little sad.

At that moment, he felt as if he had truly died.

But when this Human Prophet persuaded him to submit and promised to help him rebuild the goblin civilization, he was suddenly no longer sad. This Human Prophet was very powerful. With his help, the goblin civilization would surely be revived.

And the Human Prophet respected them goblins very much and never said their appearance was ugly.

It was his, Duo Ba's, honor to be able to follow such a person.

"That Human Prophet is so powerful..."

The Black Market Merchant standing beside Duo Ba murmured, his eyes full of shock.

"Powerful, right?"

A hint of pride flashed in Duo Ba's eyes. He then patted the Black Market Merchant's shoulder. "I know you can't do heavy work. You can stay on the train. I'm going to work. Remember, don't use your ability casually, or you'll never be able to return to this train."

If this Black Market Merchant wanted to leave the train, no one could stop him. He had just chosen to stay.

At first, he'd stayed only because he had submitted to Duo Ba and wanted to rebuild the goblin civilization with him. But after hearing Duo Ba tell him many stories about this Train Captain and witnessing the power of that missile with his own eyes, he had also sincerely submitted to Chen Mang.

Duo Ba took a deep breath; the dejection in his mind from a moment ago was completely gone. He hoisted his pickaxe on his shoulder, followed by a hundred goblins, and roared at the top of his lungs:

"Foolish humans, get the hell out of the great Duo Ba's way!"

Although the Black Market Merchant hadn't recovered all his wisdom like him, his memory loss was even more severe. But he was the only one among all the goblin clansmen who could have a conversation with him, which made him quite happy.

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