MDT Chapter 158 (Patreon)

Chapter 158: The Banquet of Four Trains

"Meijia, I've really never been. Honestly."

"I believe you."

"You really believe me?"

"Mmm, the first time we were together on the Stellar, it was over really fast. That usually happens when you haven't done it in a long time."

"I'd rather you didn't believe me, damn it!"

"Fine, I'll go buy some nuts tomorrow night."

Lao Zhu stood there, watching their retreating backs with a fond expression. It was a rare sight in the apocalypse. For these two, the end of the world had turned out to be paradise. Not only was the ALS cured, but they were getting a fully catered wedding and marital home from Boss Mang.

Heh.

Where would you find that kind of treatment before the apocalypse?

…..

The next day—

The Azure Dragon met up with two other Level 6 trains on the Sand River Plains, preparing to head to the wedding together.

The three train captains stood on the plains, discussing the situation.

"Remember," Erdan said, face serious as he looked at the other two captains, "I was the only one invited to this wedding. I only agreed to introduce you two because we get along well."

"When we get there, talk less, listen more. Just be spectators."

"And absolutely no suspicious movements. Don't go clapping and have a gun fall out of your coat, then try to tell me it's perfectly reasonable for a train captain to carry a gun."

"Understood?"

"Understood." The captain of the "One-True-Love Train" slapped his chest with a solemn expression. "You know me. In my book, there are only three kinds of people."

"Ants, fellow cultivators, and seniors."

"When I'm in front of a senior, I'm extremely well-behaved. The Stellar is definitely a senior. I won't cause any trouble."

Then he suddenly broke into an embarrassed grin. "So... if I lick his boots a little, like you do, will he give me some scraps?"

"That's what I was thinking." The captain of the "Ten-Pace Kill Train" was equally excited. "He has so many Advanced Effects, he must have lots of Mofei Stones, right? Maybe he'll just toss a few our way."

"..."

"I can't even be bothered to comment on the names you two gave your trains."

"You're just there to see the world and get a free meal. Whether you can connect with Chen Mang after that depends on you. But looking at you two, you probably don't have a chance. You look like a couple of beggars."

"But..."

Erdan licked his lips and looked at them with a sigh. "The reason I'm bringing you two to the wedding is because, like me, you're both cautious enough not to cause any trouble."

The two exchanged a look, a flicker of amusement in their eyes.

"I became captain of a Level 6 train through one simple virtue: caution."

"Same here."

"Alright, both of you back on your trains. Time to go."

…..

The sun hung high in the sky.

It was noon.

"..."

Chen Mang stared at the control console screen. The three trains had appeared on his radar when they were still over ten thousand meters away. He immediately looked at Xiao Ai and ordered, "Have everyone get ready. The missile and Sakura-Fall Rocket Launchers can be raised."

"And have the mechs go down and stretch their legs."

"Get everyone moving."

"Yes, sir."

He then stood up and walked to a mirror to inspect his outfit. He'd crafted a new set of clothes for himself. The weather was getting colder, and while his old clothes had good temperature regulation, they were a bit drafty.

He wore an orange pullover sweater and ordinary pants.

A very casual look.

"Hmm..."

"What was that saying again? TTOD? Or CTOD?"

"Whatever, I can't remember. It's all just nonsense anyway."

….

"Huh?"

The captain of the "One-True-Love Train" felt his mouth twitch as he stared at his search radar. It showed over a thousand red dots ahead. He knew it—this guy had to have lots of slaves!

After all, he was the top dog on all three leaderboards of the Sand River Plains.

The "Power Value Leaderboard," the "Advanced Effect Quantity Leaderboard," and the "Prestige Value Leaderboard"—the Stellar was undisputed number one on all of them, and the gap with second place wasn't small.

Especially on the "Advanced Effect Quantity Leaderboard."

He was starting to suspect that even in a yellow zone, the Stellar would still be number one. Not even that Flesh Train could get that many Mofei Stones.

Where the hell did this guy get them all!

Soon—

He saw it. A train, like a long mechanical dragon, parked in the wasteland. Around the train, over a thousand slaves bustled about, preparing a banquet with smiles and excitement on their faces.

Although Erdan had told him that slaves on the Stellar were treated well, wasn't this a bit too well?

At least he'd never seen his slaves smile while they worked.

"Wait a minute..."

The man suddenly froze, staring at the missiles, rocket launchers, heavy machine guns, and doomsday autocannons that had been raised on the Stellar. They were all aimed directly at his train.

"Whoa, easy there, buddy. I'm here for a wedding, not a funeral."

"This is a little scary..."

But soon, the weapons swiveled away, clearly showing no hostile intent. The man let out a sigh of relief, slowly reducing his speed and parking his train about a hundred meters from the Stellar.

Only then did he jump down, leading his confidants and men, and stride toward the young man standing in front of the Stellar with a wide grin.

The man was leaning on a cane. That had to be Chen Mang.

He seemed quite easy-going.

He hadn't put on any airs. He'd thought they would have to wait outside for a while.

Strange. Was the captain of the number-one train on all three leaderboards? Was this approachable?

"Welcome, you've come a long way."

Chen Mang smiled at Erdan and the two men beside him. "You must be Erdan's friends, right?"

"Today, the food and drink are on me."

"Why don't you have the others on your trains come down and join the fun?"

"I'd rather not..."

Erdan said with a helpless expression. "After just a short time with you last time, I felt like my men were already looking at me differently. If they stay here any longer, they might just defect."

"It's not having it bad that hurts, it's seeing someone else have it better."

"Actually, I treat them quite well, but it's nothing compared to you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

The captain of the "One-True-Love Train" tilted his head and looked at Erdan, confused. "The more, the merrier at a wedding, right? How many chances do you get to have a wedding in the apocalypse? Can't we just give the slaves a day off, let them come down and relax a bit?"

"Exactly."

The captain of the "Ten-Pace Kill Train" strongly agreed. "Erdan, slaves are people too. They're under our protection, but they've also mined plenty of ore for the train. It's good for them to relax with us."

Then, as the guards behind the two captains returned to their trains, the slaves from both vehicles were herded out. With fear and numbness in their eyes, they jumped down and stared at the noisy scene before them.

Erdan remained silent, face expressionless. He didn't plan to explain anything. You'll find out after the wedding is over, he thought.

"Alright." Chen Mang smiled and didn't dwell on the matter, simply pointing to a prepared table nearby. "The wedding won't officially start for a little while. Shall we go sit over there first?"

"Of course, we'll follow your lead," Erdan said with a serious nod.

He then followed Chen Mang to the neatly arranged table, unable to resist looking around at the wedding preparations still underway. This might be the first wedding in this world since the apocalypse began.

The atmosphere really was nice.

"Just a small gift, nothing too fancy." The captain of the "One-True-Love Train" took a green-grade accessory blueprint from his coat, placed it on the table, and pushed it forward somewhat hesitantly. "You have to accept it, brother. It's not for you, it's for the kids... oh, I mean, for the newlyweds."

"And mine." The captain of the "Ten-Pace Kill Train" also hurriedly pulled a small card from his coat and handed it over. "Just a little something."

"Huh?" Erdan looked at the two of them, completely baffled. What's going on? We didn't talk about bringing gifts on the way here. When did you two get these ready? He had completely forgotten about it.

But he obviously couldn't go back to his train to get something now—it would be too embarrassing.

Gritting his teeth, he took off the badge from his chest and pushed it forward. "This is my gift, a special item. You have to take it, brother. If you don't..."

"Lao Zhu." Chen Mang waved for Lao Zhu to come collect the items, then smiled at the group. "You've all gone to too much trouble. This is making me feel a bit embarrassed."

"Here, have some nuts. Just a little snack, nothing valuable, but they taste pretty good."

On the table were some nuts, ice-cold beer, and marinated cold dishes.

In the apocalypse, this was considered an extremely lavish spread.

Those marinated cold dishes were instant food products brought back from Yan Yao's rental apartment when they rescued her. The packages contained things like tribute vegetables, vegetarian tripe, broccoli, chicken cartilage, and duck intestines. You just had to open them, pour on the included chili oil, and they were ready to eat.

Simple and convenient.

Only the four train captains sat down. The confidants and guards the other two had brought went off to a corner, looking around with curiosity.

After all, this was a relaxed kind of banquet. In the apocalypse, such a relatively warm atmosphere was rare, and everyone cherished it. No one would have their men stand behind them—that would seem too pretentious.

After a few rounds of drinks, the group loosened up.

The captain of the "One-True-Love Train" raised his glass to Chen Mang, eyes filled with genuine admiration. "Brother, before I met you, I never would have thought a train captain of your caliber would be so easy-going."

"I toast you."

"Hey, brother, there's something I wanted to ask. Have the people from Tianping found you yet?"

"..."

Chen Mang picked up a piece of edamame with his chopsticks and popped it into his mouth. His brow furrowed slightly, a flicker of displeasure in his eyes. "Are the three of you here to recruit for Tianping?"

"Uh..."

Seeing the atmosphere shift, Erdan quickly jumped in to explain. "Of course not. Tianping came to me, but I ignored them. They've approached these two as well, but they're not sure whether to join. So they wanted to ask you, brother, to see what you chose. They wanted to copy your answer."

"I see." Chen Mang shook his head. "I didn't join. The organization's mission is actually quite good, I think. Following that chain, everyone can get what they need, and it helps the weaker trains, allowing human civilization to be passed on better."

"But first, I don't want to be constrained."

"Second, the resources they offered were meaningless to me, and it would waste my time."

"Third, I didn't like the person Tianping sent to talk to me."

"That's true," Erdan nodded in agreement. "I thought about it carefully. That chain would put the provider at the very top in a constant state of loss. No one would be able to give back to them. It feels a bit unrealistic..."

The train captains chatted, talking about their experiences, the hardships before they became captains, interesting encounters, and the tragedy of when the apocalypse first began.

They talked about a lot.

But no one asked the question, "Chen Mang, where did you get so many Mofei Stones?"

They all knew what should be asked and what shouldn't.

At their level, you understood these things perfectly. Some secrets could mean the difference between life and death. You couldn't even tell your wife, so how could you possibly tell a few strangers?

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