MDT Chapter 165 (Patreon)

Chapter 165: 126 Buns and a Gamble with Death

"No need."

Biaozi took a deep breath, his expression serious as he looked at the two burly men. "Are you full?"

"Uh… I could be…"

"Are you full or not?"

"About sixty, seventy percent."

"Shanmaozi." Biaozi turned to him. "Go heat up more steamed buns. We're feeding these two brothers until they're stuffed today. It's on my tab."

….

Inside Sentinel Carriage #7, everyone had gathered to watch the two burly men at the center. In their massive hands, the steamed buns—which weren't small by any means—looked like tiny sweet rolls from before the apocalypse. They devoured them in single bites, thoroughly enjoying themselves.

"Thirty-one."

"Thirty-two."

With every bun Zhang Yi and Zhang Er consumed, the crowd counted in unison.

Finally, when the count reached thirty-six, Zhang Yi patted his distended belly and looked at the crowd with embarrassment. "Thank you, everyone. You're all so kind. It's been forever since I've been this full."

"Same here," Zhang Er grinned, deeply satisfied.

"..."

Biaozi's expression was complicated as he counted on his fingers. "Including the ninety buns from that first plate, you two ate 126 steamed buns total. That means just the two of you consume 126 units of iron ore daily."

"There are so many people on this train."

"Your daily food expenses alone account for almost one-twentieth of the train's total daily consumption."

"Are you two even human?"

"That last train was only Level 4. Could it really afford to feed you?"

"We never got to eat our fill there," Zhang Yi said sheepishly. "This is the first time. We ate more because we were starving. We don't usually need this much—thirty steamed buns a day is enough."

"Or we can eat bread slices. We used to eat bread slices. We know they're much cheaper than steamed buns."

"We can go out and scavenge for supplies. We're not useless. We're both very strong—we can carry anything you need!"

"Yeah, yeah." Zhang Er nodded vigorously. "If you don't believe us, we can show you."

"That won't be necessary." Biaozi waved his hand, his expression still complicated as he studied them. Chief Ai had already sent him their comprehensive physical fitness data; otherwise, he wouldn't be so envious. He had to have one of them—at least one!

Natural-born melee mech pilots!

…..

The next day, at dawn, Chen Mang finished his morning routine and sat at the control console, reviewing the train's log. The night had passed without incident. Under the protection of the "Vehicle-Mounted Zombie Perception Blocker," not a single zombie had approached the Stellar.

The Azure Dragon still sat quietly nearby.

Time to move.

First, mining.

The Stellar slowly started up and began exploring the area. The Azure Dragon quickly followed behind.

The overall structure was a basin—surrounding terrain higher, with a plain in the middle. However, because the area was so vast, there was no noticeable slope while driving.

Just ten minutes later, they encountered a dense cluster of resource deposits: one Level 3 iron mine and three Level 2 iron mines.

It truly was a yellow zone. They'd just entered and already found a Level 3 mine. Nothing more to say. All open-pit mines. The two trains slowly parked nearby, and all the workers jumped out to begin the day's labor.

The only difference: The Stellar's residents excitedly charged down, swinging their pickaxes. The Azure Dragon's slaves were driven down by whips and shouts from their enforcers.

"Boss Mang."

On the plain, Erdan stood on a high point, watching the workers already busy in the mines. He turned to Chen Mang with embarrassment. "Well, I'll be following you for a while, bro. This yellow zone's too dangerous. I'm scared to be alone."

"You can have that Level 3 iron mine. I'll just dig that Level 2 one."

"Alright." Chen Mang smiled but didn't elaborate. He looked at Biaozi jogging over. After listening to his report, he paused before speaking softly. "Those two men will be assigned to your Team One."

"This…" Biaozi was stunned, clearly not expecting this outcome. He'd thought the best he could hope for was one of them, not both. A wide grin spread across his face. "Yes, Boss Mang!"

"..."

Chen Mang watched Biaozi's retreating figure with a slight smile. He had his considerations. Biaozi had been with him the longest and was the most loyal and capable of the sentinels. With the rise of Zhang Damei and the captain of Team Three, Biaozi's influence among the sentinels had been waning.

Time to strengthen Biaozi's position.

Besides, Team One had just lost a man, and he found Team One the easiest to command. Giving both men to Team One was his best choice.

He'd have two more mechs built and sent to Team One later.

"Mechs are good things," Erdan said with envy from the side. "I still don't have a single mech blueprint. Don't even know where to get them. But even if I had a blueprint, it'd be useless—no Crimson Heart Ore either."

"I've never seen that kind of resource mine in the Sand River Plains."

"Hopefully, there's some in the Zombie Basin."

…..

"These are Boss Mang's orders." Riding high on his good fortune, Biaozi grinned and tossed two suitcases in front of Zhang Yi and Zhang Er. "From now on, you're members of Team One. Go get familiar with piloting the mechs first."

"Ahem."

"If you don't understand something, ask your sister for help."

He then looked at the remaining Team One members. "Everyone else, with me to the combat training space. We'll clear all the normal missions for 'Biohazard' today. And Shanmaozi, you focus on that mental strength training map Li Shiji designed."

"Now, move out!"

Since Boss Mang had spoken, Zhang Damei and the captain of Team Three wouldn't object—they just looked at the two mechs with envy. Who didn't want their team stronger?

…...

Inside the combat training virtual space, Biaozi took a deep breath and stared at the word "Biohazard" before him. His arm trembled slightly. He'd already completed the three normal missions for the "Biohazard" map, and his comprehensive physical fitness had increased by 0.6.

His current comprehensive physical fitness had reached 12.8.

He was only 0.7 points away from the minimum requirement of 13.5 to pilot the "Executioner" mech.

If he could just clear the extreme mission for Biohazard, that would be enough.

The extreme mission would be more difficult.

And he could die. he only had one life.

But...

"Confirm selection of extreme mission."

Soon, a light screen appeared before him again.

[Select extreme mission. Death within the map will result in brain death in the outside world.]

[In extreme mission mode, the zombies' speed and strength will be greater. Everything else is the same as the normal mission map.]

[Please confirm your selection.]

"Confirm!"

The next moment—

The light screen exploded into countless points of light, and the surrounding white space once again transformed into the familiar elevator. The elevator was rising rapidly. He'd been to this place countless times.

Picking up the steel pipe in the elevator, Biaozi stood in place and silently counted down.

Then!

"BANG!"

A huge impact sounded, and the elevator suddenly stopped rising, stuck between the seventh and eighth floors. Biaozi didn't hesitate for a second—immediately kicking the elevator door and using the steel pipe to pry it open. He rolled out and successfully entered the seventh floor.

Quickly and skillfully, he found a fire axe in the company on the seventh floor, kicked open the door to the fire escape, roared, and charged into the group of zombies.

His adrenaline was pumping.

He'd experienced this scene many times.

But this was the fastest his adrenaline had ever pumped. If before, every time was a drill with a chance to restart if he failed, then this time was a real battle. If he died, he was truly dead. Not even heaven could save him.

Ten minutes later, standing in the fire escape, Biaozi scanned his surroundings. Seeing not a single zombie still breathing, he grinned, ran his blood-soaked right hand through his hair to slick it back, and spat out a mouthful of bloody phlegm.

Then he strode down the fire escape.

His goal was the rooftop, but there were many weapons downstairs that would help him get there.

He wasn't like the three Zhang siblings, or Li Shiji, or even the captain of Team Three. Those people had strong talent, as if they were born to be strong. He had nothing. He'd been a foreman of a guerrilla construction team before.

He was just an ordinary person, trying to make a living. As ordinary as could be.

If he wanted to be strong, the only way was to be more daring than others!

Where others dared not go, he, Biaozi, dared to go. What others dared not do, he, Biaozi, dared to do.

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