"Impressive."
Chen Mang, who had witnessed the scene firsthand, gave his evaluation.
On the control panel screen, several lines of crimson regular script were flashing incessantly.
"Ding-ding. Level 3 Zombie detected, posing a significant threat to the Train."
"Level 5 Makeshift Heavy Machine Gun has locked onto the Zombie, ready to fire. Awaiting the Train Conductor's command."
"Fire."
Without a moment's hesitation, the next instant—
The heavy machine gun mounted on the roof of Carriage No. 2 swiftly turned and locked onto the massive Zombie, the barrel emitting a faint red glow.
"Rat-tat-tat."
It initiated the attack first. The sharp, muffled gunfire abruptly echoed across the desolate wasteland under the night sky. Several bullets formed a straight line, shooting directly toward the head of the Level 3 Zombie.
The Level 3 Zombie reacted with incredible speed.
Almost instantly, it raised both palms to shield its face. The bullets that shot out almost entirely struck the Zombie's palms. In the blink of an eye, when the gunfire ceased, the intimidating arms of the Level 3 Zombie had been blasted to pieces.
Instantly turning it into an armless Zombie.
"This firepower is impressive," Chen Mang muttered as he observed the scene. But soon, he noticed the heavy machine gun had fallen silent and ceased firing. Suddenly, it dawned on him, and he instinctively glanced at the Train Panel. Sure enough, the 200 rounds of Level 3 bullets he had just crafted had been completely exhausted.
And now—
The Level 3 Zombie, furious and in pain from losing its hands, was charging toward him at full speed!
"..."
The corner of his mouth twitched slightly. Those 200 rounds of Level 3 bullets had cost him 2,000 units of copper ore, and they were gone just like that?
Without daring to linger, he immediately maneuvered the Train to avoid the attack of this Zombie boss.
But the Train's acceleration was inherently slower.
"Boom!"
Unable to dodge in time, the ten-meter-tall Level 3 Zombie had already reached the side of the Train. Its face twisted like a national football player as it fiercely kicked the Train, producing a loud collision sound and a piercing, agonizing roar.
That kick—
Struck directly at the rapidly spinning Car Blade.
A massive gash appeared on the Zombie's toes. In pain, the Zombie went berserk, repeatedly kicking the Train. After several kicks, its right foot was essentially destroyed, and it lost its balance, collapsing to the ground.
"..."
Inside the Train, Chen Mang, seated at the control panel, observed the scene. After confirming with Lao Zhu that all the Slaves had reported no casualties, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. His Stellar Train had been pushed several meters across the wasteland by those kicks.
That was some force.
Although his Armor had completely withstood the Zombie's attacks, the Train's vibrations were unavoidable. Those kicks left his chest feeling heavy.
Now.
The Zombie had fallen to the ground, continuously roaring, clearly unable to launch another attack anytime soon. It was now his turn to strike.
Chen Mang narrowed his eyes slightly and immediately maneuvered the Train, aiming at the fallen Zombie, repeatedly ramming into it, using the Car Blades on both sides of the carriage to slowly dismember the Zombie King.
Ten minutes later.
The battle ended. The Level 3 Zombie was nearly dismembered, its head and body scattered across the wasteland. The time taken was significantly shorter than when they had killed the Level 3 Man-Eating Spider.
This was largely due to the "Level 3 Armor," which allowed him to ram into the Zombie without worry. Additionally, the Zombie's size was overall smaller than that of the Spider.
Under the night sky.
Chen Mang walked alone out of the Train, leaning on his cane as he stood on the wasteland. The air was thick with the scent of blood. Looking around, there were no living creatures in sight, only him standing alone on the desolate plain.
The hundreds of Zombies had all been devoured by the Level 3 Zombie during the battle to heal its wounds, though it had been futile.
"It's gotta be the Car Blade," Chen Mang sighed as he glanced at the scattered bullet casings on the ground. The heavy machine gun with Level 3 bullets was indeed powerful, but the consumption was too high. In the blink of an eye, 2,000 units of copper ore were gone. Who could afford that?
The Car Blade is better.
It only consumed a bit of energy, which was practically negligible.
Energy Stones were cheap, costing only 500 units of Iron Ore to craft one.
He finally understood why the Train with the Level 3 heavy machine gun he had heard about on the Train Radio had chosen to flee when encountering the Level 3 Man-Eating Spider, even though it had the ability to kill it. To kill that Spider, how much copper ore would it have cost?
Whether it would be worth it was completely uncertain.
If there was a chance to escape, better take it.
The stored Level 3 bullets were meant for life-saving moments, not for killing bosses to loot rewards.
In this world, the hierarchy was extremely rigid.
If your level was suppressed, you couldn't even break through the enemy's defense, let alone deal significant damage.
For example, a Level 1 Car Blade couldn't penetrate the defense of a Level 2 Zombie.
Only when the levels were equal or you had the level advantage could you break through their defense. After that, the damage dealt depended on the combat effectiveness of the equipment itself.
The Car Blade was good.
But it was, after all, a white-tier Accessory, limited to melee attacks and with a very restricted attack style. If only there was a white-tier offensive Accessory with a ranged attack capability. White-tier Accessories generally consumed very little energy.
And—
Even though it was also a Level 3 boss, the pressure this Zombie King exerted was far less than that of the Man-Eating Spider.
As for the reason, he naturally knew.
This Level 2 Zombie had advanced to a Level 3 Zombie King by relying on the flesh stored in the bellies of the Corpse Tide. But along the way, he had killed nearly 90% of the Zombies. With so much flesh missing, this Level 3 Zombie King naturally wasn't at its peak form after advancing.
Level 3 Zombies could heal their wounds by devouring other Zombies.
But in the end, only a few hundred Zombies had made it here, which was far from enough.
Through a twist of fate, he had increased his chances of victory.
Fortunately, he had crafted Level 3 bullets before coming here. If he hadn't blown off both arms of the Zombie King, he strongly suspected that the Zombie King would have grabbed the Stellar Train and swung it like a whip, smashing it repeatedly into the ground. The Train could withstand it, but the people inside couldn't endure such impacts.
He still needed to grow stronger. The Stellar Train still had many shortcomings.
He also understood why the Corpse Tide on the wasteland had been so active these past few days. They were likely gathering flesh everywhere to prepare for the Zombie King's advancement.
This boss wasn't a first kill. If it had been, the control panel screen would have displayed the corresponding information.
"..."
The night wind blew.
Standing alone on the wasteland, Chen Mang tightened his coat and turned back to the Train, preparing to check what the Zombie King had dropped. Then, it was about time to return to the Doomsday Abyss to continue mining.
Although he hadn't encountered any new boss monsters this time.
He hadn't expected much in the first place. This trip had yielded enough gains; it was time to go back and continue mining.
If only...
If only he could find a Level 2 copper mine, stockpile tens of thousands of Level 3 bullets, and he could slaughter all the bosses on the Iron Ridge Wasteland.
But Level 3 bullets were already this expensive. In higher-level areas, Level 4 and Level 5 bullets would probably cost even more.
He still had to rely on white-tier offensive Accessories. Next time, he'd see if he could get a few blueprints for white-tier offensive Accessories at the
gathering.
Just then—
Chen Mang, who was in Carriage No. 2, looked down at the Accessory Blueprint dropped by the Zombie King and was momentarily stunned. He murmured in disbelief, "Speak of Cao Cao, and he appears."
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