MDT Chapter 285 Part 2

Chapter 285 Part 2: "Let's Give the Miracle a Grand, Glorious Debut"

He looked at the birthmark on his left hand, the character for "Mang." If human civilization was to survive the Insectoid Civilization's maw, the only hope was his infinitely upgradeable Level 0 clearance. As long as he had enough resources...

He alone could stand against the entire Insectoid Civilization!

After all, in theory, he could upgrade his "Armor" directly to Level 999. No matter how badass the Insectoid Civilization was, could they possibly have Level 999 monsters?

It defied all logic!

Utterly invincible!

He needed to gather resources faster, or everyone on Aquamarine Star would die!

Once he was fully developed and had officially rebuilt human civilization, that so-called Insectoid Civilization... he'd slaughter them to the brink of extinction and then raise the survivors in a zoo.

Time ticked by, and the calm expression on Chen Mang's face gradually faded.

By now—

The zombies outside the train were Level 18. The Copper Ore was completely gone. The "Energy Stones" for that batch of fighters had also been depleted long ago; they had already been replaced four times. One Level 4 Energy Stone cost 500,000.

There were 41 fighters in total. Replacing one batch cost 20.5 million.

Four batches cost eighty million!

His train had only just over 60 million units of Iron Ore, which was already completely used up. The extra 20 million or so units of Iron Ore had been taken from Neon City. That Iron Ore was originally meant to back the Stellar Vouchers held by other Train Captains. He had misappropriated it.

Neon City wouldn't open again for another week, so he wasn't worried about covering that shortfall in the short term.

But the crisis was clearly far greater than he had anticipated!

1,000 Level 18 zombies... If the train didn't have Level 18 Armor, it would have been overrun. But even so, it was difficult to kill this wave of zombies within 15 minutes. The Viper Unmanned Fighters' Level 20 autocannons could break their defense, but their power had weakened significantly as the zombie level rose.

If he failed to kill all the zombies within the time limit, it would be an automatic failure.

There were 4 minutes left.

He looked out the window at the 400-plus Level 18 zombies remaining. His face paled as he said hoarsely, "Xiao Ai, send Zhang Yi and Zhang Er out to fight. We can't kill them all in time."

"Tell everyone."

"Including the 5-minute rest period, we have 9 minutes at most. If the last task isn't found within 9 minutes, this operation is a failure!"

He hadn't expected this.

Nearly half an hour had passed, and not only had they not completed the last task, they hadn't even found it.

There wasn't enough time.

The next wave would be 1,000 Level 19 zombies. The Stellar train had no way of stopping them. They were completely out of ammunition and resources!

Empty.

The landlord truly had no grain left.

Neon City only had about 20 million units of Iron Ore in reserve. Most people had exchanged their Stellar Vouchers for Iron Ore when they left. That 20 million units of Iron Ore were now all gone.

You could say it. Both Neon City and The Stellar were now empty!

The train only had 120,000 units of Iron Ore left.

"Faster... faster, faster..." Chen Mang glanced at the horde of zombies outside the Control Car, and at the Zhang brothers emerging from the factory piloting the Pope mechs. He stared at the progress of Biaozi and the others on the screen and muttered...

8 minutes left.

Only 8 minutes!

"No, no!" Biaozi, his eyes bloodshot, slapped himself hard across the face. "I can't calm down enough to think. My head's a mess. Only 8 minutes left, what do we do, what do we do... The Stellar's cannons haven't stopped firing this whole time. This has practically emptied all the resources The Stellar has saved up."

"If we fail this operation and go back empty-handed, it's all over!"

Just then—

"Shut up!"

Lao Zhu cut Biaozi off, his face hard. He looked at the others and said, word by word, "Time is short. Less talk."

"It's confirmed, we've searched every corner of the factory and haven't found the last task. But, have you noticed that these thirty-five tasks are all connected?"

"They form a complete story."

"They show us what happened in this mechanical factory."

"Including the first task Li Shiji completed. That guard in the security room used to be a soldier. He was discharged for making a mistake and became a guard, but in his heart, he refused to accept it. He still thought he was a soldier, kept his soldier tag around his neck, and never spoke to anyone."

"Every task is a story. And linked together, the whole story is complete. There are no gaps."

"Like a jigsaw puzzle that's been perfectly assembled."

"If you spent a long time putting a puzzle together, what would you do!?"

"You don't have to answer. I'll say it. You frame it!"

"Yes, that's it! Why am I only thinking of this now? You frame it!"

Lao Zhu hadn't had a clear idea at first; he was just trying to organize his thoughts and hoping to get input from the others. But the more he spoke, the more he felt the answer was right in front of him. His expression grew excited as he grabbed his walkie-talkie and yelled.

"Chief Ai, get that kid who writes novels over to me, fastest speed possible!"

"8 minutes left! Fast, fast, I need fast!!!"

He'd figured it out! The last task was to frame it. Yes, to frame it!

These thirty-six tasks... each one corresponded to a story, and every story connected. After completing thirty-five tasks, the story was finished. The final step was to record the complete story, to compile it. That was the final task!

"Quick!" Lao Zhu shoved Biaozi, his voice urgent. "You go to the factory entrance, meet that kid, and get to the director's office as fast as you can!"

In the entire factory, only the director's computer was usable.

It was originally powered down, but after they completed one of the tasks and fixed the generator, the computer could be used again.

However, no software would open.

There was just a single blank document on the desktop.

He'd thought it might be a clue at the time, but it was never used. Looking at it now, it wasn't a clue—it was clearly the task.

"Everyone, quiet! Shut up!"

Inside the director's office.

Xiao Ai quickly compiled the story of what happened in the factory, forming text that appeared on the young man's Iris Chip.

The young man sat at the computer, his face tense, hands flying across the keyboard, typing at lightning speed. His brain couldn't even process; he was just transcribing the words from his Iris Chip into the blank document.

On the entire Stellar train, this young man had the fastest typing speed. Xiao Ai's mechanical fingers simply didn't have this kind of dexterity.

In these final moments, their only hope rested on this young man.

Lao Zhu covered his mouth, breathing only through his nose, worried his ragged breaths would break the young man's concentration. He glanced at the countdown on his Iris Chip. Only 7 minutes left.

The document Chief Ai had compiled was 1,523 words.

7 minutes, 1,500 words!

For psychos, this speed wasn't impossible—at pre-apocalypse speed-typing competitions, some people could hit 800 words per minute. But in real life, 1,500 words in 7 minutes was a freakish number.

Basically impossible to complete!

Everyone stood behind the young man, staring at the computer screen, not even daring to breathe heavily. After he typed 250 words, a faint yellow question mark slowly appeared on the screen.

Just as he thought!

This was the last task!

The last task was to frame the previous thirty-five!

Six minutes left.

A flicker of hope flashed in Lao Zhu's eyes. He had typed 250 words in one minute. At this rate, it was completely doable. But just then—

Perhaps because of nerves, or perhaps because he was typing too fast, a red typo appeared on the screen and began to flash. The young man's attention was glued to his Iris Chip; he didn't even see the screen. However, after the typo appeared, the subsequent words he typed didn't appear. He had to correct the typo before he could continue.

"Typo, typo, fix the typo!" Lao Zhu said urgently. "Fix the typo first, look at the screen!"

That delay wasted several more seconds.

In a race against time, wasting even a few seconds was an absolute disaster.

"10."

"9."

"8."

Lao Zhu's body trembled as he stared at the countdown on his Iris Chip. 78 words left. Faster, faster!!

Never in his life had 78 words held such sway over his heart!

"7."

"6."

"5."

27 words left.

Biaozi's fists were clenched so tightly his nails dug into his palms, but he felt no pain. He just stared at the screen. Five seconds, 27 words. Go... the final step, just a little more!

They were about to succeed.

"4."

"3."

"2."

The last 7 words!

2 seconds, enough time!

"1."

"0."

The moment the countdown hit zero, the young man's body went limp in the chair. He turned to look at Lao Zhu and the others standing behind him, his fingers trembling as he forced a smile. "Vice-Captain Zhu, I did it..."

"We did it."

"You guys..."

"Why... why aren't you smiling?"

The young man saw the deathly pale faces of Biaozi and the others and froze. An unbelievable possibility surfaced in his mind. He slowly, agonizingly, turned back to the computer screen.

A single red character was flashing on the display.

With two words left, he had made a typo.

The countdown was over.

Operation failed.

The young man, his face instantly bloodless, froze. He trembled, corrected the typo, and typed the last word. But... the countdown was over. Even if he finished it now, it was meaningless.

Everyone stood frozen, their faces ashen.

Outside the window, the roars of zombies echoed. This time, their cries were much deeper and heavier than before.

"Come back."

Boss Mang's weary voice sounded in their ears. "To have come this far is enough. The mission failed, but the failure isn't on us. It's fate."

"We were so close to winning."

"We just ran out of luck."

"Fate may not always favor The Stellar, but you all performed very well this time. With all of you, The Stellar will definitely go far."

"Come back. If we don't leave now, it'll be too late. Everyone will die here."

The Stellar, Control Car.

Chen Mang sat in his chair, silently watching the new wave of one thousand Level 19 zombies slowly encircling the train.

He had been waiting for a miracle.

He had even imagined, many times, that when the miracle happened, he would jump up in the Control Car, excited and emotional. He would throw a huge celebration in Neon City, offering his heartfelt congratulations to everyone who made the miracle happen.

But this time, fate had not favored him.

Just a few seconds, and the scales of victory tipped to the other side.

The reason people are so full of anticipation for miracles is perhaps because miracles mostly exist in other people's stories, and never visit oneself.

Everyone hopes a miracle will happen to them, only to find at the end of the story that a luxury item like a miracle isn't for everyone.

The Viper Unmanned Fighters were out of ammunition. The Copper Ore was gone.

They were completely and utterly spent.

As for Iron Ore... he could still squeeze out a bit. For instance, he could devour the Refrigerators, devour Carriage #15, and a few others, or open Neon City for an emergency high-price buy. But... it was all useless.

The most important thing was, the Armor level wasn't high enough!

The 9 autocannons and 41 unmanned fighters couldn't lay down enough suppressive fire against 1,000 Level 19 zombies. Many zombies would push through the fire and engage the train in close combat. The train's Armor couldn't withstand that many zombies.

If he didn't immediately give up and withdraw, The Stellar, which had just started to make a name for itself, would be silently buried here.

All 6,000-plus residents of The Stellar would die.

"Train Captain..."

Xiao Ai, standing nearby, opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but couldn't. He found that he didn't seem to know how to comfort people. The Boss Mang of the past had always been full of vigor, never needing comfort. Now that he truly needed it, Xiao Ai found he couldn't say a thing.

The distant wave of zombies wasn't fast; it was slow, even. It formed an encirclement, slowly closing in on The Stellar.

"It's fine."

Chen Mang lit a cigarette, threw the lighter on the table, and after a moment of silence, said softly, "I've failed many times in my life, but I've always managed to get back up. So I'm not afraid of failure."

"Failure is the norm in life. Success is just an exception."

"We didn't lose much, just some resources. Tell everyone to hurry back. As long as the green hills remain, we won't lack for firewood."

"Prepare to withdraw."

"Just an Heir to the Mechanical Civilization. I don't really care that much anyway."

Just then—

"Boss Mang!"

Biaozi burst through the door, his eyes red as he roared, "It's not a total failure yet! As long as we can survive this wave, as long as we kill all these Level 19 zombies within the time limit, we'll have successfully completed the mission!"

"We haven't lost yet!"

"All Sentinels, requesting permission to deploy!"

"Kill them all?" Chen Mang raised an eyelid and glanced at Biaozi, his voice soft.

"Iron Ore is gone."

"Copper Ore is gone."

"Everything we could use is gone. We're out of cards. It's time to leave the table."

"That's 1,000 Level 19 zombies. Even in the Red Zone, the strongest monsters are only Level 18. These are monsters you only find in the Gold Zone. What are you going to use to kill 1,000 of them in 15 minutes?"

"Rely on Zhang Yi and Zhang Er in those two Pope mechs?"

"Rely on you? You can't even break their defense."

"Calm down. Don't act like it's the end of the world after one failure. We're not who we used to be, where one failure meant death. The Stellar can afford to lose now. You know what foundation means? The foundation is having the capital to start over after you fail."

"Prepare to go home."

With that, Chen Mang shook his head, saying no more. He just glanced at the encroaching horde, preparing to confirm withdrawal and leave this Encounter Map.

"There's a chance!" Biaozi roared, his voice urgent and desperate. "Boss Mang, there's a chance! Don't you remember how you killed those rabbits last time? Use the Spatial Door! Use the Spatial Door to kill these zombies!"

"These zombies are the same size as normal zombies. The train can absolutely hold them."

"As long as we kill this wave, we win!"

"The mission isn't a total failure yet."

"Spatial Door?" Chen Mang turned his head to Biaozi and chuckled. "Last time, it was just a few rabbits. There are 1,000 zombies out there. And I only get one shot. 'Spatial Freeze' can't be used twice in quick succession."

"Are you telling me you want to let 1,000 Level 19 zombies inside The Stellar?"

"You think all the zombies are just going to stupidly rush inside The Stellar, instead of just staying outside and attacking the train's Armor? Who's going to lure them in? You? Me?"

"If that happens, everyone will die."

But soon, the smile on his face froze. He knew what Biaozi meant. He looked at the approaching horde and at Biaozi's blazing eyes, filled with defiance and pleading. He paused, then let out a soft sigh and picked up the walkie-talkie from the table.

To be honest, he was a little defiant, too.

This plan was risky, but if it succeeded, this wouldn't be a failure. It would be a comeback from the brink of defeat.

"All train residents, evacuate to Neon City immediately."

"All Sentinel members, on my command. Follow your captains' orders. Disembark!"

Chen Mang's voice echoed throughout The Stellar.

Biaozi, who had been kneeling, scrambled to his feet. His eyes were bloodshot, but he grinned at Boss Mang, his voice raw. "Boss Mang, thank you for being willing to take this gamble. The Stellar will not lose."

"Not in the past, not now, and not ever in the future."

"The Stellar is invincible!"

With that, he strode out of the Control Car. The captains of all three teams were already assembled outside.

"On my command!" Biaozi took the briefcase from Shanmaozi and roared, "Lure every last zombie into the carriages! Don't miss a single one!"

The next moment—

Just as the zombies were about to surround The Stellar, the train moved. All carriage doors slid wide open, completely defenseless. All residents had already evacuated to Neon City at top speed. After "Spatial Freeze" ended, they would be responsible for coming out and pushing the zombies inside the carriages into the Spatial Door.

"It seems we really can't lose..." Chen Mang lit a cigarette, watching Biaozi and the others charge off the train toward the approaching horde. He murmured. He could accept a failure, but the people below... it seemed they would rather die than accept that The Stellar could fail.

At some point, The Stellar had become the sole faith for many in the apocalypse. Many simply couldn't bear to see that faith collapse.

The Stellar will not lose.

Even if it did, they would die before The Stellar.

If that's the case...

Then let's gamble. The failure rate was high, but the chance of success wasn't low, either.

"Xiao Ai, assess the success probability of this plan."

"100%."

"Tsk." Chen Mang sat back down in his chair. He took 112,000 units of Iron Ore from his last 120,000 and built two brand-new Level 10 "Spatial Doors." He looked at the "Absolute Defense" Train Maneuver on the control console and chuckled.

"You've learned to lie."

"I am not lying. The Stellar will not lose."

"I'll take your word for it. But... 14 minutes left. We need to be fast."

Chen Mang looked at the control console, quickly scanning the train's remaining assets, and whispered.

"Since everyone wants to see a miracle..."

"Then—"

"Let's give this miracle a grand, glorious debut."

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