System: My Doomsday Train-Chapter 559 - 287: "It’s natural for insects to be good at digging, it also makes sense."_5

Chapter 559: Chapter 287: "It’s natural for insects to be good at digging, it also makes sense."_5

He originally wanted to upgrade to Level 20 in one go.

But he glanced at the cost; to upgrade to Level 20, the price for one car was 100 million units of iron ore, totaling 800 million units of iron ore.

The balance was insufficient.

"Sigh..."

Chen Mang sighed lightly, rubbed his temples, and said somewhat powerlessly, "Has this Princess Tuo Tuo never been to the front line? Even less so started from scratch?"

"Since you’re leaving resources as a legacy, why leave so much lumber and Red Heart Rock..."

"You might as well have left fifty Level 5 iron mines."

"That would absolutely be better than leaving a bit of every resource."

He could imagine how Princess Tuo Tuo built her train.

Upon coming of age, she received a Rare Train Order and a bulk of resources, and then built a top-level train, without even knowing what resources a train needed most at the starting stage.

Big spender.

It’s like in the entire Mechanical Civilization, only a few people have upgraded their "Train Assistance AI" to Level 200, and this Princess Tuo Tuo, who has never been to the front line, also has a Level 200 "Train Assistance AI".

According to him.

This is pure voluntary waste.

It’s an existence that needs to be overthrown.

You never go to the front line, taking up so many resources, isn’t that just wasted? According to the AI database information, Murphy Stone is only useful for breaking the level limit before Level 100 by consuming one Murphy Stone and then replenishing the corresponding upgrade resources.

But—

After Level 100, to break the level limit and upgrade by one level, it’s not just one Murphy Stone anymore; it requires more, and as the level goes higher, the number will continuously rise.

Of course.

Theoretically speaking, if the Mechanical Civilization put its full effort into it, it could completely upgrade a component to Level 800 or even Level 1000, but there’s no meaning in it. A battle line spanning tens of thousands of light-years cannot be swayed by a single high-level component; if this side is highlighted, other areas naturally lag completely, dying even faster.

The higher the level, the more apparent the law of diminishing returns.

For example, $10,000 worth of food compared to $10 food; in terms of taste, the former might indeed be better, but the gap at most is two or three times, while the excess cost far exceeds just double or triple.

Unless.

Unless someone upgrades without needing Murphy Stones.

This is also his greatest confidence in slowly developing behind the Insect Race’s home base!

Many of his living components are Level 100 and haven’t been upgraded further, for this very reason.

For example, the "Moldy Bread Slice Production Line" requires 505,000 units of iron ore to upgrade from Level 1 to Level 100.

But from Level 100 to Level 101, it would need 500,000 units of iron ore.

Level 100 is a hurdle for all components; once surpassed, both the upgrade resources required and the Murphy Stones consumed see a significant increase, so he naturally wouldn’t spend billions of units of iron ore for slightly better-tasting slices of bread.

No wonder Tuo Tuo is so proud of her Level 200 "Train Assistance AI".

It’s indeed something to be proud of.

But it’s also a waste.

Moreover, according to the information in the database, the Mechanical Civilization internally was probably very corrupt at the time, with a good chance that many officials swallowed resources that should have been sent to the frontline.

Everyone might think, in such a vast battle line, how could my bit of resource matter?

For one or two people, indeed it doesn’t.

But if everyone does this, it greatly accelerates defeat.

From this perspective—

The ruling philosophy of the Insect Race Civilization is advanced; a purely autocratic system where what the Mother Empress says goes, and subordinates only execute, leaving no room for corruption.

Such a civilization might have a low happiness index, but its combat power is absolutely top-notch.

"Poor child."

Chen Mang got off the train and stuck three cigarettes into the ground in an open area, as a farewell offering to Tuo Tuo. He could probably imagine her—a pampered little princess trying to do something before the civilization perished and restarted the "Dawn Plan".

He also considered it a favor received.

So he didn’t intend to say much, it was fine.

Except, if anyone dared to waste his resources on the Fixed Star like that, he’d send them to Zhang Yiren tomorrow to play the lead in the Louis XVI movie.

...

A Level 20 Unmanned Viper Fighter requires 2.5 million units of Titanium Crystal Ore.

And now he has 1 billion units of Titanium Crystal Ore.

When Chen Mang pressed the button on the control panel—

The "Viper Unmanned Fighter Jet Production Line" inside Car No. 10’s "Fighter Jet Landing Pad" began fast operations, producing fighter jets on the assembly line.

He used 100 million titanium crystal ore to create Viper Unmanned Combat Aircraft.

Another 40 were produced.

Adding to the original 41, there were a total of 81 Viper Unmanned Combat Aircraft with Level 20 offensive strength.

Viper Unmanned Combat Aircraft with permanent endurance hovered above the train. After entering the red zone, his confidence was ample.

The "Viper Unmanned Combat Aircraft" can be recycled, reclaiming as much resource as was used to create, so theoretically, he could completely dedicate all his Titanium Crystal Ore to producing Viper Unmanned Combat Aircraft, and in case the ore was needed for something else later, he could just recycle.

Only...

Each Viper Unmanned Combat Aircraft requires embedding one Level 4 Energy Stone, which equates to 500,000 units of iron ore.

The total of 1 billion Titanium Crystal Ore can produce 400 fighter jets, but these 400 fighter jets would require 200 million units of iron ore in energy stones; it’s too expensive, he can afford to make them but not use them.

An 80-fighter aircraft cruise formation is sufficient.

Chen Mang sent a coordinate to Er Dan over the Train Radio, then moved toward the junction of the "Dusk Coast" and the "Stone Man Zone" in the red zone, intending to upgrade his train to Level 16 in the red zone.

To upgrade to Level 16, the train must be upgraded within the red zone.

Before leaving, he had a few more things to address.

"..."

Chen Mang looked at the few "Doomsday Marriage Certificates" in the drawer; he needed to help Er Dan’s train reach Level 15, so it could join him in heading to the red zone, exploring the Adventure Map for him.

The upgrade to a Level 15 train is somewhat troublesome as it requires a population limit and three couples who have used Doomsday Marriage Certificates on board.

Without his help.

Er Dan would find it difficult to upgrade to a Level 15 train.

...

Under the starry sky.

The "Fucking Everything Traveling Frog" train was parked next to the "Fucking Everything Fixed Star" train, a stark contrast of one large, one small.

Chen Mang lit a cigarette, leaning against his train, and looked at Er Dan’s train with a smile, "Actually, it looks quite good, right? At first glance, it seems a bit tacky, a bit vulgar, but after a few more glances, don’t you find it kinda charming."

During this period of mining.

He had Zhang Yiren write another script, bringing the total to three scripts left with the three couples on the train, all dreaming in the "Combat Training Virtual Space," ready to wake at any moment. As soon as they do, they’d transfer the residents to Er Dan’s train and acquire the Doomsday Marriage Certificate, essentially completing the mission seamlessly.

"Indeed feels like..."

Er Dan stood beside him, leaned against the train too, with a sense of deep agreement and wistful sigh, "feels like a kind of rebellion against the hardships of fate, like every curse word we speak isn’t really insulting anyone but instead a silent roar against this damned life."

"If you curse out loud, how is it a silent roar."

"Um... it’s a kind of artistic conception."

"And also..."

Er Dan paused for a moment, his expression turning serious, "having the same prefix as the Fixed Star, does make me feel a bit closer to the Fixed Star, even standing next to it now, I kinda feel like coming home."

"It’s completely different from before."