[Train Energy Reserves: 100%, Raw Materials Stocked: 100%]
[Robots and ship factories are operating at full capacity, projected to produce 20,000 mining robots and 50 cargo ships]
Cargo ships differ from passenger vessels; these are unmanned. Damian exhaled deeply—as long as energy held out, hope remained.
"Next objective: prioritize finding a habitable world. Without it, we'll collapse. I'm not using my reserves for charity—it's already stretched too thin."
Another day bled into night. By the third day since Purple Star's annihilation, the train finally detected a signal: a young star system harboring Planet S360E.
[Name]: None
[ID]: S360E
[Class]: Planet
[Mass]: 8.? × 102? kg
[Diameter]: [Data missing] km
[Surface Temp]: 46°C
[Rotation]: 59h 25m 39s
[Intelligent Life]: None
...
[Massive bio-readings detected. Urgently recommend dispatching warships + transports to harvest resources]
The screen flickered to life: an emerald, elliptical world. Vegetation implied ecosystems—and predators.
"Can civilians land?" Damian wondered if passengers could be ferried to scavenge.
[Atmospheric composition radically diverges from Purple Star. Natives would perish instantly]
[Microbial diversity off the charts. Unfiltered contact risks lethal pandemics. Direct exposure highly discouraged]
Damian gritted his teeth. A livable world but no access? Fuyao offered two paths:
[Option 1: Initiate passenger "awakening" to grant environmental/viral resistance]
[Option 2: Mass-produce hazmat suits for total ecological isolation]
Damian snorted.
"Useless platitudes! I can't 'awaken'—where would they get crystals? And hazmat suits? Even if we had materials, what's the point? Tourism?"
He pondered, then decreed:
"Robots will harvest. Train processes into food. But wait—I'm not a saint. Giving handouts? Unfair."
He'd spent days deciphering the train's protocols. Its true purpose? Labor camp. Passengers were expendable workers—too frail now, but trainable.
[Recommend activating currency system + opening train marketplace]
Damian scanned Fuyao's files. The train was built for this. Time to unseal it.
"Set currency: Star Coins. Passengers can loan for food."
...
In Cargo Bay 1, hunger gnawed at minds. Men huddled in corners, voices hushed.
"Waiting is death. We storm the captain's quarters. Food—or control—might be there."
"Robots have guns! We'll be slaughtered! How many are there even?!"
Cedric—a towering giant: "Then die standing. Liam—scout the security bots near Restricted Area."
Liam, gaunt and stooped, slipped through the bay's blast doors. The "empty zone" now teemed with new compartments—construction robots still painting signs. The leftmost chamber blazed with neon: TRAIN BANK.
"Bank?! In a train?" The guard drones ignored him. Trembling, he entered.
No tellers, just lucid booths—like ATMs. A booming voice:
[TRAIN BANK PROMPT: DEPOSITS | WITHDRAW | LOANS]
"Purple Star accounts transferred?!" Liam's fingers danced over a console—balance: 0 Star Coins.
"Star Coins* buy food*?!" He hammered the help screen.
[LOAN UP TO 500 COINS PER ADULT. NO INCOME? NO PROBLEM—COLLATERAL? YOUR LABOR]
Liam's laugh was bitter.
"Banks… always greedy. Fine—loan me something!"
The screen blinked: 50 STAR COINS CREDITED.
"Food… finally." He raced to the adjacent market—a sprawling warehouse trio of aisles (Left/Center/Right), each guarded by battle-armored drones.
"Can I… enter?" Liam approached the leftmost corridor.
The drones didn't fire—but a voice roared:
[WELCOME TO MARKET-1. PLEASE STATE DESIRED CATEGORY: WEAPONS | SUPPLIES | ENERGY | FOOD]