Chapter 97 – Thunderbolt Tower

This advanced train’s exterior design skillfully blends classical Chinese aesthetics with futuristic technological flair.

The locomotive section is shaped like a dragon’s head, held high with piercing eyes that seem ready to soar into the sky and roam the nine heavens at any moment. The slightly parted dragon’s mouth exhales clouds of light particles that swirl around the train’s front, adding an air of mystery.

Along both sides of the carriages are rows of unfolded dragon-scale wings, embedded with tiny LED lights that emit a soft blue glow. As the train speeds along, they trace dreamlike trails of light.

Inside one of the Living Carriages, the space has been transformed into a palace reminiscent of ancient China.

At the center of the palace stands a majestic dragon throne. The throne’s overall design is solemn and imposing, with a high, arched back resembling a towering mountain, conveying an unshakable presence. Each armrest is carved with a lifelike five-clawed golden dragon—their bodies agile, scales distinct, shimmering with golden light under the illumination as if they might burst forth from the throne at any moment to soar through the heavens. The dragons hold their heads high, whiskers flowing, eyes wide open, exuding an awe-inspiring dominance that commands reverence.

Upon the dragon throne, Ying Zheng sits cross-legged, as still as a meditating monk.

But a sudden System Announcement jolts him awake.

As he reads the contents of the announcement, a gratified smile tugs at the corners of Ying Zheng’s lips. His dragon-like eyes lift slightly, as if piercing through the endless void, and he murmurs, “Young man! I hope you do not disappoint the ancestors! In that case, Yang Guang’s punishment shall end here!”

Ying Zheng’s smile gradually fades. With a flick of his finger, an incredibly sharp sword energy shoots forth from his fingertip.

The sword energy flies out of the carriage and vanishes into the void, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

——————

A dilapidated train races across the boundless wilderness.

Behind it, a terrifying horde of Bone Demons follows like a persistent shadow.

The palace within the Living Carriage now lies in ruins. Upon the dragon throne, Yang Guang’s face is as dark as storm clouds, his entire being radiating a violent aura.

He has been pursued by these terrifying Bone Demons for several days. Now, watching his dwindling reserves of resources, waves of fury and anxiety surge within him.

At this moment, he longs to self-destruct, blasting these hateful Bone Demons to smithereens.

Yet reason tells him that even if he self-destructs, even if he shatters all these Bone Demons, what then? The enemy could easily gather energy and create another batch of such demons.

Occasionally, he can’t help but glance up at the void, hoping that those above might show mercy for his efforts to atone and lend a helping hand—perhaps then he would have a sliver of hope.

But the void remains silent, as if his pleas have been Devoured by endless darkness, receiving no response whatsoever.

“Must I truly meet my end here?” Yang Guang’s eyes are filled with unwillingness, but soon his expression turns despondent. “Enough! If this is fate, I accept it!”

Suddenly, a system voice interrupts Yang Guang’s despair. When he reads the contents of the System Announcement, a relieved smile breaks across his face. “Haha! If I die for a worthy cause, it will be worth it!”

However, before his laughter fades, a brilliant light erupts in the sky.

Yang Guang looks up and faintly discerns an incredibly sharp sword energy contained within the dazzling radiance.

“Whoosh!”

The sword light swept through as if encountering no resistance, instantly piercing through the entire Bone Demon horde.

Wherever it passed, the bodies of the Bone Demons shattered one after another, turning into piles of white bone dust that scattered in the wind!

Yang Guang was stunned by this sudden scene. After a moment of shock, he was instantly overcome with wild joy. He stood up, bowed respectfully toward the void, and said, “Thank you for your grace, First Emperor!”

“Cough~ Cough~” As soon as he finished speaking, he couldn’t help but break into a violent coughing fit.

Back when he was ordered to deliver the Artisan Workbench to Wuwang Kuangzun, he had gone with a heart resolved to die.

However, after escaping the Bone Demon lair, he had nurtured a sliver of hope.

Now, seeing the First Emperor take action meant the organization had not abandoned him!

Having survived this ordeal, he now had the opportunity to gradually recover to his peak.

But Yang Guang’s joy did not end there. Suddenly, a spatial ripple appeared within the dilapidated palace.

Then, one after another, treasure chests glowing with five-colored light materialized before his eyes.

Four Five-Colored Treasure Chests in total!

At a glance, Yang Guang knew these were rewards from the organization. A flash of fanaticism and excitement passed through his eyes.

With the resources from these four Five-Colored Treasure Chests, it wouldn’t be long before he recovered to his peak!

——————

Xiao Wuwang was unaware that breaking the Record again had caused such a huge stir in the outside world. At this moment, he was immersed in the rewards brought by breaking the Record.

Four Diamond Treasure Chests, plus the two remaining from before, could be Synthesized into exactly two Radiant Treasure Chests!

A major step forward toward Synthesizing the next Level of treasure chest!

Looking at the other two rewards.

The Quantum Multi-Power Core was the Core Component for upgrading the train from Level 5 to Level 6. Indeed, being the first in the region to advance each time rewarded a Core Component for the next Level’s upgrade.

The system was clearly pushing him to keep breaking Records all the way!

The final Thunderbolt Tower was also a great item.

【Thunderbolt Tower】

【Offensive Module】

【Can be installed in any carriage Expansion Slot or Armament Carriage Weapon Slot】

【Attack Mode One: Thunder Strike, single-target attack. Attack power is related to the amount of thunder energy mobilized】

【Attack Mode Two: Chain Lightning, area-of-effect attack. Attack range is a 10-meter radius from the impact point. Attack power is related to the amount of thunder energy mobilized】

【Attack Mode Three: Thunderstorm Judgment, large area-of-effect attack. Attack range is a 50-meter radius from the impact point. Attack power is related to the amount of thunder energy mobilized】

[Attack Mode Four (Pending Activation)]

[Attack Mode Five (Pending Activation)]

[Attack Mode Six (Pending Activation)]

【Thunderbolt Tower has 100 slots of Energy Storage. It can automatically absorb ambient free thunder energy to Recharge, gaining 1 slot per hour. Recharge efficiency can be increased in special environments. It can also be filled with thunder crystals for Extreme Speed Recharge】

——————

This was an Offensive Module even more powerful and versatile than the Viper-S Autocannon and the Mad Dragon-X Ice-Fire Launcher!

With it, the safety of Xiao Wuwang’s train instantly increased another notch.

Xiao Wuwang directly installed it on Armament Carriage One, placing it in the same carriage as the Antimatter Particle Beam Turret and the Mad Dragon-X Ice-Fire Launcher. This carriage would become the indestructible firepower fortress of his train.

After the upgrade was complete, Tie Yi had already collected all the Level 4 Bone Demon spines it could gather, obtaining a total of 36. Combined with the 2 Level 5 Bone Demon spines, this was the total harvest from the Monster siege.

Fortunately, most of the Bone Demons were slain by the Viper-S Autocannon and two Level 5 Terminators. Otherwise, the cost of bullets and energy consumption alone would have been a huge investment—definitely a losing deal.

The train started moving.

Xiao Wuwang went to the Auxiliary Carriage.

First, he activated his Talent on it, upgrading the Auxiliary Carriage to Level 5.

With the Auxiliary Carriage reaching Level 5, production efficiency increased by another 20%, bringing the total efficiency to 120%. This significantly boosted the work efficiency of the Artisan Workbench and Crafting Station.

At this point, the task previously assigned to the Artisan Workbench—producing two Level 4 Crafting Stations—was already completed.

Xiao Wuwang appraised the two Crafting Stations. Their Qualities were: Perfect and Common.

He hadn’t expected these two Crafting Stations to be such extremes. Still, getting a Perfect Quality Crafting Station was already a huge win for Xiao Wuwang!

Without hesitation, Xiao Wuwang directly loaded the Level 4 Crafting Station Blueprint onto the Perfect Quality Crafting Station.

From now on, all tasks involving the production of Crafting Stations could be assigned to this Crafting Station, freeing up the Artisan Workbench to Derive other Blueprints.