15: Chapter 15, the combat power rankings, has been unlocked; we've arrived at the Black Iron Trading Hub.

Just as Su Chen walked up to Liu Ruyan and reached out his hand, intending to lift her exquisite chin...

A grand, majestic, and irresistible voice suddenly resounded in the minds of all survivors across the globe!

"Ding! Regional Announcement!"

"The seven-day Newbie Protection Period has officially ended!"

"From this moment on, all trains will completely lose the protection of the 'Absolute Safe Zone'!"

"Wild monster activity has increased by 100%! The spawn rate of high-level mutated creatures has increased!"

These few announcements were like a death warrant from the Grim Reaper, causing countless survivors still in their dreams to wake up instantly, their bodies growing cold.

But immediately after, the system's voice changed again.

"Ding! Global system update complete!"

"The [Regional Train Combat Power Leaderboard] has officially opened!"

"This leaderboard will provide a comprehensive score based on train level, core facilities, the overall strength of crew members, and the Train Master's historical kill records!"

"The leaderboard updates in real-time. Train Masters who rank at the top will receive rare treasure chest rewards distributed by the Heavenly Dao during the weekly settlement!"

"Please open your panels to view, all Train Masters."

Hearing this last sentence, Su Chen, who was enjoying a massage from Chu Qingxue in the master bedroom, suddenly opened his eyes.

"Leaderboard?"

The corners of Su Chen's mouth curled into a look of piqued interest.

In this world lacking rules, ranking often means fame, and fame represents resources.

Without hesitation, he summoned the system panel in his mind and clicked on the [Regional Leaderboard] that was flickering with golden light.

The first thing that caught his eye was a long, dense list of names.

And the name hanging at the top of the list, marked in the most dazzling purple-gold font, made Su Chen unable to help but chuckle.

[East China Region Train Combat Power Leaderboard (Real-time)]

[First Place: train no. 0099 Train Master — Su Chen!]

[Comprehensive Combat Power Score: 128,000 points!]

[Title: Peerless Overlord!]

Seeing this eye-catching six-figure score, Su Chen raised an eyebrow.

He knew he was strong, but he didn't expect the score to be this ridiculously high.

He clicked on his score details to examine them carefully.

[Score Composition Details:]

[1. Vehicle Combat Power: Level 1 Primary Steam Armored Train (30,000 points). Includes top-tier facilities such as Black Iron grade Gale Abatis Armor, Bronze grade Water Circulation Hub, and Silver grade Ecological Planting Carriage.]

[2. Crew Combat Power: 50,000 points. Includes two S-rank talent holders (Chu Qingxue, Liu Ruyan), one A-rank talent holder (Lin Momo), one B-rank talent holder (Zhang Man), and overall tactical clothing equipment bonuses.]

[3. Personal Combat Power and Kill Bonuses: 48,000 points. The host possesses the SSS-rank Omni-Modification talent, Bronze top-tier weapons, and has defeated a Silver-rank BOSS Withered Wood Treant and a Bronze top-tier BOSS Stitch Butcher while at a lower level.]

Looking at this magnificent scoring panel, Su Chen nodded in satisfaction.

Every one of his decisions and every Omni-Modification had turned into solid combat power numbers at this moment.

Especially those top-tier beauties he had recruited, who actually provided a full 50,000-point bonus.

This fully demonstrated that in this apocalypse, a high-quality population is also the most top-tier strategic resource.

Su Chen continued to look down, his gaze falling on the second-place position.

[Second Place: Train No. 0112 Train Master — Wang Meng!]

[Comprehensive Combat Power Score: 42,000 points!]

The third place had less than 30,000 points, and the ones after that were even more dreadful.

In other words, Su Chen, as the first place, had directly left the second place behind by more than double!

This was a complete, dimensional-reduction level crushing victory!

At this very moment, the chat channel of the entire East China Region had completely exploded.

Those survivors who had just survived the beast tide and were still shivering because the Newbie Protection Period had ended, all fell into a frenzy as they looked at that high and mighty name on the leaderboard.

"Holy crap! Holy crap! Holy crap! What am I seeing? 128,000 points?!"

"Did the system bug out? I'm working my ass off and only have 1,200 points; is he worth a hundred of us?"

A person with the ID "Fatty Who Wants To Survive" was spamming the channel frantically.

"Big Boss Su Chen! God Su! You are my real dad! Please, I beg you, tell me how to upgrade to a Level 1 train, okay?"

"Who exactly is this Su Chen? Not only is his train awesome, but look at the score details—he actually has two S-rank talent crew members on his train!"

"Damn it! Comparing people just makes you want to die! I originally had over a dozen girls on my train, but half of them starved to death in these two days, and the rest cry every day. How are all of Big God Su's girls S-rank combat power?"

"Does the Big Boss still need a hanger-on? I am willing to offer all my supplies. As long as you let me on your train, I am willing to scrub your toilet every day!"

A player named "Pure Love War God" let out a desperate wail.

"Stop dreaming. A ruthless person capable of killing a Silver-rank BOSS would look at your scraps?"

The channel was filled with worship, jealousy, and shock. Within a few short minutes, Su Chen's name became a legend known to everyone in the East China Region.

Looking at these messages, Su Chen just calmly took a sip of the purified water brought by Chu Qingxue.

This feeling of being high above, looked up to by thousands, was indeed good.

But he had no intention of speaking in the channel to show off; making a fortune in silence was the right way to go.

Just as Su Chen was about to close the chat channel.

"Beep beep beep!"

A private message flickering with a red exclamation mark suddenly popped up.

The sender was none other than the second place on the leaderboard — Train No. 0112 Train Master, Wang Meng.

Su Chen raised an eyebrow slightly and casually opened the private message.

A paragraph of arrogant, domineering text, even carrying a thick sense of threat, instantly popped up on the screen.

"You are Su Chen, right?"

"My name is Wang Meng. In reality, I was the captain of the sports school's Sanda team. Now, my train is full of my brothers, all of whom are physical monsters, and I myself have the A-rank talent [Berserk Muscle]."

"I won't beat around the bush. I see that your 120,000 points are mostly supported by your vehicle and facilities, right?"

"You've got good luck, kid. Did you stumble upon some high-level construction blueprint by blind luck?"

"Let's be friends. Share your high-level blueprints and the secret of your ecological carriage with me."

"From now on in the East China Region, I, Wang Meng, will look after you."

"If anyone dares to give you trouble, I'll take my brothers to finish them off. How about it? You won't lose out on this deal, right?"

Looking at this private message that reeked of arrogance and stupidity between the lines.

Su Chen couldn't help but sneer.

That laughter was filled with undisguised contempt and mockery.

Chu Qingxue, who was nearby, heard the laughter, curiously glanced at the panel, and her delicate brows immediately furrowed tightly.

"Train Master, this person is too arrogant. How dare he try to blackmail you?"

A trace of killing intent entered Chu Qingxue's cold tone; anyone who dared to show disrespect to Su Chen was challenging the bottom line of the girls.

"Don't pay any attention to this idiot whose brain is full of muscles."

Su Chen waved his hand casually, looking at Wang Meng as if he were looking at a dead man.

In this cruel wasteland world, there are actually still people delusional enough to think they can collect protection fees based on titles from the real world?

It's absolutely ridiculous.

He didn't even have the interest to type a few more words.

Su Chen moved his mind and directly entered an extremely simple word in the reply box.

"Scram."

Click send.

Afterwards, without any hesitation, Su Chen backhanded the ID named Wang Meng into the blacklist, and incidentally reported the other party for sexual harassment.

The operation was smooth and fluid, without a hint of hesitation.

...

Meanwhile, in a wasteland hundreds of kilometers away from Su Chen.

A dilapidated green-skinned train was moving slowly.

This train was exactly the second-ranked Train No. 0112.

The carriage was filled with burly, fleshy-faced men, and the air was thick with the strong smell of sweat and body odor.

In the driver's cab, a burly man nearly 1.9 meters tall, with muscles bulging like granite, was staring intensely at the Heavenly Dao panel in front of him.

He was Wang Meng.

When he saw the word "Scram" that Su Chen replied, and the subsequent system prompt "The other party has blocked you,"

Wang Meng's fleshy face instantly turned the color of a pig's liver.

"F*ck you! You ungrateful piece of sh*t!"

Wang Meng let out a roar of rage, his sandbag-sized fist slamming hard onto the console.

With a loud "bang," a deep dent was smashed directly into the rusty console.

In his bloodshot eyes, venomous fury erupted.

"A mere piece of trash who got blueprints by luck dares to talk to me like this!"

"Su Chen, is it? You f*cking wait for me!"

"Don't let me run into you, or at the next intersection station, I will definitely bring my men to loot your train, play the women on your train to death, and then chop you up to feed the Ghoul!"

Wang Meng roared in impotent rage within the narrow driver's cab.

...

Endless blood-colored mist rolled and roared across the wasteland.

A steel behemoth, pitch-black all over and exuding a cold metallic luster, was tearing through the heavy mist with an unstoppable force.

This was Su Chen's train no. 0099, a heavy armored train that had been fully upgraded to Level 1.

In front of that five-centimeter-thick [Gale Abatis Armor], the low-level Ghouls that occasionally collided with it were like fragile eggs, instantly crushed into a puddle of mud.

And inside this indestructible mobile fortress, it was a scene of luxury, just like in the peaceful era.

Inside the luxurious master bedroom exclusive to the Train Master, the climate-controlled air conditioning was blowing a comfortable breeze.

Su Chen leaned lazily on that wide leather sofa.

In his hand, he held a glass of absolutely pure water produced by the [Intermediate Water Circulation Purification Hub], with two fresh mutated mint leaves just picked from the ecological carriage soaking in it.

In today's wasteland world, where one has to be grateful just to drink a sip of muddy water, this treatment was truly an emperor-level enjoyment.

Lin Momo, that soft and cute sweet girl, was currently kneeling obediently on the soft carpet.

She was wearing an oversized white men's shirt given by Su Chen, the hem just covering those perky curves, revealing a pair of fair and delicate calves.

Her soft, boneless hands were kneading Su Chen's thighs with moderate force, her clear big eyes full of unmelting worship and attachment.

And on the other side of the sofa, Chu Qingxue was standing straight.

This cold and arrogant dance department campus belle had now completely adapted to her identity as the train's chief steward.

She was wearing a well-tailored black tight-fitting tactical camouflage uniform, outlining her slender waist and proud bust vividly.

Even just standing there reporting work, the unique temperament of coldness and temptation intertwined radiating from her still made it impossible for people to look away.

"Train Master, the current material reserves are very sufficient."

Chu Qingxue's voice was crisp and melodious, like large and small pearls falling onto a jade plate.

"The mutated tomatoes and green vegetables produced by the ecological carriage last night not only met the consumption of the whole train but also left quite a surplus."

"After everyone consumed these vegetables containing weak life energy, their mental state has had a qualitative leap."

Su Chen nodded in satisfaction and was just about to reach out towards Lin Momo's small face, which was a little flushed from the stuffiness.

Just then, a grand, majestic, and emotionless mechanical voice suddenly exploded in everyone's minds.

"Ding! Regional Announcement!"

"Ten kilometers ahead, we are about to arrive at a large neutral safe zone — Black Iron Trading Hub!"

"This station is a regional public intersection point. Duration of stay: 12 hours!"

"Warning: The Black Iron Trading Hub is protected by the laws of the Heavenly Dao. Any form of armed conflict or killing is strictly prohibited!"

"Once the anti-violence law is violated, the violator will be directly erased by the Heavenly Dao, body and soul destroyed!"

Hearing this sudden prompt, the atmosphere in the master bedroom instantly became heavy.

Su Chen withdrew his hand, sharp glints flashing in his deep eyes.

A large neutral safe zone.

This means that at this station, they will inevitably interact with other survivors, and even Train Masters from other channels.

Humans are often more terrifying and greedy than those mindless mutated monsters.

But at the same time, this is also an excellent opportunity.

"Notify the whole train, prepare to enter the station."

Su Chen stood up, a confident sneer appearing on his cold face.

He took Chu Qingxue and Lin Momo, strode out of the master bedroom, and came to the driver's cab in the front.

Through the huge explosion-proof glass of the driver's cab, Su Chen could already vaguely see the faint firelight shining through the mist ahead.

As the train continued to advance at full speed, a steel complex so huge it was suffocating gradually revealed its ferocious outline in everyone's line of sight.

It was a huge fortress pieced together from countless abandoned shipping containers, rusty steel supports, and broken train carriages.

The towering walls were hung with various simple lighting devices, illuminating this area like daytime.

Countless crisscrossing tracks converged from all directions toward the central platform of this hub.

At this moment, more than a dozen trains of various shapes and sizes were already docked at the central platform.

But if you looked closely, you would find that most of these trains were in a dreadful state.

Some were just the most primitive single-carriage green-skinned trains, their exteriors pitted and scarred by monster claws, covered everywhere with dried black bloodstains.

Some, although reinforced with some scrap iron for defense, were already tattered and broken, as if they would fall apart at any moment.

Some survivors were wandering on the platform.

Most of them were in rags, sallow and emaciated, their eyes filled with deep exhaustion, vigilance, and despair.

Some people were even arguing red-faced in the corner over half a piece of moldy black bread, but they dared not take action because of the Heavenly Dao's erasure rule.

In this cruel apocalypse, most of those who have survived until now have abandoned all dignity and bottom lines.

"Woo——!"

A deafening, highly penetrating, low and long whistle suddenly broke the noise on the platform.

Everyone on the platform stopped what they were doing in unison, turned their heads in shock, and looked in the direction from which the sound came.