Armed Train in the Apocalypse

Chapter 66: Chapter 65: Either Carry the Weight or Die

Since each person only had one sentence of time, in just over half an hour, more than a hundred people had been screened.

A total of 1002 people were in the rear carriages, three died suddenly when the heatwave hit, and two more got scratched by zombies while escaping Mojiang City because they were too close to the windows.

After showing signs of turning, they were killed on the spot by other passengers.

So to be precise, there are less than a thousand people.

After screening a few dozen people, the remaining passengers understood Su Huan’s standards. Except for those confident in their abilities, others turned to try their luck with Lu Xiao.

There was nothing much to choose from among these people. Those with some special talents were intercepted by Su Huan, and Lu Xiao only picked the strong ones.

After a round of selection, Su Huan picked six people, and Lu Xiao picked twenty.

Seeing no one else coming up, Su Huan waved to Wang He at the back, and the man immediately ran over.

Respectfully said, ”Boss Su, you called me.”

Su Huan counted on his fingers, ”Now take people to start cleaning the 10th to 15th carriages. These carriages won’t be open to passengers anymore. How many workers do you have left?”

Wang He showed a trace of nervousness on his face, ”A few ran off, a few more were lost working... you know how it is...”

Su Huan frowned and interrupted, ”Don’t say irrelevant things, just tell me the number.”

”Eighty-three are left.”

”Carriage 16 will be yours now. How to fit over eighty people in there, you figure it out. Whether you convert hard seats to sleepers or something else, it’s up to you. You’re the professionals in this area.” Su Huan thought for a moment and said.

Is this considered recognition?

Wang He showed a trace of joy on his face, ”Oh, okay, no need to trouble Boss Su with such a trivial matter.”

Su Huan turned to Lu Xiao, ”If you can bring back those plants, the seventeenth carriage will be yours.”

”Alright, can I borrow one of the fire trucks at the back?”

Lu Xiao tried to negotiate.

Su Huan maintained his smile and extended a hand, ”Then can you first give me some plant seeds?”

Lu Xiao immediately realized there was no hope and lowered his expectations further.

”Then can you provide some weapons?”

”You haven’t passed the test yet, don’t haggle with me. Bring back the goods alive, and we’ll talk.”

Su Huan’s rejection was crisp.

Just as the words fell between the two, a voice emerged from the crowd, ”What kind of test is it? Can the conductor give us a chance?”

The crowd quieted down, eyes flickering as they searched for the source of the voice.

Su Huan turned his head to see a slightly thin woman stepping forward, with some fatigue on her face and some grime on her body, but because she stood straight, she did not appear embarrassed, likely not yet forty.

She was the woman who previously brought back the air pump; her husband was a carpenter.

But she herself could only be considered an assistant laborer, and with her age on the older side, she was excluded by Su Huan.

Su Huan raised an eyebrow, ”Even without disembarking, I’ll provide food today, are you sure you want this opportunity?”

Beside her, Lu Xiao’s gaze also landed on the woman, pondering silently.

”I want to know what passing the test would bring?”

”You can earn team leadership, an independent carriage, priority task allocation, and exchange privileges. However, the test is about acquiring specific materials, which is much harder than regular collection.”

”I see.”

Su Huan spoke while observing the woman. Her gaze was calm, neither ambitious nor overly fearful. It was this calmness that made her hard to assess, like wild grass outside, ordinary yet resilient, with unknown potential.

”So, your decision is...”

”Please give me an opportunity, conductor.”

The woman stated calmly, just as she had accepted marrying her current husband decades ago, now accepting separation from her husband and child.

The mountain of the times had never considered her, nor had it ever given her opportunities; they just came crashing down.

Either bear it or perish.

Now, finally, someone was offering her a choice, which was more important than anything else.

”I invite you to join my team.”

Lu Xiao suddenly said from the side.

The woman glanced at Lu Xiao, hesitated for a moment, and then shook her head, ”No, I prefer to be on my own.”

The opponent was well-trained; joining his team would greatly increase her survival chances.

But what she wanted wasn’t just simple survival; she wanted to live her life in her own way.

Su Huan clapped his hands, looking at the other passengers at the back, ”Anyone else like to give it a try?”

Eventually, more than a hundred people came forward, forming three teams. The largest one had over fifty people. Interestingly, one was composed of workers and led by another guy.

But Su Huan didn’t care about that, as long as they brought back supplies.

He gave the same list to these four teams, but the woman’s note included two more items in addition to plants: medical equipment and materials like steel-plated glass.

Bringing back any item from these categories would count as passing the test.

Although the woman had more options, these tasks were relatively tailored for groups, and she was alone, making it difficult.

Because Su Huan intended to cultivate teams like the Steel Council.

Were it not for the unique situation of the armed train, he would’ve adopted the Steel Council’s system directly.

He planned to divide the train into three parts: the front led by his small team, with no points or ranks set up. All tasks were assigned by him, decisions on all matters big or small.

The second part was the service crew, primarily serving as talent reserves, internal train production, and order maintenance, making up the train’s mid-level.

The third part was the external combat team, adopting the Steel Council’s method, divided into different levels of small teams responsible for material gathering and external combat.

Ordinary passengers formed the fourth class on the train, having no rights; correspondingly, as long as they didn’t break train rules, Su Huan wouldn’t make things difficult for them.

Although this classification was somewhat crude, the rules were gradually forming. For their own interests, people would voluntarily maintain their classes.

The next thing Su Huan needed to do was edit these spontaneously formed rules, keeping what he liked and removing what displeased him.

The train was a small society, not a real society.

The size of the space dictated it couldn’t form enough of a wave to overturn the rule.

At two in the afternoon, everyone prepared to set off gradually, Wang He started leading workers to clean the carriages, and the others silently retreated to the back of the carriages.

”Conductor, what should we do next?”

The mechanic pulled a crumpled cigarette from his pocket, offering it to Su Huan with a flattering smile on his face.

Su Huan casually accepted the sweat-stained cigarette, examining the man, whose face was broad and round, dark-skinned.

”Ever been to school?”