Armed Train in the Apocalypse

The furious roars of the undead echoed from all directions.

Several Tier One Night Demons were rapidly climbing on the abandoned vehicles, their heavy steps making the metal roofs thud loudly.

”Damn it! Change path!”

The man with the ring just turned his head when he heard a loud ”boom”.

Behind him, an old four-story commercial building got crushed under the pressure of the piled-up corpses, collapsing like a house of cards.

Thanks to the long-term acid rain erosion, the building was soaked through, barely lifting any dust.

Zombies spilled out like a truck dumping sand, blocking the entire street from which they came, while several clumsy Butchers rolled within the horde, their blood-red eyes locking onto the two of them.

They found themselves trapped at this railroad and highway intersection, with no way in or out.

All they could do was watch as the train got closer and closer.

Sweat rolled down the forehead of the man with the ring, and his gaze fell on his companion. Although he didn’t speak, it was clear he expected him to ”make a decision quickly.”

In terms of escape, the other person was the expert.

The young scavenger scanned the night, seeing only zombies and Evolution Beasts. Even a few rats the size of wolfhounds crawled out of the manholes!

He gritted his teeth and said, ”Go, back to the train!”

...

Li Tao felt as if someone was talking around him, but he couldn’t hear anything clearly. He was pulled down by a strong urge to sleep, as if drugged.

Memories before losing consciousness slowly emerged in his mind.

He fled with Father Li on an armed helicopter. As he expected, they attracted fire.

He was shot down by Su Huan with a single shot.

Father Li was cut in half right in front of him, but there was no time to grieve, as the helicopter lost control and began to plummet.

He thought he’d die on the spot, but unexpectedly, he was flung out during the crash.

That’s where his memory stopped.

’I wonder if Uncle managed to escape.’

The first thought that crossed Li Tao’s mind upon regaining consciousness was not sorrow for his father but concern for Li Wangchuan’s safety.

With the electromagnetic sniper rifle in Su Huan’s hands, whoever was in the helicopter was doomed.

So he figured if he took the helicopter to divert attention, Li Wangchuan could escape by car. Even though there were many zombies on the ground, Li Wangchuan had several powerful Evolvers with him, so he had a fair chance of survival.

The only surprise was Father showing up midway.

Father hadn’t much capability himself, but he held considerable resources of the Li Family and always wanted to do something.

If he escaped alive, he would inevitably split with Uncle.

Li Tao made a rash decision to go up with his dad, thinking they’d at least have each other for company on the way.

As fate would have it, he survived, but his father did not.

He let out a faint sigh as the sounds around him grew clearer.

Li Tao didn’t open his eyes recklessly but listened quietly instead.

A familiar voice spoke, ”I don’t know how those two got so lucky, capturing Li Tao, and miraculously not getting torn apart by the zombie horde. They even became Evolvers. I saw them and brought them up here.”

That voice... It was He Jie.

Various subtle background noises poured into his ears, especially the rhythmic clanging, which immediately made Li Tao understand his situation.

He had ended up on an armed train!

Wasn’t he now a captive?!

”Is that so?”

Su Huan regarded the two deep blue data extractors with an inscrutable grin.

He had been pondering how to utilize these two, but the ensuing battles had driven it from his mind. He never expected them to do such a big thing on their own.

They had directly captured the key commander of the opposing force!

If this wasn’t talent, then what was?!

Although their acting was clumsy, their courage was commendable.

Both nodded repeatedly.

The younger one awkwardly said, ”That’s right, but there might be a bit of backstory...”

Su Huan’s brows relaxed, and he suddenly understood, ”For capturing the opposing commander alive, the reward is five exoskeleton suits, accompanying light arms, and three thousand points. Rest assured, everyone on this train knows the conductor keeps his word, saying one thing and meaning it.”

The young man was taken aback, then quickly declined politely, ”The reward isn’t necessary; we didn’t do it for the reward.”

”Brave, wise, and modest, what’s your name?”

Su Huan, showing admiration, interrupted him.

The young man gauged Su Huan’s expression and hesitantly replied, ”Tong Zizhan. The ’zhan’ as in farsighted. My partner here is Gao Yuan; you can just call him Old Gao.”

The man with the ring beside them nervously twisted the ring on his finger.

Su Huan listened with interest; the young was sly, the old was naïve, but together they made an interesting pair.

Afraid they might give themselves away, he refrained from further questioning and instead turned his gaze to Li Tao in the center.

At that moment, Li Tao was tied to a stretcher bed, positioned upright in Car 1, which was Su Huan’s own quarters.

”You’ve been listening long enough, time to wake up, Secretary Li.”

The Li Tao on the stretcher slowly opened his eyes; just as he suspected, he had fallen into the hands of an armed train. The treatment was better than expected; at least there was no dark cell or torture devices, perhaps due to limited space on the train.

The carriage was 24 meters long and 3.1 meters wide; the thickness was inconsistent, showing marks of modification, having been expanded somewhat outward.

The internal height was normal, lighting layout standard, wiring clearly altered, likely for surveillance or network communications...

Four people were in the room. The two on either side were unfamiliar, but analyzing their expressions, they didn’t seem to be members of the armed train. Physically strong but with no signs of training, they were probably Evolvers.

Perhaps I was brought here by these two people.

Almost as soon as I opened my eyes, various data reflexively flooded into my mind, presenting itself there without any need for subjective analysis.

Facing…

Li Tao’s gaze swept evenly across the faces of the two people opposite him, finally landing on Su Huan on the sofa, while another name echoed in his mind.

’Lin Jin!’

Although he hid it well, this small gesture did not escape Su Huan’s notice.

Li Tao spent almost the same amount of time on him and Lin Jin, which was quite intriguing.

If it were someone he didn’t recognize, he would surely have subconsciously ignored Lin Jin sitting to the side.

Don’t even mention observing him a few more times.

With the information processing ability of an Evolver, just a glance out of the corner of the eye would be enough.

Lin Jin is just a small pawn in the Steel Council, so how does Li Tao know him?

He specifically called Lin Jin over just to test him.

Unexpectedly, it really struck a nerve, giving a great start to the pleasant conversation to follow.

Su Huan showed a friendly smile as if reuniting with an old friend, ”I didn’t expect we’d meet so soon, is there anything you want to tell me?”

Li Tao quietly looked at Su Huan, though under the surface, his heart was in turmoil; it had only been a few days since they last met. Back then, they had joyously swindled each other, and he hadn’t expected to meet again so soon and find himself as a captive.

”I’m just a small figure; it’s no use catching me, Captain. However, you should be worried about yourself, breaking the company’s plans so recklessly; when the company…”

Gao Yuan interrupted him, ”Li Tao, nephew of Executive Director Li Wangchuan, is considered one of the most powerful in the Steel Council, even above Zhong Cheng and the others.”

Li Tao, exposed, showed no shame on his face, though he was a bit surprised, but these were just some obvious information, nothing critical.

”I just rely on my uncle’s connections, without him, I wouldn’t have any power.”

”Oh, really?” Su Huan looked at Tong Zizhan beside him with a smile.

The latter sneered, ”He himself is a senior manager in the Steel Council, originally managing the evolutionary research direction, before later switching to being the general manager of the Steel Council. He may not handle all affairs, but he’s definitely involved.”

Beside him, Gao Yuan added, ”From my observations, he should have already advanced to Tier One, but as a collector, not using abilities makes it hard to observe.”

Listening to the two of them reveal all his history, Li Tao’s heart grew cold.

Who exactly are these two people?

His promotion to general management was a recent secret move, done using his uncle’s power without formal appointment, known only to a select few in the board of directors.

Is there a traitor in the board, leaking secrets to the armored train?

Were he and his uncle’s every move being surveilled?

Li Tao felt increasingly heavy at heart.

Su Huan’s smile deepened, applauding, ”A far-sighted one, you two are impressive. From now on, you’ll be the third team of the armored train, and car 19 will be your independent carriage. The corresponding rewards will arrive by tomorrow morning, you may go now.”

The two were dumbfounded at his words.

They aimed to capture Li Tao for a promotion, but not in the armored train!

Tong Zizhan wanted to explain, ”Captain, I…”

The Captain waved a hand dismissively, ”I know it wasn’t easy for you to uncover this information, go rest.”

Seeing the coldness emerging in Su Huan’s eyes, the two lost the courage to confess, and slinked out of the carriage in defeat.

Back in the rear carriage, the two exchanged looks, unable to find words.

Gao Yuan mouthed to him, ”What exactly does this mean?”

Tong Zizhan was also stunned, encountering this situation for the first time, inadvertently achieving success while undercover and being lazy.

He had worked diligently at Deep Blue Data for years without such a big contribution, where could he find justice?

And there’s another issue to consider.

If they continue working on the armored train, what if they keep getting promoted?

Will they return to the company?

”Let’s just keep at it for now, and find a chance to talk to the captain privately.”

…

After the two left, Su Huan instructed Lin Jin to close the door.

He then leaned forward, interlocked his fingers under his chin, squinted and asked, ”I’m more curious, what does the dual domain represent?”

Li Tao froze for a moment, then looked up to scrutinize Su Huan, while streams of data flickered madly within his eyes.

After a long pause, he suddenly laughed coldly to himself.

Su Huan paid no mind, knowing this question obviously revealed he had no big power backing him.

But none of that mattered, he only wanted an answer.

Lin Jin, who was closing the door, paused upon hearing the question, even his actions softened.

Turning around, he fixed his eyes intensely on Li Tao.

He was no fool; since Su Huan asked specifically, clearly there was something up!

It involved his sister, he couldn’t afford to be careless.

Li Tao’s cold laugh seemed both like a vent and self-mockery, but it didn’t last long.

He said something unrelated, ”Your physical condition isn’t right, Su Huan, you’re going to die!”

He spoke with certainty, as if he had determined Su Huan’s death.

Lin Jin looked horrified, while Su Huan remained unaffected.

For a moment, the three had different expressions in the room.