Armed Train in the Apocalypse

Four vials of the potion: two were drunk by Su Huan and Lin Xi, one is ongoing research, and one is stored in inventory.

Secondly, the method to decipher the basic potion’s formula has been discovered, and recently Wan Xing started making it.

...

Five more days passed.

Yu Jing, after numerous attempts, mastered the method of extracting Tier Two materials and began extracting them in large quantities.

The manufacturing group started stockpiling various Tier Two composite materials for train upgrades.

On Shu Wei’s suggestion, the train opened a tailor shop under the logistics group, managed by Little Box.

The person was transferred from the research group to the logistics group and then promoted a level.

They say Little Box designs beautiful clothes.

Su Huan expressed doubt.

But last time, Professor Ma didn’t make things difficult for him, so he had to give Mr. Ma some respect.

After all, it’s just half an idle carriage and some fabric costs, so it’d be a good deal to tie in Lin Jin.

Perhaps due to the enclosed environment of the carriage, Lin Jin and Little Box’s relationship progressed rapidly. She has moved out of the dorm and into Lin Jin’s room.

Old Liu also repaid with a bottle of wine.

After living underwater for a while, many people have also paired up.

”People choose to forget the pain and start a new life in the new environment. Perhaps this is a symbol...”

Uncle Hu wandered through the carriage, occasionally writing furiously.

It’s not that he enjoys gathering gossip, but being in a key position managing the logistics group, he inevitably learns much more than the average person about everyone’s living conditions.

Not everyone has maintained their pre-apocalypse moral habits, forming new families.

Some have embraced a more open, new mindset.

Like some elite soldiers having multiple women or multiple men.

However, no orgies are allowed on the train, as it affects combat effectiveness and morale. If caught, it’s a grave issue - collective execution.

The train manager’s mood on the day dictates the specifics.

Given these conditions, some long-standing professions began to reappear on the train.

Su Huan didn’t call for the eradication of these traditional industries; he had just one requirement: pay taxes.

No matter the job, essentially, everyone works for the train and the train manager, but only this profession is purely for oneself, making taxation inevitable, and the tax rate is a steep half.

Thus, the train saw the first profession that had to pay taxes.

...

”Knock, knock!”

”Time to eat!”

A lithe and graceful figure flitted past the door; when Su Huan looked up, he only caught sight of a flash of silver.

He asked casually, ”What time is it?”

Standing beside Su Huan, Shu Wei glanced at her wristwatch, ”It’s exactly noon, and you’ve been working for seventeen minutes.”

”Ah, I’ve worked really hard today.”

Su Huan stretched lazily, supporting his face with one hand and looking down at the journal on the table.

”March 7th, Water Rapid”

””

Including punctuation, it consisted of just nine characters.

This was the result of his whole morning’s work.

A bountiful harvest indeed.

After hesitating for a moment, he flamboyantly added a few more words.

”Request for Leave”

Satisfied, he closed the journal, ”Let’s go, eat!”

...

The murky seawater receded a little, exposing more buildings and structures.

Sunlight filtered through the sixteen-meter-deep water, casting a sickly greenish glow like melted verdigris suspended between the buildings.

A rusted security door slowly creaked open under the water pressure in a darkened window.

A bloated sofa, an overturned coffee table, and a white corpse pupa floated in the living room.

They swayed with the water current.

Suddenly, the corpse pupa jittered, producing the sound of fabric tearing, and a pair of glowing red spots appeared in the pitch-black slit.

Then came an arm covered in mucus, with something like fish fins retracting from the side.

The moment it touched the water surface, it extended to nearly half a meter long.

With a splash.

A shattered corpse pupa was the only thing left on the water’s surface.

The zombie quickly moved through the broken window to the outside of the building.

Its spine elongated like that of an eel, with the tailbone extending a translucent fin membrane that swayed gently with the water current.

Scarlet eyes peered through the murky floodwaters, gazing deeper into the depths.

The entire commercial street lay submerged in eternal darkness.

Water pressure twisted the display window glass, and the broken limbs of mannequins were wedged in the window frames, their bobbing wigs resembling some kind of deep-sea creatures.

However, what truly caught its attention was the gigantic creature at the bottom.

Like a giant dragon coiled in the water, enveloped by countless massive deep-sea worms, hundreds or thousands of bodies were restrained by the worms, suspended in the water, encircling the gigantic creature.

It resembled some bizarre ritual.

The water around surged, and a dark silhouette appeared unexpectedly beneath the feet of the zombie.

But before it could wrap around, the fish fins on the zombie’s foot paddles suddenly spread open like sharp blades, slicing through the deep-sea worm.

In the next moment, the zombie burst forth underwater with unbelievable speed, trailing a stream of fine bubbles toward the gigantic creature.

There lay vast amounts of flesh!

Flesh enough for him to ascend to a higher tier!

...

”Already melted through over a thousand?” Su Huan remarked in slight surprise, taking a bite of steak.

Sitting opposite him, Lin Jin nodded, ”I’ve been trying whenever I have time recently. The density of deep-sea worms has slightly decreased, and through training, my ability has evolved again, burning faster.”

”Does that mean we’re about to escape?”

Su Huan’s eyes carried a hint of astonishment.

”Maybe in a few more days...” Lin Jin scratched his head uncertainly.

Beside them, Shu Wei chimed in, ”The outside flood has receded. According to calculations, as long as the number is below a thousand, the train’s power is enough to break free, but it requires the assistance of the on-board ’Power Supplier’.”

Rarely hearing good news, Su Huan’s mood improved.

He suddenly thought of something, pointing to an empty seat, ”By the way, why isn’t Liang Kuan here for dinner?”

”He hasn’t been in good shape recently…”

Yu Yue, standing beside Su Huan serving dishes, said softly.

Su Huan raised an eyebrow, ”Not in good shape?”

Liang Kuan was more robust than a bull, could he actually fall ill?

He Jie instinctively rubbed the bruise at the corner of his mouth, ”Maybe it’s because he hasn’t ascended to Tier One, and the stress is too much. He’s been training like crazy lately.”

Su Huan glanced at He Jie’s bear-like appearance, trying hard to suppress the corners of his mouth from curling up.

”Didn’t it all get added to you?”

He Jie smacked his lips, ”If you want to laugh, go ahead.”

”Tsk, what are you talking about.”

”Next time I’ll remind him not to hit the face. It’s not good to go home and be seen by the wife... Hahaha, I don’t even dare to compare pure strength with him. I’m surprised why you haven’t been beaten into a swollen pig’s head by him.”

He Jie glanced at a few empty seats at the end, smacking his gums, ”We all went together, and Mountain Goat’s face is already swollen like a mountain pig. It’s really puzzling; Liang Kuan’s fists are exceptionally hard…”

Su Huan laughed enough, gently shaking his head.

Liang Kuan was fully equipped with all kinds of resources, and he was full of vitality, with high basic attributes that were terrifying.

His strength even exceeded Tier One standards, but it was unclear why he remained stuck there.

There was nothing he could do about that.

It wasn’t just Liang Kuan; during this period, except for Yu Jing, no one else had ascended.

However, everyone’s skills had improved.

Occasionally someone awakened a new skill, overall, the power of the armed train was still strengthening.

Once Tier One Evolvers appeared in batches, the armed train would completely solidify its position.

Suddenly, Yu Yue and Su Huan both paused while picking up food.

”It seems like some interesting changes have occurred.”

Su Huan used his chopsticks to take the steak from under Yu Yue’s knife, leisurely chewing and swallowing.

Shu Wei had already stood up.

What he held was no longer pen and paper, but the combat tablet used in past missions.

Calmly, ”The command station reports that a large number of mutated Tier Two Zombies have appeared outside the train and are fighting with the deep-sea worms. The pressure on us has significantly lessened, and we are close to the breakthrough standard.”

”Isn’t this the opportunity?”

Su Huan tossed the chopsticks onto the table, took a hot towel to wipe his mouth.

Everyone simultaneously put down their chopsticks, straightened their backs, and looked toward Su Huan at the main seat.

”Notify all groups to prepare for departure, the Armed Corps and combat groups prepare for battle!”

”Yes!”

As soon as Su Huan’s order was given, the temporary ”Power Supplier” squad formed by four groups instantly injected massive electricity into the train.

This electrical energy was converted into power, and under the pull of the [Xuanjia] locomotive, the entire train roared to life.

The accumulated mud and debris on the train were shaken off.

The end of the mechanical arms near the propellers was replaced with blades and saws, beginning to frantically cut through the deep-sea worms entangled around the propellers.