Armed Train in the Apocalypse

The woman looked curiously at the eerie trio standing at the door, ”Is it a bomb?”

”No!”

Bomb suddenly turned his head away, his head hitting the tree trunk with a dull ”thud.”

His iconic red hair was completely flattened.

Jiang Rong smiled warmly at Xiao Hong and walked into the new recruits’ camp.

On the other side, the long-necked young man hanging there exclaimed, ”I didn’t expect you really know someone from the train!”

Bomb retorted irritably, ”Bullshit! I don’t know them but you do?”

The young man sneered, ”I really do know them!”

”Then who just passed by?”

The young man paused for a moment, unsure about the person who had just left. Hesitating, he said, ”It shouldn’t be someone who got on the train recently; otherwise, I would’ve somewhat remembered...”

Bomb immediately sneered, ”You don’t even recognize people and you’re playing the fool! The person who just passed was Black Star Master Rong’s own mother, an armed train captain, and you don’t even know that yet act like a big shot! Idiot!”

The young man’s face reddened, ”I actually don’t know, but I got on at Pingqiao Village; maybe she had already gotten off by then...”

Xiao Hong suddenly asked, ”Do you two know each other?”

”No!”

They said simultaneously.

Xiao Hong frowned, ”Then why are you arguing?”

”This redhead insulted me.”

”Your neck looks like a hanged ghost’s neck, so people can’t say anything?”

”I’m called Goose; is there a problem with having a long neck?”

”...”

Xiao Hong instantly felt his head expanding.

He suddenly felt as if he were back home facing thirty aunts and sisters.

Thankfully, this agony didn’t last long; a soldier came out to tell them they could go inside to officially start the testing.

Maybe that gentle woman earlier pleaded for them, but Xiao Hong felt relieved; it’d be good to pass the test and stay clear of these two idiots.

...

After a month’s design, the blueprint for Zhijin Armed Station has been fully established.

Because most buildings are pre-existing, there isn’t a need for major upheaval, just simple repairs.

Chenxi Square is a large commercial plaza, occupying thirty thousand square meters, roughly the size of several football fields, with an underground layer adding up to around fifty thousand square meters in total.

The new city hall was divided into a core area centered on Chenxi Square—City Hall.

At the same time, Zhijin’s largest nearby market, the Scavenger Black Market, was also relocated to Chenxi Square.

Extending out for one street is the range of departments for the three bureaus and two institutes; given the current administrative scale of the station, not even a street, a single building would suffice, though initially not extending too far impacts the city’s overall scale.

In this period, three large communities have been cleared out, including shopping malls, schools, and other facilities, for settling the Scavengers.

These are not evenly spaced concentric circles but designed to maximize population capacity.

While the space is the same, communities can certainly accommodate more population than commercial streets.

However, after experiencing the apocalyptic upheaval, many are unwilling to live in cage-like buildings and lack enough trust in City Hall’s promised security.

These people will modify existing buildings to meet their inner security needs.

This creates numerous troubles for practical planning inside the station.

So even after a month has passed, the station’s construction hasn’t achieved the immediate impact Su Huan imagined; the more people involved, the more the impact expands, even a dictator train conductor isn’t an exception.

But it’s not without benefits.

The stationed armed train is like dandelion seeds landing on the ground, both decorating the land and absorbing nutrients to grow strong.

Everyone knows a real post-apocalyptic human city has emerged in Zhijin.

Not a planned or ready-to-conquer city, but a large city truly reclaimed by humans.

People who received this news came from dozens or even hundreds of kilometers away, overcoming various deadly disasters, eager to see this city of hope.

They might not bring any resources, but they do bring news from hundreds of kilometers away.

So even if the armed train hasn’t moved recently, Su Huan receives a hundred times more news about the world than before.

On the second floor of the dining car, only five people from the secretary group worked with the vigor of a thousand troops.

Yet, in a way, they manage more affairs than any thousand troops.

The station’s city hall was hastily built and every department in the three offices and two institutes almost needed train guidance and connection. Even if the conductor had enough, the train chief was insufficient.

Thus, the long-awaited secretary group by Su Huan formally went online.

Most were high-end secretary talents screened from ten thousand people; three men, two women, plus Shu Wei forming a temporary six-person secretary group.

”Sister Shu, the thirteenth batch of tests today revealed two Tier One Evolvers, one from the crew and one from the troops. I’ve left the data and lists here, and the electronic copies have been sent to you via intranet.”

A man in his thirties dropped the materials and hurriedly returned to his seat.

Another quickly followed, saying, ”Sister Shu, there’s a special report: a force called Limu Ecology has created a safe zone, massively recruiting Scavengers.”

”Okay, leave it here.”

Shu Wei said without lifting her head.

”Sister Shu, this is the new materials collection list...”

”Sister Shu, this is the Scavenger supplies adjustment plan.”

”Sister Shu, the food production bureau requested two more experts to be transferred from the train; their iron-skin pumpkins have all died.”

”Sister Shu, the Guard Corps over there discovered...”

”...”

Various voices rose and fell, occasionally overlapping.

Yet, regardless of the challenges faced, the secretary general could always clearly prioritize the issues, mobilizing various departments for resolution.

The longest-serving secretary with Shu Wei had only been with her for half a month, but they were all impressed by her capabilities.

As night fell, the dining car’s second floor remained brightly lit, the fresh scent of ink mingling with that of coffee, even the sound of turning pages showed no signs of slowing down.

Shu Wei picked up the organized materials on the table, stood up, ”I’ll go make a report to the train chief; handle the rest yourselves. I’ll arrange for dinner to be sent up; let me know if there’s anything you’d like to drink; it’s a special perk authorized by the train chief.”

”Wow...”

”Long live the train chief!”

The room erupted in cheers.

Once Shu Wei directly crossed to car number 1 from the second floor, the joyful expressions among the crowd quickly subsided, quietly continuing their work at a more rapid pace than when Shu Wei was present.

They’re all adults and aren’t that emotional.

But since the boss provided a benefit, some emotional value still needs to be expressed.

Shu Wei stood in front of car number 1, checking her appearance against a metal reflection beside her, ensured there were no issues, and lightly knocked three times before pushing the door open.

The train chief never locks the door, but that doesn’t mean she can skip knocking.

The door opened, a rapid beat came from inside, like someone was slapping some smooth leather object.

Shu Wei stood on the second floor overlooking.

In the center of the room hung a sandbag with a diameter of one meter, and Su Huan stood beside it, bare-chested, hair casually draped behind him, using his electrically wrapped palm to slap the sandbag. Each slap scattered electric currents, brightening the room suddenly.

It was like a poor electrician attempting to fix a bulb.

Shu Wei did not interrupt, quietly standing aside watching.

Su Huan slapped the sandbag for the last time; though the outcome remained unchanged, tiny electric arcs scattered fleeing, but the sandbag seemed to have been hit by a 120 km/h train, emitting a deep cracking sound, flying backward.

”Boom!”

The train wall let out a muffled explosion.

Su Huan grabbed a shirt, casually putting it on, not bothering with buttons, directly walking over.

”Finished?”

Shu Wei placed the documents on the table, shaking her head, ”Probably another all-nighter; do you need a secretary to help handle it?”