Armed Train in the Apocalypse

It wasn’t until Xiaozhao stepped onto the gangway and entered the train that Ge Mian looked at the departing train and sighed softly.

”Comparison is the death of joy.”

...

The train started to fly towards the position of the Tier Two Traveler’s Tree, twelve kilometers away. This time, the number of mutant plants that blotted out the sky along the way was significantly fewer.

Those that reached Tier Two either ran away or were casually taken back by the conductor.

After learning about the strange existences outside of Donghuang, Su Huan did not destructively destroy the entire Plant Zone, but he had no qualms about killing one or two High-Tier Evolutionary Life forms.

One of the rules of evolution is mutual devouring. Since he currently has the strongest evolution level, he should logically squeeze other lives to push himself to a higher level.

In the armed hall, Lao Er walked with his hands behind his back between the two rows of soldiers lying on the ground.

He was shouting ”One two, one” in rhythm.

With the rhythm of the chant, the soldiers performed varied push-up and get-up movements.

He Jie’s foundational training in Lao Er’s hands became a new variety.

It was no longer simply up one and down two, but following the rhythm. If Lao Er’s pitch dragged on, they had to slow down; if the pitch quickened, they also had to quicken their pace.

Neither fast nor slow would do, and being out of sync was unacceptable!

The rubber roller was the baton, the soldiers’ bodies were the rising and falling soundwaves. In the powerful rhythm, the soldiers’ movements were seamlessly uniform, pristine without a trace of impurity.

It wasn’t that no one protested that this training was ineffective.

But as Lao Er put it, this is foundational training, a way to relax their brains. If they can’t even do this right, they might as well eat shit.

All the training in the new recruits’ camp uses him as the standard.

No matter who it is, as long as they can do any task better than him, they can skip that task training.

So far, only one or two people have experienced this privilege, but a week later they were defeated again by Lao Er and returned to training.

As long as there are no mission orders, whether it’s takeoff or war, the new recruits’ camp must conduct normal training. Even if the sky falls, the soldiers of the new recruits’ camp cannot miss a day of practice.

”You keep going, I’ll tell you some things as you do.”

Lao Er stomped on one soldier attempting to slack off with an extended hand, and the latter’s face turned purple, yet he dared not make a sound.

Only when Lao Er walked away did he discreetly withdraw his hand.

”You’ve been training for over a month, and it’s time to evaluate your results. When the time comes, you’ll be grouped based on your assessment performance, whether joining the veteran team or the new recruits team, it all depends on this assessment result.”

Upon hearing this, everyone was somewhat excited.

The remaining veteran groups on the train have all fought their way through battles, possessing excellent combat and survival skills. Entering these groups significantly increases one’s chances of survival.

”But, let me say one thing upfront.” Lao Er turned his head, his gaze icy as he scanned each person, ”You can be cowardly, can fear death, or even refuse to save others, but you absolutely cannot stab in the back in battle! This is ironclad law!”

”If the conductor finds out, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

The hearts of the new recruits tightened, and those few veterans who had experienced the Old Wu incident before Zhijin couldn’t help but twitch their facial muscles.

They had witnessed firsthand the methods of the conductor.

Not to mention those who acted, even the onlookers had nightmares for a long time.

As for the woman who personally killed her lover, she went mad a few days later, and then disappeared. No one mentioned her again, as if everyone forgot such a person existed.

”Did you hear me?!”

”Heard it!”

The response from the crowd was full of vigor.

Lao Er nodded in satisfaction, ”Hold this posture. In ten minutes, go prepare. This time, your assessment location is right here in this Plant Zone beneath your feet.”

”Yes!”

Lao Er turned and entered the combat preparation room, leaving a few instructors to supervise the soldiers.

”The situation in the Plant Zone is hard to control.”

A voice came from the car window, and Mountain Goat spoke.

Lao Er habitually scanned the environment, then nodded towards Qu Hang, who was clutching a sniper rifle in a corner without any presence, and said, ”Which battlefield can we really control?”

Mountain Goat scratched his head helplessly as he looked at the ominous jungle glowing red beneath his feet, ”True.”

His ability was special, unable to evolve accompanying skills for a long time, resulting in him still being at Tier One, seeing everything as a deadly expanse of red.

Even He Jie didn’t take his judgment as a reference anymore.

Lao Er rummaged through his gear in a nearby cabinet, checking it as he said, ”But I can’t be sure whether this assessment will work out; in the end, it still depends on the conductor.”

”Boom!”

The door to the combat preparation room swung open, and He Jie stormed in, laughing, ”Lao Er, the conductor agreed to your assessment request, and he will personally oversee it, so you can give it your all!”

Lao Er paused, and a hint of a smile appeared on his face.

...

As the Armed Train moved forward, fully armed soldiers were deployed in batches like dumplings.

Su Huan sat on the trunk of the Crown Pear Tree, looking at the pitch-black sky above and the ominous forest below, feeling the abrupt bursts of energy fluctuations. His eyelids twitched, ”Are they using me as a mentor.”

He had never cleared this forest of mutant plants, and the new recruits were without top-tier battle suits like the mongoose or even secondary armed trench coats. They relied solely on pre-apocalypse tactical gear in this dangerous mutant jungle, relying purely on hard strength.

”Whoosh—bang!”

A bright distress flare exploded in the sky. Su Huan glanced at the clock hanging on the Crown Pear Tree and noted that only about a minute and forty seconds had passed; he immediately regretted agreeing so readily.

But things had come to this; he had to bite the bullet and get it done first.

”Day after day, just keeping me busy...”

A soft sigh dissipated in the wind.

Deep in the mutant jungle, feeling the ”battle” information from mutant plants coming from all directions, the Tier Two Traveler’s Tree found itself in a dilemma.

Since the last visit by that powerful and domineering guy, the peaceful days here had been disrupted.

Yet the Traveler’s Tree decided to wait some more.

Not because Su Huan promised to bring some good food, but because pulling out now after just taking root would severely damage its vitality.

The intensity of the combat energy wasn’t very high, only a bit dense, unlikely to affect it.

The thinking speed of the Traveler’s Tree was not fast; every conclusion took over ten minutes to form. This was its usual state; as a tree, slowing down life’s pace is the key secret to longevity.

Talking so much to Su Huan last time and thinking about so many things had drained its vitality considerably.

Who knows how many leaves had withered.

But there was no other way; withering was better than being snapped off by that bastard.

As it shook its head and muttered internally, suddenly a faint but pure Life Energy wafted over; even that tiny wisp made it tremble thrice.

The rustling of the leaves shook three squirrels down.

”Life Energy?!”

”Where is this Life Energy coming from?”

Though it hadn’t seen a Crown Pear Tree or knew one existed, it understood this essence could help it evolve! The feeling was like a baby smelling milk, instinctively falling in love with it.

The Traveler’s Tree, much like a dog, swung its canopy in the direction from which the Life Energy wafted, the roots almost itching to upheave.

It didn’t have to wait long. The wisp came closer to its core atmosphere, soon just three kilometers away, when suddenly strange energy fluctuations came from above, and the Traveler’s Tree curiously extended its perceptions.

The anti-gravity devices and thrusters beneath the Armed Train disturbed the air currents, roaring as they barged into the Traveler’s Tree’s vicinity.

A familiar figure carrying two people appeared on the Traveler’s Tree’s branches.

”This is, this is...”

[Take a keyboard next time, but I have a herniated disc, usually just lying down writing in the gaming cabin, sitting writing for a bit causes back pain. Does anyone have any good solutions for going far? Lying at home feels so uncomfortable.]