Armed Train in the Apocalypse

Everyone here has managed a power before, so they immediately understood what was going on.

Lord Lian didn’t dwell on the matter but presented Jiao Ting with two choices.

The former was to merge into Donghuang Heavy Industry, the latter to remain independent, but Donghuang Heavy Industry would find them a new location in the Gravity Zone, offer protection, trade bias, and provide some material compensation.

Jiao Ting calmly asked, “Can I ask a question?”

“Please go ahead!”

Lord Lian said.

Jiao Ting was somewhat puzzled, “Why do we have to move?”

“Because there’s something we need in the Floating Land.”

Lord Lian didn’t elaborate, not out of dishonesty, but because the other party didn’t understand the knowledge related to rules. She was here to negotiate, not to educate them, and if it weren’t for Su Huan’s sake, she wouldn’t have even given that explanation.

Su Huan sat with his eyes half-closed, silent. Although he didn’t need the Rule Stone of [Gravity], according to Yu Yao, when he removed all the stones to patch the loopholes, the existing ten Celestial Disaster Zones would also disappear, balancing the cycles and restoring natural harmony.

These anomalous Floating Lands in the Gravity Zone would also fall.

By that time, it would be too late to move, and no one knew whether these things would land gently or plunge down vertically.

Moving now seemed fine.

Jiao Ting nodded in relief, “What about the timeline?”

“The sooner, the better.”

…

The executor, who had lined his pockets, had already been embedded in the Floating Land by Lord Lian, and by then he would ascend with the Floating Land.

The crowds on the Floating Land carried their large bags and small bundles down the ropes, like ants.

Members of the Heavy Armor Brigade stood aside, their guns slightly lowered, watching them indifferently, as if looking at a completely different species.

Su Huan sat at the edge of the Floating Land, with a distant gaze, “Are these still the original Warriors?”

“A third of them have been replaced, the rest… the apocalypse has lasted too long, like someone leaving their wife home alone for so long, they’re not sure whose she is anymore.”

Lord Lian’s tone shifted, sneering.

Su Huan: “Eh???”

Is this woman hinting at me?

His expression only stiffened for a moment before becoming natural again, saying lightly, “Yu Yue is busy taking care of the children at home.”

Lord Lian’s lips twitched, “Do you have a girlfriend?”

“I have a wife.”

“I mean before the apocalypse.”

Su Huan thought about it, not very sure, “Probably not, why are you asking?”

The woman crossed her arms and gave a disdainful look, “With your initiative, even if a goddess jumped into your arms, she’d remain pure as a virgin!”

After saying that, she gave him a hard stomp and left in a huff.

Watching the woman’s back, Su Huan smiled helplessly. When it comes to serious matters, Lord is quite courteous, but once she gets angry, her honeyed words are unbearable even for him.

As they spoke, all two thousand people on the Floating Land had already evacuated. The last one to leave, Jiao Ting, came to sit next to Su Huan, handing him a cup of murky alcohol.

Su Huan took it without any hint of disgust and drank it down.

He wiped his mouth, smiling, “With your ability and Donghuang Heavy Industry’s protection, maybe in a couple of years you could advance to a small power.”

Jiao Ting stared blankly below, “Actually, I haven’t wanted to live for the past three years, just didn’t manage to die back then.”

“Living, evolving, gaining power, isn’t it good?”

Su Huan uttered each word deliberately, but unfortunately, Jiao Ting didn’t react to any of them.

“You’re already very formidable, the most evolved person I’ve ever met.” Jiao Ting turned to him, “Can evolving to your level bring the dead back to life?”

Su Huan mused, “I can’t, but other evolution paths might, and mastering power gives you choices, like ending this apocalypse.”

“Ending this apocalypse, can it bring everything back to how it was?”

Jiao Ting pointed at him, then at himself.

“You’ve become even more dignified than before, but look at me, do I even resemble a human?”

He wore a pale yellow leather coat, beneath the rough fabric was leather-like skin with a foul smell, and the exposed skin was covered in scars that even Evolvers couldn’t heal, his eyes like two dark wells, devoid of light.

Jiao Ting pointed to the two distinct groups below, “Once, they shared beliefs and circumstances, trusted each other with their lives; can you restore that?”

Finally, he touched his chest and sorrowfully said, “I’ve even lost her portrait, even if she returned, would I be able to recognize her?”

These three questions had been building up for a long time, but they weren’t directed at Su Huan, not even at himself, because he didn’t know who to ask.

The daylight slowly fell in Su Huan’s dark eyes, and the two quietly sat at the edge of the Floating Land, each finishing Jiao Ting’s three-year-old liquor.

Saying whatever came to mind, Jiao Ting spoke mostly of things before the apocalypse. Regarding the time after, he claimed he had no recollection, saying the days flowed like water, flooding over all at once.

When conversation ran dry, he asked Su Huan about the world outside Gravity Zone.

Upon hearing about the military guarding the Otherworld’s exit, this man remained indifferent, taking sips of alcohol to jolt nerves numbed by the apocalypse.

Not until the drink was gone did Jiao Ting stand up, exhaling a faint alcohol breath, “I want to go see the Eternal Night Zone.”

“That’s a death wish.”

“Yes, a death wish.”

Seeing his determined stance, Su Huan sighed, “In a while, Donghuang Heavy Industry will send people north, you should go with them, or else as a Tier One Evolver, you’ll die on the journey.”

Jiao Ting agreed, but Su Huan couldn’t tell how much he took in.

Even dying on the road, or in the Eternal Night, was what he seemed to pursue.

What else could he say?

By the time he snapped out of it, the ground beneath the Floating Land was already crumbling, huge chunks of earth and stone crashing down, Lord Lian appeared beside him holding a pitch-black stone, calling out lightly, “Let’s go.”

The personnel’s organization was handled by people from Donghuang Heavy Industry, Su Huan and others naturally didn’t need to stay here.

But Su Huan’s plan to quickly sweep through the Gravity Zone collapsed. Even with poor emotional intelligence, Su Huan knew he couldn’t leave an upset woman alone for too long, lest she grow distant.

The three walked northeastward, covering several hundred kilometers, which for three non-human beings was just a moment’s distraction.

When Su Huan came to his senses, he already heard the sound of He Shui’s rushing waters.

“Is this… the Four Nations Peninsula?”

Su Huan was somewhat surprised.

“What, you’ve forgotten your own outpost?”

Lord Lian remarked blandly, carrying a stone across He Shui.

Both Su Huan and Ah Duo followed behind.

None of them glanced at the nearby bridge and outpost.

The ground of the Four Nations Peninsula was still pockmarked, as if the battle that took place here just happened yesterday. Su Huan seemed to hear He Jie’s rough shouting.

Before the last ray of twilight disappeared, the three crossed Tan Junyue and arrived at the peninsula’s end.

The setting sun spilled across the lake like molten iron, cascading copper streams from the dome above to the water’s surface. Two enormous water creatures, each with a neck stretching twenty or thirty meters, burst forth and returned to the lake, dense vapors wafting faceward, leaving Su Huan stunned.

Lord Lian dropped the stone in his hand, explaining coolly, “Remember how you erased the pit left by the Four Nations here? Because it connects to the sea, it turned into this large lake, where occasionally sea beasts would wander in. Now it’s a sea creature resource site, sustaining thousands along the coast.”

“Your armed train’s outpost is just ten kilometers away—want to check it out?”

Su Huan dazedly stared at the vast lake before him, curiously asking, “Are you trying to comfort me?”

Lord Lian was unmoved, “I’m simply showing you the marks you left, so you’re not rattled by a few words.”

“My mom often said, carry what you’re supposed to, run when you need to; if it’s your responsibility, you can’t shirk it, if it’s not, why burden yourself with nonsense?”

Su Huan, his face grim, slapped the woman’s flexible waist, “Young lady, stop speaking crudely.”

Lord Lian shrugged, “It’s the apocalypse; can’t I enjoy some freedom of speech?”

“Were you ever refined before the apocalypse?”

“Not really, just not as frequently.”

Naturally, the woman leaned against Su Han, her face lined with weariness.

She was merely venting pressure this way, and when commanding troops in the Eternal Night Zone, he too spoke candidly. Every waking moment required overseeing the lives of thousands, a pressure hard to describe.

Su Huan wrapped an arm around her, letting the woman settle in more comfortably.

By dusk, the woman, as nimble as a cat, emerged from his embrace, energetic like a she-wolf, without a trace of fatigue.

“Take the stone if you need it; if not, I’ll take it back and see if it helps Lian Jin become Tier Four.”

Su Huan glanced at his shoulder, still bearing indentations, “Not going to rest a bit more?”

“Go about your business.”

The woman picked up the Rule Stone and left without hesitation.

Su Huan inexplicably… felt somewhat used.

Loosening his shoulder, he spotted Ah Duo swimming in the lake off in the distance, and the two resumed their journey.

This time, they moved at a slower pace, reaching the Spore Zone by daylight, far more verdant than at departure. After three years of growth, towering giant umbrella mushrooms spanned hundreds of meters, and the dark red Fungus Carpet was thicker than ever.

Standing on it, they felt like dwarves in the Mushroom Kingdom.

To Su Huan’s surprise, Ma Hongyu was already waiting for them.

Compared to three years ago, Ma Hongyu hadn’t changed much, still sporting a mushroom-themed outfit, and with a broad cap atop his head, he greeted Su Huan as if he were a theme park NPC.

Sitting on three years’ worth of stories, he eagerly unloaded onto Su Huan within hours.

His speech rapid like a machine gun.

Su Huan didn’t interrupt, just listened with a constant smile, occasionally picking a new mushroom to taste.

“…You’ve become far more patient than before.”

Ma Hongyu remarked toward the end.

“Are you referring to when I last visited the orphanage?” Su Huan asked.

“Did Yu Jing tell you, or did you recall on your own?”

Su Huan smiled, “Thanks to your sponsorship, that winter the orphanage added pork to the sour cabbage and frozen tofu.”

Ma Hongyu’s face cycled through complex emotions, “Are they well? After my old caretaker retired, I haven’t visited much…”

Su Huan silently shook his head.

Ma Hongyu, understanding his gesture, naturally shifted topics.

They had seen too much death, nothing left worth lamenting.

Ma Hongyu understood a Rule but was far from Tier Four. Though among the first to become a Tier Three Evolver, he now lagged behind.

Su Huan felt powerless to assist.

Will, character, talent, understanding, luck… To reach Tier Four, none could be absent.

During these three years, Ma Hongyu also found another Enlightenment Rule Stone, but it was useless. The Rule he understood was unrelated to Enlightenment or Destruction; it was Vibration, fitting the theme of sound.

Then Su Huan briefly recounted events after leaving the Spore Zone, including the apocalypse’s origins.

Ma Hongyu decided to accompany him, having no desire to remain here. Unable to gain insight after three years, staying seemed pointless; perhaps wandering would fully realize the Vibration Rule and achieve Tier Four.

Before departing, Su Huan visited the Flower Sea where Lu Xiao and the others disembarked.

After three years of evolution, the Flower Sea rebuilt and expanded considerably. A glance revealed a sky filled with bright yellow mushroom lamps.

No harm, let it be an endless wedding.

Su Huan turned away to leave.

A breeze swept through, and the mushrooms in the Flower Sea bowed their heads in unison.