Armored train in the apocalypse

Chapter 221 Train Rules: Instructors Don't Count to Two
Chen Lei looked at the handsome and serene young man in front of him, a hint of confusion flashing in his eyes.

He hadn't even started yet, and he'd already...lost?
He didn't even see how many enemies there were before he was knocked unconscious by a flying shield. When he woke up, he was kneeling on the deck, half of his body aching as if he had been trampled by an elephant.

The young man in front of him was moving his lips as if he were speaking, but why couldn't he hear any sound?

My ears keep ringing?

He Jie pointed to Chen Lei kneeling in the middle, "It should be him. He has a level three 'Earth Affinity' skill, which allows him to manipulate sand, dust, and things like that, but he couldn't use it. Old Liang took him down directly, and it seems he was knocked deaf."

"Are you deaf?" Su Huan frowned. No wonder no one answered him. "Then apologize properly and take him away and execute him."

He Jie scratched his head, "So particular..."

He tossed the heavy machine gun to the soldier next to him, grabbed Chen Lei by the neck, jumped onto the train next to him, whispered a few words in his ear, pulled the grenade pin out of his mouth, and kicked it out.

The water surface was smashed open by a heavy object, making a splash, followed by a muffled thud.

The people on the deck were filled with despair at the sight of such a brutal scene, especially the thin men kneeling in front, who were already trembling.

Chen Lei's evolutionary ability is the strongest among them.

Although most of the flooded area is flooded, the living people still live in buildings on the water.

In this situation, Chen Lei's abilities are simply abnormally strong.

With just a thought, you can make the entire building beneath your feet collapse.

There's nowhere to run.

But who knew the armed train would be so ferocious? Before they could even make a move, they felt a sense of suffocation.

Then they were defeated and captured.

Su Huan clapped his hands, startling everyone.

"Alright, tell me who's next in charge?"

Before He Jie could point him out, everyone around looked at the thin man on the far side.

Even though there was a cool breeze on the deck, cold sweat instantly broke out on the latter's forehead.

"Snapped!"

A hand landed on his shoulder, and Su Huan squatted down in front of him with a smile. "So it's you. What do you think of my men after you've been in contact with them? Is there a chance to take them over?"

The thin man was momentarily speechless, his pupils dilating slightly.

So they all knew!

How did they know?
Su Huan was slightly dissatisfied with his reaction. "Why aren't you saying anything? I forgot to take it out for you."

Before the gaunt man could react, Su Huan had already pulled the pin off the grenade that was in his mouth.

Seeing the metal ring spinning in his hand, the gaunt man was instantly terrified.

Ignoring the gun barrels around him, he used both hands and feet to forcefully pry the grenade out of his mouth, tearing his lips open and drawing blood. Before he could even throw the grenade, a muffled "bang" was heard.

The bright flames flashed by in an instant.

The thin man felt as if the world had slowed down.

Is this what it means to have memories before death?

After a moment of stunned silence, he realized that something seemed amiss.

The shattered flames did not expand further; instead, they slowly shrank before the handsome young man's eyes, eventually collapsing into an almost imperceptible dot.

Disappear.

The thin man collapsed onto the deck, tears streaming down his face, whether from fear or pain, it was hard to tell.

Time continued to flow at its normal pace around him, but it slowed down for him at that moment.

"Oh right, what was I going to ask again?"

Su Huan scratched his head awkwardly; he always messed up when it came to things that required improvisation.

Hearing the gentle voice beside him, the gaunt man felt as if he were hearing the whispers of a demon, and his pupils were filled with uncontrollable fear.

"There were big storms a while ago, and we were blown here. Our ship was dragged down by a sea monster, so we can only stay here and see if any passing ships can give us a ride..."

Seeing that the other party was talking like beans pouring from a bamboo tube, no one looked down on him at all.

Tong Zizhan, who had already been promoted to captain, gave Gao Yuanbi a thumbs up.

They expressed their approval of the train conductor's methods of torture.

I didn't even think about what to ask, and I just drove people crazy.

Su Huan no longer needs to oversee the rest; he can leave it to He Jie and the others.

Interrogation is a meticulous process. Even if the other party's psychological defenses have been broken down, extensive questioning is still required to corroborate the evidence and avoid misinformation caused by slips of the tongue.

The train is quite well-equipped in this regard. Needless to say, He Jie's elite soldiers are excellent, and among the people who surrendered to Hei Yuan, there is also an interrogation expert and a profiling expert, both of whom are masters of their craft.

Finally, there's Lin Xi as a safety net.

The ability to read minds is practically a bug.

However, he generally wouldn't use her unless absolutely necessary. Besides him, perhaps only Director Xu knew that Lin Xi could read minds.

After all, the latter is the chief research expert of the Steel Council. It's normal for him to have some doubts about Lin Xi's abilities after studying for so long.

Su Huan went into the dining car and waited for a while.

Besides him, Yu Yue was the only person in the carriage, quietly grinding some beans behind the cabinet.

After only about the time it takes to drink a cup of coffee, Shu Wei walked in with a stack of documents.

"We've already found out. These survivors are from two groups. The six leaders came from elsewhere some time ago. Their settlement was in a county outside Guanchong City. They were scattered by the storm a while ago when they came out to collect supplies. As for the 'New Eden' they mentioned, it's a religious force and not on the list of leading forces."

"It should be a small, newly formed force after the apocalypse, whose gathering place is on a small island in the middle of 'Jingchao Lake'."

Upon hearing the words "religious forces," Su Huan's eyes suddenly flickered, and he interrupted, "Have you ever heard of a force called the Cult of the Machine God?"

Shu Wei recalled for a moment and said decisively, "No, all the leading forces before the apocalypse were companies or special organizations that were transformed. There were none with religious affiliations, including those of our Donghuang that have been passed down for a long time."

The Cult of the Machine God was a powerful force in his previous life, and he originally thought it was a frontrunner like Deep Blue Data and Black Kite.

Unexpectedly, the latter was reborn after the apocalypse.

That would be interesting.

The fact that "religious forces" could catch up with these large companies so quickly in just a few years after the apocalypse is itself extraordinary.

Another important clue has been found.

Su Huan smiled happily.

He wanted to see where these demons and monsters could hide.

Seeing the sinister smile on Su Huan's face, Shu Wei suppressed the urge to ask questions and continued her report.

"There are 216 survivors remaining from the local residents of Nanshan Highlands, including four evolved individuals and two special talents. There is still some food and living supplies upstairs. What should we do with them?"

Su Huan raised an eyebrow. "Why are there so few evolved humans?"

"Most of them were killed by Chen Lei and his men."

"Oh, all the tough guys have been killed, leaving only a bunch of cowards..."

He'd seen this kind of thing countless times. To survive in this godforsaken world, it was impossible not to lose something.

They would have been allowed on the train before, but now that the train is at full capacity and can operate in a good self-sustaining manner, Su Huan naturally doesn't want these burdens.

Just as I was about to suggest putting these people back where they came from, Shu Wei offered her suggestion.

"Perhaps we could build a station in the flood zone, like the Shunan station."

"I went through all the trouble of building this station, and then a flood washed it all away. It would be better to have two small boats follow the train and scout out any whirlpools or sea monsters..."

As he spoke, Su Huan realized that his idea was quite good. He had previously fallen into a misconception: issuing tasks was only for passengers, but there was no need to force them to get on the bus.

As long as the train can provide what they want, they can be driven to do some laborious and dangerous work by issuing tasks, such as underwater excavation or road exploration.

This is a good method; it eliminates the need to maintain them and avoids wasting train space.

It's similar to the relationship between a rhinoceros and a oxpecker, where the oxpecker helps the rhinoceros peck off parasites, while the oxpecker provides them with a stable food source.

"Have the manufacturing and research teams research some small boats or similar things, as long as they can float. They don't need to install propellers. Just give them a rope and tie them to the train. Then find some small tasks to get them moving. After all, they've been lying down for so many days. Let them warm up first so they won't be unable to eat later."

Su Huan stroked his chin and spoke clearly and logically.

Shu Wei's eyelids twitched wildly upon hearing these words.

Floating up?
Tie it with a rope?

This sounds like scattering bait and preparing a fishing spot before fishing...

With all that stuff in the water, do you think these two hundred people can survive until tomorrow morning?

I thought the one who made everyone dig the pit that night was already a tyrant, but now it seems he's actually quite gentle with his own people...

Shu Wei, who considered herself cold-hearted, even felt guilty for the two hundred survivors.

If she hadn't mentioned it, they would have been thrown back upstairs by now.

Although there's no guarantee they'll survive.

But the death wasn't so swift.

Just as she was taking notes, a message came through on the tablet.

"Director Xu hopes you can come over as soon as possible, as the vitality of the Crown Pear Tree is gradually weakening."

……

Li Han lay numbly on the floor, his hands outstretched at his sides, his face pressed against the ground without any regard for his image. Even though he could vaguely smell the damp, fishy odor from the ironwood, he showed no intention of getting up.

He had never felt so comfortable lying down, and he didn't care about things like whether it would get dirty, how it looked, or his dignity.

"Woke up!"

Li Han felt someone calling out to him.

But the sluggish nerves showed no intention of moving.

Since we might not even survive anyway, let's do whatever makes us comfortable in the final moments of our lives.

There was no movement for a long time.

Perhaps that person is getting impatient. What awaits them?
The muzzle of a soldier's gun?

Li Han managed to turn over, facing upwards, wanting to see if his guess was correct.

Unexpectedly, what came into view were two tall figures and a face with a slightly serious expression.

Before he could react, a hard object was shoved into his mouth.

After a moment of dryness, a long-lost sweetness returned to my mouth.

"I can give you some water. Blink if you need it. If possible, it would be best to stand up before the colonel arrives to prove you are healthy..."

The meerkat whispered a reminder.

While Li Han was still in a daze, He Jie strode over and stood behind her.

"What are you doing?"

"He seems to have low blood sugar," the meerkat said calmly.

He Jie didn't care about any of that. He wouldn't miss any opportunity to mock the meerkat. "I thought you were flirting with him. And you, you pretty boy who's playing dead, the train won't waste a single drug on you, but I don't mind sending you a bullet. If you can't get up within three counts, I'll shoot you!"

Then he looked up and shouted to everyone on the deck, "You're all the same, if you can't stand up after three counts, kill you all and throw you overboard to feed the fish!"

"three!"

He Jie, with a half-smoked cigar in his mouth, let out a low growl.

He drew the pistol from its holster and cocked it with a swift flick of his wrist.

Before Li Han's sluggish mind could figure out what was happening, he suddenly felt a tremendous force coming from his shoulder. When he came to his senses, he found himself already standing up.

"one!"

"boom!"

Li Han was startled and looked down.

A 9mm bullet was embedded in the ironwood deck.

The spot was exactly where his head had been lying, and the water stains from his head were still there.

If he hadn't been pulled up, he would be dead by now.

Thinking of this, cold sweat broke out on Li Han's back.

He Jie sneered and tapped Li Han's forehead with the muzzle of his gun. "Kid, you've got a lucky break."

Then he walked towards the crowd behind him.

He walked past a fat man who was lying on the ground and hadn't gotten up for a long time, and shot him in the forehead.

This scene made the survivors who were still slowly observing quickly get up.

Li Han then looked gratefully at the meerkat beside him, "...Thank you, my name is Li Han."

The meerkat shook its head and walked forward. "He never counts to two. Remember the rules of the train. They are ruthless when they come at you. Keep your thoughts to yourself. Staying alive is everything. I am now called a meerkat."

'Mongoose.'

Li Han silently repeated the name twice in his mind and memorized it.

The soldiers then did not cause them any further trouble.

They also had someone bring them some water, but only a small amount, about the size of a disposable paper cup for each person, just enough to quench their thirst.

Li Han held it in his mouth for a long time before slowly swallowing.

The cool, clear water slid into my stomach, and a rumbling sound immediately filled my stomach.

Every cell in his body seemed to be activated, and an immense hunger struck him; he felt as if he could eat a whole cow right now.

Instead of providing them with food, the train gave each person two candies.

Because he was near the front, he received two small pieces of chocolate. Later on, they gave out all sorts of candies, including soft candies and hard candies, and some even received popping candy.

In addition, there was a small, transparent crystal about the size of a fingernail.

They haven't said what they do yet.

After drinking water and eating chocolate, Li Han felt his energy had returned to a lot. Although he was still starving, he was no longer as close to death as before.

Seeing that everyone was almost done, He Jie gave a look to the rabbit beside him.

The latter held up a first-tier universal energy crystal and addressed the crowd, saying, "What you hold in your hands now is the key to becoming an evolved being!"

"Next, I'll teach you how to use it. I'll only say it once, so listen carefully!"

Li Han, who had been doubting, suddenly became alert and gripped the polymorphic crystal in his hand tightly.

This is actually the way to become an evolved being!

The reason why the neighborhood committee members and Chen Lei and his gang can act so arrogantly is because they are evolved beings!
He always thought that becoming an evolved being was a random awakening, but he never expected that it was actually achieved through items.

What he found even more unbelievable was that the train had given them such a precious prop!
More than two hundred people!
(Sorry, my neck is a bit sore today, so I'm updating a little late. I'll make up for it with an extra 2k words tomorrow.)

(End of this chapter)