Armored train in the apocalypse

Chapter 222 Only bite the hook, don't take the bait.

While Li Han and other survivors were being settled outside the train, Su Huan arrived at carriage 44, which, along with the three carriages following it, housed Director Xu's laboratory.

Because a strict disinfection procedure is required every time someone enters, Su Huan is generally unwilling to come over unless there is a specific reason.

Even if something happens, we'll call Director Xu out.

The first thing you see is a narrow equipment carriage, not the futuristic white and blue color scheme of the 2, but a mix of heavy industry and futuristic technology, leaning towards pragmatism.

2035 is an era of rapid development. New technologies and equipment are just emerging, while old equipment has not been phased out. In addition, in order to adapt to the train environment, these devices have undergone some anti-collision and balance modifications, which are like mechanical patches.

At the very edge, a few flimsy chairs and a small round table were placed, which served as the laboratory's reception and waiting area.

As soon as he entered, Su Huan saw Lin Xi and Xiao Hezi sitting there.

The little box stood up. "Train conductor."

Su Huan nodded. "What are you doing here?"

"Lin Jin has something to do, so he asked me to accompany Xiao Xi for the checkup."

"Kobayashi still doesn't quite trust me."

Director Xu pushed open the door of the last carriage and walked in. He was wearing a white coat, his hair was neatly combed, and even his gray eyebrows were tidy.

The little box smiled without saying a word, while Lin Xi remained unchanged, her eyes unfocused, feigning ignorance.

Director Xu scrutinized Su Huan with sharp eyes, and after a moment he smiled and asked, "The aura concealment device is working?"

Su Huan raised his wrist. "Not bad. What's the situation with the Crown Pear Tree?"

Director Xu told Lin Xi and the other person to go back first, and then led Su Huan inside.

On the control panel is a branch of a crown pear tree, where researchers are busy among various instruments.

Director Xu explained, "During our research, we discovered that although the branches of the Crown Pear Tree are separated from the main trunk, their life cycle is the same. Regardless of the size of the branches or whether they bear fruit, as soon as the main trunk of the Crown Pear Tree begins to wither, the vitality of the other branches will also begin to weaken."

Su Huan frowned deeply. "Even the branches planted in the carriage farm wither?"

"Yes, I specifically went to verify it, and its vitality has completely declined."

I thought everything would be fine after the transplant, but I never expected this to happen.

Thank goodness we didn't throw away the main stem, otherwise we would have been in trouble if the remaining pears had withered and died.

After advancing to the second tier, the rate of life force consumption is much faster than that of the first tier. If you want to continue advancing to the third or even the fifth tier, you can only have more treasures to replenish your life force, not less.

No matter what method is used, we must save the crown pear tree.

He asked calmly, "What needs to be done to save this tree?"

Director Xu pointed to the nail plate and said meticulously, "We'll stand the main stem up and provide it with nutrients. The results aren't guaranteed, but it's the only feasible solution at the moment."

Su Huan scratched his head and squinted at the tree branch on the control panel.

A crown pear tree that is a full forty meters tall is no small project to erect.

Forget about putting it on the train.

A strong wind could overturn the entire train.

You can only make one vehicle, stand it up, and then place it behind the train to tow it.

How much time do we have left?

Director Xu pondered for a moment, "The decline in vitality was only recently discovered. Given the vigorous vitality of the Crown Pear Tree, it should take at least a month, but there's a possibility of it increasing later on, so I can't guarantee it..."

Su Huan calmly said, "Shu Wei, send a message to the factory director and Vice President Deng. Within twenty days, erect the Crown Pear Tree for me. All resources and manpower of the train will be at his disposal."

The busy secretary looked up and said, "Vice President Deng is in the back carriage 47. He hopes to discuss the details in person."

"Let's go."

Having just left Director Xu's office, Su Huan went straight to the factory manager's office.

The factory director and Deputy General Manager Deng were in three carriages, which corresponded to carriages 47, 48, and 49 of the bullet workshop.

Fortunately, the carriages are small, so it only takes a short time to go in and out of the carriages.

Deputy General Manager Deng and his team mainly handle the daily maintenance of the trains, such as the routine maintenance of the robotic arms, the maintenance of equipment inside the carriages, and also carry out some upgrades and modifications on the existing trains, adding functional modules.

This relieved some of Yu Jing's workload.

The latter's main focus has now shifted to new material research and development and exoskeleton manufacturing.

As soon as the door opened, the sound of a chainsaw cutting materials could be heard.

Vice President Deng, who wore small glasses, and the factory director were discussing something, their brows furrowed.

The two men saw Su Huan and quickly came up to him.

Gone were the usual formalities; his first words were, "Train conductor, I'm confident I can erect the Crown Pear Tree within twenty days, but you need to give me the materials and the manpower."

Su Huan's eyes brightened slightly. "How many do you want?"

Vice President Deng said earnestly, "At least three thousand!"

"Three thousand...no problem."

Su Huan's eyes flashed, a fierce glint appearing in them in an instant.

Shu Wei, who was standing to the side, frowned as she took notes. There were only a little over a thousand people on the entire train, not to mention that some people were in special positions and could not be moved. Even counting the two hundred survivors on the deck, there were still two thousand short.

Where are we going to find so many people?

……

Li Han was woken up by hunger in the early hours of the morning.

Feeling the slight coolness on his face, he gripped the blanket tightly and sat up.

Survivors were sleeping haphazardly on the train deck, with soldiers standing guard interspersed among them.

Because of the disaster, they became accustomed to very short sleep periods, and one by one they either endured hunger and pretended to sleep, or whispered among themselves.

Another day has passed.

Li Han subconsciously looked at his palm, and the thought of becoming an evolved being filled him with a great sense of unreality.

He was lucky; he awakened the ability in the "Manipulator" field on the spot, called "Plant Affinity," and the soldiers even glanced at him several times when they were registering him.

Is this skill really that powerful?

However, no one came looking for him after that, including the woman named Mongoose.

It seems to be of average quality.

They were neither allowed onto the train nor kicked off it yesterday.

The soldiers gave each of them a blanket and they slept on the deck.

One person became an evolved individual in the "Defender" realm, capable of denting even a metal bucket with a single punch, and wanted to enter the train to rest.

As a result, he was brutally beaten into a pig's head by unarmed soldiers, stuffed into a sack and hung by the side. Less than half an hour later, accompanied by a shrill scream, he was bitten in two by something underwater, leaving only half of his thigh hanging there.

The remaining survivors were horrified to discover a fact: even the most ordinary soldier or staff member on the train...

They are all evolved beings!
Now no one dared to question He Jie's orders.

As he thought of this, Li Han's stomach growled loudly.

A sudden surge of intense hunger welled up inside me.

I'm not usually this hungry.

However, the two pieces of chocolate and the glass of water yesterday had awakened his sense of taste.

"You have one minute to stand in front of me."

That burly man, who looked like a bear, came again yesterday.

Upon hearing his voice, Li Han subconsciously recalled his brush with death yesterday and quickly stood up.

He Jie naturally recognized him.

"Not bad, the kitten didn't pull you out of the woods for nothing."

He Jie grinned, his gleaming white teeth resembling those of a ferocious bear ready to devour its prey, a sinister and unsettling sight.

Li Han's scalp tightened, but his gaze fell on He Jie's back, where soldiers brought over some three-meter-long, one-meter-wide iron boats, as well as a large number of ropes.

But there weren't many, only about thirty. The rest were rafts made of materials similar to decks, not whole pieces, but pieced together from scraps of wood. There were also life rafts, and the rest looked more like junk, such as half a car body that had been cut off and was still covered in water stains, as if it had just been pulled out of the water.

There were also some odds and ends, such as fishing rods and empty mineral water bottles.

"Following the order in which you gathered, you can choose your own boat. You will be on the water for the next period of time."

As soon as He Jie finished speaking, the crowd erupted in an uproar.

Li Han was also startled.

Stay on the floodwaters?
With just these small tin boats?

Putting aside the monsters underwater, if the waves were any bigger, we'd all drown, right?
Even if they all awakened their evolutionary abilities, they still wouldn't survive. Not to mention those who had just awakened, even someone as powerful as Chen Lei wouldn't dare to go into the water.

But Li Han didn't rush to ask, and quietly waited for He Jie to continue.

Seeing that the commotion gradually subsided, He Jie, having not yet received a direct challenge from anyone, cursed him as a coward with slight disappointment.

He Jie first explained the train's points system, focusing on the goods that could be redeemed.

Then comes the task for everyone: normally they hang next to the train, collect floating objects on the water, explore the surrounding waters and buildings, and when the train has work to do, they can receive some construction tasks. All activities can accumulate points.

"Once you accumulate 1,000 points, you can get a spot on the bus."

This sentence, in particular, made the eyes of the survivors, including Li Han, light up.

Seeing that everyone was in good spirits, He Jie stopped arguing and started eating.

The logistics team brought up a large bucket of meat porridge, giving each person a full bowl.

When Li Han saw the bowl full of thick meat porridge in his hand, he was no longer shocked.

With its superior strength, it's only natural that the armed train could gather more supplies.

Although he wanted to gulp it down, the scalding hot meat porridge forced him to take only small sips.

After finishing a bowl of meat porridge, Li Han felt like he had come back to life.

Then, guided by the soldiers, they began to choose their own ships.

Each person can only choose one boat, one rope, and two miscellaneous items.

The first two options were easy to choose from, so Li Han directly selected a metal boat and a thick rope.

As for the last two miscellaneous items, Li Han was somewhat perplexed.

He wanted to choose a fishing rod, but he felt that those mutated plants were subtly attracting him.

'I almost forgot about my own abilities.'

Once he realized what was happening, Li Han used "Plant Affinity" again to sense his surroundings.

His gaze unconsciously fell on the massive main trunk on the distant deck.

"You want that tree?"

A questioning voice came from behind.

Li Han looked back and saw that the mongoose was still wearing a large, dark green combat uniform, but because it was raining today, it was wearing a darker rainproof windbreaker over it, which was longer than knee-length.

He was no different from the soldiers around him.

(The old military uniform style of the armed train was obtained from an armory)

Li Han tentatively asked, "Is that alright?"

The meerkat frowned and said, "Of course not, but a branch is still possible. If you want to be sure, I can apply for it for you."

Feeling the powerful attraction from the tree trunk, Li Han nodded firmly, "I'm sure."

"Okay, wait here." The meerkat walked towards He Jie.

Soon, He Jie's mocking voice echoed across the entire deck.

"Is this a way to let your boyfriend abuse his power for personal gain? Sure, but the points you lose will be deducted from your salary."

The meerkat's gaze was calm; she had long known that He Jie wouldn't let this opportunity to strike her slip by, so she remained composed.

The thought of having her salary docked made her hesitate for a moment, but when she thought of her past self and the woman who had died, she nodded.

Although I can only do some trivial things.

But it's better than keeping quiet.

The surrounding soldiers glanced at him and then ignored him. He Jie would find an excuse to belittle the meerkats every day, and if he could find fault with them, he would give them a merciless beating.

But under He Jie's high-intensity training, the meerkats not only did not break down, but became more courageous in the face of setbacks.

Within the entire armed forces reserve, its evolutionary strength and combat effectiveness rank among the top, subtly catching up with those officers.

Moreover, meerkats are very vengeful; if you dare to laugh at her, you'll be in for a few cuts during the next training session.

As for the so-called "little boyfriend," just ignore him. You don't need to listen to anything He Jie says except for orders.

In the entire armed forces, apart from Yu Yue and a few others like Eighth Master, who hasn't been scolded by He Jie?
Seeing this from afar, Li Han clenched his fists in anger, believing that he was the one who had brought humiliation to the meerkats.

"Bam—"

The tin boat has begun to be launched.

Li Han also received a branch from a crown pear tree.

It's about the thickness of a thumb and three meters long.

However, he also lost the opportunity to choose another item.

After securing the rope to the train, Li Han jumped onto the tin boat with the tree branch. The small boat rocked much more than the train deck, but compared to those who got rafts, he felt somewhat lucky.

Those people got themselves soaked to the bone just from jumping down.

I glanced at my tin boat; although it was cramped, there was still a place to put a blanket.

Setting the branch aside, Li Han looked at the miscellaneous items not far away.

His most pressing concern right now is figuring out how to have dinner.

One method is to search on the water or inside buildings, and the other is to find high-value items and exchange them with the train.

Besides food, you can also exchange for various tools, and even ship expansion services.

With enough points, you can build a small boat into a floating fortress.

Soon, Li Han encountered his first problem.

The nearest floating object was more than ten meters away from him. How could he reach it?

Just then, the armed train behind him slowly started moving, and the rope pulled his small boat closer to the floating object.

……

"You start with a single boat, and all your equipment depends on looting."

"At the end of the flood, I struggled to survive on a small raft."

Which is more appropriate?

Su Huan stood on the roof of the right-hand auxiliary carriage, looking at the survivors who were being dumped like dumplings.

He Jie touched his buzz cut. "There's something there. But why are you up so early, train conductor?"

Su Huan glanced at him with a half-smile and sighed, "If it weren't for Colonel He's impassioned voice waking me up, I would have stayed in bed for several more hours, since I just went to sleep this morning."

He Jie gave an awkward laugh, but didn't respond.

"Shall we go to Xiushui City next?"

“No.” Su Huan shook his head. “Let’s gather all the survivors in Guanchong City first.”

He Jie paused for a moment, looked at the survivors below, and then looked at Su Huan with a puzzled expression, "Are we using them as bait? They'll all be dead in a couple of days, won't they?"

In any case, no matter what he does, given the train conductor's personality, he definitely wouldn't do good deeds.

"fishing?"

"That's true, but I don't like to do business at a loss. The bait is for the fish to see, not for them to eat."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a large fish, more than two meters long, leaped out of the water, capsizing a small tin boat and jumping out of the water.

Su Huan snorted coldly, his eyes flashing with lightning.

A thick bolt of lightning leaped from his fingertip, pierced the air, and struck the fish.

After a series of crackling sounds, the large fish, stunned by the electric shock, fell back into the water.

The person who fell into the water cried for help frantically, and small boats nearby rushed to their aid.

The minor incident caused a commotion.

He Jie clicked his tongue. "Protecting so many people is quite a workload."

Su Huan waved his hand dismissively, "It's up to you now."

He still needed to see the design drawings that the factory manager and his team had worked on overnight.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye. The train circled the entire Guanchong City, rescuing more than 3,000 people and some supplies.

The most valuable item is a helicopter on the rooftop, but it is partially damaged and will need to be repaired for some time before it can be used.

There are also various metallic materials, such as copper cables, titanium alloys, tungsten steel and other high-value metals.

Xiao Ba has been working overtime these days, building over a thousand small iron boats.

In addition to the main body, the armed train is now covered with a dense array of small boats.

It's like a big fish with a bunch of babies.

He ran rampant throughout Guanchong City, luring and killing countless zombies and mutated beasts.

The greatest gains were also in evolutionary materials.

The price was that He Jie almost suffered a serious injury from exhaustion.

At the beginning, there were only 200 survivors, which was manageable. Two soldiers from the armed corps were responsible for each survivor, and there were still 100 people to take turns or deal with emergencies.

With the subsequent surge of 3,000 people, even He Jie had no time to rest.

Every now and then a big guy will jump out.

Ordinary soldiers couldn't handle it, so only officers could, and later even the third brother's combat team joined in.

More than 500 people were killing day and night, and the manufacturing team was too busy collecting materials.

The fighting continued until today, and things have improved considerably. Basically, all the threats in Guanchong City have been eliminated.

Every now and then, some large fish that have been swimming outside will emerge from the water.

He Jie, clutching the heavy machine gun, lay down on the roof of the vehicle, smoking a cigar to stay alive, and squinting at the situation below with dark circles under his eyes.

With their immediate superiors all staying home, Qu Hang, Shan Yang, Lu Xiao, and Tong Zizhan naturally had to stay up as well.

Footsteps sounded behind him, and He Jie was about to curse a few words to vent his anger.

Then I heard a sweet "Dad".

He quickly turned his head and saw his daughter, who was wearing a dress, walking towards him. His lips instantly curled into a wide grin.

"Zhenzhen, what brings you here? Don't come over here later, this side is slippery, I'll go over there!"

He Jie rushed to his daughter's side in two steps.

He Zhenzhen pouted and said, "You haven't been home for meals for several days, so Mom asked me to bring you some food."

He Jie took the lunchbox, his old face beaming with joy, but he quickly put on a stern face and said, "You two don't need to worry about it. I'll go back as soon as I'm done with my work. Also, don't come up here next time. It's windy and slippery up here. What if you fall into the water?"

"Fierce-looking..."

He Zhenzhen muttered, "Then you eat, I'm going downstairs."

"Okay, go down quickly."

He Jie ate heartily while watching his daughter leave.

But as I looked at it, something felt off. Was this going to be the train carriage?
Why are we on the deck?

Who's in charge of that section of the defense line...?

As He Jie thought about it, his eyes widened like bells.

"Damn it! Qu Hang!"

He Zhenzhen was naturally unaware that her father was already furious.

A quick glance from the edge of the shadows revealed Qu Hang, who was holding a sniper rifle and had an extremely low profile.

She walked over quickly, the hem of her long black dress fluttering in the breeze.

Qu Hang, who was slacking off and pretending to doze off, twitched his ears and looked slightly puzzled.

Why is He Jie scolding him so early in the morning?
He raised his eyelids and saw He Zhenzhen walking towards him.

"How did you come?"

The girl had a faint smile on her face as she carried the food box in her hand. "I brought food to my dad, but my mom made a lot, and I thought he couldn't finish it all. We've already eaten, so it would be a waste to take it back. I brought it to you instead."

Qu Hang's eyes flashed with surprise, but he didn't expose the girl.

Of course, a teacher wouldn't do something that could cause a misunderstanding.

Seeing the girl's expectant gaze, Qu Hang swallowed his refusal and took the lunchbox.

"Thank you."

"Okay, then you can eat slowly, I'll head back now."

After saying that, He Zhenzhen didn't linger and turned back to the carriage.

Qu Hang was about to open the lunchbox when he felt a chilling gaze. He raised his eyelids and sure enough, it was He Jie standing above him, staring at him with a dark face.

Once He Zhenzhen's figure disappeared, He Jie jumped down with a stern face and snatched the lunchbox from Qu Hang's hand.

Upon opening it, he sneered, "Chicken legs too? What kind of class are you? Eating the same food as me?!"

Qu Hang wasn't short of a meal. As one of the few high-ranking officers on the armed train, he was allowed to eat in the dining car with the train conductor, where rice and meat were plentiful.

However, seeing He Jie holding a half-eaten meal in his right hand, he couldn't help but ask, "Didn't the colonel say he couldn't finish it?"

He Jie glared at him. "Get lost! Who said I can't finish it? I'm going to eat two portions, what's it to you?"

"Are you bored? How about I find you some work?"

"You just wait and see, you're not allowed to have any designs on my daughter, and you're even more not allowed to have any designs on my wife!"

'That's not what you said last time.'

Hearing that He Jie was being unreasonable, Qu Hang shrugged, turned around, and jumped onto the hood of the car.

It's not worth getting beaten up for a meal that's not even worth it.

Having experienced so much since the apocalypse, Qu Hang's feelings for his teacher had long since faded.

But he couldn't say those words.

Even after I told him, He Jie didn't believe me and thought I was just adding fuel to the fire.

(A bit unlucky, caught a cold and fever and slept all day. This place is my nemesis, I keep getting food poisoning and gastroenteritis. But I've reached 6k words, and I usually update 4k words tonight.)

(End of this chapter)