Armored train in the apocalypse

Chapter 244 The Problem of Train Power Supply
(Illustrations of cultivation chambers; one depicts the "Hanging Gardens" of ancient Babylon, and the other is a concept art of the Ling Cage scene.)
Perhaps many years from now, the floating park will become a world wonder like the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, but for now it is just a small circular altar with a diameter of thirty-five meters.

There's practically no cover; you can see right to the bottom with just a glance.

There are three tiered rooms on both sides. Although there is one more floor than the train, the clever design makes the ceiling height feel less oppressive.

Although these buildings squeeze the interior space, they are not grounded but rather partially suspended in the air.

This space is specifically reserved for low-light plants that are sensitive to light.

The bottom room is only three meters deep, while the middle rooms are five meters deep and extend outwards by more than two meters, completely covering the bottom room.

These ground-floor rooms are specially designed to store materials, experiments, and other items that need to be kept away from light.

After all, the train needs to support thousands of people on a long-term basis, and occasionally take care of five thousand survivors.

You can never have too much storage space.

The top floor, the third floor, is the same as the bottom floor, only three meters deep. It is similar in size to a soldiers' dormitory, except that the entrance is slightly narrower. Only 30 double dorm rooms can be built there, and the extra space is used to build public restrooms.

The relatively ample space on the second floor can be used for experiments and temporary activity areas.

Although it only added a few double-decker carriages in terms of area, psychologically it was like giving everyone on the train a sigh of relief.

In your spare time, there's room to walk around, besides the deck and inside the car.

It won't be so restrictive.

Su Huan toured the place and found that many details inside were not yet installed. The logistics and research teams were busy testing the water, electricity, cameras and other infrastructure in various corners.

In the short time it took him to walk around the corridor twice, he saw Hu Shuo running around in a flurry of activity three or four times downstairs.

Although it caused some delays, from the moment the cultivation module was launched, everything had to be done by the crew themselves.

The survivors are no longer qualified to enter this place.

Su Huan walked along the passageway to the crown pear tree in the middle, and then climbed the spiral staircase to the top of the tree.

The people who were talking stopped immediately when they saw him.

They cast a look of awe upon them.

Leading them were Huang Hai and Xiao Wang, with the rest being Li Han and four plant-related evolvers.

Li Han is the "manipulator" here, while the rest, including Huang Hai, are the "creators" and "collectors".

The latter two professions are not directly related to plants; they both determined their direction when they awakened their second skill.

Awakening a new skill so quickly makes one stand out among five thousand people.

When the giant tree was erected, Li Han had interacted with Su Huan for a few days and was somewhat familiar with him. After Huang Hai finished greeting him, he respectfully addressed him as "Train Conductor".

Su Huan and Lao Huang exchanged a few words. Lao Huang talked about the grafting of pears and their ideas on changing the fertilizer ratio.

Su Huan pretended to listen. Although he didn't understand, he could memorize all the terms and data that Lao Huang mentioned with his strong memory. He could simply refer to them when needed.

Only then did he turn his head to look at Li Han.

Those narrow eyes put him under immense pressure.

His life trajectory changed dramatically in just a few days after encountering the train.

First, he encountered a meerkat, narrowly escaped death from He Jie, became a plant evolver, and rose to become one of the best among the three thousand survivors, barely gaining a sliver of confidence to control his own destiny.

Then he was personally recruited into the armed train by Hu Shuo, the head of the logistics team.

Participating in the "Floating Giant Tree" project, and being at the most crucial core.

At first, he didn't have this concept, but later he found out that the entire armed train's busy work for a whole month revolved around this giant tree. Li Han felt both nervous and excited.

The entire cultivation chamber project was built specifically to erect this tree.

As the person who can extend the life of this tree, he must be important to some extent, right?

But the ruthless style of the armed train still made him tremble.

Before he could even feel anxious for a few days, the entire 2,000 people at the Tieshan shelter, including Old Man Tie and the Qi brothers, were forcibly moved there by the train conductor.

Li Han's awe for the train conductor reached a new peak.

But after getting to know him, I found that the train conductor was...quite kind.

He also does not have the terrifying habit of killing people at will as rumored.

He just liked to sit high up and daydream, occasionally sweeping his narrow eyes coldly over the busy crowd below.

Even if they see someone slacking off, they won't say a word.

When he arrived today, the flight attendant told him to perform well. He pressed her for an answer, but she just smiled mysteriously.

Upon seeing the train conductor, Li Han's heart pounded like a drum.

"I hope there won't be any problems having you manage the cultivation chamber, right?"

The train conductor's voice was very gentle, as if he were asking him what he had eaten that day.

However, the content of those words stirred up a storm in Li Han's heart.

Such an important project as the cultivation chamber was entrusted to him?
Although he didn't spend much time on the train, he figured out the train's promotion rules.

Flight attendants below level three are mostly responsible for specific tasks, such as cooking, repairing specific equipment, or working in production positions.

Once you reach level four or five, you'll basically be in a management position, leading a group of people to be responsible for a production line or an important role.

Like the glasses on the front console of a train, its authority is second only to the chief purser.

If we put him in charge of the cultivation chamber, does that mean we're jumping straight to Level 5 flight attendant?
Jumping four levels in a row?!
Thinking about the benefits associated with Level 5 flight attendants, Li Han felt a surge of excitement that made his body tense.

What they showed was standing frozen in place.

Seeing that he didn't answer for a long time, Huang Hai immediately understood what was going on.

The train conductor doesn't like to talk nonsense. He might say important things in casual conversation, but it can be very sudden for people who are not familiar with his style, always catching them off guard.

He quickly patted him on the shoulder and laughed, "Don't just get excited, hurry up and make a promise!"

"I'm sorry, I was so excited I didn't realize what was happening, but I assure the train conductor I will definitely..."

Li Han said excitedly.

He was halfway through his sentence when Su Huan shook his head and interrupted him. He didn't care for formalities. "Just start doing this. If you do well, you'll get better treatment. If you don't, you'll just bury yourself as fertilizer."

The four people around, including Xiao Wang, all cast envious glances their way.

Since the reform of the train system, promotions have become increasingly rigorous, and positions are extremely limited.

Those first-tier evolved beings like Black Kite were all hanging around as first and second-tier crew members.

Li Han's luck is simply incredible. He's only been here a few days, and the train conductor has already singled him out for a promotion, saying that he's doing a good job and deserves better treatment.

But they're all sitting in these seats now.

There's no comparison. As long as you don't cause trouble, aren't you doing a good job?

Li Han thought Su Huan was encouraging him in this way, and nodded repeatedly.

Su Huan frowned slightly. The Crown Pear Tree was of utmost importance and could not be taken lightly.

So he tapped Li Han and the other four on the head with his finger and said seriously, "Maybe I didn't explain it clearly. The tree can stay as long as the people are gone. If the tree is gone, the five of you will become fertilizer."

Upon seeing Su Huan's dark, ink-like pupils, the five men froze, speechless.

Su Huan didn't care what they thought.

It's human nature to slack off and be lazy, but it's also human nature to be afraid of death.

Having finally secured a stable life on the train, no one feels their life is worthless, risking it for a moment of carelessness.

"Alright, take me to see the pears."

Su Huan turned and walked towards the higher treetops.

The group jogged to catch up.

……

After Su Huan went through all the details of the cultivation chamber, the train had successfully connected with the cultivation chamber.

A large number of materials and components were moved from the train to the cultivation chamber.

The train whistle sounded outside, signaling its start. By the time Su Huan leisurely arrived at the front of the train, it had already left Guanchong City.

The number of buildings visible above the water gradually decreased. Occasionally, one could still see some ruins that looked like they had been bombarded.

These are all the results of He Jie's hunting efforts over this period of time.

All those items that could potentially threaten the train's existence have now been broken down into various materials and thrown into the warehouse.

As Su Huan stepped onto the control platform, Shu Wei whispered behind him, "Chief Flight Attendant Hu is coming to see you."

"what's up?"

"Regarding train energy."

Su Huan thought for a moment and asked doubtfully, "I remember a batch of fuel was just delivered to the warehouse a few days ago, right?"

"Approximately 120 barrels, totaling 24000 liters of fuel."

Shu Wei accurately reported the numbers.

"Not much..." Su Huan tapped his forehead. "How much fuel is left in the car?"

"Sixty percent."

The train had a total of 100,000 liters of fuel in reserve, and 60% of that is 60,000 liters.

This is the result of replenishing supplies along the way.

Unfortunately, most of the oil in Guanchong City is hidden in the water, making it very difficult to retrieve. He Jie has spent the last few days going to great lengths to retrieve just over 20,000 liters.

But that's just a drop in the ocean.

Now there's a cultivation chamber hanging behind it, and inside the cultivation chamber is a supercomputer.

Although he hadn't seen the specific report yet, Su Huan felt it was a terrifying number.

Soon, Hu Shuo walked in hurriedly, looked around, and quickly climbed onto the command platform, handing over a stack of data before he even arrived.

Shu Wei, who was standing to the side, took the book and began to read it quickly.

Hu Shuo ignored her and said to Su Huan, "Train conductor, we're running out of energy."

Su Huan was taken aback. "Isn't there still 60,000 liters left?"

Hu shook his head. "I set up an energy team in the logistics group to charge the train's equipment regularly every day to reduce fuel consumption. After all, nearly 50% of the energy is lost when generating electricity from fuel. I've used almost all the energy suppliers, rotating them every day. In addition, we keep getting fuel from Captain He, which is barely enough to keep up with the consumption."

"According to the latest calculations by experts, the train's monthly auxiliary power consumption is close to one million kilowatt-hours."

Su Huan was shocked. "One million kilowatt-hours? One million kilowatt-hours of electricity? And that doesn't even include the energy consumed while the train is running?"

Hu said with a wry smile, "Yes."

"Where were they used?"

Shu Wei, who had just finished reviewing the data, immediately explained, "The majority of the money is used for various laboratories. Laboratories need stable voltage to keep the equipment running, so some of it is wasted. Then there are the storage room freezers, air conditioners, the carriage farm, the onboard system, and the electricity used by the train crew. The electricity used by the supercomputer is also included in this calculation."

How come there are so many?
Su Huan frowned.

I finally escaped the hassle of power banks, do I have to charge the train too?

What if he needs to leave the train later?
Production and operations halted, business rescheduled?
"By the way, how many of the five thousand survivors are 'power donors'?"

"A total of eight hundred people."

He blurted out nonsense.

Su Huan asked in surprise, "Didn't you already have your eye on this? Take it and use it."

"But they are all newly evolved beings, and their power generation is very low..."

"Isn't even the whole thing enough?"

Hu Shuo's gaze was strange. "All of them combined probably wouldn't even be half as good as you."

Just look at that day's disaster, the train conductor sitting there, with thousands of thunderbolts rolling down, it must have generated tens of thousands of kilowatt-hours of electricity per minute!
Su Huan was speechless.

Is it still destined to become a power bank?

he does not!

He will fight!

"One million kilowatt-hours is one month, right?"

"That's how it is for now, but we don't have the equipment to store millions of kilowatt-hours of electricity at once, so..."

Su Huan sighed, "Let the eight hundred people charge the small devices slowly. Let's get two larger storage devices. I'll take ten minutes each day after finishing my official duties."

"So, starting today?"

"No, tomorrow!"

Su Huan said firmly.

"Okay, I'll remind you tomorrow."

Hu Shuo politely and respectfully withdrew.

The withdrawn train conductor was left standing there, gloomy.

Shu Wei watched the man's downcast eyes and felt a strange sense of humility in him, a sense of being subservient to his career.

It's kind of... cute, or rather, kind of fun.

So even lawless train conductors sometimes have to do things?

interesting.

Shu Wei's eyes lit up.

"Where have you been?"

Su Huan suddenly asked.

Shu Wei glanced at the shared map on the tablet. "We've just arrived in the suburbs of Guanchong City. The train isn't traveling very fast on the water."

“Speed ​​up.”

"I want to go see Jingchao Lake."

……

The clouds were like another sea, pressing down very low.

It's as if a huge, dark skin is covering the water's surface, with immense energy brewing within its folds, ready to tear it apart and overturn everything.

The rain poured down on the ironwood deck, the force of which seemed less like rain and more like an attempt to leave something behind.

The meerkat, wearing a green raincoat, stood on the roof of the train, its small face hidden in the hood.

My gaze was reflected on the turbulent sea.

The searchlight cast a small shadow on the sea surface, which was often torn apart, but it always appeared steadily.

With a deafening roar, a giant wave crashed down, only to be mercilessly crushed by the armed train.

The meerkat keenly sensed a dangerous aura.

But after seeing the scaly claw clearly, he looked away.

This Tier 2 crocodile is already an old friend of the train. It was once severely shocked by the train conductor and seems to have held a grudge, following the armed train ever since the landslide.

They're both cunning and slippery.

He's also incredibly timid.

He Jie had tried to outmaneuver it several times, but it always managed to escape.

Moreover, its leather armor is so thick that if it burrows too deep into the water, even artillery fire cannot kill it.

There was nothing we could do but let it follow.

It appears when the storm comes, and goes to hunt for food when the storm passes.

The meerkat's ears twitched, and it turned its head.

She saw a figure emerge from the carriage, stand on the deck for a moment, and walk towards her through the wind and rain.

(End of this chapter)