Armored train in the apocalypse

Chapter 292 "Golden Eyes Patrol"

As the sun set in the west, a fierce wind whipped up billowing sand that swept over the train.

The interior of the carriage dimmed, and two silhouettes sat facing each other in front of the window.

A tiny one, with a triangular ear.

The meerkat felt her head buzzing. Not only was Hachi's story packed with information, but it also contained a lot of contradictions and conflicts, leaving her with a conflicted expression. She reached out her claws, unsure of which question to ask first.

"So, the train conductor killed his parents... and then you saved him?"

Why did the train conductor choose to fight the Steel Council head-on?

Why be so ruthless?

"Xiao Ba, aren't you the one who supports the train conductor the most? Why would you save the child of the train conductor's enemy?"

"...No, why?"

The meerkat scratched its hair in distress, its voice filled with deep confusion.

The boy quietly watched the meerkat ask a series of questions, "I'm not the one who supports the train conductor the most."

"Ok?"

The meerkat's ears stood up.

"The train conductor is my biggest supporter."

The meerkat looked up in a daze. What the boy saw in his eyes was not the storm outside the window, but a warm light, like a candle flame encased in tin, which remained stable and warm despite the storm outside.

Inspired by Xiao Ba, the anxiety that had been swirling in her heart subsided considerably.

"So the train conductor tacitly allowed me to bring Chengcheng on the train."

The meerkat instinctively hugged its legs to its chest, its tail quietly wrapped around its shoulder, its whole being exuding a dejected aura.

"I don't understand."

It wasn't that she didn't understand Xiaoba, but rather that she didn't understand the train conductor's motives for doing all those things.

Regardless of the almost suicidal motives behind the war against the Steel Council.

It's still the madness of leading a million zombies to slaughter human bases.

She doesn't understand at all.

This is quite different from the train conductor she remembered.

She had thought that her views would change after she got to know the train conductor, but she never imagined that her emotions would be so complicated.

I get nervous when I hear that war has started, and I imagine the train conductor from that time.

Thinking about how to break the deadlock.

But even if she racked her brains, she couldn't have come up with such a crazy way to break the deadlock, to perish together with the opponent in such a tragic manner.

But her sensitivity also leads her to include the unsuspecting ordinary people in the Steel Council.

Go and feel their panic and despair at that time.

She aspires to be a "hero" like the train conductor, but also deeply sympathizes with ordinary people who share her background.

So when she heard that the train conductor had fallen into the water, her mind was in complete turmoil.

Everything she had known in the past was attacking her mind relentlessly.

This plunged her into even deeper confusion.

The horrific war unfolded before her; cannonballs seemed to glide past her ears, the sound of flapping wings was like thunder, and flocks of black crows blotted out the sky, converging into long spears that connected heaven and earth, while gunpowder and blood splattered across the night sky.

But when that figure stood above the Thunder Pool, she couldn't help but be shocked.

The beast's eyes reflected the dazzling lightning from the story.

She hated herself like this, this unprincipled version of herself.

"I don't understand him."

The meerkat repeated itself, its voice filled with both confusion and pain.

Nobody understands him.

Hachi's calm voice interrupted the meerkat's emotions.

"He doesn't understand us either."

The meerkat tilted its head slightly and sighed, "It's getting more and more complicated."

"But Su rescued Lin Jin and his sister, and He Jie's family."

"His methods are always extreme."

"He has never asked us to understand him."

The meerkat's voice was a little hoarse, "Like this time when Old Wu was killed?"

Xiao Ba's eyes were calm. "If you think it's going too far, why not try to stop him?"

"Stop...who?"

"Whether it's stopping Su, stopping Lao Wu from abusing the new recruits, or preventing this from happening, doing something at any stage is fine."

The meerkat was stunned.

"But at that time it was already..."

“Su never stops me from rescuing people, nor does he stop others from getting off the bus. As long as it doesn’t interfere with his goals, he doesn’t care what we think or what we’re planning to do. If you think Lao Wu doesn’t deserve to die, then why don’t you say a word for him?”

The meerkat was struck dumb.

Throughout, Xiao Ba was telling her a simple truth.

If you don't like something, why not try to change it yourself?

The reasoning he gave was so simple that she didn't even notice it.

It seems I haven't done anything from beginning to end. Whether facing He Jie or Lao Wu, I've only stubbornly expressed my attitude and waited for the train conductor to make a decision.

Waiting for others to make a decision, but not being satisfied with their decision.

Then it fell into internal strife and struggle...

But this is the end of the world.

Without your own decisions and will, and relying entirely on others, how can you go far?
The meerkat was suddenly struck by the realization that it was not as insightful as Hachiko.

A profound sense of enlightenment washed over the meerkat.

She was completely unaware that the fur on her tail was standing on end. All the emotions that had been building up since the apocalypse reached their peak at this moment, and every cell in her body was trembling wildly.

"What if, what if the train conductor hurts many more people?"

Xiao Ba smiled shyly, "Then I will save more people for him in the future."

“If you think murder is a sin, then I should share in the sin he bears.”

The amber-colored beast eyes reflected the slightly shy boy, instantly turning into a translucent gold.

Like the magnificent eaves of a palace, the kasaya is covered with crisscrossing patterns.

Clear and transparent.

The sharp aura unconsciously spread outwards from the meerkat as its center.

The paper on the table was silently cut in half.

Hachi's pupils narrowed. The meerkat in front of him was still the same one, but no matter how he looked at it, it seemed to be more "perfect" than before. This was not an illusion, because the meerkat had evolved in that instant.

Becoming a first-tier professional also brought about a leap in temperament; this is genetic evolution.

……

"Tier 1 'Golden-Eyed Hunt'."

Su Huan looked at the meerkat in front of him and uttered a few words indifferently.

Shu Wei immediately lowered her head, picked up her tablet, and began searching for this profession in the database.

"Don't bother checking. I know all the professions in the database. We don't have this profession in our database at the moment," Director Xu said with a hint of surprise.

After speaking, his gaze swept over Su Huan in a subtle way.

As a former top evolutionary researcher of a major power, Director Xu often felt a sense of absurdity, as he was frequently outmatched by the train conductor in terms of the breadth of his understanding of evolutionary professions.

However, being an old fox who had lived for decades, he could only suspect Su Huan. "Tier 1 'Golden-Eyed Hunter,' Cat Sister, that sounds like a really powerful class."

Xiao Ba exclaimed in admiration.

After waking up, the two immediately thought of reporting the information to the train conductor, but after looking around, they couldn't find it. They then decided to register with Director Xu first, and happened to run into the train conductor who was learning about the research.

The moment Su Huan saw the meerkat, he recognized the profession.

As the name suggests, this is a promotion path summarized by DeepBlue Data.

Because "beastification" is considered a major direction for the "Defenders," many factions have researched this area.

Among them, the most recognized and powerful is the "Golden-Eyed Hunting" feline beastification direction.

In the Steel Council's database, this profession was listed on the first few pages of "Defenders," and those clear, bright golden eyes left a deep impression on Su Huan.

The skill called "Nine Lives" kept him tossing and turning, unable to sleep at night.

"Nine Lives" means, as the name suggests, that someone has nine lives.

The information states that as long as more than 70% of the physical body remains, the person will be resurrected.

And it was nine times!
Nine chances to revive!

It's like he's been cheated!

Of course, such an awesome skill is not something that a first-tier evolver can possess; it can only be awakened at least at the third tier.

But that's terrifying enough.

For such a top-tier assassin, nine lives are enough to take down at least nine other evolved beings of the same level.

You can imagine how much Su Huan, who only had a power bank and weak combat power in his previous life, coveted this skill.

Even if he had taken it in his past life, it wouldn't have been of any use to him.

not always.

Nine sections are better than one.

But when this profession actually appeared before his eyes, Su Huan still felt a little jealous.

"If I remember correctly, this seems to be a four-skill class. Little Cat, you should only have three skills, right?"

Su Huan squinted and asked.

The meerkat nodded. "I just awakened a normal skill called 'Enhanced Willpower,' and then I advanced."

Su Huan let out a soft breath.

Director Xu, standing nearby, smiled wryly, "'Strengthening Willpower' is no ordinary skill. Based on my research, this skill can provide immunity to many psychological manipulation and emotional manipulation techniques, and it can also assist many other skills."

"so smart?"

The meerkat's eyes widened in disbelief; it hadn't expected that a casual conversation with Xiao Ba would awaken such a powerful skill and class.

"Promotion will be difficult in the future, but his combat power is unmatched among those of the same level."

Su Huan gave a fair evaluation.

The meerkat seemed to have been injected with adrenaline; its ears twitched, and it glared fiercely at Su Huan, asking, "Can you beat the train conductor?"

Su Huan was taken aback for a moment, then chuckled, "The premise is that you have to be at the same level as me."

"Is it enough to just be of the same rank?"

"Only those of the same level can know what despair is."

Su Huan said calmly.

Unless you are of a higher rank than him, you will only be crushed by him. Only those who reach the second rank will be qualified to know just how strong he is.

Below the second tier, it's a one-hit kill.

There's not much difference between a powerful ant and an ordinary ant.

The meerkat's ears drooped, but quickly perked up, and it declared with high spirits, "I'll definitely have the chance to learn from the train conductor someday!"

"Oh?"

Su Huan looked at the cat that had suddenly become aggressive with amusement.

This doesn't seem like a change that evolution could bring about.

"Train conductor, I think you did something wrong."

As the meerkat's voice faded, everyone's expression stiffened slightly.

Su Huan keenly sensed that Xiao Ba was using his ability to spin the wheelchair in an attempt to escape. He stuck out his toes and wedged them into the wheels, smiling slightly. "What's wrong?"

The mongoose's gaze met Su Huan's sharply.

“I don’t think we should use such cruel methods to execute Lao Wu in public, even if he did something very outrageous.”

"What are the specific reasons? To be frank, I'm still very willing to listen to opinions from the train conductor."

“I think executing Lao Wu like that would be too demoralizing. We should announce Lao Wu’s crimes in front of everyone and then formally execute him. And we shouldn’t use such an ancient form of punishment as beating him to death.”

As the meerkat was speaking, it suddenly felt a figure approaching in front of it.

Suddenly sensing danger, the underlying code activated, and it instinctively wanted to open its mouth and breathe on him.

Amidst the crackling of electric lightning.

The meerkat stood there blankly, her knees slightly bent, in a half-crouching position, ready to jump backward at any moment. Su Huan's large hand had already landed on her head, mischievously kneading her two small ears with slightly burnt fur.

The meerkat only jumped out of Su Huan's range when the lightning disappeared.

The upper eyelid of the round eyes turned into a fierce straight line.

(I don't have time to find a picture, can anyone replace it with a better one?)
Its sharp canine teeth were also showing.

"what……"

The change happened so fast that even Xiao Ba and Shu Wei didn't have time to react.

Su Huan looked at his hand in surprise.

Although it didn't take much energy, the meerkat broke free much faster than he had expected.

It seems that this "strengthening willpower" is really good.

Facing the somewhat wary meerkat, Su Huan revealed a wicked smile, her sharp white teeth matching her own.

“I have heard your advice, but—I do not intend to follow it.”

"So, what's your choice?"

The first sentence was sarcastic, but the second sentence became serious, and Xiao Ba's face showed a hint of solemnity.

The meerkat calmed itself down, clenched its fist, and said seriously, "Conductor, one day you will listen to my advice."

"With my strength!"

Seeing the meerkat's childish antics, Su Huan's tense expression instantly cracked, and he laughed heartily as he extended his hand, "Congratulations, you've made it into the first tier of the train."

The meerkat looked at Su Huan's outstretched hand, its golden eyes flickered, and then it firmly grasped it.

"Please take care of me, train conductor."

……

On the same day, two new professions were added to the Armed Train database.

One is the mongoose's "Golden Eyes Hunting", and the other is Tong Zizhan's "Twilight Robe".

It sounds abstract, but all the skill effects combined have one purpose: to reduce one's own presence.

As an information investigator, Qiang might be an option.

But hiding oneself is always a safe option.

Director Xu had long ago identified Tong Zizhan as a research target. Based on the characteristics Tong Zizhan exhibited in daily life, he compared each of his skills one by one, and finally managed to put together the profession of "Twilight Robe".

Su Huan only learned about this recently after making significant progress.

He hadn't even figured out how to manage the armed trains themselves, let alone have any idea about training spies.

However, even if this profession doesn't have a future, it will still be useful.

(My sleep schedule is messed up; I sleep during the day and am wide awake at night. But today, I forced myself to stay up all day to entertain guests, and my eyelids are drooping. So I won't be posting anything today, but I promise I will tomorrow!)

(End of this chapter)