Armored train in the apocalypse

Chapter 312 This smoke is really choking.

Then participate in the train's infamous "death test".

To discourage impulsive scavengers, a test fee is required for anyone wanting to participate in the train's talent test.

Three ordinary universal energy crystals each time.

Even so, the crowds continued to arrive in droves. Even though the train lowered the exam standards and no one passed for three consecutive days, more than three hundred people were executed on the spot for cheating.

Talent tests are also jokingly referred to as death tests.

But as those who passed the exam spread the word about the benefits of the armed train, the entire Neutral Town was in an uproar.

A first-class flight attendant in the crew earns a minimum of 20 points per month, while the lowest-ranking private in the armed forces earns a full 60 points.

The former can ensure that one person will no longer go hungry, while the latter can ensure that the whole family will not go hungry.

But this is the least important thing for scavengers who live in constant fear and endure wind and rain.

A sturdy, safe shelter that would allow them to open their eyes without being met with the crimson gaze of zombies and close their eyes with the stench and drool of mutated beasts would be fatally attractive to these scavengers who had been struggling in the apocalypse for half a year.

Let alone the fact that you get food, lodging, and a salary, and have access to water, electricity, and a stable job, even if you have to hand over food every day and get electrocuted every day, there would still be plenty of people flocking to it!
Even if it kills you with exhaustion, you still have to stick your butt out and call out to the righteous and just official.

In order to pass this "doomsday version of civil service exam," a huge wave of enthusiasm for studying swept through the entire Neutral Town. Every day, they studied the train exam questions and shouted slogans.

"I'd rather get shot in the car."

Don't eat trash under the car.

If you don't pass the exam, your brain will explode.
Better than being fed to a corpse to rot into mud!

However, adults have limited learning abilities, and many people turn their attention to crooked and unethical methods.

For example, on the main road of Neutral Town at this moment.

"Armed Train Exam Paper, One-on-One Tutoring by a Professor from Zhijin University, all for just five packs of instant noodles!"

"The only person to pass this morning recounted the exam questions, which only required two Pan-Energy Crystals!"

"A manual on how to manually operate an internal combustion engine..."

"Wireless earphones, the ultimate cheating device, guaranteed to work!"

"..."

A variety of hawking cries mingled together, but upon closer listening, none of them were selling anything legitimate; they were all related to talent testing.

Bai Lu looked shocked. "Can this even be sold?"

The giraffe snorted and pointed to a disheveled father and son standing by the roadside, haggling with a man selling internal combustion engine manuals. "Look, someone's already bought one, isn't he?"

"That's interesting, take a look."

Su Huan chuckled and went over; the father and son had just finished buying the manual.

Upon seeing Su Huan, who was dressed neatly, they were taken aback. Train conductors usually wore clothes without any markings, and even when they changed, they were always dressed in black. In addition, they rarely appeared in public, so ordinary scavengers did not recognize him at all. They were only intimidated by his clean clothes and handsome appearance.

When the father and son saw the two deer in uniform behind them, they were immediately terrified.

"We...we didn't cheat, we just bought a book to read."

"Don't panic, I just passed my driving test too," Su Huan asked with a smile. "How much is this booklet?"

Hearing Su Huan say this, the father and son relaxed and their tone became a little more affectionate. "He asked for ten Pan-Energy Crystals as soon as he asked. I said that's like stealing from me. In the end, I cut it in half."

Su Huan expressed his admiration and said some auspicious words such as "hope to get on the bus soon," which made the father and son leave happily.

He was muttering to himself, "If your mother were still alive, she could at least cut him in half!"

Bai Lu approached with the newly purchased manual and muttered, "Train conductor, this bastard is too greedy. He dares to charge ten universal energy crystals for something that's just an instruction manual. I could write one myself if I read a few books. Selling it to ten people would be a hundred ordinary universal energy crystals. With the flow of people in Neutral Town, he should be able to sell hundreds or thousands of copies!"

Bai Lu suddenly sensed that the train conductor and the giraffe were exchanging subtle glances.

Why are you all looking at me?

"You bought it at the original price?"

Bai Lu was puzzled, "Aren't they all this price?"

The giraffe patted him on the shoulder, "Listen to me, from now on you must let your wife manage your money."

Bai Lu immediately exclaimed anxiously, "Is that the point? The point is that this group of people have seized our train's profits! Train conductor..."

Su Huan waved to the roadside, and a young man selling past exam papers darted over in a few steps.

He said in a low, respectful voice, "Train conductor."

Bai Lu stared blankly at the familiar face for a moment, then suddenly realized, "Xiao Wang?!"

This wasn't some speculative scavenger at all; he was clearly Huang Hai's assistant, who usually followed him around. Because he was quiet and well-groomed, Bai Lu didn't recognize him.

Xiao Wang smiled and put his index finger to his lips.

Su Huan asked casually, "How are the past exam papers selling?"

"We've already sold over three thousand tickets in the last two days, each containing two Pan-Energy Crystals. Pure profit!"

"Prices need to be raised."

Su Huan glanced at the white deer and said quietly.

Xiao Wang was taken aback for a moment, "How much will it increase?"

"Ten."

After saying goodbye to Xiao Wang, Bai Lu silently followed behind the train conductor, her eyes fixed on the people on the roadside.

"Stop looking. It's just Xiao Wang and his two or three guys. They're just collecting the cost of the exam papers."

Su Huan said lightly.

"Is Xiao Wang the first one?"

Bai Lu suddenly asked.

Su Huan glanced sideways, pointed at him, and grinned at the giraffe, "Oh, he's finally figured it out!"

After saying goodbye to this little incident, the three of them strolled leisurely to the center of the street, as if they were taking a walk before the apocalypse.

The streets here are lined with neat four-story buildings, with shops on the ground floor.

There are tall buildings further back.

After six months, it has been developed into a reasonably sized trading market by the four major authorities, where all kinds of goods and junk collected from Zhijin and surrounding counties are sold.

At first, everyone had a storefront, but now that there are more people, storefronts are also charging fees.

Ordinary scavengers simply set up a stall on the ground with a large cloth, the four corners of which are tied to a stick with ropes. If there's any disturbance, they can just pick it up and run away.

However, after observing for the past few days, Zhongli Town seems to be quite stable.

Otherwise, those smaller factions wouldn't have spent so much money building their facades here.

The three arrived at the middle of the street with the busiest traffic. On the left, a man with dragon and tiger tattoos on his head directed a group of his underlings to hang the words "Brother Biao's Little Tavern" on it.

The burly man suddenly shivered. His fierce gaze swept over Su Huan, but when he saw Su Huan's signature smile, it instantly turned into a fawning one.

"Train conductor, I was just about to invite you in person, and you've come right away! You're so kind of me, so incredibly kind of me..."

Su Huan adjusted the small, square-shaped wristwatch on his wrist, watching the numbers fluctuate before stabilizing at around three hundred. Only then did he enter the tavern, greeted by Wen Biao.

This is a biomagnetic field jammer newly made in Director Xu's laboratory, which can make Su Huan feel like an ordinary person.

This device can also convert the received potential field strength into digital data.

Through a series of complex conversions, it becomes intuitive numbers representing vitality.

It's still in the testing phase, and he's the only tester. Passing the counter, Wenbiao pointed to the wide array of bottles on the shelf and asked, "Train conductor, what would you like to drink?"

Su Huan glanced at the bottles with interest. They were brand new and of a wide variety, as if they had been picked out directly from a department store warehouse. Although it was only noon, people had already come to drink, with one or two bottles per table, but the atmosphere was quite lively.

"Clear water."

Su Huan casually found a table to sit at.

Then, I watched as the young man at the counter quickly turned off the dehumidifier and poured a full glass of water from the sink, which Wenbiao then brought over.

I'd rather have drinks...

Although the water in the cup was clear, Su Huan still felt something was off.

I took a sip, and the faint taste of dust lingered.

"How's the base city plan progressing these past few days?"

Su Huan put down his cup and asked.

Wen Biao immediately became serious. His henchman opened a map of Zhijin City and laid it flat on the table. It was covered with various precise auxiliary lines, clearly indicating that he had been prepared in advance.

Upon seeing the lines above, Bai Lu and the other person's expressions became much more serious.

Zhijin City is located on a plain with few gullies and ravines, so the city is very well-organized. There is only one small river that runs from northwest to southeast, diagonally crossing the entire city. The area south of the river is about one-fifth of the city, which is Zhinan District.

"Train conductor, look, there are four national highways along the Zhijin River that lead to the city center. According to the information I've gathered over the past two days, the four major forces have already reached the riverbank. However, the Zhinan District hasn't been cleared yet, so they're stationed along these riverbanks. They'll turn around and clear out Zhinan. In total, they've killed over 300,000 zombies."

"These four paths are respectively..."

"I heard there was a tough battle at Dawn Square, and the Black Star team suffered a small loss..."

"And here, three small convoys, more than 700 people, died. Jin Feng also lost more than 200 people. The scene was extremely horrific..."

Wen Biao compiled all the collected information onto the map, and Su Huan listened silently. Even when he encountered information that didn't match his understanding, he didn't scold him, but silently compared the information in his mind.

Suddenly, a commotion arose at the entrance of the tavern, and Su Huan looked up.

Just then, the tall and slender Shu Wei walked in.

Su Huan asked casually, "Did those five people confess?"

Shu Wei shook her head. "The laboratory has always been the private domain of Director No. 1. My father is useless here, let alone me. Moreover, their status is not high, and they do not know the detailed layout of Hei Yuan in Zhijin. But I am talking about something else."

Su Huan raised his eyebrows, waiting for what was to come.

"It seems there's been a small-scale rebellion within Black Kite. Also, just now, we received a distress signal from Jiang Rong."

"Where is she?"

A rare hint of hesitation appeared on Shu Wei's face.

"According to Professor Ma's location... it's in Zhijin City. He Jie and the others are waiting for your orders in the car."

"Oh ho ho..." Su Huan's eyes narrowed, his dark pupils revealing a half-smile, "Are you trying to force me to abdicate?"

……

……

Three hours ago.

In a commercial street north of Zhijin River, the holes in the street are getting bigger and bigger, and even the building that is standing on it is about to collapse into them.

Hundreds and thousands of zombies were crammed here, letting out two bewildered howls.

Within 300 meters of the hole, all the debris had been cleared away, and nearly a thousand different kinds of Tier 1 zombies had gathered there. Further ahead, there were dozens of Tier 2 zombies whose mere sight was enough to make one's heart feel oppressed.

But what's even more terrifying is that these zombies didn't make a fuss at all; they were like students waiting for their teacher to start class, sitting obediently in their seats.

Cao Yong sat cross-legged against the wall, took out a cigarette from his pocket with his only remaining hand, flicked it into his mouth, but couldn't find a lighter after fumbling around for a long time.

"Click."

A hand reached out and lit Cao Yong's cigarette.

Cao Yong looked at the calm, unwavering eyes of the person in front of him with slight surprise.

Number 1 calmly said, "After analysis, I think you need to smoke to relieve stress right now."

"Hey……"

Did he insult you?

Looking at the silent Number 1, Cao Yong suddenly let out a long string of breathy sounds that were neither a smile nor a laugh.

Then I coughed because I was choked by the smoke.

The only sound in the room was Cao Yong's violent coughing, as if he were coughing up his lungs.

Data streams flashed through Number 1's eyes, and he felt that he should perhaps reserve some of his brainpower to analyze these complex emotions.

Trading a Tier 1 item for a Tier 2 item is a worthwhile deal that requires no further consideration.

He said according to his established logic, "As long as you bring the item into the cave, Zhongyou will be reinstated after this incident, and his promotion within Black Kite will not be affected in any way."

"You are already crippled, and there is no way to repair you with current methods. Your greatest value is that you can regain your old friends."

Cao Yong suddenly stood up, grabbed the box on the ground, and walked downstairs.

"That first sentence is enough."

After a while, several violent explosions rang out outside the window, and the roars of zombies were deafening.

Number 1 is viewed from above.

Several elite special operations teams launched attacks from all directions, drawing away the dense horde of corpses below.
The second-tier zombies reacted the fastest, rushing out almost instantly.

At the edge, Cao Yong injected himself with a drug, picked up the box, and charged towards the hole at a speed no less than that of a second-tier Night Demon. When he encountered a place he couldn't avoid, he simply stepped on the heads of zombies and ran wildly.

The zombies' howls created a chaotic scene, and the intruder was only noticed when someone stepped on his head.

The first-tier zombies reacted and began to surround and intercept the first-tier evolved being.

In a normal battle, Cao Yong would not have survived no matter what, but his goal was simply to rush through, which made the problem much simpler.

Various zombies surged forward and blocked his path, like a tidal wave trying to overwhelm this trendsetter.

Dodging several clumsy butchers, the hole in front of him grew larger and larger. A deep-seated fear compelled him to flee, but Cao Yong disregarded it all. The dark red light at the corner of his mouth not only wasn't extinguished by the wind and sand, but instead grew brighter and brighter.

Those old, trivial matters in my mind became clearer and clearer.

"Old Zhong, stop smoking, it's choking me."

'With so many good qualities, can't you learn something good?'

"Besides your beautiful wife, what other redeeming qualities do you have?"

"My son is handsome too, and he does well in his studies. He's a great student!"

Seeing the two second-tier night demons blocking his way, Cao Yong's neck veins bulged, and he used the last bit of medicinal power to his fullest extent, throwing the box in his hand away.

"puff!"

The Night Demon's claws slashed through the air, sending the severed arm and the box flying together.

Cao Yong, like a diver, leaned back and fell into the horde of corpses.

The light spot disappeared.

"Old Zhong, this smoke is really pungent..."

(End of this chapter)