Armored train in the apocalypse

Chapter 335 Universal Bullet
"Except for those who have tasks to perform, all the other managers are present."

Shu Wei walked in and said.

Li Xinlong glanced at the other person but remained silent.

Su Huan put down his cup, stood up, and said calmly, "You come too."

The conference room on the second floor of the dining car was already full of people. Everyone sat according to their position, but it wasn't that strict. For example, Dean Zhou, Luo Jingyi, and the simpleton Chen Ziliang, although they had no official position, still sat with Professor Ma and a few other old men.

Su Leiya and Lao Jiang, who both came from the Black Kite clan, seemed to be avoiding each other and kept a very separate distance.

The officers didn't shy away from those things; they habitually got caught up in the mess.

Because there was a meeting later and smoking wasn't allowed, He Jie brought a pack of betel nuts to chew and relieve his craving. But as soon as he took one out, these bastards took it all.

Fat Rabbit smacked his lips and asked, "I heard there was quite a commotion last night?"

He Jie gave a noncommittal snort, "A bunch of idiots, bullying Ah Long because he's young, they really think the train conductor is a living Buddha."

The giraffe chimed in, "Mainly because I haven't had time to manage Zhijin lately, so they think they're all capable now."

Goat analyzed, "They may have originally wanted to test the relationship between us and Black Star, but what they should have figured out first was the train conductor's temperament!"

Several men chuckled softly.

Suddenly, they sensed the oppressive atmosphere downstairs begin to shift, and everyone's expressions turned serious, their voices becoming quieter.

When Su Huan appeared, even the oldest factory director stood up, and the entire second floor was filled with the clattering sound of chairs.

"Train conductor..."

Regardless of age, gender, or tone of voice, all voices converged into these three words.

Good morning, everyone.

Su Huan, unusually, didn't joke around and formally greeted everyone.

Today is the first meeting after the armed train captured Zhijin, and it will also be the meeting to decide on the next goals, direction, and main tasks.

The meeting should have been held long ago, but the urgent processing of millions of zombie materials had tied up almost all of the armed train's resources, resulting in only now being able to make time to start the meeting.

Correspondingly, the construction of Zhijin was extremely slow, with sheep being left to roam freely and managed autonomously by Li Xinlong and others for most of the time.

That's why the terrible incident happened last night.

"Please have a seat." Su Huan glanced at everyone, checked the number of people, and asked with slight surprise, "Where's the second brother?"

He Jie, standing to the side, chuckled and said, "He's a bit busy right now."

When Su Huan saw him, he suddenly remembered the more than 600 people he had taken away. They must have been temporarily taken to the recruit camp for target practice.

Since the last time at Guanchao Island, it has become a tradition to have the executions carried out by the new recruits.

He didn't seem to have any objection to it.

Just like the question asked Li Xinlong, it would be good if they all died.

"Yes, remember to give him a copy of the meeting minutes."

Su Huan said.

"clear."

After he finished speaking, the conference room, which had been filled with dozens of people, fell silent, and everyone's eyes turned to the train conductor at the very front.

There was reverence from the elderly, and curiosity from the newcomers.

However, Su Huan had long since ignored such attention.

He lightly tapped the table with his index finger, thinking about what to say next. As an internal meeting on the train, it was natural that he couldn't let Hu Shuo or anyone else speak on his behalf.

"Roughly... three things."

"The battlefield cleanup is finished, and we have more manpower available. Let's tidy up the Zhijin station. I don't want to see 100,000 people and 100,000 flags."

Li Xinlong felt a tightness in his chest as he felt the subtle gazes of the crowd sweeping across his face. For no reason, a wave of shame welled up from the bottom of his heart.

Hu Shuo, leaning to the side, pondered for a moment, then wrote in his notebook: "Implement the three bureaus and two courts system, and clean up the factions..."

"The second matter concerns the recapture of Zhijin. Leaving over three million zombies there is ultimately a hidden danger. I hope that when I leave, Zhijin will be intact and the warehouses will be full. Colonel He, is that alright?"

He Jie's expression was serious as he said earnestly, "Currently, the train has very limited manpower. If we want to wipe out the zombies on a large scale, we need to wait for the new recruits to leave the camp. Even if we include the cost of training, it will take more than six months."

Su Huan tapped his fingertips lightly on the solid wood tabletop, making a soft thud, and calmly said, "Too long."

He's only been here for a little over six months since he came from the high-temperature zone. It would take you another six months to clear out the zombies, and if you add the matter of sorting out the Zhijin, wouldn't it take more than a year?
This far exceeded his expectations.

He Jie frowned. "Even if we double the number of troops, it won't be less than four months, and we don't have enough ammunition."

“Then expand the army. You don’t need to worry about the ammunition, but I’ll only give you three months.” Su Huan said, narrowing his eyes. “From the moment you start the war, all supplies will be unlimited, but you only have three months. If you can’t take it, then I’ll go myself.”

He Jie calculated the available troop strength and gritted his teeth, saying, "No problem, but the city defense army and the garrison corps will also be under my command for the time being."

"The entire train, including the armed forces of Zhijin, is handed over to you."

Su Huan made a decisive decision.

For other superiors, relinquishing military power at will would be a major taboo, but for Su Huan, let alone tens of thousands of people, even hundreds of thousands equipped with the most advanced weapons, would be nothing more than a snap of his fingers.

Only those of the same level can restrain evolved beings.

The only ones who can keep the train conductor in check are evolved beings who are more powerful than him.

In just a few words, Li Xinlong relinquished the military power he had held for only a few days.

But no one present was surprised at all, as if it was the natural course of events.

The reason Li Xinlong was allowed to sit here was not because he needed his consent, but to let him know that this would facilitate the handover.

The two things were finished in just five or six minutes, which was extremely efficient.

Everyone was waiting for the train conductor's last task.

“Emm…” Su Huan pondered, “The third thing is my recent idea, about the serious imbalance of resources in Zhijin. We have plenty of evolution materials now, but we lack some basic living supplies. Although we can scavenge some things from the city, a city of 100,000 people can’t be built by scavenging.”

The crowd was somewhat bewildered, as most people did not handle supplies and were unaware of the macro-level imbalances.

These crucial data are known only to a few people, such as Hu Shuo and Shu Wei.

"So I want to move the scavenger black market to Zhijin, and then, after sorting out the Zhijin site, start a large-scale transaction."

Professor Wang Duoyu's eyes suddenly lit up in the crowd. Wasn't this the monetary cycle he had mentioned in the six cycles before? Now that the first few cycles were slowly being built, the sixth one was about to be put on the agenda?

If all six cycles were implemented, he could easily secure a fifth-level train attendant qualification based on his contributions.

Although not the chief flight attendant, she has officially joined the management team.

Instead of this ambiguous, insignificant role as an observer.

Yu Jing looked up from the drawing and asked in surprise, "Didn't you say there wasn't a suitable currency?"

"It's solved. I just finished it a few days ago, boss."

Su Huan said calmly.

The leader, who was prepared in advance, took out a handful of bullets from his waist pouch and distributed them to everyone present.

While distributing the items, he chuckled and said, "This isn't just my achievement; it mainly relied on the brothers from the Pan-Energy Weapons Laboratory, and Tan Yunxi played a major role as well."

Tan Yunxi subtly raised his chin amidst the crowd, puffed out his chest, and his wagging tail swept the floor beneath his feet until it shone like a mirror.

Vice President Deng immediately laughed and said, "Why do I feel like the last sentence was added at the last minute?"

The crowd burst into good-natured laughter.

The eldest brother smiled and said, "I'm telling the truth. Let Tan Yunxi introduce you; she knows more about it."

Tan Yunxi stood up, his two large triangular ears twitching, looking very energetic.

The voice was crisp. "Currently, there are three types of bullets: 9mm pistol bullets, 7.62mm rifle bullets, and 12.7mm heavy machine gun bullets. More may be added later, but if we want to turn them into currency, we need to consider their applicability. At present, producing these three types is the most suitable."

"We combined the 'armor' characteristics we discovered recently with the energy conversion properties of 'energy donors,' and then guided and injected them into bullets to create these bullets with special effects."

"Currently, there are two effects: explosive and armor-piercing. Compared to regular explosive rounds, the general-purpose explosive rounds are more effective. Even when fired from a pistol, they are not affected at all. Pistol rounds that were originally only effective against ordinary zombies can be effectively hindered by general-purpose explosive rounds when used on level one zombies."

He Jie noticed her choice of words and couldn't help but interrupt, "Just obstacles?"

Tan Yunxi's beautiful eyes flashed. "Yes, obstacles. Even with the enhancement of universal energy, don't expect to kill a Tier 1 zombie with pistol bullets. The difference between the two is too great. Take the Earth Ghost, the Tier 1 zombie with the weakest defense, as an example. Normally, you would need to fire two full magazines of pistol bullets at its head to have a chance of breaking the skull. Even if you are lucky enough to hit the eye, you would need to fire multiple shots to guarantee a kill, right?"

He Jie nodded, after all, not everyone has his marksmanship of hitting any target within fifty meters with a heavy machine gun.

It's considered impressive if a pistol can hit someone in the head with a whole magazine of bullets.

"But if a whole magazine of the universal explosive rounds hits the head, I guarantee it will kill. Even if it hits the torso, the force of the explosion can effectively stop the zombie from attacking."

Upon hearing this, everyone understood the importance of the bullets.

Besides their cannibalistic nature, zombies are also fearsome because of their fearlessness in the face of death.

If the bullet caliber is too small, when it hits a zombie, the zombie will just howl and charge forward as if nothing happened. Even the most determined soldier would be unable to stand firm in such a situation.

Ordinary people are even more prone to defeat.

But the key is that the universal explosive can control the distance between the two!
Even if its power isn't as great as imagined, its value wouldn't be low just because of its "obstacle" characteristic.

He Jie's eyes gleamed. "What about rifle bullets? Can they blow the head off a level one zombie?"

"Of course!"

Tan Yunxi said proudly, "Rifle burst rounds can effectively hinder even the most heavily armored Tier 1 Butchers and Tier 1 Slaughterers, but armor-piercing rounds are still the most effective at killing, with their armor-piercing capability increasing by 30% on the original basis."

"Especially the enhanced armor-piercing rounds, which use a lot of precious materials, have a stronger effect on the corpse armor of second-tier zombies. From now on, it will no longer be a dream to penetrate the corpse armor with a rifle!"

Several officers gasped in shock.

Even Qu Hang, who had been silent all along, couldn't stay calm, and Yu Yue also glanced at this proud little girl from time to time.

The main reason why Tier 2 zombies are difficult to kill is their heavy armor, which can only be broken by brute force with a large-caliber sniper rifle. Moreover, the tenacious vitality of zombies is even more pronounced in Tier 2 zombies.

If it's even slightly off-center, it's like not hitting it at all!
The only weapon on the entire train that could guarantee a 100% penetration was the Citybreaker in Yu Yue's hand, but there was only one Citybreaker, while there were hundreds or even thousands of Tier 2 zombies.

Without heavy sniper rifles, ordinary soldiers and Tier 1 evolved beings pose no threat to Tier 2 zombies.

So, while fighting zombies on a train may seem glamorous, it's actually like dancing on a knife's edge.

There is no chance of making a mistake.

But if armor-piercing rounds were available, ordinary soldiers would also have ways to fight back.

Upon hearing this, He Jie immediately turned his head and said, "Train conductor, I think this kind of bullet should be prioritized for armed corps."

Su Huan said calmly, "There will be, but only regular soldiers will have quotas. Each general-purpose bullet requires the cooperation of multiple people, so the production capacity is very low."

Seeing that everyone had a good understanding, Su Huan subconsciously snapped his fingers to attract everyone's attention.

But this action almost scared He Jie so much that he nearly fell over.

He had personally witnessed the scene where the train conductor snapped his fingers and tens of thousands of zombies vanished into thin air.

Su Huan was slightly speechless. "Why are you getting more and more timid?"

He Jie wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, "I thought you were going to wipe us all out..."

Seeing that everyone's expressions were not very good, Su Huan stopped dwelling on the issue.

"Then this matter is settled. The timeframe is set for three months from now. In the meantime, spread the word to all the surrounding forces, big and small. Is there anything else to discuss? Meeting adjourned."

Several people were itching to make a move, but hesitated and remained silent.

Hu Shuo suddenly looked up at Shu Wei, who then leaned down and whispered a few words in Su Huan's ear.

Su Huan looked at the old factory director, and sure enough, the old man looked expectant.

Su Huan's dark eyes moved slightly. "Oh, right, let me announce a few final appointments. Professor Wang Duoyu is promoted to Level 5 train attendant for his contributions to the Phase III planning and design, and will be in charge of train modification. Dean Zhou Qing is promoted to chief train attendant of the research group for his design of the power armor. The former factory director will retain his chief train attendant status, but will not be responsible for specific tasks. Any objections?"

Everyone looked around, but no one spoke.

Only Vice President Deng looked at his former boss and sighed softly.

Su Huan glanced at the faces of several key personnel, and after confirming that everything was alright, he adjourned the meeting.

With the armed train system becoming increasingly sophisticated, he no longer needs to do many things personally, as he used to. Often, he only needs to provide a general direction, and the already massive train will naturally rumble toward the target he points out.

After repeated refinement, only intelligent people remained on the train.

Although there are occasional mistakes, such as Su Leiya, who is often assigned very little work by her superiors, and Qu Hang, who is assigned a lot of work by his superiors, as well as Tan Yunxi and Lin Xi, who often slack off under the guise of work.

However, as long as the system is sound, the train can act like a millstone, continuously crushing one issue after another.

(End of this chapter)