Armed Train in the Apocalypse

Chapter 7: Chapter 6: Buy a Ticket to Board

”Listen to everything?”

”Everything!”

”Absolutely obey?”

”Absolutely!”

The girl vigorously wiped her sweaty face, revealing fair skin. She still had some confidence in her looks.

Su Huan squinted at her, ”Come up and wash the dishes first.”

Arriving at the dining car, only Yu Yue was there dealing with the dishes and chopsticks left from yesterday.

Su Huan said lightly, ”Go clean up the room.”

Yu Yue turned back in surprise and saw another girl behind Su Huan, gave her a complicated look, wiped his hands, and stepped aside.

Tears still on her face, the girl was engulfed in great happiness and surprise, and hurriedly grabbed the dishcloth.

”How old are you?”

Su Huan continued to ask.

”Eighteen, I have my ID in my bag.”

There weren’t many dishes in the sink, and the girl finished washing them in a few moments, nervously waiting for Su Huan’s next command, her ears reddening, unsure of what she was thinking.

”It’s good that you’re an adult, means you can take care of yourself. Get off the train then,” Su Huan said casually.

”Huh?”

The girl was thunderstruck, frozen in place.

After a while, she forced a stiff smile, ”Weren’t we all settled, Brother Su? Don’t scare me...”

Su Huan was surprised, ”Settled what? You only had two and a half shares of supplies. I generously let you wash some dishes to make up for the remaining half, considering I’ve cleared your debt. But to board the train, you still need three shares of supplies.”

After speaking, he put a finger to his lips, his tone dangerous, ”Do you think you can freeload?”

Tears rolled down again, ”I can do so much more...”

”What can you do, what are your hobbies?”

”I can...” the girl stammered, ”I like traveling, I’ve been to many places, I can dance, I’m good at English, I’m also a blogger, lots of people like me.”

Su Huan frowned impatiently.

”What’s your major?”

”I didn’t go to college, but I can make videos, earn much more than college students...”

”So you know photography and editing?”

”I just make good videos. The rest is outsourced by the company, but I’m willing to learn, I learn quickly.”

Su Huan leaned back on the sofa, lazily observing her, ”If someone knocked wanting to board the train, would you ignore them or open the door?”

The girl froze for a moment, just about to answer, then realized something was off.

If she answered not opening the door, why would Su Huan take her in?

And wouldn’t that seem too unkind?

If she answered opening the door, it obviously would cause trouble for the train...

So is the correct answer to report it to him?

Seeing the conflict on the girl’s face, Su Huan completely lost patience, ”Enough, get off the train.”

This question’s answer wasn’t important.

The point is you need to give a quick answer.

In the apocalypse, good or bad people can survive, but those who are neither die the fastest, with unclear minds.

When something happens, others have already made decisions and started executing, while you’re still dithering.

If you don’t die, who will?

The girl dared not speak again, looking as if the sky had fallen, she got off the train and lingered around, unwilling to leave.

There wasn’t a trace of pity in Su Huan’s eyes.

He needed people, but they had to be valuable, even if only a little more decisive.

Of course, being pretty enough and being able to provide physical and mental services is good too, but the girl with her sharp face and thin legs wasn’t his type.

Even an awkward Aunt Yu was more fun.

...

After sending off the girl, Su Huan, with a sign under his arm, carried a roster to the sixth carriage.

It was noticeably stuffier here, after all, power is needed, and before Su Huan fully develops his abilities, saving energy counts.

Inside the carriage, there were various messy clothes, filled with the smell of feet and urine. But the train had toilets, scanning around, apart from some plastic-covered sheets, he saw nothing dirty.

”Tsk, still full of energy huh.”

Su Huan remarked, opening a side window for ventilation.

Liang Kuan, carrying a fire ax, walked over.

Su Huan chuckled, ”No need to be so tense. We’re collecting tickets, not taking lives.”

Liang Kuan nodded heavily, gripping the ax, ”Got it.”

Su Huan opened the carriage door, hung the sign on the side, with four big words on it: ”Buy Tickets Get on the Train.”

”Come on over, buy tickets and get on the train.”

Su Huan shouted, finding a chair to sit comfortably.

He liked this effortless feeling.

The passengers lurking around the train cautiously emerged from various corners.

They were seasoned by Su Huan, knowing clearly how to avoid being detected by zombies.

If they accidentally drew zombies, they’d have to rely on their luck; they couldn’t count on Su Huan opening the door for them.

The train was far more important than people.

Soon, passengers gathered with bags of supplies at the entrance of the sixth carriage.

”Why is it the sixth carriage today? Wasn’t it always the fifth before?” a man in work pants asked.

Su Huan glanced at him, somewhat familiar, took the backpack handed over patiently, ”This carriage needs clearing, it won’t open in the future, being reserved as an exchange carriage.”

”A ten-pound bag of rice, good stuff, fine, counts as three shares of supplies.”

Getting the real supplies, Su Huan was even happier, ”Since you’re a regular passenger, I have a small job. Do it well and you can forgo a share of supplies.”

The work pants guy’s eyes lit up, ”What kind of job?”

Su Huan pointed to the inside of the carriage, ”Just clean out the trash and sweep up.”

The work pants guy quickly took the backpack and eagerly got on board to work.

Hearing this, those in line asked after handing over their supplies, ”Any more work?”

Su Huan glanced at him, somewhat new, probably someone who boarded in the last couple of days, ”No, next.”

A woman with a troubled face handed over a huge bundle, covered with a black garbage bag, her palms purplish from the tight grip.

Su Huan suspiciously took it over.

Oh, it was quite heavy.

Opening the outer plastic bag, there was actually an air pump inside, about twenty kilograms, quite a feat for a woman to bring it this far.

Fearing he wouldn’t accept it, the woman quickly said, ”My husband used to be a carpenter, and this pump can connect to a nail gun. I brought it all in one go, it’s all there.”

Su Huan glanced at her; she seemed like a diligent person, ”Alright, you’re in. Go clean this carriage thoroughly, every corner, make the glass shine like a mirror. Do it well and your ticket’s free tomorrow.”

The woman repeatedly thanked him.

Before long, Su Huan had accumulated a huge amount of supplies: rice, flour, diesel, tobacco, alcohol, sugar, tea, daily necessities, medical equipment, production tools, everything you could think of.

This was much faster than scavenging himself.

Just as Su Huan was enjoying taking tickets, a group of unfamiliar faces approached, looking like a family, three men, two women, and a child.

Locals often mistook the train for government rescue operations.

”Dad, look, there’s still a train running. I told you, a country this big wouldn’t crumble easily because of some virus!”

The speaker was a man wearing glasses, his features cramped.

His father’s temples were graying, wearing a navy jacket, he too perked up seeing the train, ”Go on, go ask.”

But the surrounding people only looked at him coldly, offering no reply.

The man with glasses sensed something amiss, approached the carriage, and then saw Su Huan.

The man looked him up and down, tentatively asking, ”Is this train a government rescue?”