Armed Train in the Apocalypse

Chapter 104: Chapter 100: Prelude

It wasn’t until the off-road vehicle started to bump that Zhang Min suddenly realized she had left that nightmare-like quagmire.

And she was actually wearing a fitting outfit that belonged to her.

The man with glasses was Li Tao, claiming to be a negotiator from the Steel Council. He offered her a deal and she exchanged information about the armed train for two conditions.

To become an Evolver and join the faction he belonged to.

Li Tao agreed to both, and then took her away from the quagmire of the Mojiang Mutual Aid Convoy, explaining the rules of the Steel Council and... their formidable strength while in the car!

And the identity she would gain by joining the organization, as well as what she needed to do next.

All of this felt surreal to Zhang Min.

A beam of golden light burst through the clouds outside the car window, striking the off-road vehicle. Zhang Min forced her eyes wide open, unwilling to miss a moment, even if tears streamed down her face from the sting of the sunlight.

No longer having to struggle between the desires of men, beneath their gasps.

But she didn’t expect all this was still because of that man.

Such a small survivor organization actually caught the attention of a major force like the Steel Council.

What has he been up to lately?

’Conductor, so, should I hate you or admire you?’

A morbid malice emerged in her eyes filled with tears and shimmering water.

...

The charismatic conductor did not yet know he was being thought of by a wicked woman.

He was diligently bent over writing at his desk.

Although Yu Jing’s plan seemed a bit hasty, he truly admired it.

The greatest threat in the apocalypse wasn’t actually natural disasters, or those fierce Evolution Beasts and terrifying zombies, but those fellow humans who could speak and smile like oneself.

Just like acid rain, it could take at least a few years to erode the tracks, giving them plenty of time to repair and escape.

But your enemies won’t.

They will only appear when you’re at your most vulnerable, using every means to take your life.

Even though he spoke lightly with He Jie last time.

It didn’t mean he didn’t take it seriously.

With the style of the Steel Council, losing twenty people wouldn’t make them retreat. Even if they couldn’t win, they would come to negotiate, assess the armed train’s strength, then decide whether to launch a full-scale war or coexist peacefully.

No force would rashly initiate a big plan with a tiger lurking nearby.

So next, he must think about how to face the Steel Council.

Suddenly, a golden light burst outside the car window, penetrating through the metal blinds onto his notebook.

It listed various points rules.

Initially, Su Huan didn’t intend to make it too complex, directly equating armed train points with hard currency, like a regular Pan-energy Crystal valued at 1 point, two 9mm pistol bullets valued at 1 point.

For a D-level mission, the conductor generously set a maximum limit of 10 points.

It’s a maximum, not a minimum.

After all, some tasks simply weren’t worth that much in resources.

Meaning that Lu Xiao, leading his team to complete a D-level mission, the reward could be ten regular Pan-energy Crystals, or twenty pistol bullets.

This was already a very generous price.

Ten Pan-energy Crystals at least could cultivate 4-8 Evolvers.

And twenty pistol bullets, if used well, could take down twenty newly evolved Evolvers or twenty ordinary zombies.

Don’t underestimate bullets.

These are brand new, unreloaded bullets, which, if in the previous life, might have even increased in value.

Cold weapons have higher potential for promoting evolution itself.

But the vast majority of people don’t have that for later stages.

This is also the main reason why the ”Firepower Hand” profession, combining thermal weapons, has become so popular.

With guns and bullets, they are complete Evolvers.

Without bullets, they’re just low-level Evolvers with slightly stronger basic qualities.

Su Huan used his judgment of future trends to list all the various resources currently available on the train, and then marked a psychologically acceptable points amount.

Of course, this was the exchange rate for points and resources on the train.

If one wanted to exchange resources for points, the rate wasn’t the same.

”Bang—”

A zombie suddenly fell from a building in the distance, crashing onto the canopy below with a loud bang.

It was probably Yu Yue practicing shooting again.

Lately, she’s been using zombies around the train for target practice, cleaning up potential troubles in advance, while also improving marksmanship and training corresponding specializations.

There are some skills Su Huan only knows by name; he doesn’t know the exact potion synthesis method.

If it weren’t for being able to borrow the major’s privileges in the previous life, he wouldn’t have known so many professions.

He could only let them try training, or cultivate their own Pharmacist.

There is a significant gap for Scavengers and Makers now.

It needs to be prioritized.

Without the cover of acid rain, the noise attracted the attention of some zombies, who howled and rallied others, charging toward the armed train.

A slender and tall Tier One Zombie led them, with two-meter long legs, reverse knee joints, crouching down, and suddenly leaping forward seven or eight meters, reaching the train in just two bounds.

The Iron Rain on the locomotive suddenly shifted direction, slightly shaking, tilting upward at a thirty-degree angle.

Jump!

Open fire.

In an instant, it was like iron rain striking the sky.

The Tier One Zombie jumper, which had just appeared, exploded into a blood and flesh firework in mid-air.

The Iron Rain stopped in the next moment, barely having expended a few bullets.

In terms of this precise control, on the entire train, only He Jie and Xiaoba could manage it.

However, considering reaction speed, it was likely the latter.

Over the past two days, Xiaoba had familiarized himself more and more with that big guy, but this also served as a reminder to Su Huan to prepare a countermeasure device in advance to prevent the enemy’s metal manipulation or some strange controller from using this anti-aircraft machine gun against them.

Outside the train windows, the rhythmic three-shot bursts of the Iron Guard’s assault rifle could be heard.

Lao San began leading his brothers to clear the approaching zombies.

And dragged the mutilated Tier One Zombie back into the carriage.

This was the basic duty of the crew: to protect the train and perform some supplementary train tasks.

Su Huan glanced at the time.

4:40 PM.

He stretched lazily and walked out of the carriage.

The little chef was holding a black sniper rifle while loading bullets one by one into the magazine. A row of 7.62 armor-piercing rounds were laid out on the table, each one carefully pressed in, just as she would meticulously handle each step of cooking.

She wouldn’t be like Su Huan, who often, out of laziness, would leave kitchen utensils lying all over the place.

Seeing her in good condition, Su Huan didn’t interrupt and headed straight for Carriage No. 3.

Wan Xing handed him five Tier One Pan-energy Crystals again.

Adding to the previous ones, Su Huan now had one Tier Two Crystal and five Tier One Crystals in his possession.

There was no other way—there were so many people on the train, and everyone needed to evolve, no matter how arduously Wan Xing worked, Pan-energy Crystals were still like a drop in the bucket.

Su Huan raised an eyebrow, ”It seems like the speed has increased a lot. Did your main ability evolve, or have you gained a new skill?”

Wan Xing nodded, ”’Visual Analysis’ has already upgraded to level 2, and I’ve gained a new level 1 ability called ’Energy Solidification.’”

Su Huan squatted down, making eye contact with Wan Xing.

”About the Collector profession, I know of three systems. They are Tier One ’Trace Expert’ for trace analysis and tracking reconnaissance, with a limit of Tier Two and weak combat power; Tier One ’Decomposer’ for enhanced gathering and decomposition, with a limit of Tier Three and some combat power; and the last one you know, Tier One ’Pharmacist’ for synthesizing collected materials, with a limit of Tier Two, higher applicability, and combat power depending on potions.”

”Which one do you want to choose?”

Wan Xing’s eyes showed a look of contemplation before she asked back, ”Which one do you hope I choose?”

”Pharmacist.”

”Then Pharmacist it is.”

Su Huan said seriously, ”You only have this one chance to choose.”

Wan Xing calmly shook her head, ”Pharmacist is fine. I don’t want to fight outside. What do you need me to do?”

”Upgrade Visual Analysis to Level 3 as soon as possible, and I’ll provide you with skill combinations for later.”

”Okay.”

Heavy footsteps sounded in Carriage No. 4, and Yu Yue’s gentle voice also reached Su Huan’s ear.

Looking up, He Jie came over with a sullen face, ”I feel the company is coming for us.”

Su Huan looked out the train window. The sunlight that had just emerged was once again obscured by clouds. A gloomy sky resembled He Jie’s grim expression, with a small black dot hovering below the clouds.

Su Huan smirked, ”I didn’t expect them to be so efficient, but you got one thing wrong.”

He Jie was astonished, ”Which part?”

”It’s your former company making trouble for us.”

He Jie’s face darkened even more, ”I hope you have some tough means to deal with this, or else we won’t have a good time if we’re caught and taken back.”

Su Huan chuckled lightly, ”Isn’t it just the Wall of Confession? It’s not anything fresh.”

”You know about that?”

The so-called Wall of Confession is an inclined wall where convicts are bound and subjected to acid rain corrosion day and night.

In less than ten days, they turn into a pile of rotten flesh.

This is a small tactic used by the Steel Council to intimidate Scavengers and defectors.

”Forget it, I’ll avoid it for a while.”

He Jie shook his head and turned back into the carriage.

Su Huan did not stop him, as being ”dead” was currently more useful than being alive, at least the Steel Council wouldn’t kill his wife and daughter because of his mission failure.

The rumble grew nearer, and the small black dot on the horizon became a helicopter. Compared to on the bridge, the helicopter was evidently armed, with two bulky three-barreled Gatling guns and an attached rocket pod, flaunting its robust muscles.

Xiaoba’s electric wheelchair sounded beside him, and Lao San also arrived with his men.

Yu Jing approached, handing Su Huan his electromagnetic sniper rifle.

Opening the window, the energy within his body began to flow into the gun. Su Huan closed one eye and saw a convoy racing in the scope.

The leader was still an off-road vehicle, followed by an armored personnel carrier.

’Looks like the old company has gained quite a bit.’

”Come, let’s extend a friendly greeting.”

With a bright smile on his face, Su Huan decisively pulled the trigger.