Armed Train in the Apocalypse

Chapter 132: Chapter 122: A Few Things on the Train

After reminding everyone to hold onto their belongings, and greeting Jiang Rong and Old Liu, he led the group through the carriage, moving forward.

The passengers’ eyes lit up when they saw them.

Especially those who prided themselves on having some combat skills, who quickly moved forward with a smile.

”Brother Xiao is back.”

”Brother Xiao, I also want to join you on a mission.”

”Brother Xiao, I heard your wife likes cherries. I managed to get two imported cans of cherries today, please take them.”

Lu Xiao stopped and took the cherry cans, glancing at them before looking at the man, who appeared to be in his forties, with signs of hard work etched on his face, standing with his wife and their teenage son.

There was a humble expectation in the man’s eyes.

Because those at the front of the train never come to the back, the highest-ranking people ordinary passengers can interact with are the crew and the two teams of Lu Xiao and Jiang Rong.

Initially, the two teams had high casualties, some had left the team, while some old passengers secretly felt relieved.

But now, even the most ordinary team members have become Evolvers.

They still have to hustle for tickets, and these old passengers are quite envious, hoping the conductor will issue missions so they can earn their way up and recruit a group under them to live comfortably.

But after waiting for half a month, the conductor hadn’t issued a single mission, while the two teams had gone out several times.

Some couldn’t wait any longer and went to inquire, hearing that a points system was introduced in front carriages, but only team leaders could earn points to exchange for items.

They belatedly realized they had missed another opportunity and could only turn to Lu Xiao for help.

But Lu Xiao wasn’t stupid; he wouldn’t take in these seasoned veterans who had been filtered many times over.

Even when short-handed, he generally chose from among the newcomers.

The newcomers who boarded, as long as they showed some skills, were recorded by Translator Hu on the book. The useful ones were directly picked for the crew, while the rest were either redundant talents or too guarded, hiding their abilities.

But men like him, burdened with a family, were clearly not in his consideration.

Although stable, the team currently didn’t have enough resources to sustain two idle people.

”You’re a newcomer?”

The man quickly nodded, ”Just boarded the day before yesterday.”

Lu Xiao pondered, ”The canned cherries are nice, and the date is fresh. What do you want in exchange?”

The man showed a trace of eagerness on his face, ”No need to exchange, no need to exchange. If Brother Xiao likes it, just take it. There’s nothing to exchange. It’s an honor if Brother Xiao accepts it.”

Lu Xiao glanced at his wife and child behind him, sighed, ”My team is full, but tomorrow you can join us. I make no guarantees of what you might gain.”

Upon hearing this, the man was overjoyed, ”Thank you, Brother Xiao! Thank you, Brother Xiao!”

”Just for two cans of cherries, Brother Xiao is letting you tag along, what dumb luck!”

”I’m so envious my eyes are red.”

”Brother Xiao, what else does your wife like to eat? I’ll find it tomorrow!”

”Brother Xiao...”

The surrounding people started flattering eagerly, and some even held out things hoping to step forward.

But Lu Xiao had lost interest in lingering, waved his hand, and under the watchful eyes of Xiaoma and the others, the surrounding passengers could only step back, not daring to entangle further.

They were merely ordinary passengers on the train, while Lu Xiao led a combat team.

Even if killed on the spot, the train wouldn’t intervene.

However, Lu Xiao and Jiang Rong were both smart; they always maintained a balance, never doing anything to make things difficult for the conductor.

This is the advantage of smart people—many rules don’t need to be explicitly stated.

They are very cautious in maintaining this balance.

Just like Su Huan had never told them, ”No fighting on the train,” ”Combat teams are not allowed to massacre passengers on a large scale,” nor ”The crew is not allowed to sell goods to the rear carriages”—these rules...

If you really want to talk about rules, they are endless, and Su Huan didn’t want to focus on them.

But that doesn’t mean there are no rules on the train.

Like the mechanic Old Liu trading some food with female passengers in the rear for certain services, or the chef secretly selling semi-public information to the rear carriages.

The matter of point exchanges was spread through his channels.

These were all recorded in Translator Hu’s book.

Even when Su Huan saw it, he said nothing.

Compared to ”the two deep blue data collectors who sneaked onto the train,” and ”the unstable factor named Li Hong in Professor Ma’s team,” these were trivial matters.

Even these two, compared to what the conductor was contemplating, were somewhat insignificant.

...

Having acquired quite a bit of furniture, the layout of the dining area had changed significantly. Entering from carriage number 3, the right-hand cabinet was now made of black walnut, with a small wine cooler of the same material hanging beside it. It looked more like a small bar than a kitchen.

Moving forward along the left aisle, a set of small sofas now formed an arc around a central table.

The table and sofas were fixed to the carriage floor, preventing them from blocking the aisle even during intense shaking.

The makeshift long table ahead was replaced with a solid wood long table, although the red and white checkered tablecloth remained, as did the small porcelain vase shyly overshadowed by the massive tabletop.

The layout featured two rows of ten comfortable chairs, slightly to the right, on the same side as the kitchen.

Spacious aisles were left on both sides, allowing Xiaoba’s wheelchair to pass through.

The steel blind windows had also been decorated; the original dark green curtains were swapped for brighter colors, making it look less like a prison, even with the blinds down.

At the end, the orange cat sofa reserved for the conductor had gained a few companions, forming a circular sofa arrangement that could easily seat five or six people.