Armed Train in the Apocalypse

The thundering footsteps of the Butcher were getting closer, but his subordinates had only been running for a few seconds. If he withdrew now, it would mean death for two.

With the pressure of death looming, sweat poured from his forehead, but the officer’s feet remained unmoved.

Skillfully loading the last magazine, he retreated steadily while accurately taking down approaching zombies.

The distance closed, with almost every shot taking down a zombie.

Halfway through a magazine, he had taken out more than ten ordinary zombies.

This kind of loss would have caused the other species to crumble, but these beasts could withstand losses like the damn Qing Dynasty, charging forward against the gunfire.

The nearest zombie nearly bit his boot as it fell after death.

The red light of tracer bullets flashed again, signaling his teammates had enough time to retreat.

But he knew he couldn’t make it out.

Drawing his pistol and rifle, he silently calculated the bullets inside.

”Three.”

”Two.”

”Ratatat...”

He hadn’t finished counting when a burst of gunfire sounded from behind.

Without turning around, he recognized it as the unit light machine gun used by ”Firepower Hand”, small caliber and high rate of fire, only effective on ordinary zombies.

”Boss, above! Above!”

A teammate’s urgent shout came from behind.

The young officer suppressed an inexplicable tremor in his heart, rolled sharply to the corner of the wall, and the whistling sound of a dried tree falling was followed by the incessant cracking of branches, and the ground’s bricks shattered.

Though he chose the corner of the building, his back still felt like it was being cut.

He forced himself up to run.

But even at Tier Two, the Butcher, though slow, was much faster than him, an unprofessional ”Defender”, and he could even hear the slicing sound behind his head.

The next instant, a pain hit his waist, and he flew sideways.

Before he could react, he was lifted and thrown somewhere, and upon undoing his dislodged helmet, he saw a pair of pale golden bestial eyes staring intently at the Tier Two Butcher below.

”Sister Cat?”

The officer’s voice carried some surprise.

”Hmm, Liu Zi, find your way down.”

The mongoose nodded, and if not reassigned to Qu Hang’s unit by He Jie, Liu Zi should have been her deputy.

After that, the mongoose leaped down.

It was only then that Liu Zi realized at some point he had been carried to the third floor by the mongoose.

With a ”snap”, a shell casing hit his head.

He Jie’s furious yell followed from behind, ”Still reminiscing, you damn fool? Do you want me to carry you down?”

”You! Yes, you! You’re the candidate going back to the recruit camp this time. Not even a plea from the trainmaster will help you!”

The violent machine gunfire erupted, and the Butcher let out angry roars.

Though a Tier Two zombie, with immense strength and resilience, without ascending to Tier Three, it remained a solid target before the 12.7mm caliber.

Accompanied by precise machine gun shots, the Tier Two Butcher’s head exploded into mush.

Liu Zi climbed down along the wall to regroup with four teammates.

Inside, he felt the relief of a close escape, tinged with the sorrow of returning to recruit camp, but his four comrades had different feelings.

Rejoice, a brother lives!

Misfortune struck a brother, rejoice even more!

They enthusiastically patted his shoulder one by one.

”Don’t worry, we’ll come to visit you then.”

”Eh, being so sentimental about us?”

”We’re brothers in life and death!”

”If worst comes to pass, you can run to see us...”

”No more saluting, that’s not important, just remember to call us officer.”

Liu Zi: ”o.0”

...

In an underground laboratory hastily converted within Zhijin City.

Apart from various screens and equipment, there were only two assistants in the lab.

Number 1 stood before a huge screen, currently displaying the image of Su Huan and the Tier Three Queen pressing foreheads, with streams of information rapidly updating on either side.

In his indifferent eyes, the data streams intersected, occasionally converging into a miniature black hole, devouring other data.

”How could he instantly ascend to Tier Three?”

”Where did such massive energy originate?”

”Why did the Tier Three Queen not kill him but instead pushed him away at the end?”

”Why is the ’Power Supplier’ profession so different for him?”

”Why did he suddenly freeze at the end?”

”Do Genetic Primordials vary this much?”

”...”

With the lack of information, countless questions surged in Number 1’s mind. He initially thought watching this battle would resolve many issues, but more questions emerged.

”The zombie horde is unconsciously spreading, and twelve observation points have been destroyed. The risk of the temporary laboratory being discovered has increased significantly. Should we withdraw?”

An assistant questioned while typing on a keyboard.

The lab was silent except for the hum of machinery; there was no response.

After a while, Number 1’s apathetic voice broke the silence, ”No, continue observing, and prioritize collecting the following information...”

...

The sky grew brighter, and for He Jie, things were far from relaxed.

The situation like Liu Zi’s had occurred countless times that night. No matter how well-equipped or well-trained, on the battlefield, it meant nothing.

Bad luck still spelled death.

Initially, senior officers fought according to their teams, but they eventually realized it wasn’t feasible, resorting to splitting up, firefighting everywhere.

In one night, the troops lost fourteen officer teams.

Counting the teams missing one or two members, casualties were approaching those during the fight against Black Kite at Yanbei Pass.

Several promising recruits were lost.

”Boom!”

A loud dull sound rang out ahead.

It didn’t resemble an explosive, but rather the crashing of waves against rocks.

He Jie frowned, ”Mongoose, divert the zombies here; I’ll go check ahead!”

He removed the empty ammo belt, casually pocketed it, and with the heavy machine gun on his shoulder, he took a few running steps and leapt onto a nearby rooftop, running toward another direction.

While running, he strategized on the map in his head. According to his orders, Qu Hang, Lin Jin, and others were all directing the zombie horde to spread, and the area should be free of Tier One Evolvers. How could there be such a commotion?

Could it be the crew made a move?

”Hiss...”

With this thought, He Jie quickened his pace.

Though still far, he saw a two-to-three-meter-tall ”Water Giant” standing on the rooftop, throwing javelins downward, and the surf-like sound he heard was the javelin piercing through Tier Two zombies and striking the ground.

If the target wasn’t killed, a second javelin followed.

A maximum of three javelins would kill a Tier Two zombie.

Then he would manipulate the water to retrieve the javelin, unharmed despite such violent impact.

Standing on the rooftop like a turret, he coldly eliminated the high-tier zombies below.

With his aid, the scavengers below swiftly cleared the area.

Due to his injuries, He Jie hadn’t seen Zhong You’s appearance, but the terrifying energy fluctuation from the other made it clear he wasn’t a simple character. With the anti-aircraft gun reloaded, he silently stood behind, waiting.

He could sense the other’s presence, and Zhong You naturally knew of his arrival.

Two men, one working, the other silently observing, formed a delicate balance.

Not until all Tier Two zombies below were hunted did Zhong You stop, and the ”Little Giant” turned into clear water and returned to the canister on his back.

Without the final authority for exoskeletons, he carried only three javelins and a water tank.

”I want to find Su Huan, to make a deal with him.”

...

”Enough with the stories, say something that piques my interest.”

Su Huan sat topless on the car roof, allowing Yu Yue to slowly wipe the blood off his body with a rag.

Zhong You spoke calmly, ”Number 1 is still in Zhijin City, and I know the approximate location.”

Su Huan’s expression relaxed, his smile amiable, ”I think this is a sincere deal.”

”So, what do you want?”