Armed Train in the Apocalypse

The other party has also reached Tier Three, where I had narrowly escaped death to ascend to.

Could it be that this person is the real protagonist?

Unfortunately, no one was there to answer his question.

Even though information after the apocalypse spreads slowly, it still circulates at a gradual pace.

News of an armed train organizing a large-scale transaction in Zhijin has spread to various regions over the past few months.

Furthermore, the train conductor will host an auction with some rare items.

Rumors speak of fruits that can enhance Life Force, professional gear from Tier One to Tier Five, complete sets of Genetic Potion, moving vehicles equipped with large-caliber weapons, extensive evolution materials, self-mobile hunting plant species, Evolutionary plants capable of supporting millions of people...

Everyone can find what they need at the transaction market and auction.

The stir caused by this news even far exceeded the Hundred Beasts’ Corpse-Hunting Group because there was already one Tier Three Evolver; having one more, although impressive, was no longer novel.

Yet the transaction market organized by the armed train can genuinely benefit everyone.

...

Deep Blue Data, Twin Towers.

At this moment, calling it the Single Tower would be more appropriate because one of them has fallen.

Self-cleaning photovoltaic glass, which is getting scarcer, shattered all over the ground, and the cooling liquid inside the tower was reduced to a shallow layer, polluted by wind and sand.

Wei Mountain stood in the conference room atop the other tower, looking down at the busy construction vehicles and personnel below, his face as dark as the bottom of a pot.

He had just overthrown the former front desk general manager and taken one of the top positions in the company, and right after that, an accident occurred at the experimental tower, and the Genetic Primordial, the core asset of the company, escaped!

Deep Blue Data, being a top force, naturally has more than one Genetic Primordial, but every Genetic Primordial in the apocalypse is a priceless treasure, more valuable than the general managers.

After all, there’s always someone to replace a dead general manager, but every Genetic Primordial lost is irreplaceable; their birth is a stroke of luck, and with the dwindling population now, finding one is like searching for a needle in a haystack.

Now the corporate board should be discussing his punishment.

Thinking of this, Wei Mountain took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the turmoil in his heart.

He must do something before the punishment arrives.

And the only thing actionable at the moment is the transaction meeting organized by the armed train.

As long as he can generate enough profit for the company, no one will focus on his previous mistakes, especially since that was technically a technical middle-tier issue, unrelated to their business department.

But since he was the sole highest-ranking official at that time in the Twin Towers, he has to bear the blame solidly.

”President Wei, someone from the lab is here.”

A knocking sound came from outside the door.

”Let them roll in.”

A researcher in his fifties, sporting a balding head, entered, slightly cautious, ”President Wei, it’s been figured out. The Genetic Primordial advanced a shadow-like Ability, then escaped amidst the chaos...”

Wei Mountain impatiently waved his hand, ”Save that explanation for the people from headquarters. I just want to know one thing— how important are the fruits that restore Life Force to evolution? Don’t feed me those professional terms!”

The researcher’s eyes instantly brightened, ”The company has searched for months without finding fruits that can restore Life Force. This might be the key to the conductor ascending to Tier Three.”

Wei Mountain contemplated upon hearing this.

’Seems like I must attend this transaction meeting.’

...

Southwest Zhijin, Vertical Forest Ecology.

Vertical Forest Ecology may not be the region with the most Evolver plants within a hundred kilometers, but it is certainly the most conspicuous.

Amidst a wilderness of abandoned buildings and yellow sand, a group of giant trees, forty to fifty meters tall, stood tall on the ground, with a tree every four to five meters. The edges of lush canopies connected, blocking out the sand from the Storm Zone far away.

By observing closely, you can see black solar panels among the canopies; just slightly lower, there are wooden lookout towers connected by suspension bridges, occupied by armed sentries.

Going further down, you can see micro stilt wooden houses, built systematically on the tree branches, twenty to thirty meters above the ground.

This height avoids attacks from wandering corpse groups below and evades the endless gales.

(Diagram of the wooden house, likely more concealed than in the picture, and interconnected)

Among the gigantic trees, three mutated ancient banyan trees entwined, their once vast bodies became even more majestic. The combined height exceeded 100 meters, and the area of the entangled trunk in the middle spanned over 100 square meters, with a canopy diameter exceeding 200 meters.

The three trees have formed a gigantic architectural wonder.

It has become the core area of the Vertical Forest Ecology.

In the tree hollow, a crucial meeting is being held, or more precisely, a group of people sat in a circle listening to a young Scavenger recount the changes happening in Zhijin.

To enhance the credibility of his words, the Scavenger incorporated substantial body language.

”...The train alone is several kilometers long, taking over an hour to walk from one end to the other. Each carriage is mounted with heavy machine guns, the kind found on warships, I bet you wouldn’t survive a hit from one.”

”Moreover, their troops all wear uniforms, each fully armed, with standardized guns and tactical gear. If it weren’t different from before, I’d have suspected they were regular military.”

”Every one of them is an Evolver, even the logistics personnel aren’t ordinary people, you see Tier One Evolvers are everywhere...”

”...”

”Alright, we know the armed train is formidable; otherwise, they wouldn’t have taken Zhijin, but I want to know how they are sustaining over ten thousand people. Don’t tell me it’s through resource plundering.”

Forty-year-old ”Crown Master” Pan Yue interrupted the Scavenger’s speech and asked directly.

Feeling everyone’s scrutinizing glance, the Scavenger swallowed his saliva.

Although he didn’t speak, his desire was expressed straightforwardly.

Pan Yue gave a signal, and someone immediately handed over a canteen. The Scavenger took it and began drinking deeply, the cool water carrying a sweetness of plants revitalized him.

Reluctantly putting the canteen down, the Scavenger continued, ”The Food Production Bureau plants some grass that matures especially fast, then it can be ground into flour, just dip it in any sauce, add a bit of chili oil, and it’s delicious. Although eating too much may cause constipation.”

The one-eyed woman beside him berated coldly, ”How did you obtain such crucial intelligence?”

The woman named Chen Hong, a former sniper of the law enforcement bureau, is the third-in-command in Vertical Forest Ecology and the overall defense commander of the entire force.

The Scavenger nonchalantly said, ”It’s not a big secret; all of Zhijin knows, considering the Food Production Bureau has thousands of people, news was bound to spread eventually...”

”Oh right, there’s news you might be interested in, but I want food, and I want post-apocalyptic packaging intact.”

Pan Yue and the one-eyed woman exchanged a glance, solemnly stating, ”As long as the news is valuable, I will give you some compressed biscuits, all military-grade.”

Military compressed biscuits are notoriously unpleasant, but last longer than civilian ones.

Basically, it’s one of the apocalypse’s hard currencies.

Hearing this, the Scavenger was satisfied, ”The Zhijin auction will feature a special kind of tree species, it’s said to grow by feeding on metal, capable of moving, and possessing some combat ability...”

Originally unimpressed, Pan Yue’s eyes suddenly narrowed; not just him, a young person present also began breathing heavily.

Pan Yue was able to establish Vertical Forest Ecology largely due to his brother’s plant affinity and the grove of trees they stood upon.

If Evolution plants providing abundant food have intrigued them,

Then these mobile combat trees would be enough to incite their fervor.

The leadership team exchanged glances, almost instantly reaching a consensus.

Attending this transaction meeting was a must!

[A brother has commented that the storyline has been scattered and lacks foreshadowing these last two days. Chapter 335 will add 1200 words from the gang’s perspective, free content, just refresh to see]