Armed Train in the Apocalypse

Boundary between the Spore Zone and the Gravity Zone.

Various fragments floated in the sky, some particularly deep and dark.

Upon closer inspection, those specks were clearly floating lands of various sizes. Near the Spore Zone, there were very few, only four or five scattered around, pitifully small, like clods accidentally dropped by the gods.

The deeper into the Gravity Zone, the larger the floating fragments became, some resembling boulders, others like mounds or small islands.

At five kilometers from the Spore Zone boundary, the largest floating land had already reached over a hundred square meters, hovering about ten meters above the ground.

Three modified off-road vehicles squeezed onto the narrow floating land, not the rough wilderness modifications, but ones with intact welding, car paint, integrating technology and aesthetics. In less conspicuous corners, a sleek double tower emblem was painted.

In the center was an ultra-long-range surveillance device, facing the Spore Zone, and several experts in uniform were tuning the equipment.

A dozen well-equipped, formidable soldiers stood guard nearby, all composed of Tier One Evolvers, fully furnished with light and heavy equipment.

Such a configuration could easily sweep through a scavenger settlement of a thousand people, but here it was used for monitoring.

An expert approached, ”Judging from the previous pan-energy reactions, the train should be battling the mycosis mushrooms, with combat sites at Reed Pond Lake and Abandoned Mine 6, ninety-two kilometers from the Gravity Zone edge, with a direct line consisting of one large and three medium mushroom groups; the estimated passing time is tomorrow afternoon, just as the digestion period ends.”

The off-road vehicle’s door was half-open, inside sat a blond man with blue eyes, who laughed noncommittally after hearing this conclusion and handed the electronic map in his hand to the man next to him in a suit, ”Mr. Wei, what do you think?”

The middle-aged man sitting beside, resting with eyes closed, sighed, ”I’m already retired, why drag me back?”

Haywood smiled, ”Headquarters asked me to choose someone, but after considering, you were the only suitable person as an advisor for this operation.”

”Isn’t it because I recommended you and you’re displeased, right?”

”If you want to think so, you can.” Haywood shrugged his shoulders, ”But I must remind you, if this operation is successful, although you might not get your position reinstated, your retirement life should be much more respectable.”

Wei Mountain gave him a calm look and said, ”You’re becoming more like a Donghuang Person.”

But Haywood was quite right.

Even though they voted in the meeting to retain his retirement benefits, after some time, Fu Lanshan, who strongly supported him in the meeting, would be the first to want him gone.

When he returned, both of them tore into each other to get the president to exert effort.

His departure was too abrupt, and his direct subordinates weren’t cultivated sufficiently.

And Haywood was his only chance.

The other subordinates were all Donghuang People, fitting into other factions after he left, but Haywood was different, no matter how high a position he held in the company, he was always a foreigner, nobody would treat him as a confidant.

He needed Haywood, and likewise, Haywood needed his remaining contacts.

Without any communication, they tactically reached mutual selections this time.

Haywood smiled without saying anything.

Wei Mountain pondered, ”The company’s mission objective is to demonstrate strength without direct conflict. The ambiguity arises because the management has no unified opinion on the train, but as executors, we must choose a direction, so what is your choice?”

Haywood earnestly asked, ”I wish to know what my options are?”

Having been harshly struck during his time at Zhijin by the train, Wei Mountain had become much clearer, calmly stating, ”The first path is to hide and do nothing.”

Haywood rubbed his chin, ”Doing nothing? It’s a good option, what about the other?”

”Hit hard!”

Wei Mountain’s voice carried a tinge of ferocity.

”What if I tried to negotiate with Su Huan? After all, we had a pleasant collaboration in the Acid Rain Zone.”

”What do you think he would do if he finds out, after heavy losses in the Spore Zone, that you were nearby?”

”Uh...”

Haywood gave a gentlemanly smile, ”Then let’s hit hard.”

Turning around he asked, ”When will the catalyst I requested arrive?”

Expert: ”The catalyst targeting the fungus carpet needs to be transferred from the company headquarters, at the earliest by tomorrow morning.”

”Six hours.”

Haywood glanced at his watch, gently stating an inarguable number.

”That’s my limit of tolerance, six hours later I hope to see a boiling Spore Zone.”

The expert’s forehead broke out in a cold sweat, firmly nodding.

”Relax, where is the Gunfire team now?”

...

The fluorescent kingdom at night faced certain doom. Under the patronage of the train captain, neither the towering fungal umbrellas reaching into the sky nor the heavy fungus carpets, or even those splendid myriad mushrooms, could withstand the lightning strike hammer, being shredded into pieces, and then crushed under the tracks.

The 1.5-kilometer-long train thundered past, dragging cultivation pods exceeding 35 meters in diameter.

Onboard the Crown Pear Tree rustled gently, their faint life aura surrounding them like a dignified young master rampaging through a slum in a carriage, waving farewell as they left.

Su Huan stood atop the very front of the train, all giant fungal umbrellas leaning towards the front would be repelled by an invisible energy beside him.

The ”Pan-energy Transformation” could theoretically convert all known forms of energy.

But Su Huan’s chosen direction focused on total energy, hence his conversion capabilities were weaker, only able to transform basic types of energy like mechanical, thermal, light, and electrical energy. In practice, he mostly used electrical energy, rarely using thermal energy, and the mechanical energy wasn’t as powerful as a casual strike from him, only being used in the initial apocalypse outbreak.