Armed Train in the Apocalypse

Dinner was a big pot of lamb pilaf, with sweet, tender sweet potato strips and carrot strips adding bright color, plus big chunks of braised lamb and kangaroo milk, making it extremely satisfying to eat.

The lamb came from Tianze Base; because the Energy Core was still running, the food inside had been well preserved.

Su Huan hauled off a full train car of it, and that was only one percent of the whole cold storage.

If it weren’t for the train’s limited carrying capacity, Su Huan would’ve wanted to move even the nuclear reactor, not leaving that bastard Ma Hongyu a single hair.

Now there were more Evolvers on the train, so the job of maintaining the cold-storage car no longer needed the conductor to do it himself; the charging department under the train crew just sent two people to rotate shifts and that solved it.

Halfway through the meal, He Jie sat down at the table, gnawing on a lamb chop while talking to the conductor about the Armed Corps, with two ”newcomers” behind him: Mongoose and Xiaoma.

The two of them were of course old passengers, but they were new faces in the dining car. They didn’t go and bother the conductor; Mongoose quietly greeted Yu Yue, and Xiaoma nodded respectfully behind him.

Yu Yue gave them a gentle smile and added two sets of tableware.

After battle after battle, Mongoose was now qualified to eat in the dining car. Xiaoma had gotten on the train early, but he’d never had any standout performance; the only reason he got in was because of Lu Xiao and Miao Qi, and because He Jie had deliberately put in a word for him.

”Those two sets of molds got put to use, right?”

”Eh, no.” He Jie wiped the grease from his mouth. ”That bullet workshop’s output is tiny, only about ten thousand rounds a day. Once you spread that across different calibers, the overall production drops even further. Add in special models like Pan Energy rounds, and you basically can’t get more than a handful out. Their whole day’s work isn’t enough for me to spray for one minute.”

Su Huan was almost done eating. He put down his chopsticks and glanced toward the Boss at the other end. ”What about expanding the production space?”

The Boss shook his head. ”We don’t have enough equipment and materials in reserve. And even if we doubled it, turned six cars into bullet workshops, that’d only let him spray for two minutes.”

Su Huan raised an eyebrow. Looked like they still had to rely on trade for bullets, or find a proper ammo depot and crack it open.

But ammo depots weren’t marked on civilian maps. The other military bases didn’t have much ammunition stockpiled either. Spend ten days to half a month searching, and the rounds you dug up wouldn’t even be enough for the Corps’ training. The cost‑performance was way too low.

”We’re almost at Bishui County, right?”

Su Huan asked.

Shu Wei at his side nodded, gave a precise time, and added, ”After we left, we contacted the Gunfire people three more times. The signal went out, but we haven’t gotten any reply.”

”Those sons of bitches aren’t playing us, are they?”

He Jie tossed aside the bone he’d gnawed perfectly clean, murder in his eyes.

Su Huan instead thought of the two high‑energy signatures that had streaked past overhead in Tianze Base right before the Fungus Carpet riot. They were now sure it was Deep Blue Data, but he didn’t know if Gunfire was involved. He pondered for a moment. ”Get ready in advance.”

He Jie’s facial muscles twitched. He said viciously, ”I can’t do anything about natural disasters, but if I screw up when it comes to fighting people, I’ll bring my head to you myself!”

By the time night fell, several drones had already ripped through the darkness, shattering the calm here. The hum of off‑road vehicles followed right behind, provoking angry, warning roars from beasts. Behind the crazily growing vegetation, pairs of green and blood‑red eyes fixed on this group of intruders.

While they were still hidden in the shadows, sizing up the convoy’s strength, scattered zombies were already closing in. They burst out from pitch‑black buildings, abandoned cars, and from who knew which tree roots, charging the convoy.

In the lead off‑roader, Wen Biao shouted into the radio, ”Don’t waste bullets, punch through!”

The six vehicles at the front gunned the engines and rammed forward, grinding the scattered zombies under their wheels. Just then, a fast black blur streaked out of the grass, lunging straight at the open window of the lead off‑roader. Its body had just left the ground when a thunderous boom rang out.

The Tier One terror‑claw cat had half its body blown off by the sniper in the rear.

That single shot quieted a lot of the prowling predators in the grass. They decided to keep watching; then, reflected in their beast eyes, appeared one giant monster after another, seven or eight meters tall. The sheer bulk and roaring noise triggered their instinctive Fear.

Qu Hang stood on the roof of a vehicle, still wearing the Guardian-2 Type Power Armor, his face covered by a flesh‑colored Ghost Umbrella Mushroom Carpet.

Ever since Miao Qi’s incident, the Armed Corps had added a new Rule: all officers going out on missions had to wear full‑coverage Power Armor, and the Fungus Carpet was the second layer of ”armor.” Both types of Fungus Carpet had basic poison filtration, short‑range comms, and other functions.

The Ghost Umbrella Mushroom Carpet grew fast and could repair wounds; the Corpsehead mushroom was packed with energy and could provide energy replenishment to the host. But the two Fungus Carpets couldn’t be carried at the same time. Because he’d once been popped by a shot from the conductor, Qu Hang preferred the former.

Ignoring the strands of killing intent hidden in the grass, he gazed out at Dayun Lake in the distance.

Night settled; the water far off was flecked with broken shards of moonlight.

Near the edge of the county, the waterway narrowed. An old pier jutted into the water, but only halfway, ending abruptly and alone, as if someone had dug a big pit near the lake, giving it this irregular shape.

The county in the distance was pitch black, not a single light. Beyond it were low hills, their silhouettes rising and falling like beast spines, silently encircling this body of water.