Armed Train in the Apocalypse

”What mature formulas do we currently have?”

Su Huan asked.

Hu Shuo glanced at Hua Junyan beside him and said calmly, ”Four sets for Tier Five, three sets for Tier Four, twelve sets for Tier Three. Among those, there are two full formula sets that can directly reach Tier Three, and six sets that can reach Tier Two.”

Just that first half of the sentence was enough to set off a tidal wave in Hua Junyan and the others’ eyes.

Although the Business Alliance has also simulated Tier Five, at this stage most factions still haven’t cracked the Rule, so all formulas above Tier Four are just speculation.

The usable formulas only cover Tier One to Tier Three.

Even the top factions only have one or two sets, and they’re all kept under lock and key.

Anything put out for trade is just Tier One and Tier Two, with no follow‑up Profession formulas.

At that Zhijin auction, the Armed Train showed off its strength to everyone; people already knew they had Tier Five formulas, but who the hell would’ve thought they actually had four sets!

Just those three sets of formulas could support three top‑tier factions!

Ever since Deep Blue Data obtained the Eternal Motion Mechanism, they’ve been mass‑training Power Suppliers, which means the odds are very high that those three sets of formulas are all real!

Hua Junyan immediately said with a beaming smile, ”Train Captain, there’s actually another way to redeem Genetic Potions.”

The second match in the arena below had just ended as well. A Tier One Evolver was cut down on the spot; the Pan Energy barrier didn’t even have time to activate.

The Iron Swallows squatting all around swarmed in, stripping the corpse clean.

The bloodstains on the ground, along with the dirt, were all swallowed, leaving only a patch of earth that looked like it had been turned over.

”Arena fights?” Su Huan seriously considered it for a moment, then hesitated. ”Me going down there wouldn’t be appropriate, right?”

Hua Junyan’s smile stiffened slightly. ”You’re joking. Forget Dragon Gate, the entire Business Alliance couldn’t afford your appearance fee... I mean your men, if any of them are interested, they can go down and have some fun.”

”Our rewards are very generous. Rank ten to thirty‑six can get one Power Basic Attribute Potion; rank six to ten can pick any Basic Attribute Potion; the top five can pick one Skill Potion; and first place can choose a complete set of Tier One Profession Potions.”

”That’s the weekly rank‑maintenance reward. Your men can claim it right away; they don’t need to hold the rank for a whole week.”

Win‑streak rewards are doubled; if someone starts from rank thirty‑six and keeps challenging all the way up to first place, winning every match, then both the challenge rewards and rank rewards get multiplied by thirty‑six.

The last type is cumulative rewards.

Take Cheng Zhan from Dragon Gate for example—he’s never been defeated. Every so often, a potion gets accumulated over his head, and if someone beats him, they get the accumulated potions.

Four kinds of rewards, all fancy variations, designed purely to lure wilderness experts to gather at Dragon Gate.

But it only sounds nice. Skimming wool off the big factions is never that easy.

Each of the six factions sends a few people to act as gatekeepers, so in this tiny arena, the top ten ranks are all damn Tier Two Evolvers from major factions!

The only ”wild” Tier Two is someone who came to Dragon Gate a month ago, and he’s been crushed firmly in eleventh place.

But Liu Zi and the other young ones didn’t know any of that behind‑the‑scenes stuff; all of them had their eyes lit up.

For an average Evolver to improve their strength there are only two paths: either fight like crazy, using Fear at the edge of life and death to stimulate the body; or go the scientific route and pop potions.

And it’s not like one dose fixes everything—Basic Potion, Skill Potion, Breakthrough Potion, you can’t miss any of those three.

Because the train doesn’t have many people, it uses a ration system, but if you want to level up fast, you still have to redeem stuff.

And that costs points. Right now there’s a chance to freeload and also make the Train Captain look good—who wouldn’t be hyped?

”Anyone want to go down and give it a try?”

Su Huan tilted his head and looked back at the young ones behind him.

Bomb ignored Xiao Hong’s warning look and raised his hand excitedly. ”Me! Train Captain, I want to go!”

Bomb’s enthusiasm made everyone turn to look. Hua Junyan praised him, ”As expected of the Train Captain’s man—just one look and you can tell he’s bold and fearless. How should I address you? And which rank are you planning to challenge?”

”Armed Train, Private First Class Bomb. If I’m gonna fight, I’ll fight someone strong—I want to challenge first place!”

Hearing the praise, Bomb puffed out his chest even more, overflowing with momentum.

The crowd’s expressions turned odd. Hua Junyan, however, didn’t show a trace of disdain on his face and kindly reminded him, ”Little brother, the top eleven in the arena are all Tier Two Evolvers.”

”Huh?”

Bomb froze.

Guo Susu at his side looked so embarrassed she wanted to run, but they were all locked in midair by the Train Captain’s Energy—they couldn’t dodge even if they wanted to.

Xiao Hong just covered his face, speechless.

Big Goose muttered under his breath, ”You could just start from thirty‑six, you know.”

Bomb scratched his head. ”Then I’ll challenge the thirty‑sixth.”

”Alright.”

Hua Junyan chuckled and told the people below to make arrangements.

Liu Zi sighed helplessly, then still clapped Bomb on the shoulder and encouraged him, ”Since you’re going down, fight properly. Don’t embarrass the Train Captain, or if Lao Er decides to take you away, I won’t be able to stop him...”

Before Bomb could say anything, Su Huan grabbed him and pulled him in front.

Facing the Train Captain’s half‑smiling gaze, Bomb suddenly felt guilty. ”Train Captain, I’ll definitely win...”

The kid had grown a bit of stubble on his face, and wearing the Armed Train uniform he really did look like a poised, imposing soldier now—though in front of Su Huan, he still seemed a bit green.

Su Huan waved him off. ”Winning doesn’t matter. If you can’t beat him, remember to run. Ready?”

”Sir, ready!”

Right after answering, Bomb saw the Train Captain’s lips curl, and felt a bad premonition. Before he could figure it out, the ground under his feet suddenly vanished and his whole body dropped like a shot.

Luckily, low‑altitude drops weren’t his first time. Bomb was startled for a second but quickly adjusted.

He landed with his legs spread, wind whipping his coat backward.

With a bang he dropped to one knee; dust drifted away, and Bomb, whose leg had gone numb, slowly stood up and adjusted the brim of his cap that had been pushed down by the inertia.

His flashy entrance drew a wave of cheers from the audience.

He’d always been the flamboyant type, and whatever nerves he’d had were instantly blown away to the heavens by that cheering.

The referee above also announced the two fighters’ identities. After a long string of hype to rile the crowd up, he declared the match started.

The cheers rose again. Bomb, battle intent surging, stared at his opponent.

A man in work pants with bandages wrapped all over his body, lean and wiry, holding two hand axes, eyes burning as he locked onto Bomb.

’The ref said his name was ”Blood Axe King, Yue.” Probably a Defender specialized in axes, huh?’

’We’re a bit far apart. Should I bait him first?’

Bomb was just thinking he should play it safe and fight reactively, when he suddenly saw an axe flying straight at his head.

The axe blade tore through the air like a shell!

Bomb’s pupils contracted, but the axe was too fast; he didn’t have time for a big dodge, and could only focus completely and use his Ability to detonate the axe.

”Boom!”

The violent explosion in the arena jolted the spectators’ nerves, drawing a thunderous roar of cheers.

”Spacing out at a time like that—almost got himself killed.”

Big Goose grumbled out of habit.

”Shut that crow mouth of yours!”

Liu Zi snapped back at him.

Big Goose immediately shrank his neck. No matter how much they bickered, the two of them were comrades who lived and died together. He might enjoy seeing Bomb make a fool of himself, but he definitely didn’t want him getting hurt.

...

The cheers carried into the resting rooms around the arena.

Most of them were empty; a few held gladiators waiting to go on.

The Decomposer man was among them.

Hearing the noise outside, he walked out in puzzlement, saw Bomb’s fight, then went to find the manager in charge of scheduling.

”It was supposed to be my match just now. Why wasn’t I arranged?”

The manager gave him a sidelong glance. ”Yours was canceled.”

The man asked in a low voice, ”Why?”

The manager sneered. ”What do you mean why? If you’re not happy, go complain to City Hall.”

This was City Hall in the post‑apocalypse—there’s no such thing as filing complaints.

Going there would be suicide. The man knew the guy was deliberately making things hard for him, but when he thought of his gravely ill wife, he still took a deep breath, handed over half a pack of cigarettes, and softened his tone. ”Just give me a chance to get on the field...”

Su Huan’s reward

A table of food

He’s very restrained, he’s not going to fight

For the sake of his family

If you lose, your faction has to hand over equivalent resources, or you’ll be eaten by a type of monster bird

At first it’s just a very weak flock of birds, later the level will go up

But with Su Huan here, if you lose then you lose

Bomb is going to go on stage