Armed Train in the Apocalypse

But Su Huan felt he was overthinking it.

He’s not someone who gets caught up in romance.

”Hmm, any other news?”

”Obsidian Industries suffered heavy losses and hopes to communicate with Donghuang again.”

”Huh, let them get lost, whoever wants to communicate can go ahead, I’ll sweep them away when I get there in a couple days, why should we care when Mao Bear doesn’t even manage White Bear?”

Hu Shuo paused, ”Mao Bear seems to be preoccupied lately.”

”What’s the situation?”

”There’s a serious information blockade, Mao Bear refuses to reveal anything, and we have no other channels to obtain information.”

”Could it be the White Eagle Federation has attacked? Tsk tsk...”

Su Huan cracked a joke, and both of them chuckled in agreement.

Wind Snow Zone, White Eagle Strait.

The two giant pines, like gates, remain buried in the snow, as the gale howls and strikes the trunks, sounding like a barrage of firecrackers.

Yet, despite the harsh weather, both sides of the pines are densely packed with people, each with deep-set eyes and high noses, standing as if welcoming distinguished guests. Their eyebrows and eyelids are covered by the snow and wind, but there’s a pale flame burning slowly in their eyes.

”Tap tap...”

The sound of footsteps on snow overpowered the booming wind, a light rhythm like a steed pacing slowly after the first snow.

But the rows of people showed no confusion over this — they stood ready to greet the owner of that sound.

A tall figure gradually materializes in the snowstorm, coming from the direction of White Eagle Strait, heading towards the two giant pines at the Northern Alliance border.

The wind and snow finally take shape, revealing a towering two-meter white steed standing before the pines, carrying a man in a leather jacket. Despite the extreme cold, he rolled up his sleeves, armed with a shotgun and a whip, like a cowboy from the old world.

The man gazed at his kind lined up behind the pines, and flashed a hearty smile.

”Such a warm place.”

No one answered him, only the wind and snow continued to roar between heaven and earth, trying to drive this alien away.

”But I still have to complete the task first.” The man muttered, pulling from his chest an ancient parchment with a yellow hue, old as a medieval Magic Book.

The flames in the man’s eyes suddenly surged as they imprinted an image on the parchment.

Long hair flowed over shoulders, with sharp brows like thin blades, eyes deep as ink, corners of lips forming a smile that might be mocking or disdainful, but unsettling to anyone looking at it.

Its intense presence seemed to erode the space of reality through the image.

”What a dangerous guy.”

The man sighed, turned the image so everyone could see the portrait above.

”Find him.”

Whether close to the pines or far away, everyone simultaneously kneeled on one knee, regardless of gender or age, synchronized as though acting as one.

The warhorse snorted, easily crossed the giant pines, and stepped into Northern Alliance territory.

...

”Hurry up! That group of ghouls is almost here!”

A bearded White Bear shouted at the people inside the room, eyes filled with undisguised fear.

”We have guns, we have ammo, why do we need to leave?”

The young Mao Bear passed over a glass of Vodka, his tone flippant and amused.

The surrounding people laughed, ”This guy must be scared silly by zombies, they’re indeed terrifying, but once outside, they’ll freeze solid, unable to move!”

”Ignore this fool, let’s drink.”

The White Bear man didn’t appreciate it, fiercely smashing the Vodka-filled glass to the ground, ”It’s not zombies, but ghouls who look just like us. They’re not afraid of cold! Killed all of us, now they’re heading this way!”

The sound of the smashed glass drew the attention of everyone in the tavern, as the flames within the barrier burned fiercely. Some with fiery tempers stood up, ready to teach this Vodka-wasting bastard a lesson.

But they were held back by the skeptical crowd.

”What exactly are the ghouls you’re talking about, why aren’t they afraid of low temperatures?”

”No time to explain, if you don’t believe me, go outside and look, they’re almost here!”

The White Bear man’s teeth chattered.

”Did this coward drink too much?”

”It’s possible...”

”Scared to this degree, cowardly.”

”But what if he’s right? In today’s world, anything can happen.”

At that moment, the tavern door was violently thrown open, and the wind and snow outside rushed in wildly. Before anyone could yell, they heard a shout, ”Someone attacked us!”

The angry Mao Bears grabbed their gear, swarming out of the tavern, their limited reasoning driven out of their minds. They had already forgotten the White Bear man’s words, just wanting to give the intruders a harsh lesson.

The Mao Bear trembled lips, ”It’s over, the ghouls have come, all over...”

He didn’t follow them but fled in another direction, planning to leave the camp and seek refuge in a safer big city.

”Bang!”

Just after running a few steps, Mao Bear fell headlong to the ground.

Several White Eagle people, dressed lightly, emerged from the wind and snow, their eyes indifferent, devoid of human emotion.

”Leave a few, kill the rest.”

Intense gunfire erupted in the camp; compared to the Mao Bears inside, these White Eagle people feared neither the wind nor the snow, nor did their guns jam due to the cold.

Only a few Mao Bears managed to ”luckily” escape the massacre, sprinting to the nearest camp to the west.

But the snow was too deep for them; they didn’t possess the ghouls’ ability to stand on the snow’s surface. ”Running” was more akin to ”climbing.”

The young Mao Bear, unable to run further, took a shortcut towards the mountains in the north. There was a small camp there with only a few families — a smaller target seemed safer.

Twenty minutes later, the young Mao Bear sat by the stove, accepted the hot cocoa from the hostess, finally realizing he was saved.

Only then did he notice there were few people inside the house, just a few women and children.

”By the way, where did all the men go?”

The hostess replied gently, ”They went hunting in the morning, should be back soon. Have you encountered something?”

The young Mao Bear nervously glanced outside, ”We were attacked by ghouls, they’re terrifying, not afraid of the cold, much worse than zombies and can wield weapons, looking just like us. I saw them disguise as humans and suddenly open fire, hope they don’t encounter them...”

”Don’t worry, they’re back already.”

The hostess calmly replied.

Through a small piece of glass in the window, the young Mao Bear saw more figures outside than the camp’s residents warranted.

Fear overcame him instantly, turning back, he saw the hostess’s eyes burning with white flame, her voice soothing, ”They’ve returned from hunting.”

...

As the white terror spread in the Northern Alliance, the train conductor spent his time in the arena.

For reasons unknown, that vengeful Tier Three Iron Eagle hadn’t appeared yet.

Su Huan was certain he hadn’t leaked any breath, he hadn’t even used Domain, the first two flocks of birds were purely fried by him, impossible to leak information.

Luckily, the arena was exciting, so Su Huan didn’t feel bored.

Though overall, it was a bit of a waste.

But before Su Huan could regret more, Hua Junyan came with Huayang.

”Are you saying someone wants to collaborate with you on the train, working internally and externally to swap the materials?”

Su Huan asked with curiosity.

Hua Junyan nodded solemnly, handing over a USB stick, ”This contains related information and materials. If you need, we can offer cooperation.”

”Hmm.”

Su Huan gazed at the USB stick on the table thoughtfully.

Hua Junyan gave Huayang a glance, then got up to leave.

Su Huan slightly raised his eyelids, seeing Huayang’s cheeky look and chuckled, ”I’ve prepared a gift for you too.”

”A gift?”

Huayang was somewhat flattered.

”Yes, head over to the preparation room, Colonel He is waiting for you.”

Su Huan’s smile was gentle and bright.