Armed Train in the Apocalypse

A bone spike protruded from the scapula, the man’s eyes filled with disbelief, trying to distance himself, but it was too late; Deng Ke’s hand was already on his throat.

The vocal cords were immediately ruptured with a large hole, and then the hand dropped onto his shoulder.

The fabric of the jacket on the shoulder silently shattered and peeled off like weathered paper, followed by skin and muscle separating layer by layer, with the cross-section eerily neat. No blood flowed out, as all liquids were stripped away by some force upon seeping out, turning into clear fluid that flowed onto the ground.

Deng Ke’s hand pressed steadily until most of the man’s upper body had turned into a pile of materials with clear boundaries on the ground.

On the bottom were bone fragments, then yellowish fat granules, above that were dark reddish-brown muscle fibers, and the top layer consisted of gray-white skin flakes and hair, all neatly arranged.

Finally, the person fell silent, his remaining legs tilted over, which Deng Ke held with his other hand, gently laying them on the ground without making much noise.

Having done all this, he clapped nonexistent dust off his hands, and his gaze once again fell on his wife on the makeshift bed in the corner.

Then, he walked to the bedside and picked up a neatly folded gray-green coat from beside his wife’s hand. The coat was thick and had the Armed Train’s emblem of cogwheels and rails on the shoulders.

This was left by the woman called Su Reya the last time she visited.

He didn’t plan to wear it but also didn’t throw it away.

He could give up his future but would not cut off his son’s path forward.

If he truly couldn’t survive, he could sell himself to the Armed Train and exchange for a chance for his son to live a stable life.

Thus, it was not merely a coat but a relatively stable shelter, symbolizing hot meals, medicine, and safety without needing constant vigilance.

He squeezed the rough fabric of the coat, then put it down again.

These past few days, he learned that the Armed Train came from the south and continued north without knowing their purpose.

He felt that joining the train now seemed like nothing good; once involved in this mess, it’s hard to clean oneself. Dragon Gate City cannot hold on, so he can only leave while the other party is unaware, the farther away the better, wait until they finish fighting, or completely forget about both father and son.

He walked back to the corpse, the son had unknowingly stood at the doorway, small hands gripping the frame, eyes wide as he looked at the pile on the ground.

”Dad...” the child’s voice trembled a bit, ”What is that?”

Deng Ke originally planned to say ”Don’t look,” but swallowed it down, some lessons he’ll have to teach sooner or later, he stepped aside, ”Come here.”

The son moved closer, stopping two steps away from the pile of ”materials”, nostrils flaring, his face starting to turn pale.

He looked at the categorized human fragments pile, then lifted his head to look at his father’s calm face, stomach suddenly churning.

The child turned around and bent over, retching, but only spat out a bit of sour water after a while.

Deng Ke waited for him to finish, handing over half a bottle of water.

The child wiped his mouth, not daring to look at the ground again.

”Clean up, we’re leaving,” Deng Ke said.

He hoisted his wife’s corpse, picked up a metal box, and led his son towards the door.

”From now on, it’s just us two relying on each other.”

...

Heavy panting echoed through the arena, large patches of slick, white skin exposed to the air, providing the audience with a feast for their eyes.

Normally, the woman would cast a flirtatious glance, but she was too distracted now to pay attention to those people.

A pair of beastly eyes were narrowed to the extreme, shaking violently with the sound of panting.

Everyone evolved in similar directions, but the mongoose had far more tricks than she did.

Just take the skill of blending into the wind; even with her cat-like acuity, she couldn’t detect the opponent’s presence.

Like the ”Controller,” it’s unreasonable.

”Roar—”

Like a fierce tiger roaring angrily three meters behind her, this distance for an assassin was like being face-to-face.

Even though she knew it was probably the mongoose bluffing, she was forced to roll away, raising her highest sense of alertness.

And behind her, instead of a fierce tiger, was just a dissipating breeze.

A chilling aura of murder crept upon the back of her neck, she cursed under her breath, extracted the jade blade from underfoot, and swung back.

”Clang!”

A spark exploded.

The woman abruptly turned back, seeing the mongoose holding a triangular military dagger, she was instantly shocked, ”Metal?”

The mongoose snorted coldly, twisting his waist to swing his coat tail, blocking her stabbing hand.

The trench coats of the armed train are made from abundant materials, and can almost be used as weapons. Even Tier Two Evolvers cannot break through the coat’s defense with bare hands in a hurry.

With a whoosh, the trench coat whipped back, and a combat boot suddenly enlarged in front of her eyes.

The woman was kicked flying.

Her body slammed into the arena wall, producing a thundering crash. The barrier protecting the audience flickered for a moment before quickly extinguishing.

After a moment of hesitation, an uproar of cheers erupted from the audience around.

The mongoose stood still, shaking the trench coat, its ears twitching slightly, and a pleased expression appeared on its small face.

In midair, Hua Junyan also let out a sigh of relief. He thought the cat demon was going to go crazy again, but unexpectedly, at the critical moment, it restrained its impulse, losing just enough. Who would have thought this woman could grasp the nuance so well? It was a real waste to put her in the battlefield.

Su Huan was not surprised by this outcome at all.

Generally, an Evolver only needs to gather two skills for a promotion, but the mongoose had three. By the time it reached Tier Two, it already had two more skills than others. Although it might not be overwhelming, its combat power definitely surpassed that of an average Tier Two.

The reason it could spar with the opponent for a while was partly because the mongoose wanted to encounter other ”Beastification” Evolvers, and partly because it wanted to solve it without getting hurt.

’Still needs to be honed.’

Enjoying the cheers in the field, the mongoose inexplicably felt a chill.

”It seems this Miss Cat needs to continue fighting, so let’s welcome the fifth-ranked lord of the arena, the Fierce Beast, to the field!”

With the referee’s words, the audience erupted into even more fervent screams.

However, when the lights shone over, there was no silhouette at the exit, only two solitary torches emitting a pitiful glow.

”Where is he?”

Amidst everyone’s confusion, the mongoose suddenly turned its head to look behind.

The edge of the arena was made of a cage composed of spiked wooden stakes as thick as barrels, where Evolution Beasts and High-tier Zombies usually waited before appearing.

At this moment, a sound of a beast tearing at meat could be heard coming from inside the pitch-black cage, accompanied by a terrifying sound of teeth gnawing on bones.

And the presence that brought the mongoose immense pressure was within it.

The mongoose’s golden pupils contracted to the extreme, struggling to see the burly figure inside, sitting on something, fiercely gnawing on a spherical object in its hands.

”While I’m in a good mood now, you can still run away,”

A muffled voice came from inside, as if something was being suppressed.

The mongoose slightly tilted its head up, standing still. It was a dignified lieutenant of the armed train; with so many people watching, could it be scared off by a single sentence?

The figure in the darkness stepped out.

The body was not particularly robust, only about 1.8 meters, far from He Jie and Liang Kuan’s stature.

But the bone structure was exceptionally large, the skin was sun-kissed deep brown, stretched over knotted muscles, the thick chest hair like armor draped over the body, smeared with viscous blood, flowing downward.

In his hand was half-gnawed tiger head, the enormous pupils still carrying an indelible fear.

The clamor on the sidelines seemed to seize up, suddenly lowering a notch.

Hua Junyan whispered an introduction, ”Fierce Beast, Tier Two ’Fighting Expert,’ has fought seventeen times since entering the arena, only lost twice, once to the second-ranked Madman, and once to the first, Dragon Gate, who is also from our Business Alliance.”

”Your alliance is truly brimming with talent.”

Su Huan praised, neither too lightly nor too excessively.

”Not at all, but...”

”Roar!”

Before finishing the sentence, the Fierce Beast below had already charged at the mongoose like a frenzied beast.

The savage momentum was as if devouring the cat alive!

No running start, no gathering strength, the entire person like a fully drawn and released bow, a small pit was stomped out of the hard muddy ground, and before the dust rose, the person had already reached the mongoose.

The movement was so quick it defied logic, carrying a wild beast-like pounce explosion.

The mongoose seemed dazed, only at the critical moment, relied on honed instinct, and suddenly raised its arms in front of itself.

”Boom!”

The small figure had already vanished within the dust cloud.

”Roar!!”

The robust figure stomped the earth, pounding its chest with the unfinished tiger head, filling the field with a wild and brutal aura.