Armed Train in the Apocalypse

Hua Junyan spoke with a bit of persuasion.

Fu Lanshan did not answer but instead asked, ”Without his permission, would you agree to me using the Plant Zone’s commercial route?”

Hua Junyan smiled without speaking, showing no trace of embarrassment.

Relationships are relationships, interests are interests. On the surface, Deep Blue Data and the Armed Train haven’t repaired their relationship. Everyone belongs to different factions, like eggs in two baskets; naturally, there’s no reason to put them back together.

Fu Lanshan didn’t mind, ”Let’s not talk about this. What do you think about the Mechanical God Cult?”

”They’re trying to replicate the Train Conductor.”

”And then?”

”But I think they won’t succeed.”

Hua Junyan calmly denied the efforts being made by Ah Duo and the two hundred Holy Church Army soldiers.

”Yes, I think so too.” Fu Lanshan nodded, ”But this time, Deep Blue Data won’t intervene.”

”That’s appropriate.”

Just when the two were casually planning to blockade a new power, a message came through.

Even Hua Junyan, who was usually good at controlling his expression, lost his composure for a moment.

”What happened?”

Fu Lanshan asked curiously.

Hua Junyan hesitated for a moment but then spoke truthfully, ”The Pale Demon destroyed half of the Northern Alliance while searching for the Train Conductor.”

”What?”

Fu Lanshan was also stunned, ”He shouldn’t have left Donghuang, so how did he get involved with that thing?”

”It’s a long story, starting with the incident involving Ge Mian...”

Fu Lanshan listened intently to Hua Junyan as he explained the whole incident, his brow furrowing tightly.

Seeing his expression, Hua Junyan teased, ”Uncle Lanshan, don’t you have confidence in the Train Conductor?”

Fu Lanshan gently shook his head, ”I’m not denying the Tier Four’s top strength, but that strange thing might be pointing directly to the apocalypse’s source. Since they are looking for him so openly, they probably have a way to counter the Tier Four.”

Upon hearing this possibility, the smile on Hua Junyan’s face gradually faded.

”But it’s hard to say; let’s wait and see. Someone has to probe for the truth, after all.”

Fu Lanshan spoke calmly.

...

The location of the bungalow originally had no significance, merely a piece of farmland without an assigned place name, just an unnamed countryside under a certain township.

However, once it became the Train Conductor’s ”home,” it gained importance.

In just a few days, a camp centered around the Energy Core sprang into being.

Equivalent to centralized heating, although with completely updated materials and energy sources. While it didn’t make the temperature within the camp’s buildings as warm as spring, it was enough for ordinary people to survive.

The train left only a few people stationed there, as no one would come in this frigid and snowy weather.

Major powers would even less likely occupy this camp devoid of resource points, thus avoiding offending the Train Conductor.

After sorting everything out, the Armed Train began advancing north.

Inside the engine car, He Jie and other officers stood under the dome watching an eerie video.

Donghuang’s land is roughly spindle-shaped, with provinces stretching more northward occupying larger areas. For example, in Changbai Province, the distance from north to south exceeds three thousand kilometers, requiring a whole day to travel by high-speed rail even before the apocalypse.

Changbai Province at the end is somewhat like a thin line extending over a thousand kilometers to the north.

Because of this peculiar shape, it geographically divides the entire Northern Alliance into east and west parts.

The division of the Twelve Celestial Disaster Zones is also based primarily on Donghuang’s territory, weakening as it surrounds, which is why people from the Northern Alliance can survive normally; their habitats simply don’t reach such extremely low temperatures.

However, problems arise here because the truly effective Wind Snow Zone is so narrow, allowing the Pale Demon to pass through with ease without deeply intruding into Donghuang’s territory.

For the Northern Alliance, this is pure misfortune, but circumstances are stronger than individuals. They can only grit their teeth and exchange their entire gunfire spectrum formulae for the intervention of the Armed Train.

Su Huan’s original plan was to annihilate the other side on his own, but later he realized it wouldn’t work.

The Pale Demon had already covered a vast area of the White Bear’s land, and it was impossible for Su Huan to blow up millions of square kilometers; even if he wouldn’t tire, the chain reactions from the explosions would cause a catastrophe more terrifying than the Extreme Cold.

To eliminate future troubles, low-level Evolvers would have to clean up bit by bit.

But the Northern Alliance’s core military had been wiped out by Donghuang, leaving only struggling forces; facing the strange methods of the Pale Demon, only all-Evolver units could resist the spread of the White Catastrophe.

Such elite units currently exist only among Donghuang’s top forces, like Black Abyss Special Ops and Donghuang’s Heavy Armor Brigade, but if asked which is the strongest, undoubtedly it is the Armed Corps that fought through the entire Donghuang.

This is why a significant price was paid to invite the Armed Train’s intervention.

Gunfire can also take this opportunity to catch its breath, rebuilding its armed forces while fighting.

The video played scenes of several sentries on duty, with some bizarre white bear people appearing below. Some wore normal cotton clothes, while others were purely in pajamas. Faced with this odd scenario, the sentries did not sound an alarm; instead, they opened the gate after a few words from them, allowing numerous white bear people possessed by the Pale Demon to flood in from the snowfield.

A camp thus fell.

But it wasn’t simply trickery for opening gates. According to the data from Tasia, the Pale Demon mainly used this means, casually saying a few words, and then the sentries seemed bewitched and would open the gate.

He Jie frowned, ”Their combat power is not exceptional; their strength is somewhat greater than ordinary people but doesn’t reach the Tier One Evolver level; at best, they’re cold-resistant and die when fatally wounded. It’s just the possession and gate-tricking methods that are too bizarre.”

”It should be a rule.”

Lin Jin, standing by, affirmed confidently. Ever since he reached Tier Three, his ”Destruction” rule has been increasingly honed, with his understanding of rules only beneath the Train Conductor.

”Can it be cracked?”

He Jie looked towards the Train Conductor.

Thought flashed in Su Huan’s eyes as he recalled relevant information about the Pale Demon, pondering aloud, ”One rule can suppress another. I haven’t fully grasped the essence of this rule, but some facts are confirmable: the adversary relies on energy for possession and finds it difficult to possess evolvers.”

”The gate-tricking method should be similar, akin to mental inducement, against which evolvers have strong resistance.”

Although the Pale Demon’s methods are bizarre, they don’t come close to being terrifying for Su Huan.

Not even as wondrous as Lin Xi’s mind-reading ability.

He Jie nodded, ”With so much intelligence gathered before the battle, the rest must be observed through engagement.”

Then formally asked, ”Train Conductor, what is our strategic goal?”

”Hmm...” Su Huan thought for a moment, sincerely saying, ”Just don’t let too many people die; drag it out until their leader appears, then I’ll act.”

He Jie was slightly taken aback, giving Su Huan a deep look.

Previously, Su Huan would never have said something like ”don’t let too many people die.”

Though his appearance hasn’t much changed, he seems steadier overall, like having roots firmly planted, rather than giving the impression of vanishing at any moment.

This sort of Train Conductor, somehow... seems more compelling.

He Jie grinned, ”Education Bureau, huh.”

He turned to the assembled officers, ”Let the Russians handle the life-risking tasks. We have eight hundred soldiers; if one is missing, you’re next! Understood?!”

”Yes!”

”Within a moment, all lieutenants and above, submit to me a battle plan, within a three-hour limit. Any issues?”

The officers all responded affirmatively, though inwardly they had begun cursing.

This is a blatant passing of the buck!

But during the chief’s briefing, even the most stubborn of minks wouldn’t utter a word.

[Note: Taking Heilongjiang as an example, the distance from the northernmost Mohe to the province’s capital Harbin exceeds a thousand kilometers. To heighten the difficulty in the book, the extent of Donghuang’s influence can be understood as spanning from Australia into Russian territory, then doubled, approximating twenty-four thousand kilometers; thus, a province exceeding a thousand kilometers is feasible.]