"January 7, no rain."
"Nice weather, suitable for visiting relatives."
The armed train, which had been parked outside the Dongping City intelligent logistics center for days, finally ignited.
The locomotive and the eight hydrogen-powered cars exerted force simultaneously, accompanied by a hysterical whistle.
The massive double-decker train of several thousand tons creaked on the tracks, the heavy "boom boom" sounds unsettling to hear.
The screws on the rails, loosened by acid rain, were knocked out but immediately pressed back into place by a formidable force, fusing the screws and nuts together, straightening the originally twisted rail.
"Buzz—"
An iron plate on the locomotive spread to both sides, and a medium-sized drone, trailing a line, flew forward along the tracks.
The images and information captured by the drone's high-definition camera were transmitted to the screen in front of Su Huan. With just a swipe of his hand on the screen, he could clearly see the condition of the tracks ahead. Su Huan nodded in satisfaction.
Then he turned around, left the room, and walked toward the cabin.
Besides his No. 1 carriage, there were screens in the cabin, dining car, and Professor Ma's group of students in carriage No. 12.
The conductor didn't need to watch over them personally, as he had other tasks.
At the front, the heavily injured Liang Kuan, who had just recovered, was sitting in the driver's seat, driving. Xiaoba was still sitting in the corner, Professor Ma and Xiaozhao were installing a projector nearby, and He Jie watched on, nearly chewing his cigar into bubblegum.
Seeing Su Huan, He Jie nervously rubbed his hands, "Isn't it too rushed? Shouldn't we prepare a bit more?"
Su Huan smirked sarcastically, "You're the one eager for a fight, you're also the one who wants to prepare. Why don't you take the conductor's role?"
He Jie anxiously rubbed his forehead, remaining silent.
Last night, he inquired, and Su Huan directly said he wanted to attack Changli.
When asked about the timing, he answered, "Tomorrow."
Among everyone, he was the most anxious and also the most worried.
Worried that Su Huan wouldn't fight his old employer, and also worried that he wouldn't win.
Torn with worry, he hadn't slept all night.
Su Huan ignored him and silently absorbed the Pan-energy Crystal with closed eyes.
After about twenty minutes.
"Conductor, there's a situation ahead!"
The Pan-energy around Su Huan suddenly fluctuated.
With each breath, faint energy seeped from his mouth and nose, spreading like a thick fog, penetrating the carriage armor, crossing the concrete barriers, covering a ten-meter radius around Su Huan.
As long as it encountered objects with Pan-energy, it would rapidly rebound in a short time.
The attached information would be received by him.
Level 2 "Pan-energy Perception" — Level 3 Pan-energy Perception.
A sharp braking sound echoed, and the already slow-moving train gradually came to a halt.
Su Huan opened his eyes and looked up at the screen on the carriage wall. He saw about three hundred meters ahead, a heavy truck lay like a wall across the tracks. The cab had fallen to one side, the container was overturned, and dozens of vehicles were overturned in a crisscross pattern here. Their metal shells were wrinkled like waste paper, stacking more than five meters high. Glass and debris were scattered on the ground, polished shiny by acid rain, like sequins on a stage.
(AI didn't quite get it, bear with it)
The drone rose gradually under Xiaozhao's control.
The full view of the entire intersection was revealed.
Centered on the accident's occurrence, looking both ways from the railway intersection, dozens to hundreds of vehicles were jam-packed at this junction, stretching nearly kilometers outward.
Red frames quickly circled the zombies wandering on the screen, so dense that it nearly covered the screen.
Seeing this, Xiaozhao quickly made some adjustments, hiding the red frames on the screen.
With his hands resting on Liang Kuan's chair, Su Huan looked at the screen's disastrous car accident, asking blandly, "Was this the road you took on the way here?"
"No, because turning around was troublesome, I took another one. This road also leads back to Changli County."
"Ha."
Su Huan sneered.
For all the four years mixed in the apocalypse, he didn't know how many car accident scenes he had seen, but never one with a five-meter vehicle pile-up at a rail crossing.
His old employer took great pains to prevent his return!
But today, he was determined to go back and visit his old employer well.
"Anything else unusual?"
Su Huan spoke these words to Xiaozhao.
"According to our detection, there are no mines or similar things."
Xiaozhao said affirmatively.
"Alright, Xiaoba, check the tracks."
"The tracks are intact, with minor deformation. I'll correct it when we get closer."
Xiaoba replied clearly.
"Liang Kuan, charge through!"
"Understood!"
The train accelerated again, a thick large cone directly plowing into the heavy truck laden with containers, lifting it with thunderous vibrations.
The vehicles stacked on top fell, smashed onto the locomotive's armor, then bounced to both sides.
In the train's violent advance, it easily tore open a path, making its way forward.
Su Huan kept his Pan-energy Perception active, checking for abnormalities on the tracks. Given the Steel Council's disposition, this journey couldn't possibly be peaceful.
....
The border between Dongping City and Jinzong City.
In a small building by the railway, two shirtless men and a woman in bright clothes were playing cards in the living room.
One of them was none other than Wang Fei, the former leader of the Mojiang Mutual Aid Convoy.
The room was fairly clean, with snacks and playing cards on the coffee table, along with two old-fashioned rifles similar to Lin Jin's, casually thrown aside.
"Pair of twos! Hurry up and play, don't dawdle!"
Wang Fei rudely tossed two cards onto the woman's chest, making a crisp sound.
The woman was silent like a cicada in winter, timidly throwing out four fives, watching their expressions, "Bomb, is that okay?"
"Wow, you even have a bomb! Of course, it's okay, just don't make it seem like we're forcing you or something."
"Then a straight, I'm done."
The woman threw down her remaining cards.
Wang Fei was stunned, looked at her cards, then at his own, and slapped them onto the table with a darkened face, "Damn it! These cards suck!"
After swearing, he stripped off a piece of clothing.
The woman quietly continued to shuffle the cards, listening to the two chatting while drawing cards.
"It's gotta be Brother Fei; initially thought it was a tough job, but it's so easy. They're fighting to the death in Changli, while we just sit here, eat, drink, and have fun."
"When I invited you initially, you didn't want to come. Now you see how good this job is, huh?"
Listening to his flattery, the gloom of being restricted and losing power dissipated significantly for Wang Fei.
Though he lost the leadership of his convoy, witnessing the Steel Council's formidable strength, Wang Fei didn't have any intentions of escaping.
His convoy only comprised a few thousand people, whereas the Steel Council had now gathered tens of thousands of survivors, with guns, cannons, and Evolvers.
Nabbing a post in the Steel Council would be vastly superior to his little convoy.
And Zhang Min, that wench, thinking joining the Steel Council meant getting rid of him.
He just didn't believe he, an Evolver, couldn't do better than her.
And that so-called armed train, he would destroy them once he established himself!
"Just don't know how long this gig will last; that train's been parked in Dongping City for a whole week."
"Might have... What kinda crappy cards are these?!"
Wang Fei slammed his cards on the table again, snatching the woman's cards, took a glance, "Damn, she has two Kings and four twos; how's this even playable?"
The woman gave an awkward smile.
"Hey, Brother Fei, did you feel the ground shaking a bit?"
The man sitting opposite hesitated and asked.
Wang Fei chuckled, "Probably a train passing by. What's the fuss—damn!!!"
"Train!!"
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