"January 14th, light rain"

"Trade is incessant plunder."

...

"January 16th, heavy rain"

"The Armed Train Points System will officially launch today."

Su Huan put down the pen and stared in contemplation at the brand new Tier Two Pan-energy Crystal on the desk.

According to the post-war report summary, this Tier Two Butcher was at least five kilometers away from the mission target, yet somehow He Jie, while pursuing a group of Bloodhounds with an armored personnel carrier, circled around and eliminated it.

Why does this guy always turn any mission into a clearing task?

If he had fired a few more grenades before running into me, he wouldn't have been so badly beaten.

Really just remembers the taste, not the lesson learned.

In the future, it's better to assign him purely to clearing tasks.

Su Huan clicked his tongue, closing the notebook.

That night, the Iron-Eating Tree's rampage didn't cause much damage to the base. The young man even brought him four hundred pieces of [Ironwood], each twenty centimeters long and ten centimeters wide, all of equal weight.

He then traded them for four boxes of water, basic information on Evolvers, a few Tier One Pan-energy Crystals, and some firearms and ammunition.

Su Huan also exchanged a Life Potion for a large bundle of the Iron-Eating Tree branches he was sitting on.

Although these trees were everywhere in Shun'an, the train conductor always felt the one under him had more potential.

The trade concluded with the young man dragging the battered Iron-Eating Tree away, happily saying goodbye.

Suddenly, the call icon on the monitor flashed. When he clicked it, he saw Yu Jing tying her hair into a ponytail, her sleek body taut and upright, biting a disposable toothbrush, and mumbling, "The test results for the Ironwood are out. It's very suitable as the main material for the next modification. You can come over and take a look. Also, today I want to continue researching my [Engineer-I Model]. I might use some materials, just giving you a heads up. Report finished."

After speaking, she decisively hung up the communication.

Su Huan listened in silence, sneering internally and making a mental note of it.

Even Professor Ma and Director Xu report their research directions and progress to him in person every day.

Even if they're unreachable in person, and contact him online, it's always him who hangs up the call first.

Yu Jing is the only one daring enough to hang up on him first.

He'd settle scores when he found time after dealing with his current tasks.

The more distant goals included the "Crown Pear Project," closer ones were the "Phase Three Train Upgrade and Modification Plan," and the immediate task was constructing the Shun'an Station settlement plan.

Typically, only those barely surviving in the wilderness call their places settlements. For larger forces, terms like fortresses, bases, towns, and cities are more appropriate.

From the naming alone, one could deduce that these towns had more comprehensive facilities, with intact security forces and resource acquisition capabilities.

The rail tracks of the bullet train manufacturing base spread in all directions—Su Huan naturally didn't want to waste such advantageous conditions. He planned to establish outpost sites around the base in various directions as outer defenses, akin to the outpost base directly beneath him.

Connecting them with trains—the distances were short enough that maintenance wouldn't be an issue even without a metal manipulator.

A knocking sound echoed.

Yu Yue's gentle voice drifted in, "Are you eating outside, or should I bring it in for you?"

The powerful pan-energy perception vividly outlined the graceful, rounded figure behind the door, even portraying some curves.

Yet Su Huan suspected it was due to his familiarity with her.

"Bring it in."

Soon, Yu Yue came in carrying a bowl of meatball soup noodles.

She busied herself tidying up the desk, with no visible discontent on her radiant face, yet she said nothing to Su Huan.

Today's little cook wore sleek black pants, a white shirt barely covering her thighs as an underlayer, topped with a black vest, appearing both chic and capable.

Her movements didn't intentionally avoid anything, yet lacked the usual intimacy.

Su Huan licked his lips, looking at his breakfast.

The seemingly simple meatball soup noodles were exquisitely prepared, making his fingers twitch with anticipation.

The vegetable leaves were delicate and crisp, made from [Iron Skin Pumpkin] leaves.

This dish was painstaking to prepare, requiring prolonged steaming in a pressure cooker, then cleaning out all veins with needles and tweezers to achieve a spinach-like texture.

Upon pushing the leafy greens aside, two tender prawn balls could be seen underneath.

With a light poke, they sunk to the bottom of the bowl.

Soon, they floated back up.

"Close the door."

"I won't."

"Join me."

"..."

"Dare to run out and try?"

Watching as Yu Yue returned expressionlessly, unwillingly attending to his breakfast.

Su Huan leaned back in his chair, a trace of amusement in his narrow eyes.

Who said forced outcomes aren't sweet?

The train conductor felt that the tougher the fruit was to pick, the juicier and sweeter it was.

Yu Yue accidentally burned herself on the crockery, releasing a soft moan near her lips.

...

Outside the station, two elite soldiers, clad in exoskeletons with tactical vests, huddled inside a stationery store to shelter from the rain.

Gao Yuan looked at the endless rainfall outside, showing a pained expression.

He wrote swiftly, soon handing the paper to Tong Zizhan beside him.

Tong Zizhan glanced at the line, couldn't help but suck his teeth, and wrote a sentence back on the paper.

"Why do we still have so many points left?"

Gao Yuan spread his hands and continued writing.

"We gained too many last time; even after exchanging everything for full-body equipment, we still have the most points on the entire train."

Tong Zizhan's face twitched, quickly writing.

"I heard they're publicly announcing the points system to everyone today and creating a points leaderboard. If our big names top the list, that's not good!"

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