The rear carriages were somewhat dim.
The old man stood at the window with a grim expression.
When he saw it open, he knew it wasn't good, but he still held on to a sliver of hope.
Unexpectedly, the train retreated, and Su Huan himself led a team out, which made him overjoyed.
But since there was an Evolver left on the train, he could only wait for good news from Gao Zhe's side.
The result was obvious.
Su Huan returned; whether Gao Zhe was dead or escaped no longer mattered.
No one in the rear carriage was qualified to negotiate with Su Huan.
The conductor's authority was once again unimaginably solidified.
...
A knock on the door sounded.
"Come in."
Su Huan said indifferently, showing no intention of getting out of the bathtub.
He never locked the door; when there were people, there was no need, and without people, even less so.
Yu Jing and others often came into the room to fetch things for him.
Yu Yue pushed the door open and entered, her gaze sweeping the room before landing on the bathroom in the corner.
Listening to the sound of water from inside, she was slightly embarrassed, "I saw that you seemed injured..."
Su Huan set down the logbook, glanced at his left shoulder, where a large charred mark appeared, adhering like a hard shell.
The poison Gao Zhe threw flowed into the collar.
To prevent the toxin from spreading, he directly carbonized that part of the flesh with high heat.
He was long accustomed to such injuries.
Once evolved, or after some days, the carbonized part would fall off.
"Creak"
Su Huan opened the door and saw Yu Yue standing in the room's center with a tray, which held iodine, bandages, and other medicines.
"I wanted to help you treat the wound." Yu Yue, seeing the naked Su Huan, instinctively thought of some cold healing process, her face tense.
Only then did Su Huan remember she was a nurse.
He thought for a moment, "Come over."
Casually resting his injured arm outside.
Yu Yue approached, preparing the items. Before she started, she heard Su Huan say, "There's something missing; go get me some of the wine from the dining car and some ice."
Yu Yue promptly complied, soon returning with a cup filled with ice and whiskey.
With a conflicted expression, she said, "This wine can't disinfect."
Su Huan smirked, "That's for me to drink."
"Oh."
Yu Yue said no more, crouching at the bathroom door to help treat his wound.
Su Huan took a big swig, chewing the ice noisily in his mouth.
Alcohol could also be preserved as clean water even in the apocalypse, though it was pricey; in his previous life, his resources were tight, leaving no room for such indulgences.
Now that most urgent matters on the armored train had been settled, rare relaxation came.
After a while, Su Huan leaned over, watching the woman meticulously pinching small charred bits from his shoulder with tweezers.
He frowned, flicked his fingers.
A large charred piece fell, and fresh blood gushed forth.
"Quickly deal with it; we are entering the city tomorrow, and you need to get up early to cook."
Su Huan said calmly, as if the big hole in his shoulder wasn't his flesh.
The woman's hands and feet became much quicker, "What do you want for breakfast tomorrow?"
Su Huan swirled his glass, "Wontons."
Soon, the wound was treated, and Yu Yue started tidying up, occasionally sneaking a glance at Su Huan, wanting to say something but hesitating.
"If you want to say something, hurry up; I'm going to sleep."
Su Huan said irritably.
"I-I really didn't hear his position..."
Yu Yue looked like a child who had done something wrong, with a trace of apprehension on her face.
Originally, becoming an Evolver, she felt a bit useful and was glad, but never expected the first task to have such a big blunder.
The enemy was so close, and she hadn't issued a warning.
Considering Su Huan's usually cold and ruthless demeanor, she had been on edge while returning, afraid that her mistake would cause her and her daughter to be expelled from the train.
After hesitating for a long time, she decided to admit her mistake first, better than being noted in the conductor's petty black book.
The word was that his little black book recorded all those he found displeasing.
Su Huan was a bit surprised.
'Am I that scary?'
Then a dark voice blurted out, "Did you really not hear... or were you hoping I'd die out there?"
Yu Yue's almond eyes widened, her glossy lips instantly losing color.
"I, I..."
Looking so easy to bully,
Fingers twirled around the woman's hair at her temples, in a lingering, sensuous tone, "You also wouldn't want your daughter and you to wander the wilderness due to your mistake, right?"
Water splashed as Su Huan stood.
The startled woman tried to explain as she got up, but having squatted too long, her legs were numb, and she stumbled to the floor, her round thighs pressing out plump curves.
Fingertips brushed against her sensitive, delicate earlobe, Su Huan sneered, "Nice attitude."
"..."
Perhaps Gao Zhe was right; he was truly a bad seed.
...
The next morning, Su Huan woke up early, not in a pleasant mood.
Sitting in the cold chaos, Su Huan grimly ground his teeth before walking over to the window.
Just like the day before, it began raining again in the middle of the night, the air suffused with mist and inescapable humidity; the air conditioner running at full throttle carried a desperate tone.
Pulling open the steel plate, he picked up the thermometer off the table and extended it out the window, staring at the rising red line.
Su Huan's already bad mood turned worse.
"December 21st, rain, 35°C"
"Four days until the temperature spike."
Exiting the compartment, he headed straight to carriage No. 2, where a five-meter-tall integrated water purifier stood silently, providing reassurance.
After circumnavigating it, he noted the metal nameplate affixed to it detailing its specifications.
Capable of filtering river and lake water with turbidity ≤3000mg/L, comparable to post-heavy rainfall streams full of sediment or untreated lake water.
The terminal was connected to the carriage's internal water tank.
Each carriage had two such tanks, each capable of holding two tons of water, made with baffle plates to prevent liquid swaying, much like the oil tank beside it.
Climbing to the second level, there was an opening, where much of the rainwater gathered in the storage tank through the collector.
This greatly improved Su Huan's view on rainy days.
Once a PH adjustment device was added at the end, filtering in the Acid Rain Zone would no longer be an issue.
Placing his palm on the purifier, the massive machine roared to life, filtering the collected rainwater and fed it into the pre-prepared water tank.
Though it merely filled half a tank.
When Su Huan came down, dawn was just breaking, and Yu Yue was already busy in the dining car.
Carrying a vibe of 'seeing how hard I'm working, don't make things hard for me.'
Su Huan sneered silently, sitting on one side, watching her.
Yu Yue felt a bit tense, fixing this side, wiping that, not daring to stop even in a busy lull.
The hem of her ginger-colored shirt slightly lifted with her movements, exposing a creamy waistline.
The evolution-enhanced supple texture stretched dramatically upon bending, like a willow bent by a spring breeze, snapping back to full, smooth curves when upright.
Finally, the wontons were ready.
Yu Yue cautiously brought them over, "Brother Su, do you want chili oil?"
Su Huan looked at her meek demeanor, more irritated, scooped a big spoonful of chili oil into the bowl, and stirred, lifting a wonton to her lips.
Yu Yue hesitated, then puckered her lips, blowing on it until the wonton skin wrinkled, and the gleaming meat beneath peeked through before taking a bite.
The wonton rolled in the spoon, its skin and meat unscathed.
[This chapter has been edited for review]
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