Armed Train in the Apocalypse-Chapter 329 - 230: Blue Crab (Part 2)

Lao San, imitating Su Huan, pointed three times in the crowd, conveniently indicating Qi Jian Country’s three brothers.

The soldier tentatively asked, "Kill those three?"

Lao San snorted coldly and said sinisterly, "Except for those three and the ones the trainmaster wants to keep, kill the rest!"

He drew a dagger and walked toward the bartender hanging on the wall.

"Come, let me see if you’ve eaten anything!"

...

Standing at the top of the stairs was a young man Iron Old Man hadn’t seen before, with short hair and a rugged, sunny face.

Two soldiers stood by his side.

"Conductor, there are many buildings above, we haven’t gone deeper in."

Lin Jin said.

"Yeah, yeah, it’s pouring rain anyway, they can’t go far."

Su Huan waved his hand indifferently.

The group arrived at Iron Old Man’s room.

In a tin room at the very edge of the rooftop.

Unlike any shelter or settlement leader Su Huan had seen in his past life.

Not luxurious, rudimentary, even a bit shabby.

The room only had a folding bed, a worn-out sofa, and a chair.

Su Huan sat unceremoniously on the sofa, his favorite piece of furniture, perfect for sitting or lying down, like the trainmaster’s throne.

Iron Old Man didn’t sit but stood opposite Su Huan.

The cramped tin room seemed a bit congested with so many people.

"So many people makes it look like we’re bullying an old man, except for Shu Wei to stay and take notes, the rest of you go out."

Su Huan said.

Lin Jin led the people out to stand guard, including Xiaodong, who was also taken out.

Only three people remained in the room.

"Let me introduce myself, I am the trainmaster of the Armed Train, Su Huan... a survivor."

Su Huan thought for a moment, adding an identity Iron Old Man could understand.

"A survivor... you’re not military?"

Iron Old Man instantly perked up.

"No."

Su Huan lightly tapped the sofa armrest with his forefinger, stirring up a cloud of old dust.

"Getting to the point, I have three immediate requests; whatever you can accomplish, do it quickly, and as for the rest, find a way to achieve it."

"Firstly, I want two thousand adults."

"Secondly, the rest need to find the equipment left by the Information Technology Park for me."

"Thirdly, can’t you use the equipment downstairs? I’ll take it with me."

"Dig up the bombs you have buried too; I’ll take them as well."

...

Below, the Armed Train hovered over the water.

Despite the peculiar way of mooring, even as a storm approached, the train didn’t sway much.

Dozens of ropes connected the train with the Iron Mountain Shelter building.

The building’s front living room area was entirely shattered, and neatly packed artillery was being moved out through windows.

Due to harsh conditions, there was no time to install hoisting equipment, so over thirty "Defender" armed soldiers acted as cranes, manually lowering them.

"Ready, one, two!"

Tons and even dozens of tons of large artillery pieces were loaded onto the train.

"Alright, release!"

Hearing this, the mongoose finally exhaled, releasing the thick steel rope in her hands, the palm, pale and soft, now marked by red lines, with several milky blisters at the edges.

Don’t worry, though; these red marks and blisters would completely disappear within two days.

After all the torture endured during He Jie’s training, her hands remained clean and unblemished.

"Sister Cat, change shifts."

A young soldier walked over and said.

"It’s still early..." The mongoose saw the insistence in the young soldier’s eyes, "Fine, here you go."

After handing over the steel rope, the mongoose walked into the room.

Yu Yue was commanding soldiers to load artillery and turned around when she heard footsteps.

"Kitty."

"Here."

The mongoose stood with her legs together, her eyes round and serious.

Yu Yue showed a hint of concern, "I heard strange noises below; check on the train to see if something’s happened."

"Yes!"

The mongoose didn’t hesitate and dashed into the rain.

In mid-air, her toes tapped a taut steel rope, quickly adjusting her descent posture.

With a crisp sound, she landed on the deck and, using inertia, rushed into the train.

After validating her identity at the partition door, she entered the front.

Both light and workers were gathered around a screen.

"Mongoose, is it?"

A worker in their thirties stood up and waved her over.

Level 5 crew, glasses.

Initially, under the director’s command, they were now stationed in the front due to their familiarity with the train’s functions.

Also the highest-ranking manager in the front.

Although not well-known, they hold real power unique on the train.

With the establishment of the structure being recent, the number of Level 5 crew was fewer than that of conductors, all positioned in crucial roles not interchangeable, opposite to the broad management of four-team conductors.

Except for Liang Kuan, everyone in the front reported to them.

Liang Kuan belonged to the Armed Corps, usually stationed in the front but theoretically under He Jie. However, in reality, He Jie always discusses matters with him.

Only the trainmaster can formally command Liang Kuan.

The mongoose stepped forward quickly, trying hard not to look around curiously.

It’s her first time in the front.

The tech here seemed generations ahead of the soldiers’ quarters, every bit of high-tech design leaving her curious.

"Major Yu sent me."

"The Major has already notified us; earlier, we didn’t notice..."

The staff pointed at the screen dense with light dots.

The mongoose looked at the screen, revealing confusion.

The worker hastily waved, "Not negligence; these targets have too weak energy readings, so we usually filter them during monitoring, only focusing on strong energy signals."

"So what are these?"

The mongoose asked.

"The detector just went underwater; we’ll see shortly."

The worker pulled up another display.

In the dead of night, underwater; the screen appeared pitch-black with only some occasionally flashing debris.

The train’s mechanical arm extended into the water, floodlight fully powered to aid detecting.

A moving "Dark River" appeared on the screen.

"Adjust the lighting angle."

"Zoom in the camera."

As the image enlarged, everyone in the front froze for a moment.

What the so-called "Dark River" was made up of jaw-sized green crabs, traversing streets and buildings underwater, moving horizontally.

With a gentle tap of their claw, they’d drift several meters.

"Isn’t this green crabs?"

"Possibly from Jingchao Lake next to us; the green crabs here are famous, once supplied nationwide. My mom often bought them for my grandma, tender and delicious meat; these basin-sized crabs must have loads of meat..."

"Enough idle talk, continue detecting, see where the crabs are going; others archive and backup crab data."

"Should we issue a capture order to the combat team?"

"Issue it now, I’ll apply to the trainmaster to enhance the mission’s priority."

Under glasses’ command, tasks were efficiently issued and executed orderly.

"The combat group is executing a mission upstairs and may not have time now."

The mongoose raised her hand to speak up.

Glasses frowned, "That’s troublesome. Mutated creatures’ habits are often completely different from pre-apocalypse. Without samples, it’s tough to assess the threat to us."

The mongoose squeezed her soft palm and probed, "Can I do it?"

"We can’t issue tasks to the Armed Corps..."

Before finishing, Yu Yue’s gentle voice resonated within the coach.

"With everyone else also unable to spare a hand, leave it to Kitty."

Upon hearing her voice, everyone’s expressions turned serious.

Don’t let her gentle demeanor deceive you; while she only cooks for others in the dining caboose, her authority, due to Su Huan’s tacit approval, spans both the crew and the Armed Corps departments.

Second only to the trainmaster.

Though she’s rarely exercised it.

Glasses adjusted his glasses gravely, "I’ll draw up the formal order and send it to your personal terminal, so once you’re back on the train connecting the system, you can approve it."

"Thanks for your hard work."

Yu Yue’s gentle voice turned a corner in the air before fading softly into the distance.

Drawing a deep breath, the mongoose’s eyes turned slit-like.

Only by undertaking more missions could she have the chance to earn accolades.

Finally, the opportunity arrived for her!

(Special thanks to Juice Polar Bear for the Alliance Leader! The following will have five Chapters totaling twenty thousand words updated!)