Hope You Hurry

Su Huan calculated the workload based on the 3,000 steel plates Yu Jing had listed. With forty-two carriages plus the locomotive, plating the entire train was a massive undertaking, but if there was one thing they had in abundance, it was people.

Qi Xiaoba only needed to perform simple cutting and welding, so the energy consumption wouldn't be significant.

Su Huan rubbed his fingertips and turned his gaze toward Wan Xing. "Your task tomorrow is to collect the Pan-Energy Crystals from the zombies. As for the zombies themselves, don't worry about them; I'll handle that."

"Understood." Wan Xing agreed without hesitation.

"Right, Liang Kuan, you have two tasks. First, organize and categorize the collected supplies. Second, bring the zombie corpses here. You must do this yourself; don't let that group in the back get on the train."

"Understood."

With the Pan-Energy Crystals, the issue of endurance was also resolved.

Pan-Energy Crystals could be directly absorbed by an Evolutionist. The absorbed portion would vanish into thin air, while the remainder would stay in a stable "crystal" state.

However, the duration was limited; only a Collector could maintain the Pan-Energy Crystal form for an extended period.

Su Huan took a moment to check his watch. Without realizing it, the time had already reached ten o'clock at night.

It had to be said, time really dragged when there were no forms of entertainment.

"That's it for today. Everyone can go get some rest. You can choose any of the soft sleeper compartments in Carriage No. 4."

Su Huan stood up first and headed toward Carriage No. 3.

This entire carriage was reserved for himself.

Standing before the door, Su Huan hesitated to enter. After a long moment, he turned back to look at Yu Jing, who was standing behind him with a calm expression. He asked suspiciously, "Why aren't you going to sleep? Why are you following me?"

"You have a lot of tools in your room. I'd like to borrow some."

Su Huan glanced at her sideways, thinking, So you finally realized you should just offer yourself up.

Pushing the door open and entering, he found the room had been completely refreshed. Various tools were arranged against the wall on a makeshift rack, and scattered pencils and steel rulers were neatly lined up on the desk.

The carpet had been replaced, the oil stains were gone, and the bed was clean and tidy.

"My mother cleaned it up."

Yu Jing entered the room and naturally selected a few items.

Just as she was about to leave, she saw Su Huan standing at the door with an unreadable expression, showing no intention of moving aside.

Yu Jing lifted her fair chin, her phoenix eyes filled with inquiry. "Do you want to sleep with me?"

The question came out of the blue. Su Huan hadn't expected her to be so direct; for a moment, he felt like he had arrived three years into the apocalypse.

The girls back then had been just as passionate and bold.

But she was clearly different. There wasn't a hint of shyness or desire on her face; she was simply asking the question.

Su Huan naturally didn't want to lose the upper hand, so he curled his lips upward. "I want both."

Yu Jing frowned, then relaxed. "I see. Physically, it's not a problem. Ethically, this is the apocalypse, so there are no taboos. But my mother might not be able to accept it."

Su Huan felt like a pervert meeting a pervert. Lust took a backseat here, and his fighting spirit surged instead.

I, a beast who has survived four years of the apocalypse, am I really going to be handled by a novice like you?

"Does that mean you can accept it?" Su Huan stepped forward instead of back, his hand gripping Yu Jing's slender waist.

It was slim and full of elasticity.

Her high-waisted jeans were tight and form-fitting, accentuating the length of her legs and the firm curves of her waist and hips.

Just like her self-introduction, she carried a healthy, vibrant vitality.

Wrapping his arms around her, a sense of control welled up within him, bolstered, of course, by his status.

Su Huan's high school grades hadn't been ideal, and he had barely managed to get into an undergraduate program. He harbored a subconscious longing for academic pedigree; he had to admit, Yu Jing's excellence also stimulated his desire.

Yu Jing didn't react to Su Huan's actions. She calmly glanced at the watch on her left wrist. "If you need to, could you let me take a shower first?"

Su Huan narrowed his eyes, a hint of danger in his gaze. "Are you in a hurry?"

"Don't worry. I'm 22 years old, I've never had a boyfriend, and this will be my first time. I'm healthy and have no diseases; I can fully satisfy your needs. However, I'd like to draw some sketches before I sleep, so I hope you can be quick."

"I'm actually quite slow when it comes to that sort of thing."

Su Huan's fingertips slid down, landing on the metal buckle at her waist. With a gentle flick, a sense of excitement—like unwrapping a gift—flooded his brain.

Yu Jing's gaze remained peaceful, tinged with a hint of confusion. "Sensory numbness sets in after ten minutes. Anything beyond that, the pain should outweigh the pleasure."

Watching Yu Jing's earnest analysis, Su Huan laughed in spite of himself. He finally understood: this woman wasn't pretending to be calm; she truly didn't care about having something happen between them.

Su Huan pressed his fingertips heavily against her flat abdomen. "Would you not care if it were someone else, too?"

Yu Jing looked up in surprise, her soft fingers swiftly brushing across Su Huan's chin. A smile appeared on her face, carrying the fleeting beauty of an iceberg shattering and sliding into the sea. "That wouldn't do. You're still a little handsome."

With that, taking advantage of Su Huan's momentary stupor, she ducked under his arm and slipped away.

Walking out of the room, her brow smoothed, and her smile gradually faded.

She didn't dislike Su Huan, but that was all there was to it.

The reason she said that wasn't out of any emotion, but because she considered it the optimal solution for the present moment.

Men were simple creatures; when they couldn't get what they wanted, they were like cats, sniffing and prowling, leaving one with no peace.

She might as well let him have his fill all at once, so that his attention would return to the value of her own abilities.

But she did not want to rely on her body to establish a foothold on the train.

She liked the appreciation Su Huan showed in his eyes, but she did not want it to be mixed with the appreciation a man has for a woman.

Besides...

Refitting the train and resisting the zombie horde—she quite liked this crazy plan as well.

Under the dim light, the pencil drew a straight line on the white paper, but at the very last moment, it suddenly slipped, and a jarring mark appeared on the beautiful drawing with a "snap."

Su Huan had snapped the pencil in two.

With a frustrated clench of his hands, high heat rose, incinerating the interior design blueprint of the carriage he had just drawn.

"Damn it, I've been played!"

"Forget it, time to sleep. Once I have some free time, I'll show her sooner or later."

Su Huan thought viciously.

Tonight, the Train Master was too angry to write his log.

Inside Carriage 24.

In the pitch blackness, a coarse voice cursed, "I don't know what that guy surnamed Su is trying to do, letting all sorts of trash on board. That little brat even dared to steal my stuff; I only snapped one of his fingers, and that family of old geezers dared to snap back at me! They really don't know what's good for them!"

"Calm down, Brother Dog." A young man with a bandit-like face lay sprawled on the seat.

He stepped on the shoulder of a woman working busily below him, "Go on, help Brother Dog cool off."

The woman flinched, then hurriedly turned around, groping slowly in the darkness.

Before she could find anything, she was shoved from behind and stumbled.

The young man panted heavily as he said, "That guy surnamed Su has methods that are too eerie. Let the people in Carriage 7 go test him first."

The man called Brother Dog grew impatient with the fumbling beneath him and slapped her across the face.

"Useless trash!"

The woman let out a muffled groan, but dared not make a single sound.

Brother Dog sighed in satisfaction, "They came to me, too. I think the same as you; let them go test the waters. I'm not about to be the first bird to get shot."

"Right, send a few men to bring over that old woman's daughter-in-law. Since her family started this fire, they naturally have to put it out themselves!"

A chorus of lewd laughter erupted in the surrounding darkness.