Su Huan called Yu Yue over, then casually picked up a boxed meal and opened it.
The potatoes had been cut into chunks and cooked with a few diced carrots and shredded beef until the stew was thick. It covered the rice, filling the air with its aroma.
There were also some pickled radishes on the side.
"Is it all beef stew with potatoes?"
Su Huan asked.
"We're running low on vegetables, and we had to make a lot, so I made something simple." Yu Yue looked a little nervous. After a pause, she added, "I didn't put in much beef. I just chopped it up, so it looks like a lot."
Su Huan wasn't petty enough to care. He said mildly, "It's fine. They're doing physical labor, so they need a good meal to keep up their strength. I'll come with you."
After passing through storage car 6, Su Huan picked up five cases of bottled water and followed her toward the rear.
Although the cost was high, it was only temporary.
If they weren't working, the laborers would have to go look for supplies anyway. For every bottle of water they drank, they'd have to pay him back three. It was a sure thing.
The car was dim, and the only sound was the wheels of the dining car.
"By the way, is the door bolted from the other side, or did you melt it shut?"
Su Huan asked casually.
Yu Yue replied meekly, "We modified it a little. As long as we don't open it from our side, they can't get it open."
Su Huan glanced up, his eyelid twitching.
These people really had some ingenuity. They'd replaced the simple original lock with an external one, adding three horizontal metal bars. It looked like the door to some kind of vault.
The door's strength had been increased along with its locking mechanism. At the very least, a Blood Hound wouldn't be able to smash through it in one hit.
Yu Yue unlocked the three visible locks in turn, then the hidden one, before entering the passage between the cars.
When they saw Su Huan and Yu Yue, the workers on the other side quickly opened the door.
A wave of hot, fetid air hit them.
Su Huan remained expressionless. Wang He was still dressed the same way, but he looked as if he'd been pulled out of a pool. His hair was soaking wet, and beads of sweat kept rolling down his face.
He gave them a bitter smile. "It's way too hot in the rear cars. Can't we turn on the air conditioning?"
"Air conditioning uses resources too. If you want it on, you'll need to provide extra supplies."
"Twenty-eight or twenty-nine degrees is hot enough to kill someone."
"Don't worry. It'll cool down at night, to no more than twenty-six degrees. No one will die."
Su Huan replied calmly.
Wang He was at a loss for words. He could only sigh and go get his meal. Seeing the steaming beef and potato rice bowl lifted his spirits a little.
He called out to the others behind him, and they all came over to get their food.
Once they'd handed out the water and meals, Su Huan and Yu Yue left.
Deep inside car 9.
Gao Zhe watched the heads bobbing in front of him, his gaze unfathomable.
Before long, a man with a scarred face walked over, looking bewildered. "That Su guy actually came to feed those workers. Beef stew with potatoes and rice—damn! Hot food! I haven't had that in ages. Just looking at it makes me want to steal some."
Gao Zhe ate his compressed biscuits in small bites, his tone calm. "It's just a way to divide us. They have 120 people. How are you going to steal from them?"
Scarface muttered under his breath, "Damn it. Those workers have pushed a lot of our people to the back."
Gao Zhe remained unmoved.
"How did things go today?" A deep, measured voice came from across the table.
Gao Zhe looked up at the man opposite him. His eyebrows were flecked with gray, but his eyes were frighteningly dark.
"I was unlucky. I ended up in the middle of a zombie horde and got hurt before I managed to escape."
"Were you spotted?"
Gao Zhe hesitated for a moment. "I'm not sure, but he did remember me."
"Then he spotted you."
The old man pressed both index fingers hard against the small table, making a dull thud. "You have to prepare for the worst. Act as if he spotted you."
"His ability is too strange. Using his index finger is just a trick. He can fire high-temperature energy bullets from any part of his body..."
"Are you afraid?"
"I just need an opening."
"An opening never comes to those who wait for it."
"Don't rush me. I'll make my move when I'm ready."
Gao Zhe finished the last of his biscuit, grabbed a hoodie, and used it as a pillow behind his head. Then he closed his eyes to rest.
Su Huan didn't go to sleep. He had a lingering sense of unease.
Perhaps it was because of the news about the Corpse Cocoon today.
Normally, he would have left a long time ago.
But completing a quarter of the armored steel plates today had given him a lot more confidence. He planned to stay and make another batch of plates tomorrow.
He'd managed to make only a little over seven hundred today, leaving a shortfall of more than two thousand.
It would be difficult to find so many standard steel plates somewhere else.
Suddenly, an inexplicable restlessness welled up inside him.
Su Huan instinctively glanced toward the seventh car.
He tapped the floor with his toes and silently approached the door. Pulling aside the curtain, he saw a crowd of people sprawled across the seats and floor, fast asleep. Nothing seemed out of place.
Perhaps every car should have a steel gate installed.
But the warning in his heart didn't fade. It grew stronger.
He soon pinpointed the cause: his skill, "Pan-Energy Perception."
The reason he'd somehow spotted the Blood Hound last time was that he'd sensed the Pan-Energy, and his body had instinctively warned him!
Su Huan's heart sank. He went to the window, lifted one corner of the curtain, and looked outside.
His dark pupils suddenly shrank.
A zombie tide!
And a massive one, at that!
Countless zombies were packed against the fence beside the railroad tracks, one pressing against another to form a second barrier. From time to time, zombies toppled off the top.
They staggered toward the train.
Su Huan dropped the curtain and sprinted toward the front of the train, calling out in a low voice, "Turn off all the lights! Liang Kuan, get the train moving!"
There was no need for him to say it again. Everyone had seen the scene and was on high alert.
Liang Kuan, who had been busy with something, immediately dropped what he was doing and rushed over.
As the lights went out, the entire train sank into darkness.
Everyone hurried to the engine car. They watched Liang Kuan complete the steps to get the train moving and listened to the engine's heavy rumble. At last, they felt a little more at ease.
Su Huan stood by the window, looking down at the surging zombies below, his face dark.
"Rumble—"
The train slowly began to move, but it seemed to be meeting tremendous resistance. Slapping, scratching, and the crackling sound of something being crushed under the wheels filled the air.
"There are too many zombies at the front. I can't get the speed up."
Liang Kuan said gravely.
A harsh glint flashed in Su Huan's eyes. "Xiao Ba, go seal the door to car 7. Everyone else, stay in the engine car."
Qi Xiaoba's gaze was resolute. "Okay. No one will get through in the chaos."
"Good."
Su Huan sat directly in the passenger seat and placed his hand on the control panel.
He took a deep breath.
Surging Pan-Energy was continuously converted into electricity and forcefully fed into the train's engine!
The engine, which had been rumbling sluggishly, seemed to take in a huge breath.
It roared with all its might, making the entire front of the train tremble as it screamed forward.
Beneath the night sky, a steel dragon strained to crawl onward!
It had to break free from the zombie tide, which was like a quagmire!
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