Modification Plan

Closing the train window, the dishes in the pot were just about done.

He added a simple starch slurry to thicken the sauce.

Done!

He had made two dishes in total: stir-fried green peppers with dried tofu, and diced carrots with corn.

These vegetables were all long-lasting; the other produce had been eaten up days ago.

He plated the vegetables and scooped out three bowls of rice.

The train plunged into a tunnel, and darkness descended abruptly.

A sharp screech of brakes rang out.

"Swoosh—"

The lights in the dining car flickered on as the entire train came to a complete stop inside the tunnel.

Heavy footsteps echoed from the end of the dim corridor.

A burly figure arrived at the dining car, blocking the light and casting a large shadow over the table.

His voice was deep and gentle, "The weather is getting hotter and hotter."

This was the first core member of the armored train, the train driver, Liang Kuan.

Su Huan had heard of him before his rebirth, but he had died early, so they had never interacted.

He hadn't expected to meet him immediately after his rebirth, and by sheer coincidence, the man was a train driver.

Su Huan nodded and asked, "How much longer until we reach the canned meat factory?"

"We'll be there once we exit this tunnel."

"Then drive the train near the factory tomorrow so they can go down and scavenge for supplies."

"You make the calls; as long as I can see my daughter, that's all that matters." Liang Kuan finished speaking and went back to eating in silence.

Liang Kuan was a man of few words, so most of their interactions consisted of Su Huan talking while he listened.

Although it was a bit dull, it was still much better than his teammates from his past life.

At the very least, he didn't have to worry about being stabbed in the back by a teammate while trembling in fear from zombies and evolved beasts.

Nine days was not much time; Su Huan had only completed a third of the items on his mental checklist, and he was far from being prepared.

The scavenging for supplies was mostly finished, but the train modifications hadn't even begun.

He had originally wanted to find an acquaintance from his past life, a guy whose profession was "Locomotive Modifier." If he could cultivate him early, changing his career path to train modification wouldn't be an issue.

But right now, he had no idea which repair shop the man was hiding in.

Therefore, Su Huan planned to find another intended member first.

—A saint, an extremely rare species in the apocalypse.

The two most important nodes of the Armored Train project were energy and broken tracks.

Not to mention those evolved beasts that were as reckless as huskies, they would eventually have to pass through storms and plant frenzies.

The tracks there were destroyed beyond recognition; without a means of repair, the armored train would simply become a useless metal shell.

And Master Ba's ability happened to be able to solve this problem.

If he remembered correctly, the man lived in an orphanage near this canned food processing plant.

Thinking of this, a rare touch of warmth appeared in Su Huan's eyes.

Liang Kuan finished the last grain of rice in his bowl, hesitated for a moment, and asked, "How long will this high temperature last?"

Although Su Huan was mysterious and not exactly a "good person," he knew a lot of things.

These things allowed him to survive in this damned apocalypse, and perhaps even live to go home and see his daughter.

That was enough.

Besides, compared to the thousand-plus people in the back carriages, he was living quite well for the moment.

"A year, or even longer."

"What about the north? Will it be any better there?"

"It will only get worse. The high temperature is just the beginning; there are even more terrifying natural disasters to come."

Su Huan's eerie voice echoed through the carriage.

He casually tossed his finished bowl and chopsticks into the sink, "Install the explosion-proof mesh on the dining car windows tomorrow."

"Understood."

Su Huan waved his hand, "Go get some rest."

Liang Kuan stood up and left.

Su Huan looked at the clock hanging on the inner wall of the carriage.

The clock pointed to five in the afternoon; it was still early before nightfall.

However, it was pitch black inside this tunnel. Although it was a bit stifling, there was no risk of being noticed by the zombie horde.

He stretched, then tossed the kitchen knife and cutting board into the sink all at once.

He certainly didn't like washing dishes.

Su Huan walked quietly toward the rear carriages.

He pondered in his heart how to arrange these few carriages.

There was no need to think about the locomotive; the power system basically filled it up, and aside from a little space near the control console, there wasn't much he could do with it.

He would just seal and reinforce it when the time came, and upgrade the power system further if conditions allowed.

The first carriage, the dining car, could be kept; in the apocalypse, besides carnal pleasures, only good food could soothe the human heart.

The team also needed such a meeting room.

He could also use the remaining space to carve out a small storage room to stockpile some food and purified water for daily consumption.

The second carriage, the sightseeing car, should be converted into a combat preparation room, and one could also climb to the second level to strike at enemies approaching the train.

The third carriage would be reserved for himself...

Before he could finish his thoughts, he had already reached the end of the fifth carriage.

Subconsciously, he lifted his heels slightly, spread his feet as much as possible, and stepped onto the red carpet of the corridor without making a single sound.

Su Huan looked down at the door handle, where a strand of hair was wrapped around it.

It had been wound there casually.

Fortunately, this Miss Yu was very obedient; she hadn't stepped out of the carriage during this time, nor had she even opened the door.

"Knock, knock, knock."

The sound was sudden, and Su Huan's raised hand hovered in mid-air.

He turned his head to look at the door connecting to the sixth carriage.

"Knock, knock, knock!"

Perhaps because they hadn't heard a response, the knocking on the other side became more urgent.

Some movement came from inside the soft-sleeper compartment.

Su Huan could vaguely hear the conversation between the mother and son; Yu Jing was saying something about not paying attention to it.

He lowered his hand and turned to walk toward the corridor door.

He suddenly pulled back the curtain, startling the person on the other side, who then said, "The glass of the carriage behind us that's holding the zombies has cracked!"

"Mm, I know."

"Hey, hey!"

Ignoring the man's shouting, Su Huan let the curtain fall and glanced sideways behind him.

The corridor was devoid of any light, and the soft-sleeper compartment was also extremely quiet.

Su Huan narrowed his eyes, returned to the front carriage, picked up his usual wrench, and then opened the carriage door, listening to the beast-like roars echoing through the pitch-black tunnel.

With a light leap, he jumped onto the ground.

He walked along the tracks just like that, without any protection.

For a veteran who had survived four years in the apocalypse, the darkness was his safe zone, and he trusted zombies far more than those people.

Carriages 6, 7, 8, and 9 were filled with people, while 10 and 11 were filled with suddenly mutated zombies.

Su Huan arrived outside the 9th carriage.

A faint light emanated from within, like the flame of a lighter, casting a group of terrified, giant shadows onto the walls on both sides of the tunnel.

But because of this light, the people inside the carriage did not see Su Huan standing outside.

Su Huan did not make a sound, standing silently for five minutes.

Finally, he noticed something unusual.

They were very nervous and fearful, but their faces were not turned toward the 10th carriage where the zombies were locked up.

Instead, they were facing the direction of the locomotive!

Because that was where they psychologically perceived the source of the danger to be!

The light gradually dimmed; the lighter must have run out of fuel. By the last bit of light, he could barely see a group of men huddled together.

The face of the leader was obscured, visible only as a large, dark-gray hoodie.

Amidst the chaotic roars of the zombies, the corners of Su Huan's mouth, standing in the darkness, curled upward.