He closed the window. The food in the pan was nearly done, too.
A quick stir of starch to thicken the sauce.
And it was ready to serve!
He'd made two dishes in all: stir-fried green peppers with dried tofu, and diced carrots stir-fried with corn.
These vegetables could all keep for a long time. They'd eaten the rest of the vegetables just a few days ago.
He plated the vegetables and served up three bowls of rice.
The train entered a tunnel, and darkness fell at once.
A sharp screech of brakes rang out.
"Skree—"
The lights in the dining car came on, and the entire train came to a complete stop inside the tunnel.
Heavy footsteps sounded from the end of the dim corridor.
A burly figure entered the dining car, blocking the light and casting a large shadow over the table.
His voice was deep and gentle. "It's getting hotter and hotter."
This was Liang Kuan, the first core member of the Armed Train and its driver.
Su Huan had heard of him before he was reborn, but Liang Kuan had died early, so they'd never met.
He hadn't expected to run into him so soon after being reborn—and it turned out Liang Kuan was a train driver.
Su Huan nodded and asked, "How much farther to the canned meat factory?"
"We'll be there once we're out of this tunnel."
"Then tomorrow, drive the train near the factory and have them get off to scavenge supplies."
"You can decide that. I just want to see my daughter." Liang Kuan lowered his head and kept eating.
Liang Kuan was a man of few words, so most of the time, Su Huan did the talking and he listened.
Things could be a little quiet, but this was still far better than the teammates he'd had in his previous life.
At least he didn't have to hide from zombies and Evolutionary Beasts in constant fear while watching out for a teammate to stab him in the back.
Nine days wasn't much time. Su Huan had only completed a third of the tasks on his list, nowhere near enough to be ready.
They'd already collected most of the supplies, but they hadn't started modifying the train.
He'd originally planned to find someone he'd known in his previous life, a guy whose profession was "Locomotive Modifier." If he recruited him early, it wouldn't be a problem to steer his profession toward train modification.
But he had no idea which repair shop the guy was hiding in now.
So Su Huan planned to look for another member he'd already had in mind.
A saint—a species that was exceedingly rare in the apocalypse.
The two most important parts of the Armed Train plan were its power supply and its ability to cross broken tracks.
Not to mention the Evolutionary Beasts, which were as destructive as huskies. Later, they'd have to pass through storms and plant stampedes.
The tracks there would be badly damaged. Without a way to repair them, the Armed Train would be nothing but a metal shell.
Master Ba's ability just so happened to solve that problem.
If Su Huan remembered correctly, he lived in an orphanage near this canning factory.
At the thought, a rare warmth appeared in Su Huan's eyes.
Liang Kuan finished the last grain of rice in his bowl. After hesitating for a moment, he asked, "How long will this heat last?"
Su Huan was mysterious and not a good person, but he knew a lot.
That knowledge had helped Liang Kuan survive this damn apocalypse, and might even let him make it home alive and see his daughter.
That was enough.
Besides, compared with the more than a thousand people in the train cars behind them, he was doing pretty well for now.
"A year, maybe longer."
"What about the north? Will it be any better?"
"Only worse. The heat is just the beginning. More terrifying natural disasters are coming."
Su Huan's low voice echoed through the car.
He tossed his empty bowl and chopsticks into the sink. "Tomorrow, start by installing an explosion-proof mesh over the dining car windows."
"Understood."
Su Huan waved a hand. "Go get some rest."
Liang Kuan stood and left.
Su Huan glanced at the clock hanging on the ceiling of the car.
The hands pointed to five in the afternoon. It was still a long time until nightfall.
But inside the tunnel, there was only darkness. It was a little stifling, but at least the zombie horde wouldn't notice them.
He stretched, then threw the cleaver and cutting board into the sink along with everything else.
He didn't like doing the dishes.
Su Huan quietly walked toward the cars at the rear of the train.
He considered how to arrange the cars.
There was no need to think about the locomotive. The engine system took up almost all the space, leaving only a little room around the control console. There wasn't much he could do with that.
He could reinforce and seal it for now, then upgrade the engine system when he had the means.
The first dining car could stay as it was. In the apocalypse, aside from sex, only good food could comfort people.
The team also needed a meeting room like this.
He could use the remaining space to make a small storage room for food and clean water to meet their daily needs.
The second car, the observation car, should be turned into a preparation room. They could also go up to the second level to attack enemies approaching the train.
The third car could be kept for his own use...
Before he could decide, he'd already reached the end of the fifth car.
Without thinking, he lifted his heels slightly, spread his toes as much as he could, and stepped onto the red carpet in the corridor without making a sound.
Su Huan looked down at the doorknob. A strand of hair had been wrapped around it.
He'd done it casually.
Fortunately, Miss Yu was very obedient. She hadn't left the car at all during this time, or even opened the door.
"Knock, knock, knock."
The sudden sound froze Su Huan's raised hand in midair.
He turned to look at the door connecting to the sixth car.
"Knock, knock, knock!"
Perhaps they hadn't heard him. The knocking grew more urgent.
There was some commotion inside the sleeper compartment.
Su Huan could vaguely hear the mother and son talking. Yu Jing said they shouldn't answer, or something to that effect.
He lowered his hand, turned, and walked toward the door to the passageway.
He abruptly swept aside the curtain. The person on the other side jumped, then said, "The windows in the car with the zombies are 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 completely dark, and the sleeper compartment was quiet, too.
Su Huan narrowed his eyes, returned to the car ahead, and picked up his usual wrench. Then he opened the door and listened to the beastlike roars coming from the pitch-black tunnel.
With a light leap, he landed beside the tracks.
He walked alongside the tracks without taking any precautions.
For someone who'd survived four years in the apocalypse, darkness was his safe zone. He trusted zombies far more than those people.
Cars six, seven, eight, and nine held people. Cars ten and eleven held the zombies that had suddenly mutated.
Su Huan arrived outside the ninth car.
A faint light came from inside, like the flame of a lighter, casting the huge shadows of a crowd of terrified people across the walls on either side of the tunnel.
But because of the light, no one inside the car saw Su Huan standing outside.
Su Huan didn't make a sound. He stood there silently for five minutes.
At last, he noticed something strange.
They were tense and terrified, but their faces weren't turned toward the tenth car, where the zombies were locked up.
They were facing the locomotive!
Because that was what they believed was the source of the danger!
The light gradually dimmed. The lighter must have run out of fuel. In its final glow, he could just make out a group of men huddled together.
He couldn't see the leader's face, only the oversized blackish-gray hooded sweatshirt he wore.
Amid the chaotic zombie roars, Su Huan stood in the darkness, the corners of his mouth lifting.
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