A Twist

Yu Yue nodded modestly. "After absorbing that Pan-Energy Crystal yesterday, I went to sleep. This morning, I became an Evolutionist. My core ability is Sonic Affinity. It lets me hear all kinds of strange sounds."

"She's actually a Manipulator, too." Su Huan was genuinely surprised.

He'd thought Liang Kuan or Yu Jing would be the first to evolve. He hadn't expected timid Aunt Yu to be the first to step onto the path of evolution.

Su Huan walked around the table and chairs, came to Yu Yue's side, and took a look at her ears.

After becoming an Evolutionist, one's body changed to some extent.

Like the metallic sheen in Qi Xiaoba's eyes and the light Yu Jing's eyes seemed to draw in.

Su Huan's changes were even more obvious: either red light or lightning.

Yu Yue's ears had grown longer and lifted upward, their cartilage clearly defined. They weren't as exaggerated as elf ears, but they looked exceptionally delicate.

Thanks to her evolution, the fine wrinkles at the corners of her eyes had all disappeared, and her skin had become a shade fairer.

The changes were all minor side effects of evolution, but together they made her look more than ten years younger.

As if she'd sensed Su Huan's gaze, Yu Yue awkwardly smoothed her hair. The tips of her ears flushed red.

"Normally, people can hear sounds in the range of 20 to 20,000 Hz. So you can hear a lot of things we can't. But you'll have to figure out for yourself what those sounds mean by observing them."

"After all, we can't hear them." As he explained, Su Huan narrowed his eyes and sized Yu Yue up.

Hearing special sound waves was only a secondary ability. Her main ability should be controlling sound waves.

Otherwise, they wouldn't call this type a "Manipulator."

"Anything else?"

"I think I can gather some of the sounds I hear. I can also make some high-pitched and low-frequency sounds myself."

Su Huan picked up a shard of glass from the table, then glanced at Aunt Yu's slightly fairer, more delicate neck. He asked in surprise, "Did you do this?"

In his previous life, he'd met someone who could hear all kinds of sound waves, but hearing and using them weren't quite the same.

"Mm..."

The fine hairs on Yu Yue's ears stood on end. Her slender, curved brows were knitted together, and she twisted her fingers like a child.

She always got nervous under Su Huan's gaze.

She stole a glance at her daughter sitting nearby, and only then did her nerves ease a little.

Su Huan's gaze was full of curiosity. "Looks like you have quite a bit of offensive potential. How powerful can you get?"

"My attack is very weak for now. At most, I can make someone's ears ring for a moment."

"Not bad at all," Su Huan said with satisfaction.

A well-rounded team might not be a group of powerful people thrown together. It could be a group of people with different skills, working together.

Suppressing fire, area control, long-range support, detection and tracking...

A balanced squad could be formed by combining different specialties.

When Su Huan had chosen people, though, his priority had been the Armed Train, followed by how easy they were to control.

As for matching their evolutionary abilities to their roles, that was like opening a blind box. He hadn't expected Yu Yue and the others to have especially suitable abilities.

He hadn't expected to draw someone who could manipulate sound waves. That was already an excellent result.

"Really?"

Yu Yue hadn't expected to hear the words "not bad at all" from the exacting Su Huan. She raised her rounded chin and gathered her courage to ask, "Then what can I do?"

Su Huan gazed at the gentle curve of Yu Yue's lips and fell into thought.

High frequency, vibration, maybe...

"You could be a sniper?"

"Ah, me?"

Yu Yue's brows relaxed, and she happily clasped her hands behind her back.

Then she remembered that her daughter and someone else were there, and quietly reined in her little gestures.

Seeing her mother become as happy as a little girl after just a couple of compliments, Yu Jing sighed inwardly and asked, "Is that because sound-based abilities are better suited to long-range combat?"

Su Huan turned to her and answered seriously, "Yes. If she can control sound waves, she'll be able to gather battlefield information easily, like the terrain and the enemy's positions. With a sniper rifle, she'll be an important part of the team's fighting strength."

Yu Jing thought about her mother's personality. If she made her take a knife onto the battlefield, she'd probably be so scared she'd hide behind Yu Jing.

Being a long-range sniper would be pretty good.

Important and safe.

"Hmm?"

Yu Yue suddenly let out a soft cry.

The others looked at her in confusion.

"Mom, what is it?"

Yu Jing went to her mother's side and took her hand.

Yu Yue tilted her head, sounding uncertain. "I heard two explosions. They sounded about the same as the ones this morning."

Su Huan and Yu Jing exchanged a look. He raised an eyebrow and asked, "Which direction?"

Yu Yue pointed outside the carriage to the left.

Su Huan's gaze turned cold at once.

That was the direction of the Water Plant. Yu Yue hadn't known about it before.

Su Huan narrowed his eyes. "Xiao Ba, go to the cab and tell Liang Kuan to speed up. Keep an eye on the tracks. Wan Xing, go to the storage carriage. Yu Jing, stay here. If your mom hears anything else, tell me."

With that, Su Huan headed for observation carriage No. 2.

He went upstairs and looked out the window.

Since it was morning, the mist outside had thinned considerably. The sky was still overcast, but he could see things in the distance.

Most of the buildings on either side of the tracks were fewer than six stories tall, and metal fences surrounded them.

There weren't many cars on the road. It looked as if someone had cleared them away.

There were also quite a few Corpse Cocoons that had been stabbed open. The people from Star Property Management had probably done that.

Moisture fogged the glass, blurring the view, so Su Huan simply went through the rear door and onto carriage No. 3.

Hot, humid air surged toward him, quickly soaking his gray T-shirt until it clung to his body.

From here, he could see the water tower beneath the gloomy sky in the distance.

The train kept moving beneath his feet. Ten minutes later, at 10:22, it finally stopped. The water tower had shifted from the left side of Su Huan's view to straight ahead.

It was only about a kilometer away.

Forty-two minutes had passed since Gao Zhe set out with four workers and two trusted men carrying explosives.

It wasn't that Su Huan didn't want to send his own people.

Liang Kuan was the driver and couldn't leave the train lightly. Qi Xiaoba was a strategic asset, and his legs weren't in good shape, so he couldn't leave either.

As for the likes of Yu Jing and Wan Xing, there was no need to even mention them.

Sending them would be like delivering buns to a dog.

Even if there was no danger, trouble would still find a way to arise.

When the apocalypse stripped away the restraints of civilization, women became an important resource, too.

That was why Su Huan hadn't killed Gao Zhe, despite his repeated violations of the rules.

He needed a powerful enforcer who would keep his distance.

Suddenly, the reflection in Su Huan's pupils caught the figure of someone staggering back toward the train.

Footsteps sounded behind him. Liang Kuan came up carrying Hu An.

Su Huan put an arm around Hu An's shoulders and pointed toward the distant figure, asking with a faint smile, "What do you think he's bringing back? What kind of news?"

Hu An saw the work uniform on the man and felt his heart sink. He swallowed.

"Brother Su, maybe there's been some kind of misunderstanding..."

The man spotted Su Huan on the train and ran faster, paying no attention to the mud splattered on his legs.

When he reached the train, he gasped for breath and shouted, "Boss Su, they've killed the hostages!"