Kinetic Energy Recovery

The stench of decay that had built up inside the carriage, along with the smell of blood, dissipated overhead.

Su Huan raised a hand to shield his eyes from the dazzling sunlight. "How does it feel to have evolved?"

Liang Kuan instinctively touched his left shoulder. "There's some new information in my head. I'm a Defender. My skills are currently Lv. 1 Combat Factor and Lv. 1 Shield Mastery."

Su Huan was just about to nod when he realized what Liang Kuan had said. He raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Two skills? Have you used shields, a kind of melee weapon, before?"

"My uncle taught me a few techniques when I was little. I've mostly forgotten them."

"No wonder..."

Su Huan narrowed his eyes. In that case, he'd have to rethink Liang Kuan's career path.

Originally, he'd planned to make Liang Kuan a Firepower Specialist or a Gunner.

He hadn't expected him to turn out to be a rare shield warrior.

In the long run, melee weapons actually had greater potential for growth.

But it was too early to worry about that. Su Huan headed toward the next carriage, and Liang Kuan followed behind him, carrying his somewhat misshapen sword and shield.

"By the way, does the train have something like a handbrake?" Su Huan melted the lock on the door to the next carriage with intense heat, pushed it open, and asked casually.

Liang Kuan paused. "Of course. A train this big definitely has brakes. On old trains like ours, they're usually beside the wheels, underneath each carriage. You have to operate them one by one. I was afraid something might go wrong and I wouldn't have time, so I never locked them."

This carriage was very clean. But seeing the scattered suitcases, Su Huan figured people must have fled when the incident happened.

Su Huan looked over the train's interior. "What about this Hydrogen Train?"

"It should use air-spring parking brakes. I think that's what they're called. I don't really understand how they work, but most high-speed trains use them. Once the pressure's released, they lock in place."

Liang Kuan answered uncertainly.

Su Huan tried channeling energy directly into the engine beneath their feet, but sure enough, it didn't work. The train seemed firmly nailed to the ground.

That meant that every time they came across a train blocking the tracks, they'd have to get out and move it or derail it.

He couldn't just use energy to get it moving.

What a hassle.

As they walked forward, inspecting the Hydrogen Train for damage, Liang Kuan explained some of the basics of trains to him.

By the time they reached the cab, Su Huan had a basic understanding of the train beneath their feet.

The Hydrogen Train carriage was 34.8 meters long, 2.7 meters wide, and 4.28 meters tall, with an interior height of 2.1 meters. It was longer and narrower than a green train carriage, and shorter than an old-fashioned carriage equipped with air conditioning.

As for the two things he cared about most:

First, could it be powered by energy? Yes.

Second, did it have kinetic-energy carriages? No.

But—

This train used a distributed power system. Each carriage had fuel cells and lithium batteries on the roof and undercarriage, and every two carriages shared one power system.

In other words, every two carriages could be treated as an independent train.

There were twelve carriages in total beneath their feet. Four were too badly damaged, leaving Su Huan with eight.

That was the equivalent of four independently operable locomotives.

If they dismantled them all and added them to the Armed Train, they'd solve its power shortage.

Although he couldn't get hydrogen, the Hydrogen Train had a kinetic energy recovery system that converted kinetic energy into electricity and stored it in the batteries. They could simply leave the carriages attached to the train while it ran.

With these eight carriages, the train's power consumption and fuel costs could be reduced even further.

Su Huan only saw himself as the train's primary energy source in the long run.

He didn't intend to become a walking power bank.

It wouldn't do if the train had no power whenever he wasn't around.

As for how to arrange them...

They definitely needed a pair at the rear. That way, they wouldn't have to reverse at a crawl, and they could move faster when something happened.

They could add one in front of the dining car and sightseeing carriage, but these carriages had to be added in pairs, not separately. Besides, the dining car currently served as the team's meeting room and was usually full of people, so it couldn't be too far back.

If they added any, they'd have to put them behind the sightseeing carriage.

That meant moving Carriage No. 3—his private quarters—farther forward.

After thinking it through, Su Huan said, "Let's get moving. We'll dismantle both the Hydrogen Train and the Armed Train, then arrange them in this order: the locomotive, Carriage No. 3, the dining car, the sightseeing carriage, two Hydrogen Train carriages, the food-storage carriage, and one baggage carriage. Move all the original armored carriages farther back."

"Put four of the remaining six at the very end. You can decide where the other two go."

The baggage carriage was about the same size as the passenger carriages, but it had no windows, only a few ventilation openings, and a pair of double doors about 2.5 meters wide and 2.2 meters high.

Putting it behind the food-storage carriage would keep it separate from the passengers, and also give Yu Jing a workshop.

There'd be more and more mechanical modifications to make in the future.

It wasn't practical to keep banging away in his room.

Liang Kuan rubbed his stubble. "There's plenty of track to work with, so we can make it happen. But I'm the only one doing it, so it'll take a long time."

"Just get the carriages arranged by the end of the day!"

"Got it."

After checking their location, they found they were about three kilometers from South Station, so the two of them drove the Hydrogen Train back in reverse.

About ten meters behind the Armed Train, Qi Xiaoba had made a large steel barrier that cut across the tracks, in case of sudden threats like a zombie horde.

Some of the workers had been let off the train. Yu Jing was directing them as they cleaned the locomotive and unloaded the two-meter-sixty Butcher from the cowcatcher.

When they saw the train backing up, everyone stopped what they were doing and crouched warily beside the doors.

Su Huan climbed out of the carriage at the rear and jumped to the ground.

He glanced at the Skull Crusher the Butcher was holding.

Pan-Energy Perception rippled faintly. He sensed only a trace of Pan-Energy inside the zombie.

It had probably been dead too long, and too much Pan-Energy had dissipated. There wasn't enough left to extract a crystal.

Otherwise, he could have earned one more.

He looked up and saw Yu Jing approaching with a crossbow in hand. "How's the water tank design coming along?"

"I'm planning to make it modular. That way, even if we rearrange the carriages, the water purifier can still connect to every tank. I'll also install a separate high-pressure water gun in each carriage."

Su Huan's eyes brightened slightly. "Modular, with an independent high-pressure water gun. That's a good idea. How long will it take?"

Yu Jing picked up her notebook and began sketching, frowning. "The design isn't complicated. The main problem is the high-pressure nozzle. It takes Xiao Ba a long time to make one."

"Don't worry about the nozzle for now. Liang Kuan will be rearranging the carriages soon. Just set up the water pipes inside the first few carriages."

Su Huan thought it over.

They might not have a suitable water gun elsewhere, but a fire engine would definitely have one—and it would pack a punch.

Yu Jing looked up at the sleek Hydrogen Train. "Are we rearranging the carriages?"

"Yeah. I've also set aside a workshop just for you, so you'll be moving to..." Su Huan counted on his fingers. "Carriage No. 4, I guess. We'll move your old armored carriage to the back. From now on, the first ten carriages will be our own territory."

"The new carriages don't seem very impact-resistant."

Su Huan rubbed his brow and said solemnly, "They're made of lightweight aluminum alloy. So the most important thing for you and Xiao Ba to do today is cover these two carriages with steel plates again."

"And make sure their airtight, moisture-proof properties aren't affected."